The Immortal Emperor Returns

Chapter 278 The Subterranean Devils!

“What are you three rascals doing here?!” Yue Fandie scowled at his sons. How could they, after having lived for almost two hundred years, still lack decorum and dignity!?

One could almost guess the scorn and displeasure they felt just by looking at their faces.

Nevertheless, all three of Yue Fandie’s sons knew better than to disobey a command coming from their father. Reluctantly, they sloped forward.

“Get on with it, for Heaven’s sake? What are you lot dawdling for? Afraid of stepping on any ants?” scowled Yue Fandie again.

“Father!”

All three of them bowed reverently to him.

“Here are my three sons, Brother. My eldest Yue Hongbo, my second Yue Changle, and my third Yue Wennan,” he paused for a beat before saying again, “Ah, yes. I have a fourth – my youngest. But I’m afraid he must be on one of his mischiefs again somewhere.”

Chu Xun simpered and nodded acknowledgingly to the sons of Yue Fandie.

But all three of them could only grimace at the indignity, showing only weak smiles.

“What are you lot standing there like scarecrows for? Call him ‘UNCLE’!” barked Yue Fandie, wondering why his sons were behaving as sluggish as a dimwit.

It was awkward, to have three men who were over two hundred years old to address him as “Uncle”...

Apparently, the three Yue brothers were feeling the same too, if not more terrible with frowns contorting their faces. It was only understandable considering Chu Xun was even younger than their grandchildren.

“Forget it. Just call me Chu Xun. The brotherhood between Yue— Brother Yue, I mean — and I is only between us, I don’t think we should drag you all into this.”

The three men gave Chu Xun a renewed look of gratitude.

“Wait a minute,” Yue Fandie interjected, “We cannot have that. Proper decorum should all be observed.”

Their faces fell again. They could not bear to greet one as young as Chu Xun as an elder, and the mere notion of doing it again was unbearable for them.

“What?! So is having the Devil as an uncle a big disgrace to you all?!” Yue Fandie glared at his sons, livid with seething anger.

“It’s fine, Brother,” persuaded Chu Xun, “There’s no need to be so fastidious about trivial matters.”

“It’s not trivial to me,” frowned Yue Fandie obstinately. He glowered at his sons, “Call Chu Xun Second Uncle, or don’t call me Father ever again.”

Huh?!

All three of them looked as if they were really hoping that they had heard wrongly.

Chu Xun was quite astonished himself. He never expected Yue Fandie to take this matter so seriously.

“Uncle.”

All three of them called in unison.

Not even the usually reticent Chu Xun could prevent feeling perturbed by the gesture.

“Now call me Big Sister,” quipped Jiu You out of nowhere in her childish voice.

Chu Xun quickly pulled her to his back before she could do more damage.

Yue Fandie, however, looked delighted.

“All right, that’s enough. Now go along, all three of you.”

They watched as everyone left before Yue Fandie led Chu Xun to the Hall of Tetrachy, where Chu Xun’s eyes immediately fell upon the huge two-meters-tall brazier sitting prominently at the center.

It was the Tetrachy Cauldron. The images of the Four Celestial Beasts ornately carved around the sides of the Cauldron looked so lifelike, exuding an inexplicable aura and presence of its own.

Solemnly, Chu Xun, with the help of his Hong Meng Scripture disciplines, observed the hallowed instrument more closely.

The sturdy four-limb brazier stood above the ground, yet with wisps of black gaseous aura flowing underneath, right over the surface of the ground; it was by the Cauldron’s aura that they kept the black gaseous aura from flowing out.

That was foul aura.

Something must be underneath the ground and the Tetrachy Cauldron was the very one thing keeping it there.

Bang!

The ground gave a sudden jolt as if something was hammering from below, trying to break out to freedom.

The majestic and sacred aura of the Tetrachy Cauldron churned furiously.

Chu Xun jerked his head aside and noticed the acolytes watching the entrance utterly unfazed, as if this disturbance was something usual and looked hardly surprised nor bothered.

“How long has this been?” asked Chu Xun.

“You can tell what’s going on, right?” Yue Fandie asked instead.

Chu Xun nodded, and then he asked, “What in the world is underneath?”

“A decade ago, we retreated into hiding. Then came one day, the Tetrachy Cauldron began trembling and humming, only to fly away on its own. Being the most hallowed heirloom of the Sanctuary, there could be no mistakes, and I followed it all the way here – Here, where it landed and it never moved since. No one could.”

“And that compelled you to relocate the Sanctuary to this place.”

“Correct,” answered Yue Fandie, “Everything was fine and peaceful at first, but for only one year. Then the ground began trembling from time to time, and that indicated to me that this Cauldron must be keeping something sealed below. What’s troubling is, the tremors are getting more frequent, and stronger too.”

Small wonder why would Yue Fandie refused him with such alacrity when he asked to borrow the Cauldron, Chu Xun mused, understanding fully at last.

“I noticed that you have quaint skills and magic during our duel earlier, so here we are. Help me understand what could be lurking below.”

A strange dread crept into Chu Xun. Whatever it was sealed below, it must be something extremely powerful and terrifying to have the Tetrachy Cauldron coming all the way on its own to help keep it down there.

“Let me try,” he said, feeling honor-bound to help.

He projected his Divine Sense, reaching it into the Tetrachy Cauldron, down its four feet, and deeper and deeper into the ground.

He reached more than a thousand meters below when something made his expression change – the image of a dark and wide abyss appeared in his mind.

The hole reached straight down into utter blackness with unfathomable depth and the width of the gaping pit reached as far as a thousand meters.

His Divine Sense crept further down. Even after the three-thousand-meter mark, there was still no sign of the bottom. Yet Chu Xun looked more and more somber; the foul aura was only getting thicker and thicker, the deeper he got, rolling upwards in thick plumes and tendrils as if the foulest and worst of all demons lurked underneath.

Chu Xun reached further down with his Divine Sense, trying to explore deeper.

Roar!

A deafening roar came from below, its mere strength blowing up more foul aura from below as a huge, gigantic hand-forged completely of magical energy – tried to grab and seize Chu Xun’s Divine Sense which nearly broke and shattered at its slightest touch.

Shocked, Chu Xun withdrew his astral detachment of himself, pulling it back up the hole as quickly as he could, but the gigantic hand chased after him, hitting and pounding at his Divine Sense all the way up.

With a cold snort, Chu Xun’s Divine Sense morphed from its humanoid form into a giant fist itself, and it slammed furiously at the monster hand.

Boom!

A huge burst of air galled inside the hole, dispersing every iota of foul aura lingering nearby.

Chu Xun staggered backward as if he had just been struck by lightning. The ground cracked under his feet and his face gone pale.

“Are you all right?!” gasped Yue Fandie with shock.

Chu Xun shook his head, saying nothing. He redirected his focus back to his Divine Sense, reforging it into a fist again and he pounded hard at his enemy.

Hmph!

Chu Xun was sure he heard a snort. An angry grunt reverberated deep from the deepest-most depths of the Underworld.

The albino hand enlarged suddenly, and grabbed Chu Xun’s fist, stopping his attack.

Boom!

A huge, massive explosion ensued, and more winds raged below.

“Urgh!”

Up on ground level, Chu Xun grimaced and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The monstrous hand came again for another swat at Chu Xun’s Divine Sense.

Chu Xun’s Divine Sense raced back up the hole as quickly as he could. But the monstrous hand was just as quickly as he was, and it loomed over Chu Xun’s Divine Sense, being about to slam furiously down on him when he heard a raspy metallic rattle and the gigantic hand jerked backward. Being pulled back by some invisible chains, it came no more further.

Roar!

Another angry roar bounced incessantly off the walls of the bottomless pit.

“Immortals... Be warned... The Subterranean Devils will return... and we will lay waste to Earth...”

As his Divine Sense raced quickly for dear life, the message never stopped echoing deep inside him, leaving him reeling with shock and apprehension.

“Brother.”

Yue Fandie grew worried after watching Chu Xun threw up blood.

Chu Xun shook his head, signaling he was fine. With the last words from the voice he heard just now haunting him, he gave Yue Fandie a knowing look.

Catching his gist, Yue Fandie turned and barked to the acolytes watching the hall, “All of you. Give us the room.”

They waited until everyone left before the Lord of the Sanctuary finally asked, “What’s going on, Brother?”

“What do you know about the Subterranean Devils, Brother Yue?” Chu Xun looked abysmally grave. Whatever it was down there, it must be unbelievably powerful, to be able to attack him and injure him with ease by only using his spiritual force, instead of actual magical energy.

“Wait, y-y-you’re saying... what’s down there... Are they the Subterranean Devils?!” Yue Fandie stuttered with shock.

Chu Xun nodded.

“I see...” Yue Fandie murmured... “So the Lost History is true after all...”

“What’s Lost History?”

“There is this tome long kept in the archives of the Sanctuary. It is called the Lost History – a collection of annals which recorded the origin of the Sanctuary and its past glories. The name of the Subterranean Devils Clan was mentioned inside the Lost History before.”

“Can I have a look at it?” asked Chu Xun despite knowing how brazen it was a favor to ask, but he needed to know more about the Subterranean Devils Clan.

“Nothing difficult about it,” answered Yue Fandie curtly. He flicked his wrist and a thick and heavy tome appeared in his hand.

It was an ancient book made up solely of animal hide. Hence it looked new, and the scripts inside were clear and legible.

Chu Xun sat down on the cold flagstones and began poring through its contents carefully.

It was only when the silvery orb of the moon rose over the boughs of the trees outside did Chu Xun finally closed the ancient tome. He handed the heavyset book to Yue Fandie, the look on his face particularly grim.

The Subterranean Devils Clan, a splinter branch of the Fiends, was one of Earth’s strongest race hundreds of million years ago. They were known to be a race adept in psychic attacks and that made them terrifying enemies to behold.

Yet, there was no mention of the Immortals in the ancient text.

The tome recorded mostly the rise and decline of the Sanctuary of Tetrachy while any mention of the Subterranean Devils was hardly more than cursory sidenotes.

But from the words of the disembodied voice he heard just now, one could guess that it was the Immortals who had kept the Devils sealed underground here.

Immortals?

To possess the courage to call themselves Immortals, whoever this faction was, they must be incredibly powerful beings themselves.

But who were these Immortals? Did the name refer to a faction, a group, or an organization, or was the name referring to a place, a dimension, or a domain separate from Earth?

“If these Devils manage to escape, I’m afraid blood and ruin will be upon us all, Brother,” breathed Yue Fandie somberly.

Chu Xun nodded. If these foul beings really managed to escape, Emperor Ao could be the only person being powerful enough to stop them.

“But it won’t be easy,” said Chu Xun. Whatever it was down there, the being only attacked him using his spiritual powers. It could not reach him otherwise, and he was sure he had heard the metallic clanks of chains. It must still be sealed very far down beneath.

“That is no reason to lower our guard,” Yue Fandie exclaimed, looking no less assuaged.

Chu Xun pivoted around to look at the Cauldron, sitting and winking at him quietly with a faint glitter. Then he realized how he could not tell what grade this Cauldron belonged to. But since it could come here on its own to help keep the Devils sealed, there was no way it hailed from humble belongings.

Moreover, the “Tetrachy” in its name represented the high tetrachy of the Four Celestial Beasts. Celestial. The great name of it was enough to show that the Cauldron held an illustrious history of its own.

And from the tome of the Lost History he had just been poring over, there was but only one little phrase pertaining to the Cauldron’s origin – it came from far inside the abyss.

Chu Xun could not tell where this “abyss” was. But if there was one thing he was certain of, that would be that the Cauldron hadn’t yet fully awakening.

“Brother,” Chu Xun said brusquely, “I need the Cauldron to brew some elixirs.”

That request made Yue Fandie turn around quickly, and before he could refuse, Chu Xun rammed on.

“Look at this, Brother. It would be a waste instead of a Divine Relic if it were not fully utilized, just like how the most unconquerable sword would become useless if no one were to draw it in battle before. The Cauldron is a furnace. A furnace should be used to brew the elixir. By not using it, it is nothing more than a brazier used to burn offerings in. Now ask yourself, do you honestly think that is its purpose?”

Yue Fandie would have tendered a word of objection, if not for the dull, but unmistakable hum coming from the Cauldron as if it was responding in assent to Chu Xun’s words.

Yue Fandie could not believe his ears; the Tetrachy Cauldron was responding like it had a mind of its own!

Encouraged by this, Chu Xun said again, “If the most invincible sword’s purpose is to bath itself in the blood of its foes, naturally, the purpose of the Tetrachy Cauldron would be to produce elixirs and concoctions of the highest order, am I right?”

Rumble!

The Cauldron trembled and hummed again!

Chu Xun spoke to the Cauldron, “Would you allow me to use you to produce pills and elixirs, to help me regain my former glory while also achieving yours?”

Rumble!

The Cauldron shook even more vigorously, and the relief engravings of the Four Celestial Beasts began glowing brightly with a radiant luster.

Awestruck, Yue Fandie beheld everything with his mouth gaping wide with shock. For three hundred years, he had been watching the Cauldron, and never had he witnessed the Cauldron displaying its very own sentience before.

“Everything contains a spirit of its own, Brother, more so for a Divine Relic such as this Cauldron,” said Chu Xun.

Still reeling with bewilderment, Yue Fandie could only nod dumbly while murmuring, “I have failed... I have sullied the Divine Relic by denying its true calling... I have been blind...”

“Tomorrow onwards, Brother, I shall use the Cauldron to brew elixirs and pills. I shall restore the Cauldron to its former magnificence.”

Rumble!

The Cauldron began shining brightly, the carvings of the Celestial Beasts glowing as if they had been given life, and the demonic aura leaking from underground cowered back into the soil, eager to recoil from the Cauldron’s mighty and holy influence in full display.