Outside the Emperor's Tomb, Fanzhou was in upheaval.
Inside the Emperor's Tomb, the burial ground was desolate.
A golden throne shone brilliantly in the darkness, effortlessly overshadowing the light emitted by the piles of white bones.
The King sat upon the throne, His presence domineering and extraordinary.
"And you? Who are you?"
"Are you a demon?"
"Or a human?"
"Are you Bai Mang?"
"Or are you Xu Xian..."
Upon the golden throne, amidst the glow of clouds and the presence of a fox, black hair cascaded over His shoulders.
His features were sharp, as if carved by a blade, and His thin lips were as keen as a sword's edge, brimming with immortal intent.
His eyes were as deep as a pool, as profound as an abyss.
The slight curl of His lips expressed a sense of wild, unbridled arrogance.
His appearance matched Xu Xian's fantasies of a deity.
At this moment, He looked at him, His eyes filled with scrutiny.
Xu Xian's cheek twitched subconsciously as he suppressed the agitation in his heart.
"Senior truly possesses heaven-reaching methods. This junior is full of admiration."
He still kept that faint smirk. "Heh... and so, what is your answer?"
Xu Xian thought for a moment and replied, "A mere mortal being."
His expression became intriguing, as if He found this answer quite interesting.
"A person's greatest virtue is self-awareness. You are quite good," He praised. He had always been satisfied with this youth.
It was true ten days ago, and it was still true ten days later.
Xu Xian replied humbly, "Senior overpraises me."
"Heh..."
Xu Xian continued, "So... can Senior answer my question now?"
"What question?"
"Who... are you?" Xu Xian asked again.
He smiled. "That is not important."
One was asking while already knowing the answer.
The other knew the answer but refused to give it.
Xu Xian was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit awkward. He followed up, "Then what is important?"
He teased, "Acting."
"Huh?"
"You seem to enjoy acting very much."
"Uh..." Xu Xian felt even more awkward. Perhaps he had overplayed his part, but he managed a forced smile. "I had no other choice."
"I understand. Everyone has their difficulties," He said.
He paused and added, "But it does not matter. I do not care. You can keep acting, and I can pretend not to know..."
Xu Xian was a bit confused. "This junior is ignorant and does not understand Senior's meaning?"
He narrowed His eyes slightly and said slowly, "For example... you can continue to pretend that you do not know who I am."
Xu Xian's heart tightened. The expression he had been carefully maintaining began to change slightly in a way he could not control.
What did He mean?
He knows that I know who He is?
But I never told anyone! Even Lu Yuan and I never mentioned the names Twilight Emperor, Undying Great Emperor, or even Sovereign while we were in here.
How could He possibly know?
Could it be...
Xu Xian lowered his gaze slightly. Does He know mind reading?
"In this world, there is only telepathy and divine sense connections. There is no such thing as mind reading," He said out of the blue.
Xu Xian snapped his head up, his eyes wide with shock.
Holy crap!
And you still claim you can't do it?
In that instant, Xu Xian felt completely exposed. Standing before Him, he felt as if he were stark naked, with no secrets left to hide.
What should I do? Am I screwed?
He once again read Xu Xian's thoughts and comforted him, "You can rest easy. I truly just guessed."
Xu Xian was half-doubting as he swallowed hard. "You can guess that accurately?"
He chuckled. "Once you have lived as long as I have and seen as many people as I have, you will be able to do it too."
The implication was clear.
He was telling Xu Xian that there was no trick to it, only experience.
Xu Xian thought about it and realized it made sense. After seeing enough people and living long enough, one would naturally be able to figure out what others were thinking.
It was just like himself—if he were to enter the mortal world now, he was confident he could see through the thoughts of most mortals.
It was nothing more than those common things.
The seven emotions and six desires, the five poisons and eight sufferings...
It was the same old story in a different package.
Furthermore, Little Shuer had just said that it did not deny He once possessed such an ability, but the current Him could not use it.
It even boastfully said that it wasn't just for show and that it was right here...
Xu Xian did not argue.
However, he still felt a bit uneasy. What if?
Who knew if this guy had a system?
There was no mind reading in Cangming, but a system might have it.
But on second thought, this guy had ended up in this state—where would he get a system?
If he really had a system, he probably would have swept through the myriad worlds long ago.
Perhaps he really was overthinking it.
Nevertheless, he cautioned himself to stay sharp for the rest of the conversation.
He could not let the man see any flaws or realize his connection to the Li family.
And... he also could not let Him know that he had kidnapped the old tortoise.
"I have been enlightened!"
Xu Xian bowed with his hands clasped.
He tapped on the throne, creating a thumping sound, and returned to the main topic. "So, you admit that you recognize me?"
Xu Xian did not know if He truly knew or if He was just playing him. This person's mind was too deep for him to fathom.
He also knew he was no match for Him, so he decided not to lie to avoid being exposed again.
He spoke the truth.
Or rather, a vague version of it. "It is the first time we have met."
He pressed on relentlessly. "Then you must have heard stories about me?"
"A little bit," Xu Xian said, not forgetting to lift his right hand and show a tiny gap between his thumb and index finger.
With great interest, He continued to probe, "Then tell me, who am I?"
Is there no end to this?
Xu Xian was getting a bit annoyed.
Fine.
Stay calm. Get the legacy first.
Xu Xian pondered for a moment, cleared his throat, and said with a serious expression, "The Immortal Emperor, the master of the Emperor's Tomb."
The answer seemed to be unexpected, as the Emperor's brows furrowed.
Xu Xian said very earnestly, "I told you, I have only heard a little bit."
The Emperor remained silent. He had indeed heard a little bit. From whom? From the grey-robed phantom earlier, which was formed from a shred of His own obsession.
If you said he was lying, he wasn't.
If you said he was being completely honest, he definitely wasn't.
He understood that wanting to hear the full truth from this kid's mouth was a pipe dream.
However, it did not matter.
As He had said, He did not care...
Xu Xian took the initiative and brought up the main business, reaching out his hand. "Senior, since I have won, when will you give me the legacy?"
He thought it was indeed time to ask.
They had talked and they had questioned.
Bringing up the reward now would not be too abrupt.
Hearing this, the Emperor abruptly changed the subject and asked Xu Xian a seemingly random question, "Do you not want to know what my legacy is first?"
Xu Xian nodded vigorously.
Cultivation methods, secret manuals, divine abilities, divine artifacts, all sorts of valuable treasures...
If he could choose, he wanted them all!
"I do!"
The Emperor looked thoughtful and nodded slightly before asking another seemingly random question, "Let me ask you, what do all beings seek in their cultivation?"
Xu Xian was stunned for a moment, thinking, 'Is something wrong with you? Why ask such a thing?'
One moment it was this, the next it was that.
Was there any connection between the two?
He suppressed his impatience and said, "Longevity."
All beings cultivate to seek longevity.
The Emperor agreed; this was the answer He wanted.
"Correct. The people of the world cultivate for nothing more than longevity. Then, what do you think longevity is?"
Xu Xian was truly fed up.
Are you playing 'a hundred thousand whys' with me?
He answered perfunctorily, "I believe that longevity is not dying. Not dying is longevity."
The Emperor refuted him. "Wrong."
"Huh?"
The Emperor explained, "The 'not dying' you speak of... that is eternal life."
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