Chapter 829: Emperor Wu Shi's Edict
"Really... this edict... is it real?!" Li Heishui felt his mouth go dry, swallowing with difficulty, finding it unbelievable.
This golden paper was solemn and vast, sacred and peaceful. The aura it emitted made one want to kneel down and worship. Such a thing was impossible to imitate—it was definitely an artifact of an ancient Great Emperor.
"How is this possible? Is there really still a living Great Emperor in the present world?" Even the Monkey was stunned, as if hearing that the Battle Saint Emperor had been resurrected.
The Big Black Dog held its massive head high, quite arrogant, its entire body radiating divine radiance. It appeared solemn and dignified, utterly sacred. "Of course."
"Let me see it—what does it say?" Ye Fan reached out, his heart pounding. By instinct, he knew this was a divine paper.
"This involves heavenly secrets—it's not something just anyone can see. But since we're all acquaintances, I'll be generous. Just casually give me a Sacred Fruit, or half a Divine Immortality Pill, and I'll let you take a good look." Black Emperor put on airs, baring a mouthful of big white teeth, speaking with great affectation.
Its nature truly was hard to change. Ye Fan went to snatch it, but his mind shook violently, because an imperial might spread out, making him very uncomfortable.
"It's half-price because we're acquaintances. If that fat bastard who spends all day digging up graves wanted to see it, everything would be doubled." Big Black stared at Duan De.
"Emperor Wu Shi is still alive? That's way too absurd." The Unscrupulous Taoist rubbed his nose.
By now, Ye Fan had taken Emperor Wu Shi's edict into his hands. The divine paper swirled with light, making his entire body appear peaceful and crystalline.
He turned it over and over, personally experiencing a kind of vastness and majesty, bathed in a sacred glow—yet he saw no words at all.
"Well? Stunned, aren't you? Can't recognize the characters? Need this Emperor to teach you the supreme divine script?" The Big Black Dog said arrogantly.
"What's written on it? Let me see." Li Tian couldn't wait, taking it from Ye Fan's hands. He stared at it for a long time before saying, "This wordless heavenly book... is damn profound!"
"Is that so? Let this poor Daoist have a look." Duan De leaned in to examine it, but at the same time stayed on guard against being bitten by the dog, remaining very cautious.
"Based on my many years of grave-robbing experience, this wordless heavenly book... damn it, there are no words at all!" Fatty Duan reached this conclusion.
"Dead dog, are you messing with us?"
"Woof, wrong one, sorry. It should be another sheet." The Big Black Dog scratched its head, looking embarrassed.
"And here I thought it was a wordless heavenly book. I wasted my reverence and respect—turns out it's just a blank piece of paper." Li Tian was the most indignant.
"I came in a hurry and grabbed a few sheets. Didn't realize I grabbed the wrong one." The Big Black Dog explained guiltily.
"What? You grabbed a few sheets? That's not even worth anything, is it?" Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Don't doubt this Emperor. This time it's definitely the real thing, enough to awe the ten thousand clans. As soon as it manifests, everyone will have to bow. Are you ready?" The Big Black Dog asked.
"Go to hell! You pull out a stack of edicts—who would believe that?!" Even Li Heishui voted no confidence.
The Big Black Dog kept spitting out divine papers, but they were all wordless heavenly books. The papers shimmered with holy light and carried the aura of an ancient Great Emperor, yet they were all blank.
"Dead dog, you really know how to mess with us!" Ye Fan wanted to kick it.
Only Duan De quietly tried to hide a paper, wanting to keep it for himself, his eyes darting with a thief's gleam. "Good stuff! The Great Emperor's personal paper—and quite a lot of it!"
"Damn it, fatso, if you dare swallow even one sheet, I'll bite you ten thousand times and keep you as a human pet!" The Big Black Dog threatened fiercely while still spitting out papers. "These are all for padding my bed."
"Truly... damn... extravagant!" The habitual grave robber Duan De's eyes turned red.
"Do you really have Emperor Wu Shi's edict?" Li Heishui doubted.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the entire world shook. A vast aura spread out. A divine paper blazed with light ten thousand feet high, carrying a different, extraordinary aura compared to the other papers.
"This is it!"
They entered the Jade Pool. Along the way, many people felt their hearts tremble, as if facing an eternal monument, nearly falling to their knees.
This time, the Big Black Dog held its head high. It didn't need to pretend to be solemn and sacred anymore—this paper illuminated every inch of its body, making it shine with brilliant holy light.
"Be careful. This Emperor is about to activate divine power." At that moment, it only exerted a tiny bit of divine power, and the paper instantly seemed to come alive.
"Boom!"
A terrifying wave of energy erupted, surging like a vast ocean, sweeping through the Jade Pool. Several ancient characters shone through the divine paper, profound and obscure, difficult to decipher.
From the nine heavens above, auspicious rays descended. On the earth, precious lotuses bloomed. All kinds of multicolored light steamed up, creating a sacred scene that submerged the Big Black Dog at the center.
More precisely, it enveloped the edict, turning it into an eternal light. This aura could not be faked—it belonged to an ancient Great Emperor!
It wasn't the divine power to suppress the heavens, but it was as vast as an ocean. Faintly, celestial music could be heard. In the distance, all kinds of spirit birds took flight, and within the pure land, every flower bloomed at once.
"What... an ancient Great Emperor's edict has arrived?!"
In the Jade Pool, many ancient kings stood up in shock, not even the human sages were exceptions. Their perception was the most acute—their cultivation realms allowed them to easily touch upon the Dao marks of this level.
"There's no extreme divine power to intimidate, but there's no mistake—this is the unique aura of an existence like a Primordial Emperor!" An ancestral king said with a trembling voice.
"Let's go take a look." Chaos Expansion Great Sage was very calm, standing up and walking outside.
Gai Jiuyou also rose, following the crowd outward. They could clearly see a divine paper suspended ahead, with a large dog standing proudly, enveloped in divine radiance.
The edict bore four characters, shaking people's hearts. The brushstrokes were vigorous and powerful, pressing down on people until they could barely breathe. This spiritual pressure only terrified the ancestral kings, causing them to break out in cold sweat.
Ordinary people weren't even qualified—they couldn't trigger that spiritual pressure. The stronger one was, the more terrifying it felt.
"Is this truly an ancient Great Emperor's edict?" An ancient king asked with a trembling voice.
"Indeed!" Black Emperor said with immense pride, speaking loudly: "This Emperor personally comes to proclaim the edict of Emperor Wu Shi!"
Emperor Wu Shi's edict!
As soon as these words were spoken, the Jade Pool immediately erupted. Everyone couldn't help shouting, all staring at this direction, looking at Black Emperor, instantly boiling over.
The divine paper blazed with light ten thousand feet high, growing even more brilliant, illuminating the entire world. Holy radiance spread to every corner, inspiring both awe and peace.
"Who are you? How can you be sure this is Emperor Wu Shi's edict?" An ancestral king asked.
"You've asked the right question. Listen well—this Emperor reveals his true identity in the world for the first time." Black Emperor swept his gaze across the surroundings, standing on the high platform, and said: "I am none other than Black Emperor, the mountain-guarding beast under Emperor Wu Shi!"
The Jade Pool fell silent. Everyone stared ahead, looking at it, looking at the edict, astonished and bewildered.
The ancient clans frowned deeply. The character "Emperor" had special significance. For this dog to be so blasphemous as to take such a name made them uncomfortable.
"Don't you know who it is yet? Some ancient records mention it—Emperor Wu Shi adopted a young dog in his later years..." Duan De spoke from within the crowd.
"It's him... I've heard of this secret!" Some sect leader-rank figures exclaimed in shock.
The Jade Pool immediately buzzed with noise. A dog had caused a great commotion, bringing Emperor Wu Shi's edict, leaving people stunned.
"Nonsense! This Emperor is a born sacred emperor, a reincarnated deity." Black Emperor brazenly boasted.
Mountain-guarding Black Emperor, indeed—more like a mountain-guarding beast, greatly exaggerated by itself. Ye Fan and the others silently cursed, but they were still quite shocked. Black Emperor was revealing its origins for the first time.
"What characters are those? Why can't they be deciphered?" Some ancient kings were uncertain, but they could already tell this was written by a Great Emperor.
"These are the special characters used by ancient emperors and great emperors after attaining the Dao!" Chaos Expansion Great Sage said. After careful examination, he read out the ancient characters: "No Saints Under Heaven!"
"Correct, it's 'No Saints Under Heaven.'" Gai Jiuyou also said.
"Hiss!"
A group of people sucked in cold air, all stunned. Was this Emperor Wu Shi's intention? Issuing such an edict was shocking.
"If you don't believe it, go see for yourselves!" Black Emperor was very generous, sending the divine paper out. A group of ancient kings shuddered, all retreating, only slowly gathering around after a long time.
They examined it for a long time. No one spoke; they all fell silent. Was a human Great Emperor still alive, about to seal them away?
"As I said earlier, saints should cultivate in seclusion and leave this world to the young." Gai Jiuyou said.
Chaos Expansion Great Sage's expression was cold. "Good, good, good. All races coexist. The future period will be very peaceful."
They invited the edict into the Jade Pool's secret grounds to continue discussions. But the tone was already set. Outside, the crowd could clamor all they wanted—everything was coming to an end.
"Is Emperor Wu Shi really alive?" In a secluded place, Ye Fan grabbed one of Black Emperor's big ears and asked seriously.
"Of course. Emperor Wu Shi is unmatched under heaven and above earth. He wanted to suppress even the Immortal Domain, but he searched the nine heavens and ten lands and couldn't find it. Lonely for ten thousand ages, invincible in the river of time." The Big Black Dog answered firmly.
"Where is he?" Li Tian's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help leaning in, acting overly familiar.
"How would I know? I haven't seen him for many tens of thousands of years. I guess he entered the Immortal Domain." Black Emperor said.
The group turned to stone, then all pounced on it, grabbing its neck and asking at the same time: "Where did that edict come from?"
"Damn it! You're blaspheming the great Black Emperor! Let go!" Black Emperor coughed.
"Speak quickly! Where did that edict really come from?" The group choked it until its eyes were rolling back.
"I'll talk... let go. Emperor Wu Shi wrote it over a hundred thousand years ago, and I used it to pad my bed." Black Emperor stuck out its long tongue and revealed the truth.
Everyone was dumbfounded. This edict had been pulled out of a dog's den. Could this dog be any more ridiculous? It had deceived a group of ancient kings.
"The edict is real, no mistake, but that's not what it means." The Big Black Dog muttered.
"No Saints Under Heaven" wasn't directed at all the saints under heaven, but rather described a moral character—no one under heaven could be a saint; there was no perfect person in the world.
"The heavens are flawed, people are incomplete. Perfection leads to destruction. Immortals do not exist in this world..." Black Emperor muttered mysteriously, reciting a few lines. It hadn't heard clearly back then and only remembered fragments.
"Immortals don't exist?" Duan De muttered to himself, then shook his head, saying that was impossible!
"What Emperor Wu Shi meant was that there are no immortals in this world. I think he saw where the immortals were, so he disappeared, ascended, and went to another world." The Big Black Dog said.
"Dead dog, how many secrets are you still hiding from us? Speak!" Ye Fan grabbed it and wouldn't let go.
"Kid, you ran off for twelve years. What did you encounter in the star domain? Speak!" The Big Black Dog bit back.
The Jade Pool assembly soon came to an end. Not long after, a shocking piece of news spread across the five domains: No Saints Under Heaven—the world would be harmonious and peaceful.
"Is this a sign of peace? I see it as the beginning of a blood-soaked path. The bloodlines of ancient emperors, the true sons of ancient Great Emperors who survived the dark ages—are they all about to emerge?!" Some cultivators with long years of experience immediately smelled the scent of blood.
"Kid, let go! This time, in suppressing the ten thousand clans, if anyone deserves the greatest credit, it's me. Regarding the God-Sealing List, regarding everything about Emperor Wu Shi, this Emperor has silently made enormous contributions, enough to shake heaven and earth and move gods and ghosts!" Black Emperor shouted.
"I want to ask you—where did Little Nannan go?"
"She ascended to immortality!" Black Emperor's single sentence made Ye Fan stagger, almost falling to the ground.