Chapter 1209: What Was Left Behind (III)

“Does the weapon left by the Exalted Blood Emperor have something to do with the eight families?” asked the confused old turtle. It was baffled by the situation as well.

The Star Gate that the Sword Sovereign had left behind was much more easily understood. The eight families jointly ruled the world. There were eight keys and their presence was required for the major formation. That was simple to grasp.

However, there was no reason for the Exalted Blood Emperor to have ties to the eight families as well. There was no need.

Capsize Sea took in a breath, ignoring all of the speculation. “The Exalted Blood Emperor left a weapon as well? Why did all of these powerhouses leave their personal weapons behind when they faced a formidable enemy? Even if they didn’t have much use for them, it was better to give the weapon to someone else than to just leave it in a minor world, no?”

The group exchanged glances with each other; everyone had a blank expression of incomprehension on their face. And, was there really a cat inside the blade?

Fear threatened to overwhelm Capsize Sea again. So the Green Emperor was present in the minor world?

But that was impossible!

Capsize Sea recalled that the Green Emperor liked to eat beef. That was horrific!

Meanwhile, Li Hao continued to frown. There had to be more secrets of the eight families that he was yet to uncover. What a pity that Zheng Hongyuan was dead! As the Zheng patriarch, he was surely aware of certain things.

The other surviving members of the eight families, Director General Wang being one of them, were only descendants of side branches. They would certainly be unaware of the inside information.

The same went for anyone else from the main world, leaving only Zheng Yu as a possible candidate for knowing the truth since all of the other patriarchs had left.

Over on the Li family side, Li Daoheng might know some of the details if he’d ever visited Tranquil Star.

“The blade of the Exalted Blood Emperor was left in the core area of where the exalted emperor broke the world... and there’s a cat inside the blade...” These clues were unable to provide more answers for Li Hao. It felt like he hadn’t gained anything from this venture. He couldn’t even approach the core area, so what benefits could he leave with?

No, that’s not right!

A new thought struck Li Hao.

Says who? The might of an exalted emperor is here!

That might was terrifyingly domineering; his heart had palpitated when he saw the Red Moon exalted emperor. He hadn’t dared look at the person for too long as he was worried that might let the Red Moon power contaminate him. But what if... he mediated here over the exalted emperor’s might?

Growing accustomed to this kind of pressure was also a kind of cultivation, right?

It was true that he was unable to approach the area, but he could focus on sensing and standing firm against that might. There would be certain benefits to be had here because this was an exalted emperor they were talking about!

Additionally, the Exalted Blood Emperor was not a regular exalted emperor.

In the age of New Martial, the strongest were the Human King and other regularly mentioned names. The next tier of strength came the Exalted Blood Emperor and other notable emperors. They were much stronger than unknown emperors without titles, such as Water Strength and Unbounded Strength.

As for who was stronger between the Sword Sovereign or Exalted Blood Emperor... It was said that the Sword Sovereign was less than the Exalted Blood Emperor! Therefore, didn’t that make his might—having survived one hundred thousand years—a perfect tool for cultivation?

Li Hao hadn’t suffered any other harm aside from his blood qi being absorbed. He thought of the ‘Battle Heaven’ characters in his mind. Could they have something to do with him seeing the blade clearly and the old turtle being unable to?

He’d sensed the pressure that the might had exerted on him, but there was very little fear or terror. That was a different case from when he faced the Red Moon exalted emperor—then, he felt that he might die at any moment.

It wasn’t that the Exalted Blood Emperor’s might wasn’t strong, but that perhaps the two characters had defused some of the sensation since they were written by the same person.

Various thoughts flashed through Li Hao’s mind as he wondered how many secrets Silver Moon world might contain.

He’d thought that he’d plumbed the depths of his home world, but now felt that there was more waiting to be discovered. Also, there were absolutely Li family members that’d walked out of their ruins ahead of time! Why did they not show themselves?

Those not of the family, even sword cultivators, would not have their blood qi absorbed. Whoever sat in the chair wouldn’t unnecessarily erupt with sword intent.

Li Hao looked at the eight thrones again. Were these a product from Zheng Hongyuan or the Exalted Blood Emperor? If it was Zheng Hongyuan, that meant the patriarch had made such significant discoveries that he was able to craft these thrones.

Would the blade be accessible if all eight families sent representatives here?

Li Hao stared at the eight thrones. He had people from the Wangs by his side, Director General Zhao counted as a descendant of the Zhaos, and he himself was from the Lis. There didn’t seem to be descendants of the Zhous, Hongs, Zhengs, Lius, and Zhangs active in the outside world.

There was one other—Ying Hongyue! He’d collected all eight bloodlines! If Li Hao captured him and shoved him into a throne, would that bring the blade to him?

It was an idea that the young man only briefly entertained. The thought was too dangerous! What if Ying Hongyue’s first action with the blade was to stab him with it? Li Hao would’ve just delivered it to him on a silver platter then!

“So the Exalted Blood Emperor’s blade is here...” General Pagoda also mulled over the latest developments as Li Hao contemplated his next actions. “And... the Green Emperor as well? It can’t be... Maybe he left a treasure here too? If that is the case, then this place is very important indeed!”

“Something grave might result if someone takes this place or the blade here,” the old turtle said solemnly. “Out of New Martial’s many exalted emperors, the Exalted Blood Emperor was exceedingly strong! If it wasn’t for him being unwilling to accept his past self—or rather, his previous generation’s strength as the War Celestial Emperor, then he might’ve been on par with the Human King or Green Emperor!”

“He could’ve been that strong? Those two were the masters of the world!” Li Hao raised an eyebrow.

“He’s really strong!” the old turtle insisted. “The War Celestial Emperor possessed the greatest potential out of anyone since the dawn of time!”

“Oh? Isn’t that the Human King?” Li Hao blinked. Didn’t they say that the Human King became invincible after just a few years?

“The Human King improved so quickly due to treasures and the heritage left by the War Celestial Emperor. They helped him reach his peak. The War Celestial Emperor himself could’ve slayed New Martial’s greatest enemy—the Heavenly Emperor! However... he gave up the chance to do so.”

Li Hao didn’t know what to make of this. So just giving up was an option? Strongest potential since the dawn of time? Wasn’t that... a bit over the top?

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Capsize Sea interjected. “The Human King’s potential was also unparalleled! But it is true that the War Celestial Emperor’s battle strength was domineering. However, he was also too gentle at heart and treated everyone peacefully. He was truly genteel, refined, and scholarly. Therefore, it was difficult for him to resort to any violence...”

Li Hao sank into deep thought. Given the context, that made this blade quite special. Stellaris, the Human King Consort’s sword, and the boxing gloves of the Tyrant Sovereign seemed far inferior to this. Granted, the cat inside the blade might also play a part.

These ruins were indeed very important. Could that core area be accessed without a throne?

If Zheng Hongyuan was the architect behind the thrones, then there might be other ways of entry. He would’ve had to visit the place while he built them in order to establish a connection.

There didn’t seem to be a reason for the Exalted Blood Emperor to build eight thrones either. Perhaps those of the eight families could freely access the place at first?

Who knew!

Li Hao took stock of his blood qi—it was still very fragile. It looked like there were restrictions to each instance of entry. He might’ve become a dry husk if he’d continued to stay.

“Let’s go back first...” Li Hao glanced at the eight thrones. “Judging from present conditions, it will be very hard to obtain the blade unless the eight families are gathered! I’d actually like to meet Zheng Yu and Ying Hongyue now. Those guys seem to know more than me because they’ve been collecting the eight bloodlines!

“I’m very curious what makes the eight bloodlines so special. I’ve yet to feel anything unusual, so why can my bloodline defend against Red Moon power?”

That was power from an exalted emperor! Even Empyrean Kings fell to that level of strength. But a weakling such as Ying Hongyue could use an interweaving of feeble bloodlines to withstand it. How strange.

Li Hao hadn’t paid attention to this before! No matter how strong Ying Hongyue was, he wouldn’t be stronger than Li Hao at present. On what basis could he defend himself?

The man could even strip out some Red Moon power and integrate it into the Forbidden Sea. He did it through his own body and not the Forbidden Sea. Now that was very odd.

The old turtle shook its head, equally confused.

“The eight families...” Capsize Sea pored over all of its knowledge. “I didn’t pay much attention to them before. They didn’t produce any other powerhouses apart from the Sword Sovereign, so they weren’t worth mention! But based on the marquis’ words, this is indeed strange.

“If we want to trace this to its roots, we might have to go to the Lis or any patriarch. By the time I arrived in this world, the eight families were already settled in their places!

“As for why they were chosen to administer the world... I don’t know. There were many families in the main world stronger than the eight and plenty of people were willing to come.”

“It’s alright, we’ll get to the bottom of this sooner or later!” Li Hao smiled when he saw that the golden cow didn’t have any answers either. “It’s fine if we can’t secure it, that will leave something to look forward to. Not being able to seize it now doesn’t mean it will always remain out of reach. Once we do lay hands on it, that may be when we take out the exalted emperor!

“It’s a pity that it’s a blade though, and not a sword. But that’s alright, all things can be the sword!”

The young man spoke so confidently that it seemed like the blade was already his.

Too bad for everyone else that these ruins are mine. Zheng Hongyuan plotted for so many years, but was unable to secure it. It looks like more than pure Empyrean King strength is needed.

It came back to gathering the eight families. Li Hao thought back to what the Exalted Blood Emperor had said when he split the world into eight.

The august personage had said that this world should not harbor ambitions it should not have, that it should not seek to break away from the main world. It would have to be responsible for its own fate if it did so.

This seemed to be both a note of caution and a warning.

He’d also said that he would suppress the world with the Formation of Heaven and Earth. Was that the formation the one that the eight main cities had been supporting? It seemed to be the one keeping the Red Moon exalted emperor sealed away.

The Sword Sovereign was not skilled at formations, but could utilize a seal to keep an exalted emperor trapped for one hundred thousand years. Perhaps it wasn’t the Sword Sovereign’s shadow being too strong, but that the formation was instead. The Exalted Blood Emperor... was quite a character!

He’d done all of this seemingly as just a precaution, just in case this world would one day break away. But at the same time, it felt like he’d foreseen modern circumstances ahead of time.

Li Hao’s head ached. He abruptly smiled, switching his mood like a chameleon changing camouflage. It further confused the two Saints.