The Strongest Mythical Emperor
Chapter 393: The Secret Characters of Tao

Chapter 393: Chapter 393: The Secret Characters of Tao

When Qin Jun and Nezha reached the bottom of the cave, what entered their sight was a damp underground space, extremely spacious, with Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng standing quietly by an underground lake, waiting for the arrival of Qin Jun and his companion.

Qin Jun glanced around but didn’t find a second figure.

He couldn’t help but widen his eyes and asked, "Where’s the other one?"

Could the other party have escaped?

Qin Jun was filled with frustration, it seemed for the time being the origins of the Qin Emperor Realm would remain unknown to him.

Just then, Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a yellow light, followed by the appearance of a stooping figure at Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng’s feet. The man lay on the ground trembling, whimpering something unintelligibly.

Qin Jun’s eyes widened, and so did Nezha’s.

Seeing an enemy spat out from a mouth was a visual shock so intense that it almost short-circuited their minds.

"Your Majesty, you may question him now, just don’t get too close—this guy’s cultivation has reached the sixth layer of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm," said Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng, licking his lips with a smile, causing both Qin Jun and his companion to widen their eyes again.

The sixth layer of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm!

A whole layer higher than Nezha’s.

Nezha was deeply struck, and his whole being filled with melancholy. If someone with higher cultivation than him was subdued by Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng in an instant, how could he not be disheartened?

However, with treasures like the Armillary Sash and Universe Ring, Nezha’s combat strength was much more than the mere fifth layer of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm.

The higher the quality of a magical treasure, the greater its enhancement to one’s combat power.

In the latter part of Journey to the West and in Investiture of the Gods, the world virtually belonged to magical treasures, with almost every other mythology story possessing some eye-blindingly powerful divine or demonic artifact.

"Who are you, and what is the origin of this miniature world?" Qin Jun asked gravely. On closer inspection, he realized the man in tattered purple robes looked like he had been imprisoned for a long time. The robe was in tatters, even blackened, with a resemblance to Old Man Yi. Yet, the man’s appearance was not that of an old man, his long beard tangled into knots, a sign of his difficult life.

In response to Qin Jun’s question, the robed man continued to curl up on the ground, trembling.

This scene made Qin Jun frown. After all, this person was a strong cultivator of the sixth layer of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm; did he really need to be so cowardly?

Could it be that he had been frightened by Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng?

Qin Jun looked oddly at Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng, who showed a slightly embarrassed expression and spoke in a low voice, "The emperor is questioning you. If you don’t wish to die, you’d best come clean!"

Upon hearing Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng speak, the robed man quivered all over and stammered, "I only remember that my name... is Tianjue..."

"What is the origin of this miniature world?" Qin Jun continued to question. This guy couldn’t have been locked up until he went dumb, could he?

Tianjue replied with a trembling voice, "I can’t remember..."

Qin Jun’s face grew displeased, and then, no matter how much he questioned, Tianjue responded with ignorant answers. Locked up until he’d lost clarity of mind, and then shockingly swallowed whole by Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng, had scared him to the point his liver almost burst. He was still in a daze at this moment.

Eventually, Qin Jun had no choice but to let it go for the moment and told Nezha to search the cave to see if anything valuable could be found.

"Your Majesty, come quick and see!"

Soon after, Nezha’s voice came from a corner, instantly piquing Qin Jun’s curiosity.

Qin Jun approached Nezha and saw the cave wall was covered with dozens of strange characters that looked like tadpoles or twisting snakes, absolutely incomprehensible.

"What is this?" Qin Jun asked puzzledly.

Nezha replied with gravity, "I don’t recognize it, but I can feel a pressure emitting from the characters, and a sweep of Divine Consciousness causes a dizzying sensation."

Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng came over carrying Tianjue, and at the sight of the scores of characters on the cave wall, Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng furrowed his brows.

And Tianjue covered his face, not daring to look at the wall.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Qin Jun extended his Divine Consciousness towards the cave wall, and in that instant, his mind exploded!

"A hair’s breadth away is as distant as the ends of the earth, a step can shrink the land to an inch, a gentle move can cover thousands of miles, mysterious and unparalleled..."

A voice that seemed to come from the ancient Primordial Chaos echoed in Qin Jun’s mind, and at that moment, a vast memory crazily flooded into his consciousness.

Simultaneously, Qin Jun closed his eyes as the characters on the cave wall emitted a golden light, leaping off the surface and hovering around him. This spectacle left both Nezha and Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng wide-eyed.

What was happening?

But Tianjue suddenly exclaimed, "How is this possible! How is he qualified to receive the inheritance of the Great Dao’s secret characters!"

The Great Dao’s secret characters?

Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng and Nezha exchanged looks, both seeing confusion in each other’s eyes.

"What are the Great Dao’s secret characters?" Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng asked, holding Tianjue aloft.

Nezha stared at the golden characters circling Qin Jun, his brows furrowed deeply. He could feel that these characters contained boundless power, and anyone who carelessly approached was sure to meet a dire fate.

"Great Dao’s secret characters are just Great Dao’s secret characters!" Tianjue cried out pitifully, angering Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng who threw him against the cave wall with one hand. The whole mountain shook violently upon impact.

...

Qin Jun’s consciousness slowly returned. He opened his eyes to find himself in a blank white world—whiteness was all he could see, no other color or object, and the silence was utterly eerie.

"Where is this place..." Qin Jun looked around bewilderedly, and soon he recalled everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.

Could there have been an array or barrier hidden on that cave wall?

The very thought sent shivers down Qin Jun’s spine. Otherwise, how did he end up here?

Instinctively, he pinched his own face, feeling nothing, which suggested this wasn’t a reality that truly existed.

"The Great Dao is boundless, all spells return to the nine..."

The previous mysterious voice echoed again, ancient and vast, as if it had withstood endless epochs, easily leading one to lose their resolve.

"Who are you?" Qin Jun asked solemnly, a wave of unease in his heart. He wanted to leave this blank world but had no means to do so, and even his Divine Consciousness couldn’t spread, as if he had become an ordinary mortal again.

"Those facing the battle, array before marching!"

"The array’s secret characters, understand by heart and spirit!"

The voice ignored Qin Jun and continued speaking, leaving him confused.

Those facing the battle, array before marching! He had heard this phrase before, often recited by Taoists in TV dramas, and even circulated in other countries, a chant of very high prestige.

Just then, a vast and peculiar ’array’ character appeared at the edge of his vision, followed by similar strange characters appearing from all directions, numerous and bewildering, making Qin Jun’s scalp tingle.

"What does this mean..." Qin Jun thought anxiously. Soon after, countless strange ’array’ characters rushed towards him from all directions, giving him no place to hide.

Fuck!

He was about to be pulverized!

Boom!

Numerous peculiar ’array’ characters engulfed Qin Jun, and in that moment, the entire white world exploded, like shattered glass turned into fragments, with multicolored lights illuminating the entire world of consciousness.

"Array’s secret characters, understand by heart and spirit, all laws are concealed..."