Chapter 84: Vanishment
Chapter 84: Vanishment
The number of immortal emperors within the Huang Realm did not exceed ten. They were the pinnacle of power among the forces of the Huang Realm. Should any force or sect develop an immortal emperor, they would automatically become a peak first-rate force.
But since the creation of the Huang Realm over three million years ago, there were less than ten at any time. But now, within the span of a day, two new immortal emperors appeared, and it was two soul emperors at that. The immortal monarchs observing this all felt speechless at this sight.
Some of them were over several hundred thousand years old yet never crossed the final step to become an immortal emperor. They had lost all hope but finally saw it again when the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus appeared. Although it couldn’t guarantee success, it drastically increased their chances and improved their talents if they could reform their body with it.
Still, that only mattered if they lived to take possession of it. The immortal monarchs’ and true immortals’ blood ran cold as they recalled how easily Emperor Soulfish dispatched Monarch Yonderheart.
All of them had witnessed how the expert in the Law of Space had exited out of his portal with a frozen expression and died helplessly under Emperor Soulfish’s hand. The Cloud Goddess’s aspect was unable to do anything either. She had already expended the foundation of the aspect’s lifeforce and was slowly disappearing into the world, fading away like morning fog.
All of the immortal monarchs began to retreat. This was no longer a battle they could intervene in. Aside from the three who left the realm, only the incomplete Emperor Mirrorevil and Sword Empress Xi could do anything in this battle between emperors.
Emperor Soulfish frowned. His hand reached towards one of the petals of the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus.
A dot of light sprang into existence atop the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus. It was a caterpillar with a texture that resembled wood, but its body was shiny, as if it was made from crystal. Its translucent flesh revealed the innard organs that glowed with silvery-white light like the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus.
There were little bitemarks and even a few holes on the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus; the culprit was clear.
An invisible pressure descended onto the area and caused all the immortal monarchs to feel suffocated. It wasn’t a physical feeling but rather one that their souls felt. All of the true immortals who remained directly had their souls injured by the pressure alone. Nothing needed to be said for mortals.
“Spring Autumn Butterfly Larva…” The killing intent in Emperor Soulfish’s voice reached the peak, and his hand continued forward to crush the insect that dared to nibble and take away the petals of the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus.
Under the pressure, the caterpillar seemed to wilt a bit as its body stiffened. It lost its grip, fell off the petal, and started to plummet to the ground, but how could Immortal Soulfish allow the little thief to escape?
Unfortunately for him, it was at this moment that the Northern Region changed. It was still the Northern Region, yet not the Northern Region.
The immortal monarchs all felt the world changed, but only the surface level of change.
Emperor Soulfish felt his body become constricted as if he was a mortal plunged into the depths of the sea. Not just that, but his ability to absorb the spiritual qi of the realm and convert them into immortal qi disappear. He calmly turned to face the source of the change.
Standing in the air was Xi Mengfei. Her purple robes fluttered in the air, her long black hair danced with the wind, and her very presence was like the ruler of the realm.
Emperor Soulfish gently moved the hand he was holding the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus. But the instant he moved, a black crystalline sword appeared in Mengfei’s hand and stabbed towards him.
“We can talk. I have the million-year accumulations of the Begonia Tower. If you let me leave, I can give you anything you want.” He opened his mouth to speak, but he felt his body become even more constricted. “We are both immortal emperors here. Nothing good will come out if we try to kill each other—”
“Shut up,” Mengfei only said those two words. The black sword in her hand was black to the point that it appeared as if it was a hole in reality, but at the same time, it appeared perfectly translucent. “I told you, if you appeared before me again, I will kill you.”
Emperor Soulfish didn’t say anymore. At this juncture, saying anything would be a waste of breath. However, he couldn’t understand why a person like Sword Empress Xi would be so willing to fight for a parasite.
Yes, he viewed these otherworlders as parasites. They replaced the original children born and superimposed their existence upon a world that was not theirs, stealing the parents’ love.
The longer the fight went, the more Emperor Soulfish found himself weakening. As a soul emperor, he originally should have had many esoteric means to fight Sword Empress Xi, but his soul power had difficulty leaving his body. At the same time, he was protecting the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus. All this was not helped by the fact that he was a newly ascended immortal emperor.
It was like Mengfei didn’t care for the bountiful treasure in his hands as long as she could kill him, further constraining him. He wanted to place the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus into the Begonia Pagoda and fight with his full strength, but Mengfei didn’t give him much leeway. His spatial ring couldn’t contain such a treasure and would harm it instead.
In addition, Mengfei had completely locked down and controlled the Northern Region.
There were immortals who were able to discover some minor realms with cores and refine them to become realmlords. Although being a realmlord didn’t necessarily increase their powers, they were like a god within the realm. It was also this unique power that allowed realmlords to be nearly unkillable within their realm.
Mengfei displayed her abilities and surpassed the state of Formation as the World. She had commandeered the Northern Region and temporarily placed it under her control and commanded it like a realmlord would.
‘Strange, according to the information collected, Sword Empress Xi should be more powerful than this. Although I am being suppressed by her formation, her sword arts feel lacking.’
As the fight went on, Mengfei couldn’t land a decisive blow on Emperor Soulfish, but neither was he capable of leaving. As time dragged on, it would be more detrimental to him once the Eternal Night Emperor, Empress Voidink, and Cloud Goddess returned.
Every time the blade landed on his body, not only did his body receive an injury but his soul as well.
‘I’ve never heard of Sword Empress being able to use soul attack. Had it been anyone else, the pressure on them would be even more immense. Compared to physical injuries, soul injuries are worse by tenfold.’
It was an unexpected piece of information. If word got out, then her status as the number one immortal of the Huang Realm would be even more stable. However, Emperor Soulfish was clear that he couldn’t delay his escape any longer.
Although he was an Immortal Emperor, he had just broken through not long ago.
Speaking of which, he should really thank Meng Jiang. Although she was the reason he could not capture Tianyi, witnessing her technique that a mortal cultivator should not have possessed allowed him to gain a spark of inspiration. That spark allowed him to break through the bottleneck that had been plaguing him for years. Had he not broken through, the chances of him being able to snatch the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus would have decreased dramatically.
Even so, among immortal emperors, although he could not be called the weakest, he could not list himself among the strongest ones either. Against Mengfei, he had no confidence in fleeing without injury.
‘Sword Empress Xi’s public title as the number one immortal isn’t for show. I’ve lived a hundred times longer, yet I’ve only now reached the Extremity Immortal Realm.’
Emperor Mirrorevil, who had retreated from the battle between Mengfei and Emperor Soulfish, began to take action. His body began to turn into glass completely. His skin, muscle, veins, blood, organs, and bones shone with reflected light. But before he could complete his technique, he sensed three great presences appear above him.
Those three presences were naturally Empress Voidink, Eternal Night Emperor, and the Cloud Goddess.
The Cloud Goddess turned to look at Emperor Mirrorevil. Her eyes were emotionless, and not a hint of wrath existed in her body, but her killing intent was genuine. As the only immortal emperor-level expert of the Anti-Heaven Alliance, how could she let the culprit who killed an immortal monarch of the alliance, the most precious one at that, leave alive?
“Wait a moment Cloud Goddess.” It was Eternal Night Emperor who chose to intervene at this moment.
“Eternal Night Emperor, I hope you aren’t stopping me from killing Monarch Yonderheart’s murderer because you admire his talent and potential.” The Cloud Goddess’s voice was clear and casual.
“Certainly not. I’m just informing Cloud Goddess that unless you unleash all your strength, you won’t be able to stop him,” Eternal Night Emperor said. “Did you forget that you’re only an incarnation? Even if you are a divinity, incarnations are but mere puffs of air against soul emperors.”
The Cloud Goddess’s eyes chilled and glared at the Eternal Night Emperor. “Are you suggesting that I allow you to deal with Emperor Soulfish and then let you flee with the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus?”
“Of course not,” Eternal Night Emperor said. “I suggest all of us attack him. For him to ignore our agreement is an insult, even if he is also an immortal emperor like us. Thus, all four of his should punish him.”
“Eternal Night Emperor’s words make sense, allow me to assist you as well, Cloud Goddess,” Zhang Cuiying said.
The Cloud Goddess frowned. She had won the dao debate in the Vast Void, yet now, her victory had been practically invalidated thanks to Emperor Soulfish’s intervention. When she saw Eternal Night Emperor’s and Zhang Cuiying’s eyes, she knew she had no choice but to accept.
The immortal monarchs present witnessed one of the rare occurrences of four immortal emperor-level experts teaming up.
As the battle continued, Emperor Soulfish was blasted back again and again from the combined assault. His robe was in near tatters, and his right arm beyond mangled. In spite of all this, he clutched the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus to his chest and protected it at all costs. Even the Soul Pagoda behind him had cracks all over it.
“If you give up the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus, you may have a chance to flee.” Zhang Cuiying said. Among the four of them, she was one most worried about the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus.
“Senior Voidink, you should be very clear. As long as a soul’s remnant enters the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus, they will be able to reincarnate with the perfect body. You, of all people, should understand that this Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus is more important to me than my life!” Emperor Soulfish said, his eyes tranquil despite the disadvantageous circumstance.
“You’re right,” Zhang Cuiying said. She pulled out a scroll longer than her arm and thicker than a tree trunk. She unfurled it, and inside there were numerous copies of a single figure. It depicted a man in shining silver armor and spear.
With a flick, the scroll unfurled until it resembled an infinitely long line in the sky. From the scroll, hundreds of soldiers began to pop out from it. Each of these silver soldiers had the aura of an immortal. Finally, the tone thousandth and last armored warrior appeared. Unlike the aura of true immortals the other soldiers exuded, he exuded the aura of an immortal monarch.
Voidink Scroll – Immortal Soldiers Descent
The spectating immortal monarchs once again found their mouths hanging open in shock—nine hundred and ninety-nine immortal soldiers and one immortal monarch general.
No, ignoring that Empress Voidink was able to summon an immortal monarch from her scroll, just the sheer number of true immortal-level combatants was staggering. And judging by the size of the scroll, she wouldn’t happen to have even more, right?
They couldn’t help but question. One thousand immortals was already a staggering amount, perhaps larger than the total number of immortals than any one force, except perhaps the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
Eternal Night Emperor, Cloud Goddess, Xi Mengfei, and Emperor Soulfish didn’t show any surprise. To experts of their level, being surrounded by one thousand true immortals was nothing fatal. They may not win against the sheer numbers, but leaving alive was easy. In addition, the scroll soldiers were imitations and incapable of unleashing the power of true immortals.
The real problem was the formation they began to set up. If combined with Xi Mengfei’s dominance of the Northern Region, then the chances of Emperor Soulfish escaping would practically become zero.
None of the immortal monarchs could comprehend his subsequent few actions clearly. From behind him, the Soul Pagoda began to release a brilliant radiance. It was as if the solar star had descended, but no one felt any heat. Rather, it seemed like a mirage.
When the light died down, the spectators who had retreated hundreds to thousands of kilometers away saw that Emperor Soulfish had disappeared. Not just him but everyone within a certain distance of the flash had also vanished.