"Greetings, Divine Beast!" Chu Tianyang hastily bowed in respect. The others followed suit.
Long Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze falling upon the barrier before them. With mild surprise, he remarked, "This barrier has been preserved remarkably well! It appears completely untouched by the passage of time!"
"Who discovered this barrier?"
"Reporting to the Beast God, it was clansman Chu Feng who found it!"
Following Chu Tianyang's gaze, Long Yuan's eyes settled upon a youth whose resolute expression couldn't quite conceal the faintest trace of unease in his eyes.
[Cultivator]: Chu Feng
[Physique]: Chaos Divine Body (Growth: 1%)
[Cultivation Realm]: Mid Third-Tier Martial Master
[Physical Cultivation]: Mid Second-Tier Martial Warrior
[Treasure]: Chaos Pearl (Peerless Divine Artifact)
"Oh?" Long Yuan's eyebrows rose in genuine surprise. A Chaos Divine Body at 1% growth? This was something he'd never encountered before! And to possess a peerless divine artifact like the Chaos Pearl as well—this young man clearly had extraordinary fortune.
"This physique of his must have been awakened by the Chaos Pearl," Long Yuan mused to himself.
"Divine Beast, is there... something wrong with my grandson?" Chu Linpeng asked anxiously.
"Not at all. He's quite remarkable. Though his gaze could stand to be steadier. Work hard, young one—I look forward to the day you become one of the Left or Right Dragon Lords of the Dragon Protector Guards!" Long Yuan declared, his eyes fixed on Chu Feng.
Naturally, Long Yuan was aware of the Chu family's establishment of the Dragon Protector Guards—it was an excellent method to motivate cultivation efforts, and he fully approved.
The assembled crowd stared at Chu Feng in astonishment. For the Beast God to place such lofty expectations upon him? The Twin Dragon Lords represented the absolute pinnacle of the Dragon Protector Guards!
Chu Tianyang made a silent resolution—upon their return, he would arrange for Chu Feng to receive the most intensive training possible.
"I... I'll strive my hardest!" Chu Feng declared through gritted teeth. A nagging suspicion told him the Beast God might already know his secret, yet the divine being seemed utterly unconcerned.
Turning his attention back to the barrier, Long Yuan announced, "This is a barrier erected by an Emperor-tier expert. Furthermore, due to certain circumstances, its power hasn't diminished in the slightest."
"No wonder you couldn't breach it."
"Emperor-tier? Could there truly be an Emperor's legacy within?" Chu Tianyang's voice trembled with excitement.
"Perhaps." To Long Yuan, an Emperor's inheritance was hardly remarkable. With a casual swipe of his dragon claw, the barrier that had stymied Chu Tianyang and the others tore apart like paper.
"So powerful!" Chu Feng's heart raced. The Emperor-tier barrier had been sundered as easily as slicing tofu.
"Come, let's investigate." Long Yuan led the way, soaring through the newly created entrance.
The underground space was vast—clearly a dimensional realm created by an Emperor-tier powerhouse. Yet this spatial world lay in ruins, its surface marred by countless fissures as though ravaged by some cataclysmic battle.
As Long Yuan flew onward, his eyes took in the desolation—collapsed structures, shattered earth stretching endlessly before them.
"How peculiar... Why do these ruins appear so fresh?" Chu Tianyang murmured, examining the fallen architecture. The Yunxiao Sect's destruction should have occurred millennia ago, yet the battle damage and structural collapses looked as though the conflict had transpired mere days prior.
"Because a treasure protected this place," Long Yuan explained. "The very same opportunity young Chu Feng acquired."
"So that's it!" Chu Tianyang's astonishment grew. Chu Feng's fortuitous encounter was even more extraordinary than he'd imagined!
Meanwhile, Chu Feng became certain—the Beast God indeed knew what treasure he'd obtained, yet cared not at all. How petty his earlier worries seemed now!
"Do not wander," Long Yuan cautioned. "Remnants of Emperor-tier combat energies linger here—a single misstep could prove fatal."
After progressing a short while longer, the group came upon a headless corpse. Even in death, the body radiated such terrifying energy that none dared approach.
"Beast God... could this be... an Emperor's corpse?" Chu Tianyang asked, voice quivering. The aura emanating from the remains suggested mere proximity would reduce them to ashes.
"Indeed it is," Long Yuan confirmed. "And its energy signature bears striking resemblance to those Martial Saints I previously eliminated—likely from the same organization."
With a single claw strike, the Emperor's corpse disintegrated into dust, its dreadful presence vanishing completely.
"An Emperor's death... Could it be the Yunxiao Sect once produced an Emperor powerful enough to slay others of his rank?" Chu Tianyang marveled. How formidable that being must have been! He could only hope they'd left their legacy behind.
The ruins told a story of utter devastation—the entire sect had been obliterated, not a single living creature remaining. Yet fortune smiled upon them when they discovered the Yunxiao Sect's remarkably well-preserved inheritance within an intact pavilion.
"Complete cultivation methods reaching the Eighth-Tier Martial Saint realm!" Though the Chu family already possessed Eighth-Tier techniques bestowed by the Beast God, such treasures could never be too plentiful.
"Not bad. This will enrich the family's foundations," Long Yuan acknowledged. The complete legacy of an Eight-Star Sect—encompassing cultivation methods, martial techniques, alchemical formulas, array formations, and forging arts—held incalculable value. For the current Chu family, it was nothing short of priceless.
While they'd previously plundered the Cangyan Sect's heritage, that had been merely a Six-Star organization—far beneath an Eighth-Tier sect.
"Beast God! Elder Ancestor! There's a Beast Tamer legacy here!" A young female clansman named Chu Yunling called excitedly. Her delicate oval face framed by flowing white robes that accentuated her slender figure, she was the same girl who'd obtained fragmented Beast Tamer knowledge in the Nine Heavens Mountain Range. Having contracted a Treasure-Seeking Mouse, she'd contributed significantly in uncovering the Cangyan Sect's hidden treasures.
"Excellent. Upon our return, you shall begin studying this complete inheritance," Chu Tianyang declared. Beast Tamers represented a formidable path—their combat prowess rivaled other martial artists, augmented by powerful spirit beasts. While not necessarily capable of crossing realms in battle, they could effortlessly engage multiple opponents of equal strength. Given the opportunity, the Chu family would undoubtedly establish an entire Beast Tamer division.
"What a pity we found no Emperor's legacy," Chu Tianyang sighed. That would have been true perfection! ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NovelHub(.)net
Suddenly, Long Yuan struck at empty air with a single punch. Space fractured like glass, disgorging a black stele.
"What's this?" The crowd gathered around, finding the stone surface utterly blank. Then, without warning, an inky light erupted from Chu Feng's forehead, bathing the stele in its glow. Instantly, lines of scripture materialized upon the previously featureless surface.
"An Emperor's Scripture," Long Yuan announced.
"What? This is an Emperor-tier scripture?" The crowd gasped in unison, their eyes locked onto the stele. Before anyone could properly examine it, the entire stone slab flew directly into Chu Feng's forehead!
"If I'm not mistaken, this scripture was left specifically for Chu Feng by the Yunxiao Sect's Emperor," Long Yuan mused. Or more accurately, for whoever obtained the Chaos Pearl.
"In that case," Chu Tianyang declared sternly, "none present shall speak of this Emperor's Scripture—violators will face clan discipline!"
"Yes!" came the unified response. All understood the catastrophe that would befall their family should word of the Emperor's legacy spread.