Chapter 198 - Humanity's Top Immortal! (2)
In the dimness behind the wreckage of the Eternal Joy Inn, a throng of demons and a parade of spectral figures filled the air.
The Violet Emperor and three Demon Emperors, their eyes cold and piercing, stared at the young man and woman in white atop the mountain of corpses and sea of blood.
"Now it's clear, her true identity is absolutely Chen Xi, the legitimate daughter of the Chen Heavenly Mansion!" The Gu Emperor, transformed into a short, plump man with dark green skin, had veins crawling under his skin like green worms.
"An astonishingly talented marshal's daughter, and she cleverly assumed another identity to ascend to the throne? Truly a remarkable person." Red Lotus gently stroked the bloody hair of a young boy in her arms, her voice ethereal.
"She even added a twist to her original identity, like breaking off an engagement, to darken her own story! Such cunning, had it not been for meeting someone she fancied, we would have never dreamed that these two vastly different personas belonged to the same person!" Eclipse said, his face grim.
"Mother, does this mean her true aim in hosting the War of Immortals was to annihilate us, to end the Demon Continent's future?" the young boy with bloody hair asked.
"Yes," Red Lotus nodded tenderly.
"Such a ruthless plan! We haven't even struck at her, and she dares to strike first?" Xiao Qi, the little girl beside the Violet Emperor, said chillingly.
People called her the second Divine Dawn. But how could she like this title? Even though people claimed she was the most talented human youth in the War of Immortals, she still remained in the Divine Dawn Empress' shadow.
Considering this, the children of the Emperors, human or demon, felt a twinge of fear. If the Divine Dawn Empress could kill the Eternal Joy Demon Emperor, then no matter how proud they were, they didn't have the guts to confront her.
"What should we do? Abandon the battle?" the young boy with bloody hair asked.
"Definitely abandon it," the Gu Emperor smirked coldly. "The issue with the Sword Dao Monument went awry, and the Divine Dawn Empress took the chance to seal the Heavenly Realm. On her turf, we can't confront her."
She was now at the zenith of her power, supported by the masses!
"You all are the future of the Demon Continent, and not a single one of you can afford to falter. We've already suffered a setback; we certainly can't dance to her tune and march to our doom. The Forbidden Fate Demon Emperor is now far more powerful than before. We just need to consolidate our forces, avoid being devoured, and she will be the one to worry. By letting us into the Heavenly Realm, she should have been prepared to be attacked from both sides!" The Violet Emperor spoke with a conviction that subconsciously aligned him with the Demon Continent.
"Knowing her scheme, we just need to endure. Besides, Forbidden Fate growing stronger has opened new avenues for us in the Endless Netherworld. Within a few days, we should be able to bring new surprises to the Demon Continent," Red Lotus said softly, pulling out a blood-stained finger and placing it in her son's mouth.
"Alright then."
The various imperial children bowed their heads slightly. Their original goal in coming to the Heavenly Realm was undoubtedly to crush the human talent and assert dominance over the Divine Continent.
But things had gone awry. They lost their chance to perform before the battle even began! Reluctantly, most of them accepted this.
In a corner, a pale skeleton, its eye sockets burning with bone fire, spoke up.
"Three Demon Emperors! Violet Emperor! I have something to say," the hoarse voice of the pale skeleton rasped.
"What is it, Lil Bone? Speak," Eclipse commanded.
"I've heard that once the War of Immortals battlefield is closed, reopening it from the inside is extremely difficult. Since Divine Dawn doesn't know her identity has been uncovered by us, can we turn the tables? We hold her off inside while you create trouble outside. Reveal her identity, and use her wolfish ambitions as a pretext to eliminate her allies first! Especially her father, Chen Xiao. Capturing him could force Divine Dawn into a corner!" the pale skeleton suggested.
"You make some sense, but if we act on the outside, success is inevitable, yet—" Eclipse glanced at them and said, "You all will certainly perish! Not one of you will survive!"
"Lil Bone, while this is indeed a grand opportunity, we must not be hasty. You are the gems of the Demon Continent, and as the likely victors, we shouldn't risk everything," Red Lotus said softly.
"Today's biggest triumph is confirming Divine Dawn has no backing. That's a major gain!" The Gu Emperor chuckled coldly.
There was no more need to tread lightly!
"Yes." The pale skeleton nodded, its ghostly fires flickering in its eye sockets.
"However, having suffered such a setback, we must do something," Eclipse said with a cold smirk. He, Gu Emperor, Red Lotus, and the Violet Emperor exchanged glances, smirking knowingly.
"Summon our people. Execute a third of the hostages from the other four great Immortal Empires' royal families," Eclipse ordered with a wicked laugh.
They had indeed been tempted to gang up on the Divine Dawn Empress after Ye Qingtian's death. But they had restrained themselves. Because beyond the Divine Dawn Empress, they had spotted another group. Unseen, but not unnoticed by demon eyes.
"Just one sign of momentum from the Divine Dawn Empress, and those treacherous bones dare to have wandering thoughts. Killing a third of them will douse their spirits, let them cool down!"
"The remaining two-thirds, we can kill slowly."
With these words, the group of peak demon experts and geniuses turned and left the ruins of the Eternal Joy Inn, leading millions of demons to regroup and consolidate!
They were about to formally announce to the Divine Dawn Immortal Empire that all talents from the Demon Continent and Violet Sky Immortal Empire would withdraw from the War of Immortals. But just then, another sensational piece of news rippled across the land.
"Have you heard? In the great chaos, everyone from our Divine Continent, except for the Violet Sky Immortal Empire and Yun Xiao, has withdrawn from the battle!"
"No way? Doesn't this mean Yun Xiao has to face all the talents from Violet Sky and the Demon Continent alone? There are thousands of them!"
"What's going on? I heard Yun Xiao borrowed the power of a billion ancestors to defeat the Azure Leaf faction! Even if he's above all the imperial sons and daughters in skill, can he really take on thousands single-handedly?"
"Only the Empress could do that!"
All the humans in the Heavenly Realm were dumbfounded. What kind of strategy was this?
The Demon Continent and Violet Sky were even more bewildered. They were about to withdraw, only to find out their opponents had beaten them to it!
As soon as the news reached them, the Gu Emperor sternly told the imperial children. "Forget it! We're withdrawing too. All we need to do now is wait for Forbidden Fate to gather an army and press the attack. No matter how attractive the traps set by the other side are, we won't bite!"
"So, it's just Yun Xiao participating in the grand melee..." the young boy with bloody hair murmured somberly.
Everyone wore an incredibly odd expression. The most anticipated finale of the War of Immortals, fought by a single person, was bizarre beyond words. It was as if both the Divine and Demon Continents had collectively decided to crown Yun Xiao as the undisputed number one Immortal.
"Three Demon Emperors!"
Of the imperial children, a spine-chilling figure stepped forward. He was a gaunt, sallow young man, skin and bones, carrying a paper-mache woman on his back. The woman, heavily made up with immobile eyes, was eerily unsettling.
For a moment, it was hard to tell who was the real demon—the young man or the paper woman?
Such a peculiar demon suggested that, like Forbidden Fate, he was born from resentment. Similarly, Lil Bone was also a resentful spirit.
In fact, among these imperial children, the three strongest were all born from resentment, topping the betting charts right from the start. All of them were disciples of the Forbidden Fate Demon Emperor.
Lil Bone ranked second, but this demon known as Ghost Marriage ranked first. He was the strongest young talent in both the Divine and Demon Continents, excluding the Divine Dawn Empress. His peculiar name, naturally, was tied to his resentment.
"Speak!" The three Demon Emperors turned their attention to the paper woman on the young man's back, as if she were the actual entity.
Indeed, the paper woman's expression twisted eerily. Meanwhile the young man beneath her spoke like a puppet, his voice dull. "In a battle of armies, it's absurd to elevate Divine Dawn's husband to glory. This damages the morale of our Demon Continent!"
"So?" The Gu Emperor seemed quite polite to the paper woman.
"The others might not fight, but I will! If I succeed, I'll kill Divine Dawn's husband and take his place, boosting our morale. If I fail, only I die, not harming the Demon Continent's foundation," Ghost Marriage's voice grew colder, as if someone was weeping inside him.
"Enough!" The Gu Emperor swept his gaze around. "I know you're all passionate, but we must follow our own rhythm in the Demon Continent! Just endure tonight, tomorrow belongs to us! You are all pillars of our future, we cannot afford to lose even one of you!"
Hearing this, they could only lower their heads. Their hearts burned with unwillingness! But under the Gu Emperor's command, they had to swallow their towering rage.
An hour later, another sensational piece of news spread.
"Violet Sky and the Demon Continent have decided to withdraw from the battle!"
"Tonight at midnight, humanity's top Immortal will be born..."
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