Chapter 454 - Emperor Shi Hao
Ripples spread outwards, and light gushed out. It was as if a silver river was flowing about. The space opened up, forming a gate that had an indescribable type of energy swirling inside.
Small world!
It wasn’t the first time Shi Hao encountered a place like this. From the Hundred Shattering Mountains before to the precious interspatial case, they were both small worlds, though one was much larger and the other much smaller.
His eyes released deep divine light as he looked inside. He decided that this wasn’t a trap left by fairy Yue Chan and the others. He walked inside and arrived in a dusky place.
This place was silent and dried up, as if he had arrived in ruins. There wasn’t a bit of vitality. However, the amount of space it covered wasn’t that small, with the circumference being at least ten li.
“This seems to be a place that was abandoned. There must have been some type of calamity that left it completely destroyed.” Shi Hao spoke to himself as he carefully observed everything.
This small world was quite dark. It was lacking in light. Mists curled up about this area. The ground was cracked, extending into the distance like spiderwebs. In addition, the skies were also in a terrible state, as if they could collapse at any moment.
“This is the Stone Emperor’s small world?” Shi Hao was astonished.
Who else could it be? A small world that was recently shattered that had to be left behind, moreover right in front of the imperial throne, was most likely left behind by the human emperor.
Outside the heavenly palace, many king level figures stood there in silence. A group of nobles was here, and none of them said anything. They waited calmly for the result.
The War King was furious and said, “Shameful. My Stone Clan’s country had never suffered such humiliation since it was founded. The grand imperial palace is a restricted land, yet outsiders were allowed to enter without anyone being able to stop them.”
He had tried to take action before, but he was no match for the three sect’s experts. Many other kings kept silent as well. No one dared to declare their position. In front of the Immortal Mountain, Heaven Mending Sect, and Western Sect, they were all powerless.
It was because they already knew that these inheritances were related to the higher realms. Offending them meant offending the ‘great power’ as well.
Otherwise, with a group of king level figures here, even if the three sects showed their power, they still wouldn’t dare to casually intrude like this. After all, no supreme experts had shown themselves. King level figures were currently the highest level of power.
“Disgraceful!” Another king level figure also shouted loudly.
The heavenly palace was under martial law, not by Stone Country’s people, but instead by the three great sects’ experts. They didn’t allow others to enter. They were going to seal up this place and kill the little Stone here.
Inside the small world, Shi Hao walked slowly, carefully observing and searching through this place.
What exactly did Stone Emperor leave behind?
Weng
Suddenly, the small world trembled. A sparkling and translucent little imprint appeared. It blossomed with brilliant multicolored light like a small sun. It rose from the depths of the ground.
“Yi, what is this?” Shi Hao was astonished.
This imprint wasn’t large, only the size of a walnut. It was transparent and extremely beautiful. Endless draconic energy curled up around it, and there was a mysterious aura about it. Auspicious light surged, filling up the entire small world.
“What a powerful treasure.”
Needless to say, something that could fill this small world with holy and auspicious energy was definitely an important treasure.
“Could it be a sky overturning imprint type of ancient treasure?” Shi Hao’s heart pounded intensely.
The magical imprint spun about. The radiance it scattered down became even more gentle, and the mysterious aura became more intense. It poured over and began to revolve around Shi Hao’s head.
Waterfalls scattered down, surrounding Shi Hao underneath. They were like curtains, completely covering him beneath them and protecting him within.
It was incredibly shocking. The waterfall was formed from auspicious energy, pouring out from the imprint above him. His body felt comfortable and peaceful, as if he was going to fly into the skies through these multicolored lights. What kind of treasure was this?
In particular, when Shi Hao breathed, it resonated with the precious imprint. A mysterious energy surged and a draconic aura curled about his body, making him feel even more extraordinary.
“A powerful energy is contained within the precious imprint, and it feels almost as if it can enter my body. Is this what the Stone Emperor left behind?” Shi Hao was bewildered.
The precious imprint bobbed up and down. Even though it was only the size of a walnut, the draconic energy that scattered down was rich with mysterious energy as boundless as the sea. Otherwise, how could Shi Hao be so shocked upon seeing this?
Suddenly, the sparkling yellow divine striking stone began to shout strangely from Shi Hao’s hair. It struggled free and jumped up towards the precious imprint.
Peng
Unfortunately, it was directly struck flying. A strand of imperial dao energy sent it into the depths of the small world, leaving it confused and dizzy.
“How could you treat me like this? We are both from the same race, yet you dare to treat me like this. This big brother is going to fight you to the death!” The divine striking stone quickly returned and rushed over with extreme speed.
Dang
It rushed over quickly, but it was also sent back outwards quickly. It was blasted flying again into the depths of the ruins.
Shi Hao was astonished. This is a large divine stone? He was extremely stunned. Then, he carefully observed it to try and see through its secrets.
“Legend has it that the first generation guardian spirit of Stone Country was a divine striking stone. It eventually gained intelligence and became a deity.”
It was difficult for Shi Hao to calm down. Could this be Stone Country’s guardian spirit? It was too inconceivable and a bit horrifying.
The divine striking stone whined and groaned. It trembled and swayed about as it rolled over from the distance. It sounded quite mad as it said, “Mistreating someone of the same race, you truly are a thankless wretch.”
“You can’t treat it rudely. This might be a deity that served as Stone Country’s guardian spirit.” Shi Hao said seriously.
“What? Hold on, I think I know what’s going on.” The divine striking stone woke up. It soared into the air, and while floating there, it carefully observed the precious imprint. Then, it seemed to have figured out something.
“It is just some leftover mortal body. After a senior from my race became a deity, it left behind this stone form.”The divine striking stone shouted strangely. It continuously exclaimed ‘so that’s how it was’. In front of it right now was a precious imprint and not its clansman.
From the ancient times until now, only a few strange stones like these appeared. They were known as incredibly valuable treasures. The ancient saints and deities refined them into weapons. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t want one, but it was something they could only wish for but couldn’t find.
“How do you know?” Shi Hao asked.
“We are both from the same race, so how could I not know? It should be Stone Country’s ancestral guardian spirit. It turned out to be like this,” the divine striking stone muttered to itself. It then stared for a long time before saying, “That ancestral guardian spirit is most likely dead.”
It could infer quite a few things through this stone, to the point where he could even make the assertion that the guardian spirit that had become a deity had already passed away many years ago.
Shi Hao sighed. Turns out the rumors weren’t baseless. Stone Country’s ancient guardian spirit had passed away already. Earlier, he still had some expectations and hopes, but in the end, they amounted to nothing.
Then, the little pagoda in the bronze piece also awoke. As long as there was a heavenly treasure, it would immediately rush out to make a deal with Shi Hao.
However, what was unexpected was that when the little pagoda emerged from the protection of the precious interspatial case and saw this imprint, it became quite serious. It was quite different from how Shi Hao thought it would act.
“You guys don’t want it?” Shi Hao asked, because he understood how much of a greedy hole it was. It always wanted to take advantage of him before. Why did it suddenly become serious?
“The energies of a country rest within. The entire country has offered sacrifices to it, and the karma is too great. This item isn’t simple…” The little pagoda sighed as it spoke.
Shi Hao was astonished. He stared at the precious imprint and then tried to remove it from above his head. After studying it for a long time, his heart was greatly moved. This was the jade seal of Stone Country -- the human emperor’s imprint?!
Was it shattered outside? It seemed like that was a fake. This was the real national treasure!
What the little pagoda said wasn’t wrong. The entire country worshipped it and offered it sacrifices, and the human emperor and the guardian spirit shared the fate energy to quickly cultivate. Apart from them, there was naturally the country’s treasure as well, the imperial imprint.
From a certain perspective, the energies that this precious imprint gathered was greater than that of other human emperors or the generations of guardian spirits. It was even more boundless, because it had accumulated from the ancient times until now. It had always received the worship and sacrifices of Stone Country.
“Fate energy and faith have all been gathered into this imprint. This is magical artifact imbued by Stone Country has imbued their faith within for countless years.” The little pagoda sighed and said.
It felt a unique type of force that had existed since the ancient times. It continuously received the worship of the people, and all types of mysterious forces were contained inside. Endless amounts of faith had been gathered within this precious imprint.
“If you want to become a supreme expert, with just this imprint alone, you can probably succeed immediately.” The little pagoda said.
Shi Hao became astonished. What kind of power was this? It could produce a supreme expert on the spot? The precious imprint was just too heaven defying.
“You can see for yourself. There are still bits of mysterious force congregating towards this precious imprint. As long as Stone Country’s people offer sacrifices, the mysterious force would surge and gather in its body,” the little pagoda explained.
From the side, the divine striking stone’s saliva continuously poured outwards. It truly wanted to grab this imprint and chew on it with all its might.
“It might be considered a magical artifact, but that might not necessarily be entirely correct. However, it is definitely Stone Country’s most important treasure. This is the root of the nation’s fate. All of the mysterious force is gathered inside of it, and all of the country’s fate is held inside.” The little pagoda said.
It was originally hibernating, but after being startled awake, it saw this strange imprint and couldn’t help but say a few things. It seemed to care quite a bit about it.
The guardian spirit and the human emperor relied on the mysterious force of the country’s offerings to cultivate, allowing their cultivation speeds to quicken. Right now, the precious imprint contained a seemingly endless amount of mysterious force. If Shi Hao extracted a portion for himself, he could quickly become a supreme expert.
“I don’t want to use it.” Shi Hao shook his head. He had asked the Willow Deity previously, and it had told him that guardian spirits and emperors would cultivate faster, but the foundation of the country might be damaged.
The little pagoda nodded and said, “Using it to increase one’s cultivation is truly a bit of a low act. However, many powerful figures gather this type of fate energy to protect themselves from suffering misfortune.”
“Then the Stone Emperor?” Shi Hao’s heart jumped.
“He might not necessarily be dead. With this precious imprint to protect him, he would be injured at the most. However, he is most likely not in the wasteland region.” The little pagoda made this deduction.
“This precious imprint is that powerful?” Shi Hao was stupefied.
“What do you think? Otherwise, why would there be so many guardian spirits? Isn’t it all for the sake of collecting this mysterious force?” The little pagoda said.
Suddenly, the precious imprint trembled, becoming more sparkling and translucent. It began to release auspicious multicolored light, surrounding Shi Hao’s entire body. Endless splendor circled around him, as if he was a young emperor.
“This is…” He felt like there was a natural ‘great power’ to his every movement, as if he could move mountains and seas with just a raise of his hand and easily eliminate creatures anywhere.
Despite this being the case, he was still somewhat nervous.
“There’s no need to worry. As long as you don’t refine this type of mysterious force, there wouldn’t be a problem. Moreover, you can use the precious imprint to take in and release it.” The little pagoda said. It curled its lip and said, “It is trying to make you Stone Country’s Human Emperor, passing it all down to you.”
“How could that be?” Shi Hao didn’t understand.
“Otherwise, how could the mysterious force of the precious imprint be on your body? You have become the biggest beneficiary of this country’s offerings,” said the little pagoda.
Soon after, Shi Hao emerged from the small world. It was already about to break, so after the human emperor’s imprint was removed, it collapsed on its own and returned to nothingness.
Outside the central heavenly palace, the three sect’s experts stood together. Fairy Yue Chan, Qin Lun, and Zhang Six were at the lead. They were going to suppress and kill Shi Hao.
“Shi Hao, how long can you hide for? Are you still not going to come out?” An elder sneered.
Hong!
Suddenly, the entire central heavenly palace trembled. The looming draconic energy and endless auspicious light were both collected. The scene at the center of the enormous palace could be seen.
Everyone could see Shi Hao sitting majestically on the highest throne while looking down on everything. There seemed to be a mysterious force around his entire body, as if it was produced by the great energies of the world. There was a type of grandeur to him that could devour mountains and rivers.
He was clearly just a youth, but as he stood up there, it gave everyone an incredibly stifling pressure. They all trembled and shivered inwardly.
“Shi Hao, are you trying to seize the title of emperor? What nerve! You actually dare to sit in the emperor’s seat. Outrageous!” A noble shouted. Due to the three sects’ experts being present, none of them felt fear anymore.
“We were invited to assist Stone Country in finding its new emperor.” An elder from a great sect outside this region spoke in a dignified manner. He used the word assist, but he should have said that he was creating a puppet.
In addition, their way of barging into the imperial palace was truly too overbearing.
Shi Hao coldly watched them. The aura around his body surged even greater, as if all of the world’s energy was gathering into his body alone, as if he was going to turn himself into a heavenly sovereign.
Hong!
Suddenly, the main hall lit up. Countless golden multicolored lights surged, and an enormous decree appeared, illuminating the heavens. A powerful dao sound accompanied it.
“The one to inherit my position, Shi Hao…”
Everyone trembled. The Stone Emperor had left behind another edict, and right now, it had appeared. The throne was passed onto Shi Hao!