Above the blood lake, Li Xiaotian and the City Lord of Bliss escaped the blood lake. The moment they emerged, they were stunned. The ancient battlefield was no longer the same as when they had arrived.
Darkness met their eyes, obscuring everything, as if they had been blinded.
Fortunately, both were already mid-tier powerhouses, their divine senses allowing them to perceive their surroundings.
However, it was incredibly difficult. With Li Xiaotian's current strength, his divine sense could only extend a few hundred meters, and the City Lord of Bliss only slightly more.
"What's going on? What kind of existence was in that coffin? Did it cause the abnormality here?" Li Xiaotian asked, his heart filled with immense shock.
He couldn't fathom how a single coffin could cause such a transformation in the entire ancient battlefield. The ancient battlefield had existed in the Fire Spirit Realm for countless years without any prior anomalies.
"It must have preserved the physical body of a high-tier powerhouse, and that powerhouse's strength must have been top-tier, an invincible ninth-tier!"
The City Lord of Bliss looked grave, but a glint of excitement flickered in his eyes.
Invincible ninth-tier powerhouses were legendary figures to people like him. Throughout the Western Domain, there was only one invincible ninth-tier powerhouse: the World Lord of the Divine Realm, the ruler of the Western Domain.
Of course, even if the coffin didn't contain an invincible ninth-tier powerhouse, it would still be an invincible eighth-tier. Such a powerhouse was still legendary, a ceiling in the Western Domain.
"That!" Li Xiaotian suddenly looked in one direction, towards the depths of the ancient battlefield.
Although the ancient battlefield was now shrouded in darkness, he could faintly see a light flashing in the depths.
"Unclear, it must be the anomaly caused by the coffin," the City Lord of Bliss stated with a serious tone.
"Does the ancient battlefield hold any more secrets? Senior, your City of Bliss is right next to the ancient battlefield. Do you know of any legends about the depths of the ancient battlefield?" Li Xiaotian asked, his heart filled with shock and curiosity.
After all, he had never experienced such things: the strange blood lake, a coffin suspected of holding the physical body of an invincible high-tier powerhouse, and the anomaly in the ancient battlefield.
All of this opened his eyes.
"Unclear. From the time I established the City of Bliss, the ancient battlefield already existed. At that time, it had already been thoroughly explored by the powerhouses of the Fire Spirit Realm. Now, they simply no longer cared, which is why they allowed beings from the outside to explore."
The City Lord of Bliss shook his head.
"It's just a battlefield. Many powerhouses perished there back then, which is why it became this way."
"As for opportunities, if there were any, would they still be here now?"
Li Xiaotian nodded. It made sense. The ancient battlefield was within the Fire Spirit Realm's territory. If there were any good things, they would have been looted long ago. Only places as difficult to explore as the blood lake would remain.
"However, I feel this time it's not simple. I've never heard any legends about this coffin before. Who would have thought that after World Mountain was destroyed, this coffin was suppressed beneath it."
The City Lord of Bliss changed his tone and looked towards the depths of the battlefield, his eyes gleaming.
"I want to go and take a look. There must be astonishing changes in the depths of the battlefield, otherwise, this situation wouldn't have occurred."
The intermittent flashing light in the depths of the battlefield was like a beacon, attracting countless gazes.
In fact, even if the City Lord of Bliss hadn't suggested it, they would have gone to the depths anyway.
Soon, the two set off. Along the way, they noticed that many powerhouses had made the same choice as them, heading towards the depths of the battlefield.
"Have you heard? Lord Fire God has ordered the Fire Spirit Realm to be sealed, prohibiting any being from entering or leaving. He must have discovered something and doesn't want the news to spread."
"Is it because of that coffin? I saw it shoot out from the blood lake, then pierce through the void and fly towards the depths of the battlefield. Immediately after, the battlefield changed, and a white light appeared in its depths."
"There must be a great opportunity. That coffin definitely unearthed something formidable."
"The ancient battlefield is now also sealed by the powerhouses of the Fire Spirit Realm, and no one is allowed to enter. Of course, exiting is permitted, but one must be questioned by the powerhouses of the Fire Spirit Realm."
"I was just about to leave. At the edge of the battlefield, I overheard Lord Fire God mention the name 'Mountain Emperor,' and then he ordered the sealing of the Fire Spirit Realm. Gentlemen, have any of you heard of the Mountain Emperor?"
Along the way, Li Xiaotian and the City Lord of Bliss continuously gathered information. They had stayed in the blood lake for a year and had received no news from the outside world.
The two gradually pieced everything together. The anomaly in the battlefield was caused by the coffin, and the Fire God, who presided over the Fire Spirit Realm, knew the truth and sealed the Fire Spirit Realm to prevent leaks.
And all of this was related to a powerhouse named Mountain Emperor.
Furthermore, they were highly confident that the coffin contained the physical body of this entity, the Mountain Emperor.
"I once read a casual account from the Fire Spirit Realm that said the Fire Spirit Realm wasn't originally like this, nor was its name. After a great battle, most of the powerhouses in the original world perished, leaving only the Fire Spirit clan."
The City Lord of Bliss murmured, his eyes flickering. He had read this casual account before and hadn't paid much attention to it, but now, recalling it, it seemed the content recorded in that account was quite extraordinary.
"The Fire Spirit Realm was almost destroyed once, but it eventually persevered and became what it is today."
"Mountain Emperor. It's unfamiliar; I've never heard of it."
The two continued to advance. Strangely, as the battlefield changed, the chaotic Great Dao powers that had previously spread throughout the battlefield all disappeared.