Chapter Forty-Six: The Blood Emperor Breaks Free

To their surprise, the wooden door bore no seals at all. A gentle push opened it, revealing a staircase descending into the depths.

“Have your puppet go down and take a look,” Wang Junfeng said to Darknight.

Though Darknight was not pleased, he dared not protest. This time, they had essentially accompanied these powerful figures on a futile errand, merely fulfilling the task assigned by Archduke Ephesoya. Otherwise, their losses would have been even greater. In this world of war, doing nothing meant accruing no merit, and his puppet had already consumed a fair amount of resources.

He was curious about the scroll, but being a clever man, Darknight did not ask. Controlling his mechanical puppet, he sent it down the stairs. After a short while, he spoke. “There’s no danger.”

Hearing this, the group entered through the wooden door with relief.

Meanwhile, in the secret chamber, Mu Rongxun gazed at the dazzling array of treasures he could not take with him, feeling a pang of regret. Remembering the methods Wen Feng and the others had used earlier, an idea sparked in his mind. He immediately summoned a vampire he had previously subdued and commanded it to fetch a nearby suit of armor.

He could control it only once, but there was no harm in trying.

The vampire swiftly flew over, seized the armor, and began to return. But as it moved, its body started to petrify, beginning at the legs and quickly spreading upward. Without hesitation, Mu Rongxun recalled the vampire.

To his surprise, the summoning succeeded. Though the vampire had been successfully recalled, as a single-use summoned creature, it vanished instantly. Yet, the item it had been holding was transferred directly into Mu Rongxun’s personal space. Because the vampire had grasped the item, its ownership had changed—now it belonged to him, and the curse was borne by the vampire.

Time was of the essence, and with no way to discern the properties of the surrounding items, Mu Rongxun simply summoned the remaining ten vampires all at once. Each snatched an object, and before they were fully petrified, he recalled them, gaining a total of eleven items.

Excluding the slot occupied by the Primordial Gloves, of the twelve containment slots, one was given to the ape, and the other eleven were now completely filled.

Compared to his gains, these minor details meant little.

Without checking his spoils, Mu Rongxun hurried to catch up with the group into the depths of the secret chamber. This staircase was not deep, and before long, they reached the bottom.

At the foot of the stairs was a door, and Mu Rongxun arrived just as the others broke it open. After their puppets had tested for danger and found none, they entered to find a vast, empty space—a stone chamber containing nothing but six statues.

The floor and walls were inscribed with countless incomprehensible runes.

Everyone’s gaze turned to Fang Yige. Among them, if he did not understand, the others likely would not either.

“Don’t look at me!” Fang Yige rubbed his nose. “I’m an array master, not a magician! This is a magical array!”

Despite his words, he examined the surroundings, searching for clues.

“These statues are really in the way,” Wang Tian muttered, giving one of the statues a kick.

“Don’t touch anything!” Fang Yige exclaimed, startled, but it was too late. The statue shifted slightly, though nothing else seemed to change.

“What’s the matter?” Wang Tian asked, confused.

“Don’t meddle with anything here,” Fang Yige said, exasperated. “Take a closer look—what do these six statues form together?”

“What do they form?” Wang Tian scratched his head; using his brain was like a death sentence.

“It’s a hexagram,” Yi Shisan said coolly.

“Exactly!” Fang Yige nodded. “The positions of these six statues, when connected, form a hexagram—a six-pointed star. In magic, the traditional use of a hexagram is as a seal. Many seals employ the structure of a hexagram. Since there are six statues here, along with all these magical runes, it’s likely something is sealed in this place.”

“You say all that, but nothing happened,” Wang Tian grumbled.

Wang Junfeng stepped forward, ready to argue, but Fang Yige stopped him with a shake of his head.

Now that the task was complete and the pressure was gone, their camaraderie had faded; their earlier confrontations already made this clear.

A conflict at this point was entirely unnecessary. After all, they could part ways once they left—this was the time to look out for oneself.

Wang Junfeng understood his friend’s meaning and held his tongue.

Suddenly, Fang Yige frowned. “Let’s go!” he said, taking the lead and running for the exit.

Wang Junfeng had no idea what he was doing, but trusted him enough to follow. The others, startled by their sudden departure, hurried after them, not understanding but unwilling to linger.

At that moment, the magical runes in the chamber began to glow brilliantly. The positions of the six statues started to shift, as if some force was pushing them away from their original places.

None of the group, who had already turned to leave, noticed this change.

However, Mu Rongxun, who had remained at the entrance, saw it all clearly. He did not know what it meant, but decided to leave with the others nonetheless.

They had not run far when a tremendous explosion erupted from the chamber, followed by a wild, maniacal laughter and several angry roars. Then, the sounds of a titanic battle shook the very earth.

Not daring to pause, they sped through the treasury’s secret chamber, up to the upper vault, and finally chose to leave. Though the treasury was filled with treasures, none spared them a glance now.

Wang Tian, too, was vexed; he was no fool and understood that his meddling with the statue had likely broken the seal, unleashing something dreadful.

When they finally escaped through the vault’s great doors and emerged onto the surface, they saw, not far from the treasury, a massive crater—as if something had burst from within. Above, several figures clashed furiously in the sky.

Only now did they have the chance to check the notification sent by Arcane Tower Park. The moment Wang Tian read it, his face turned green.

“Because of your actions, the Blood Emperor, sealed for countless years, has been released. As for the consequences, you will experience them in due time.”

That alone might not have seemed so bad, but then came another message:

“The six Saints, who had incarnated as statues to seal the Blood Emperor, have also been revived!”

This was truly fatal—for it meant their deeds had not gone unnoticed.