Chapter 25: The Right Person

The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover lay quietly atop the grave, motionless through the ages, as if it were either keeping company or serving as a funerary object.

If one were to suggest that an ordinary person was buried in this grave, Qin Sheng would never believe it.

Could it be the physical body of the Ruthless One from one of her past lives?

The Ruthless One's path to the Red Dust Immortal Realm was different from that of the other Red Dust Immortals; with every transformation, she would shed her old body and give birth to an immortal fetus.

Unlike Wushi or Ye Fan, who maintained a single, eternal body from beginning to end.

Because she constantly sought life within death, the Ruthless One had accumulated quite a few corpses over the course of more than two hundred thousand years.

One was used to refine an Imperial Weapon, one was buried in the Myriad Dragon Nest, and another resided in the former Bronze Immortal Palace.

Then there was the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land; as the Ruthless One's lair, it naturally contained many of her old bodies as well.

If a body of the Ruthless One were buried here...

Ye Zi, to see an Emperor and not bow—the True Mandate has been lost!

"It is highly likely that this is related to that Invincible Great Emperor. Ye Zi, we must maintain our respect."

Qin Sheng did not dare to be impudent. On the contrary, he bowed toward the tomb and muttered words of reverence.

Ye Fan also snapped to attention, acting even more solicitous than Qin Sheng, with a sycophantic expression.

One could believe that Ye Hei was righteous and cared for all living beings, but one must also believe that he truly lacked any sense of decorum.

Of course, Qin Sheng lacked it as well.

After waiting for a while, there was no movement from the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover or the tomb beneath it.

Qin Sheng felt that it was about time.

"Ye Zi, let's try to see if we can move this Imperial Weapon."

*Ruthless One, are you watching?*

*If you don't speak, I'll take it as a default agreement.*

"Alright!" Ye Fan was excited.

At this stage, he did not yet understand many things and had no concept of what an Imperial Weapon actually represented.

Therefore, he was eager to try Qin Sheng's idea.

"Let's do it together."

The two acted simultaneously, cautiously attempting to take the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover, while not daring to touch the black tomb in the slightest.

Holding his breath, Qin Sheng felt as if time itself had frozen the moment he made contact with the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover.

*Buzz!*

A light hum rang out. The previously silent Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover suddenly stirred, and black radiance began to flow.

*Boom!*

Qin Sheng felt as if ancient demonic sounds were echoing from the primordial chaos of the distant past.

His Bitter Sea boiled, his Life Spring surged toward the heavens, his Divine Bridge glowed, and immortal flowers fell upon the Pure Land of the Other Shore.

The Five Great Dao Palaces chimed in unison, and a misty immortal light shone, making them appear like celestial palaces. The deities were solemn, chanting sutras and spells, freezing eternal time.

At this moment, the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Technique began to circulate on its own, producing miraculous changes.

The black light on the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover grew increasingly dense, and Ye Fan's eyes filled with astonishment.

The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover suddenly flew up, crashing straight into Qin Sheng's Wheel Sea, settling atop his Life Spring, bobbing up and down within the divine liquid of life.

"Immortal, are you alright?!" Ye Fan was nervous, terrified that something might happen to Qin Sheng.

"Ha... ha..."

Qin Sheng gasped heavily, looking both amused and relieved.

Only then did he realize that his back was completely soaked with sweat.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Looking inward at his Wheel Sea and seeing the now-calm Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover, Qin Sheng truly wanted to let out a long roar that would shake the nine heavens.

An Imperial Weapon!

He finally possessed one... half of an Imperial Weapon!

Ye Fan asked, "Immortal, did you obtain that Imperial Weapon?"

"You could say that," Qin Sheng nodded. "Sorry, Ye Zi."

Ye Fan smiled. "What are you saying? You brought me here, and it chose you. It should belong to you by right."

He truly didn't care about such things; he was only happy for Qin Sheng.

"Let me see if I can use it later. If I can, you can come to me to borrow it whenever you need it," Qin Sheng said straightforwardly.

"I won't be polite with you then," Ye Fan added. "Just now, when I touched the Imperial Weapon, the green copper block in my Wheel Sea vibrated."

Qin Sheng was surprised; he hadn't expected the green copper block to react.

Was it rejecting the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover?

"Perhaps they cannot coexist," Qin Sheng deduced.

"Then this Imperial Weapon definitely belongs to you. I didn't expect us to get an Imperial Weapon so easily," Ye Fan chuckled.

"If those people fighting for the Demon Emperor's weapons knew, they'd probably die of anger."

Qin Sheng smiled but did not answer.

*Easily? Try it yourself.*

The forces that had wiped out the Ruthless One's lineage of sacred lands back then couldn't even find this special space.

Including the Ruthless One's own lineage—did they not want to reclaim the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Jar?

They simply couldn't do it.

"But it seems incomplete," Ye Fan noted.

"Yes, this cover is only half. The whole thing is a jar called the Heaven-Swallowing... Immortal Jar. The body of the jar is lost somewhere else."

"It would be great if we could find the body," Ye Fan said with some regret.

"I know who has the body," Qin Sheng said. "It is held by a powerful expert in the Northern Region."

There was a force in the Northern Region called the Thirteen Great Bandits, and the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Jar was in the hands of a bandit named Tu Tian.

Ye Fan was curious. "How did he get the body?"

Qin Sheng's expression was somewhat subtle. "It seems he picked it up from a dried-up riverbed."

"Huh?"

Ye Fan's eyes widened. "He just picked up half an Imperial Weapon?"

The reality was indeed that absurd; Tu Tian had truly picked up an Imperial Weapon.

"I thought it was lucky enough for the two of us to get the Heaven-Swallowing Immortal Cover this way," Ye Fan muttered. "I didn't expect there to be other experts out there!"

"If Tu Tian finds out the Immortal Cover is in your hands, will he attack you?" Ye Fan asked worriedly.

"I'll just be careful," Qin Sheng smiled. "Besides, for this Imperial Weapon, the cover is the core. Its power and uniqueness are greater than the body of the jar."

The Demon Cover was refined from the skull of the Ruthless One; her primordial spirit laws and imprints were all contained within it, while the jar body was merely an empty shell.

If Qin Sheng's cultivation were high enough, possessing the Demon Cover might even allow him to forcibly seize the Demon Jar.

As he thought about these things, Qin Sheng looked at Ye Fan.

*Why did the Demon Cover choose me?*

A moment later, a realization dawned in Qin Sheng's heart.

*Why wouldn't it choose me? It should have chosen me!*

The Ruthless One had never helped Ye Fan directly or face-to-face, and she certainly wouldn't have given the current Ye Fan an Imperial Weapon.

Given her situation, she might have been paying attention to Ye Fan, but would she interfere with the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover?

Absolutely not!

In that case, when facing Qin Sheng—the successor who had cultivated the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Technique to an ideal realm that even the Ruthless One had not achieved in her lifetime...

Whether they had come here because of Ye Fan was an unknown mystery.

But the unawakened Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover should instinctively choose him. He was the most suitable person!

With this thought, Qin Sheng's mind cleared, and his primordial spirit radiated light.

"Immortal, I have a question."

Ye Fan's gaze wandered around the surroundings. "We got the Imperial Weapon, but how do we get out?"

"There is no exit!"

Qin Sheng: "...Search quickly."

Regrettably, they had explored every reachable part of this space and still found no exit.

"It's over. It looks like we're going to be trapped here until we die," Ye Fan lamented.

Qin Sheng stared at the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Cover, falling into deep thought.

*Do I have to use an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon to smash through the Eastern Barrens?*