The Ruins Emerge All Sides Converge

South of Cangwu Commandery, on the official road.

A convoy was slowly advancing toward Cangwu Commandery City.

The convoy was not large, consisting of only three horse-drawn carriages, but the guards all had profound auras, with the lowest being at the late stage of Qi Refining.

The curtain of the middle carriage was lifted a corner, revealing an aged face. It was Han Tieyi, an outer sect elder of the Han family.

After the Three Realms Martial Arts Discussion, he was ordered to stay in Cangwu Commandery to handle the Han family's remaining industries there, while also keeping an eye on every move of the Tianyan Sect.

The carriage suddenly stopped.

Han Tieyi, who was resting with his eyes closed, frowned and lifted the curtain to step out: "What's going on?"

Before he finished speaking, his eyes were firmly drawn to the cyan pillar of light piercing the heavens and earth in the eastern sky.

His body on the carriage shaft suddenly stiffened, and the teacup in his hand dropped to the ground with a clang, shattering to pieces.

"That... that is..."

His voice trembled uncontrollably, his cloudy eyes widened, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out, revealing a look of unbelievable ecstasy.

He suddenly took out a yellowed thread-bound ancient book from his chest and flipped through the pages quickly, finally stopping at a page with mottled ink records.

"Cyan light pillar pierces heaven and earth, nine-story ancient pagoda suppresses the universe..."

"Emperor... Emperor's ruins! This is the ruins of Emperor Cangwu!"

Han Tieyi trembled violently all over, even his beard shaking.

When he was young, he had seen this manuscript left by his ancestors in the Han family's forbidden area. It recorded the secret story of Emperor Cangwu's fall ten thousand years ago, saying that when the Emperor's mausoleum appeared, there would definitely be cyan light soaring into the sky and an ancient pagoda suspended in the air.

He had always thought this was just a legend, but he didn't expect to see it with his own eyes today!

"Elder! What's wrong?"

The surrounding Han family disciples gathered around, followed his gaze, and were all stunned by the terrifying pillar of light and the spinning nine-story ancient pagoda in the sky.

"My God! What is that?"

"Such strong pressure! I feel like I can't breathe!"

Han Tieyi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, and his eyes became extremely sharp: "That is the mausoleum of Emperor Cangwu! The burial place of that half-step saint ten thousand years ago!"

"What?"

All the Han family disciples instantly exploded, their faces filled with crazy greed.

A half-step saint's emperor's mausoleum!

This was a massive opportunity that could make the Han family the overlord of the Eastern Region!

"Elder! Then what are we waiting for? Let's go grab it!" a young disciple said anxiously.

"Idiot!"

Han Tieyi shouted sharply: "With just a few dozen of us, going there would be suicide!"

He suddenly turned around and shouted at the messenger behind him: "Immediately use the sect's highest-level communication talisman to notify the family head! Just say that the mausoleum of Emperor Cangwu has appeared at the eastern foot of Qingyun Mountain! Please ask the family head to immediately lead all the elites and come out in full force!"

"Elder!" A disciple hesitated for a moment, "From the capital to Cangwu Commandery, it will take at least three days. By the time the family head and the others arrive, will it be... too late?"

"It's not too late!"

Han Tieyi said decisively: "The ancient book clearly records that the Emperor's ruins have nine layers of seals. It will take a full seven days before the ruins' gate completely opens!"

"Seven days! Enough time for the family head to bring all the Han family's experts!"

...

At the same time, within Cangwu Commandery, the scouts of major factions were doing the same thing.

The news spread like it had wings, radiating in all directions with Qingyun Mountain as the center.

"Have you heard? Emperor's ruins have appeared in Cangwu Commandery!"

"Titled Almighty, Emperor Cangwu! The one who almost unified the Eastern Region ten thousand years ago!"

"Heavenly anomaly, cyan light soaring into the sky, it's said there is also a nine-story ancient pagoda floating in the sky!"

"How many treasures must there be in a ruin of this level?"

"Maybe there are Heaven-rank cultivation methods!"

"Stop dreaming, would such good things fall to you? The four great families must have already sent people."

"Not just the families! The royal family will also send people! Who can sit still for a ruin of this level?"

"Let it be chaotic, the more chaotic the better! It's easier to fish in troubled waters!"

...

The capital, the Great Qian Imperial City.

Deep in the imperial palace, the imperial study was brightly lit.

The Great Qian Emperor Zhao Wuji was leaning over his desk reviewing memorials when he suddenly frowned and put down his vermilion brush.

At the corner of the imperial desk, a nine-dragon jade pendant floated up on its own, emitting a faint cyan light.

Zhao Wuji's pupils slightly contracted, and he reached out to grasp the jade pendant. He closed his eyes and tapped his finger on the armrest of the dragon throne three times.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, his face normal, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he muttered to himself: "The inheritance of Emperor Cangwu, it's worth joining the fun."

...

At the same time, in the four directions of the capital, urgent reports flew into the mansions of the four great families one after another.

Jiang family, inner hall.

The head of the Jiang family, Jiang Tianxiong, sat cross-legged, resting with his eyes closed.

Beside him hung an ancient sword, its blade edgeless, yet it vibrated slightly, emitting a low hum.

An urgent report was carefully presented to him.

Jiang Tianxiong didn't open his eyes, but simply tapped his finger on the urgent report. The text on the report turned into a stream of light and automatically flowed into his forehead.

A moment later, Jiang Tianxiong opened his eyes.

Those eyes were as calm as an ancient well, yet they made the deacon kneeling in the hall shiver.

"The tomb of Emperor Cangwu."

"It seems the ancestor will have to take action personally!"

...

In the Shen family's ancestral land, deep inside a cave dwelling that had been silent for an unknown number of years, the white-haired Shen family ancestor Shen Cangming sat on a futon. His face was as withered as tree bark, and his aura was as weak as an oil lamp that could go out at any moment.

He had been in seclusion for a hundred and twenty years, a hundred and twenty years without seeing the light of day, a hundred and twenty years without speaking a word.

Some younger generations in the family even speculated privately whether the ancestor had already passed away in meditation, but no one dared to go in and confirm.

The moment the cyan light pierced through the mountain and layers of restrictions to flood into the cave, Shen Cangming's eyelids twitched.

Those eyes, which had been cloudy for hundreds of years, now had a sharp light slowly gathering within them, like something breaking through the ice under a frozen lake.

"Cangwu..."

"I have been in seclusion for a hundred years, exhausting my entire life, but I still couldn't touch that threshold."

"Now that the Emperor's ruins have appeared, even if it's just looking at the Emperor's remains through the seal and feeling a trace of his lingering Dao charm..."

"If I can comprehend a glimmer of opportunity from it, I can also attempt to break through to Titled Almighty. By then, the Shen family can also produce an Emperor."

...

The ancestors of the four great families, Jiang, Shen, Han, and Yang, all emerged!

They had spent their entire lives trying to break through to the Emperor realm. Now that the Emperor's ruins had appeared, how could they miss it?

Not to mention what treasures were inside the ruins, just gaining a bit more comprehension of cultivation would be a massive harvest!

If they could successfully break through to Almighty, then they could also be called Emperors!

Besides the four great families, the five major sects of the Great Qian Dynasty also received the news at the same time.

The Biyang Immortal Sect, the Qingming Sword Sect, the Spirit Fire Pill Sect, the Nine Palaces Array Sect, and... the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce.

Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

In a resplendent hall, the president Qian Tongtian was frowning at the urgent report sent overnight.

His chubby fingers flicked rapidly on the abacus, faster and faster, before suddenly stopping, his face glowing: "Emperor's ruins! This job is worth doing!"

"Send word to Qian Sihai to prepare an ample supply of spirit stones, elixirs, and magical artifacts. The Emperor's ruins have opened in Cangwu Commandery, and rogue cultivators from tens of thousands of miles around will be swarming there."

"There is only one true inheritance, yet everyone believes themselves to be the Chosen One. The spirit stones, elixirs, and artifacts we sell will be the admission tickets they fight tooth and nail to get."

"This time, we are not going inside. We are just going to set up shop!"