Volume One, Chapter 18: The Treasure of the Yellow Emperor

“Do you know about the Yellow Emperor?”
“The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan?” Of course, Bai Chou knew that name. The Yellow Emperor was the ancestor of the Huaxia people and the first emperor in history. However, due to the chaotic timeline of the ‘Third Universe,’ the history here did not entirely match that of his own world. So Bai Chou only nodded without saying more.
“That’s right, it is Ji Xuanyuan!” Zhang Wanyu replied.

Long ago, a thousand years past, the world was plunged into chaos. In the vast lands of the nine provinces of Huaxia alone, there were hundreds of tribes. Amidst the warring factions vying for power, the northern tribes suddenly discovered that in the far north—an area they believed too cold for survival—there were humanoid creatures living.

These beings had pale skin, deeply sunken eyes, high noses, towering physiques covered in thick hair, and spoke a strange, incomprehensible language full of guttural sounds. Their nature was brutal and savage.

During what they called their ‘southern campaign,’ wherever they went, nothing grew—the land was scorched, and they pillaged and slaughtered without mercy. When food ran short, they even resorted to cannibalism.

Faced with a civilization so fundamentally different from humanity, people called them the ‘Demon Clan.’

The Demon Clan’s army, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, swept southward like a storm, while the human tribes could not form an effective resistance.

Within two years, the northern and eastern provinces of Huaxia fell into the hands of the Demon Clan. Humanity was on the brink of extinction.

Then, from the Huaxia tribes of Yongzhou and Liangzhou emerged a prodigy. He united the tribes and held the Demon Clan’s unstoppable forces at bay in the Kunlun mountain range, stunning the Demon Clan—who had never tasted defeat since their southward advance—and greatly bolstering the morale of the remaining Huaxia tribes.

This man was none other than the Yellow Emperor, Ji Xuanyuan!

After the Battle of Kunlun Mountain, the remaining human tribes realized that if they wished to survive, they must ally under Ji Xuanyuan’s leadership, combining their forces to turn the tide.

As hoped, three years later, Ji Xuanyuan led the united human forces to retake lost lands. Ultimately, they shattered the Demon Clan’s main army at Neizhasake Mongolia, killing 500,000 demon warriors. The human emperor Ji Xuanyuan himself slew the Demon Clan’s greatest warrior—the Demon Emperor Ying Bei!

The Demon Clan’s first Demon Emperor met humanity’s first prodigy. A supreme master encountered an even stronger opponent. This proved that humanity’s fate was not yet sealed!

This battle became known in history as the ‘Final War.’

Following the decisive victory in the ‘Final War,’ the human alliance advanced northward triumphantly. When the vanguard reached the Great Xianbei Mountains, they encountered a small Demon Clan force.

Though only about ten thousand strong, this force was exceptionally powerful, comprised almost entirely of elite demon warriors.

The casualties ratio in this battle was a staggering 1 to 7. Had Emperor Ji Xuanyuan not personally led the charge, the human vanguard might have been defeated by this small demon contingent.

During the interrogation of this force’s commander, it was discovered that he was none other than Zuo Xuan, leader of the Demon Clan’s most formidable Royal Guard. Under Ji Xuanyuan’s direct questioning, a great secret was revealed following the death of Demon Emperor Ying Bei.

After Ying Bei’s fall, his son Ying Tuo ascended the throne.

Ying Tuo knew well that the ‘Final War’ had shattered the Demon Clan’s foundation, and for decades to come, they would be unable to muster a comparable force to continue their southern campaign against the Huaxia people.

Thus, Ying Tuo made three decisive decisions.

First, all living forces were to withdraw to the Demon Kingdom’s homeland, relying on its extreme cold to repel human counterattacks.

Second, all able-bodied young men from the homeland were conscripted to prepare the defense of the Demon Capital, Kasilangqi.

Third, all treasures, martial arts scriptures, and medical classics plundered since the southern campaign were to be urgently transported back to Kasilangqi.

Since paper had not yet been invented, over five hundred carts of bamboo slips alone were used, and with other precious items, the total reached more than a thousand carts.

Transporting these treasures back to Kasilangqi by conventional means would take at least two months. Moreover, as winter approached, with heavy snow sealing the mountains, the journey would be even more arduous, possibly delaying the return by another two months.

Since the death of Demon Emperor Ying Bei, the Demon Clan’s morale was low, and they could no longer organize effective delaying tactics against the main human army.

In contrast, the human alliance’s spirits soared after the ‘Final War.’ The vanguard, personally led by Ji Xuanyuan, advanced like a tiger among sheep, breaching three demon defensive lines within two months.

It became clear that safely transporting this vast treasure back to Kasilangqi was impossible.

Desperate, Ying Tuo ordered the rear guard commander, the national strategist Wei He, to form an engineering corps of twenty thousand demon soldiers. They found a hidden spot deep in the Great Xianbei Mountains and, working day and night, tunneled into the mountain to temporarily bury the treasure.

They planned that when the Demon Kingdom regained strength or the Huaxia people fractured again, they would retrieve the treasure, rebuild their forces, and resume the southern campaign.

Wei He was a master of yin and yang, and a skilled engineer of intricate mechanisms. Fearing that any demon soldier might record the treasure’s location and betray the clan for personal gain, he set a clever mechanism at the entrance. Only by simultaneously activating three secret keys could the treasure chamber be opened. Forcible entry would trigger traps causing the mountain to collapse, burying the treasure forever.

Upon return to the Demon Kingdom, all twenty thousand soldiers involved were executed by Wei He to ensure the secret would not leak.

The transport team that delivered the treasure to the chamber was slaughtered three days after their departure by the Demon Royal Guards who arrived later.

Thus, only Wei He and the treasure map kept in the Demon Emperor’s palace in Kasilangqi knew the treasure’s location.

Ji Xuanyuan, holding the three secret keys seized from Zuo Xuan, was unwilling to accept that such immense human wealth was buried deep within the mountains.

Despite sending countless people to search, none could find the treasure chamber’s entrance, and the matter was reluctantly dropped for the time being.

---

Later, as the northern campaign deepened, despite new human victories, years of war had left humanity exhausted. They could not sustain the supply lines spanning thousands of miles, and the Demon Kingdom’s harsh climate was unbearable for human troops.

Even with the prodigious Emperor Ji Xuanyuan leading in person, they failed to capture the Demon Capital Kasilangqi.

For two months, the human alliance and demon armies fought bitterly at Kasilangqi before Ji Xuanyuan reluctantly ordered a retreat.

As Ji Xuanyuan’s forces marched back through the Great Xianbei Mountains, he defied opposition and made a critical decision—one that would define the boundary between human and demon realms for the next thousand years.

He stationed 100,000 troops on each side of the Great Xianbei Mountains, west to east and east to west, to build a formidable defensive line against the Demon Clan. This line became known as the Yellow Emperor’s Defense Line, and these 200,000 soldiers were the ancestors of the present-day Qing and Yuan peoples beyond the Great Wall.

After decades of war, Huaxia’s land was shattered, and humanity desperately needed rest. Only a few hundred thousand young men remained. Leaving 200,000 strong troops at the frontier meant sacrificing half of humanity’s fighting strength. Only through Ji Xuanyuan’s achievements and prestige could such a decision be made or enforced.

The reasons for building the Yellow Emperor’s Defense Line have been debated through the ages.

Most speculate that Ji Xuanyuan’s primary intent was to use the natural barrier of the Great Xianbei Mountains to resist demon invasions.

Zhang Wanyu analyzed that there was another consideration: even if humanity could not open the treasure, as long as it remained within the human domain, the Demon Clan would have to break through the Yellow Emperor’s Defense Line to reclaim it.

Thus stands the greatness of the eternal emperor, Ji Xuanyuan!

Unless the Demon Clan breaks the Yellow Emperor’s Defense Line, they will never reach the Great Xianbei Mountains.

Even if they breach the line and find the treasure’s entrance, the three keys remain inland, preventing access to the treasure, and denying the demons human wisdom and wealth.

Ji Xuanyuan believed that even if future human rulers grew weak, the legacy of this time would allow humanity to recover and decisively battle the Demon Clan again.

This treasure, preserved by Ji Xuanyuan’s heroic efforts, came to be known as the ‘Yellow Emperor’s Treasure!’

The three keys capable of unlocking it are called the ‘Yellow Emperor’s Secret Keys!’