Chapter 0495: The most difficult choice
Chapter 0495: The most difficult choice
Hearing this, the Yan Huang City Lord asked, "What is it that you want?"
Besides protecting Wu Yu, they also represented the collective sentiment of the divine continent; this matter was not solely for Wu Yu to bear.
The strongest in the divine continent could not afford to be careless when dealing with ghostly cultivators. A single mistake could spell disaster. This was especially so since it was the other party that had taken the initiative to propose a transaction. There had to be a hidden agenda!
Ignoring the Yan Huang City Lord, the Dragon Slaver Lord smiled sinisterly at Wu Yu as he said, "You know what it is. The right to decide is entirely within your hands. Although the promises of ghostly cultivators count for nothing, if you behave and do as we ask, we will forget about the incident at Emperor Yan's Hall. So long as you return what belongs to us, we will release these mortals. After all, we would gain nothing from killing them off, wouldn't you agree? We bear nothing but neighborly spirit at this time."
Having heard up to this point, the Yan Huang City Lord, the Taixu Sage Master, and the rest fixed their eyes upon Wu Yu.
The fact that the Dragon Slaver Lord refused to explicitly state what they were after signaled exactly how important this item really was.
Wu Yu was trapped between a rock and a hard place.
If they found out about the existence of the egg, they would also naturally understand how terrifying the Necro Lord would become with its power. It would equate to a calamity for the divine continent if it came to pass.
As such, they might try to stop Wu Yu.
And if they did manage to stop him, it was highly likely that the entire Dong Yue Wu Kingdom would be leveled as a result of the rage of the ghostly cultivators!
He had come this far not just to see his family, master, seniors, and juniors meet their demise. There were also the brave young warriors of the Heaven's Equal Camp, who had come to help Wu Yu in his time of need…
Needless to say, Wu Yu was extremely conflicted!
The Imperial General said, "Wu Yu, fret not. Difficulties can always be talked through. However, you must let us know the truth - this is the right of the countless lives residing within the divine continent. I know you are worried about the lives of your friends and family, anybody would be, so please..."
The Imperial General's voice was tinged with anxiety. The feeling of being controlled by the enemy was unbearable and he would almost rather charge into battle at this very moment!
The Dubhe Sword Immortal interjected, "Wu Yu, there is no need for you to bear this burden alone. Your contributions to the divine continent are immense and we all respect you. Any problem can be discussed properly; what is important is that we must know what it is that they seek."
All the sect heads looked towards Wu Yu with serious, understanding gazes. They were all on his side, especially after his destruction of Emperor Yan's Hall.
The menacing voice of the Second Hell Emperor rang out, "Wu Yu, if I were you, I'd hurry up. Their words might seem honeyed, but once their own interests are threatened, you can forget about saving your loved ones. Try it if you don't believe me."
Every single one of the eight Emperors were wily foxes!
Wu Yu weighed the two options in his heart. Although he was most concerned about Wu You and the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom, the leaders of the divine continent still had the basic right to know the truth behind a matter of such gargantuan consequences.
As such, Wu Yu did not let them down, proceeding to recount his experiences from when he entered the Heaven Devouring Evil Residence with Luo Pin. He made sure not to skim over the details, especially when he spoke about the egg! He also included his own thoughts about the egg.
After learning about the truth, the leaders of the divine continent were shocked to the core. The Mizar Sword Immortal, who had always resented Wu Yu, immediately started cursing. "Wu Yu, I thought you were the hero of the divine continent! Who would have thought that you would be its greatest criminal! How heinous! How dare you sneak into the Heaven Devouring Evil Residence and release this disaster upon us! All the death and destruction within the divine continent was caused by you! You should be committing suicide to atone for your sins!"
Amongst the hundreds of people who had heard Wu Yu's detailed account, including the sword sages and generals, there was a significant proportion that echoed the Mizar Sword Immortal's sentiments. All the people who stared at Wu Yu with eyes of dismay and fury had already decided that it was his fault that the Necro Lord had appeared!
Wu Yu, harbinger of calamity!
"I didn't think that this catastrophe would be Wu Yu's fault!"
"The blood of the departed souls is all on your hands! This disaster shall be marked as Wu Yu's! Not only do you lack morals, you are full of sins!"
"Wu Yu, ah, Wu Yu, you have done such a silly deed!"
From a hero's welcome to a maligned criminal in the blink of an eye. However, this was not out of Wu Yu's expectations.
Upon hearing Wu Yu sparing no detail in his story, the ghostly cultivators laughed mockingly. The Dragon Slaver Lord scoffed. "How foolish. What was the point of telling them everything? Who is going to sympathize with you? Now you know the despair of isolation!"
Of the denizens of the divine continent, many were burning with rage, especially those from Shushan and the Tianyi Race, who had lost the most lives in the battles thus far.
Jiu Ying was worried for Wu Yu and exclaimed loudly, "This was never his intention. Everything that has transpired is merely a coincidence! Who could have known that the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord was still alive after all these years? Even the immortals have stopped guarding the place, what does this have to do with Wu Yu?"
Jiu Ying was still defending Wu Yu at this point, displaying the fierce loyalty they shared for each other.
But even more people rebutted Jiu Ying.
The scene descended into chaos as everyone started shouting.
"Enough!"
The Yan Huang City Lord's voice boomed. He seemed as serene as always, but a single word from him suppressed the voices of the crowd, including the Mizar Sword Immortal's. In actuality, it was a known fact that Mizar Sword Immortal always had it out for Wu Yu and bore too much resentment in his heart.
The Yan Huang City Lord said with authority, "Things have already come to pass, and pushing the blame does us no good. Besides, guarding the Heaven Devouring Evil Residence was my duty. The only reason things have become this way is because I left my post. If assigning blame is what you wish for, I will bear it! As for Wu Yu, he just happened to be caught up in it. The fact that the mystical dragon wanted to retrieve the treasure of her ancestors is understandable. All that has happened is the devious calculations of the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord and the ghostly cultivators. Now that things have progressed to this stage, what is important is how we deal with it."
Beside him, the Taixu Sage Master nodded. "Whose fault this is matters no longer. Fate is something that not many people can control. However, are you really the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord?"
He turned his gaze sharply towards the Necro Lord, and everyone's eyes followed suit. Many people were wondering the same thing. Could it be that the strange youth standing in front of them was the same person who fought against the immortals and nearly caused the end of the world?
"Haha, you guys certainly have fertile imaginations. Is he or is he not? We do not know either, but so what? What can you do either way?" The Dragon Slaver Lord chortled.
At this point, theNecro Lord uttered a single sentence. "The Heaven Devouring Evil Lord is gone, I am not him."
This sentence caught the Dragon Slaver Lord off guard, cutting his laughter short.
Wu Yu was shaken. He had always assumed that this Necro Lord would be related to Heaven Devouring Evil Lord in one way or another, be it as a puppet or even as one and the same. Now that this man had proclaimed that the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord was dead, Wu Yu was convinced that the man in front of him that had once been a slave of the ghostly cultivators had indeed risen to take his place as their leader!
The Taixu Sage Master and the rest felt the same way too.
Therefore, when he exchanged glances with the Yan Huang City Lord, there was suspicion in their eyes.
Believing the Necro Lord's words, the Yan Huang City Lord turned his attention back to Wu Yu, saying, "Perhaps Yu Fuyao of the Heavenly Seas stole something from the Heaven Devouring Evil Residence that was able to impart the abilities of the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord to the Necro Lord without affecting his own personality. However, if he were to get his hands on the egg that Wu Yu retrieved from the Heaven Devouring Evil Residence, it may be possible that he will become the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord..."
This estimate was entirely within reason!
Why else would the Necro Lord lead the ghostly cultivators in a mass exodus to get his hands on the egg in Wu Yu's possession? This must have been an order from the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord, everything must have been linked to him!
A voice from the crowd rang out. "If this is true, there is no way we can hand over the egg to them!"
"Agreed. If we let them have the egg and the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord is reborn, we will be in an even worse situation! The destruction of the divine continent will not be far off! At that point, it would not simply be the lives of a single mortal kingdom at stake, but the hundreds of millions of lives within the entire divine continent!"
The Mizar Sword Immortal doubled down on his stance. "We cannot let the egg fall into their hands! Wu Yu, hand the egg over to us for safekeeping. This matter concerns all of us and is no longer up to you. Since this is a continent-wide matter, anybody with half a brain would understand which is more important between a mortal kingdom and the entire divine continent. In any case, if the divine continent were to be destroyed, even you and I would cease to exist, no need to mention your kin!"
His logic was sound.
Compared to the scale of lives that the divine continent had, the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom could afford to be a sacrificial lamb. If the Necro Lord managed to get his hands on the egg, there was no telling what unspeakable horrors would unfold thereafter.
After all, it was the terror of the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord that had forced even the Sky Palace to dispatch immortals to deal with the threat all those thousands of years ago!
With the Mizar Sword Immortal voicing what over 90% of the people gathered felt, even most of the Yan Huang Imperial City generals began to join in, including General Golden Imperial, General Qin, and General General Gu. They all said the same things - "We cannot let them have the egg no matter what."
A single sentence from the Necro Lord had caused the side of the divine continent to descend into paranoia. Perhaps if he had not said anything, it would have been easier for him to attain what he wanted.
Wu Yu could not understand. Did he not care at all? Did the Necro Lord truly want only the egg and nothing else this day?
As for the refusal of the divine continent's powerhouses, it was to be expected.
Even the Ursae Sword Immortal, who had always favored Wu Yu, said as he shook his head, "Wu Yu, it is regrettable that this decision has to be made; however, you must understand that the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom will not be spared either if they get what they want. Then, not only your loved ones, but you, I, and everyone here will perish. That result would be many times worse than what is happening now. If you do not give in, we will still have hope."
This made even the Dragon Slaver Lord anxious. The Necro Lord's sentence had led to this outcome, and by the looks of it, it would be impossible to get Wu Yu to hand over the egg peacefully.
The leaders of the divine continent would definitely sacrifice Dong Yue Wu and stop Wu Yu!