Chapter 1598: Meeting The Earthly Sovereign

Chapter 1598: Meeting The Earthly Sovereign

Translator's Note: My creator mission posts are up. Check it out if you want to. In this case I basically wrote a small fanfic from the perspective of Ye Qing's storage artifact, Nine Heavens. He never stopped carrying it, you know?

https://forum.wuxiaworld.com/blogs/entry/13-chapter-7-i-am-nine-heavens/

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ4fMW2kqKS/?igsh=MXFkbGt2cmh2cndlZA==

Thang thang thang...

The Earthly Sovereign Bell chimed slightly in excitement after landing on the palm.

“Long time no see...” The palm gently caressed the Earthly Sovereign Bell while a sigh full of reminiscence came from within the Earthly Sovereign’s Coffin.

This heartless thing! It totally forgot about me after seeing its former master!

Ye Qing jealously ranted inside his head.

Thang...

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

It was at this moment the palm flicked the Earthly Sovereign Bell with his finger, and Ye Qing’s mind was filled with the bell’s chime. His consciousness blurred.

The Earthly Sovereign isn’t planning to kill me after he’s done using me, is he?!

The thought had just crossed Ye Qing’s mind when the world turned upside down, and his vision darkened. When he regained his consciousness, he found himself standing inside a dark corridor with rooms on both sides.

“I’m... inside the Earthly Sovereign’s Coffin?” Ye Qing immediately recognized where he was. Back in the day, he had stayed here for nine whole days and gotten a lot out of it!

But why did the Earthly Sovereign whisked him into his coffin? Was it to test him and give him some rewards for his efforts, or was it to kill him without risking detection?

Of course, the latter possibility wasn’t high. If the Earthly Sovereign wanted to kill him, then he wouldn’t have saved him earlier. King Taishan would have done his work for him. There was no need to go through all these hoops.

Therefore, the Earthly Sovereign probably didn’t bring him here to kill him.

However, just because the Earthly Sovereign wasn’t planning to kill him didn’t mean that he could rest easy. After all, what if the Earthly Sovereign was lusting after his body just like Xuanyuan Kun?

These ancient ones were all as cunning and terrible as they were old. He could not let his guard down no matter when or where.

So, Ye Qing kept observing his surroundings while patiently waiting for the Earthly Sovereign to show up.

He would see what the Earthly Sovereign was planning.

Unlike the “hustle and bustle” during his first trip, the Earthly Sovereign’s Coffin seemed to be completely empty. It was completely silent, and he could not find any human, Stranger, or danger anywhere.

Bang... bang bang... bang bang bang...

An unknown amount of time later, just when Ye Qing was starting to grow impatient, he heard the sound of striking bamboo from the darkness ahead of him.

“The Soul Collector?” Hearing the sound, Ye Qing instantly recalled the first time he encountered the Soul Collector.

The guy was impossible to forget, really. He was way too eerie and scary.

As expected, an old man slowly walked out of the darkness.

The old man had a crooked back and a pale, haggard face. His clothes were in shambles, and his eyes were utterly numb and cold.

The old man walked very slowly and heavily. As he came closer, a thick, endless void of darkness spread out behind him, and Ye Qing could see countless souls struggling and screaming soundlessly in the darkness.

The Soul Collector’s appearance hadn’t changed one bit. His aura was also as powerful and terrible as ever. Ye Qing had changed though.

Back in the day, the Soul Collector’s aura alone was enough to squeeze out the air inside his lungs. He could only hide in a room and shiver like a quail.

But now, things were different. The Soul Collector was still scary, but he no longer felt impossible to defeat.

Although he did not have the Earthly Sovereign Bell with him, Ye Qing was still confident that he had a seventy percent chance at defeating the man should they come to blows with each other.

So, Ye Qing did not try to avoid the man.

Of course, the biggest reason he didn’t go away was because he didn’t sense any malice from the soul Collector.

He reckoned that the old man wasn’t here to pick a fight with him.

As expected, the Soul Collector came to a stop about ten meters away from him. Then, he looked at Ye Qing with numb, unfeeling eyes.

“Greetings, senior.” Ye Qing clasped his hands in front of him and saluted the Soul Collector.

“Follow me. The leader wishes to meet you!”

A moment later, the Soul Collector spoke up in a stiff, raspy voice. It was as cold and numb as his gaze, and as emotionless as a rock.

Once done, the Soul Collector turned around and started walking once more.

“Thank you for leading the way, senior...”

Ye Qing responded before falling behind the Soul Collector.

The leader the Soul Collector spoke of could only be the Earthly Sovereign.

Yi Pin told him a story before. In ancient times, in order to deal with the Strangers and protect the people, the Earthly Sovereign had created the Night Watchers to patrol the night and protect the people. The Earthly Sovereign was the very first leader of the Night Watchers, and the Soul Collector his vice leader.

The Soul Collector was utterly loyal to the Earthly Sovereign. After the Earthly Sovereign died, he willingly buried himself in the Earthly Sovereign’s coffin to keep vigil for him, guard his coffin, and prevent anyone from disturbing his rest or desecrating his tomb.

In short, the Soul Collector was here under the Earthly Sovereign’s order.

The corridor looked very long, but they quickly arrived at the end under the Soul Collector’s guidance.

“The leader is inside. Please go in by yourself!”

The end of the corridor was also a stone room. The Soul Collector respectfully performed an ancient salute after reaching the entrance.

“Thank you, senior.” Ye Qing thanked the Soul collector and bowed to the stone room. “Junior Ye Qing greets the Earthly Sovereign!”

“Save the pleasantries and just come inside!”

The Earthly Sovereign’s voice boomed from inside the room. It was as loud and unfettered as before.

“I’m coming in!” Ye Qing pushed open the stone door and stepped inside.

Ye Qing thought that the Earthly Sovereign’s resting place would look ordinary on the outside, but extraordinary on the inside.

However, the stone room was completely ordinary. It looked no different from the rest of the stone rooms inside the coffin.

“You seem surprised.” A voice came from a corner of the room, and Ye Qing snapped out of his thoughts and looked. There, he saw an old man sitting on his legs.

The old man was tall and massive. He was dressed in coarse garments. His hair and beard were completely white, though his complexion looked red and healthy. He was wearing a kind, gentle smile on his face. His eyes were narrowed into a grandfatherly look as well.

However, Ye Qing could clearly sense that the old man’s vitality was gone, and his soul was dead. This was a corpse.

“What does it matter how or where a man is buried after he dies? In the end, we all return to the soil.” The old man explained smilingly after noticing the distracted look on Ye Qing’s face.

“Junior Ye Qing greets you, Earthly Sovereign...” Ye Qing regained his wits and hurriedly bowed to the old man. Clearly, the old man was the Earthly Sovereign.

Although he still did not know what the Earthly Sovereign was aiming for, there was no reason not to act with decorum and pay him the appropriate respect. It was also the safe move!

“Bah, I told you to save the pleasantries. Come, take a seat!” The Earthly Sovereign pointed at a futon on the floor and said amiably.

Ye Qing shook his head. “It’s fine. This junior will just stand.”

“You are my chosen successor and my disciple. We’re basically family here, so there is no need to be so polite.” The Earthly Sovereign waved his hand as his smile widened. “Or are you afraid that I am plotting against you?”

“This junior wouldn’t dare!”

Ye Qing replied in a hurry. Sure, that was exactly what he was thinking, but to admit it to the Earthly Sovereign’s face was just courting death!

“Just say what you think. What’s there to hide?” The Earthly Sovereign chuckled. “You’re an amazing kid, but you are seriously too cautious. You do not have my uprightness, outspokenness and decisiveness at all.”

Ye Qing replied honestly, “You flatter me, Earthly Sovereign. Your achievements are immeasurable, and your justice and benevolence are unequaled. I would never dare to measure myself against you.”