“Gr….Great Sage?” As he felt cold, sharp iron press against his throat, Ye Zichen’s eyes widened with shock. He tilted his head to examine the person behind him.
The man standing just one step behind him was still the Great Sage, but his eyes glinted viciously.
“You can’t tell even now?” Gu Li grinned and shook his head. The other demons’ eyes flashed as they took in the true identity of the Great Sage currently holding a sword to Ye Zichen’s throat.
That wasn’t an avatar formed of monkey fur!
In order to make their earlier operations more convenient, when the Great Sage split off his monkey fur avatar earlier, he’d deliberately given the clone its own awareness. This way, it could carry out its mission independently, with no need for the Great Sage to give it direct commands. This way, the Great Sage could mimic Gu Li’s left special emissary without distraction.
He’d never even considered that his avatar might run into problems, so he’d never attempted to reconnect with it.
It was only after he saw “his avatar” turn on Ye Zichen that he started wondering if Gu Li had somehow seized control of the avatar’s awareness. The Great Sage attempted to regain conscious control over it.
But when he tried, he realized that the person standing there was no longer his avatar.
He could sense that his avatar still existed, and that it was in the north of the city, but through their connection, he could sense that it was on the brink of death.
The “Great Sage” threatening Ye Zichen wasn’t actually the Great Sage or one of his avatars at all!
This isn’t the Great Sage! Ye Zichen understood too. It had all happened so quickly that he couldn’t quite keep up.
If the person at his side wasn’t the Great Sage, who exactly was he?
The Great Sage’s avatars were just formed of hair, but they still had around thirty percent of his strength. Ordinary rulers were no match. Of Gu Li’s subordinates, only the special emissaries at his sides could take them out.
A special emissary?
Ye Zichen’s heart sank.
Earlier, the Great Sage he’d successfully impersonated the left special emissary. At the time, Ye Zichen found it strange. Sure, the Great Sage was strong, but Gu li’s personal bodyguard was absolutely no ordinary person either.
“It’s you.” Ye Zichen glanced at the “Great Sage” beside him, who transformed back into his original appearance. Even after being discovered, the Left Special Emissary said nothing. Perhaps, he had always been a man of few words.
At the same time, Ye Zichen felt someone clamp viciously onto his shoulder. The sharp edge of a sword pressed right up against his throat. Blood dripped down the blade.
Under such a direct threat, Ye Zichen had no choice but to follow the emissary as he landed back on the ground.
Aside from keeping a sword at his throat, the emissary ignored Ye Zichen completely. He put his other hand to his brėȧst, and, without so much as moving his sword, he bowed to Gu Li.
“Left Special Emissary.” The demons surrounding them all broke into smiles of delight.
“You’ve done well.” Gu Li nodded at him, then walked right up to Ye Zichen.”
“This time, I won our little game. Give me the Divine Mausoleum key fragment, and I can let Great Sage Sun and the Zi Family go.”
“You can’t let me go too?” laughed Ye Zichen.
“Please forgive me, but I’m afraid… you aren’t going anywhere.” Gu Li’s profound gaze bore into him. In it, Ye Zichen saw his deeply-buried madness and bitter resentment. Gu Li’s eyes seemed to blaze: flames of the heart, of anger, and a hint of jealousy.
What on earth was Gu Li jealous of?
Could it be that he was jealous of Ye Zichen’s good fortune? Or that the four great Auxiliary stars had all chosen to follow him? Was he jealous that Ye Zichen had so many powerful people backing him?
No, it didn’t seem that way!
Although Gu Li had always stood against him, Ye Zichen thought highly of Gu Li’s composure, as well as his shrewdness and cleverness. All were extraordinary.
Gu Li wasn’t the type to get jealous over external things like wealthy backers.
So what was he jealous of?
But then, given the circumstances, this was no time to worry about such trifles.
His life was in Gu Li’s hands.
Now, all that mattered was finding a way out of this predicament!
Although, to the Great Sage, the ordinary demon rulers were small fries, he was outnumbered. On top of that, the emissary was a worthy opponent who’d require his complete focus.
The Hermit Emperor had given Ye Zichen a talisman, but he needed to use his phone to accept it, and he couldn’t right now.
It seemed all he could do was go all out!
Ye Zichen’s gaze shifted, fluctuating between different emotions. By now, all the subordinates Gu Li had brought to Jadewave City had gathered around him.
“You’re still trying to find a way out of your predicament?” laughed Gu Li.
“I can’t just sit back and wait to die, can I? If I fall into your hands, it’s not like I’ll get out alive, right?” said Ye Zichen, not bothering to hide it.
“Of course not,” said Gu Li.
“Honestly, couldn’t you just lie to me? If you had, I might have really believed you, obediently given up, and handed over the key fragments for hope you’d spare me,” said Ye Zichen, at a bit of a loss.
Gu Li couldn’t help but laugh. Ye Zichen understood him, but he naturally understood Ye Zichen too.
“I want to watch you struggle in the face of death. Just what kind of shocking moves will you make?”
“I’ll be sure to broaden your horizons,” said Ye Zichen solemnly. Then, he turned to the Great Sage and roared, “Great Sage!”
“In position!” The Great Sage had been expecting this. His eyes flashed gold, and a single golden hair flew towards him and merged with his neck.
Instantly, the Great Sage, still holding his staff, expanded until he was over a thousand times his usual size.
“Dharma of Heaven and Earth!”
The Great Sage was so tall, his shoulders reached the clouds, and he cast a huge shadow over the entirety of Jadewave City. SUddenly, the Great Sage viciously swung his staff right at Ye Zichen.
He’d attacked with such force that not even the Emissary of the Left dared meet his blow head on.
He instantly appeared beside Gu Li, grabbed him by the shoulders, and retreated a hundred meters back.
Boom!
Where the staff hit, it left a several-hundred-meter-deep ditch. Ye Zichen then nimbly took to the air, his eyes blazing with fiery light.
“Fire, heed my call!”
Heavenly fire descended to earth. Surging white flames came crashing down, turning everything within a hundred-mile radius into a sea of flames.
“Gather!” As the flames landed, Ye Zichen activated the Yao-Sealing Pagoda, pulling every civilian in range inside and out of harm’s way. “Great Sage!” “Got it!” There was no need for any further explanations. A powerful suction appeared up in the sky, originating from the Great Sage’s mouth, pulling in the surrounding air, including the Heavenly Fire.
Before long, he spat all the fire he took in right back up, but this time, the flames were powered by an additional wind, turning everything within ten thousand miles into a sea of heavenly flame.
