A catastrophic event was currently happening in Emperor Road.
The powerful ancient beings who once ventured into the Forbidden Barren Wasteland"s Core Area were awakened and turned into slaving coffin pullers, made to pull the Slumbering Emperor Coffin towards the Emperor Mountain. Wherever they pa.s.sed, all living beings were met with death!!
In just three days, an estimated millions of lives were lost.
Having committed such endless slaughter, twenty percent of the Slumbering Emperor Coffin"s surface had already turned blood-red.
Everyone knew that this calamity would only end when the whole of the Slumbering Emperor Coffin had completely turned blood-red.
At that time, the archaic ancient orthodoxies were silent despite wanting to stop the Slumbering Emperor Coffin initially. All of them had chosen to cower behind their walls instead.
"What should we do now?"
"Ignore it. We"ll let the Slumbering Emperor Coffin continue to absorb the energy. Once it has gotten enough, it"ll return to the Forbidden Barren Wasteland on its own. All we need to do now is to preserve our strength as it"ll be needed to fight for the Emperor"s Throne in the future."
"But what about the others?"
"Our people are now living in misery and suffering. Are we not going to do anything about it?"
"It doesn"t matter. After all, we"re not the ones killing them."
After flipping through countless scriptures and records, the Sovereigns learned that the Slumbering Emperor Coffin"s main motive for appearing was to collect the energy of living beings.
Once it had absorbed a sufficient amount, it would return to the depths of the Forbidden Barren Wasteland.
At that, most of the Sovereigns instantly made the same decision. Instead of stopping the Slumbering Emperor Coffin head-on, they might as well preserve their strength and avoid it.
They had never considered the number of living beings that would perish due to their irresponsibility.
Having lived for countless years, the Sovereigns were already numb to the cycle of life and death. In other words, they were numb to the life and death of others, not themselves.
As long as their lives and the interests of their orthodoxy were not in danger, the life and death of others did not matter.
The archaic ancient orthodoxies" inaction was known by countless common folk and cultivators within their territory. It was very saddening.
In the hearts of the big shots, they were no different from ants.
Suddenly, riots and protests broke out all over the Emperor Road.
After all, one of the reasons these archaic ancient orthodoxies could prosper until this day was due to the bits of help provided by some smaller orthodoxies and the common folk.
Putting this aside, the offerings paid by these forces affiliated with the archaic ancient orthodoxies were no small amount.
However, they were now treated as liabilities and abandoned during times of need. How could they not be enraged?
Voices of dissent and criticism directed towards the archaic ancient orthodoxies soon spread like the tide, wave after wave. The reputations of these archaic ancient orthodoxies were soon dragged through the mud.
Despite this, the orthodoxies continued turning a blind eye to the common folk. Some even sent their men to deal with the riots instead!
"Orthodoxy, my *ss. All of them are worthless piles of sh*t. Now that a catastrophe is happening, all of them cower like tortoises hiding in their sh.e.l.ls."
"This is ridiculous. What a joke. Didn"t they used to show off in front of us all the time, telling us how mighty they are? Now, they don"t dare to even show their faces."
"Almighty G.o.ds! Aren"t we your precious subjects? Why are you not doing anything now when your people are suffering? Almighty G.o.d, is this compa.s.sion and love for the people you speak of all the time?"
The common folk and cultivators from all corners of Emperor Road complained.
However, there was nothing they could do about it.
Before the might of the archaic ancient orthodoxies, they were too weak and insignificant.
In the face of a calamity, they were even more powerless to fend for themselves.
As the calamity ensued, the archaic orthodoxies started to take action. However, it was not to save the people in peril.
In fact, they had sent their sky-prides to explore the depths of the Forbidden Barren Wasteland!
They wanted to search for Opportunities of Fortune there!
Since the seals and restrictions around that area had disappeared, and the powerful ancient beings had awakened and turned into coffin pullers, the countless Opportunities of Fortune in the Forbidden Wasteland were now ripe for the taking. Hence, the sky-prides had rushed there quickly.
At a time when countless living beings were suffering, the archaic orthodoxies thought nothing about saving them or the forces affiliated with them…
Instead, they were planning to search for Opportunities of Fortune while the Slumbering Emperor Coffin was gone!
Their decision had infuriated countless people.
"The Sword Tribe is nothing but a pile of cr*p. We have worked hard for so many years to contribute to the Sword Tribe, only for you to turn a blind eye to us. It is one thing to not send help, but you"re going searching for treasures instead? F*ck off!"
"Almighty G.o.d of Light, have you truly abandoned us?"
"F*cking h.e.l.l…"
In a city somewhere.
Countless people were fleeing for their lives.
The cultivators of that city had received news that the coffin pullers were heading toward their direction, so it would not be long before the Slumbering Emperor Coffin arrived.
However, they reached that city faster than the cultivators had expected.
Everyone soon noticed an incredibly dense treacherous qi approaching them from a distance.
Hundreds of powerful ancient beings could be seen with collars at their necks, dragging the Slumbering Emperor Coffin towards the city like ski dogs pulling a sled.
A short while later, it arrived in the sky above the city. Without another word, the hundreds of powerful ancient beings attacked by unleas.h.i.+ng their might upon the city.
Endless screams and shrieks were heard as the huge city turned into h.e.l.l on earth. Countless living beings were killed, turned into blood-colored bundles of energy, and absorbed by the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
Among the hundreds of powerful ancient beings, the weakest of them were Sovereigns that had cultivated several strands of Emperor qi. With their combined attack, no one in Emperor Road could stop them. In a few moments, that city was soon transformed into a land of death.
After absorbing the energy of every living being in that city, the blood-colored marks on the Slumbering Emperor Coffin increased. By now, it had already covered one-third of its total surface.
Some of the Sovereigns witnessed the scene unfold from afar.
"This is too frightening."
One of the Sovereigns could not help but utter with fear.
"That"s right. The Slumbering Emperor Coffin is no doubt a symbol of misfortune from the archaic ancient times or even as far as the immemorial times. It really can put so many powerful ancient beings under its control, making them sacrifice for it."
One of the Sovereigns looked at the departing Slumbering Emperor Coffin curiously. "I wonder who it is buried inside, and what is that person"s intention for absorbing so much energy from living beings?"
"It certainly isn"t seeking to return from the dead, right?"
No one knew why the Slumbering Emperor Coffin was killing so many lives as a sacrifice or who was buried within it as well.
However, since it was called the Slumbering Emperor Coffin, the person inside must be at least an Emperor level figure.
"This matter can be traced back to the secrets of the archaic ancient times or even immemorial times. I believe only the Emperors would know about this, seeing that it"s something beyond our comprehension."
The Sovereigns shook their heads.
There were some secrets that they were not qualified yet to learn.
"Hold on a second. Have you noticed that there"s something strange about the Slumbering Emperor Coffin"s path? It seems to be heading toward the Emperor Mountain!"
One of the Sovereigns suddenly said with a frown.
Upon hearing that, everyone"s expression s.h.i.+fted.
The Emperor Mountain was a place where the Emperor"s Throne was located.
However, why was the Slumbering Emperor Coffin heading there?
"Let"s hope this doesn"t affect the chances for the sky-prides to become an Emperor."
"Hmph. It doesn"t matter anyway. After all, hasn"t the best Emperor candidate been decided in advance?"
One of the Sovereigns sneered.
Everyone naturally knew who he was talking about and did not know how to refute that statement for a moment.
With that person around, their junior sky-prides stood no chance of becoming an Emperor.
"Speaking of this, the Slumbering Emperor Coffin has caused such a mess, but why hasn"t he appeared yet? What is he up to now?"
"Perhaps he has found somewhere to hide. Although he"s powerful, I"m afraid he"s still defenseless against such a symbol of misfortune like this Slumbering Emperor Coffin."
Everyone turned silent and continued observing the Slumbering Emperor Coffin"s movements.