After encountering a damaged Bronze Armor Guard in the palace passageway and the scare proving to be nothing, Ye Qin and his group of seventeen or eighteen continued deeper inside. The cultivators proceeded slowly; the further they ventured into the depths of the Imperial Tomb palace, the more suffocating the pressure became. Nearing the main hall of the inner sanctuary, they required immense willpower for every single step, lest the crushing weight cause them to turn tail and flee.
Yet, beneath the colossal pressure, they eventually summoned their courage and followed the dark, abyssal passage inward. Only in the deepest recesses of the palace lay what they sought. Having already expended such tremendous effort, they were certainly not prepared to return empty-handed.
Exiting the passage brought them to the entrance of the inner hall, where they found a fallen Ninth-Order Puppet, a Silver Armor Guard. This Silver Armor Guard was only about two zhang tall, significantly smaller than the Bronze Armor Guard, with its chest completely caved in, seemingly destroyed by sheer force.
Surrounding the Silver Armor Guard were at least dozens of skeletal remains of Foundation Establishment cultivators, scattered haphazardly, revealing the devastating price paid by those who had entered the Imperial Tomb in years past to bring down this guardian.
They cautiously bypassed the Silver Armor Guard, traversed the intricate corridors of the inner hall, and finally arrived at the central chamber of the palace.
The hall was vast and empty, dominated at the center by an altar. This altar stood ten zhang high, intricately carved with numerous mysterious runes. At the very top of the altar rested a Coffin of Cold Ice, fashioned from azure Black Ice Jade.
Judging by the material of the ice coffin, it must be forged from Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Stone, known not only for its hardness but also for its ability to preserve a physical body indefinitely. Through the thick, azure Black Ice Jade, one could faintly discern the outline of a tall male cultivator clad in golden armor lying within.
Four prominent golden pillars stood erected around the altar, their brilliance almost blinding.
From each golden pillar extended a golden chain, thick as a human arm, fiercely piercing through the ice coffin and rigidly binding the Black Ice Jade sarcophagus to the altar. One of these golden chains had even pierced directly through the body of the man inside the coffin, lending an air of sinister grandeur to the hall.
Upon seeing this ice coffin, Ye Qin seemed to grasp something.
The mysterious pressure he had felt upon entering the palace emanated entirely from this coffin. The figure lying within must be the physical body of the Saint Emperor, a peak Nascent Soul cultivator who once unified the Saint Emperor Cultivation World. Besides this legendary Saint Emperor, no one else would merit resting within a Ten-Thousand-Year Black Ice Jade Coffin.
Ye Qin couldn't help but feel a profound shock. The Saint Emperor had been dead for ages, yet his incorruptible physical body still radiated such a suffocating aura—it was simply unbelievable.
However, Ye Qin still harbored a nagging confusion. The entire hall was visible at a glance; aside from the immensely valuable ice coffin, there was no other Spiritual Treasure to be found. What exactly were Shi Hanyang, Ma Dongyan, and the other high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators here for?
Were they intending to take the ice coffin?
Even if they harbored such an ambition, they would first need the ability to shatter those golden chains. He seriously doubted they possessed the skill to break chains forged by secret arts. If this ice coffin were so easily moved, it would have been taken by predecessors long ago; it wouldn't be left for them to attempt now. Clearly, their objective in entering this Imperial Tomb was not the coffin itself. Then what were they after?
Ye Qin cautiously surveyed the surroundings of the hall.
The middle of the hall was exceedingly bare. Apart from the altar, the ice coffin, and the four golden pillars secured by chains, there was nothing extraneous.
However, there was a set of stairs at the back of the hall, leading up to an inlaid throne upon which sat a single Gold Armor Guard. This Gold Armor Guard was only the size of a normal man, carrying a sword at its waist, sitting upright with closed eyes, emanating majesty, and utterly motionless.
When Ye Qin spotted the Gold Armor Guard on the throne to one side of the hall, his pupils contracted sharply. A supreme Ninth-Order Puppet, possessing strength equivalent to a peak Golden Core Ninth Layer cultivator. Following that, he paused slightly, relaxing his taut nerves, and indulged in self-mockery. "They are all damaged, useless puppets; they won't move, nothing to worry about."
He turned his gaze back toward the altar. Yet, a persistent feeling of unease lingered, refusing to dissipate.
The cultivators stood respectfully beneath the altar, gazing upward at the ice coffin and the Saint Emperor's remains within, their expressions complex.
Nascent Soul cultivators—undisputed sovereigns—had not appeared in the Cultivation Worlds of Lingwu, Tianqiong Plain, Wan Yue Lake, or the Chaotic Lands for ages beyond counting. Even in their wildest dreams, they dared not hope to one day become Nascent Soul cultivators themselves.
In reality, the only small aspiration they dared to hold was becoming Golden Core cultivators. Even this modest ambition often required two hundred years of arduous cultivation, sometimes even staking their lives on dangerous ventures, and still might not be achieved.
When the physical body of a Nascent Soul cultivator like the Saint Emperor appeared before their eyes, the complexity of the emotions they felt was imaginable. Reverence, envy, frustration... these conflicting sentiments swirled through their minds, finally dissolving into a sigh, wondering what level of talent and fortune would be required to possibly ascend to the Nascent Soul realm.
A profound silence settled over the hall; the surroundings were exceptionally quiet.
"You have arrived..."
A resonant, metallic voice echoed suddenly throughout the palace hall.
The cultivators startled, looking around, their gazes settling on the tiered platform at the north end of the hall, as the sound clearly originated from the throne occupied by the Gold Armor Guard. Indeed, the Gold Armor Guard, seated on the throne, moved its golden helmet. For reasons unknown, the gems in its eyes glowed red, flashing intermittently.
"Junior Shi Hanyang, Sect Master of the Sunset Sect in the Saint Emperor Cultivation World, a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, pays respects to Your Majesty, the Saint Emperor!" Shi Hanyang's face brightened with joy as he knelt respectfully on the ground, kowtowing toward the Gold Armor Guard, and spoke.
Shi Hanyang's address, "Your Majesty, the Saint Emperor," almost sent Ye Qin and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators visiting the Imperial Tomb for the first time into a state of sheer terror. Was the Nascent Soul cultivator, the Saint Emperor, still alive?!
Ma Dongyan and the other high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been to the Imperial Tomb before were not surprised; instead, they followed Shi Hanyang in bowing to the ground.
"Junior Ma Dongyan, a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator and Hermit from the Saint Emperor Cultivation World, pays respects to Your Majesty, the Saint Emperor."
"Junior Chu Hui, an Eighth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Three Origin Sect in the Saint Emperor Cultivation World, pays respects to Your Majesty, the Saint Emperor."
"Junior Miao Hai, an Eighth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Saint Emperor Cultivation World, pays respects to Your Majesty, the Saint Emperor."
......
The newly arrived cultivators, like Ye Qin, were quick-witted. Whether the claim was true or false, they immediately followed suit, kowtowing and announcing their names. In the cultivation world where strength reigns supreme, Foundation Establishment cultivators rarely even caught sight of Golden Core cultivators. To be summoned by a Nascent Soul cultivator was an honor beyond measure and a monumental stroke of fortune.
Even Golden Core cultivators would willingly pay any price short of their lives just for the chance to be addressed by a Nascent Soul cultivator. A single, brief word of guidance from a Nascent Soul cultivator could surpass decades or even a century of arduous solitary practice.
Ye Qin suddenly understood.
Shi Hanyang, Ma Dongyan, and the other high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators had always remained tight-lipped about the inner palace, never mentioning its specific details on the journey over. They braved the perilous Earth Flame Barrier through passages that opened only once every four or five decades, risking entry into the Imperial Tomb, all for the singular purpose of paying homage to the Saint Emperor and seeking that sliver of opportunity.
Ye Qin’s mind raced, frantically trying to make sense of the entire situation.
The Saint Emperor Cultivation World was overwhelmed and conquered by the cultivators from the Lingwu, Tianqiong Plain, and Wan Yue Lake realms. This subterranean Imperial Tomb had also been largely destroyed, with only a small portion of the palace preserved.
The Saint Emperor's body still lay within the ice coffin.
Logically, the Saint Emperor should be long dead.
But what was astonishing was that the Gold Armor Guard puppet could utter sounds.
This Gold Armor Guard was a high-level puppet created by the Saint Emperor; no one other than the Saint Emperor himself could command it. The Saint Emperor must still be alive... or at least, it could still command this Gold Armor Guard.
Ye Qin cast a strange look towards the golden-clad figure lying in the ice coffin on the altar.
"Shi Hanyang, I recall you visited once before... Since you have once again passed the trial of the Iron Armor Guards before the hall, you are granted the opportunity to present a tribute to this Emperor. What tribute have you brought this time, seeking to offer to this Emperor?"
The Gold Armor Guard's red eye-lights flickered as it stared down at Shi Hanyang below the dais, speaking in that humming tone.
"Your Majesty, the Saint Emperor, this is the offering from your junior. Within this bag are precious raw materials I have meticulously gathered over forty years: five pieces of Thousand-Year Profound Mother Iron Crystal, one piece of several-thousand-year-old Chicken Blood Spirit Stone, ten rare Ice-Fire Dragon Fruits, one piece of three-thousand-year-old Poria cocos... and ten mid-grade spirit stones of various affinities."
Upon receiving the inquiry from the Gold Armor Guard, Shi Hanyang quickly retrieved a large storage bag from his robes, holding it aloft with both hands.
The surrounding cultivators looked at Shi Hanyang with astonishment.
The items Shi Hanyang presented were valued at a minimum of over half a million low-grade spirit stones—an extraordinary sum. A typical Foundation Establishment cultivator might spend an entire lifetime and still fail to collect even a small fraction of these items. Yet, Shi Hanyang was prepared to offer them all to the Saint Emperor.
However, once they considered Shi Hanyang's purpose for being there—to break through the bottleneck of the Golden Core stage—they understood and felt a sense of release. Compared to the Great Dao of Golden Core formation, this tribute was not much. If offering such tribute could secure the formation of a Core, any cultivation sect would rush to send untold treasures here.
The Gold Armor Guard waved a hand, drawing the large storage bag over. It opened it, casually examining a piece of Profound Mother Iron Crystal, appearing quite satisfied. It put the crystal away and fixed its cold, red gaze upon Shi Hanyang.
"Then, what do you wish to obtain from this Emperor?"
"To form a Golden Core!"
A flush rose on Shi Hanyang’s face; he was intensely agitated, his voice trembling. This was all the wealth he possessed, and the sole focus of all his hopes. During his previous visit, having failed to bring sufficient tribute, he had lost the chance to gain an opportunity.
As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his lifespan was now over 170 years, and he had roughly thirty more years before his life essence depleted. If he could not manage to form a Core within these thirty years, his death would be near. He could not afford to wait for the next opening of the Imperial Tomb to present another tribute. This meant this was his single, solitary opportunity to obtain the Golden Core formation—the only path that could significantly extend his lifespan by over three hundred years.