"However, Qin Jiu did not directly kill the Myriad Arts Great Emperor. For the most part, he was protecting himself, but at the same time he used the formation within the ruins to seal away a small portion of the Great Emperor's Heaven-gifted Divine Body's power."
"According to Qin Jiu, that small portion of power would not affect the Great Emperor's cultivation or combat strength, but it would have a significant impact on his future prospects."
"The reason he did this was, firstly, that the formation in the ruins could only seal so much power."
"But the main reason was that he wanted to use it as leverage to extort benefits from the Myriad Arts Great Emperor."
"The Myriad Arts Great Emperor realized the gravity of the situation and actually agreed."
"I only received some cultivation resources."
"But I heard that Qin Jiu was a truly despicable fellow—he used this matter to get the Myriad Arts Great Emperor to help him on multiple occasions. Whether the Great Emperor actually helped or not, I have no way of knowing."
"Of course, many things happened during that period, and many years passed. Both Qin Jiu's reputation and mine grew steadily over time. Eventually, Qin Jiu earned the title of Great Emperor as well."
"And he was the only Spirit World Master to ever receive the title of Great Emperor."
"But this fellow did not like the title of Spirit World Great Emperor and always went by the name Qin Jiu."
"Of course, that is not the main point. The main point is that by that time, Qin Jiu had obtained the most powerful ancient barrier inheritance and no longer feared the Myriad Arts Great Emperor."
"The Myriad Arts Great Emperor may have once tried to suppress us with his strength, but his reputation was not bad. He was no great villain."
"I felt that this matter ought to come to an end."
"Eventually, Qin Jiu invited me to meet and discuss releasing the seal on the Myriad Arts Great Emperor's power."
"But after I arrived, Qin Jiu came up with a terrible idea. He said we shouldn't let the Myriad Arts Great Emperor retrieve his power so easily."
"Although the sealed divine power was not particularly vast, if the Myriad Arts Great Emperor could not recover it, it would be a major hindrance to his future cultivation."
"As long as that power remained sealed, we could continue to threaten him into doing our bidding. After all, he had been the first to act dishonorably toward us, so he could hardly blame us for being less than righteous."
"I thought about it and figured it made sense, so I agreed."
At this point, a mischievous smile crept onto Long Zhuoyan's lips.
Everything she said sounded like it had been Qin Jiu's plan, but who knew what the real truth was.
Chu Feng certainly knew that his sister, despite being a true descendant of the Dragon Clan, had earned the reputation of being a vixen—which meant she was anything but harmless.
"Chu Feng, I'm starting to think this Myriad Arts Great Emperor has had it pretty rough," Egg Egg's voice echoed in Chu Feng's ear.
After all, Egg Egg might treat Chu Feng wonderfully, but she was far from a virtuous being. "Wicked girl" wouldn't even begin to cover it—she was an out-and-out demoness.
If even she felt sympathy, that said something about just how unfortunate the Myriad Arts Great Emperor's situation had been.
If, during that time, the Great Emperor had truly done quite a few things for Qin Jiu, then Qin Jiu's behavior was genuinely rather underhanded.
"So what happened after that?" Chu Feng asked.
"After we met, I asked Qin Jiu whether the rumors were true—whether he had gone behind my back to blackmail the Myriad Arts Great Emperor into helping him while keeping all the spoils for himself."
Hearing this, Chu Feng was somewhat speechless. Wasn't that missing the point?
"Qin Jiu said he did go to the Myriad Arts Great Emperor a few more times, but he insisted it wasn't blackmail—it was cooperation. Any benefits were split evenly. A win-win."
"He also said that the Myriad Arts Great Emperor was far more complicated than anyone imagined. He wouldn't go into detail, but he told me I should always be on guard around the Great Emperor."
"But it had been so long—we couldn't keep this up forever. We needed to give the Myriad Arts Great Emperor some hope."
"So Qin Jiu modified the sealing formation and established new rules for releasing the seal."
"After that, he set up a chessboard and said that whoever could break through it would naturally be able to help the Myriad Arts Great Emperor break the seal."
"As for me, I left behind a few beads. Those beads could seek out Dragon Clan descendants with particularly strong bloodlines."
"If the Myriad Arts Great Emperor could find both of these people, the seal would naturally be lifted."
At this point, Long Zhuoyan looked at Chu Feng with a beaming smile, a hint of smugness on her face.
And of course, Chu Feng had already caught on to the hidden meaning.
Clearly, what the Dragon Breath Clan was trying to break through was the very thing that had sealed away a portion of the Myriad Arts Great Emperor's power.
And the ones who had placed the seal were two people—one was the Spirit World Great Emperor, Qin Jiu.
The other was Chu Feng's own sister, Long Zhuoyan.
"Sis, so in the end, this whole thing was your handiwork?" Chu Feng stared at Long Zhuoyan in surprise.
"That's right. Which is why I'm very eager to see what this friend of yours is made of." Long Zhuoyan turned her gaze toward Long Xiaoxiao.
"After all, those beads were left by yours truly," Long Zhuoyan said.