I Can Extract Divine Power

"Back in my prime, who would have dared to speak to me this way? You, young man, certainly have some backbone."

"Very well. What’s done is done. Since the former dynasty has fallen, I will tell you my name."

"I am Emperor Tianyun, the Former Emperor you spoke of. Are you satisfied now?"

Shen Bai nodded. "Then why are you here in the Celestial Pride Hall, and why have you been reduced to a pile of bones?"

The situation didn’t seem dangerous, and it appeared they could actually converse.

So, Shen Bai voiced the questions on his mind.

He had his own theories about how Emperor Tianyun had turned into a skeleton.

But since the man himself was right here, he might as well see what Emperor Tianyun had to say.

Emperor Tianyun said slowly, "When my dynasty was on the verge of collapse, I practiced the most brutal of the Royal Secret Techniques: the White Bone Saint Official."

"Now, I’ve become a skeleton, sitting desolate in the Celestial Pride Hall, just barely clinging to life."

"And what is your purpose?" Shen Bai asked.

The eerie green flames in Emperor Tianyun’s eye sockets flickered. "My purpose, of course, is to meet a true genius."

Shen Bai said nothing, letting him continue.

Emperor Tianyun remained seated on the Bone Throne and began to speak slowly. "This story dates back a very long time, so long that few people know of it."

"But do you know why the former dynasty was overthrown?"

Shen Bai thought for a moment before replying, "I’ve heard that the former dynasty was wantonly tyrannical and disregarded the lives of its people. This sparked widespread outrage, causing the various Dukes to rise in rebellion and vie for control of the realm. In the end, the Saint Martial Emperor overthrew the Court and established the Great Zhou Country."

This was all from the records he had read; he was simply reciting the official account.

Emperor Tianyun nodded. "That is correct. The former dynasty was indeed brutal, and I was responsible for it all. But everything I did... I was forced to do."

Shen Bai raised an eyebrow. "Forced? You were the sovereign of an entire nation. Who could have possibly forced your hand?"

The moment the words left his lips, a theory suddenly formed in Shen Bai’s mind.

’Could it be the people from the Era of Ten Thousand Cities?’

At this point, the only likely culprits Shen Bai could imagine were the people from the Era of Ten Thousand Cities.

After all, while the former dynasty of that time was brutal, it was also exceedingly powerful.

Both its younger and older generations possessed power at their zenith.

Under those circumstances, it was impossible for someone like Emperor Tianyun, the ruler of the former dynasty, to be threatened—not even by other nations.

But now, Emperor Tianyun was telling him that someone had brought the former dynasty to this state.

Shen Bai could only think of the hidden masterminds from the Era of Ten Thousand Cities.

After all, even the incredibly powerful Daqi Divine Dynasty had completely collapsed at the hands of these hidden figures.

And the flourishing Era of Ten Thousand Cities itself had been plunged into despair and ruin by these same manipulators.

It was the only explanation Shen Bai could come up with.

When Shen Bai said this, Emperor Tianyun’s skeletal frame froze for a moment. The eerie green flames in his eyes pulsed, and he said, "You know of the Era of Ten Thousand Cities? I thought very few people did. You’ve guessed correctly."

"My kingdom at the time had been thoroughly infiltrated by those masterminds from the Era of Ten Thousand Cities. I didn’t know who was an enemy, and under those conditions, the entire nation descended into chaos."

As he spoke, Emperor Tianyun’s voice was tinged with helplessness—the feeling of wanting to save a collapsing tower but being utterly powerless, forced to watch as it crumbles to dust.

Emperor Tianyun paused for a moment before continuing, "The many solutions I devised were useless. It was like a terminal illness, beyond any cure. Just then, the Dukes rose up, plunging the land into endless war. I didn’t want the conspirators’ plot to succeed."

"So I had no choice but to brace myself and wage a terrible war against those who sought to overthrow me. I never imagined that this was exactly what they wanted."

"I lost. With their forces coordinating from both inside and out, I lost spectacularly."

"So, I used the Secret Technique of the White Bone Saint Official to escape with my life, but now I’m reduced to this sorry state."

Shen Bai stroked his chin, his mind racing.

’According to Emperor Tianyun, he should be waiting for an opportunity to be reborn, but something clearly went wrong. A glance at the enormous skeleton before him and the Bone Throne behind it made that obvious.’

Seeing that Shen Bai had fallen silent, Emperor Tianyun seemed to open up, as if a dam had broken, and continued his story.

"The White Bone Saint Official is a technique of rebirth through death. You enter a state of suspended animation, sealing your Cultivation and Divine Soul within your bones."

"Then, after a long time, flesh and blood are meant to regrow."

"I wanted to live. I wanted to find the mastermind and crush them utterly. But I fell into their trap anyway."

"Someone placed an indelible Restriction within my very bones. It makes my Recovery almost impossible and threatens to strip me of all consciousness, turning me into a walking corpse."

"At that critical moment, I devised a plan. I split off half of my own bones and used them for the Casting of this Bone Throne."

"Each time, just before I lose my mind, I pour all of my consciousness into the Bone Throne. I also set a single directive for my body: to return to this spot once every day. It is only by this desperate measure that I’ve managed to cling to my existence until now."

Hearing this, Shen Bai now had a general understanding of the situation.

But there was still one thing he didn’t understand. "You still haven’t told me," he said, "why are you in the Celestial Pride Hall? And why was I brought here?"