Chapter 51

“That person…” Ying Qingqing looked at the person that was still far away.

Vajra replied, “That is none other than the Other Tribe’s Left Sage King Xiuzhe who has the title of Black Emperor.”

He grinned and said, “However, a few days ago, his Black Death had just been defeated by my Cult Master’s great sun. He was defeated in a single attack and received severe injuries.”

Ying Qingqing gathered her attention. The frail man approaching the palace was wrapped entirely in a black cloak. Half of his pale face was revealed, and he was constantly coughing. He was already so weak, but the fiendish and destructive qi that he emitted felt like a human world calamity.

When Ying Qingqing was traveling in the martial world, she had heard about the bloody acts of the Demon Cult and also the fiendish Black Death of the Other Tribe. One had to say that the Black Emperor Xiuzhe wasn’t a bloodthirsty killer who was absolutely unrestrained and slaughtered as he pleased. However, to most people, the Edict of Black Death was too good at drawing hatred.

To Ying Qingqing, her impression of the Edict of Black Death was actually much worse than the actions of the Demon Cult. She knew that Shi Jing, Li Tai, and the others had arranged people for the ambush. They were planning to lure the Demon Sovereign out of the palace and sneak in to rescue her and Xie Xingmang.

However, she never expected that Shi Jing’s ambushing personnel or helper was actually the Other Tribe’s Left Sage King Xiuzhe. That’s right… She couldn’t say that she didn’t expect it at all…

Previously, she already heard that this expedition to the south was an alliance made out of the Central Province’s factions and some Other Tribe experts.

Ying Qingqing frowned.

“Black Emperor’s… mm… ‘subordinate’ had been captured by us. He disregards his severe injuries and still wishes to rescue this subordinate.” Vajra chuckled and continued saying, “It is why Shi Jing and them hit it off so easily, but it is useless. Our Cult Master has a brilliant mind, and everything is within his expectations. The enemy is just voluntarily coming into the trap.”

Vajra then instructed someone to bring a small sedan chair over. “Young Lady, please board the sedan chair. The Cult Master instructed me to escort you to a safe location.”

Ying Qingqing turned to look at the palace that was far away.

Over there, Black Emperor Xiuzhe and his men, “Golden Eagle” Murong Xing, and “Ghost Sword” Guo Ninglong had barged into the palace. Once they entered, they immediately noticed something was wrong. The main hall was empty.

“My King, there are no signs of Helian Zhe and Zha Lei!” Murong Xing shouted.

They still didn’t know that the “Northern Desert’s Grand Physician” Zha Lei had already been killed by Chen Luoyang’s palm strike and were thinking of rescuing him along with Helian Zhe. However, Helian Zhe who was supposed to be imprisoned in this place had also vanished; even Xie Xingmang who was part of Shi Jing and Li Tai’s group was also missing.

Even Ying Qingqing who had entered the palace earlier was also absent. In fact, the entire palace was empty; the Demon Cult members, attendants, and servant girls were all gone.

“We have been tricked.”

Xiuzhe was coughing consecutively while he immediately led Murong Xing and Guo Ninglong to retreat from the Demon Sovereign’s traveling palace.

At this moment, there were dragon roars from all directions. Four flood dragons had blocked all four directions and surrounded this mountain peak.

The Demon Cult’s Protector Zhurong, Zhang Tianheng, was standing on one of the flood dragons and clicking his tongue in amazement. “Black Emperor, I really have to offer you my respects. I might not approve of your tastes, but your deep sentiments towards that gigolo are truly admirable. If I didn’t hear the words coming from Cult Master’s esteemed mouth, I really wouldn’t have believed it. You have been severely injured by my Cult Master, but you didn’t quickly find a secluded place to recuperate. Instead, you have been secretly following us and looking for an opportunity to conduct the rescue. Didn’t you consider that there are plenty of people that want to kill you? If you aren’t as capable as my Cult Master, then stop being so ambitious, alright?”

Murong Xing and Guo Ninglong had extremely grave expressions. According to Zhang Tianheng’s words, it seemed like he already knew that Shi Jing contacted the Other Tribe to be the ambushing team. How was their covert operation exposed?

Ying Qingqing couldn’t have known. Over at the Great Xia Empire and the Sword Pavilion’s side, only a few individuals knew of it, and they couldn’t have divulged the information. Could there be a spy among those few individuals?

Xiuzhe continued coughing, while his pale face revealed a sickly dark red color. “Cough, cough… Where is Helian? Cough, cough… And Zha Lei?”

At this moment, Vajra appeared on the other side and chuckled before saying, “Black Emperor should be worried for yourself first. You have been utterly beaten up by my Cult Master recently, and instead of recuperating, you have been stalking us tirelessly. Even though a dying camel is still bigger than a horse, you should know the amount of strength you have now. It is probably uncertain if you can even defeat Murong Xing, Guo Ninglong, and the others who are behind you, right?”

“The Cult Master instructed us to take care of the honorable guest. Black Emperor, this old one gives his respects.”

Another figure appeared and stood firmly on a flood dragon just like Zhang Tianheng and Vajra. It was a gray-clothed elder, and it seemed like he was like smoke and standing within clouds.

It was Elder Fu who was serving beside Chen Luoyang back then and had been instructed to follow Ying Qingqing when she departed. Now that he had revealed his cultivation, he was obviously a martial king too. Furthermore, his cultivation was superior to that of Zhang Tianheng, Vajra, Murong Xing, and Guo Ninglong who were at the 10th stage.

He was at the 11th Apotheosis Stage. An honorable Apotheosis Stage martial king who had the status of a martial grandmaster was actually wearing an unassuming servant attire.

He wasn’t in a hurry and said in a soft and patient voice, “Cult Master is going to return shortly. We will have to trouble the Black Emperor to wait here for a moment.”

Guo Ninglong yelled out, “Gray Bat Elder Devil, you once terrified the world, but you are now serving someone else willingly?! Aren’t you ashamed?!”

Murong Xing had a grave expression when he heard Guo Ninglong’s words. The Grey Bat Elder Devil was once a reputable old demon in the Central Province and was extremely dominant. His cultivation was profound, and he was especially proficient in movement skills, allowing him to be fast like a phantom. He was almost comparable with the Demon Cult’s Left Envoy Xiao Yuntian who had the title of “Wind Duke”.

The old demon who had vanished during recent years had actually been subdued into a personal servant by the Demon Cult Master?

“Sir Guo, I trust you have been well. This world only has Cult Master’s Gray Bat now, and there is no longer a Gray Bat Elder Devil.” The gray-clothed elder let out a gentle smile and said, “A fine bird would choose a good tree to nest in. This is a rationale that Sir Guo should know best.”

Guo Ninglong had a dark expression and didn’t respond. He wasn’t able to stay around in the Central Province anymore and had turned to the Other Tribe. He truly didn’t have any qualification to ridicule Elder Fu. Furthermore, Elder Fu’s words were subtly instigating discord, and he couldn’t simply respond; therefore, he had to keep his silence.

“Guo Ninglong, you are actually willing to endure the difficult together with Xiuzhe. It is truly surprising!” Zhang Tianheng laughed. He then looked around before asking, “As the leader of the Ten Gallants, Ba Kun didn’t come. I think it must due to the fact that he wasn’t convinced by the Black Emperor, right?”

Xiuzhe was coughing nonstop. Now that he knew he had fallen into a trap, he couldn’t say anything. A pair of pale hands extended out of the cloak. Subsequently, a dense black mist was released, and it was as filthy as ink.

The Black Death Evil Force which emitted a suffocating aura of despair had extended out and was going to turn the surrounding into a land of death. The Black God of Death appeared once again.

However, it wasn’t able to materialize the actual body and could only exist as an illusory image. Furthermore, the image was constantly flickering and was extremely unstable; it looked as though it was going to disintegrate.

The severely injured Black Emperor Xiuzhe truly had a huge decline in strength. His face’s unhealthy redness was getting worse, and it was as though he was forcefully supporting himself and his strength might just leak out.

The Demon Cult members didn’t underestimate their enemy, but they weren’t apprehensive. Chen Luoyang’s accurate prediction of the enemy’s movements had boosted their confidence. They immediately attacked and surrounded Xiuzhe with just the three of them.

The four flood dragons were still circling the place and obstructing the enemy from trying to break out. The spacious and massive demon palace had burst out with an intense battle.

Ying Qingqing sat in the small sedan chair and was getting further away from the Demon Cult members. Within the sedan chair, she could feel the evil aura from the Black Death Evil Force.

The young lady let out a silent sigh while the sedan chair was gliding through the wind and traveling across the mountain range. However, behind them, there was another group of individuals following them silently.

The leader of the group nodded and said, “The Demon Cult is indeed crafty and cunning. It is fortunate that Fifth Sir arranged for us to set another ambush here.”