"In that case, from the Sacred Emperor all the way to the distant Spirit Mist City, could one directly utilize these ancient teleportation arrays for transit?" Ye Qin was suddenly startled. After hearing the Sacred Emperor's words, he immediately realized this possibility.

"Naturally."

"But, I have only heard of short-range teleportation arrays. I have never heard of these ancient arrays capable of transporting one tens of thousands, or even millions of li, existing?"

"What's so strange about that? For a cultivator to use an ancient array for ultra-long-distance teleportation, it generally costs between fifty to one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones. In ancient times when Spirit Stones were abundant, ancient cultivators wouldn't feel the pinch spending such a large sum for transit. But now, with Spirit Stones becoming increasingly scarce, who would be willing to expend such a fortune just to teleport? Nowadays, almost no one uses these ancient arrays anymore; ordinary low-level cultivators have gradually forgotten about them. Only cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above occasionally still utilize them."

Ye Qin quickly calculated: one trip cost roughly fifty to one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones, which equated to five thousand to ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. Keep in mind that a low-grade magical artifact cost only one thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. Moreover, this was for transporting just one cultivator; the Spirit Stone consumption was astonishingly high. Apart from cultivators above the Golden Core stage, no one could afford such a lavish expense.

However, Ye Qin’s heart was stirred by the prospect of these ancient teleportation arrays. This array could allow him to reach Xian Yuan City in other Cultivation Realms in an extremely short time, saving a vast amount of time—perhaps he would need it in the future.

"Your Majesty, may I ask where the Sacred Emperor Cultivation Realm’s ancient teleportation array is located?"

"The ancient array in Sacred Emperor City is, of course, within Sacred Emperor City on the surface. If you agree to one condition from this Emperor, this Emperor can offer you a small favor and send you out of this underground Imperial Mausoleum."

"Able to leave this underground Imperial Mausoleum? The passages here have all been blocked, how can one leave?" A flicker of pleasant surprise finally appeared on Ye Qin’s face.

"Ha! Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. When this Emperor constructed this underground Imperial Mausoleum, how could I fail to leave a retreat path? Within this Mausoleum, there is a hidden, small teleportation array that leads directly to Sacred Emperor City on the surface... You need not search for it; unless this Emperor directs you, you will never find where this small array is located. Now, let us strike a small bargain."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

Ye Qin felt invigorated, suppressing the excitement churning in his heart, and spoke calmly. It was not easy to force the Sacred Emperor to initiate a trade with him. It seemed his reckless digging around the palace had inadvertently struck the Sacred Emperor's weakness, compelling him to rather send Ye Qin away than keep him here. Ye Qin immediately stopped using his flying sword to damage the Mausoleum. He did not want to push the Sacred Emperor too far; otherwise, if things fell apart, he wouldn't gain any benefit either.

"This Emperor will tell you the location of the small teleportation array inside the underground Imperial Mausoleum, as well as the location of the ancient array on the surface. In return, you must leave this Emperor’s Golden Armored Guard behind. That Golden Armored Guard is of no use to you; you cannot use it at all."

The Sacred Emperor presented his trade. He had initially expected Ye Qin to agree immediately upon hearing this condition, but the result was beyond his expectation.

"Impossible! I will cease damaging any plant or tree in this palace. In exchange, Your Majesty must inform me of the array's location and allow me to leave. That is a fair trade. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Golden Armored Guard."

Ye Qin flatly rejected the proposed deal with unusual firmness. In truth, the Golden Armored Guard served him little purpose, and returning it to the Sacred Emperor was not out of the question. However, he was unwilling to suffer such a loss just to benefit the Sacred Emperor for nothing.

"Oh? Under what terms will you consent to return this Emperor's Golden Armored Guard? If you refuse to return the Guard, then do not even dream that this Emperor will tell you the location of the teleportation arrays."

The Sacred Emperor suppressed his rage and spoke fiercely. He longed to leap out of the ice coffin and devour Ye Qin whole. This brat was pushing his luck, taking an advantage and then playing coy—he was truly despicable.

"It is very simple. A trade requires like for like. Currently, this Golden Armored Guard and the Sumeru Ring belong to me. If Your Majesty wishes to reclaim the Golden Armored Guard and the Sumeru Ring, you had better exchange them for two items of equal value."

"What? The Sumeru Ring must also be calculated separately?!"

"Naturally. These are two magical artifacts. The Golden Armored Guard is Your Majesty's greatest asset; without it, Your Majesty can barely move within the Mausoleum Palace. As for the Sumeru Ring, it contains countless treasures and raw materials; how could I possibly return it to Your Majesty for free?!"

"..."

The Sacred Emperor fell silent. "Fine, I can give you what you desire. But you must swear by the Reverse Blood Curse that you will not violate the terms of the trade, and after the transaction, you must return the Golden Armored Guard and the Sumeru Ring to this Emperor. Otherwise, you will suffer the agony of your vital energy flowing backward day after day."

"Your Majesty must also swear that after I return the Golden Armored Guard, you will not command it to pursue and kill me."

"Agreed!"

The Sacred Emperor and Ye Qin simultaneously recited the Reverse Blood Curse, swearing their oaths never to violate the terms. The Reverse Blood Curse was a notoriously venomous incantation in the Cultivation World, using one's own blood as a medium for the oath. Violating the oath resulted in vital energy surging backward, causing immense damage to the physical body and severely hindering cultivation. For a cultivator, this meant the path of advancement was utterly blocked—a fate far worse than death. Cultivators rarely used this spell to swear oaths.

"Speak. What do you wish for?"

"I wish to exchange this Golden Armored Guard for one Core Formation Pill!" Ye Qin set his sights immediately on the Core Formation Pill.

His greatest desire upon leaving the underground Imperial Mausoleum was the method for achieving Core Formation.

"This Emperor possesses no Core Formation Pill. This Emperor already explained this to Shi Hanyang, and you were present as well."

"Then Your Majesty, tell me, where can Shi Hanyang find the spiritual herbs required to refine the Core Formation Pill?"

"Spirit Mist Cultivation Realm, Southern Liang Kingdom, Canglan Prefecture, Lü Family Fort."

"The Southern Liang Kingdom, the Lü Clan?" Ye Qin was momentarily stunned. The Southern Liang Kingdom was near Spirit Mist Xian Yuan City. And the overlord of the Southern Liang Kingdom was precisely the Lü Clan.

"Surprised, aren't you? When this Emperor was at the Foundation Establishment stage, I traveled and passed through Lü Family Fort while cultivating in the Spirit Mist Cultivation Realm. It was a very small cultivation family. Near Lü Family Fort, there was a spiritual fruit tree. None of the Lü Family knew of such a miraculous object. The fruit borne by this spiritual tree is the most crucial spiritual medicine for refining the Core Formation Pill. With this spiritual fruit, obtaining the other necessary ingredients becomes much easier."

"But, to my knowledge, the Southern Liang Kingdom has a Lü Clan, a major family with Golden Core cultivators. Could this spiritual fruit have already been taken by the Lü Clan?"

"...That is beyond this Emperor's knowledge. The last time I went there was a thousand years ago. A thousand years is an eternity; it is entirely possible the Lü Family has flourished. The Lü Family itself is nothing, but finding that spiritual fruit remains extremely perilous. You will understand the situation once you arrive there. This Emperor has already conveyed this crucial piece of intelligence. The Golden Armored Guard should now be returned to this Emperor. Furthermore, there is still one Sumeru Ring; what do you wish to exchange it for?"

"I myself don't know what to ask for in exchange. Why don't Your Majesty name a price? If I find it acceptable, I will return both the Golden Armored Guard and the Sumeru Ring to Your Majesty," Ye Qin said with a slight smile.

"Take out the Golden Armored Guard, and I will retrieve a usable magical artifact from the Sumeru Ring and give it to you."

Ye Qin hesitated slightly before taking the Golden Armored Guard out of the storage pouch at his waist. Given the Sacred Emperor's status, and having sworn an oath, he should not violate the vow to launch a surprise attack.

At that moment, a thread of divine sense swept out from the ice coffin. The intensity of the Sacred Emperor's divine sense was still insufficient to control the ninth-tier puppet, the Golden Armored Guard, but it was enough to open the Sumeru Ring.

The Sumeru Ring held by the Golden Armored Guard opened, and immediately a small, palm-sized patch of dark cloud mist floated out.

Ye Qin retreated several zhang, watching the small cluster of dark clouds vigilantly.

"Your Majesty, what is this?"

"Don't be nervous. This is the Dark Cloud Screen. It is a magical artifact this Emperor used in the past, and the divine sense and aura imprinted upon it have been completely erased, not affecting your use in the slightest. Artifacts of this type are extremely difficult to refine; they are typically high-grade artifacts used by Golden Core cultivators, possessing functions for flight, defense, and attack. Although your cultivation is only at the third or fourth layer of Foundation Establishment, you can still barely manipulate it to exert one or two-tenths of its power. It can even deflect the vast majority of the force from an attack by a Golden Core cultivator."

"Exchanging the clue about the spiritual fruit for the Golden Armored Guard, I am perfectly willing. However, using such a high-grade artifact seems a lesser value than the Sumeru Ring!"

"The Dark Cloud Screen has several very special qualities. Firstly, among all Cloud Barrier artifacts, the Dark Cloud Screen is the fastest. Secondly, when a cultivator hides within it, the outside world cannot detect them; they merely appear as floating clouds in the sky, providing excellent concealment. With such an artifact in hand, you can travel anywhere in the Central Earth Continent quickly. When you go to Lü Family Fort to pick the spiritual fruit someday, this artifact will be of great assistance. While the Golden Armored Guard and the Sumeru Ring are of immeasurable value, they can only be used by this Emperor and are worthless to you. If you are fortunate enough to reach Core Formation, wouldn't that be thousands of times better than having only the Golden Armored Guard and the Sumeru Ring in hand?"

The Sacred Emperor had even considered this for Ye Qin, which unexpectedly made it harder for Ye Qin to argue further.

Ye Qin scratched his head and smiled faintly. One must not be too greedy; excessive greed ruins good things.

He beckoned, summoning the Dark Cloud Screen, and sent a burst of magical power into it. The Dark Cloud Screen rapidly expanded, instantly turning into a floating cloud several zhang wide, gently lifting him up. Standing on the cloud mist, it felt soft and yielded without resistance.

Admittedly, this was a flying artifact, and its speed was naturally extremely fast, far exceeding that of Sword Flight.

Ye Qin had once seen the Golden Core level ancestor of the Red Cloud Sect, the Red Cloud Ancestor, who possessed a similar Blood Cloud artifact. In just a few blinks, he could travel hundreds of li, leaving no trace. Ye Qin's cultivation was lower, so he couldn't compare to the Red Cloud Ancestor, but with this artifact, his flying speed was certain to increase significantly.