"I see you're trying to return underground, but have you asked for my permission?!"
A loud chuckle echoed in the sky.
It was quickly followed by Chu Kuangren's abrupt yet majestic appearance. He was occupied with controlling his colorful Almighty Avatar.
Chu Kuangren stood majestically in the air with his overbearing aura overwhelming the wasteland. All the sky-prides could not help but feel in awe.
They had long hoped to achieve such a level of power throughout their entire lives.
"Chu Kuangren!"
"Didn't expect to find him here. But what's he doing? Is he trying to chase after the Slumbering Emperor Coffin?"
"No way. That's not possible. The Slumbering Emperor Coffin is an archaic cursed object that all archaic orthodoxies would steer clear of at all cost. Why would anyone in their right mind pursue such an object?!"
The sky-prides were in utter disbelief.
What followed next almost blew their minds.
As the Slumbering Emperor Coffin desperately tried to bury itself underground, Chu Kuangren leaped forward and latched onto the chains that hung from the coffin's body!
The ancient warriors immediately charged forward at Chu Kuangren with a burst of formidable energy waves.
Chu Kuangren rained a fury of spiritual powers and Emperor qi over his opponents.
"I swear I've killed so many of you already. How is it you're not all dead yet?" Chu Kuangren pouted and unleashed a fist technique, conjuring the image of an apocalyptic scenery with the inversed day and night, and meteors crashing.
The calamitous energy immediately blasted the ancient warriors into smithereens.
The sky-prides stared with their mouths agape.
What were such combat strengths?!
What was the true form of this monstrosity named Chu Kuangren?!
Even Qin Tianchen, the Emperor incarnate, was bewildered. He would never have thought the Slumbering Emperor Coffin would one day be pursued by someone!
It would have been a preposterous story in the past!
Although there was the Emperor Road's restriction that limited the Slumbering Emperor Coffin's power, the coffin was supposed to be undefeated by anyone who was below the level of an Emperor!
Yet, Chu Kuangren not only pursued after the Slumbering Emperor Coffin, but he had also managed to kill up to a hundred coffin haulers!
With that sheer power, had Chu Kuangren ascended into an Emperor?!
Qin Tianchen could not help but feel hopeless. It seemed like Chu Kuangren was almost destined to become an Emperor.
Once he managed to ascend, he would undoubtedly be one of the strongest Emperors there ever was. Even if Qin Tianchen managed to ascend, he stood no chance in defeating him.
Similarly, those who shared a glimmer of hope in beating Chu Kuangren had gotten their hopes smashed by now.
"What a monster!"
Sha Wushe ground his teeth and said. Deep down, he was drowned in a sense of helplessness.
While the sky-prides were obsessing over Chu Kuangren, the latter did not take heed of them at all. His sole focus was on the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
By hook or by crook, he must obtain the Chaotic qi within the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
Such abundance of Chaotic qi would be worth at least ten times more than the combined values of all the treasures he found in Emperor Road thus far!
"Get over here!"
Chu Kuangren grunted as he pulled the coffin over. The Almighty Avatar then held the coffin firmly in one palm as the other hand attempted to pry the coffin open.
However, the Slumbering Emperor Coffin was an archaic cursed object that was made out of extraordinary materials. Chu Kuangren had resorted to many methods but still failed to open the coffin. He frowned in frustration.
"Well, this is tricky. Is there no other way but to return it to the ground?" Chu Kuangren murmured. As he studied the sinister patterns that were carved onto the coffin, he suddenly had an idea.
Although the Slumbering Emperor Coffin was an evil, cursed object, it seemed like it was still a treasure at its core. Chu Kuangren wondered if he could refine it like one.
Evidently, it was an ambitious thought.
After all, archaic cursed objects were feared even by Emperors. No one had ever attempted to refine them.
"Let's try it out!"
With that, Chu Kuangren began to refine the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
However, just as he channeled his spiritual powers and Emperor qi into refining it, the sinister energies within the Slumbering Emperor Coffin suddenly erupted and disintegrated his spiritual powers. It did not allow him to refine it.
Not only that, but the sinister energies even latched onto the opportunity to penetrate into Chu Kuangren's body and ravaged through his bodily structure.
If it had been another person, the sinister energies would have utterly imploded their body!
Even for a formidable person like Chu Kuangren, the sinister energies had ruptured through his body and gave him significant injuries.
Fortunately, a strong flesh body was not the only trait Chu Kuangren possessed. Chu Kuangren was also the host of the Immortal Body, one of his ultimate lifelines!
The Immortal Body was immediately mobilized the moment Chu Kuangren was injured!
Soon, his veins, flesh, and bones had quickly recovered themselves back to their initial state!
Chu Kuangren's hands were still latching firmly onto the Slumbering Emperor Coffin as he continued to inject an endless amount of spiritual powers and Emperor qi into it.
Meanwhile, the Slumbering Emperor Coffin continued ravaging through Chu Kuangren's body, only to have all its damages negated.
"I'll still be alive even if you've managed to turn me into pulps!"
Chu Kuangren sneered.
His Immortal Body was currently in its fourth state and was capable of blood drop revival.
As long as Chu Kuangren was not reduced into the smallest of atoms, a single drop of blood was all it took to revive him!
He was confident that the Slumbering Emperor Coffin was incapable of such an ability!
It was the reason why he was willing to risk refining the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
Just like that, Chu Kuangren was stuck in an endless limbo with the Slumbering Emperor Coffin. The former wanted to refine the latter, while the latter wanted to destroy the former.
The sky-prides, especially Qin Tianchen, could only gulp in fear as they witnessed Chu Kuangren placing his hands on the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
No one had ever dared to make direct contact with the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
Yet now, Chu Kuangren has done the impossible.
Moreover, he was trying to refine the cursed object!
"Has he gone nuts? Is he trying to kill himself?!"
Qin Tianchen could not make sense of the situation before him.
Meanwhile, the sky-prides no longer dared to venture into the land of black soils. Now that the Slumbering Emperor Coffin had returned alongside Chu Kuangren, no one could predict what would happen next. Entering the land of black soils had now become a perilous mission.
"The Slumbering Emperor Coffin, Chu Kuangren… They're the two most dangerous entities to exist in Emperor Road!"
One of the sky-prides exclaimed all of a sudden.
"Indeed, they are. What do you think will happen if Chu Kuangren somehow manages to refine the Slumbering Emperor Coffin?" asked another sky-pride.
No one could answer him.
It seemed like if Chu Kuangren managed to fuse their powers together, it would not be as simple as a case of summation.
"Impossible," said Qin Tianchen determinedly. "No one has ever managed to refine the Slumbering Emperor Coffin since time immemorial, not even the Emperors. Although Chu Kuangren is an unprecedented genius, this is a feat that's impossible even for him!"
Qin Tianchen then remembered the list of impossibles Chu Kuangren had pulled off in the past and backtracked on his statement. "Perhaps he'll only be able to do so after he ascends into an Emperor."
After all, Chu Kuangren had a long track record of surprising everyone. Qin Tianchen did not want to make another overconfident statement.
The way he saw it, Chu Kuangren would only achieve what other Emperors could not after he became an Emperor. However, refining the Slumbering Emperor Coffin would still remain an impossible feat for now.