Chapter 533
Secret
The Soul Searching Technique had no effect. Li Musheng glanced at the middle-aged man, then said with a hint of disinterest:
"You can tell me and come see."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man, with one hand behind his back, looked past Li Musheng, towards the dark horizon of the canyon before him, as if gazing in some direction beyond the secret realm, and said:
"What I'm about to tell you is a secret that few people in the world have known throughout history. In the last thousand years, probably only my brother and I have known about it."
As he spoke, a look of reminiscence appeared on the middle-aged man's face, but it was impossible to discern his true emotions.
Then, he slowly turned to look at Li Musheng and said:
"You must have heard of the Apocalypse Treasure."
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, the middle-aged man continued:
“I sensed the presence of the Apocalypse Treasure Key on you, and there is more than one key.”
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng looked the middle-aged man up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement:
"I never knew you had such abilities?"
As he spoke, he stroked his chin and said:
“That’s right. I have indeed collected four keys to the Apocalypse Treasure. Once I find the remaining three, I can unlock the treasure left behind by the Apocalypse Emperor.”
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man remained composed, his gaze sweeping over Li Musheng's chest, before suddenly asking:
"Do you know what's inside the Apocalypse Treasury?"
"I haven't even collected all the keys yet, how could I possibly know what's inside? However, the secret treasures left behind by the First Emperor of All Time must contain many valuable items."
Li Musheng spoke casually, then glanced at the middle-aged man, crossed his arms, and said:
"What exactly are you trying to say by beating around the bush? Can't you just get straight to the point?"
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly, a meaningful look appearing in them, and said:
"Didn't you ever consider that perhaps the Apocalypse Treasure Trove contains nothing at all, but is instead a monstrous trap that has plagued people for thousands of years?"
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng waved his hand dismissively and said:
"Whether it's a trap or not isn't up to you to decide; I have to see it for myself."
"As expected of the youngest martial god I have ever seen in history, he is indeed exceptionally courageous."
The middle-aged man gently clapped his hands and slowly said:
"In fact, the Apocalypse Treasure is both a trap and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If an ordinary person were to open the Apocalypse Treasure, it would be no different from courting death. But if it were you... perhaps the outcome would be different."
"And what I want to tell you is closely related to the Apocalypse Treasure."
As the middle-aged man spoke, his gaze shifted to the scattered white tiger skeleton in the deep pit of the canyon.
He then sighed softly and began to recount everything in detail:
"I don't need to say more about what kind of person my elder brother is. He possesses unparalleled talent and his achievements are unprecedented."
"But he was by no means a perfect man; his ambition was never satisfied with the whole world and those achievements that could last for ten thousand generations."
At this point, a very complex expression appeared on the middle-aged man's face. He remained silent for a moment before continuing:
"After establishing the Great Qi and unifying the world, the Tianqi Emperor, who was skilled in both divine and martial arts, had reached the pinnacle in both innate divine abilities and martial arts cultivation."
"At that time, he also had greater ambitions. He wanted to live forever and wanted to go further, and he would stop at nothing to achieve this."
"Therefore, the entire Great Qi became his tool to achieve his goals. He went east overseas and west into the desert. Wherever the experts of Great Qi went, rivers of blood flowed and corpses littered the ground." Hearing this, Li Musheng raised his eyebrows slightly. From the middle-aged man's words, he could tell that the Great Qi Emperor, the first emperor of all time, seemed to have the same troubles and goals as him.
However, the other party's status and power were far beyond his reach. As the emperor who controlled the entire country at that time, the power he could wield was unimaginable.
For example, the Meng family, to which Master Qingyu belonged, and the two ancient families on the overseas island of Qishan, had previously resisted the invading army of the Great Qi seeking the way to immortality, and even a martial god had taken action.
It is clear that the Tianqi Emperor spared no effort in pursuing his own goals.
At this moment, the middle-aged man's voice continued, saying:
"And so, Emperor Tianqi spent countless manpower and resources over more than a decade, and in the end, he really did find what he wanted."
At this point, the middle-aged man suddenly turned and gave Li Musheng a deep look, saying:
"The Tianqi Emperor was well aware that what he wanted was beyond human capability, but rather required the power of heaven and earth."
"Among all things in this world, there are naturally mythical beasts and ferocious creatures from ancient times. These non-human beings can live for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, and the power they wield is far beyond what ordinary people can compare to."
"The Tianqi Emperor discovered that only by obtaining the power of those divine beasts and ferocious beasts could he advance further; only by devouring their essence could he possess a lifespan as almost endless as theirs."
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng's heart stirred, but he remained outwardly calm and asked:
“I’ve checked the records. A thousand years ago, during the Great Qi period, all the mythical beasts such as the Qilin, Azure Dragon, and Vermilion Bird had already perished. If the Heavenly Qi Emperor wanted to devour their power, was he also collecting the remains of these mythical beasts?”
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, then slowly shook his head, and said:
"You guessed right, but it's much more than that."
"Back then, Emperor Tianqi not only seized and collected almost complete remains of the four divine beasts—the Fire Qilin, the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise—from all over the world, but he also wanted to take the skeleton of the ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger, from my hands."
At this point, the middle-aged man paused slightly and said:
"Due to some special reasons, I did not agree to the Tianqi Emperor's request, but this also brought disaster to me and my family."
"Moreover, Emperor Tianqi eventually took the remains of the ferocious beast White Tiger from the White Tiger Heaven and Earth Secret Realm."
Hearing this, Li Musheng frowned, his gaze falling on the scattered bones in the deep pit, and said:
"Wait, aren't the remains of the ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger, still here?"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man sighed and said:
"The skeleton of the ferocious white tiger in front of me was brought back to the Western Desert from the capital of the Great Qi Dynasty by me. Back then, the Tianqi Emperor used countless manpower and resources to collect the skeletons of the five great divine beasts and ferocious beasts to the imperial palace in the capital."
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng frowned, a rare occurrence, and pondered for a moment before saying:
"If what you're saying is true, then Emperor Tianqi must have already absorbed the power of the five divine beasts and ferocious beasts back then. Doesn't that mean that he may have already achieved his goal back then, not only increasing his strength but also possessing an extremely long lifespan?"
However, when faced with Li Musheng's question, the middle-aged man shook his head and said:
"I don't know. When I went to the capital to retrieve the remains of the ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger, the Tianqi Emperor had already passed away." (End of Chapter)