The Secrets of the Burial Valley

Deep in the distant valley, darkness pooled like ink. Only the vague outline of a mountain-like behemoth could be seen, sleeping in silence.

The voice that referred to two half-ancestors as 'little things' was so arrogant it left one speechless—but from the aura it exuded, it was not an exaggeration.

Every breath it exhaled was a terrible sword mist that pierced the clouds. This was a being at the Ancestral God level!

Xiao Chen and Bai Qi were deeply worried. If this creature turned its breath on them, they would be in mortal danger, likely ground to dust.

The strange dragon-turtle's eyes grew brighter; it was clearly about to act.

At that moment, a cyan light streaked in from afar, shouting: "Hold your hand!"

The Martial Imprint arrived at the critical moment. At the same time, the man wielding the Chaos War Halberd and the woman holding a War Sword chased closely behind.

"Roar!" The Black Qilin bellowed, blocking the Martial Imprint's path like a demonic wall.

"You brutish qilin, don't you recognize me?" The Martial Imprint seemed indignant.

The mysterious woman behind laughed lightly: "The Qilin Blade has awakened. Now that we join forces, let's see where you run."

"Eh?" The bound Ancestral-God-level dragon-turtle showed surprise. "You look familiar—seems like an old acquaintance." As it spoke, terrifying sword beams sprayed from its mouth, shooting toward the Martial Imprint. The void around them completely collapsed.

Xiao Chen and Bai Qi were horrified. These beings caused such devastating effects with the slightest movement. Caught between them, they were truly suffering. The two had to rush aside.

"It's me, don't attack!" The Martial Imprint was frantic. Already surrounded by three great experts, if this mysterious and terrifying dragon-turtle weapon joined in, he would not be able to withstand it.

The Black Qilin roared, charging savagely at the Martial Imprint. At the same time, the mysterious woman's War Sword struck, and the void shattered.

"Bang!"

The Martial Imprint's retreat was cut off by the two behind him. He was sent flying by the Black Qilin's charge, and a massive black blade-stroke nearly split him in two.

"It's that! I remember now!"

The moment Xiao Chen saw the black broken blade's body, a flood of memories returned.

Long ago, when he first entered the World of Immortality and was stranded on Dragon Island, the Demon Chiyou had wanted to use the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree to revive and had given Xiao Chen a black broken blade.

However, after taking the broken blade with him, Xiao Chen had never found anything special about it; it felt far inferior to the Golden Divine Halberd and the Dark-Iron Seal.

But later, a strange event changed his view. When the Heavenly Palace of Sovereign Youchao appeared over the Eternal Continent's sky, the unremarkable black broken blade—which had seemed utterly powerless—flew up and vanished without a trace.

After that, he never saw it again.

And the black broken blade before him now was absolutely one and the same with that earlier blade. The one he had lost was the rear half, including the hilt, while the black broken blade in the Burial Weapons Valley was the front half, including the tip.

If the two were joined, they would form a whole.

"It's definitely it!" Xiao Chen murmured, because the fracture marks on the two blades matched perfectly.

He had never imagined that he had once controlled an Ancestral God weapon. But obviously, the hilt-half had lost its spirit, its power as an Ancestral God weapon gone, far inferior to the terrifying Qilin Blade before him now.

At this moment, the Martial Imprint faced a great crisis. Beset by three experts comparable to the Ninth Heaven of the Half-Ancestor realm, he was in constant danger and barely holding on.

"Hahaha…" Just then, the dragon-turtle Ancestral God weapon bound by black iron chains burst into wild laughter. "So you're that swindler! Hahaha…"

He seemed to recognize the Martial Imprint and laughed without stopping, spraying out even more terrifying sword beams. The void collapsed completely—though this time they were aimed at the sky, where dozens of miles of sword light annihilated everything!

"Back then, you tricked Youchao into traveling far away so you could steal his Heavenly Nest…"

"You once peeked at Bapulla's wife bathing…"

"You sneaked to the edge of Nuwa's hall, were caught by Fuxi, and turned into a fire poker, burning for forty-nine days…"

…

The dragon turtle laughed heartily, listing seven or eight of the Martial Imprint's shameful deeds.

"You d*mn big mouth! Shut up!" The Martial Imprint seemed enraged by the humiliation, shouting: "Stop slandering me!"

"Hahaha…" The dragon-turtle Ancestral God weapon roared with laughter, the chains binding it clattering violently.

"Once, you stole Shennong's divine water and were poisoned so badly you barely survived…"

"Once, you tricked the Little Yellow Emperor into going to the North Sea, then sneaked back and stole his treasures…"

"Once, you crept into Suiren's Fire God Hall, tricked the boy servant into leaving, but accidentally knocked over Suiren's divine fire and were burned half to death…"

…

The dragon-turtle Ancestral God weapon laughed heartily, relentlessly exposing the Martial Imprint's secrets.

"You d*mn dragon turtle! You really are a gossip!" The Martial Imprint cursed loudly, seeming deeply embarrassed.

In the distance, Xiao Chen and Bai Qi stared in shock. Were those… all absurd things the Martial Imprint had done? It seemed the old fellow was truly a reprobate.

Calling him an old swindler was no exaggeration—he was a repeat offender.

"You old scoundrel, you made a huge ruckus in the Burial Weapons Valley back then, and now you dare to come back. If I don't break you into six pieces today, it'll be a disgrace!" The tall man with the Chaos War Halberd spoke icily.

"So you recognized me all along and were pretending to be clueless!" The Martial Imprint fumed.

"I did recognize you long ago, just waiting for you to walk into the trap deep in the valley." The mysterious woman wielding the War Sword swung her blade, sending forth even sharper, more terrifying sword beams.

The Black Qilin also let out ear-splitting roars.

"Clank, clank, clank…"

The iron chains shook violently. The giant dragon turtle sat up, pulling the chains taut around its body. Its voice thundered: "Swindler, you created chaos in the Burial Weapons Valley years ago and then left without a trace. Now that you're back, we're going to settle the score!"

"Gossip, don't think I'm afraid of you. Push me too far, and I'll make another ruckus!" The Martial Imprint shot back.

"Rumble…"

The entire Burial Weapons Valley shook. The massive dragon turtle moved its colossal body, releasing an aura that made even Xiao Chen and Bai Qi tremble.

"What makes you think you can fight me? With this puny form of yours, you think you can contend with me?" The voice rumbled like thunder across the sky.

The Martial Imprint shouted: "Gossip, I didn't expect you to have birthed a true soul—no longer just a wisp of divine sense from long ago. It seems you intend to trouble me today…"

"Indeed, I mean to give you a hard time."

"Not right!" Suddenly, the Martial Imprint bellowed. "You've already merged with the remnant weapon souls of the fallen weapons! You are… no longer what you once were!"

The Martial Imprint seemed to have discovered something terrifying. It mustered all its strength to leap out of the encirclement, stumbling back a dozen paces.

"You speak truly. Over the long years, we are no longer the Ancestral God weapons of old. Now, we are our own masters!" In that moment, the dragon turtle's voice became especially cold, as if it had become a different being entirely.

"You… you are no longer the Ancestral God weapons I knew. You have completely degenerated into world-shaking murderous weapons!" The Martial Imprint felt that matter was extremely grave and retreated another dozen paces.

"People always change. Ancestral God weapons are no exception." The cold, emotionless voice rumbled through the sky for over a hundred li around.

"Was it Shennong or the Yellow Emperor who bound you here?"

"Those accursed Ancestral Gods, meddling in others' affairs! I will get out on my own sooner or later!" The dragon turtle's voice was icy. "As for now… I want to deal with you first."

He spoke coldly: "As for now… I want to deal with you first."

The Martial Imprint snorted: "You're trapped here, yet you dare to boast. Wait until I've rested enough, then I'll have a decisive battle with you."

"Very well, I'll give you time!"

The dragon turtle agreed readily.

Beside them, the man with the Chaos War Halberd, the mysterious woman with the War Sword, and the immense Black Qilin all stopped moving and ceased their attacks.

Swish!

At that moment, no one expected that the Martial Imprint—at the Ninth Heaven of Half-Ancestor realm—would turn into a ball of light, rush toward Xiao Chen and Bai Qi, envelop them, and vanish in the blink of an eye.

The valley was vast, its end difficult to see.

"Trying to escape? Impossible." The man with the War Halberd gave chase.

"Don't worry. Inside the valley, without my permission, no one can leave." The dragon turtle's voice remained cold, completely unconcerned.

"Where are we going?" Xiao Chen asked.

They were already a hundred li away.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Just then, a huge bronze Eight Trigram appeared high in the sky, shining with blinding light. Its voice was the same as the dragon turtle's—no wonder the Martial Imprint called it 'Gossip'; its true form was an Eight Trigram.

"It looks a lot like the bronze Eight Trigram on Dragon Island," Xiao Chen remarked in surprise.

"The bronze Eight Trigram on Dragon Island was merely a fragment's manifestation. How could it compare with the real body here?" The Martial Imprint said gravely. "But it is no longer the Ancestral God weapon of Fuxi from times past. It has now become a world-shaking murderous weapon!"

The dragon turtle's true form was a bronze Eight Trigram—the divine weapon of the Ancestral God Fuxi!

Xiao Chen and Bai Qi had suspected as much, but hearing the Martial Imprint say it plainly still shocked them.

"If I hadn't lost my original body, where would it get the chance to be so arrogant!" The Martial Imprint fumed. But it quickly calmed. "No matter. The situation will be reversed soon. Let's go!"

The territory of the Burial Weapons Valley was vast. They rushed another three hundred li and still hadn't reached the end.

But just then, the enormous bronze Eight Trigram descended.

The Martial Imprint suddenly accelerated with Xiao Chen and Bai Qi!

When the bronze Eight Trigram reached this region, it seemed to have misgivings. It hesitated to slam down, hanging back uncertainly, unwilling to go further.

Ahead, the valley gradually narrowed, pitch-black and far darker than the earlier region.

"So you intend to enter the other valley. Fine, let's see how long you can hide in there!" The bronze Eight Trigram's voice was exceptionally cold, its killing intent undisguised. "Unless an Ancestral God comes, no one can save you. And even if an Ancestral God comes now, I have no fear!"

The road ahead was extremely narrow, barely allowing one person to pass—like two great mountains squeezed together with only a massive crack between them.

The Martial Imprint said nothing and charged inside.

Xiao Chen and Bai Qi followed closely.

After traveling over a dozen li, the space gradually opened up. Upon entering, Xiao Chen and Bai Qi felt an indescribably oppressive pressure.

This was actually another vast dark valley, no smaller than the first.

"The Burial Weapons Valley is shaped like a gourd—two huge valleys joined together. But most Ancestral God weapons are unwilling to set foot here."

Hearing this, Xiao Chen and Bai Qi exchanged glances. They knew something was off.

"Don't wander off, you two. Even Ancestral God weapons have gone missing here!" The Martial Imprint warned solemnly.

After saying this, the Martial Imprint turned and walked forward step by step. He seemed deeply agitated.

"Martial Ancestor… have you revived?"

Ahead, a massive heavenly pillar stood, three hundred zhang tall, impossible for even dozens of people to encircle with their arms. It emanated an ancient, weathered aura.

That was the Martial Ancestor? Impossible! Xiao Chen and Bai Qi dismissed the idea.

It should be a… Heavenly Divine Staff.

A divine staff? They recalled that the dragon turtle had once called the Martial Imprint a 'staff swindler.' Could this be the Martial Imprint's original body? It seemed the Martial Imprint was also a supreme Ancestral God weapon!

That was very possible. The Martial Imprint had called the dragon turtle 'Gossip,' and the dragon turtle had manifested an Ancestral God weapon's true form—a huge bronze Eight Trigram.

The Eight Trigram had called the Martial Imprint a 'staff swindler'; from this, their speculation was very likely true.

Could it be that the Martial Ancestor hadn't been utterly destroyed back then, and was sleeping here, awaiting a chance to revive?