“I really don’t know what you’re on about. Who do you think you are? With the two Sacred Hall Envoys here, and you still dare to shout? Envoys, please—show him your might!”
Niu Shixiao, convinced that having Zhuo Kong and Zhuo Yi as bodyguards made him invincible, continued his bluster. Humiliated by Yue Wanqiu at the Succession Ceremony, he couldn’t resist one last taunt. After shouting, he even bowed half a step, gesturing for Zhuo Kong and Zhuo Yi to attack.
But to his utter shock, Zhuo Kong and Zhuo Yi turned on him in an instant and killed him on the spot. The sudden scene left Niu Erhua and Niu Li staring with wide eyes. Ye Yu offered no explanation—instead, he immediately led Yue Wanqiu away from the Manniu Clan and set off toward the Sacred Hall. Today’s mounts: Zhuo Kong and Zhuo Yi. Not as prestigious as Elder Qiao, but better than none.
Half an hour earlier, when Yue Wanqiu described her Dreamscape experience, Ye Yu had sensed something amiss: a stranger in his place of downfall and the disappearance of the “Emperor” Scripture. Too many coincidences. He’d considered waiting for Nangong Jingtang, then returning alone to the Yao Realm to infiltrate the Hall. But with envoys at his heels, why wait? Better to go now and end it.
With two Demon King Realm apex warriors as mounts, Ye Yu and Yue Wanqiu reached the Sacred Hall’s perimeter in no time. A monkey demon guardian frowned at their arrival.
Zhuo Kong? Zhuo Yi? Why are you riding in with these outsiders? If Elder Qiao sees this, you’ll be in trouble
As Sacred Hall Envoys, they should show no respect to outsiders. But before the guardian could finish, Zhuo Kong and Zhuo Yi wove an array to pin him in place. In the next breath, a thousand-zhang Zhaohun Banner Lu Xian fell from the sky, impaling the guardian’s heart. In moments, the Demon King Realm warrior was reduced to paper, his soul trapped on the banner. Despite his struggles, he could not break free.
Ye Yu, with a thought, swaggered in carrying the banner. ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) In the prior battle, the banner’s million souls had been nearly spent—but here, among the Sacred Hall’s demons, it would be well fed.
News of the disturbance spread quickly. Three demons who looked useful caught Ye Yu’s eye; he unleashed his Spirit-Domination Mind-Control Art at its limit, controlling them to fight other envoys. To boost his numbers, he unveiled the Ten-Thousand Ghosts Night-March Map, summoning a tide of spirits. With the banner and ghosts, resisting any Sacred Hall Envoy was more than enough.
His goal was clear: the Pilgrimage Hall, where he had once obtained the “Emperor” Scripture. Time to see its secrets again—though he would not open it.
Yue Wanqiu followed, astonished by the chaos. She knew Ye Yu was strong, but never imagined he could shake the fabled Sacred Hall without lifting a finger—yet with immortal and ghostly artifacts, he held the upper hand. Such power was terrifying. Still, she believed the Hall must have deeper trump cards.
Soon they stood before the Pilgrimage Hall. Waiting was Elder Huang Zhufeng, yellow-haired and calm. Ye Yu had once briefly crossed paths with him in the Dreamscape—then Ye Yu had bluffed him with Elder Qiao’s name and escaped with the Scripture. Now Huang Zhufeng’s easy demeanor felt suspiciously casual.
Ye Yu had no time for subterfuge; he would enter head-on.
“You people have quite the nerve, trespassing on the Sacred Hall and controlling our envoys. Don’t you know the meaning of death?”
Huang Zhufeng’s voice was cold and composed. To him, these were merely rogue Demon King Realm warriors—no threat to his Half-Step Emperor Realm might.
But overconfidence would be his downfall. Ye Yu knew a single technique could not fell such seasoned elders. He needed another approach.
With a step forward, the ground beneath Huang Zhufeng transformed into a vast, radiant array. The brilliance made the elder frown: an array? He prepared to retreat and attack from a distance.
At that moment, black flames that consumed the Nine Nether rained down, sealing his escape upward.
Surrounded? he snorted, forming his seals to vanish.
But just as his hands met, his body froze—paralyzed. He looked up in alarm: the three bright moons above had vanished, replaced by a pair of colossal, hypnotic pupils. He was trapped in Ye Yu’s ultimate illusion. Too late, Huang Zhufeng realized his mistake.
It had to be admitted: a Half-Step Emperor Realm demon’s physique was indeed formidable. But no matter how powerful, they could not withstand Heaven’s Thunder and Ghost Fire delivered head-on. Huang Zhufeng fell on the spot, his soul immediately hurled into the Zhaohun Banner Lu Xian. A Half-Step Emperor Realm soul would not go to waste—Ye Yu had grander uses in mind.
After refining Huang Zhufeng’s soul within the banner, Ye Yu summoned it back before him. This time, the elder’s eyes held no arrogance—only obedient compliance.
Ye Yu began to question him. “What exactly is this ‘Emperor’ Scripture?”
Huang Zhufeng spoke softly: “My authority cannot probe that Scripture. The Sacred Hall’s Master personally decreed: anyone who touches it must report to her in advance. Unauthorized meddling is punishable by death.”
Ye Yu frowned. Death? Opening that Scripture was tantamount to suicide.
As Ye Yu prepared to ask about the Hall Master, a young woman appeared—plain in features, yet exuding an unspoken nobility. This was the Sacred Hall Master Qin Zhanyu. Yue Wanqiu, seeing her first, said to Ye Yu: “She was the one who appeared at the place of your downfall. And when I was about to shatter the void to enter the Divine Realm, she ambushed me—causing my fall.”
Ye Yu raised an eyebrow. So this was the woman behind it!
“You had the gall to refine my elder into a trapped soul. You are the first in all these years to dare do so!”
Qin Zhanyu’s voice was soft, yet brimming with anger. She had been in seclusion, recovering her strength, when she sensed battle and powerful demon qi. She felt no need to intervene—after all, eight elders should handle any threat, even if only Elder Huang remained. But within mere breaths, Huang Zhufeng’s demon qi vanished. She rushed out to find him truly fallen—the first elder lost in hundreds of thousands of years, at the hands of two Demon King Realm warriors. Rage burned within her.
“I might be the first... or the second, or the third,” Ye Yu said, waving his hand. Huang Zhufeng’s soul-ensnared form slipped back into the Pilgrimage Hall, the “Emperor” Scripture in hand. Qin Zhanyu’s expression turned grave. Out of all the scrolls in the Pilgrimage Hall, why this one? Fortune or misfortune?
Ye Yu held the Scripture, pondering, then tentatively said: “Elder Qiao taught that to ascend to the Emperor Realm, one must forge one’s own Dao. Yet forging it is arduous, leaving many stuck at Half-Step. Previously, someone claimed the Pilgrimage Hall housed a Scripture to aid practitioners in forging their Dao. It must be this one. But I sense no Dao within—only murderous intent?”
This question had plagued Ye Yu since the Dreamscape. Qiao Wen-song’s spirit would not lie. If his theory held, the Scripture truly could guide one’s Dao. But in practice, it had only slaughtered him. Who spread the rumor of its Dao-birthing power? No evidence—until now. Huang Zhufeng had said the Hall Master alone knew its secrets and forbade its use under penalty of death. Ye Yu’s hypothesis formed: Qin Zhanyu knew its true contents—and herself spread the rumor.
He decided to test her. “Are you in league with Qiao Wen-song?”
Lacking Dreamscape memories, Qin Zhanyu instinctively thought her cleansing plan had been exposed by Qiao Wen-song. Ye Yu’s cold gaze said it all. He offered no denial—that was admission.
“You shameless Hall Master, duping your own elders. Who will dare serve you now?”
Ye Yu deliberately withheld his true ties to Qiao Wen-song, hoping to mislead Qin Zhanyu’s judgment. She was now certain Ye Yu served Qiao Wen-song or at least cooperated with him. With their faces torn, no need for further pretense.
Qin Zhanyu coldly declared: “This Yao Realm does not need too many strong demons. When the ignorant wield terrifying power, great calamities follow! Foolish ones like Qiao Wen-song deserve to die!”
Ye Yu’s anger turned to mocking laughter. A righteous usurper—no wonder she rose to Hall Master. But if she would betray Qiao Wen-song, it would be Ye Yu who paid the price. That grievance, and her ambush of Yue Wanqiu, made it impossible to let her live.
Ye Yu stepped forward, studying the Hall Master. Her demon qi revealed only Half-Step Emperor Realm—no full Emperor. To confirm, he asked outright: “Only Half-Step?”
Qin Zhanyu caught his meaning and smiled: “Want to kill me? Try if you dare—what if you succeed?”
At twenty paces, Ye Yu halted and asked seriously: “And if I fail?”
Her smile brightened: “If you fail, then you’ll go to—”
Before she could finish, Ye Yu began his trademark Thousand-Dream Illusion. At that moment, the jade pendant at Qin Zhanyu’s throat flared with dazzling light.
