Chapter 148: The Blood of the Human Emperor, the Path to the Human Emperor’s Tomb【Please Subscribe】

Suizhou Safe Zone.

Yi Shen’s arrival and the capture of several members of the Blood Clan caused many others who had been hiding within the protective perimeter around the Human Emperor’s Tomb to flee. None of them looked well. Some had infiltrated the Unified Dispatch Bureau for years; others had even risen to leadership positions in guilds around Suizhou. Yet no one had expected a Black Mage to appear out of nowhere and expose every one of them.

“What exactly is the Black Mage? How can he investigate the source of our power directly? He even exposed two high-ranking Blood Clan members.”

A tattooed man had already escaped back to the Suizhou Safe Zone. In an underground warehouse, he had gathered the senior Blood Clan contacts in the area.

His name was Zhi Yan. He was currently vice president of a major guild in Suizhou and had cultivated quite a few subordinates of his own.

Once he learned that the Black Mage was conducting a thorough investigation of the protective perimeter, he had no choice but to flee before the Black Mage could drag him out as well.

But by now, his communicator had nearly been overwhelmed with messages. Most people refused to believe that he was a member of the Blood Clan, yet his sudden departure from the protective perimeter had undeniably aroused suspicion among the guild members.

“Xi Xudong, you’re quite something. You can’t deal with the Black Mage yourself, so you’ve pushed him in my direction?”

Zhi Yan had contacted Xi Xudong in the Hanzhong Safe Zone, and he began cursing the moment the call connected. Yi Shen’s unexpected arrival had, in a single stroke, destroyed more than half of the foundation he had painstakingly built in Suizhou.

It was not as though the Unified Dispatch Bureau had never sent people to investigate before. However, once the Blood Clan members concealed their auras, the bureau’s investigators were completely unable to sense them.

The Black Mage alone was an exception. Even when they buried their auras deep within their souls, he could still detect them with astonishing precision and drag them into the open.

“Don’t slander me. I only just learned of his movements myself. Besides, the Human Emperor’s Tomb mission was assigned to him by the Unified Dispatch Bureau. That isn’t something I can control.”

Xi Xudong answered Zhi Yan’s message quickly enough.

The news Zhi Yan sent over had genuinely surprised him as well. He knew that the Black Mage would not be easy to handle, but he had never imagined that the man could identify them so precisely.

This time, it was Suizhou.

But what about next time?

If he came to the Hanzhong Safe Zone, could he completely uncover everything they had arranged there as well?

Hanzhong was one of the Blood Clan’s central hubs. If something went wrong there, the arrangements they had spent years making might all be exposed at once.

“Then I don’t care whose fault it is. What do we do now? He’s extremely powerful. Without someone at level seventy, I’m afraid there’s no way to deal with him.”

Zhi Yan knew that venting his anger would accomplish nothing. If the Black Mage truly possessed the ability to track every member of the Blood Clan, it would be a devastating blow to their entire race.

“We have to find a way to kill him,” Zhi Yan suggested. “As long as the Black Mage remains alive, none of us will have peace.”

“Agreed.” Xi Xudong nodded. “That Venerable should awaken within the next few days. We definitely have to find a way to eliminate the Black Mage.”

“Let’s report this together. I’m worried that even one Venerable may not be enough to deal with him.”

“Even a Venerable might not be able to handle him?” Zhi Yan was startled.

A Venerable was two major grades above them in the Blood Clan hierarchy, and could even be considered the pinnacle of what could currently awaken. If a Venerable could not eliminate the Black Mage, the consequences would be disastrous for the entire race.

“I don’t know. If the Venerable has only just awakened, his strength will certainly need time to recover. For now, we should see whether we can use some puppets. We’ll try our best not to let them carry any trace of our aura.”

“What about the Human Emperor’s blood?” Zhi Yan asked anxiously. He had remained here for more than a decade, waiting precisely for this opportunity. “If the Black Mage stays here, I feel that we may never be able to obtain it.”

“Report everything first and see what the council decides. The Black Mage definitely won’t live long. With a matter this serious, the council will surely find an opportunity to eliminate him, or transfer him elsewhere first.”

The two continued their discussion, but it was obvious that Yi Shen’s sudden appearance near the Human Emperor’s Tomb had placed them under unprecedented pressure.

Suizhou Safe Zone, the protective perimeter beside the Human Emperor’s Tomb.

The perimeter had been established roughly a month earlier, and many official forces had already taken up residence there.

Yi Shen’s arrival and the exposure of so many Blood Clan members had sent shock waves through the entire perimeter.

Shen Shimao was also somewhat bewildered. He had never expected Yi Shen to become involved in such a major incident after only a few hours.

This was no longer merely a matter concerning the Human Emperor’s Tomb. It involved several major guilds and safe zones—and even infiltration within the Unified Dispatch Bureau itself.

Shen Shimao belonged to the bureau’s capital division and had already contacted the northern headquarters.

“Boss, that’s the situation in general. The Black Mage helped us expose more than a dozen people. Eight of them have already committed suicide, but we preserved all the bodies. Two others turned out to be cowards and confessed. They said they had consumed the Blood Pills that appeared in the past, although the Blood Pills available now are very different from those discovered several years ago. The current ones seem to be much more stable.”

Shen Shimao finished reporting to the north.

He addressed the person on the other end as Boss. Within the northern branch of the Unified Dispatch Bureau, only one person was called that—the current chief of the bureau and one of its three principal directors, Feng Xian, who ranked among the top five explorers in China.

Across China, numerous rankings had appeared on various forums. Later, the Unified Dispatch Bureau released an official ranking of its own, measuring influence.

The ranking listed the top one hundred explorers in each region. However, there was an unwritten rule: the top five were never assigned specific positions. Instead, only five names were announced together.

They were:

Arrow Ancestor Yang Zhen, Sword Immortal Chen Siyuan, Chief Director Feng Xian, Shepherd God Qiao, and Empire Bastion Song Yangcheng.

Shen Shimao’s boss was the man known as Chief Director Feng Xian. He was one of the three founders of the Unified Dispatch Bureau and the current general director of security for the capital.

The fact that Shen Shimao could speak directly with Feng Xian showed that his own position was far from insignificant.

His assignment to develop the Human Emperor’s Tomb could even be considered an overqualified appointment. As a wandering warrior who had risen to fame at a young age, Shen Shimao’s strength was actually considerable. It was only in comparison with Yi Shen that he appeared somewhat weaker.

“Continue observing for now. Dong San and the others will come over later to assist you. Keep a close eye on the Black Mage as well. Song Yangcheng has been in close contact with him, and there are indeed serious problems within the Unified Dispatch Bureau.”

After hearing Shen Shimao’s report, Feng Xian realized how grave the situation was. His voice was low and solemn.

Over the years, the development of the Unified Dispatch Bureau had gradually deviated from their expectations. For various special reasons, even its founders were unable to handle many matters conveniently.

But if the bureau had truly been infiltrated by outside enemies to such an extent, it would certainly have to undergo a thorough investigation.

For a time, the entire northern branch of the Unified Dispatch Bureau began operating in secret.

At the same time, the other guilds within the protective perimeter began discussing the matter among themselves.

“Where’s the Black Mage? He’s my idol!”

“No idea. I heard he left after exposing a few people.”

“We’ve been squatting here for so long, only to discover that our own side had problems first. I saw Brother Shen’s face turn completely dark just now. Still, the Black Mage did go straight to arresting people. He really didn’t give anyone much face.”

“Old Zhu, what do you think? Didn’t you say you were very familiar with the Black Mage? How come he hasn’t contacted you?”

The protective perimeter contained many guilds from the Hanzhong Safe Zone, as well as several from Suizhou and even major guilds from the Zhengyang Safe Zone. They had joined forces to develop the Human Emperor’s Tomb, whose existence had already been confirmed.

Zhu Kaiyang was one of the people sent there.

He belonged to the Fire Phoenix Guild and served as its chief spellcaster. Two months earlier, he had returned from providing support in the Jingmen Safe Zone. Since he feared that people in Hanzhong would bombard him with questions, he had applied for a more distant assignment and ended up in Suizhou.

He had never expected to encounter the Black Mage here as well.

When he had been bragging before, he had claimed that he had met the Black Mage and was very familiar with him. In reality, he was only somewhat acquainted with Zhan Yu. He had first met the Black Mage on the battlefield, and afterward had seen him only two or three times in conference rooms.

“He’s become even stronger than before.”

Listening to his friends’ teasing, Zhu Kaiyang fell into thought.

Part of his desire to improve his strength had been inspired by the Black Mage. He had once believed that spellcasters possessed the strongest offensive power, but the Black Mage’s appearance had shattered that conviction.

The only explanation Zhu Kaiyang could think of was that the Black Mage had already broken through into the Domain realm, which was why he possessed such overwhelming strength.

He had come to the Human Emperor’s Tomb in the hope of finding a new breakthrough.

He had not expected the Black Mage to appear again, giving him another ominous feeling.

The last time, in the secret realm of the Jingmen Safe Zone, the Black Mage had overwhelmed every member of every race, ranking first in points from beginning to end.

Would this Human Emperor’s Tomb secret realm also be completely claimed by him alone?

Shanghai.

After announcing that he would abandon his battle with Azure Dragon, Song Yangcheng returned to Shanghai with his people and received a message from Xiao Ge.

Xiao Ge’s mission in the Jingmen Safe Zone was essentially complete.

With Zhan Yu’s assistance, she had also established a small communications network. She would now head to the Human Emperor’s Tomb and work with Yi Shen to deal with matters there.

That had been the plan from the beginning. Yi Shen had simply departed ahead of schedule.

What Xiao Ge had not expected was that Yi Shen would create such a huge disturbance in so short a time.

“The northern headquarters has already passed the news to me. The Blood Clan members Yi Shen exposed seem to be connected to a very wide network. Don’t spread this matter for now. Go join the Black Mage first and, at the very least, ensure his safety. I’ll come over as soon as I can.”

Song Yangcheng’s instructions were very different from those issued by the northern headquarters. He had directly ordered Xiao Ge to join Yi Shen as soon as possible and even protect him. This surprised her.

“You’re coming here?”

Xiao Ge knew that Song Yangcheng was extremely busy. She had not expected him to make two trips already this month because of Yi Shen.

“Yes. I’m worried that some major threat will move against Yi Shen later. What he uncovered is extremely serious. I looked over the information sent from the north. The people exposed within the Unified Dispatch Bureau have all been long-standing veterans, and some of the people who recommended them may have problems as well.”

Song Yangcheng offered a brief explanation.

After learning of the matter, he had immediately attached the greatest importance to it. He could not guarantee that there were no Blood Clan members hiding in Shanghai.

If the Blood Clan had been laying a vast chess game in secret for many years, then Yi Shen possessed the ability to overturn the entire board. The Blood Clan would undoubtedly target him.

At the very least, if Song Yangcheng himself were the leader of the Blood Clan and learned that Yi Shen could see through their disguises, he would eliminate Yi Shen at any cost.

Yi Shen had no idea that exposing a few Blood Clan members had caused such a vast disturbance throughout the outside world. Even if he had known, he would not have cared much.

Strength was the most reliable guarantee of his own safety. On the contrary, Yi Shen was looking forward to whatever might come next. Judging from the current situation, he seemed to possess an ability that restrained the Blood Clan. He also wanted to investigate more deeply what connection existed between his newly acquired Mountains and Seas bloodline and the Blood Clan members hiding throughout China.

For now, however, he had already approached the Human Emperor’s Tomb.

When he had first arrived, Shen Shimao had accompanied him in investigating the tomb. Yi Shen had discovered a few things at the time, but Song Yangcheng had remained by his side, making it inconvenient to use many of his methods openly.

Now Shen Shimao had gone to organize the various guilds and manage the protective perimeter, allowing Yi Shen to return alone to the area around the Human Emperor’s Tomb.

The opening from which he had previously absorbed the red aura had begun releasing it once again. This time, Yi Shen did not hesitate and immediately began absorbing it.

Nor did he leave after finishing. Instead, he followed the entire outer perimeter of the Human Emperor’s Tomb, circling it once and rapidly absorbing all the red aura he found.

Yi Shen discovered four openings in total. Each opening contained three gates, and strange runes covered all three. The runes were unfamiliar to him, and whenever he approached, he encountered resistance.

But Yi Shen quickly gathered all the red aura he had absorbed earlier and wrapped it around his body. At the same time, he activated the Spiral Tortoise’s innate ability and unfolded a spatial-folding barrier.

Although the Human Emperor’s Tomb rejected Yi Shen’s aura, the pressure was noticeably reduced when he disguised his aura as that of a Mountains and Seas beast.

Moreover, the Spiral Tortoise’s spatial-folding barrier possessed a unique spatial function. Yi Shen believed that with its help, he might be able to approach those strange gates.

End of Chapter