Chapter 1686: One Sovereign Versus Nine Lords

“Helmsman, those imperial lords are flouting the rules a bit. Should we….”

Not far from the Demon Emperor and imperial lords’ battlefield, a man in old-fashioned robes stood. Eight youths, both male and female, stood behind him.

The speaker was the youth to the man’s side. He bowed as he spoke, and seemed to be seeking the man’s input.

“This is where the mausoleum descended. What, were you hoping that no one would come from the upper realms?”

“We gave them tacit permission to descend, but this….”

“Did you just recognize who that group is?” The man looked at the youth coldly. “That group would even sell out their immediate families in the name of profit. Surely you don’t hope they can peacefully coexist?”

“That’s exactly why I….”

“Exactly? What exactly? I told you to stabilize space, so get stabilizing!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Stay here and be good. Without my orders, none of you are to do anything.” This time, the man’s gaze swept across the other youths as well. “Besides, we’re not the only ones keeping an eye on them. If they don’t move, we shouldn’t move either. The clan told us that this expedition is purely for the sake of stabilizing the surrounding space, but everyone can tell that this a competition for the man seat between me and Lin Ru. All of you, brighten up. If anything goes wrong, you ought to know….”

“Yes, Helmsman!” The young men and women standing in the clouds all put their hands to their chests and said solemnly.

The man then turned and looked ahead. There was a patch of cloud before him, but his gaze seemed to pierce right through it as he fixed his gaze ahead.

“This group of Masters of the Laws is quite interesting, huh?” In the other patch of cloud, a beautiful woman in long purple robes narrowed her eyes and laughed. The corners of her lips curved upward, but after a few more glances, she looked away.

“Holy Maiden, just now you…” There was an elderly man by the woman’s side. Were any members of the god race here, they would have recognized him at a glance. This was none other than the Lightning Tribulation Emperor, Xiao Ting, who’d famously betrayed the God Realm.

After allying himself with demons and moving what remained of the Xiao Family to the Demon Realm, he’d vanished for a while. Now that he’d reappeared, he looked far, far older than before. He was gaunt and withered as firewood, his eye sockets were dark and sunken, and his cheekbones jutted out. There was no trace of the former Lightning Emperor’s domineering valiance; he looked like a skeleton.

He stood, tottering, before the Demons’ Holy Maiden, and she glanced back at him and smiled. “It’s nothing. I just saw a rather interesting group.”

“Then do you plan to intervene below….?”

“Intervene? You mean with just the few of us?” She pointed behind her. There was a small group standing there, but even though their auras were strong, they weren’t even remotely comparable to the Ocean Emperor and his lineup.

‘You came here because…”

“My dear ‘little sister’ is worried about her prince charming,” said the Holy Maiden. “I don’t want her to worry, so I naturally had to come take a look. Her prince charming has yet to emerge, so what need is there to intervene? Besides, even if we wanted to intervene, do you think those people would let us do so? Let’s just wait here. So long as we confirm that ‘prince charming’ is unscathed, our mission is complete. In any event, can’t you sense all those presences locked onto us?”

The Holy Maiden brushed a finger against her cheek, then glanced to her left.

“Young Miss, we’ve been discovered.”

In another landscape of misty clouds, an elder in green whispered into a coquettish beauty’s ears. If any ordinary man saw her bewitching eyes, her smile would likely entrap him like an inescapable whirlpool.

“By which of them?” The girl’s eyebrows shot up.

“Both of them!” responded the elder.

“It seems they’re both rather capable?” The girl giggled, then looked down at the Demon Emperor and imperial lords’ battle. “An imperial sovereign against nine imperial lords. Who do you think will win?”

The elder looked down, pondered momentarily, then said, “Unless something unexpected happens, Kui Lin will win.”

“I think so too,” said the girl. She tilted her head and smiled.

The man then followed up, “Then should I…” He trailed off, but his hand swept across his neck.

“Let’s wait and see. My Sweetie hasn’t come out yet. I don’t care what happens as long as he’s alright. The others can die; it has nothing to do with me.”

Then, the young woman looked down at the mausoleum and muttered to herself, “Sweetie, you don’t need me to act on your behalf, do you?”

….

…..

…..

No one would have guessed that as Kui Lin and the great emperors fought, members of three different factions were watching their battle play out.

Even more interestingly, all three factions kept the other two in check. No one joined the battle.

“Monster! Take my heaven-reaching staff!” The Great Sage swung his staff at the Demon Emperor’s avatar. When he saw this, even the Ocean Emperor’s avatar grew solemn. He was just about to avoid when…

Crack!

The wooden staff snapped in two.

The Demon Emperor’s avatar seized the chance to lunge at the Great Sage. Fortunately, Yang Jian rushed over just in time, slashed the Demon Emperor’s avatar at the waist, and forced it back. When he landed beside the Great Sage, he frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Is this my fault? Ordinary staves can’t withstand my divine power!” The Great Sage leisurely summoned a tree branch, brushed his hand over it, and turned it into a staff.

Yang Jian stared, eyes wide, at the staff. It looked more like a tool for street performance than a weapon. “What about your actual staff?”

“I lent it to someone!”

“Is there something wrong with your brain?”

“You’re the one with the broken brain!” The Great Sage bared his teeth and Yang Jian. “Don’t bother me. Hurry up and get that guy taken care of, then worry about helping me deal with this blasted thing. I’m so irritated, I can’t take it anymore! Every time I pour even just a little divine power into the staff, it explodes.”

“How do you plan to resolve this, then? There’s no way we can beat him to death like this,” said Yang Jian at a loss.

“We still have to try. Watch with that third eye of yours and see if you can’t shoot him to death!” said the Great Sage.

“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll go try it.” 

Yang Jian and the Great Sage split up. The Fox Empress Su Qingyan, Su Wan’er, Xuan Ji, and Pu Jingwan were all struggling with the Demon Emperor’s avatars as well. Although their cultivations weren’t high, no matter how much they fought, the avatars wouldn’t stay dead.

The surrounding demonic energy was most likely their source of nourishment. Even if they broke or severed the avatars’ arms, they’d heal on their own in a flash.

They couldn’t kill them, nor could they fend them off. It was deeply irritating.

As most of the imperial lords tangled with the Demon Emperor’s artifacts, the Ocean Emperor’s group fought with his real body non-stop.

Kui Lin had manifested four additional arms, six in total, which he used to take Xue Yang, Bi’an, and Chao Feng on simultaneously. Despite being outnumbered, he wasn’t at a disadvantage. His hands attacked back and forth thousands of times, but no one had gained an advantage.

It was strange, though. The ripples had appeared near the mausoleum a full hour ago, but no one had appeared within them yet.

“You people are really…” By now, they’d fought for so long that Kui Lin’s eyes were bloodshot. He stared intently at the three great emperors, who stood around him in a triangular formation.

The Ocean Emperor and Bi’an weren’t a threat to Kui Lin. The main issue was Chao Feng…

He was unlike the other great emperors. They’d won their positions through endless battles, and everyone knew how lofty their cultivations were. Everyone knew how strong they were.

Great Emperor Chao Feng wasn’t like that!

In the past, he’d always remained inside the Saint’s Palace. As the Master of the Saint’s Palace, few dared provoke him, and even when someone did, they were essentially just committing suicide. Chao Feng’s subordinate star bearers cleaned them all up quickly.

Chao Feng had never gotten directly involved, which meant that the people of the Upper Three Realms had never witnessed his strength first hand.

Many people thought that Chao Feng was a great emperor in name only, that he’d occupied an entire Divine Mountain purely due to the strength of the Saints Palace.

Kui Lin shared this belief!

As they fought, he discovered that Chao Feng’s abilities really were inferior to Bi’an and Xue Yang, and his battle experience was a far cry from theirs. However, his spear…

It was strange indeed. When it landed, it didn’t cause any tangible wounds.

Instead, it permeated its targets like a toxin. Even more detestable, just as it was about to land, when Kui Lin defended with demonic energy, the spear seemed to ignore his defenses completely to land directly on Kui Lin. 

As time passed, the holy light emblems on Kui Lin’s body increased in concentration. 

The holy light corroded the demonic energy inside him, the problem only getting more and more severe. Even his movements had become somewhat rigid. 

“That spear…” Kui Lin stared at it for a while, the holy light emblems shining with dazzling light. They were particularly eye-catching amidst the demonic energy.

“Kui Lin, shall we continue fighting?” Great Emperor Chao Feng stopped. The spear was his weapon, so he was fully aware of Kui Lin’s plight.

“Heh…” Kui Lin laughed coldly, and as he did, Xue Yang and Bi’an attacked. The Ocean God’s Trident and Hidden Dragon Sword both left wounds so deep, even his bones were visible.

Kui lin scrunched up his brow in agony. Reddish purple blood gushed from his wounds.

“Your spear has a sealing effect.”

“You could say that. This is a staff I condensed out of pure starlight. It’s the perfect counter for you demons.”

“Wonderful! Truly grand!” Kui Lin burst into laughter, raised his wounded arm, and liked the gash. Purplish red blood stained the corners of his lips. All he did was take a single lick, but then, out of nowhere, he dispersed the arm he’d condensed out of demonic power.

No, it wasn’t just his arm. The six avatars currently holding up the other imperial lords disappeared too.

“Taste my… Hm?” It had been less than a hundred breaths of time since the Great Sage finished his new staff. He’d already exploded lots of weapons, but he’d only just made the one he currently held.

Still holding his staff, the Great Sage stared ahead. Then, he turned and looked at where the others were fighting. 

The avatar had disappeared completely!

The great emperors gathered together. They certainly didn’t think Kui Lin would give up so easily. Just as all of them were wondering what Kui Lin was up to, and whether he was planning some grand attack….

Ripples like those that had appeared before manifested in front of the mausoleum, but this time was different. Before, a long time passed, but no one emerged. This time, Ye Zichen appeared before them almost instantly. It was in that very instant that Kui Lin rushed up, shot behind him, and wrapped his hands tightly around Gu Luolin’s neck.