“How? How could this be?!”

Having been pulled out of Li Xingchen's body by the Soul Retriever, the Eternal Sage King was in disbelief. He could feel the Soul Retriever emanating a cold aura, which continuously numbed his holy spirit.

“This is a top-grade weapon used on souls! How do you have this?” Eternal Sage King howled in rage.

Weapons meant to target souls were extremely rare. So much so that even the Eternal Sage King himself had never seen it but only ever heard of it.

For Chu Kuangren to have such a weapon meant to deal with him felt like more than just a coincidence!

The Eternal Sage King's holy spirit quaked with rage. “By the G.o.ds! Is this really my fate?! Do the heavens wish for my death this badly?!

“No. No! Even that Sage War couldn't kill me. I refuse to believe a mere chain can end my life!”

The Eternal Sage King thrashed and resisted, his holy spirit growing agitated.

Chu Kuangren tugged lightly at the Soul Retriever. The cold aura then intensified before it faded the Eternal Sage King's energy, freezing his holy spirit into a block of unmoving ice.

“What do you want from me, Chu Kuangren?!”

The Eternal Sage King feebly said.

“I'm curious. What is this Sage War you speak of? If you speak, I might take mercy on you,” Chu Kuangren simply stated.

Hesitation flashed across the Eternal Sage King's face, but Chu Kuangren practically had a knife to his throat now. He would gut him like a fish if he objected.

“The Sage War was a great battle that took place fifty thousand years ago. All the warriors were Sages, hence the name.”

“Wait, everyone was a Sage?!” Chu Kuangren was mildly surprised.

He glanced at Lan Yu, who stood to the side, and noticed that she was also in shock.

“A war that happened fifty thousand years ago, involving only Sages… It appears to be the same war that the Sage Ruler Holy King was a part of.” Lan Yu stated.

After all, she had gained some of the Sage Ruler Holy King's memories when she received the Scepter of Light.

One of them included a mortifying war that also took place fifty thousand years ago. It was likely the same war the Eternal Sage King mentioned.

“The Sage Ruler Holy King? I believe there was a Sage by that name during the war,” the Eternal Sage King replied.

“Continue. What was the purpose of the Sage War?”

“Why, of course, to become Emperors!”

“During the Era where Dharma ended, the path to Dao ascension was unclear to us. To become Emperors, we Sages set ourselves up for battle; we would fight to the death and let our Dao energies weave and collide. We used this method to catalyze and push for the emergence of Dharma! With that, the chance to become Emperor would appear!”

The Eternal Sage King whispered.

Chu Kuangren was shocked to hear what he said. “To think there was another way to become an Emperor. You guys tried so hard, but did it work?”

“I don't know. I didn't make it to the end of the war. But before my physical body vanished, I saw it. The Dao energies from all the Sages formed a golden cloud of Dharma. The Emperor's Essense appeared!”

“Wait, the Emperor's Essence?”

“Yes.”

The corner of Chu Kuangren's mouth twitched. “You caused a huge war just for the sake of one or two Primordial Emperor's Essences?”

“I know what you're thinking. You think it wasn't worth it.”

The Eternal Sage King laughed at himself. There were forty-nine pieces of the Primordial Emperor's Essences now even without there starting a Sage War.

“You are lucky to be born in this era, Chu Kuangren. You have no idea how far people would go to become an Emperor during those times. The Sage War was only the tip of the iceberg.”

The Eternal Sage King spoke impa.s.sively.

“Okay, so you started the Sage War, and the Emperor's Essense appeared. Surely, someone was the winner, right? Who was it?”

“I don't know. Like I said earlier, my physical body perished midway. It was only recently that my holy spirit reawakened. I am unaware of anything that has happened in the past few thousand years.” The Eternal Sage King shook his head.

“I see. So, where did the Sage War take place?”

Chu Kuangren asked one final question.

“Back in the day, we called it the Tali Desert, but now, it's known as the Ancient Battlefield.”

“Oh, it's one of the Ten Great Forbidden Areas!” Chu Kuangren gasped in surprise.

The Ten Great Forbidden Areas were the most dangerous places in the Firmament Star. Even Sages may not return alive from those areas.

The Ancient Battlefield was one of these dangerous and forbidden areas. Legends say that countless raging wars have taken place there, and evil spirits roam the area all year round.

“I'd like to see it if I get the chance.”

Chu Kuangren felt the impulse to take a risk.

However, he suppressed the urge and pulled on the Soul Retriever.

Instantly, the Eternal Sage King howled in agony as a burst of cold energy emanated from the Soul Retriever and relentlessly gnawed away at the remnants of his soul.

“Chu Kuangren! You're breaking your promise!”

The Eternal Sage King glared at him hatefully.

“When did I promise you anything? I said I might spare you. Keyword, might.”

“Besides, what use do I have for a Remnant Spirit? Not to mention that you were plotting to kill my friend. Did you think I would save you for next year? No, you're dying here.”

The corner of Chu Kuangren's lips curled up as he tugged on the Soul Retriever hard.

The Eternal Sage King's Remnant Spirit instantly shattered and vanished.

Using his Eye of Revelation, Chu Kuangren thoroughly checked Li Xingchen for traces of the Eternal Sage King, and only relaxed when he found none.

“As long as the demonic heart exists, the Sage will be eternal.”

“He only had one chance to transfer his soul into a new host. It was his last resort. At least he's dead now.”

Chu Kuangren stowed away his Soul Retriever.

Li Xingchen, who was lying on the floor, slowly began to wake up. He looked around, dazed and confused, before he jumped up and screamed with his hands clutched onto his head. “Get out of my body, Eternal Sage King!”

“Stop yelling. He's dead.”

Chu Kuangren stood there, rolling his eyes.

“Wait, why are you here, Brother Chu?”

“Because of you?”

Chu Kuangren recounted the tale of how he discovered the Eternal Sage King.

“I thought that the clingy old man was just your golden finger, but it ended up being this old fogey that wanted to kill you,” Chu Kuangren tutted.

Even though Li Xingchen was not too sure what Chu Kuangren meant by his golden finger, he was very aware that he had saved his life.

“I'm deeply indebted to you, Brother Chu. From now on, my life is yours. If there's anything you need, do let me know.”

Chu Kuangren patted his shoulder. “Don't mention it. We're friends, after all.”

“Brother Chu…” Li Xingchen was touched beyond comprehension.

After the whole debacle with the Eternal Sage King, Chu Kuangren stayed in the Royal Palace for another two days before he left.

Congratulations! The Host has rolled the Golden Grade Green Emperor's Sword!”

On the Fairy boat, Chu Kuangren's daily gacha rolls gave him a Golden Grade Green Emperor's Sword. According to the cultivation world's cla.s.sifications, it was an Honorable grade sword.

“Another sword?” Chu Kuangren muttered, placing the weapon into the Sacred Emerald Sword Case. It was the seventh treasured sword he had rolled this month.

Although every sword he had gotten was a treasured sword that could be cultivated with his sword case, the Descendant Self Sword was more than enough for him. He suddenly had no idea what to do with so many new swords.

Could he use them as concealed weapons?

Each strike would be an Honorable grade treasured sword. Ha! How bourgeois it would look.