When people were terrified, they couldn’t think clearly. Although Zheng Chong had only eaten an ordinary recovery pill, he held no doubt that the “Leopard Embryo Pill” Ye Zichen had given him was real.
Although he’d never heard of such a poison, give Emperor Ye’s abilities…..
He thought there was no way it could be fake.
After feeding him the “poison” pill, Ye Zichen had Zheng Chong wait off to the side. He and Xue Qi chatted for a bit in the maple grove before he said he had to go.
“You just got here. Why are you leaving already? Don’t you want to see Stone and the others?”
“I’m rather short on time.” Ye Zichen chuckled, then furrowed his brows. “Do you know how Zheng Chong would up with three thousand demon king subordinates?”
Zheng Chong noticed that they were looking at him. He dared not slack off; he smiled appeasingly back at them.
Xue Qi frowned at him. His eyes darted back and forth. “Are the demons coveting our leyline?”
Ye Zichen nodded, then shook his head. Xue Qi didn’t quite know what to think of that, so he looked at Ye Zichen in befuddlement.
“The demons are, naturally, after the leyline. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent Zheng Chong to take it from you. However, that’s just part of it, and not their primary goal, either.”
The leyline was the ultimate treasure of the Lower Three Realms. If it wasn’t the demons’ true goal, Xue Qi couldn’t imagine what they were really after. If not for the leyline, what on earth were they here for?
“They’re here for the Xuan-Yuan Sword,” said Ye Zichen with a grimace.
“The Xuan-Yuan Sword!”
Xue Qi gasped. He was most surprised at Ye Zichen; Xue Qi knew full well that the Xuan-Yuan Sword and Soul Pearl Yiyuan’s artifact spirits had each sealed one of Denglong’s three souls.
Although the Xuan-Yuan Sword was an awe-inspiring Divine Artifact, a divine artifact without its soul was just a tool made with precious materials; In terms of practical value, they were inferior to demigod artifacts.
Why would the demons come all the way here for a soulless divine artifact? Xue Qi couldn’t understand it.
The only possibility he could think of was…..
“Are you saying that the sword spirit who sealed Denglong’s soul….” said Xue Qi tentatively.
“It’s just like you think; the spirit of the Xuan-Yuan Sword has returned to life,” said Ye Zichen with a dull nod. He wore a grim expression on his face as he continued, “The demons of the Upper Realms aren’t the only ones visiting; the Yao and God realms have sent emissaries as well. All of them are supreme-level experts at the very least.”
“This….”
Immortal kings were impressive enough already, but now Ye Zichen was telling them that the Three Realms, their home, now had a sudden influx of supremes?
Xue Qi had no idea what to say to that!
“I’m here for the Xuan-Yuan Sword, too. The Xuan-Yuan Sword has been my weapon ever since my first incarnation. No matter what, I can never let others snatch it away from me.”
“But you still don’t need to be in such a hurry,” said Xue Qi in an attempt to persuade him to stay. It had been far, far too long since they’d last seen Ye Zichen; he really wanted to reminisce.
“I can’t delay,” explained Ye Zichen. “Ever since I arrived, I felt hints that Big Sister Xiang was on the verge of fully recovering Just now, I went through my divine sense to discover her location. The emissaries of the Three Upper Realms are all there already. Who knows what’ll happen if I’m late? I’d best get there in advance.”
Since he knew Ye Zichen really did have important matters to attend to, Xue Qi no longer tried to keep him. He cupped his fist in greeting and said, “Then I’ll just wish you success, Emperor Ye.”
“Farewell.” Ye Zichen cupped his fist as well. His figure distorted and he disappeared from the maple grove.
The wastelands.
Although the Three Realms were a lower lane, they were vast; almost on par with the God Realm’s Lower Lands.
However, over sixty percent of the land here was a barren wasteland. Despite the dense vegetation, it was uninhabitable.
The only life here was vicious, nonsentient beasts. They were dumb, but they were strong. Back in the hundred years when Ye Zichen was still living as a beggar, he’d once traversed the wastes and found that in their inner regions, there were beasts with auras as strong as immortal kings.
The wastelands were unsuitable for human habitations and contained no precious treasures or materials, so it was rare for people to visit.
Furthermore, the vicious beasts living within never took a single step out of the wastes, so the relationship between the wastelands and the rest of the Three Realms had always been fairly harmonious.
However, just two weeks ago, the wastelands had greeted a whole slew of uninvited guests.
In a vast mountain range in the depths of the wastes, a golden glow shone down from above. This light had appeared there suddenly a hundred years ago, then formed into a protective barrier that sealed the entire mountain range within. The light even expelled the vicious beasts that once inhabited the mountains.
A few groups of soldiers now stood outside the mountain range.
There were three main camps: human, demon, and yao. Experts with terrifying auras stood at the forefront of each encampment, spreading their presences outward to exert absolute power over their own territory as well as resist the other two factions.
The members of each major encampment split off into a few smaller groups which warned and intimidated each other. Still, all of their gazes were fixed on that skyward golden radiance.
The vicious beasts the light had expelled from their former habitats now roamed the perimeter of the mountain range.
When all these people arrived, they’d left the beasts with no choice but to flee once more; these uninvited guests were far too terrifyingly strong.
The vicious beasts weren’t sentient, but they could still recognize danger.
On the contrary, their simplicity made them even more sensitive to potential threats.
Jackdaw sat cross-legged, hovering in the air above the demons’ camp. A female demon appeared before him and greeted him, “Your Excellency.”
Jackdaw seemed half asleep, but the instant he opened his eyes, two transcendent auras swept past him. He narrowed his eyes, and demonic power surged out of him and scattered the other two auras.
After beating back the two auras, he brazenly licked his lips and sneered provocatively at the experts from the yao and human encampments.
At the same time as he antagonized the other camps, Jackdaw asked the woman indifferently,
“What is it?”
She knelt and whispered in his ear. Jackdaw frowned and started, but before long, he got ahold of himself. He sent the woman away and closed his eyes once more.
“All three demon kings perished,” he muttered to himself. Ye Zichen’s heavenly lightning had obliterated all the demon kings, and she’d come here to report the matter.
“When the lightning appeared, I sensed it belonged to some expert, but I never would have guessed they were targeting my subordinates. Once I’ve brought the Xuan-Yuan Sword back to the clan, I’ll have to take a look and see just what kind of person murdered my underlings.”
Even though he’d learned of the three thousand demon kings untimely demise, this was a key moment; the Xuan-Yuan Sword was about to appear. He couldn’t possibly divert his attention.
All he could do was wait until he’d seized the sword, then go take care of his subordinates’ killer.
However, right at that moment….
Rumble!
The earth trembled and the mountains shook!
