Firmament Sword

But then, he said gruffly, ”You make a good point, but what I want to know is, how are you going to make a treasury like this appear in another world?”

As he spoke, the Monkey pointed at the mountain before them, then patted the storage pouch on his body and said with a hint of mockery, ”You going to fit it in this thing?”

Xu Luo gave a mysterious smile, recited a Technique, and shouted softly, ”Rise!”

RUMBLE!

The entire majestic mountain actually began to tremble slowly, and a slight tremor spread through the ground.

The Monkey was instantly stunned. He stared at Xu Luo in horror, took a few steps back, and exclaimed, ”What are you doing, raising the mountain? Causing such a commotion... Kid, are you insane? Are you planning to carry this mountain and run? You think we’re not a big enough target? That we won’t attract enough attention?”

Xu Luo didn’t answer. He focused his mind, activating the Bronze Divine Hall to retrieve the great mountain.

Amidst the continuous tremors, the mountain slowly lifted from the ground!

An immense, bottomless pit appeared in the earth!

The entire mountain was now hanging bizarrely in mid-air!

”A world in a grain of sand? How is that possible?”

The Monkey was still muttering to himself on the side, ”Only a Supreme Great Sect would possess a treasure capable of holding a Small World... How could you possibly have something like that? Don’t tell me you’re the holy son of some Supreme Great Sect?”

Xu Luo held his breath and fully extended his Divine Thought, completely enveloping the mountain in mid-air. Then, he let out a soft cry, ”Retrieve!”

HUMMM!

The mountain let out a hum, transforming into a streak of light and shooting directly into Xu Luo’s Dantian!

Before them, only an enormous... and bottomless pit remained!

The Monkey leaped back, craning his neck to stare at Xu Luo in astonishment. He bared his teeth and said, ”A pocket universe... You... You really have a treasure like that?”

With that, the Monkey circled Xu Luo several times, clicking his tongue in admiration. ”I just realized something,” he said. ”That treasure of yours is probably worth more than the big toad’s entire treasury!”

Xu Luo let out a long breath and looked at the Monkey irritably. ”I’m about to collapse from exhaustion, and you’re still dawdling. We need to run, now! What are you waiting for?”

The Monkey’s mouth twitched. He grumbled, ”You’re full of secrets, kid.”

This was no time for celebration. The most important thing was to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Xu Luo and the Monkey rushed back to his cave dwelling at top speed. After calling out Master Mao and the Golden Flood Dragon, the Monkey fiddled with the entrance for a long time, sealing the entire cave.

When he was finished, Xu Luo was a little surprised. ”You know a few tricks, huh?”

The Monkey looked smug, feeling like he’d finally scored a point. He bared his teeth and said, ”Of course. Everyone’s got a few tricks up their sleeve.”

The Monkey’s cave dwelling now looked as if it had been abandoned for a long time. Weeds grew forlornly, spiderwebs hung at the entrance, the ground was covered in dust, and the stone door was covered in rust. There was even some moss growing in the shadowy corners.

No matter how you looked at it, the place seemed to have been deserted for years. No one would ever guess that it had been inhabited just moments ago.

The Golden Flood Dragon had no idea what kind of monumental trouble Xu Luo and the Monkey had caused and was still watching with great interest. If it knew what these two troublemakers had done, it would probably faint on the spot.

And the first thing it would do upon waking up would be to kill itself, because even suicide was far better than being on the Infinite Saint Emperor’s hit list.

Master Mao, however, watched Xu Luo and the Monkey with suspicion. ’If these two didn’t do something that would enrage both heaven and humanity,’ it thought, ’why go to all this trouble?’

But in front of the Golden Flood Dragon, Master Mao didn’t ask, merely muttering to itself in its heart.

”Alright, let’s go!” the Monkey said to Xu Luo, taking one last, reluctant look at his cave dwelling.

”Okay.” Xu Luo nodded, and with Master Mao and the Golden Flood Dragon in tow, he followed the Monkey and took to the air.

For several days, the group traveled frantically, avoiding the territories of other royal clans. The Monkey led Xu Luo on a path out of the Vast Mountains.

Half a month later, they finally reached the edge of the Vast Mountains. After crossing a few more mountains, they would enter the central region of Xi Hezhou. That place... was already human territory!

Suddenly, from a distant place far behind them, a world-shaking roar erupted!

The sky above churned and changed color, and the ground beneath them trembled violently. Even from millions of miles away, the soul-shaking sensation was still so vivid!

It came in waves, crashing over them like a tide!

”Who is it?”

”Who did this?”

”Who killed this Saint Emperor’s eight subordinates?”

”Who stole this Saint Emperor’s treasury!”

”Get out here!”

”Get out here for this Saint Emperor to see!”

”ARGHHHHHHH!”

”My treasures, accumulated over seventy-five thousand years! The rare wonders I collected through countless hardships! Who! Who! WHO!”

”Whoever stole my treasury, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth!”

The furious roars boomed like thunderclaps over the endless Vast Mountains.

”Don’t let me find you! DAMN YOU!”

”To Tianya, to the corners of the sea, for all time and eternity... as long as this Saint Emperor lives, I will never give up the chase!”

”My precious treasures, ARGHHHHHH!”

”This Saint Emperor is ENRAGED!”

”Every single piece was collected by me through blood and sweat! Who stole them? Damn thief! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!”

The hysterical roars echoed across the millions of miles of the Vast Mountains.

They blended together, almost deafeningly loud!

All living beings in the Vast Mountains trembled, prostrating themselves on the ground, not daring to speak, move, or even breathe too loudly.

It was a terrifying pressure that pierced directly into the souls of all living things.

The Golden Flood Dragon looked at Xu Luo and the Monkey, trembling, and stammered, ”Wh-what... what did you two do?”

The Monkey gave a dry laugh. ”What’s it got to do with us?”

Master Mao was also looking at Xu Luo searchingly, trying to read his expression, while muttering, ”That guy’s copying me with all that ’argh-ing’!”

Xu Luo shrugged and spread his hands. ”We didn’t do anything. I guess... someone stole this guy’s treasures and pissed him off?”

Deep down, Xu Luo couldn’t help but feel a surge of fear. No matter how many times he had heard how powerful the Infinite Saint Emperor was, it was nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand.

The terrifying pressure was so clear from millions of miles away. Xu Luo even had a feeling that if he were to fight this Infinite Saint Emperor, he would likely be swatted dead in a single move!

He wouldn’t even have a chance to fight back!

Although he had long suspected that super-powerful experts existed in the Divine Domain, actually witnessing it gave Xu Luo a sense of powerlessness.

He quickened his pace, following the Monkey. They swiftly crossed the high mountains and finally left the Vast Mountains behind. Looking back, the mountain ranges rose and fell, connected end-to-end like giant dragons sleeping in a majestic aura.

Xu Luo and the Monkey looked at each other and both let out a long sigh of relief.

Xu Luo asked, ”Brother Hui, how many years has this Infinite Saint Emperor been cultivating?”

The Monkey thought for a moment, then said, ”No one knows the exact number. I only know that he’s one of the most ancient rulers of these Vast Mountains!”

The Golden Flood Dragon said, ”I heard from the king of my clan that Lord Infinite Saint Emperor has existed for at least a million years!”

”So... long-lived, arghhhhh!” Master Mao grumbled insincerely. What it really wanted to say was: ’What an old fossil who refuses to die!’

But thinking of the power that had just made its soul tremble, it subconsciously took the words back.

「...」

At this moment, at the edge of the enormous crater where Xu Luo and the Monkey had stolen the treasury, stood an old man in golden robes.

At first glance, the old man seemed quite benevolent, but a closer look revealed only a hazy blur, as if a layer of divine light shrouded his body, making it impossible for anyone to remember his appearance!

The worldly aura around the old man was filled with violence, seeming to ignite with his every breath.

This old man was an incarnation of the Infinite Saint Emperor. He stood at the edge of the deep crater, his eyes slightly closed, intently sensing everything in the world around him.

After a long while, his body suddenly trembled slightly. A trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth as his eyes flew open, shooting out two beams of divine light. A look of horror crossed his face.

’How can this be? I actually can’t divine what happened here?’

’The heavenly secrets are in chaos... I can’t see anything at all... This... this is impossible!’

’Could it be... that some great personage had designs on my treasury? That they came here personally, killed my subordinates, and then stole my treasury?’

”Could it be... the other Infinite Saint Emperor?”

As the old man spoke that name, a flash of cold disgust flickered in his eyes.

The Infinite Saint Emperor, and the other Infinite Saint Emperor—the two were terrifying, emperor-level existences, both rulers in these Vast Mountains who had been here for an unknown number of years.

The two rarely interacted, basically adhering to the principle that kings do not meet. They would never cross paths unless absolutely necessary.

’It’s unlikely... While the treasures in my treasury are all priceless, each one a masterpiece, for that great crocodile, the other Infinite Saint Emperor... it doesn’t seem to be enough to tempt him into acting personally.’

’But if not him... who could it be?’

’Someone capable of obscuring the heavenly secrets here, preventing me from divining the truth, and severing the connection with that wisp of my Divine Thought... leaving me completely unable to find a single trace.’

’Brilliant... truly brilliant!’

’However... I hate you to death! You damn... thief!’

’No matter what happens, I... will never let you go! Never!’

The old man’s face was savage. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it, and his expression grew darker. After a long period of contemplation, he waved his hand, and a dozen figures immediately emerged from thin air, kneeling behind him.

The old man commanded in an icy voice, ”From this moment on, you... will search every corner of the Vast Mountains for me. Look for any and all clues!”

”No matter who it is, if you find any relevant clues, report them to me immediately with a Sound Transmission Stone! I... will reward you handsomely!”

”Yes!” the group of beings answered in unison.

One of the beings asked, ”Master, what if the thief... is no longer in the Vast Mountains?”

The old man narrowed his eyes slightly and said, ”Then search outside! Those treasures... will eventually resurface! I have plenty of patience to wait for them to appear on their own. Remember... once you discover anything, you are not to act on your own. You must report it to me!”

”As you command!” The group of beings vanished into thin air, scattering in all directions.