Chapter 1798: Immortal Ruler Remains
Zu An was a bit surprised. He had studied ‘One Drop of Heaven’s Essence’ before and knew that most emperors particularly valued the mountain form. And yet, the owner here had actually used constellations? This was on an entirely new level! He wondered just how that starry sky had been created. It was as if he were in the middle of a science fiction scene.
Zhao Han’s attention quickly shifted to the bronze coffin. His many years of experience told him that the owner of a tomb would often bury their own most precious items with them in their own coffin.
Qiu Honglei looked around and said, “Something’s strange. There aren’t any burial goods nearby at all.”
Normally, tombs often contained items that the owner had used in life, as well as many other burial goods. But apart from the coffin, there wasn’t a single burial object. It was cleaner than a tomb robbed repeatedly by tomb raiders… At the very least, tomb raiders would leave behind things they didn’t want. Qiu Honglei even began to wonder if the door wasn’t locked because someone else had already come here first and cleaned the entire room out.
Jing Teng replied, “The immortal ruler didn’t really die; this is merely where his mortal remains are. That’s why it isn’t too surprising for there to not be any burial objects.”
Zu An was a bit confused. What are the mortal remains she’s talking about? A corpse?
But the people of the world had clearly seen Immortal Ruler Baopu ascend to immortality! Could it be that his flesh had died while his soul ascended?
Zhao Han was also considering the same issue. Could it be that his previous thoughts were wrong?
The flesh needs to be nourished by food of this world and definitely can’t ascend. That’s why you have to focus on the soul…
When he then thought about the power of a primordial spirit, a trace of inspiration flashed through his mind. No wonder no one had ascended to immortality in several millennia! All of them had focused on ascending with both flesh and soul, but in reality, the flesh could never ascend to begin with. He was greatly stirred. He felt as if he had touched upon some crucial doorstep.
But the flesh was the vessel for the spirit, what protected the soul. Without the flesh, no matter how powerful the primordial spirit was, how could it continue to exist?
He had too many questions he didn’t have answers to. However, he didn’t lose his wits enough to rush over and open the coffin. How could an immortal’s possessions not have any protection around them?
Jing Teng didn’t have such misgivings, and walked right up to the giant coffin. She pushed the lid open in a single go.
The others were speechless. Wasn’t this woman just a bit too fearless? They felt worried for her sake, but surprisingly, nothing bad happened.
The group quickly walked over. There was none of the foul stench that normal coffins had; rather, they smelled a faint medicinal fragrance. Inside was a ring of assorted goods. What calmly rested at the center was an even smaller copper coffin.
It turned out that the large coffin had an outer and inner layer. What they had seen was actually just the outer coffin, and the space within was filled with all sorts of containers. These were the things that the tomb’s master had used in life. But no matter how they inspected the items, they were just things used in daily life.
There were some weapons and other things in another corner. They could tell that there were many high quality goods, but Zu An and Zhao Han both had deity-grade weapons. The weapons looked sharp, but they weren’t even heaven-grade; they were just a pile of earth-grade weapons. For ordinary people, they would be precious, but for the people here, they weren’t that moving.
Zu An was even a bit doubtful. This was a glorious immortal ruler. Why were the weapons he had used so… ordinary?
Suddenly, Zhao Han’s hands moved swiftly. With a wave of his hand, a small pill furnace entered his hands. The sound of spinning was audible from inside, clearly caused by some kind of pill.
“I gave you all the precious Soulburn Firecrystal earlier, so it isn’t going too far for me to take this, right?” Zhao Han remarked, his divine sense already entering the pill furnace. There were three pills inside, and every single one gave off a rich fragrance. Even those small injuries to his soul he had suffered in his battle with Ghost King received some nourishment, so these pills were definitely extraordinary.
Furthermore, the medicinal fragrance that filled the entire coffin came from this pill furnace. How could medicine that was buried with an immortal be nothing special? It could even be the legendary immortal elixir!
When he thought about how he could potentially become immortal, Zhao Han’s skin twitched a bit. He almost couldn't hide the joy he was feeling. He had kept a low profile all this time, but now that the end of his lifespan was approaching and he had finally obtained a chance at eternal life, how could he not be excited?
However, with the way things were, he couldn't eat it immediately either. In the future, he would find a secluded place to slowly digest it.
Zu An said with a frown, “I heard that there was more than one pill in that furnace. Can’t you take just one of them? Divide the rest of them with us.”
He actually didn’t believe the pills were all that precious. If it continued to release that fragrance, after so many years, the medicinal properties should already have mostly disappeared. Of course, more importantly, Jing Teng had given him a look earlier, indicating that these pills weren’t any legendary immortal pills.
The reason Zhao Han was so worked up was because he was a bit emotional at the moment. He cared too much about the immortal elixir and wouldn’t let even the slightest possibility go.
“You’re all still young, so this pill won’t have much effect. There are still plenty of opportunities awaiting you. Furthermore, strictly speaking, these pills might not even be as precious as the Soulburn Firecrystal,” Zhao Han said. There was naturally no way he would give them up.
“In that case, why don’t we trade?” Zu An asked with a sneer.
“There’s no need to go so far as to trade.” Zhao Han sneered. “How about I let you all have your pick of the next treasure?”
Either way, even if there was anything especially great, he could just steal it then. He would just give them a bit of lip-service for the time being.
Only then did Zu An let it pass. Either way, it was all a bluff anyway. The pills weren’t all that useful, so it was good enough to exchange them for a promise from Zhao Han. Even though he knew that for something really precious, Zhao Han definitely won’t step aside, if they encountered something else like the Soulburn Firecrystal that Zhao Han wasn’t in too much of a hurry to get, they wouldn’t immediately become hostile.
…
The group then turned their attention to the coffin at the center. Jing Teng reached out her hand.
Qiu Honglei couldn't help but swallow anxiously, asking, “Is it okay to disturb his rest like that?”
Even Zhao Han became vigilant. It was one thing if there were no traps outside, but this coffin was already the most important thing, so how could it not have any restrictions? Was Immortal Ruler Baopu really not worried that his corpse would be defiled by later generations?
Jing Teng shook her head and said, “It’s fine.”
After saying this, she pushed open the lid. The others vaguely saw a trace of fiery light. They were all stunned. Why was there fire inside a coffin?
As the coffin slowly opened, however, they finally saw what the light was. There was an ember calmly floating at the head of the coffin. They could vaguely make out a small wick at the center of the flame. However, there was no lantern, nor was there any fuel such as wax. The coffin should have been completely sealed, so there couldn’t have been much oxygen either. And yet, the ember seemed to be ever-burning.
Zu An thought to himself, Newton is about to roll in his grave! Even though he knew that this world of cultivation had all sorts of bizarre things and couldn't be completely explained by his previous world’s science, the sight before him was a bit too ridiculous.
Qiu Honglei was startled. She was a light element cultivator and used the Empress Lantern. The mysterious ember strangely called out to her, as if it were something extremely important to her.
Jing Teng had already completely moved aside the cover. The ember released strands of gentle light, clearly illuminating the inside of the coffin.
An elder lay calmly inside, a seven-star crown on his head. He was dressed in white daoist robes. Even though his eyes were closed, there was still a mystical and aloof air about him. His skin was still rosy and smooth. He wasn’t like a corpse at all; instead, he was more like a sleeping person.
Even Zhao Han took a step back. This person had an incredible reputation, so even though he was still a bit excited, after seeing how strong the Ghost King was, and having someone even stronger than the Ghost King in front of him, there was no way he wouldn’t be nervous.
Jing Teng was in a daze as she looked at the daoist in the coffin. She even seemed to look a bit lost.
Zhao Han quickly asked, “This is Immortal Ruler Baopu?”
That was what he cared about the most, because it was related to his immortal opportunity. He found it a bit strange. Even though this daoist looked quite extraordinary, he didn’t sense the terrifying pressure he had been expecting.
“It should be…” Jing Teng replied absent-mindedly.
“If it is, it is. If it isn’t, it isn’t. What do you mean, should?” Zhao Han asked, dissatisfied. Why was she being so vague with such an important question?
Zu An frowned. Jing Teng was clearly not completely herself right now, and yet Zhao Han was still interrogating her like this. Knowing that being so forceful probably wouldn’t work, he suddenly thought of something. He noticed that there was a snow-white porcelain bottle at the daoist’s side and that it had to be something special, so he reached his hand out.
Sure enough, Zhao Han’s attention shifted. He stared right at the bottle. When Zu An opened it, he saw a milky liquid inside. It looked extremely viscous, as if it were liquid jade.
“Agate of Enlightenment! It’s actually Agate of Enlightenment!” Mi Li suddenly exclaimed excitedly.