All the nearby great emperors sensed the ripples in the sky, and their armies instantly went on high alert. Yang Jian and the Great Sage were particularly solemn. They watched in wait to see just who these new arrivals were.
But regardless of whether these reinforcements were demon or yao, there was little they could do now.
So long as they were relying on Gu Li to transcend and guide them through the end of the era, they couldn’t afford to disregard Gu Li’s life. No matter how vast their numbers, they were in no place to do anything, not even discuss terms with Ye Zichen.
But when she saw who’d really arrived, Xuan Ji froze. “The King of the East!”
Her true form was that of a fox, and although she’d lived among the gods a long time, she was still relatively familiar with the top experts and leaders of major factions of the Yao Realm.
This new arrival was none other than the King of the East. She now understood: these new arrivals weren’t here for Gu Li. They were here to reinforce the foxes!
Scanning the crowd, she saw dragons, vermillion birds, white tigers, the xuanwu…
Experts of every Sacred Beast Clan had rushed to their aid!
“Xuan Ji!” The newly arrived experts froze. They surveyed the massive but fearful demons; none of them dared make a move.
Then they saw Gu Li, and Ye Zichen holding him captive. “You’ve already settled it?”
Never mind Xuan Ji, even Ye Zichen recognized a few old acquaintances among the reinforcements.
Wei Chen.
In the Lower Three Realms, he’d been the head of the White Tiger Clan. So, he’d ascended too!
Of course, after a brief, stunned pause, they saw the bodies of their dead clansmen, as well as their heavily injured clan elders. They also saw Empress Su Qingyan and Clan Head Su Wan; their wounds were so heavy, they were practically already on the verge of death.
“Alliance Head Ye, has the situation here settled? If it’s as it seems, I’ll start treating the wounded right away.” The vice head of the Hermits Palace appeared beside Ye Zichen.
When he heard that, Ye Zichen scrunched up his brows and looked around.
One look at Kui Lin’s eyes and he could tell that they were still deeply concerned about what happened to Gu Li. But now that he was captured, and especially now that reinforcements had arrived, the situation had turned around completely. They didn’t dare do anything.
Once he was confident, Ye Zichen nodded. The vice head then led his grandmaster physicians and began treating their wounded allies, starting from the Fox Empress and Clan Head Su Wan. Of all the captives, their wounds were the most severe.
“See, Gu Li? I turned this around.” Ye Zichen quickly sealed Gu Li’s divine core, then shoved him into the dirt.
His allies were watching the demons and yao and high alert, just in case. Even though Gu Li was no longer directly in Ye Zichen’s grasp, they had no way of seizing him and taking him back to their side.
“Did I lose?” Gu Li sat back up, propping himself up from the dirt, and sneered. “I didn’t lose. Even if you’ve captured me, you don’t dare kill me. I’m the only thing holding them back. If you kill me, the entire demon race will invade the God Realm. As for the lot of you… even with reinforcements from the Sacred Beast clans, it’s unlikely more than a few of you will escape alive.”
“So are you still saying I’ve lost?” Ye Zichen smiled. “You say I’m too full of myself, but it seems… you are too.”
Gu Li arched his brows. “I’d appreciate a detailed explanation!”
“You say you’re the only thing holding them back? But that’s just because of your status as the Emperor Star. Did you forget? I’m the Emperor Star too.” Ye Zichen laughed. “If I kill you, won’t they just serve me instead?”
“How could that be possible? Your enmity with the demons runs deep. If they pledge allegiance to you, do you dare promise not to hold a grudge?”
“I do!” said Ye Zichen with complete assurance.
This sheer confidence stunned Gu Li, but he quickly laughed and shook his head. “You might be able to set your grudge aside, but they can’t. If you don’t believe me, try it. After killing me, see if they’ll follow you willingly or not. Also, never mind the rest, just look at your great emperor subordinates. At this point, there’s no way they can peacefully coexist with my allies.”
“They might follow you for now, but in the future, your alliance is sure to suffer severe infighting and discontent. Eventually, it will fall apart…”
“I still have no reason to keep you around.” Ye Zichen swung his palm to slap Gu Li, but at that moment, a slender figure appeared before him.
Gu Li had already shut his eyes, but when he took in that delicate fragrance, they popped back open. He gazed at the girl before him, the girl in a long turquoise dress.
Even without seeing her face, Gu Li knew…
“An Lu.” His tone was so soft, so tender, that it was hard to imagine this was still the same Gu Li, the same brutal mass-murder who killed without so much as batting an eye.
Ye Zichen forced himself a stop, his hand freezing in mid-air.
That’s right: this new arrival was none other than An Lu.
“Big Brother Zichen, I beg you, let Gu Li go. Please? He’s a good person, he really is. I beg you. Please, let him go.”
To Ye Zichen’s astonishment, she bowed before he could react. Her untarnished, bewitchingly pure eyes glistened with tears, and her tender face was filled with obvious concern. Without the slightest hesitation, she kowtowed.
“I beg you, let Gu Li go!”
“I beg you, let Gu Li go!”
….
Ye Zichen froze completely in place, but he wasn’t the only one. Even the great emperors who’d never so much as laid eyes on An Lu froze, their eyes wide with disbelief. It was hard to imagine that a girl with such pure eyes was acquainted with a bloodthirsty fiend like Gu Li.
And she wasn’t just begging for his life; she even insisted that he was a good person.
“Big Brother Zichen, please, I beg you, let him go! I’ll do anything you want, just please, let him go!” In the face of that incomparably pure gaze, Ye Zichen found himself temporarily unable to refuse her despite his immense hatred for Gu Li.
Gu Li suddenly rose to his feet, then reached for An Lu.
“Hmph.” Ye Zichen’s brows instantly knit together.
Gu Li suddenly fell back, coughing up blood. It was as if a giant hammer had slammed him right in the chest.
“Gu Li.” An Lu rushed over to his side, regardless of the blood-soaked mess of his body. She reached out and wiped the blood from his lips, her eyes filled with obvious concern.
“An Lu, don’t beg him. Beg anyone else, but…. Not him!” When he looked at Ye Zichen, Gu Li’s gaze was sharp and fierce, but when he looked at An Lu, he was like an entirely different person. It was as if being near her cleansed him; his gaze didn’t contain even the slightest hint of viciousness. “I’m just so happy to see you again.”
“Gu Li, don’t be like that. Big Brother Zichen is a good person too. If I beg for mercy on your behalf, he’s sure to let you go.” With that, she rushed back up to Ye Zichen and bowed. At least, she tried to. This time, he didn’t let her.
“Big Brother Zichen….” Unable to bow, An Lu seemed visibly aggrieved.
Ye Zichen sighed and shook his head. He knelt and cleaned the dirt and crushed grass off her knees. He then used his divine power to close the wounds on her forehead. Both were wounds she’d gotten bowing to him.
“Don’t you dare touch her!” Gu Li roared at him.
Ye Zichen stared at him, and for a while, he didn’t respond. Finally, he sighed, his gaze wistful. “You brought someone up earlier. It was her, wasn’t it?”
