t
“Push him in.”
Standing by Su Yiyun’s side, Black Dragon knit his brow roared at the demons standing behind Baal. In response, Baal merely laughed.
The other demons made no effort to push him.
They were loyal to Black Dragon, but at the same time, they were keenly aware of everything Baal had contributed to the demon race.
Fwoosh.
A tongue of flames billowed out of the altar. Intense heat flooded past Baal, as if planning to swallow him whole.
The stones beneath his feet shattered and fell with a puff of white smoke.
Baal gazed intently at the elder, then laughed uproariously, his laughter tinged with heartbreak…..
“Su Yiyun, don’t think for even a minute that none of us understand what you’re up to. The king is still bewitched by you, but one day, he will undoubtedly come to his senses. At that time, you… Well, I’ll say it once more. ‘I’ll see you in Hell.’”
His voice lowered as he closed his eyes, then reached a leg into the pit.
“Wait.”
There was an uproar amongst the demons clustered below the altar. Before long, a woman appeared from within the crowd.
When he saw her, Su Yiyun frowned subtly, then lowered his head, maintaining his cool and distant demeanor.
“Min’e,” said Black Dragon.
“My Lord.”
Lin Min’e knelt before him in greeting, then stood with a deep frown. “Your subordinate has come to plead for mercy on Baal’s behalf.”
“You…..”
By this point, Black Dragon was fully committed to executing Baal. His heart was already twisted by the lure of raw power.
In truth, deep inside his heart, he wanted nothing more than to sacrifice the Twelve Demon Sovereigns.
They were the demon race’s mightiest fighting force. If he sacrificed them, the effect would be better than refining those mere spiritual body cultivators by an order of magnitude.
Who knows, he might even be able to directly reach the earth supreme level.
If any of the other Demon Sovereigns approached, he might even accuse them of cooperating with Baal and sacrifice them as well. However, Lin Min’e was different. She was Su Yiyun’s legitimate wife.
Instantly, Black Dragon felt uncertain and looked over to Su Yiyun for guidance.
“Brother Su,” he said probingly, “what do you think…….”
“Min’e, why have you come?” said Su Yiyun, his voice weak and listless. He was obviously almost at his limit.
“Did I have any other choice?” she asked, gnawing on her lower lip. “Yuyin, don’t you realize that what you’re doing right now will incite heaven’s wrath? Hundreds of thousands of demons threw themselves into the sacrificial fire because of you. Do you know what you’ve done? And now you want to sacrifice the Twelve Demon Sovereigns too? What’s next? In a few days, will you throw me into the flames as well?”
“Don’t be unreasonable. Hurry up and go back,” berated Su Yiyun.
“I’m unreasonable?” she cried out. “Between us, who exactly is being unreasonable? Su Yiyun, do you know why I fell in love with you back in the modern realm? I fell in love with your big heart and your strong sense of duty, but look at you know…..”
She looked at him, expression pained, eyes filled with disbelief as she continued. “Cold-blooded, emotionless…. You’ve even using people as living sacrifices. Yiyun, let’s stop this now. It’s not too late. In truth, I blame myself. I’m the one who implanted that formation grandmaster’s memories into your sea of consciousness, which led to you overdrawing your life force to research formations. At this point, you’re like a candle flickering in the wind. Don’t you want to spend your remaining time in peace?”
“No need to say anything else,” said Su Yiyun. “Didn’t you come here for Baal? Fine, I’ll give you face and spare his life.”
\With that, he turned to look at Baal and said, “I pronounce you not-guilty. You may leave.”
Then he turned to the demons huddled below the altar like livestock and said, “continue the sacrifice.”
“Yiyun,” frowned Li Min’e.
However, Su Yiyun no longer paid any attention to her. Instead, he focused on the executioners responsible for leading the sacrifices to the altar.
“Perhaps you didn’t understand me,” he said. “Continue the sacrifice.”
“Nonsense!” shouted Baal before coughing up a mouthful of phlegm.
“Su Yiyun, what even are you?” he said, sneering at Su Yiyun contemptuously. “On what basis are you giving out orders? Don’t forget, our king is Lord Black Dragon. He has yet to speak, so who are you to tell anyone what to do?”
“That’s right.”
“Lord Baal is right.”
“Why should we be used as living sacrificial lambs?”
“We want to live too.”
“We don’t want to be sacrificed!”
……
In response to Baal’s words, the mass of demons waiting below the altar rioted. The surrounding demon soldiers struggled to suppress them, but their numbers were too great, and it soon seemed clear that they’d fail to stop the uprising.
“Baal,” said Black Dragon, face livid with irrepressible fury.
However, at this time, Su Yiyun simply smiled calmly and gently patted Black Dragon’s shoulder to signal that he should calm down. Then, he turned to Baal and smiled lightly.
“You’re quite good at stirring things up,” said Su Yiyun. “I have to say, you’ve really been quite successful.”
“Heh…. I didn’t instigate this. I merely said what they were already thinking,” snorted Baal.
“Then it’s still you who instigated it,” said Su Yiyun, lips pursed into a confident grin. “No matter where you are, the common people are foolish and cowardly. Before someone spoke up, all they could do was endure and accept their lot. If you hadn’t said anything, the sacrifice would likely have continued as planned.”
“I’m doing this because I don’t want it to continue. This is devastating our fighting power; you’re secretly bent on our destruction.”
“Oh really?” said Su Yiyun without refuting him.
Then, he looked down at the rioting demons and called out, “Everyone, please let me say a few words.”
As he shouted these words, he utilized the Art of Composure, and the crowd came to a sudden stop.
“You all know that our Demon Race’s former territory was forcefully occupied by a conniving, ambitious figure. To survive, we had no choice but to move to this sub-dimension I created, but… Perhaps you weren’t aware, but it won’t be possible to live here in the long-term.”
“Space within sub-dimensions is stable only so long as the dimension’s creator is alive. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’ve hit my limit, and will soon perish.”
Hearing this, Li Min’e fought back tears. She’d always loved him even though she knew full well, there was no space for her in his heart.
The crowd was silent, then after a while, a voice called out, “If you’re going to die, just die. Why drag us along with you?”
“Good, that’s a good question,” said Su Yiyun, nodding in satisfaction. “Then, in turn, I have something I’d like to ask everyone here. Once I’ve died…. How will you live?”
