Was he really worth all this fuss?

The great emperors were normally proud and dignified, but they were now agitated out of their wits.

As he looked at the endless series of angry emojis filling up his screen, Ye Zichen couldnt help but wonder if the great emperors were using some kind of divine technique to grow extra arms just to type faster.

The rate of messages was even faster and more alarming than if it had been written by an army ten thousand strong.

Given Xuan-Yuan Xiangs warning, Ye Zichen was somewhat mentally prepared for this, but hed assumed only a few of the great emperors had a grudge on the old toad. Who would have guessed that, out of all the great emperors, only the Ocean Emperor (who was busy) and the Hermit Emperor (whod long since lost interest in the worlds affairs) didnt freak out?

The others

Ye Zichen silently wiped the sweat from his brow. Xuan-Yuan Xiang peered over, looked at the messages, and smirked. Her elegant eyebrows arched upward.

Their response was just about what she expected, except that there were too few people in the group chat.

If they invited a few more great emperors, it would be even livelier.

He couldnt let it go on like this.

The great emperors seemed like they were on the verge of explosion. Ye Zichen hurriedly sent another message.

Only Idealism: Everyone, please, calm down.

He followed up with a series of sweating emojis, then started to type another message.

Only Idealism: Dont lose your temper just because I brought up Venerate Spirit Treasure. Actually, he and I.

Ye Zichens message trailed off. He didnt know how to explain. Xue Yang had imprisoned Venerate Spirit Treasure for ten thousand years, and none of the other great emperors knew about it. How could Ye Zichen explain?

Should he say it was a coincidence?

Or that hed heard a rumor?

Based on the great emperors reaction, if they Venerate Spirit Treasure so much as rustled a patch of grass, theyd know about it.

Besides

Ten thousand years had passed, but none of the great emperors knew Xue Yang was imprisoning Venerate Spirit Treasure. Obviously, hed hidden this fact on purpose.

Perhaps he, too, was worried that theyd find out he had Venerate Spirit Treasure in custody.

If they knew, they might very well tear the entire dungeon down!

More importantly, this might lead to exposing the former Demon Emperors presence. The Ocean Emperor had said that if others found out, the Xue Family might very well be deemed traitors to the god race.

All of the great emperors were clever and experienced. Ye Zichen could try and hide the truth, but it was futile. The instant he sent his message, he received ninety-nine direct messages, all of them interrogating him about Venerate Spirit Treasures location.

After a long time passed without a response, their interrogation seemed to turn into a massive trade conference.

Jade Pool Palace Master: @ Only Idealism, Alliance Head Ye, tell me where Venerate Spirit Treasure is, and you can have your pick of divine-grade medicines!

Seventh Dragonborn: Two Skyspan Fortune Pills!

Third Dragonborn: Four ranked divine artifacts!

Fox Empress: Well offer you three strings of Fox Will.

Seventh Dragonborn: @ Fox Empress, No way! Youd even give away Fox Will? Isnt that a sacred relic of your Fox Ancestor? Fine. Youve forced my hand. Its time for my killer move!

Seventh Dragonborn: @ Only Idealism, Star Lord Ye, lets speak openly, shall we? If you want to marry Little Seventeen, youll need my consent. Do you understand what Im trying to say?

Jade Pool Palace Master: Star Lord Ye, what do you think of Moer?

Fox Empress: Su Yan is a member of my fox clan!

Third Dragonborn: What are you all doing? Playing matchmaker? Mixing bribes and deception? Fine, since youre all acting like that... Third Dragonborn: @ Only Idealism, I have an adoptive daughter

???

Ye Zichens mind was nothing but a sea of question marks!

When he saw them offer up their treasures, he was in fact tempted.

Divine-grade medicines, Skyspan Fortune Pills, ranked divine artifacts, and that Fox Will he knew nothing about, but that Bian thought was impressive.

All of these treasures, for nothing but news they didnt even know was real or not.

And now

Their trade offers had turned into marriage proposals and threats. Great Emperor Chao Feng was directly playing matchmaker! But, perhaps coincidentally, all of the Great Emperors were close to a woman he cared about.

Xue Mo was more like his good bro, but Su Yan and Liu Qing

Wah, whats going on with the great emperors? Pu Jingwan looked at the endless stream of messages and batted her eyes. What on earth did Venerate Spirit Treasure do to them to make them react like this?

Dont be fooled by that dirty toads current humanoid appearance. Ten thousand years ago. Xuan-Yuan Xian laughed playfully. Who knows how many great emperors divine artifacts he devoured? Also, do you know why hes currently imprisoned in the Sea of Innocences dungeons?

Why? Pu Jingwan asked, eyes wide.

The Ocean Emperors god-given artifacts include the Ocean Gods Crown, the Ocean Gods Scepter, and the Ocean Emperors Ring, so why doesnt the Ocean Emperor ever wear the Ocean Gods Ring? asked Xuan-Yuan Xiang.

Could it be.

The toad swallowed it! Xuan-Yuan Xiang shrugged. Back in the day, the Ocean Emperor chased that dirty amphibian for over half a year, but the toad somehow managed to wrangle a defensive divine artifact so strong that, even in the ocean, the Ocean Emperors scepter wasnt strong enough to break it. They stared each other down for hundreds of years. I dont know what happened after that, but Im guessing the toad just got sick of hiding away in his shell and surrendered.

This

Despite himself, Ye Zichens eyes widened, and he felt tongue-tied. This Venerate Spirit Treasure was a bit much, wasnt he? He even dared eat god-given artifacts! If he were in the Ocean Emperors shoes, hed undoubtedly be furious beyond belief!

A set of three divine artifacts, true god level treasures but one of them had been eaten.

I remember that he wanted to swallow the Yao-Sealing Pagoda, and that the Five Elements Great Emperor beat him countless times, but he refused to learn his lesson. He antagonized Five Elements for hundreds of years, said Xuan-Yuan Xiang.

No wonder! Ye Zichen nodded. No wonder he knew so much about the Five Elements Great Emperor and Zhou Wu, and no wonder he had such a strong reaction to the Yao-Sealing Pagoda.

He might very well have swallowed it too. Of course, he couldnt possibly have digested it.

The chat group was still sending Ye Zichen an endless series of direct messages. But it was then that

His phone buzzed. Ye Zichen glanced at his phone and saw several lines of notifications.

He exited the chat group and saw that his most recent messages were all from the Ocean Emperor.

Ocean Emperor: Dont cause trouble!

Ocean Emperor: Im telling you, dont cause trouble! Youd best clear this up for me!

Ocean Emperor: You know as well as I do who we have hidden in our dungeons! If you tell them, theyll tear the place down. If that happens, our Xue Family wont let you off!

Ocean Emperor: Dont forget that Honghong is my daughter!

Ocean Emperor: Dont cause trouble, got it?!

Ye Zichen was keenly aware of what the Ocean Emperor was worried about. He naturally understood that, no matter what, they couldnt afford to reveal Venerate Spirit Treasures location.

Or even if he told them a little, he couldnt tell them that Venerate Spirit Treasure was in the Xue Family dungeons specifically.

They still couldnt reveal the former Demon Emperors existence!

Dont worry. Theres no way Ill

Before Ye Zichen could even finish typing the message, Ye Zichen heard the Ocean Emperors thunderous roar. He looked up, leaving the unfinished message in the dialogue box.

Look at what youve done!

Suddenly, a frantic figure shot towards him. When he looked up, he saw the Ocean Emperors avatar, whod only just gone off to attend to the mountains official business. His brow was tightly knit, and when he looked at Ye Zichen, he sighed and shook his head. He seemed furious.

Ye Zichen frowned, not quite understanding, but when he looked at the war prep chat group.

Yang Jian! Pu Jingwan!