Chapter 221: Assuming Duties as a Celestial Emperor
Yi Qing's heavenly tribulation came out of nowhere this time - he did not even notice it himself. Too many things happened in these few years - he broke the Divine Refining Clock, battled on the Emperor Ascension Stage and even engaged in the great battle between the sects. There were so many battles that even Lonemoon could feel himself getting closer to ascending into an Emperor. It therefore should not have been surprising that Yi Qing, the cheat, was experiencing a breakthrough just then.
For some reason, though, Yi Qing's heavenly tribulation was taking an exceptionally long time. The lightning bolts struck one after another, each one feeling like it was going to shatter the earth
The heavenly tribulation was not supposed to take more than four or five days, but this one took close to half a month. Lonemoon glanced at the flashes of lightning in the sky and had a bad feeling in his heart. 36 flashes of blinding light followed after the lightning tribulation. They were supposed to be a fiery red, but Lonemoon could not figure out why they were purple deviant fire bolts. They lit up the entire sky so that it became purple. These took a total of six days and six nights. Lonemoon was shocked. He watched the cheat silently. Given the intensity of this tribulation, it was surprising that Yi Qing was still standing strong, uninjured by whatever was being thrown at him.
One month later.
The sky cleared and the clouds dissipated. Yi Qing was back. There were holes and burns all over his dharmic clothing and his hair was much messier than usual. He looked a mess, but he seemed much happier than usual as well. The immortal Qi surrounding his body also felt several times richer. Lonemoon felt the pressure of a Celestial Emperor pressing down on him.
The pressure of a Celestial Emperor?
Lonemoon: "…" Motherf*cker!
"Shen Ying!" "Huh?"
"I'm going to talk about life with you now, immediately, at this very moment!"
Yi Qing successfully ascended to become a Celestial Emperor and became the Celestial Emperor of the Bo Sea. As the director of administration and human resources in the Invincible Sect, Lonemoon stopped pushing away all the responsibilities. Immediately, he decided to move the entire sect to the Heavens beyond Heaven and allowed the other Celestial Emperors to think that they heard him wrongly before.
Lonemoon rolled his eyes at their situation and kept working at his abacus. What nonsense - the Invincible Sect's halls were mostly broken from the battle before. They had no choice but to move to somewhere else to live. The only valuable herbs in the rear garden were also mostly dead thanks to the demonic array that Lan Hua set up.
That was why the disciples immediately got to packing all of their possessions. They were only left with packing the immortal meridian in the rear hall. The Invincible Sect seemed to be very quick in packing up and moving out. It only took them about an hour to pack all that they had and move out of the premises.
For the sake of convenience, Lonemoon allowed Lan Hua to set up a transportation array that led straight to the Bo Sea. He took that as Lan Hua's accommodation fees.
W( ̄_ ̄)W
In the blink of an eye, all the disciples arrived at the doorstep of the heavenly palace of Bo Sea.
The immortal guard who had just received news that he was to welcome a new Celestial Emperor: "…"
"Greetings… Greetings, Celestial Emperor!" The door guard finally reacted after a couple of seconds, cupping his fists and bowing to Yi Qing.
"Mm." Yi Qing, the so-called Celestial Emperor, nodded. He was only in charge of cooking anyway.
Lonemoon, on the other hand, looked around and frowned. "Where are the other immortal guards? Why are you the only one in this heavenly palace?"
In the month that Yi Qing had spent going through the tribulations, Lonemoon did some research on the guards at the heavenly palace in the Bo Sea. According to his research there should have been at least six Mystic Immortals guarding the gates of the heavenly palace each day.
The various emperors had already announced that Yi Qing was going to take over as Celestial Emperor of the Bo Sea for fear that they would back out. An hour ago, Lonemoon also informed the managing immortal official that they would be coming. Even if they were early, it could not be that only one guard would be guarding the heavenly gate.
"Well…" The door guard became pale. A weird emotion flashed past his eyes. He could not, for the life of him, think of an excuse.
Lonemoon's expression fell. He increased his Young Emperor's pressure. "Where are the immortal guards who are supposed to be guarding the heavenly palace?"
The door guard became even more pale. His legs became jelly and he started to speak, but a friendly voice came from behind him. "Pao Hui has failed to welcome the new Celestial Emperor, may the Celestial Emperor please forgive me."
A figure suddenly flew and landed to the right of the heavenly gate. He was an Exalted Immortal and he was wearing the uniform of an immortal guard, grinning. He was apologising, but he did not sound at all sorry. He bowed slightly to Yi Qing and grinned even wider. "I thought the Celestial Emperor was only going to arrive at least a month later. I did not think that you would be here so soon. Pao Hui was not prepared at all. Apologies, apologies!"
He kept apologising as he stepped forward with a somewhat forced warmth. Acting as the host, he said, "Your servant will now bring the Celestial Emperor around the heavenly palace."
Now, apart from Lonemoon, even Yi Qing frowned. For some reason, they could not pinpoint what exactly seemed wrong with this situation.
"You're the managing immortal guard of the heavenly palace?"
"Yes, I am." The man smiled brightly.
"Where are the others?"
"Well…" Pao Hui gave a pained expression, as if not knowing where to begin. A moment later, he sighed. "Hai, you have no idea. Now that the demonic realm has appeared and come so close… We have just lost our Celestial Emperor Zi Chen. All the immortal guards panicked. They do not dare to stay in the heavenly palace on ordinary days. The new Celestial Emperor also came rather early. I had no time to… gather the rest of them."
"Is that so?" Lonemoon scanned him from head to toe. Then, his expression became cold. This reason sounded very… proper!
Pao Hui's smile faltered, but he avoided making eye contact with Lonemoon. He continued to walk ahead of them and said, "New Celestial Emperor, this way, please!"
Lonemoon did not push any further. He nodded at Yi Qing and led the rest of the group into the heavenly palace.
They flew for less than a minute before Pao Hui suddenly stopped and pointed to an impressive palace hall sitting in the clouds in front of them. "New Celestial Emperor, this is the main hall of the palace. Celestial Emperor Zi Chen always held his meetings there."
Once he finished speaking, he turned and flew toward another hall behind him without waiting for any of them to respond.. It seemed that he had no intention of bringing them into the palace hall. This carried on as he showed them the other halls.
"New Celestial Emperor, this is the Zi Guang Hall. The various emperors of the Bo Sea would come and gather here. It's a pity that the various emperors could not make it down today. Please do not blame them, Celestial Emperor."
"New Celestial Emperor, this is the Yuxian Court. This is where we plant immortal herbs,. The immortal guards taking care of this court are not here today, so we cannot go in at the moment. When the Celestial Emperor is free in the future, you can come here again."
"New Celestial Emperor, this is…"
Pao Hui led the group a full circle around the premises and introduced them briefly to each room, but he had a reason not to allow them to enter every single place. Even the dumb would be able to tell that the immortal guard was unsatisfied with having Yi Qing as his new Celestial Emperor. Yet, he had a fake smile plastered on his face the entire time, as if he was being considerate toward them. This annoyed Lonemoon and the others extremely.
Yu Hong and the other disciples almost argued with the immortal guard a couple of times, but Lonemoon stopped them. That was until they came to the last, innermost hall.
"This is the Treasure Seeking Tower. This is the treasury of the Bo Sea - the most important place in the Bo Sea Heavenly Palace. All the immortal meridians are stored in this place. Celestial Emperor Zi Chen personally set up an array outside the tower. For the new Celestial Emperor's safety, we had better not enter the treasury for now."
He was just about to lead the group away when Lonemoon, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly stuck his hand out and stopped him.
"Fellow Immortal, you're wrong there." Lonemoon smiled. "This is such an important place - the Celestial Emperor cannot simply sit back and not enter, right?" Lonemoon turned and called, "Yi Qing!" The next moment, a white ball of light appeared in Yi Qing's palm. He had been waiting for a long time to do this. An immortal sword appeared in his hands.
"Wait!" Pao Hui's expression changed. He tried to stop them but he was too late.
Yi Qing raised his hand and a strong gust of sword Qi burst forth, attacking the array that was surrounding the hall. There was a huge crash and the array fell into pieces. The gates to the immortal pavilion opened.
"You… You…" Pao Hui could not believe his eyes. He never thought that they would break the array without hesitation since they had been so cooperative the entire time.
"Immortal guard!" Lonemoon gave an even brighter smile than the immortal guard had on his face earlier. Emphasising each word carefully, he said, "This entire time, you have been telling us that the immortal guards are either busy or fired. As the managing immortal guard, you have failed to control the rest of the immortal guards. I think we should put someone else in charge." "…"
"Yu Hong! Send this immortal guard out of the Heavens beyond Heaven!"
"Yes!"
Hmph! He had lived for two lifetimes and it had been long since Lonemoon met a person who made him feel like he had to assert his authority. Very well! This immortal guard of the Bo Sea successfully brought out the CEO in him!
Chapter 222: Who's the Boss
"Celestial Emperor!" Pao Hui exclaimed. He looked at Yi Qing in disbelief, stepping forward. "Your servant has worked as the managing immortal guard for more than ten thousand years in this palace."
Lonemoon laughed mirthlessly and sarcastically said, "A managing immortal guard of more than ten thousand years cannot even handle the immortals in the palace. Fellow Immortal, you really are capable indeed! It seems that Zi Chen had no reason to become a demon!"
"You-" Pao Hui was angry now. He had done so much for the Celestial Emperor's heavenly palace all these years. He was an Exalted Immortal - even the country emperors were courteous when they met him. This was the first time that he was mocked to the point that he did not know what to say. His mind was in a whirl. There was a flash of something in his eyes. Pao Hui sucked in a deep breath and said mockingly, "This Young Emperor is funny indeed. What right do you have to criticise me? I am the immortal guard of this heavenly palace. Only the Celestial Emperor would have the right to criticise me. Of what status are you? People who do not know better might even think you're the new Celestial Emperor!" He adjusted his tone as he looked pointedly at Yi Qing and said, "Celestial Emperor, you have not said a word and this man is trying to chase me out of the palace. Don't you think there's something wrong here?"
He was hinting that Lonemoon was trying to rebel against the Celestial Emperor. From the moment they entered the heavenly palace, that was indeed the case. Any Celestial Emperor would not allow a subordinate to climb on top of his own head, except the Invincible Sect's…
"No!" Yi Qing replied. What's wrong?
The disciples nodded along, confused by Pao Hui's question.
The first disciple: "Elder Lonemoon has always been the one managing the business in the sect. What's the problem?"
The second disciple: "That's right, the Sect Master said that we'll be fed if we follow Elder Lonemoon. Elder Yi Qing is always so busy cooking - everything else is handled by Elder Lonemoon!" The third disciple: "Eh? The Sect has an Elder Yi Qing? I didn't know that."
The fourth disciple: "Huh? The Celestial Emperor isn't Elder Lonemoon? I thought it was him all along!"
The fifth disciple: "Nonsense, the Sect Master is obviously the Celestial Emperor!"
Pao Hui: "…"
(+_+)~
What's wrong with these people? This is a Celestial Emperor position - why were they taking it for granted that a Young Emperor would be doing the job of a Celestial Emperor? Even the Celestial Emperor himself was unbothered by this. Was he going to allow someone else to steal his position? w(゚Д゚)w
"Yu Hong, Si Yu, send him out!" Lonemoon pressed two fingers to his temple and scanned the group of troublemakers, waving his hands to chase Yu Hong and Si Yu along.
"Yes!" The two of them did not hesitate. Si Yu walked forward and picked the immortal up, then flew toward the entrance of the heavenly palace.
Pao Hui did not even have time to react before he was thrown out of the gates. "You… You all…" He glared at the two ladies, who turned around and flew back to the palace without even looking back. A moment later, he got up, dusted off his robes, and then turned to walk away. Hmph! They would be begging him to come back!
Lonemoon scanned the group of disciples once again. He gestured and said, "Did you listen carefully to the introduction around this place? We'll split into our roles as before - go to where you're supposed to be stationed. If you have any problems, look for Yu Hong to settle it. Split up!" "Yes!" The disciples replied as they moved off to their stations one by one.
Yi Qing immediately drew his pots and pans. "Master, I checked everything. The Vast Sky Hall was really good. It's well- lit and facing the south-west. It's also very spacious and suitable as a kitchen. I just need to renovate it a little."
"Good job!" Shen Ying nodded in approval. "Run along, look for Boss Lan and make a cooktop. He's very professional with those things!"
"Then you might have to wait for a little while," Lan Hua said as he walked over slowly. He was hugging a huge pot and Radish was inside, trying hard to sprout a dandelion. "I promised Brother Radish that I would plant him in the immortal herb garden first."
"Chef, make some cold dishes first then." Those don't need a cooktop.
"Yes Master, no problem Master!" Lonemoon: "…" F*cking retard.
Wait! The Vast Sky Hall?
Isn't that the first immortal hall from the entrance to the heavenly palace? They were going to change the first immortal hall into a kitchen!
"Come back here, the two of you!"
O(≧口≦)O
The entire Bo Sea Heavenly Palace had a total of over a hundred halls and countless mini immortal palaces. There were more than a thousand immortal officials living inside the premises in the past. Lonemoon understood what Pao Hui was thinking. In the past, Celestial Emperors of the Bo Sea had always been from the Bo Sea. Yi Qing was from Feng Cang. Him suddenly being made the Celestial Emperor was akin to starting a revolution in Pao Hui's eyes.
Pao Hui, as the managing immortal guard of the entire heavenly palace, was naturally second-in-command only to the Celestial Emperor. He dared to challenge the Invincible Sect because he had control over all the immortals in the entire heavenly palace.
They had only just arrived here and taking over control of such a big palace would undoubtedly be difficult, especially if Pao Hui refused to cooperate with them. Only Pao Hui had the ability to move the masses - that was why he was so sure that they would come back to him in the end. When Pao Hui brought the group around the palace earlier, he made sure that all the other immortal guards would not be around. He came up with all the excuses about them being busy.
He did all of this not to object to Yi Qing ascending as the Celestial Emperor, but just to release the anger and indignation he felt in his heart. This was obvious from the way he kept addressing Yi Qing as the "New Celestial Emperor", but refused to even acknowledge Yi Qing by his name.
It was understandable that he was unhappy, but Lonemoon did not believe that it necessarily meant that they had to give in to him! He was not a princess! Why should they give in to his tantrums?
Lonemoon's thinking was simple. If he wanted to make things difficult, he could forget about ever coming back in future! We at the Invincible Sect… No, the Invincible Heavenly Palace are extremely busy. We have no time to deal with little tantrums.
Other Celestial Emperors may be lacking in supporters, but the Invincible Sect was not.
The masses would not respond to any other call? Then they would not call on them. In any case, the Invincible Sect was after the palace and not the people in it.
So what if the premises were locked and they could not enter? They could always break into the premises. The body cultivators were full of strength anyway!
So what if the immortal guards were not willing to handover control of the premises? They just had to be beaten up! In any case, they were undefeatable!
So what if the immortal guards were ganging up to go on a strike? They could be fired. They were not too familiar with them anyway - it would be a waste of immortal stones to keep feeding them. Someone had to let them know who the real boss was around here!
So what if they lost immortal guards who were familiar with the business environment outside of the palace doors and who had connections with the other continents? Heh heh, they didn't dare!
From pills to talismans, arrays to weapons, Invincible Sect was not lacking in people who could manage these things. In fact, they had the ability to manufacture these things for themselves. Whoever was in charge of these things back at the Invincible Sect would continue to be in charge of these things in the heavenly palace. The only difference was probably that the production scale would be bigger.
Therefore, Lonemoon did not worry too much about their situation. Within less than half a month, the disciples under him had the entire heavenly palace under control. In an unbelievably short amount of time, they had set up a comfortable routine to manage things around the palace. They even managed to get a couple of little immortal guards who were happy to go with the flow on their side, to help out with some meagre chores.
The higher-level immortal guards who confidently took leave from their work at the palace, waiting for news from Pao Hui, were fired from their jobs one by one. A month later… the guards could take it no longer. They sent people to find out the situation in the heavenly palace and found out… that they could not go in any more.
The immortal guards who watched the doors were also replaced by people that they did not even know. They got chased out of the premises and nearly even came to blows.
They looked at the entrance of the palace in agony. On it was written, "Invincible Heavenly Palace". It took them awhile to process what they were reading. Finally, they were forced to accept that they were no longer in control of the situation. This new Celestial Emperor was different from what they imagined. He was like a real Celestial Emperor, who was not afraid of threats from people. They even got wind of a frightening piece of news. Celestial Emperor Yi Qing of the Bo Sea was going to hold a coronation for himself in five days at the heavenly palace. The guards were meant to be the first to find out, but they were only informed about this now.
"Manager Pao, this… this is not good!" The guards were beginning to panic. They did not even know of such a huge event - it seemed that they had been chased out of the heavenly palace for good.
Pao Hui's expression darkened. He fell silent. Then, he gritted his teeth and said, "Go! Let's go to the various states of Bo Sea!"
Chapter 223: The Coronation
Four days later, the day before the coronation.
"Elder Lonemoon." A disciple flew into the main hall, cupping his hands and bowing. "The fifteen country emperors from the Bo Sea have arrived."
"They're rather early." I thought they wouldn't come. Lonemoon raised his eyebrows and said, "Just arrange their accommodations."
"They're… not here to celebrate the imperial ascension, they claim to have an emergency and are here to meet Emperor Yi Qing." The disciple frowned and said hesitantly.
"Oh? What issue do they have?" Lonemoon put down the daily schedule in his hand.
"They said it's for some cannon fodder?" "Pao Hui?"
"Oh, that's right! They said that there was some bias in his treatment, so they've all come to plead with the Emperor to rescind his order." The disciple himself was lost in his explanation.
"I didn't think that Pao Hui would have some ability!" Lonemoon smirked. He could actually persuade 15 country emperors to come forward together, but it was pointless. "It's the perfect opportunity to settle the issue, where's the chef?"
"Elder, chef… Yi Qing … Emperor is in the back palace cooking." The disciple changed his sentence a few times.
"Ask Shen Ying to call for him, tell him to settle it the way he did before." Lonemoon waved his arm and continued to fiddle with his abacus. Tomorrow would be the official imperial ascension for Yi Qing to become an Emperor. The carrots from all the continents would be here, he still had a score to settle with them. He had no time for these hypocrites. "Yes!" The disciple immediately stepped out and excitedly went to look for Shen Ying.
In the main palace.
Since the disciple had left to report, the country emperors had already waited for four hours, but the Emperor had not appeared after a long time, making them even more infuriated. Initially, they had not believed when Pao Hui had said that the new Emperor did not care about the immortals, so their journey here was also to probe about the new Emperor's plans. Now, it seemed that he was indeed arrogant.
In the past, no matter how busy Emperor Zi Chen was, he still valued them highly. He had never let them wait for so long, to make matters worse they were not even served tea. Before they met him, the country emperors already disliked the new Emperor and had feelings of revolting.
Although their cultivation levels were all below Celestial Emperor and they depended on the Bo Sea, their countries were all still run individually by them. Even if a new Emperor had a high cultivation level, it was extremely difficult to interfere with them, moreover, it was a critical period now. However, they did not dare to just leave like that. After another two hours of waiting, they finally saw the disciple return, saying that she would bring them to see the Emperor. After saying that, he turned around and flew away, looking like he was in a hurry.
The country emperors exchanged gazes and had no choice but to follow him. However, the realized that they were flying further and had left the area around the palace to a deserted celestial region. As they were suspecting the disciple's ulterior motives, she suddenly stopped and pointed to the front, saying, "Che… the Emperor is waiting for you inside."
After saying that, she turned around and flew back in an even larger hurry than she had come.
The country emperors were all baffled as they looked at the rocks floating in the air in front of them. They then saw a person standing on a giant rock in the middle, dressed in white robes and Immortal Qi emanating from him. He looked at them with a cold expression, frowning and seeming unhappy. Although he had intentionally held back his aura, they could still feel a pressuring suppression pressing towards them. The Emperors' hearts all skipped a beat and they involuntarily took a step back. They naturally recognized the new Emperor. It was the person who had beat them up when they had surrounded the Invincible Sect back then.
"Emperor Yi Qing…"
A country emperor took a deep breath and stepped forward, wanting to greet him, but he was interrupted by the person opposite him.
"Cut the nonsense!" He grabbed something in his hand and walked towards them, "Do it!" After he said that, he realized that something was off and moved his hand back. With a glow, the item in his hand instantly became an immortal sword, its Sword Qi surrounding the area.
Everyone: "…"
Huh, huh, huh?! What's going on, he wanted to fight them? They were not here for a fight, they just wanted to reason with him! And… he was holding a spatula in his hand just now, right?! It definitely was!
This was the second time they had seen him doing that, wasn't it a bit too late for him to realize that something was wrong?
-_-|||
"Wait a minute!" The country emperors all shouted, "We're here to reason!"
Yi Qing frowned impatiently and sword arrays appeared in the air in an instant, rushing towards them. He answered with a straight face, "I am reasoning with you!" Master had said that a strong fist was the absolute truth.
After saying that, he did not care whether they had reacted and rushed straight at them.
Fifteen minutes later… The country emperors who had fallen in a bunch: "…" Pao Hui, f*ck you!
What happened to avoiding Lonemoon and directly meeting the Emperor?
The second day, on the coronation.
As the continent that was closest to the Demon World, the entire Celestial World's impression of the Bo Sea right now could be summarised in one word — pitiful!
Even though the Demon World was law-abiding now and the Bo Sea had a new Emperor, the immortals still felt that it would be of no use. The new Emperor was likely forced up to be a scapegoat. One day, this place would become the battlefield for the two worlds.
Not just those from the other continents, even the immortals within the Bo Sea also felt the same way.
Surprisingly, on the day of the new Emperor's coronation, all the Celestial Emperors from the Celestial World were present and had prepared generous gifts. The celestial boat was packed full of congratulatory gifts and looked as though the nine Celestial palaces had been emptied. Moreover, the Celestial Emperors did not just send emissaries as a token of goodwill, but had all personally attended the coronation.
This scene even caused the country emperors who had been beat up, but could not vent their anger to be baffled. They naturally knew that their new Emperor had been recommended by the other Celestial Emperors and they had seen his ability in the Invincible Sect. His swordsmanship, his cultivation level… Even though he was only a Young Emperor back then, it was already surprising enough to many people. Yesterday's battle had made them lose their thoughts of opposition completely. The Celestial World's number one sword cultivator. No! He could even be declared the Celestial World's number one Celestial Emperor.
However, this did not stop them from thinking like the other immortals, believing that he was simply a scapegoat pushed forward by the other Emperors to temporarily hold the Demon World's invasion at bay as cannon fodder. That was why they dared to undermine the new Emperor.
However, from today's scene, it appeared that… the other Emperors did not have such thoughts. Moreover, not just towards Emperor Yi Qing, they were also extremely polite and tolerant of the 200 disciples that he had brought.
Unfamiliar with the terrain? Nobody to show them the way? No problem… The two or three days they had to wait was part of their cultivation!
The Immortal Pavilion they were arranged was too small for them? No problem… They could all just squeeze, it was also fine for them to sleep on the floor!
They traveled long distances and were thirsty? No problem… They had water element immortals and could settle it themselves!
The palace was shorthanded and could not manage? No problem… We brought a lot of people, just order them around! So, everyone realized strangely that the people running around the entire Immortal Pavilion busily were all immortal guards from the other palaces, as though their Emperor was the one who was involved in today's imperial ascension. Even…
"Eh, that's right… Hey, chicken!"
"Chicken is here!" Chu Xuan immediately moved over, "What's the problem, Little Hong?"
"The west palace's array formation was destroyed by our disciples a few days ago and a giant hole appeared in the palace. We need to fix it, but I'm too busy to…"
"No problem, leave it to me!" As he said that, he instinctively carried the lumber beside him and flew off.
The country emperors sitting in the palace: "…"
Were these really the Emperors who were revered? Why were these disciples ordering them around so proficiently? Moreover, what was with those excited expressions like they had been praised?
They must definitely have opened their eyes the wrong way!
Chapter 224: Happy Ascension
The entire coronation was a bustling sight. The longer the country emperors sat, the more confused they became. The majority of the people working hard outside were the immortal guards from other continents. Moreover, there were people occasionally walking in to ask the Immortal Emperors to help out. Gradually, the only people left in the palace were the country emperors with nothing to do. In that frame of time, they felt uneasy, as though something was off.
They stared at each other for a while and battled with these strange emotions for a few hours before the coronation finally begun.
Emperor Yi Qing had finally entered and the Celestial Emperors who had gone out to help were behind him, alongside Young Emperor Lonemoon that Pao Hui had mentioned. He appeared to be extremely friendly with the Celestial Emperors and as they walked, he was still discussing something with the Celestial Emperors alongside him with a happy expression.
It was only until the Celestial Emperors had all returned to their seats that the country emperors heaved a sigh of relief. For a brief moment, they did not raise their heads to care about what the crowd was saying. After all, they were merely congratulatory statements. However, the person who replied them all the way was the Junior Emperor called Lonemoon while Emperor Yi Qing did not say a single word. What was surprising was that the Celestial Emperors all did not find it rude and acted as though it was normal.
The country emperors could not say anything. As they touched the wounds on their bodies, they felt both enraged and worried. This new Emperor was evidently unmoved by both force and persuasion, their lives were probably going to get much tougher.
Initially, Yi Qing had battled the different continents' country emperors in the Invincible Sect, so there was sure to be a few who were unhappy with him. They had wanted to make use of the coronation to add fuel to the flames and get their revenge. However, they did not expect that all the Celestial Emperors would be here, and their enthusiastic attitudes were completely unlike an Immortal Emperor, but rather an immortal guard of the Invincible Palace. Their hopes were dashed and they could not say anything until it suddenly became dark outside.
The palace that was originally brimming with Immortal Qi suddenly had a gust of evil wind that blew past. In an instant, the sky darkened and a black aura wafted from the Heavenly Gate, causing even the country emperors to feel a cold sweat down their spine.
This was…
"Demonic Qi!" A country emperor exclaimed. The bustling palace suddenly fell silent.
As the crowd turned their heads, they saw a huge field of demonic Qi flying their way and a disciple hurriedly came over to report.
"Reporting to the sect master, the Demon King and his 10 Skyfiends are here."
The Demon King!
The people in the palace all took a deep breath, the 10 Celestial Emperors' expressions also paled and they looked nervously at the huge wave of demonic Qi outside. Even Lonemoon who had been sitting and smiling also frowned, after a while, he waved his hand and said, "Let them in!" Why were they here too?
The Demon King had actually come, the country emperors first tensed up, then their eyes lit up and they rejoiced in their hearts, feeling as though they had gotten their revenge. The demons had come for the Celestial Emperor's coronation, this was evidently a demonstration of their power!
The Bo Sea was near the Demon World and today was a big day for the Celestial World. Now that the Demon King had personally come, it would be impossible for a conflict not to break out.
Hmph! So what if Emperor Yi Qing was on good terms with the other Celestial Emperors? No matter how strong he was, he could not stop the entire Demon World single handedly. By that time, the people defending the Bo Sea would still be them. With the enemy at the gates, he still dared to treat them badly and use them to establish his reputation. Let's see how he handles this!
The country emperors immediately felt elated, anticipating the new Emperor disgracing himself, then they would be able to regain the face they lost. They all involuntarily looked towards the tens of figures that walked out from the demonic Qi. They saw them quickly walk through the door into the palace, then…
Knelt neatly within the palace.
The country emperors: "…"
The Celestial Emperors: "…"
(゚Д゚≡゚Д゚)
"The Demon King brings his 10 Skyfiends to visit the Exalted Goddess!" The Demon King cupped his fists towards the person in front of him and knelt thrice. The Skyfiends that were following behind him also knelt on the ground in an orderly line, their attitudes extremely respectful. "Hey, Blackie!" Shen Ying took time out from munching on her fruit to wave and greet him. "Have a seat." She turned her head and saw that there were already no empty seats.
"Thank you Exalted Goddess, Standing is pretty good, pretty good!" The Demon King grinned, then stood up and obediently stood to the side. The 10 Skyfiends behind him also moved like quails, quickly standing behind him, not even daring to raise their heads.
The atmosphere in the palace immediately became awkward.
The Demon King appeared to have triggered some standing punishment.
So… the Celestial Emperors all stood up: Since the Demon King is standing, to show the friendly relations between the Celestial and Demon Worlds, they had to stand.
Next… the country emperors all stood up: Since the Celestial Emperors were standing and their cultivation level was lower, hence they had to stand. Then… the congratulating immortals all stood up: Since the country emperors were standing, they had to stand.
In a moment's time, the entire palace was full of standing people, apart from the person who was sitting at the top munching her fruit and had not stopped for a single moment. The entire palace echoed with munching sounds: crunch… crunch… crunch…
Three minutes later.
Maybe because the scene was too awkward and the Demon King was afraid of ruining the Exalted Goddess' fun, so he opened his mouth.
"After I received the news, I rushed here immediately. I wish the Exalted Goddess a happy ascension!" The Demon King's smile got even brighter and he showered her with compliments with a sincere expression. "For Exalted Goddess to receive such a position is really well-deserved, the Bo Sea will definitely become more prosperous under Exalted Goddess' guidance. If there is anything that the Demon World can help with in the future, we will definitely listen to Exalted Goddess' orders and go through fire and flame…" "I say… Blackie!" Shen Ying interrupted him.
"Blackie is here!"
"The person becoming the Emperor is not me." She pointed to the person beside her and said, "It's the chef!"
Blackie: "…"
So he didn't even know who was going to become the Emperor and rushed over to boot lick. Was the Demon World a place with no morals! The country emperors all felt that the story had become a fantasy.
Wait a minute, the country emperors were all baffled. Who was the person sitting at the top? Wasn't it Emperor Yi Qing? When did she sit there? Why was Yi Qing standing behind her with a natural expression?
Why were the people in the entire palace all blind to it, as though the arrangement was completely alright?
Most importantly… Why did they realize only now that the person sitting up there was her, and not Yi Qing?!
w(゚Д゚)w
"Congratulations Emperor chef on your ascension." Blackie changed his tune and started again, "For Emperor chef to receive such a position is really well-deserved, the Bo Sea will definitely become more prosperous under Emperor chef's guidance. If there is anything that the Demon World can help with in the future, we will definitely listen to Emperor chef's orders and go through fire and flame to help you!"
The Celestial Emperors and country emperors: "…"
How shameless! This fellow definitely changed his speech on the spot! Even the things he said were completely the same. And, who was the Emperor chef, he probably didn't even know the other party's name!
Are you sure the Demon World was not here to be a joke?
The country emperors all felt something crumbling in their heads. In that moment, they felt that the war between the immortals and the demons was likely to never happen. In the future, they had better go back and lead an honest lifestyle! D*mn Pao Hui! It's all his fault.
The entire coronation ended in an unexpectedly peaceful atmosphere. Up until they left, the country emperors were all baffled. It was unsure if they had been affected by the crowd's attitudes, they no longer dared to show any semblance of unhappiness in front of Yi Qing, all tucking their tails between their legs. Originally, the entire Bo Sea was under the control of the Emperor, they must have been crazy to listen to Pao Hui and think that the current situation in Bo Sea would be any different.
Chapter 225: Joyous Melody Valley
Late at night, in the back palace's kitchen.
"Exalted Goddess, I've investigated the matter that you asked me to previously." The Demon King lowered his voice and said solemnly.
"So fast!" Lonemoon looked back with an expression of surprise. "How was it?"
"Junior Emperor's guess was correct, the previous Demon King might still be alive." The Demon King nodded and continued, "I sent the 10 Skyfiends to look throughout the Demon World, there are indeed many demons who claim that they have seen him."
Lonemoon frowned. Since he previously saw the idiotic Demon World classical texts, he guessed that the mastermind would be closely related to the previous Demon King even if it was not him. "Where is he?"
"I don't know yet." The Demon King shook his head. "I've only heard some rumors, but the locations are all varied, so I don't have an accurate location. I've also interrogated those demons hiding in the Celestial World, but according to them, they lost contact with the previous Demon King over hundreds of thousands of years ago. They did not even know that the Demon World's Demon King has changed, even the Skyfiend called Zi Chen is also the same."
Well, this was tough. Lonemoon's brows furrowed even harder. If even Blackie could not find him, the others would struggle even harder to do so.
"How did you become the Demon King then?" Shen Ying suddenly asked.
The Demon King was stunned for a moment, he did not understand why she was asking, but he answered honestly, "I defeated the previous Demon King, so I naturally became the new Demon King." he replied proudly. The demons had always lived by a simple rule, whoever was stronger would be the Demon King. "Back then, I beat him up like crazy and thought that he was already dead, but I didn't expect him…"
"So, that means you were the last person to see him." Shen Ying replied.
Eh? The Demon King was stunned.
Lonemoon's eyes lit up and he immediately understood as well. He dragged Blackie over and asked, "Where did the two of you fight?"
"Near the Joyous Melody Valley in the Demon World." The Demon King replied. "Back then, our cultivation levels were similar and we fought for seven to eight days. Finally, I used all my strength to destroy his Demon Soul. He fell near the Joyous Melody Valley and should be dead… Could he be hiding there?"
"Where is the Joyous Melody Valley?" If his guess was not wrong, the previous Demon King was playing dead back then.
"The Joyous Melody Valley is in the eastern region of the Demon World, near to the edge." Back then, they had chose to fight there because they were afraid of destroying the Demon World.
"We head there now to take a look!"
"Okay." The Demon King nodded and the two of them were about to leave.
"Bon voyage." A familiar voice sounded from behind them.
Lonemoon, who had already taken a step out of the door immediately turned back and his expression blackened. He dragged the person who was still lying lazily on the chair and said, "You go with us too!"
"But Master is…"
"You too!" He turned to the person who was holding a plate of spicy crayfish. Yi Qing: "…" But Master hasn't even eaten her supper yet?
Shen Ying "…" D*mn it, I knew I shouldn't have said anything.
Blackie: "…" This Junior Emperor Lonemoon appears to be stronger than the Exalted Goddess, another backer to rely on!
(⊙ o ⊙)
Three days later, near the Demon World's Joyous Melody Valley.
The Joyous Melody Valley got its name because it had multiple narrow ravines, with one that was bottomless. If one wanted to fly all the way to the bottom of that ravine, they would require four to six hours. Moreover, there were strong winds in the valley. Whenever the wind blew, the entire valley would ring with different melodies, like a tune reverberating through the entire valley, thus earning it the name — Joyous Melody Valley.
This was the edge of the Demon World, if they went further east, they would reach the Land of Nothingness. This area had sparse demonic Qi and was a place where nothing grew and nobody stayed for thousands of miles around here. All the while, it was rare for any demons to step foot here. The Demon King had previously destroyed the previous Demon King, Zhan Ting's Demon Soul and knocked him into the deepest ravine before he thought he was dead.
But from the looks of it…
"This… is what you meant by uninhabitable?" Lonemoon's mouth twitched as he pointed at the demon city that was even larger than the Invincible Palace.
Uninhabitable my foot! The bottom of the valley has a d*mn demon city! All these figures, could they possibly be immortals? Hell no!
The Demon King was also baffled. He did not know that there was such a huge demon city at the foot of the valley!
"I… I don't know what's going on either?" The Demon King looked at the demon city in front of him with a bewildered expression. His legs went jelly and he frantically hugged Shen Ying's leg and said, "Exalted Goddess, you have to listen to me. If I really knew, I wouldn't have brought you here."
"That's enough!" Lonemoon sighed. Look at this good-for- nothing, did he become the Demon King simply by acting coy. "Let's go into the city and have a look. It looks like the one called Zhan Ting is likely to be in the city."
"Wait a minute!" Seeing them about to enter the city, the Demon King frantically took out a few pieces of black talismans. "Exalted Goddess, this is the demon gathering talisman that I have prepared, it can accumulate the surrounding demonic Qi onto your body. That way, other people will not be able to see the Immortal Qi on your bodies." If an immortal were to enter the demon city, they would be like a lighted lamp, any demon would be able to see them at a glance. If Zhan Ting was really in the city, they would be alerting him.
"Okay, thank you!" The three of them received the talismans and Lonemoon immediately stuck it onto his body. As expected, he soon became like the Demon King, his body surrounded by black demonic Qi.
Shen Ying looked curiously and imitated the two of them, slapping the talisman onto her chest. In the next moment, strands of black Qi appeared to be attracted by something and gathered around her. The strange thing was, the demonic Qi did not surround her tightly like Lonemoon and Yi Qing, but stopped one meter away from her like they were fearing something. They refused to move forward and continued moving in the one meter around her. Not long after, she had been wrapped into a one meter-long — black egg!
"Done!" Shen Ying nodded her head.
"Done my foot!" Lonemoon's mouth twitched. She stood out more than when she didn't have the demonic Qi around her, "Are you blind? In what way does this look like it's done!?"
"Haih, how troublesome!" Shen Ying sighed, "How about you give me another one, Blackie." "Okay!" The Demon King immediately passed her another talisman.
Shen Ying pasted it on her chest with no hesitation, then… the egg grew even larger!
What the heck? Why did even the Demonic Qi not dare to approach Shen Ying, were the beings in the Demon World all that cowardly?
Lonemoon took a deep breath, then walked up to Shen Ying and tore off the two talismans on her chest. The demonic Qi disappeared in an instant, and he said, "You don't need it." With her sense of existence, it was probably hard for people to notice her anyway. "Oh."
"Also, after we enter the city, we will find a place to rest. You and the chef stay there, wait for us to return. Understand?"
"Oh, what are you going to do?"
"What else!" A burst of anger rushed up Lonemoon's chest. "Aren't we here to look for the previous Demon King Zhan Ting's whereabouts? Of course I'm going to ask around."
"Oh, is that of use?"
"Even if it isn't, we have to try! You think Zhan Ting is a freebie that will just fall from the sky into your lap…"
Before he could finish his sentence, a figure fell from the sky and crashed in front of the four of them, instantly creating a human-shaped hole about a meter deep. A man dressed in black was twitching in the hole and as he turned around, he revealed a handsome face.
"Zhan Ting!" Blackie exclaimed.
Oh! The Demon King really fell from the sky.
Chapter 226: Forgive Me Darling
"Give… give me a hand!" Zhan Ting raised a shuddering hand from the bottom of the hole.
The four of them looked at each other, Blackie then stepped forward, stretching out his hand and dragging the person out from the hole, then… easily tying him up.
"What do you want?" After Zhan Ting had been tied up like a dumpling, he then realized that something was off and he glared at them, "Who are you, I'll warn you, you had better let me go or suffer the consequences."
"Zhan Ting, you're still alive indeed." Blackie looked at him and said. Not just that, his cultivation had not fallen much.
"You…" Zhan Ting stared at him, then opened his eyes wide. "Li Yin! Why are you here?" His expression became cold and he said with apprehension, "I've already given you the position of Demon King, what else do you want?" "Pui!" Blackie glared at him, "The Demon King was clearly won by my own ability, who wants you to give it to me."
"Then why have you tied me up? I'm now just a normal demon that is in seclusion in the Joyous Melody Valley, I pose no threat to you."
"Relax, we won't do anything to you. The Exalted Goddess just wants to ask you a few questions." He replied sternly, "You had better answer honestly."
"Exalted Goddess?" Zhan Ting was taken aback for a moment, then looked towards the rest, "What questions?"
"Regarding your plan to send people to open the gate to the Demon World." Lonemoon stepped forward and said sternly.
Zhan Ting frowned, then gave a straightforward nod and said, "Sure, since I have nothing to hide. Whatever you want to know, just ask. However… I have an emergency now, you all have to let me go back first." The few of them fell silent and turned around and looked at the nearby demon city with some hesitation.
"Relax!" Zhan Ting rolled his eyes, "I definitely won't run. The city is filled with demons with no ambition, they can't harm you either."
The four of them looked at each other. Blackie then loosened the bindings and cast a spell to prevent him from escaping before they all entered the city together.
After the three of them entered the city, they finally understood why Zhan Ting had said that the demons in the city could not harm them. It was because they were weak… simply too weak. Along the way, they ran into a few normal demons, but the highest among them was only a fourth or fifth level, not to mention there were no Skyfiends. A Mystic Immortal would be completely capable of killing all these demons, while the weakest among them was a Junior Emperor.
They were all quite surprised that such a huge demon city would have a large group of low level demons. Zhan Ting walked extremely quickly, as though he was really in a hurry, rushing them as he walked. "Aiya, can you all walk faster, I won't be able to make it if we're this slow."
The few of them were baffled and followed him all the way to a giant palace before he stopped. In contrast to all the black buildings in the city, this palace was actually white.
Zhan Ting appeared to be extremely familiar with the place, bringing them proficiently in… through the back door!
When they passed through a garden full of unknown flowers, then wound around a clear pond to the back of a small building. The building was extremely exquisite and white silk hung within the building, a white aura occasionally passing through the area.
"The surroundings…" Lonemoon was stunned and looked unbelievably at the surroundings.
"Yes, it's Immortal Qi!" Yi Qing immediately nodded. Before the few of them had time to be shocked that Immortal Qi would be present in a demon city, Zhan Ting quickly walked forward and stopped in front of the small building. He then swiftly knelt on the ground without hesitation and started to shout.
"Darling, I was wrong! I shouldn't have defied you, I shouldn't have strolled around the place, not focusing on my cultivation; I shouldn't have fought with that little devil and bullied him over a small argument; I shouldn't have ignored my duties and only thought of staying in your house; I shouldn't have wanted to kill the little demon next door just because he looked at you. I was really wrong, I won't do it again. Seeing as I've been kneeling outside for three days, please let me in?
Blackie: "…" What the heck! So he rushed back just to apologize to his wife!
"Darling…" Zhan Ting was already scratching the door in a frenzy, howling at the top of his voice with. His words were extremely mushy, "I haven't seen you for three days, my heart is breaking. Everything is my fault, please let me in? I promise that I won't act up in the future, please let me see you…"
Before he could finish speaking, a beam of Immortal Qi appeared from the room and controlled the white silk on the floor below to whip Zhan Ting. With a crack, he was lashed into the yard and rolled two rounds.
A distinct palm print appeared on his handsome face. Zhan Ting did not get angry and his eyes lit up instead, as though he had been given a huge prize. He excitedly stood up and pounced towards the door, saying, "Darling, you're finally willing to take notice of me! I know you still care about me, as long as it'll help you to forgive me, go ahead and hit me, don't hold back." As he said that, he put his other half of his face closer to the door.
Everyone: "…" F*cking retard! In an instant, they all understood who the person in the house was and why there was Immortal Qi in the house. The same words appeared in their heads — Cuihua!
"Is there anyone else?" A somewhat cold voice sounded from inside the house.
Zhan Ting faltered, then suddenly remembered that there were people following behind him. He turned around and glared at them before answering, "It's just some irrelevant people. Darling…"
As he explained, the door opened with a creak. In an instant, a more intense Immortal Qi than just now rushed towards them and a figure walked out slowly. Dressed in white and with hair like ink, her face had a cold expression, but she was stunningly beautiful, giving people the feeling of a valley orchid. It was a feeling of sacredness that could not be explained, she was like a perfect work of God and nobody could find any flaw on her.
The four of them all faltered. They had seen many beauties, but this was the first time they had seen a beauty as natural as her. Even Shen Ying, who was a woman, was also stunned. "Darling…" Zhan Ting immediately became like a leech and latched onto the person inside the door. However, he was given an icy glare and he immediately froze on the spot with a pitiful expression.
"I have already said, don't appear in front of me again." The woman frowned slightly.
"Darling, I was really wrong." Zhan Ting had an expression like he was about to cry, "Please, just forgive me. I promise that I'll listen to everything you say in the future. I'll definitely not pester you in the morning, if you say stop I'll stop, I'll do you however many times you…"
Before he could finish, the woman's expression became completely black and she waved her hand, sweeping him and throwing him away with a wind spell. Zhan Ting instantly turned into a black dot on the horizon and disappeared in the yard.
Shen Ying: "…" Yi Qing: "…"
Did they… just hear some erotic content?
Chapter 227: The Truth behind the Demon Gate
"You all are from the Celestial World?" The woman looked at them, astonished. Her brows then furrowed in vexation, "Why are you all in the Demon World?"
The few of them were stunned for a moment, they had not expected her to be able to see through their identities at a glance. They all turned to look at someone, what low-quality talisman had he given them?
Blackie: "…" It's none of my business? I don't know how she could tell either.
"There is no need to worry, I mean no harm." The woman could see their apprehension and explained, "I didn't expect that there would be other immortals other than me in the Demon World." She produced a hand seal and removed some sort of spell. In the next second, the Immortal Qi around her became even more dense like it was about to become corporeal.
"Celestial Emperor!" Lonemoon exclaimed. He did not expect that she would have the cultivation level of a Celestial Emperor, no wonder she was able to see through their disguise.
"Perhaps you all have heard of me." She sighed and gave them a friendly smile, then saying in a low voice, "I am Zhuo Hua, the Bo Sea's Celestial Emperor."
The Bo … Sea!
Lonemoon's mouth twitched and pointed at the chef, saying, "What a coincidence, he's also the Bo Sea's Celestial Emperor."
"…" Also, what happened to Cuihua? Why was she Zhuo Hua now, was Zhan Ting an illiterate?
"This…" Zhuo Hua was shocked. She stepped forward and removed the talismans from Lonemoon and Yi Qing's chests, she then reacted and sighed, "I've left the Celestial World for so many years, I didn't expect that the Bo Sea had already changed its Celestial Emperor."
Not just once, but twice!
"Emperor Zhuo Hua." Lonemoon stepped forward, "Why are you in the Demon World? Could it be… Zhan Ting's doing?"
"It's not… completely him." She frowned and appeared to be unwilling to go into the details. She invited them to have a seat at the side, then slowly said, "How did you enter the Demon World? The Demon World has been sealed, immortals should not be able to enter the Demon World."
The few of them fell silent for a while before Lonemoon finally said, "Don't you know… that the Celestial and Demon World are now one?"
"What?!" Zhuo Hua was shocked and jumped up from her chair. She clenched her fist and exclaimed, "How could this happen? The demons are definitely not to be trusted, back then it was only to stop the Demon World from invading that I… I didn't expect that the Demon King now would also be an ambitious person! We have to stop the war between the two worlds!"
As she finished her statement, Blackie became weak at the knees and nearly fell off his chair, "Hey hey hey, don't go around spouting nonsense like that, how am I ambitious? I haven't done anything at all!" What the heck! What's going to happen if the Exalted Goddess misunderstands? He turned around and hugged Shen Ying's leg, "Exalted Goddess, the two worlds combining has nothing to do with me at all, you must trust me!"
"Scram!" His snot was getting on her leg.
"You… you're the Demon King!" Zhuo Hua was astounded as she finally recognized Blackie. "That's right, I'm the Demon King Blackie, the incarnation of love and peace. My favorite pastime is peace, the friendliest kind! Whoever dares to start a war between the immortals and the demons will have to get through me!" Exalted Goddess, look at my pure gaze!
(✿‿✿)
You're a Demon King after all, can you have some values!
What a disgrace, can I pretend I don't know this fellow!
Zhuo Hua: "…" Isn't the new Demon King called Li Yin? Has the Demon King changed too?
"Uh, that…" Lonemoon coughed and kicked the Demon King to the side, "There's no need to worry, the Celestial and Demon World are at peace, there will not be a war." As long as Shen Ying was around, getting to and fro the Celestial and Demon World would probably be like traveling overseas.
"How could it be…" She was stunned and could not react. The immortals and demons had been fighting for a long time and would not give in even until death. She had never expected that there would be peace one day.
"Emperor Zhuo Hua, the reason we're here is regarding the gate to the Demon World, there are some things we want to ask the previous Demon King Zhan Ting." Lonemoon hesitated for a moment before honestly stating their intentions.
"The gate to the Demon World?"
Lonemoon had thought that she would not agree easily. After all, the reason she had stayed in the Demon World would definitely be because of Zhan Ting. After some thinking, he added on, "We feel that the reason the Celestial and Demon Worlds combined into one is connected to the gate to the Demon World that Zhan Ting left in the Celestial World, so…" "Okay." Surprisingly, she agreed readily. She turned around and looked at the door, shouting coldly, "Get in here!"
"Okay, I'm coming, I'm coming." Zhan Ting immediately entered the room and smiled brilliantly, "Darling, you're finally willing to meet me. I knew you still cared about…"
"Shut up!"
"Oh." Zhan Ting immediately became a sad quail.
Zhuo Hua did not even bother about him and turned around, looking at them, "Ask any questions you all have." After she said that, she glared at Zhan Ting, "Answer them properly."
"Sure darling, no problem darling." Zhan Ting stood even straighter, as obedient as he could be. He then turned around to look at them, his expression suddenly changing to the domineering Demon King, what a flawless switch, "What is it, hurry up, I'm busy!" Everyone: "…"
The Demon World was definitely a place without values.
Lonemoon reacted the quickest and asked in a serious voice, "We want to know if the gate to the Demon World was created by you. How did you know that opening the gate on the Emperor Ascension Stage would combine the two worlds? Also, was it you who pulled me and Shen Ying to this world?"
"What Emperor Ascension Stage? The two worlds combining?" Zhan Ting looked lost, "Indeed, I was the one who created the gate to the Demon World. Back then, the Demon World was sealed, Cuihua and I were separated by the two worlds, so I took the chance to send my subordinates to the Celestial World while the seal was weakening to set up a gate to the Demon World in the Bo Sea."
"Bo Sea!" Lonemoon was stunned and immediately had an ominous feeling, it couldn't be…
"That's right!" Zhan Ting nodded and replied proudly, "Cuihua was the Bo Sea's Emperor back then, so the gate naturally had to be set up there. The gate was actually only a special transportation array, moreover, it had to be assembled to be of use. So, once the gate to the Demon World was set up, I activated the array and brought her over, hehehe…"
"…" Holy shit! As expected, what was this result that was completely expected?
"Then, why did all the demons you sent think that the gate to the Demon World was a pathway to connect the two worlds?" Otherwise, Zi Chen wouldn't have risked his life to open the gate.
"Oh, I swindled them into thinking that." Zhan Ting replied nonchalantly. If he didn't trick them into thinking he had a grand plan who would be willing to go to the Celestial World to help him find his wife, "In reality, the door couldn't even be opened."
"…" Damn it, this guy is too shameless! So the entire plan to invade the Celestial World was a scam to help him find his wife from the beginning? They suddenly felt like lighting a candle for all the demons who had been in subterfuge in the Celestial World all these years, trying to open the gate to the Demon World.
This henpecked guy was definitely not the mastermind, definitely!
"Back then… I was indeed transported to this world by the gate to the Demon World." Zhuo Hua walked forward and explained, "The gate has a camouflage spell on it, but in reality, it's only a transportation array. Moreover, after it transported me, it should have lost its effectiveness."
Lonemoon fell silent and he frowned even harder. They had seen the gate to the Demon World twice, it was obviously a passageway linking the two worlds. Afterwards, it had even combined the two worlds. However, Zhan Ting had no reason to lie to them, if the initial gate to the Demon World was merely a transportation array, something must have happened in the process. However, who would be able to tamper with the gate to the Demon World? Moreover, the gate to the Demon World had only been set up in the Bo Sea, but when they first saw the gate to the Demon World, it was in the Invincible Sect in Feng Cang.
They felt as though the matter was getting more complicated, but all the hints had only led up to here.
For a while, everyone was silent.
"Chef, did you bring pen and paper?" Shen Ying asked suddenly.
"This…" Yi Qing did a double take. After a while, he took out a piece of white cloth and a bowl of black liquid, "Master, is brocade and soy sauce fine?" He had only brought these.
"I'll make do!" She took them and placed them on the table.
"What are you doing?" Lonemoon asked curiously, but Shen Ying did not reply. Yi Qing had taken out a brush and passed it to her, she doodled on the brocade and put down the brush and pointed at the picture on it, asking, "Have you seen this before?"
Everyone looked down and saw a crooked pendant drawn on the cloth, it looked like a pendant. Although the design was common, there was a strange pattern on the jade.
Zhan Ting's eyes widened, "This pattern is…"
Chapter 228: The Godfiend's Mark
"The Godfiend's Mark!" Before Zhan Ting could finish, Little Black had already exclaimed.
"What Godfiend's Mark?" Lonemoon frowned and asked in an irritated tone.
"The Godfiend's Mark is my clan's contract seal." Little Black explained, "The seal will only appear when someone swears by their Demon Soul and sets up a Demon Contract. Just like the immortals' Heavenly Dao vow, once it is established, they are bound by the Godfiend to accomplish it. Otherwise, the Mark will make the person who set up the contract pay an even bigger price. However, the Demon Contract cannot be set up unless the cultivator is at least a Skyfiend, otherwise the Godfiend will not respond."
"Contract?" Lonemoon looked closely at the pattern on the pendant, "Shen Ying, where did you see this pattern… Wait a minute! This pendant can't be the one that Hui Ling was wearing on her neck?"
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded. "F*ck!" It really was, "You think that… the person who gave Hui Ling the pendant set up a Demon Contract with her, so she was able to pull you into the Fringe Realm?"
"Not a contract." Shen Ying tilted her head and replied, "It was the person himself."
"Huh? What do you mean?" He had not reacted to it, "What person… the Godfiend! You're saying that the Godfiend gave Hui Ling the pendant?" He stood up abruptly and looked at Shen Ying astoundingly. The other people were equally shocked.
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded nonchalantly and turned to Yi Qing, "Did you bring fruits?" She kept feeling as though something was missing.
"I… did." Yi Qing instinctively reached for his storage bag.
"This isn't possible." Little Black shook his head vigorously, "Exalted Goddess, the Godfiend is the earliest ancestor of my clan, the Demon World and even the entire demon clan was created by him. He is like the Heavenly Dao or even the God of Creation. He has only ever appeared in legends and none of us knows if he actually exists. Even if he did exist, why would he grant such a pendant not to us demons but to an immortal cultivator." There was no purpose in doing so.
"No, it's possible…" Yi Qing raised his head and looked at them, "To combine the two worlds."
Everybody was stunned, but immediately reacted.
If the Godfiend really existed, he indeed had the power to make the two worlds assimilate and he naturally could make him and Shen Ying transmigrate to this world.
Yi Qing and Lonemoon thought even further. Back then, Hui Ling had used the pendant to pull Shen Ying into the Fringe Realm. By right, crossing realms should not be an easy thing to do, if it was entering the mortal world, it was still fine. However, to enter a higher-level realm such as the Divine World, it was extremely difficult if it was not an Immortal Ascension. Moreover, that Fringe Realm that no one had ever heard of, probably only the Godfiend had that ability. Moreover, with Shen Ying's power, someone who had never witnessed her power could never understand. The only person in the Celestial World who had the power to stop the Celestial World and Demon World combining into one was probably Shen Ying. Trapping her in the Fringe Realm was indeed the best idea, even if they were unable to keep her there, they could at least stall for time.
In reality, although the method that Hui Ling was clumsy, it had indeed diverted their attention. Even after they had fought off the enemies, they focused their attention on getting the Celestial Emperors back from their radish bodies into their actual bodies and ignored the gate to the Demon World.
"You mean… it was the Godfiend who combined the Celestial and Demon World?" Zhuo Hua, who had finally understood the entire flow of events frowned. She turned and looked at Zhan Ting, asking, "Where is that Godfiend now?"
The two Demon Kings were both stunned. After a while, Zhan Ting said with a fawning expression, "Darling, just like Li Yin said, the Godfiend's existence is merely a legend. Nobody knows if it's actually true and nobody has ever seen the real Godfiend. It's impossible to find him." "Then let him come and find us!" Shen Ying said suddenly.
Everybody was shocked and turned to look at her.
"Does Exalted Goddess have a plan?" Little Black's eyes lit up and he habitually sucked up to her, "As expected of the Exalted Goddess, so wise, brave, omniscient. How will we make the Godfiend look for us?"
Shen Ying finished the fruit in her hand with a few crunches, then turned to look at Little Black. She suddenly smiled at him, revealing her teeth, showing him a never-before seen, gentle expression that felt like flowers blooming.
Little Black shivered uncontrollably, the hair on his body standing on ends. "Little Black!"
"Here… here, here?"
"Today's weather is pretty good, how about… you make a vow, the kind that needs the Godfiend's Mark."
"… Huh?"
∑q|゚Д゚|p
Was he deaf?
Six hours later.
"Exalted Goddess, do I really have to draft the contract?" "Yes." Shen Ying nodded.
"Exalted Goddess, making a vow with your Demon Soul is a serious matter, I need to consider it carefully, can we change it to tomorrow?"
"Oh?"
"Exalted Goddess, why not we change the contents of the contract? I am a Demon King after all, my first time using my Demon Soul to draft a contract should at least be to help Exalted Goddess conquer all the Three Realms or something grand like that."
"Not interested."
"Exalted Goddess, why not you try conquering the Demon World first? Our Demon World is especially fun."
"Not fun." "Exalted Goddess, Zhan Ting is also a Demon King and he has been Demon King longer than me. The effects of his contract will definitely be better, why not we use him?"
"Not familiar."
"Exalted Goddess…."
"Shut up and go!"
"Alright."
A certain Demon King then gave up and hung his head with a sour expression, like he was about to cry. He walked to the center of the courtyard with his puffy red eyes and set up an array formation while conjuring seals.
He never wanted to be a Demon King! ┭┮_┭┮
"Shen Ying." Perhaps Little Black's expression was too resentful, Lonemoon couldn't help pushing the person next to him, "Are you sure that this Demon Contract can lure out that supposed Godfiend?"
"Nope!" Shen Ying shook her head in all seriousness.
Black and White: "…"
So… You're just sending Little Black to his death as an experiment?
"Don't worry, nothing will happen." It's not that big of a contract. Shen Ying instinctively walked forward and stood nearer to a certain wailing Demon King.
Little Black had already finish setting up his array formation and set up another dozen of defensive array formations in one breath. He then stood in the middle of the array formation and took a few deep breaths, as though he was desperately preparing himself for something. After a while, he then looked at Shen Ying, looking as though he would die.
"Exalted Goddess, can we really not change to another vow?"
Shen Ying did not reply but raised the fruit in her hand and crunched down hard on it.
Little Black shrunk back into the formation, then raised one hand and channeled demonic Qi into his voice and shouted:
I, king of the Demon World, Li Yin, use my Demon Soul to establish a contract with the supreme Godfiend. Abiding by the rules and laws of the heavens — Tonight, I will make Exalted Goddess Shen Ying eat sweet dumplings. If I defy this, I am willing to accept severe punishment by the Godfiend.
For a moment, the rumbling voice sounded throughout the entire demon city and did not dissipate.
The entire city: "…"
Little Black: "…"
How shameful, he wanted to cry!
〒▽〒
"Chef!"
"Here!"
"Tonight, make salted dumplings." "Yes Master, no problem Master!"
This was different from what they agreed on?!
(○・́д・)ノ
Chapter 229: The Godfiend's Divine Abode
The sky seemed to have darkened. They were in a valley already. The dark clouds and the huge winds made everything around them seem pitch black as the air thickened.
They did not have time to react when they saw a purple flash of lightning strike the center of Blackie's forehead. The next moment, a red graphic appeared in between his eyebrow. It looked just like the image carved onto the jade token.
"It really is the seal of the Godfiend!" Lonemoon exclaimed. He had never thought that such a lame chant would be able to activate the seal of the Godfiend. Was it true then that as long as one was at least a Celestial Emperor, they would be able to obtain the seal?
Blackie subconsciously touched his forehead and surveyed the rest of his body. Fortunately, he was not missing any limbs or meridians. He heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Shen Ying saying, "Exalted Goddess, I didn't-" "Master, your dumplings are done." Yi Qing interrupted, presenting a bundle of dumplings to Shen Ying.
Did he have to be so quick? He was doing this on purpose - he must have been!
"Exalted Goddess, you've just eaten pastries. You'll bloat if you eat this now. Do you want to have it later?" He asked with a serious expression.
"Master, I've prepared your spirit tea." Yi Qing served it.
"Exalted Goddess, pastries and dumplings are so dry. They're going to dehydrate you if you have them together," Blackie tried again. "Master, I've cut some fruits." Yi Qing served fruits.
"Exalted Goddess, look at the dumplings. They're wrapped so well. They definitely need to be cooked for awhile longer - why don't you have something sweet first?"
"Water Negation Deviant Fire Art. Master, it's done." Yi Qing handed the dumplings over.
Flips table! Was he not going to allow Blackie to become a demon!
Yi Qing: Nobody can doubt my professionalism! "Exalted Goddess!" Blackie squatted on the floor and began to wail as loudly as thunder , "Betraying the Godfiend is a very serious matter and the consequences will be dire. Why don't you reconsider-"
Burp¬
Shen Ying, who had just finished the dumpling, asked, "What are you saying?"
The black clouds that had dissipated gathered once again, blacker than before. A white string of light appeared in the sky and there was a faint red lightning flashing intermittently. All around them, the wind became stronger, running through the entire demon city so that even the grounds began to shake. The others were fine, but Blackie and Zhan Ting seemed to sense something. They fell to their knees.
Suddenly, something bright red flashed past them. The sky seemed to break apart and a blinding red flash of lightning struck down toward where Blackie was kneeling.
"The divine punishment!" Blackie became instantly pale. The suppression coming from the red light caused him to be unable to even lift up his head. Even the demonic spirit within him was stirring. His heart seemed to stop. All he did was go back on the contract - the divine punishment was way too severe for such a matter! He watched as the divine lightning headed toward him. Instinctively, he turned to Shen Ying and cried, "Exalted Goddess, I-"
"Move!" Before he could finish, he felt something tighten on his shoulder. Shen Ying reached out and carried him out of reach of the lightning bolt. Immediately, there was a huge crash. The red deviant lightning exploded on Shen Ying. Blackie's ten plus arrays all fell apart and the ground lit up in the same bright red of the lightning bolt. Shen Ying stood amid the red light, looking up at the dark sky.
"Master!" Yi Qing stepped forward, anxious. Seeing that she was unhurt, he sighed in relief. "That divine lightning-"
"Move!" Shen Ying shouted, cutting him off. Nobody had time to react. They looked up and saw two more bolts of deviant lightning overhead. It was travelling at the speed of light toward the entire group.
"Holy shit!" Lonemoon jumped. The lightning seemed to be coming from nowhere. Nobody could do anything about it. What was going on? Was the Godfiend blind? It was Blackie who should be punished - why was it attacking them?
"Chef…" Shen Ying was just about to pull him aside when she sensed something. She retracted her hand. Huh?
The next moment, the red light burst forth and covered the entire courtyard and the lightning bolts struck the ground, one after another, bringing with them a suppression that seemed great enough to destroy the heavens and the earth.
What was strange was…
"Eh? I'm fine!" Blackie patted his body and realised that there was not a single scratch on him. He hurriedly tested out his demonic Qi. His cultivation, spirit and even meridians were perfectly unharmed. How could this be? This was obviously the lightning of divine punishment, that was supposed to be even scarier than the lightning tribulation. Yet, he came out of it unscathed. "Exalted Goddess, what exactly… Eh! Exalted Goddess? Where's the Exalted Goddess?"
He looked around him and found that Shen Ying was nowhere to be seen.
"What's the matter?" "Not just her!" Zhan Ting said. "Even the other two immortal cultivators are missing."
"…" What's going on?
They were on the surface of a water body that did not seem to end. Everything was calm on the water surface. It was acting like a mirror for the sky, reflecting every single white cloud and the blue of the sky. A man in black robes was standing between the heaven and the sky. He had long hair that reached the ground, and he had a stern stance. He did not look as powerful as the highest-level cultivators in the demonic or immortal realms. Instead, he looked quite average. At best, he was gentlemanly. On his average looking face, his red eyes were what caught their attention. He was grinning. Beneath his feet, there were red lotus flowers that made it look just like he was standing on fire. He was very normal, yet he gave them the impression that he was extremely demonic.
"You wanted to see me?" He suddenly asked. His voice sounded ethereal, echoing throughout the entire place. "Shen Ying." "Mm," Shen Ying nodded. She did not even look flustered even though she had just been dragged to an entirely new realm. "Godfiend?"
The man did not seem to notice that she was especially calm. He nodded curtly. Then, smiling somewhat kindly, he said, "Yes, I am the Godfiend."
"Where are Chef and Father Niu?" She searched around her.
The Godfiend glanced at her, then raised his hand toward her. Suddenly, the water began to stir. An image appeared just beneath the surface. There were two huge lotus flowers. Lonemoon and Yi Qing were lying in one lotus flower each, looking like they were in a deep sleep.
"This is my divine abode. The bodies of the three realms are not able to withstand the divine suppression they experience here, that's why they're in a deep sleep," he explained. He faced her. "Except for you."
"Oh." Shen Ying scanned the two bodies in the lotus flowers. She sat down on the water surface, crossing her legs and eating her fruit. "I have a few questions to ask you.."
"What do you want to know/?"
"Were you the one who gave Hui Ling that jade ornament?"
"Was it your idea to merge the immortal and demonic realms?"
"Were you the one who prepared that book that Father Niu had?"
"…. That's right." "You were the one who transmigrated us to this world."
"… Yes, basically."
"Then I have one last question for you."
"Go ahead."
"Is it illegal for me to beat you up now?"
"I want to beat you until you're not even able to take care of yourself."
The Godfiend smiled faintly at her, then sighed. "Shen Ying, I know that your situation is special, but this is my divine abode. I am the god that created the three realms. You cannot hurt me."
"Really?" Shen Ying tilted her head. She drew a fruit knife from out of nowhere and waved it at the water body. There was a whipping sound and a white scratch appeared on the surface. It looked like a crack on a mirror. "Do you want to try me?"
The Godfiend: "…"
Chapter 230: Saving the Demons
"Everything I did was for the sake of the Three Realms," The Godfiend said, retreating. He said gravely,"Shen Ying, didn't you guess that things were strange? I only presented myself to you to explain all these things to you."
"No." Shen Ying shook her head. "More accurately, I lured you out."
"…" The Godfiend pursed his lips. "Alright, I believe that you're not an unreasonable person. Otherwise when I sent that first divine punishment, you would have forced me to show myself in the demon realm. You would not have waited for me to summon you to the divine world even though you spotted me."
"No!" Shen Ying was clearly confused. "I did not see you!"
"When you raised your head, didn't you…" See me?
"Oh, I just wanted to sneeze." She was just about to drink a sip of tea to warm herself when she got summoned here.
Pu~
What was this sudden urge to spit a mouthful of blood at her?
A while later…
"Let's talk about the matter between the immortal and demon realm." The Godfiend took awhile to calm himself down and return his twisted expression to normal.
"I am no longer interested in chatting now." Shen Ying calmly waved the fruit knife around, starting to get up.
"Wait!" The Godfiend paled and subconsciously took another step back. He looked down at his feet and suddenly pointed downward. In the middle of the great lotus flowers, two figures were floating. They were Lonemoon and Yi Qing.
"Master!" Yi Qing walked toward Shen Ying instinctively.
"Shen Ying!" Lonemoon looked utterly confused as well. "Where are we? What happened?"
"The divine world," Shen Ying replied, sticking her chin out at the Godfiend. "This is the Godfiend."
"Godfiend!!" The two of them jumped back,, eyeing the man cautiously. This is… the Godfiend?
"Their bodies cannot withstand being in the divine world, but it's not a problem to summon their primordial spirits." The Godfiend smiled at Shen Ying. "Well… are you willing to listen to my explanation now?" Fighting would result in unnecessary animosity.
Shen Ying stopped frowning for a second, then she set down and kept her fruit knife.
"Talk."
The Godfiend grinned even wider and his smile looked warmer. "I wanted to merge the two realms, not only for the demonic realm but for the Three Realms."
As he spoke, he raised his hand. The blue skies and waters suddenly darkened. The water body began to dry up and a golden zigzag path was formed. There was very little water. They could faintly see the water forming a path about as thick as a forearm. The water was pulsating, and the entire path looked like a vein. It brought with it a rich golden light and drifted far and wide.
"Do you recognise this river?" The Godfiend asked.
"River?" The three of them looked down. This river was way too upper class. "What river?" "This is the main branch of the River of Forgetfulness, which leads to the demonic realm." The Godfiend sighed.
"…" Forgetfulness?
"I think you know that in the beginning, this world was split into three realms - the heavens, the earth and the mortal. The River of Forgetfulness was the only river that flowed through all three realms. It works just like meridians - it splits into three branches that lead to the corner of each realm. This river is not filled with water, but is filled with the souls of all beings."
Souls! Shen Ying narrowed her eyes.
"The River of Forgetfulness gathers the souls of all the beings and brings these souls to every corner of the three realms. Each drop from the river is equivalent to a soul. Whether a demon or a divine being or a mortal, everybody's soul started out in this River of Forgetfulness and would return there in the end. This is the truth behind the reincarnation of all beings."
So it was. No wonder it was said that reincarnation would cleanse everything - even demonic Qi. When Chen Ge sent Xuan Tong to be reincarnated in the beginning, this was the reason. There were nothing but souls in the river, naturally it would not be able to tolerate any foreign entities. Xuan Tong was unable to rid herself of the demonic Qi even though she reincarnated three times because Chen Ge sent her to be reincarnated by force. Her soul did not even remain in the River of Forgetfulness for very long.
"Even beings that live long lives like the immortal, demons and divine beings, face the chance of falling one day. When that time comes, they will return to the River of Forgetfulness to be reincarnated. The demonic realm was like that too…"
"Was?" Shen Ying caught the key word.
"That's right, was!" The Godfiend nodded, frowning. He suddenly looked behind him and waved his hand. "This is the branch of the river that flows through the immortal realm! You'll understand when you see it."
Once he finished talking, a blinding light caused them to squint. They saw the extremely bright golden light expend over such a huge area that they could not see the end of it. The golden river extended for miles and miles behind the Godfiend so that half the sky was illuminated by the golden river.
"This…" Lonemoon was speechless as he surveyed the vast branch of the River of Forgetfulness. Then, he glanced at the tiny stream that was supposed to be the demon realm's equivalent. "How did this happen?" The difference was huge! Is that really the main branch going through the demonic realm?
"The immortals, demons and divine beings all live in different realms. They used to share the same river. Ever since the divine beings ascended their own realms, the immortals have been separated from the divine beings, causing the demonic realm to be isolated as well. The River of Forgetfulness thus split itself into three branches and ceased to exist as one huge river as it did before. The immortal realm is connected to the mortal realm, and so is the divine realm, although the immortal and divine realms are separate. That's why they're relatively unaffected. Only the demonic realm is completely isolated from the other realms. The River of Forgetfulness that runs through the demonic realm has been isolated for too long. As time went by, it began to dry up. The people of the demonic realm-"
"Their souls cannot reincarnate!" Lonemoon finished his sentence and looked up at the person across from him. "That's why… you merged the immortal realm with the demonic realm in order to save the demonic realm. You want the River of Forgetfulness to flow through all three realms once again?"
"That's right." The Godfiend nodded and smiled faintly again.
Strangely, Lonemoon could not tell if he was angry or happy.
"Then what did you drag me into this world for?" Lonemoon could not help but question. If this was all for the benefit of the demons, the Godfiend himself would be able to solve the problem. He was one of the three great ancient divine beings. He definitely had the power to merge the realms on his own. Who could stop him? There was no need for him to drag Lonemoon into this world at all.
"I am a Godfiend, but since I exist outside of the Three Realms, I have no power to interfere with what happens inside it. I can only intervene indirectly," the Godfiend explained.
"You want me to open the gates of the demonic realm!" Lonemoon exclaimed. "No, you are only an assistant." The Godfiend shook his head. "The sorcery that Zhan Ting placed on the gates of the demonic realm when he created it is indeed a transportation technique. The material of the gates, however, is the Sky-Opening Stone that have been left behind in the demonic realm since ancient times. The Emperor Ascension Stage used to be the heavenly pillar of the two realms, therefore placing the gates of the demonic realm on it could create the connection between the two realms."
"So… the gates of the demonic realm need to be opened on top of the Emperor Ascension Stage."
The Godfiend nodded. "After the demonic realm was sealed, I tried to analyse the person with the highest chances of opening the gates of the demonic realm on the heavenly pillar."
Lonemoon pondered for awhile. "It's Chen Ge or Xuan Tong?"
"Yes." He silently scanned the people beside Shen Ying. "But there is only a five percent chance of this being successful. There is a huge obstacle to overcome as well, and you are the only one who can get rid of this obstacle. That's why I brought you into this world." Obstacle?
Lonemoon paused, as if recalling something. He immediately turned to the person beside him. "Yi Qing!" The only person in the novel who was stopping the demonic gates from being opened was him.
The Godfiend's smile widened. The answer was obvious.
"That was why you put that book… in front of me?" Lonemoon pursed his lips. Only the people who understood the novel would want to stop Yi Qing from sending himself to die, but…
"Did you have to write the future you predicted into a novel?" Are you a freaking author? Or are you just a fraudster?
"That was the most appropriate way of letting you know all of these things, based on my analysis of your possible reactions."
The most appropriate way was.. Lonemoon's expression darkened. Two suspicious looks were focused on him.
"What are you looking at?" The hairs on his arms stood. "I said I don't like to read erotica!"
"Oh…" The two of them said at once.
"Oh my ass! Get your suspicious expressions out of my face!" Lonemoon blushed instantly and turned to face the man in front of him. "Can you all focus on the important things? That little perverted novel was all his plot to manipulate us! I'm not interested in it at all!"
"According to my knowledge… you read it a total of four times?" The Godfiend asked.
Pa pa. There seemed to be the sound of bubbles bursting.
Lonemoon: "…" "Oh…" The suspicious looks intensified.
Ψ(*>皿