The Unruly Immortals

Through the eunuch, the Emperor of Da Liang displayed a triumphant look toward Li Huowang, "Brother, are you startled? Unexpected, isn't it? I actually turned out to be the Emperor!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Li Huowang bowed in a Daoist salutation. He had wanted to return quietly, but clearly, the young Emperor had other ideas.

"Hey! Thanks for the heads up last time. If it weren't for you, I would have been deceived by that person! You're a good-hearted man, a decent person. From now on, consider joining my side as an official! You can tell me whatever position you would like to hold."

"Ridiculous! Such are the words of a negligent ruler!" With the State Preceptor's remark, the face of the Emperor of Da Liang changed instantly, and he dared not be too presumptuous.

It seemed that though he was the Emperor of Da Liang, there were some matters he could not decide on his own.

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten what needs to be done today?"

Composing himself, the Emperor of Da Liang stood up straight and replied solemnly, "The offerings are prepared, so today I... I must go to the Imperial Temple to worship my ancestors."

"Indeed." The Da Liang National Master's heavy eyelids drooped, signaling the end of the discussion.

Intimidated by the National Master, the Emperor of Da Liang, though not daring to neglect his duties, was evidently overjoyed at Li Huowang's presence, "Just follow behind. After the official business is finished, we will have a good chat!"

The National Master's lips quivered, but in the end, he did not scold the Emperor. However, he had already planned to speak with the Empress Dowager later.

Li Huowang wanted to refuse, but he was completely encircled by a group of senior eunuchs, making it impossible for him to leave. Glancing at the retreating back of the Da Liang National Master, Li Huowang decided against any action that might seem out of line.

Although the turn of events was beyond his expectation, befriending the Emperor might not be a bad thing; it was just not the right timing.

Following the grand procession of the Emperor of Da Liang, Li Huowang wandered around the Imperial Palace.

From time to time, the Emperor looked back, clearly curious about Li Huowang, especially since the past Shangsi Festival when Li Huowang had come to his aid.

But Li Huowang didn't see it that way; he just wanted to get past this quickly and not cause any further complications. Miaomiao was waiting outside for him, after all.

Li Huowang thought that by directly going to the supposed Imperial Temple, it would all be over, yet surprisingly, they returned the same way and entered the archway they had come through earlier.

The so-called Grand Steward, a eunuch, was already waiting with a line of junior eunuchs, kneeling neatly in a row to welcome the arrival of the Emperor of Da Liang.

Before them on an Eight Immortals table, seven basin-sized jade dishes were arrayed in a row, each bearing different items.

One held a budding crystal-clear flowers, a surface of smoothly squirming white eggs, and another a meat sculpture shaped into a Ruyi.

Diverse objects were placed in the bowls, each distinct, yet the final jade dish stood out as being different. It was empty, save for the occasional wafting of black smoke, with nothing else on it.

Li Huowang instantly realized that the last jade dish was meant for the spirit wretch he had captured. After all his troubles, the creature he had painstakingly caught was nothing more than an offering for the deceased Emperor, just to be displayed.

For a moment, Li Huowang felt his previous efforts were hardly worth it.

No wonder the Emperor of Da Liang came immediately after he handed over the spirit wretch. The Emperor had been waiting all along.

"Take them all." A line of eunuchs beside Li Huowang bowed their heads and walked out, holding the jade dishes high above their heads as they followed the Emperor towards the Imperial Temple.

After another quarter of an hour, as Li Huowang's keen nose detected the scent of sandalwood, he knew they had arrived at the Imperial Temple.

From the outside, the so-called Imperial Temple of Da Liang looked no different from an ordinary temple, only larger and more august.

Upon arriving at this place, the whimsical Emperor of Da Liang became significantly more restrained. He solemnly saluted the Imperial Temple and then proceeded inside with the eunuchs and palace maids.

The Imperial Temple was vast, and the surrounding area was filled with neatly arranged candles, making the interior somewhat hot and stuffy. Some old eunuchs, eyeless and earless, knelt in the corner, ceaselessly chanting Buddhist scriptures while striking a wooden fish.

As the Emperor of Da Liang knelt on the meditation cushion, worshiping the neatly arranged ancestral tablets within the temple, an old eunuch pulled him up.

"Hmm? What's wrong? Aren't we doing it here today?" Li Huowang heard the surprise in the Emperor's voice. He seemed quite taken aback by this as well.

After the old eunuch whispered something in his ear, he reluctantly stood up and, followed by a procession, headed towards the back of the ancestral tablets.

The bright yellow silk hanging on the wall was pulled aside, revealing an imposing black stone door carved with nine ferocious and vividly lifelike dragons.

When the eunuchs slowly pulled open the massive stone doors, a chill that made the nape of one's neck tingle rushed forth.

The palace maids all stopped in their tracks, and only men moved forward into the threshold, even Lian Zhibei barred the way.

Seeing this protocol, Li Huowang couldn't help but question in his mind, "Could this be the Ancestral Temple of the Da Liang Royal Family?"

Within his doubts, they walked inside; the interior was vast and empty, so much so that even their footsteps echoed back at them.

The entire place was funnel-shaped, higher around the edges and lower in the center, with decor that screamed of royal extravagance.

Everywhere glinted with gold, even the coffin at the lowest point, as large as a house, was made of gold. Nine distinct golden dragons, each enwrapped in chains, pulled the golden coffin in all directions.

Upon entering, Li Huowang was immediately stunned by this bizarre scene.

"Nine Dragons Coffin?" Li Huowang studied it carefully but felt it was not quite right; it didn't look like nine dragons pulling a coffin but rather as if they were trying to tear the coffin apart.

"Wow! This place is really big!" The Emperor of Da Liang curiously looked around.

However, after a brief glance around, he placed seven types of offerings on the ground under the guidance of an old eunuch and kowtowed three times with nine bows toward the coffin in the center.

Li Huowang thought he would need to bow too, but then he found that even the eunuchs around him did not move, suggesting that in this place, they were not worthy to bow.

"Is the deceased Emperor of Da Liang buried here? I thought he would be laid to rest in a mausoleum." Huan Jue of the Oblivion Path spoke.

As Li Huowang closely examined the exquisitely intricate patterns on the colossal coffin, he suddenly realized something was amiss.

As the Emperor continued his kowtowing, the immense gold coffin slowly began to open.

"Father?" The Emperor of Da Liang paused for a moment, for the coffin was at the lowest point, and standing on the outer circle, he was able to see inside directly. "Father!!"

The Emperor of Da Liang rushed forward excitedly, but several old eunuchs firmly held him back. "What are you doing!! My father is still moving!! He's still alive! Why did you lock him up!"

"Your Majesty, this is the Dragon Vein! It is the root of our Da Liang, not to be profaned at all costs!"

What the Emperor of Da Liang saw, Li Huowang also beheld: the former Emperor of Da Liang, who had fought a decisive battle with the Oblivion Path, was tightly bound with dragon-patterned chains.

Even though he was clad in a broad imperial robe embroidered with dragon patterns, it could not conceal the peculiar transformation on his body, the dark gold dragon scales, and the dragon whiskers twisting like tendrils.

What made Li Huowang's heart chill even more was that he was not alone; this Emperor of Da Liang was stacked on top of another, who was likewise atop another, one after another, seemingly endless layers without end.

The inside of the coffin appeared exceedingly deep and dark, generations of Emperors of Da Liang were rigidly fixed in mid-air by chains, neatly stacked into a vertical column of corpses.

Li Huowang noticed that this column of corpses was not stationary; as some howl from deep within the coffin resonated, it writhed as if attempting to break free from the chains. Their actions resembled those of a chained... dragon?