Chapter 61 The Nine Immortal Emperors

BOOM—!

A deep crater was smashed into the Blood-Vein Mine, with fissures carrying magma expanding outward for hundreds of miles.

Jiang Wuji gritted his teeth, kneeling on one knee amidst the ruins. The webbing between his thumb and index finger on his sword hand had split, and blood dripped down. A fishy sweetness welled up in his throat.

He gripped his Life-bound Immortal Sword with both hands, the blade piercing the ground as he slid backward, plowing out ten thousand zhang of sparks.

It wasn't until his back had shattered over a dozen demon mountains that he finally stabilized himself at the last moment.

He gasped for breath and lifted his head.

Above him, the sky of the Demon Realm was invisible.

As far as his eyes could see, there was only one colossal object. The heaven-reaching tower's diameter spanned dozens of cities, suspended right above his head.

The runes at the base of the tower rotated, obscuring and devouring light, Laws, and Spiritual Qi.

This place had turned into eternal night.

“Cough...”

Jiang Wuji coughed up a mouthful of black blood, a flash of relief crossing his eyes.

“Thankfully... thankfully!”

He stared at the heaven-reaching tower, his back drenched in cold sweat.

“Although this boy refined the heaven-reaching tower, his actual cultivation is only at the Profound Immortal Realm! He simply cannot fully activate the true power of this Divine Court Treasure!”

Jiang Wuji's heart pounded violently.

He knew very well that if that white-robed youth had the cultivation of an Immortal King, that strike just now from the heaven-reaching tower would have erased all his life force. Facing such a heavy treasure at an equivalent Realm, not even his ashes would remain.

In the Void Realm.

Gu Heng stood at the edge of the heaven-reaching tower's shadow, looking down at the Immortal Emperor in the ruins.

He sighed, his brow furrowing.

“He only suffered such superficial injuries?”

Gu Heng looked at the remaining golden runes in his palm, his tone disappointed: “My cultivation is still too low. Forcing the heaven-reaching tower not only drained all the Profound Immortal Spiritual Qi I just got from Passing By, but even the power was greatly discounted. It seems... without the cultivation of an Immortal Emperor, it's still not stable enough to be out and about.”

At this moment, the Old Dragon King suddenly scrambled up. His dragon whiskers twitched as he rubbed his claws together, his face covered in a fawning smile.

“Master is mighty! Master is overbearing! This old servant knew that a mere Immortal Emperor old man was nothing before Master! Even if Master only used a pinky finger, you could grind him into meat paste!”

“That pose you had when throwing the tower just now was simply a masterpiece of nature! It was so handsome this old servant's dragon heart almost jumped out!”

Lin Qingyue's eyelids twitched slightly.

“If I recall correctly, a certain dragon was just hugging a table leg crying for his parents, complaining that someone was running away without him, and even said he hadn't even touched a female dragon's hand and didn't want to die here?”

The Old Dragon King's smile froze.

He coughed twice, flicked his dragon tail, and argued, “Fairy, you are mistaken! This old servant was... was using reverse psychology! Yes, reverse psychology! This old servant did it to stimulate Master's fighting spirit!”

“Enough, shut up.”

Gu Heng had no time to listen to the old loach's antics; his gaze turned to Chong Batian, who was kneeling on the ground with his Soul Emergence.

Chong Batian's mind was a mess.

Profound Immortal... heaven-reaching tower... suppressing an Immortal Emperor...

“What are you still standing there for?!” Gu Heng's voice was calm. “Now that the Cross-Domain Array is set up, activate it immediately!”

Chong Batian shuddered and came back to his senses.

The air was becoming increasingly oppressive, and a tyrannical aura swept through.

That was Emperor Li's aura! The supreme Devil Emperor responsible for guarding the border domain was tearing through space to descend!

Chong Batian swallowed hard, sweat breaking out on his forehead.

At this point, what else could he do?

He had just helped this Human Race kid curse the Taixu Sword Sect's Supreme Patriarch into the ground.

More importantly, if Emperor Li discovered that he, a border commander, had colluded with a Human Race kid to shield a Divine Court fugitive... the consequences would be ten thousand times more miserable than being cleaved by an Immortal Emperor's sword! Being flayed and having his Soul extracted would be the light punishment!

“I'll do it!”

A flash of ruthlessness appeared in Chong Batian's eyes. He and Gu Heng were grasshoppers on the same string; he had no choice but to run.

“The array is complete! My lord, get in quickly!”

Chong Batian reactivated his demonic essence, and the Formation began to run again.

“Buzz—”

A deep blue spatial light shot into the sky, and spatial tearing forces formed a vortex portal above the ruins.

Gu Heng reached out, and the heaven-reaching tower shrank rapidly, turning into golden light that drilled back into his palm.

With the suppression of the heaven-reaching tower gone, the pressure in the world eased.

“Let's go.”

Gu Heng grabbed Lin Qingyue's wrist and leapt into the spatial vortex with the Old Dragon King. Chong Batian followed closely behind, shattering the Formation Plate with a backhand strike as he entered.

The vortex distorted, and light flashed.

The four figures disappeared, leaving only the howling of spatial turbulence.

“BOOM—”

Having lost the suppression of the heaven-reaching tower, Jiang Wuji completely broke free from his constraints.

He soared into the sky, dust and smoke flying.

Jiang Wuji hovered over the city, looking at the spatial rift with bloodshot eyes and a heaving chest.

“Damned thief!!!”

His angry roar, mixed with the sound waves of an Immortal Emperor, shattered the clouds for ten thousand miles around.

“This old man shall not rest until you are dead! Even if I have to search heaven and earth, I will flay you alive!”

Before Jiang Wuji's words could finish,

An aura equal to his own, but with an even stronger air of slaughter, enveloped the world.

Dark red devil clouds gathered, forming a demon face in the sky.

Emperor Li had arrived.

The void was torn open, and a demonic figure clad in dark-gold dragon-bone armor with crimson eyes stepped out from the rift.

The first thing he saw was Jiang Wuji in mid-air.

Then, his gaze moved down, falling upon the mine city that stretched for millions of miles and was nearly leveled. The once-prosperous border town was now nothing but ruins and severed limbs.

A surge of wicked fire rushed from Emperor Li's chest to his head.

“Jiang Wuji...”

“Have you stayed in the Human Race's gentle lands for too long? So comfortable that... you dare cross the boundary alone to run wild on this Emperor's territory? Are you trying to provoke a full-scale war between the Immortal and Demon Realms!”

Jiang Wuji was wary, but the humiliation of being played by a Profound Immortal made him unable to swallow this insult.

“Emperor Li, stop making false accusations!”

Jiang Wuji met Emperor Li's gaze, his Immortal Emperor Sword Intent swirling around him. “This old man crossed the border only to capture a major criminal of our Divine Court! Instead, your border commander Chong Batian colluded with that Human Race thief to play me for a fool! Your Demon Race is shielding a major criminal of my Immortal Realm; this old man hasn't even settled that account with you yet!”

“Colluded? A Human Race thief?”

Emperor Li narrowed his eyes.

He originally thought Jiang Wuji had gone mad and slaughtered the city, but hearing this, he caught an anomaly. He recalled the fluctuation he had sensed earlier that erupted and then vanished.

“Oh? Are you talking about... the heaven-reaching tower?”

There was a hint of amusement in Emperor Li's voice.

In those few breaths just now, the pressure from that tower had plunged the border sky into darkness.

That kind of oppressive feeling was something Emperor Li had only seen once in his life.

The last time he felt such an aura was in the Demon God Realm, when that unspeakable lord descended.

Emperor Li snapped back to his senses, his lips curling into a sneer.

“Interesting. To be able to play the meticulous Old Ancestor of the Taixu Sect, who has lived for tens of thousands of years, like a stray dog—that Human Race boy indeed has some skill.”

Emperor Li looked down at Jiang Wuji with a contemptuous tone: “Jiang Wuji, oh Jiang Wuji, you've lived for so many years yet you can't even take down a Junior. If your strength is lacking, don't come out and embarrass yourself. What, after being slapped in the face by a brat, you want to vent your anger on this Emperor's city?”

“You—”

Jiang Wuji trembled with rage, but he knew now was not the time for a war of words.

The thief had escaped; if he couldn't deduce the spatial traces quickly, he wouldn't be able to withstand the Divine Court's wrath.

Jiang Wuji took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said coldly, “This old man has no time for idle chatter with you. You Demon Race better pray you didn't actually shield that thief. Prepare to face the wrath of the Divine Court.”

Jiang Wuji turned around, his hands forming seals and his fingers pointing to his brow as his Immortal Emperor Divine Sense captured the spatial transmission traces in the void.

“When that Divine Envoy personally descends, your Demon Realm... not one of you will escape.”

Being ignored by a defeated general made Emperor Li's face turn gloomy.

“Jiang Wuji! Who gave you the audacity?”

Emperor Li's Devil Emperor pressure erupted, and dark-gold Devilish Qi condensed into a blood-dripping spear.

“Ignoring this Emperor? You want to deduce an array after making threats on my territory? Do you take this Emperor for a dead man!”

The spear, carrying killing intent, tore through the void and stabbed directly toward the back of Jiang Wuji's heart.

...

Meanwhile.

Immortal Realm, temporary Divine Court headquarters.

The divine light that bloomed when the heaven-reaching tower was activated had Law fluctuations that were too overbearing.

Even across an endless distance and the barriers of dozens of Realms, the fluctuation was still like a heavy hammer striking the sky of the Immortal Realm.

Above the headquarters, a dull vibration came from the sky.

Deep within the divine hall.

The Divine Envoy stared at the floating sand table in front of him.

The coordinates of the Demon Realm border on the sand table were flashing with a piercing red light.

“That useless Jiang Wuji, more than a hindrance than a help!”

The Divine Envoy smashed his fist onto the desk; with a crack, the desk shattered into powder.

He had already received intermittent messages from Jiang Wuji, learning that the thief who refined the heaven-reaching tower had not only escaped but had also used low-level tricks to play an Immortal Emperor.

For the Divine Envoy, this was a singular humiliation.

The Imperial Preceptor had entrusted him with this heavy responsibility; if he couldn't even bring back a brat with Profound Immortal cultivation, how could he have the face to return to the Divine Court?

“Pass down my divine decree!”

The Divine Envoy turned around, his voice echoing throughout the floating island.

“Immediately notify the nine Immortal Emperors of the Human Race! Drop everything they are doing and gather at the Divine Court headquarters at once!”

“Since the subordinates can't be relied on, I will personally make a trip! I want to see if this boy has three heads or six arms to be able to cause such a stir! Even if he flees to the ends of the earth, I will personally drag him out!”

...

Demon Realm.

Chiyan City.

This place was located at the intersection of the Demon Race, Yao Race, and Human Race domains.

The city walls were built of dark red volcanic rock, and scorching magma flowed beneath the city.

The air was filled with the smell of sulfur and the mixed blood of various races.

The Dominator of Chiyan City, Demon Venerable Chi Xiao, was leaning against his throne, listening to the mournful music played by several Human Race female cultivators below.

“Life is truly boring...”

Demon Venerable Chi Xiao yawned; relying on his backing in Demon Emperor City, his days were comfortable but also tedious.

Just then.

“Buzz—”

A vibration came from underground. The sky above Chiyan City suddenly went dark for a moment.

The music stopped abruptly, and the Human Race female cultivators trembled in fear, not even noticing when their strings snapped.

The laziness on Demon Venerable Chi Xiao's face vanished.

He sat up straight, his gaze fixed outside the hall.

His perception was connected to the city's defense array. Just now, he felt someone forcefully tear through Chiyan City's spatial barrier.

They had actually used the reverse transmission of the Cross-Domain Array to smash open his back door.

“BOOM!”

Outside the hall,

The volcanic rockery was shredded by a spatial vortex.

A deep blue light lit up amidst the flying debris.

Demon Venerable Chi Xiao stood up in a rage, his body erupting with the Devilish Qi of a Late Stage Demon Venerable, shattering his throne.

“At a time like this... who is it!?”