Be my grandson?
Ye Qiu’s mouth twitched. Taking an artefact spirit as a grandson? Others would think I am mad.
Moreover, the spirit of an imperial artefact, yet so spineless?
“Stop talking nonsense. What exactly do you want?” Ye Qiu shouted.
The old man said, “Young Master Ye, I truly want to be your grandson. Please accept me. In future, I will serve you tea and water, and see you off in your old age…”
Bang!
Before the old man could finish, Ye Qiu kicked him over, sending him sprawling on the ground, and cursed, “If you curse me again, beware I suppress you with the divine artefact.”
“Grandpa, your grandson has a cheap mouth. I will slap myself.” The old man then really slapped his own face, making loud smacking sounds.
“Enough.” Ye Qiu said, “Stop talking rubbish with me. You said earlier your name is Little Eighth, right?”
“Yes.” The old man nodded vigorously.
“Little Eighth, if you are truly the artefact spirit, does that not mean you personally witnessed the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor prove the Dao and become an Emperor?” Ye Qiu said.
The old man replied, “Young Master Ye, do not mention that old scoundrel Eternal Blue Sky to me. I wish I could tear him limb from limb.”
Hm?
Ye Qiu was somewhat puzzled. The old man’s words were filled with deep resentment.
This confused him.
If what Little White Fox said was true, the Eight Trigrams Treasure Furnace had originally been just an ordinary furnace that grew step by step with the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor to become an imperial artefact. It should feel grateful to the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor. Why then did it resent him?
This did not add up.
Could there be some unknown grudge between this old man and the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor?
“You hate the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor?” Ye Qiu asked curiously.
“Hate?” The old man shook his head and said, “I do not hate him.”
“However, if I see him again, I want to flay his tendons, drink his blood, and eat his flesh.”
And that is not hate?
Ye Qiu grew even more curious and said, “What happened between you and the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor? Tell me in detail.”
The old man said, “Actually, I was never originally the artefact spirit of the Eight Trigrams Treasure Furnace. I was once a lone cultivator.”
“I spent thousands of years cultivating, finally reaching the peak of the Tongshen realm. But unexpectedly, when crossing the Saint tribulation, something went wrong, and I nearly perished in body and soul.”
“At the critical moment, the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor rescued my primordial spirit from beneath the heavenly tribulation.”
“For that, I am indeed grateful to him. After all, he saved my life.”
“Who would have thought that after saving me, the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor would set a condition: that I become the artefact spirit of the Eight Trigrams Treasure Furnace.”
“At the time, he told me that if I served as the artefact spirit for ten thousand years, he would release me from the furnace and help me achieve the Saint realm.”
“Back then, he was not yet a Great Emperor, merely a Saint King.”
Ye Qiu was shocked. For the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor to rescue the old man’s life from a heavenly tribulation while only a Saint King showed just how formidable his methods were.
“I thought at the time that the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor was so powerful. If I followed him, would I not enjoy wealth and luxury?”
“Even becoming an artefact spirit, I had no complaints, especially when he proved the Dao and became Emperor, using the power of thunder to refine the Eight Trigrams Treasure Furnace into an imperial artefact.”
“Seeing him become a Great Emperor filled me with joy, because he had promised that after ten thousand years, he would release me and help me become a Saint.”
“I thought, now that he had become a Great Emperor, helping me become a Saint would be effortless, would it not?”
“But events far exceeded my expectations. That bastard deceived me. Ten thousand years passed, and he did not release me.”
“When I questioned him about breaking his word, he completely ignored me. When I pestered him, he even beat me.”
“That damned dog struck so ruthlessly. Several times he nearly killed me.”
Speaking of this, the old man’s face was full of fear, his body trembling slightly. Clearly, he greatly feared the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor.
“In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of years passed since he became Emperor. He was invincible in the world, yet still refused to release me.”
“Then one day, he suddenly brought the Eight Trigrams Treasure Furnace to the demon clan and told me he was going to the Undying Mountain, leaving me with the demons.”
“Before leaving, he swore solemnly that when he returned, he would definitely release me and help me become a Saint.”
“I actually believed his lies. I was truly too naive.”
“That bastard never came back. All these years, he has kept me trapped here unable to leave. Hmph, when I see him again, I will cut him into ten thousand pieces.”
Ye Qiu was surprised. He had not expected such a history between this old man and the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor.
“You probably will never see the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor again in this lifetime.” Ye Qiu said, “After the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor entered the Undying Mountain, there has been no further news of him.”
“He is dead?” The old man was stunned, then began cursing loudly, “How could that bastard die?”
“Did he not say he would release me?”
“Why break his word again?”
“Hmph, good that he died, good that he died. A faithless person like him deserves death.”
“Hahaha, hearing this news truly makes me happy… hahaha…”
The old man laughed wildly, but as he laughed, two streams of old tears rolled down his cheeks. He said despondently, “Though I truly hated that bastard, honestly, hearing of his death leaves an emptiness in my heart.”
“I really wish I could see him again, even if just to be beaten by him once more.”
What a masochist.
Ye Qiu cursed inwardly.
The old man wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, “Young Master Ye, from the very first day you entered the furnace, I knew you were no ordinary person.”
“You are handsome and imposing, outstanding like a jade tree in the wind. A young man as good-looking as you must be a dragon among men…”
The old man spouted a string of flattery, then changed tone, “Young Master Ye, seriously, can you not accept me as your grandson?”
“If you are willing to take me as grandson, I will help you gain control of this imperial artefact.”
“To be honest, since the Eternal Blue Sky Great Emperor left, no one has been able to master this imperial artefact.”
“That Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox of the demon clan once came in, trying to master it, but I did not let her succeed.”
Ye Qiu stared at the old man for a while. He could see that this old fellow was not lying; he genuinely wanted to acknowledge him as grandfather.
“Even if he has been watching me in secret, I have not been in the furnace long. Why would he want to acknowledge me as grandfather?”
“This matter is too strange.”
“Without doubt, this old fellow must have some ulterior motive.”
Thinking of this, Ye Qiu asked, “You are the artefact spirit. Why insist on acknowledging me as grandfather?”
The old man grinned and said, “If I say it is fate, would you believe me?”
“Believe your ghost.” Ye Qiu said, “Tell me, exactly why?”
The old man replied, “Because you can help me leave this place.”
“Who are you fooling?” Ye Qiu said, “My cultivation is weak. It is impossible for me to get you out of here.”
Yet the old man said with complete certainty, “You definitely can.”
