1016 - What Took You so Long?
Chapter 1016 - What Took You so Long?
Chaos and bloodshed.
Death was like a plague that spread like wildfire.
Another ten days went by.
This didn't affect just the Wei River Mountain Range, which had already been turned into a pile of rubble, but even the entire Clear River Domain was affected and had been turned into a place of death. Even those who did not take part in the fight for the treasures at the Reincarnation Hall, which included the Human Race forces, cities, and many other representative stations of the various races, were not spared from the carnage.
The flowers of death bloomed all over this domain, which was not considered ancient.
Living creatures were dying every second.
The entire Clear River Domain seemed to have become a huge bronze cauldron, melting the millions of living creatures within it and turning them into dust and ashes.
No one was sure when it had happened, but the Domain Gate to the Clear River Domain was sealed by an immensely powerful magical force.
The forces from the foreign domains were no longer able to enter the Clear River Domain, while those who were already in the domain were unable to leave.
This seal was both mysterious and terrifying.
There were rumors that a Great Saint from the Black Demon Race had used his own blood, essence, and spirit as a conduit in an attempt to break the seal that shut the Domain Gate and rescue the successor of the Black Demon Race from the domain, but he failed and perished with regrets. This showed that this seal was likely the handiwork of a Quasi-emperor, or it was part of an Emperor formation laid out by some other power.
The situation became even more chaotic after this news got out.
Many forces and experts gradually understood that someone had secretly laid this trap and made use of the opportunity of the appearance of the Reincarnation Hall to stir up chaos and put this killer ploy to action. The various forces, races, experts, and living creatures who had been attracted by the promise of treasures to go to the Clear River Domain had now become sacrificial lambs of this killer ploy and were caught in this trap.
Time flew by.
There was a continuous flow of news that spread throughout the lands.
Xia Yubing, who was protecting the [Fatally Beautiful Fairy], had been killed and the fairy herself had been captured by a peak Great Saint.
The successor of the White Jade Capital had also been ambushed and his attackers tried to get him to reveal the secret of longevity. Although he managed to escape by using an mysterious technique, he was seriously injured and no one knew where he was.
The Four Stars holy girl and the Third Prince of the Mizar Race were also ambushed and surrounded.
The master of the Divine Sky Sect, an expert with peak Great Saint cultivation, was betrayed by one of the disciples of his sect and died tragically in the Wei River Mountain Range.
A mysterious swordsman in a black cloak had suddenly emerged and had gone on a killing rampage throughout the area.
There was also a white dog that moved in mysterious ways and took advantage of the chaotic situation to rob others. Many famous experts fell victim to it.
The famous experts from the various domains and races were killed as easily as stalks of leeks planted on the ground.
On this particular day—
In the deepest part of the Wei River Mountain Range—
In the middle of a remote mountain valley—
Li Shengyan lay sprawled out by a small stream and panted heavily from exhaustion like a dog as he struggled to drink from the waters of the stream.
He was extremely tired.
He had spent more than twenty days in this state of constantly being hunted and had completely exhausted all the life-saving items that [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] had given him. He was so seriously injured that he was surprised at his own tenacity to hang on this long. His wounds would heal then burst open again; his older injuries had already started to rot and fester while new injuries would constantly appear. There were also five or six beams of strange powers that clashed and worked at destroying his body at the same time, and his body was covered with three hundred to four hundred injuries.
He took large gulps of the stream water, then he continued to lay prone beside the stream because he did not even have the energy to turn himself over.
Fatigue and pain rolled over him in waves.
For a split second, he almost wanted to give in and drift off to sleep. He wanted to close his eyes and forget about everything.
But he did not dare to do so.
He knew that if he closed his eyes he would no longer be able to hang on, and he was afraid that he would drift into the eternal arms of death.
Several white maggots crawled around the festering wounds on Li Shengyan's waist.
Based on his current cultivation, he had the ability to control even the most minute detail of his muscles and could have killed these maggots with a single mental command. But his yuan essence was greatly depleted and his body no longer felt like it belonged to him, let alone could he muster the energy to control his muscles. He did not even have the energy to think of personally plucking those maggots off him…
This was because he had to conserve energy.
Every single ounce of strength had to be used for battling and fleeing.
"I wonder how my ancestor is doing. The vicious beasts of the Four Stars Sect are way too cunning and sly, especially their Quasi-emperor. He even pretended to extend a helping hand at first, only to turn around and secretly attack my ancestor at the crucial moment…" Li Shengyan was extremely enraged at the thought of the events that occurred earlier at the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor.
If he had not fallen into their trap, with his current cultivation, [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] would have never ended up in such a situation.
Suddenly, energy waves appeared nearby.
Almost immediately—
"Haha, well if it isn't the famous descendant of a Quasi-emperor, Li Shengyan, who is also known as the [Little Demon]. I'm surprised to see you here lying like a rotting wild dog, desperately trying to hang on to life," a black figure said as he appeared in the Void and drew closer to him.
Li Shengyan's body twitched slightly.
However, he ultimately gave up on the idea of attacking and escaping.
This was because he had discovered to his dismay that he could no longer summon up any strength at all.
"I recognize you. You're Yang Wanqu, the successor of the Black Moon Immortal Palace…" Li Shengyan slowly hauled his body up to a sitting position and leaned against a rock. He smiled as he said, "Brother Ye Qingyu said that you had already become that Four Stars holy bitch's dog a while ago, and when he tried to hunt you down, and you were so frightened that you didn't even dare to reveal yourself. Is that right?"
Dozens of wounds that had barely scabbed over suddenly reopened because of his small movement. Blood flowed along the small stream and the pain was so intense that he clenched his jaw.
"Li Shengyan, did you just deliberately say those words hoping that I'd be provoked and grant you an easy death?" the figure in black said as he approached him. Finally, he landed ten meters away from Li Shengyan. He was confident of suppressing or killing Li Shengyan from this distance regardless of whatever tricks Li Shengyan might try to pull.
His features were handsome and his figure was slim and tall. His skin was fair, his eyes were bright, and his face was smooth. His black robes only served to enhance his features, making him look more handsome and giving him a gentlemanly aura. However, a cruel and violent intent could be seen in his eyes and his pale skin was devoid of all ruddy color. Instead, wisps of black mist could faintly be seen running under his skin, making him look like a frightful sight.
He was the successor of the Black Moon Immortal Palace, Yang Wanqu.
He had finally made his appearance after being in hiding for so long.
"Haha, you talk big, but there are so many people trying to kill me, yet I've still managed to survive… Where is that little miss Four Stars? How could she be comfortable letting you come after me single-handedly? Isn't she afraid that I would hack your head off and skin you alive, then eat up your dog flesh, pairing it with some wine?" Li Shengyan bared his teeth and laughed coldly.
There wasn't any heroic or unyielding expression on his face, but Yang Wanqu could feel a steely will emitting from this fatty's broken body as it leaned against the rock.
He raised his hand and a ray of sword light shot out.
Swish!
One of Li Shengyan's arms was hacked off.
Blood spurted from his wound, and his severed arm fell into the stream with a splash as sprays of water shot up. Then, the entire stream was instantly dyed crimson and the pungent stench of blood wafted through the air.
Li Shengyan grimaced.
His expression did not change at all, as though the arm that had just been hacked off did not belong to him. He laughed mockingly and said, "I guess you're truly a coward and you're still trying to test the waters… Don't worry, I've already exhausted whatever methods I had. Even a wild dog would be able to kill me now… Hehe, there's no way for me to kill you now."
"That might not necessarily be true." Yang Wanqu felt more comforted but he did not show it on his face.
This fatty, who looked like he was on the verge of death, had already killed twenty-one Saints from the Four Stars Sect and their allies. Each time that they had been certain of killing this fatty, he would unleash some heaven-defying method. The number of treasures he had on him was extremely frightening.
"Come on, give me a quick death," Li Shengyan said feebly.
Yang Wanqu took two steps forward and stared hard at him. Then he said, "Hand over the mysteries of the [Heaven Laughter Great Scriptures] and I'll give you a quick death. I won't torture you anymore."
"You should know that I'll never do that," Li Shengyan scoffed. "The [Heaven Laughter Great Scriptures] are not meant for despicable people like you. Furthermore, your potential and resources on the martial way are not sufficient to cultivate it even if you obtain this technique because you lack the blood of the Li family from the Ming Domain. Why then do you want to invite humiliation?"
Curiously, Yang Wanqu did not fly into a rage.
"Of course I know that my innate abilities and talents are dull, and I'm not able to cultivate a classic scripture of the Emperor Dao like the [Heaven Laughter Great Scriptures]," he said with a small smile. "I naturally have my own reasons for wanting these scriptures, but this isn't something that you should concern yourself with."
Li Shengyan's expression changed slightly as realization dawned.
"I get it now, no wonder… Haha. As I said earlier, although I'm normally a playful person with a sharp tongue, I haven't offended you guys in any way. Nor am I a demon-like talent like Ye Qingyu, who would be a threat to you. Yet, you lot have gone all out to hunt me down relentlessly. Now that I know you're after the mysteries of the [Heaven Laugher Great Scriptures], haha, doesn't this mean that you haven't defeated my ancestor?"
He chuckled with joy.
He had still been very worried about the safety of his ancestor earlier. Although [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei's] name itself could make the heavens quake, this time around, he was up against another Quasi-emperor and there were more than one of them. Countless large forces had collaborated together, including the traitorous Four Stars Sect that was also a Human Race force, and launched a sneak attack on his ancestor, causing him to sustain serious injuries. Li Shengyan was extremely worried that his ancestor might be defeated and killed by these forces.
However, he immediately understood the implications of Yang Wanqu's statement.
This meant that his ancestor Xiaofei was definitely still alive.
Not only was he still alive, but he still managed to remain undefeated in spite of the numerous Quasi-emperor forces he was up against.
This was why these forces were madly hunting him down.
They wanted to obtain his ancestor's life technique, the [Heaven Laughter Great Scriptures], from him. Although they would not be able to cultivate this technique because they were not from the Li family bloodline, as long as they obtained this set of scriptures and showed it to another Quasi-emperor, they might be able to find a way to bring down his ancestor Xiaofei. Then, his ancestor would truly be in grave danger.
The injuries that covered his body had split open again and blood sprayed everywhere.
He laughed until tears fell from his eyes.
He was truly happy because his ancestor Xiaofei was safe. This was the best piece of news in the world.
Now, he would have no regrets even if he died.
"I refuse to believe that there are people in this world who don't fear death. Nor do I believe that there could be people who would still refuse to speak the truth after experiencing the three hundred seventy-one methods of torture employed by the Black Moon Immortal Palace." Yang Wanqu laughed cruelly. "I accidentally hacked off one of your arms earlier. I shouldn't have hacked off such a large piece of your body in one go. Next, I'll slowly work on slicing you into pieces…"
Then, there was another flash of sword light.
All five fingers on Li Shengyan's remaining hand were hacked off.
Blood spurted wildly from his wounds.
"This time, I've sliced off all five fingers, and next, I'll hack off your palm." Yang Wanqu laughed cruelly like a deranged wild beast.
Li Shengyan did not even blink. Instead, he acted as though he was extremely astonished as he said, "I never knew that my tolerance for pain was so high."
"Very well," Yang Wanqu said with a nod.
Then, the fatty's palm and his wrist were also hacked off.
If he continued to inflict such a cruel method of torture on his victim bit by bit, it would be a huge mental strain on his victim.
Yang Wanqu was extremely confident of that.
The fatty stretched out his handless arm and said, "Come on, let's continue, haha, haha…"
Yang Wanqu remained unruffled.
"Don't worry, after I slice your body off piece by piece and turn you into a mangled pile of flesh, I'll make sure that your head remains intact. Then, I'll still be able to get what I want after searching your sea of consciousness." He drew even closer and looked down at Li Shengyan with a laugh. "Frankly, I derive such contentment and joy from torturing the descendant of a Quasi-emperor to my heart's content in such a manner. Watching you as you bleed and struggle is truly the easiest way to excite me. Haha, you're so weak that you can't even summon up the energy to self-destruct, right? Her Highness Four Stars holy girl imparted unto me a Heaven Detection Technique of the Four Sects Sect. I'm sure you've heard of this technique, so you should also know that this technique is the most effective technique in the world for searching and snatching memories."
Li Shengyan's expression immediately changed.
Yang Wanqu caught his change of expression and laughed mockingly. Sword radiance spewed from his hand as he aimed it at Li Shengyan's thigh. "You're far too fat. I'll slice some meat off you and maybe you'll look cuter after you've slimmed down."
There was a flash of sword radiance, then a piece of flesh from his thigh was sliced off.
The fatty trembled in pain and cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Clack!
He was in such pain that he had ground his teeth into pieces, but he still refused to cry out in pain.
Although he feared pain and was on the verge of collapse, he was still part of the Li family bloodline from the Ming Domain. He was the last descendant of [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei], so he could not be such an embarrassment to his family. His last stand was to not cry out in pain, regardless of what might happen.
He was a fatty that feared pain and death but this was the pep talk he gave himself for encouragement.
Then, he saw Yang Wanqu's sword radiance rise up, about to land on him.
He was about to experience a pain that was sure to be more intense.
All of a sudden, there was a flash of surprise in that fatty's eyes that soon turned to joy as though he had discovered something. He stared at something behind Yang Wanqu and admonished the intruder loudly through gritted teeth, "Goddammit… What… what took you so long?"
Yang Wanqu was stunned and his sword light halted for a moment, but soon he laughed coldly. "Are you trying to create a diversion? You should try this little childish trick on someone else. It is useless on me because I can already sense that there is no one else here…"
As soon as he spoke—
Another voice rang out that said, "How could someone like him inflict such serious injuries on you?"
It was Ye Qingyu's voice.