It was the brazen theft of Dragon Qi, the very essence of a thousand ages of vital energy consolidated by the Qin Emperor, and even the remnant imprint of the Primordial Soul—
As if sensing the gazes of Xu Fu and Zhong Xuan, Yin Yu rose to his full height. With a sweep of his voluminous sleeves, he placed his hands behind his back, his demeanor utterly composed.
“I wager that the Qin Emperor cannot truly return, and I wager that the Six Sects of the Cloud Realm will not stand idly by. It seems, in the end, I have won.”
The fluctuation of vital energy was indescribably grand and tyrannical!
And Yin Yu looked at Zhong Xuan, his eyes brimming with mocking disdain.
“Were you the Zhong Xuan of old, I would have believed you implicitly. But the Zhong Xuan you are now, I cannot afford to disregard. While the Twelve Bronze Statues of State Protection tempted me, after a hundred years of ruling the empire and commanding the world, how could I be swayed by immediate gain? I know well that the more tempting something is in this world, the more it draws the heart, the more one must be cautious and vigilant against traps. If it were in the past, I would have paid no mind to any Qin Emperor or any bronze statues—”
Zhong Xuan remained silent; Yin Yu had secretly notified the various sects and noble houses—he had known of this for some time.
“However, the might of the Great Shang wanes daily, which is why I take this risk today: the Nine Acts of Usurpation to seize the Dragon!”
Yin Yu’s gaze shifted to Xu Fu; “Immortal Master Xu, are you willing to serve my Great Shang? I, Yin Yu, shall honor you with the reverence due a master!”
Zhong Xuan’s expression shifted. This question, though phrased deferentially, carried an unrefusable tone, laced with implicit threat.
Usurping the Dragon through the reverse meridian, Yin Yu stood within the formation. At this moment, he was not only actively reclaiming the Qin Emperor’s Dragon Qi but also forcibly merging with what the Qin Emperor had left behind—that single spark of true spirit.
And Xu Fu’s Spirit Restriction was also ensnared within it. This was the very source of Yin Yu’s current confidence!
“Absurd! Your Majesty, what nonsense are you speaking?”
Zhong Xuan instinctively flicked his horsetail whisk, sending it surging toward Yin Yu.
Even then, he held no intention of harming his sovereign; he merely wished to force Yin Yu away from the center of the array.
Seeing this, Yin Yu burst into earth-shaking laughter, making no move himself. The Twelve Bronze Statues simultaneously turned their heads to fix their attention upon Zhong Xuan.
Immense pressure descended instantly! Zhong Xuan immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with shock. His internal energies nearly spun out of control, rendering him immobile. The whisk he had sent out scattered weakly.
Yin Yu, meanwhile, spoke calmly, “Shi Yue, since you have arrived, why do you not show yourself? Your sovereign is in peril; are you, his subject, truly prepared to merely watch?”
A silence descended upon the surroundings. After a moment, a sigh finally drifted through the air.
Shi Yue stepped forth from the distant void. In an instant, he stood before Yin Yu, sword in hand, silent.
Yin Yu paid him no mind, still smiling at Xu Fu, “What are your thoughts, Immortal Master Xu? I know how the outer domain dynasties pay homage to the Sages of the Ultimate Realm. Here, I shall be no less generous!”
Xu Fu examined Yin Yu up and down with a look of profound strangeness, murmuring quietly, “The Dragon Devouring Scheme—so this is the Dragon Devouring Scheme. This old man understands now; fascinating, truly fascinating—”
After a long pause, he shook his head, “I am truly sorry! I must contemplate this matter carefully. I will certainly give Your Majesty an answer within a month.”
As he spoke, Xu Fu clapped a hand onto Zhong Xuan’s shoulder, instantly restoring the latter from the chaos of his fluctuating vital energy. Then, taking him by the hand, he ascended thousands of feet into the air.
Yin Yu’s expression flickered slightly, his hands clenching tight. A soft grinding sound emanated from the joints of the Twelve Bronze Statues flanking him.
Then, as if realizing something, Yin Yu’s expression returned to normal.
“Then I shall quietly await the good news!”
Xu Fu’s figure vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Yin Yu did not take it to heart. As long as the restriction remained, and the Twelve Bronze Statues were present, this Sage of the Ultimate Realm could not truly escape his control.
He first touched his own face; the sensation was smooth, elastic. It was unlike the slack, lined features of before.
Yin Yu knew that his appearance must have reverted to that of decades prior. Furthermore, his body was now brimming with potent strength. He felt as if satisfying ten women in a single night would be no challenge at all—
Yin Yu chuckled, then raised his head to gaze at the twelve enormous bronze figures, each standing fifty feet tall.
“Shi Yue, tell me, can I unify the world like the Qin Emperor did in his time! Can I even reign over all the myriad realms?”
Shi Yue offered no reply, but Yin Yu laughed unrestrainedly, a booming cascade of mirth.
Meanwhile, at the very edge of this Minor Thousand World, Zhong Xuan was desperately trying to break free from Xu Fu’s restraint. He seemed intent on speaking but was held silent by an unseen force.
It was only after they had left the main tomb chamber that Xu Fu smiled faintly and released Zhong Xuan.
Zhong Xuan’s face was a mask of bitterness and indignation.
“Teacher, you know perfectly well that the so-called Dragon Devouring Scheme does not concern His Majesty at all. Why did you speak as if it did?”
“Naturally, it does not!”
Xu Fu scoffed, “That is not the true spirit of the Qin Emperor; it is merely a subsidiary soul. Swallowing it does confer some benefits, but it is not enough to truly hold sway over me. And while it appears I control the Twelve Bronze Statues of State Protection, without the Celestial Seal of State Protection, they are merely roots without a tree—of no real consequence.”
He then looked into the distance with a thoughtful gaze, “Since Your Majesty has already conceived malicious intent toward this old man, must I deliberately remind him? Let him have his brief moment of false glory, his final burst of light. As for you, Zhong Xuan, you seem still influenced by your primary soul, unable to let go of Yin Yu. When you struck just now, were you worried that His Majesty might actually anger me?”
Zhong Xuan opened his mouth, then closed it wordlessly.
Xu Fu shook his head, “You must understand that you do not owe him anything. Today is the time to sever mortal ties. In these mere hundred years, you have entangled yourself in too much karma; to continue entanglement will certainly lead to your demise. As for me, your teacher, I owe you a great debt. Under no circumstances can I allow you to be drawn into the catastrophe of the Great Shang.”
Saying this, Xu Fu looked back over his shoulder, “The Hegemon approaches the world, the Blood Calamity has begun; remaining here is pointless. I do not know how many Saint-ranked individuals will perish here today. But judging by Yin Yu, he doesn't seem destined to die here; he should be able to escape beforehand. Your Way of Divination surpasses mine; you should know this better than I.”
Zhong Xuan could only offer a bitter smile; this was precisely why he was anxious.
Yin Yu’s true tribulation was not today, but a month hence. However, the seeds of disaster were being sown right now—
※ ※ ※ ※
Finally eradicating the last lingering wisp of Li Biexue’s intent in his Sea of Consciousness, Zong Shou withdrew from the state of selfless, thoughtless meditation.
He had underestimated this Supreme Yuan Demon and thus spent half a quarter of an hour longer than necessary.
The moment his divine sense awoke, he felt an itching, stinging pain all over his body, the pain even more intense than before.
The itching was due to his wounds beginning to heal; the heightened stinging was because his meridians were now largely cleared.
Truly worthy of the Myriad Blades Cloud Scroll, a Tenth Grade, Sacred Spirit level Grand Art.
Gold Qi circulated around every laceration, making recovery difficult.
Without the Nine Apertures Life-Origin Stone, Zong Shou could only rely on the power of elixirs, and even now, his body remained riddled with gaping wounds.