Although the staff across Gu Li’s throat was a blunt instrument, throats were, after all, one of the weakest parts of the body. At this distance, given the Great Sage’s strength, finishing off Gu Li would take less than a single breath of time.
The surrounding demons all froze. They stared intently at the Great Sage, who’d appeared in their midst, seemingly out of nowhere. They raised their weapons, their eyes wide.
“Release the Holy Lord!”
“Hurry up and let the Holy Lord go!”
Eyes bulging, the demons roared in fury. The Great Sage only lifted his staff a little higher, his eyes flashing gold as he looked into the horde of demons. “All of you, shut up, unless you want today to become the day your Holy Lord dies!”
The fierce glint in his eyes instantly suppressed all the demons.
“All of you, back down.” Gu Li turned to his subordinates and roared. When they heard that, although they felt bitter about it, the demons still retreated over a hundred meters away.
This sudden turn was shocking to all of them, and none of them understood how the Great Sage had appeared out of nowhere, or how he’d transformed to mimic the Left Special Emissary.
They could set aside where the real Left Special Emissary was for now. More importantly, was the Great Sage really used to splitting off independent avatars?
In the entire Upper Three Realms, to their knowledge, only the Ocean Emperor, Xue Yang, was capable of them.
Was the person by Ye Zichen’s really an independent avatar?
You could say it was, but you could also see it wasn’t.
Actually, this Great Sage was just a transformed hair!
As for the original Left Special Emissary, the Great Sage had already secretly disposed of him.
“You’ve really never disappointed me.” Even with the iron staff at his throat, Gu Li sighed with admiration. He couldn’t help but nod.
He raised his hand, but as soon as he started to move, the Great Sage’s staff pressed down hard on his shoulders.
Gu Li nervously put his hand down.
“We’ve been rivals for so long. I always need to leave a trick or two up my sleeve when I face you, don’t you think? Neither of us wants to lose to the other, so it’s natural to put a little extra thought into things.” Ye Zichen crossed his arms and laughed. “Put away your Heaven and Earth Net. I’m just here to take the Zi clansmen with me; I have no dėsɨrė to take your life.”
“You don’t want to, or you don’t dare?” Gu Li laughed. “If you kill me here, it doesn’t mean my subordinates will let you go.”
“You can say that, but in any event, if you want to live, put away your divine artifacts!” Ye Zichen pointed up at the net over Jadewave City.
It didn’t matter what he said; Gu Li’s words had gotten right to the heart of the matter. It was true: he couldn’t kill Gu Li, at least not now.
He and the Great Sage wanted to leave, and to do so, they needed Gu Li as their hostage. If they killed him, they’d have nothing to negotiate with. Furthermore, given how reverently the demons treated Gu Li, they’d likely go insane.
If not, how could Ye Zichen bear to let him live a single second longer than absolutely necessary?
Infiltrating Jadewave City had been like sneaking into a tiger’s den, all for the sake of saving Zi Xia’s clan. Now, all that mattered was escaping. He’d have more opportunities to fight Gu Li later.
Ye Zichen was convinced that good would prevail over evil in the end. Even if he didn’t take Gu Li out now…
Although they said the heavens had chosen two emperors, the four great Auxiliary Stars were on his side, and the countless stars of the night sky had accepted him as their leader. The Outsiders thought highly of Ye Zichen too. All things considered, it seemed unlikely that Gu Li would accomplish much in the scheme of things.
Perhaps Gu Li could contend with him now, but ultimately, righteousness would prevail.
In the ancient area, the former God Emperor had suppressed the former Demon Emperor.
And now, Ye Zichen could suppress Gu Li!
Ye Zichen pointed overhead at the Heaven and Earth Net. Gu Li’s life was already in the Great Sage’s hands. Although Gu Li was right that Ye Zichen really didn’t dare kill him, he still ought to understand his situation.
If things went on like this, Ye Zichen’s side was at an advantage.
“You’ve made an excellent move,” laughed Gu Li.
“‘A good move’? You sure it’s not a fatal move?” asked Ye Zichen. “Or are you saying you still have a way to turn this around?”
“What do you think?” Gu Li grinned, looking utterly ȧssured. Ye Zichen swore; right now, there was nothing he wanted to see less.
Well, he still had an ace! He still had the transmission talismans the Hermit Emperor had given him. But he had nothing else!
He longed to see Gu Li’s bitter smile. Only then could he confirm that Gu Li had nothing left in reserve.
But now, Gu Li was smiling.
Ye Zichen bit his finger, then instinctively spread out his divine awareness, but his gaze remained calm. “Psychological warfare at a time like this? What’s the point?”
“Whether there’s a point or not, I have no idea. What I do know is: you’re afraid, aren’t you?”
“How can you tell?”
“If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have bitten your finger or spread out your divine sense… or perhaps, you’re just putting on a show?”
“It’s always best to be careful,” said Ye Zichen. “Caution leads to long-term success. They said that back in the Modern Realm, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, something like that. Old sayings haven’t let me down. That’s why, over the years, I’ve always been as cautious as could be,” said Gu Li.
“Says who? Didn’t I tell you? That wasn’t a killer move, after all.” As he spoke, the Gu Li the Great Sage threatened turned into yet another puppet, just like the last.
“The Decoy Puppet is in the top twenty of the divine artifact leaderboards, but its ability to take its owner’s place is just part of it. The other main reason is that it’s a set, not just a single artifact.” Gu Li’s laughter came from an alleyway on the streets below. He stretched and twisted his neck as he walked up before the demons.
After realizing that the one threatened was another puppet and that their Holy Lord was safe, the demons swarmed around them.
The Great Sage hadn’t predicted this at all. He knit his brows, raised his staff, and cautiously surveyed his surroundings.
“That brother in arms of yours is quite intimidating. In order to lure out his true body, I really wracked my brains.” Gu Li took to the skies, his hands behind his back, and grinned at Ye Zichen. “Brother Ye, do you have anything else? If so, take it out and give me a look.”
“Hah….” Ye Zichen laughed coldly.
“It seems like you don’t.” Gu Li pursed his lips. “Then this is as far as you go. Really, it’s disappointing. I’m actually rather conflicted. Should I show you my final trump card or not? It seems…. You’ve already lost, even without it.”
“That so?”
“Oh? Brother Ye, it seems you still have a backup plan?” Gu Li laughed.
“Do you really want to know? I’m afraid if I tell you, you’ll sink into despair!”
“Drop the nonsense. If you’ve got tricks left, go ahead and show them.” Ye Zichen started to speak, but before he could finish his sentence, a sword appeared in the hands of the Great Sage standing behind him. Then, the Great Sage held its edge right to Ye Zichen’s throat!
