585: No more shackles, all parties are planning

“Wu, you have arrived. Once this King ascends the throne, I will naturally appoint you as the Great Master.”

The King of Yan released Liu Rushuang and said indifferently.

“There’s no rush for that. According to our agreement, Your Majesty, can you hand over the Old Chu Emperor’s body to me?”

“Wu” bowed and said.

The King of Yan frowned and said, “This old man just passed away. Should we wait a few days, hold his funeral, and then I will hand him over to the Great Master.”

“Wu” chuckled, “Your Majesty, you wouldn’t have developed a soft spot because the Old Chu Emperor passed the throne to you, would you?”

“Do you still remember how he treated you? These are all illusions; he never truly cared about you…”

The King of Yan laughed, “The Great Master has rendered great service in helping me ascend to the throne. How could I be stingy with a mere corpse?”

“Since that’s the case, then I shall not be modest!”

“Wu” chuckled, took the Chu Emperor’s body, and vanished in an instant.

The smile on the King of Yan’s Face instantly vanished, his eyes extremely cold.

He wasn’t annoyed by Wu asking for the corpse; rather, as an Emperor now, Wu showed him no Face, saying he would give it to him but insisting on having it now.

Now that he was Emperor, this person who had provided him with immense help had become a hidden danger.

He could use him to manipulate Chu Jiang, making the two of them fight like fire and water.

He would then reap the benefits from behind.

“Rushuang, give the order: the enthronement ceremony will be held tomorrow. I intend to advance to the Rongtian. As for my Imperial Father’s funeral, postpone it for a few more days.”

The King of Yan commanded.

“Yes!”

Liu Rushuang withdrew to arrange the relevant matters.

Inside the Golden Luan Hall, the King of Yan was left alone, whispering:

“Once I cultivate the Martial Emperor Scripture, the advanced chapter of the Azure Wood Emperor Skill, I will be unrivaled in the world. Anyone who stands in my way must die.”

…

At the same time.

The news of the Chu Emperor’s passing and the New Emperor’s ascension could not be kept secret. It spread rapidly, causing a stir throughout the world.

What kind of figure was the Chu Emperor? The first Prodigy of the Imperial Family in three thousand years. Even with residual strength, he could still dominate the world for eight hundred years.

This kept some hidden monsters and demons from making any big moves; if there were any, they could only develop secretly.

Now, the Chu Emperor had fallen, the New Emperor had ascended, and Yuan Shouyi had disappeared.

This was a good opportunity to create chaos, and there were even those who wished to carve out territories during the transition of the New Emperor.

Guangming Temple, one of the Ten Righteous Sects.

Abbot Xuan Jing Great Master chanted Buddhist scriptures, and the Buddha’s light shone throughout Guangming Temple, like a supreme Buddhist land manifesting in the human world.

“Chiefs of all halls, lead your monks down the mountain to spread the teachings of our Buddhist sect.”

“All sentient beings suffer, having created karma in past lives and sinking into depravity in this life. They need our Buddhist sect’s salvation to reach the other shore and attain transcendence.”

“We respectfully obey the Abbot’s decree!”

The Chief of the Arhat Hall put his palms together and, leading the Arhats, monks, and novices, left Guangming Temple to begin spreading Buddhist teachings.

…

Earth Fiend Hall, one of the Ten Demonic Sects.

The acting representative, Heavenly Chicken Star, convened an emergency meeting.

Due to the fall of the three Sky Zodiac Stars—Heavenly Snake, Heavenly Ox, and Heavenly Goat—at the hands of Chu Jiang, Heavenly Chicken Star now temporarily held control of Earth Fiend Hall.

Heavenly Chicken Star: “Now that the Chu Emperor has fallen, and Yuan Shouyi and Chu Jiang have disappeared, it is time for us to make our move.”

“Go and capture more of the Human Race to accelerate the research and development of Divine-Grade experimental potions. Then, we will frame the Eternal Life Alliance.”

“Chu Jiang has repeatedly destroyed our Earth Fiend Hall’s branches and killed the three Sky Zodiac Stars. For such a blood feud, it’s time to collect some interest.”

Below.

The high-ranking officials of Earth Fiend Hall were lined up, along with some core seed members of Earth Fiend Hall.

“Yes, Lord Heavenly Chicken Star!”

The high-ranking officials nodded heavily.

“Please invite Sars God out of seclusion. It’s time for some bloodshed!”

Heavenly Chicken Star sat on the bone throne, his expression stern.

The Faces of the various Hall Masters and Elders changed. Sars God had always been their Earth Fiend Hall’s first-sequence experimental subject, but he was still some distance from perfection.

The high-ranking officials placed great hopes on him, wishing to rely on him to regain the top position among human-demon forces, surpassing the Eternal Life Alliance.

Gu Jian, standing at the end of the line, was already a key seed being cultivated by Earth Fiend Hall. Hearing the arrangements of the high-ranking figures, he felt his blood boil.

“Chu Jiang, this time, I will make you pay the price. If I can’t defeat you, can’t I bully the people around you?!”

Gu Jian sneered inwardly.

In reality, he couldn’t even defeat the people around Chu Jiang.

However, with Earth Fiend Hall’s high-ranking officials and their strongest experimental subject mobilized this time, Chu Jiang would certainly pay the price.

…

Taiping Holy Church headquarters.

“Lord Sect Master, the Chu Emperor has fallen. This is our opportunity to develop. We can return to the Western Seven Provinces and gather followers.”

A Protector spoke.

“We still need to be cautious. The Western Seven Provinces are not what they used to be. Yunzhou has reinforced the other six states, and Chu Jiang’s three thousand Demon Suppressing Imperial Guards are stationed there. The number of Heaven and Earth Realm cultivators alone is more than ten times ours.”

Zhang Wei, the Sect Master of Taiping Holy Church, said in a deep voice.

Taiping Holy Church’s partner in the East, Evil King Pavilion, had already been destroyed by Chu Jiang, so they had to find another place to develop.

The Western Seven Provinces was a good place. Although Chu Jiang had temporarily disappeared, his Imperial Guards remained.

Though their numbers were only three thousand, each one was an elite.

One thousand of them had followed Chu Jiang on campaigns, suppressing Wu Ling King, quelling the southwest rebellion, eliminating demonic threats, and their combat power was formidable, not to be underestimated.

With the remaining strength of Taiping Holy Church, with only four or five Heaven and Earth Realm cultivators, confronting them head-on would undoubtedly be like throwing an egg against a rock.

In the past, his Taiping Holy Church had also flourished, sweeping across more than a dozen large states, with a foundation comparable to several Zhengmo Ten Sects.

Due to their excessive arrogance, they were severely weakened after being besieged by the imperial army.

Now, they had fallen into such a sorry state with only a few Heaven and Earth Realm cultivators.

“We are not the only ones who have a grudge against Chu Jiang. The Eight Great Families, the Yuwen Family, and Earth Fiend Hall all have grudges against Chu Jiang. Let them test the waters first.”

Zhang Wei said indifferently.

The Qilin Son of the Yuwen Family, the son of the Zhao Family Patriarch, several Sky Zodiac Stars of Earth Fiend Hall, and the Saintess of the Western Seven Provinces had all fallen at the hands of Chu Jiang.

“Sect Master is wise!”

A Protector smiled.

“Keep a close watch.”

“Yes!”

Several Protectors nodded.

…

Heavenly Soul Sect, one of the Ten Demonic Sects.

The Sect Master of Heavenly Soul Sect: “A chaotic era is about to begin, and it is a good time to harvest Souls. Send out all the Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow-level Soul Reapers to secretly harvest Soul bodies. Once the plan succeeds, our Heavenly Soul Sect will become the number one in the world.”

“Yes, Lord Sect Master!”

Everyone bowed.

…

All forces across the world were restless.

However, seventy percent of the forces remained calm. No other reason than this: although the Chu Emperor was dead, there was still the Sars God Chu Jiang, whose deterrent power remained strong.

In the Southwest, rivers of blood flowed, and Chu Jiang’s execution of two Late Stage Rongtian cultivators was still fresh in everyone’s minds. Unless absolutely necessary, no one wanted to confront this bane.

Futian Palace, the head of the Ten Righteous Sects.

A floating island shrouded in mist, suspended in the ten-thousand-foot Void Realm, its location unknown amidst the deep clouds.

The Futian Palace’s stronghold was mobile, and almost no one could detect its true position.

Furthermore, the people of Futian Palace had always lived in seclusion, rarely getting involved in worldly affairs.

At this moment, inside a magnificent pavilion.

A person sat, playing chess.

He had a youthful Face with white hair, a cinnabar mark between his brows, and wore a moon-white flowing cloud Daoist robe with Yin and Yang Bagua embroidered on the cuffs. He twirled a jade talisman between his fingers.

His eyes seemed to observe the rotation of the star sea, and where his steps fell, Spiritual Qi condensed into the ethereal image of talismans, like an immortal descending to the mortal world.

A refreshing pine scent wafted with the flick of his sleeve, as if he was one with heaven and earth, returning to his true nature.

“Palace Master, the Chu Emperor has fallen!”

A Mysterious Shadow appeared behind him and bowed.

With that, the shadow vanished again.

The Palace Master of Futiangong held a chess piece and placed it heavily on the board. The chessboard instantly transformed, stars falling and myriad phenomena appearing, as if a battle was raging, with millions of corpses strewn across the field.

Within the deadlocked situation, a glimmer of life emerged.

“Finally, the game has begun?”