In that instant, the azure sky hanging above the altar, no, the entire Southern Sea God Realm seemed to turn as cold as death.
God Emperor Shitian, the Xuanyuan God Emperor, and Purple Micro God Emperor, even the Sea Gods were clearly caught by surprise.
The sudden turn toward hostility was swift, unexpected, and extremely unwise. Although Yun Che had only brought a couple of people with him, their power and ruthlessness could only be described as nightmarish. So why had the Southern Sea God Emperor chosen this place and time to provoke that violent specter who didn’t even fear even the Dragon Gods!?
The Northern Hell Sea King and Eastern Hell Sea King were the only ones who maintained their posture. The only thing that had changed was the growing golden light in their eyes.
Nan Qianqiu slowly looked up. He was just as shocked as the others, but he recovered and understood what was going on almost immediately. The corners of his lips turned upward as he muttered to himself, “As expected of royal father.”
“Southern Sea God Emperor,” the Xuanyuan God Emperor said, “this is hardly the occasion to be making a joke like that.”
“Joke?” The Southern Sea God Emperor let out a low chuckle. “I never joke. Mad dogs must be killed, and the sooner the better. They must be annihilated down to the last hair on their bodies, or the Southern Divine Region may very well become the next Eastern Divine Region. What do you think, Devil Master?”
“You are absolutely right.” A smiling Yun Che said in a cool voice, “Even I am often terrified of people who were transformed into mad dogs by the circumstances around them. Southern Sea, your soul must be shivering like a leaf right now, aren’t you?”
Contrary to everyone’s expectation, Yun Che didn’t react with a sudden burst of anger, violence, or crazed laughter. He was so unperturbed that it was almost frightening.
Beside Yun Che, Qianye Ying’er’s reaction was pretty mild as well. She didn’t even give the Southern Sea God Emperor a sideways glance. It was almost as if she was an unrelated spectator who was just watching a show.
The three Yama Ancestors weren’t nearly as calm, however. Their old eyes suddenly glowed like black suns, and it was as if six pitch black abysses were about to devour everything beneath their feet.
Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu exchanged a glance with each other before looking to the bottom in unison. Their expression gradually turned serious.
Yun Che’s reaction—or lack thereof—didn’t surprise the Southern Sea God Emperor at all. Not only was he accompanied by seven level ten Divine Masters, five of them were even ancestor level monsters. No one in his position would panic or get angry by this sudden “falling out”. Who knows, he might even be laughing at his “stupidity” on the inside this very moment.
“You’re right.” The Southern Sea God Emperor slowly raised his arms. “Yun Che, you are an impressive mad dog. Not only do you terrify me from the bottom of my soul, you’ve driven me to methods I never thought I would have to resort to!”
It wasn’t like the Southern Sea God Emperor was trying to play coy before, but now there was no room for even a flimsy excuse. After he finished his sentence, a strange shaking suddenly appeared in God Emperor Shitian, the Xuanyuan God Emperor and the Purple Micro God Emperor’s eyes. At the same time, Nan Wansheng flashed golden and launched a golden imprint toward his targets.
No, the golden mark wasn’t meant for Yun Che, who was just meters away from him. They were meant for the three god emperors of the Southern Sea Divine Region at the back.
Strangely, none of them tried to dodge or defend themselves from the imprint. In fact, they allowed it to push against them and used the energy to launch themselves far away from the altar.
The moment the three god emperors crossed the edge, a golden rainbow spread out above the Southern Sea Capital and enveloped the entire divine altar.
“Hmm?” Yun Che seemed surprised that the Southern Sea God Emperor could send three god emperors flying away with a single hit.
It was at this moment Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu broke their inaction and shattered space itself. They summoned their massive Brahma Monarch divine power and made a grab for a certain person at the same time.
Their target was none other than the man standing at the center of the divine altar, Nan Qianqiu!
However, the two Sea Kings were only ten steps away from Nan Qianqiu. It looked like they had predicted this to happen from the beginning. The moment the two mighty Brahma ancestors acted, they spun around, instantly released the power they had been secretly gathering, and formed a golden barrier to block the attack.
Clang!!
The power of four level ten Divine Masters clashed against one another, and the noise generated from the explosion was so terrible that it nearly tore apart the azure sky.
Although they were all level ten Divine Masters, Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu’s powers were far greater and firmer than their opponents. The Eastern Hell Sea King and Northern Hell Sea King couldn’t even hope to match them. However, the two Brahma ancestors had launched a surprise attack, and the two Sea Kings had been gathering their strength and waiting for this to happen. Therefore, neither the Brahma ancestors nor their power weren’t able to get close to Nan Wanqiu, much less hurt a hair on his body.
One instant was all they needed. Using the exploding force to their advantage, the Sea Kings withdrew at top speed and escaped the divine altar with a perfectly calm Nan Qianqiu.
Neither Qianye Wugu nor Qianye Bingzhu pursued or gave the escaping Nan Qianqiu a second glance. If this was before they partook in the experiment, the thought to attack a junior multiple generations younger than them would never even have crossed their minds.
“It’s too late.” Qianye Wugu let out a sigh.
“Well played, Southern Sea,” said Qianye Bingzhu as he looked at the God Emperor.
“Hehe, you praise me too much, seniors.” The Southern Sea God Emperor chuckled. “Extraordinary people at extraordinary times can only be dealt with extraordinary methods, don’t you agree?”
All the Sea Gods present at the altar appeared behind the Southern Sea God Emperor while he was talking. Their bodies were glowing slightly, and their eyes shone with a pressure that resembled the descent of gods.
“What are you two doing?” Yun Che narrowed his eyes slightly at Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu. He was clearly displeased with them acting without orders.
“Sea… Emperor… Barrier,” Qianye Ying’er parted her lips and said slowly.
“What is that?” Yun Che glanced at the golden rainbow surrounding the altar. The feral gleam in his eyes hadn’t diminished in the slightest despite the series of unexpected events. It was as if every barrier in the world was just a joke to him.
Qianye Ying’er answered, “Do you remember the Absolute Star Soul Barrier the Star God Realm activated before the Evil Infant returned to the world? This Sea Emperor Barrier is similar to that.”
She looked up slightly and continued in a darker voice, “It is just as impervious to all the power of this world, and it is passable only by those with the corresponding bloodline and divine energy.”
Yun Che: “…”
Back when the Star God Realm was preparing to sacrifice Jasmine and Caizhi, they had activated the Absolute Star Soul Barrier that no one, not even the god emperors who arrived at the scene were able to break it. Only those with the blood or divine power of the Star Gods could pass through.
Of course, it was ultimately destroyed by the awakened Evil Infant.
“You don’t disappoint me, Ying’er. You couldn’t have seen the Sea Emperor Barrier before, and the Southern Sea hasn’t activated it for tens of thousands of years, but you were still able to recognize it right away. It would seem that the pollution of darkness hasn’t consumed your intelligence.” The Southern Sea God Emperor praised her. His smile had grown more confident and collected after Nan Qianqiu was taken away to safety. The divine light settling in his eyes had become deeper as well.
Outside the divine altar, the other three god emperors of the Southern Divine Region were watching everything with bated breath. The Southern Sea God Emperor had warned them before launching the imprints at them, which was why they allowed themselves to be launched away from the divine altar.
However, they still didn’t understand what Nan Wansheng was planning to do.
Judging from his tone and his killing intent, the Southern Sea God Emperor was planning to kill Yun Che at all costs.
However, Yun Che’s power was strange and unpredictable, and the seven Divine Masters beings were some of the strongest powers in the world. The Southern Sea Realm might be the strongest king realm of the Southern Divine Region, but there was no way they had the power to punch through their protection and kill Yun Che by force.
Also, the Sea Emperor Barrier was indestructible, but all it could do was trap the enemy… he couldn’t be planning to trap them until the enraged Dragon Monarch and Dragon Gods showed up to kill Yun Che, could he?
That was the only possibility the three god emperors could think of.
However, the Sea Emperor Barrier’s strength was proportional to its cost. An unimaginable amount of energy was being expended with each passing breath… could it really last until the Dragon Monarch and the Dragon Gods arrived from the distant Dragon God Realm?
Not far away from them, Nan Qianqiu suddenly let out a puzzling chuckle. “Hehe. In the end, this devil is going to die by my royal father’s hands.”
All three god emperors frowned and looked at him at the same time.
“Sigh. It is still too big a price.” The Eastern Hell Sea King sighed quietly. “If that Yun Che wasn’t as crazy as he was, His Majesty would never have made this choice!”
His words only stunned the three god emperors even more. Suddenly, God Emperor Shitian’s pupils shrank to the size of needles. “Could it be…”
His gaze turned toward the divine altar again. This time, his eyes were shaking with fear.
“What? What are you talking about!?”
Both the Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor asked at the same time, but Cang Shitian didn’t give them an answer. His clenched fists were bloodless due to the sheer amount of strength he was applying to them.
Yun Che glanced around him before letting out a mad laugh. “Hahahaha, Southern Sea, I was hoping you would show me something extraordinary after that arrogant speech, but a turtle shell?”
“Is this the plan? Are you trying to make me laugh myself to death with your stupidity? Hahahahaha!”
The Southern Sea God Emperor broke into a grin. “Yun Che, can you guess who I really raised this divine altar for?”
“And? What are you going to do about it?” Yun Che shot back an eerie smile.
The Southern Sea God Emperor turned away and walked to the edge of the barrier slowly. “Although this plan has been long in the making, I had hoped that it wouldn’t come to this; that the altar would only ever be used for my son’s feng-shan ceremony[1]. Unfortunately, you are not a madman, but a mad dog. In that case, the only choice left is to cleanse your filthy, devilish blood with the eternal might of the Southern Sea.”
He passed through the barrier and moved out of the divine altar after saying this.
The Sea Gods also did the same after he gave them a hand signal. The barrier didn’t stop them either.
Yun Che didn’t try to attack any of them because the divine altar was incredibly huge. It was impossible to stop the Sea Gods from leaving the barrier even if he employed every power in his capacity, much less the Southern Sea God Emperor.
“You think you can eliminate me using this hilarious turtle shell?” Yun Che snorted and narrowed his eyes slowly. The Sea Emperor Barrier’s aura was faint, but he could clearly sense that it was impenetrable.
The Absolute Star Soul Barrier was powerful because it was connected to the Star Gods’ Star God origin power. This obviously wasn’t the case for the Sea Emperor Barrier though. Most likely the source of its power came from the divine altar beneath his feet and the cloud piercing tower that supported it.
“Devil Master,” Qianye Wugu said, “Do you still remember what I told you earlier—”
“Shut up!” Yun Che cut him off coldly before pointing a finger at the barrier and saying in a disdainful tone, “Yan One, Two, Three, test out that turtle shell for me.”
The three Yama Ancestors had been dying to murder the hell out of the Southern Sea God Emperor for his arrogance and transgression, but Yun Che hadn’t given them the order to attack even after Nan Wansheng and the Sea Gods had left the barrier completely. They had nearly burst a blood vein because of it.
Now that Yun Che had finally given them the order, all three Yama Ancestors let out a mad howl before swinging their ghastly claws at the so-called impenetrable barrier before them.
1. Also referred to as the Feng and Shan sacrifices, this is an official rite offered by the emperor to pay homage to heaven and earth
