Mutated Tao

Chapter 483: Dragon

Even after getting intercepted by the eunuchs, the emperor looked up and waved at Li Huowang. “Were you surprised? You couldn't have known that I was the emperor, could you?”

“I greet the emperor,” Li Huowang said with a bow. He retreated, but the emperor clearly didn’t want Li Huowang to leave his side.

“Hey, I really need to thank you. They would have tricked me successfully if it hadn't been for you! Anyway, just let me know what official post you would like to have.”

“Preposterous! This is nonsense!” the Imperial Preceptor scolded.

The emperor grimaced, and he became much more docile. He was the emperor, but it was clear that there were some things that he couldn't influence.

“My lord, do you remember what day it is today?” asked the Imperial Preceptor.

The emperor stood up straight and answered, “The tributes have been prepared, and we are heading to the imperial temple to pray to the previous emperor.”

“Correct.” The Imperial Preceptor closed his heavy eyelids and said nothing else.

The emperor was not someone who'd throw a tantrum after getting scolded by the Imperial Preceptor. Moreover, he was pleased with Li Huowang’s appearance. “You can follow me. Let's talk about what I said to you just now once we're done.”

The Imperial Preceptor’s lips quivered, but he said nothing. However, he was planning on telling the Empress Dowager about the emperor’s bad behavior.

Li Huowang wanted to decline, but the eunuchs had surrounded him. He couldn't leave at all. He glanced at the Imperial Preceptor’s back and decided that it was unwise to fight back. He did not expect this to happen, but it wasn't a bad thing to become the emperor's friend. Of course, this wasn't the best time to become one.

Li Huowang followed the procession and walked around the palace.

The emperor turned around from time to time, as he was curious about Li Huowang, especially after the latter's help to the emperor during that festival. However, Li Huowang clearly looked like he couldn't wait to leave the emperor's side.

After all, Bai Lingmiao was still waiting for him outside.

Li Huowang initially thought that they would go straight to the imperial temple, but they headed straight to the treasury instead!

Sir Zao was already waiting with the eunuchs under his care, and they all greeted the emperor upon his arrival at the treasury.

A grand table was before them, and seven jade plates the size of a basin were placed neatly in a row on the table. The plates contained many different items.

There was a translucent jade-like flower bud, a pulsating white chicken egg, and a scepter made out of flesh. The final jade plate was unique, as it was empty, but there were wisps of black smoke would appear on it from time to time.

Li Huowang instantly identified what was on the plate. The final plate contained the carcass of the spiritual sin that he had killed! To think that the evil entity he had worked hard to track and kill would end up being used to pray to a dead emperor!

Li Huowang suddenly felt like his efforts had been in vain. No wonder the emperor arrived the moment he submitted the corpse of the spiritual sin. The emperor had been waiting for it.

“Take everything.” A row of eunuchs bent down and took the jade plates. Then, they raised the plates high above their heads and followed the procession toward the imperial temple.

Ten minutes later, Li Huowang caught a whiff of incense sticks. They'd soon arrive at the imperial temple. Aside from the fact that it was more majestic than the ordinary temples outside, the imperial temple didn't really look special.

However, the emperor's expression became solemn when they reached the imperial temple. He bowed ceremoniously toward the temple before walking into it with procession behind him.

The temple was big and had rows of candles inside of it, which made its temperature higher than the outside world. There were a few old eunuchs at the corner of the walls, and they were both blind and deaf. They chanted sutras and were hitting a wooden fish incessantly day and night.

The emperor kneeled on the cushion facing the rows of ancestral tablets housed in the temple, but he was pulled back by one of the older eunuchs.

“Hm? Are we not praying here today?” the emperor asked.

The emperor's reaction made Li Huowang realize that the emperor had no idea what was going on.

The old eunuch whispered something into the emperor's ears, and the emperor stood up unwillingly. Then, he brought the group of people behind him toward the back of the altar.

The yellow drapes behind the altar were pulled open, and a regal door made from black stone with nine massive dragons engraved on it appeared before everyone.

The eunuchs pushed the door open, and a cold sensation ran down everyone’s spine.

The courtesans stopped walking, and only the men walked into the door.

Even Lian Zhibei couldn't enter and had to wait outside.

Are we inside the true ancestral hall of the Liang Kingdom’s imperial family? Li Huowang finally understood what was happening. However, he still had many burning questions in his mind as he walked into the chamber. The chamber was massive, and the sound of everyone's footsteps echoed loudly inside of it.

The space was shaped like a funnel; the walls were tall, while the floor was narrow.

The treasures of the imperial family were within the chamber, and everything was golden—from the massive coffin at the center of the space to the nine golden dragons at the summit of everything.

A chain was tied to each of the nine golden dragons, and they were suspending a golden coffin in the middle of the chamber.

Li Huowang was speechless.

The nine dragons pulling the coffin?[1] Li Huowang surmised. However, he felt something amiss. Rather than pulling the coffin, it was more like the dragons were trying to pull it apart.

“This is such a massive place,” the emperor said, looking around with wonder. He had just started his sightseeing when an old eunuch guided him on what to do next. He placed the seven plates of tributes on the floor before bowing three times and kneeling nine times toward the coffin.

Li Huowang thought that he had to do the same, but he realized that everyone wasn't moving. Maybe we're not qualified to pray?

“The late emperor is buried here. Why is he not buried in the imperial tomb?” The Sitting Oblivion Dao’s illusion was curious as well.

Li Huowang was staring at the luxurious coffin when he noticed something amiss.

While the Liang emperor was praying, the golden coffin started moving, and the coffin lid moved slowly, seemingly opening up!

“Father?” The emperor was shocked. The coffin was lower than the floor, so everyone could see what was inside of it. “Father!”

The emperor ran toward the coffin, but a few old eunuchs stopped him. “What are you guys doing? My father is still alive! Why have you imprisoned him?!”

“My lord, this is the Dragon Vein! It’s the foundation of our kingdom! We must not defile it!”

Li Huowang finally saw it. The previous emperor, who had fought the Sitting Oblivion Dao, was bound by chains engraved with dragons. The previous emperor was wearing royal robes, but the robes couldn't hide his strange appearance.

Li Huowang saw the previous emperor's dark gold scales and dragon whiskers. More importantly, Li Huowang realized that the old emperor was not alone. He was on top of someone else, and the individual behind him was also on top of someone else behind them. Their fleshly bodies had been fused together to create a bizarre human chain. The corpses in the coffin were the corpses of the previous emperors!

The coffin was dark and deep, seemingly unending. The previous emperors were suspended in the empty space by chains. The chain of emperors was in mid-air rather than on the floor.

Just then, Li Huowang noticed that the chain of human corpses was moving. They were struggling and moving as if they wanted to break free from their restraints. They all looked like dragons yearning to escape their bondage.

1. An idiom that means the unyielding will of someone who refuses to surrender even to the passage of time. It would always return even after getting buried. ☜

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

The fearsome Dragon Vein of the Liang Kingdom. This some Bloodborne stuff. Credits to 格子的乱七八糟 on douyin!