Gong Yutian held the woman in his arms tightly and murmured softly, "I heard you. Don't worry, we haven't grown old together yet, and I'm not ready to let you go just like that."
"Be good, wait for me. I will definitely come back."
"Okay, I'll wait for you. I'll wait for you..."
"Yutian, you must come back." Looking at the man before her, Yeyun could not help gently pressing her hand against his cheek.
At that exact moment, a black hole suddenly appeared beneath Gong Yutian's feet. In a flash, a beam of black light soared into the sky, directly engulfing him. The speed was so fast that Yeyun had no time to react; only the air touched by her outstretched hand told her that he had been taken away.
Covered in wounds, he was dragged down into Jiuyou Hell!
Gong Yutian had vanished!
The laws of heaven and earth receded, and everything returned to calm. Yet the battles all around continued. This war was originally meant only to unearth the whole truth, but now...
Human Emperor Palace!
Taishu Xu!
And Taishu Zi, who had personally set up the Seventy-Two Soul Extermination array!
Hahaha...
If I do not bathe your secluded Immortal Palace in blood and obliterate the Human Emperor Palace, I swear I am no human.
Those despairing eyes were filled with pain and a deep, intense hatred.
"It is my fault that he is gone. If not for me, he would not have betrayed the secluded Immortal Palace, nor would he have betrayed the Human Emperor Palace."
"If not for me, he would not have been dragged into Jiuyou Hell by the laws of heaven and earth. Everything is my doing."
"Hahaha, even if I die, you will all be buried with me!" Her wild, unbridled laughter echoed for a hundred miles around, accompanied by black clouds pressing down from above like a sweeping storm. The howling wind turned many faces pale, and seeing her actions, they scrambled backward in sheer terror.
"Oh no, that madwoman is going to detonate her core!"
"Fall back, quickly fall back!"
A ferocious, turbulent surge of energy rolled forward with the might of an avalanche, sweeping across the entire land and reducing everything in its path to ashes. No one could have imagined that a woman driven to a dead end could still possess such terrifying destructive power. They stood frozen in place, stupidly watching as the woman, looking like an Asura, flashed a sinister smile at them. Before they could even react, they were directly shattered to pieces, not even leaving time for a single scream.
With a ferocious grin, Yeyun gripped her Zhan Yan spear and charged at the very forefront.
As for self-detonation? I promised Yutian I would wait for him to return; how could I seek my own death?
The likes of you are not even worthy of dying together with me.
Taishu Xu had never seen Yeyun look so crazed. The killing intent radiating from her entire body and the hurricane unleashed by her spear intent were enough to cause spatial tears. Every step she took made the ground burst apart, cracking outward from beneath her feet with loud, grating snaps. Though she was already heavily wounded, her aura kept climbing, rising by an entire tier every ten breaths.
Di Qin had been standing guard behind Yeyun all along. Especially after Gong Yutian was forcibly dragged down into Jiuyou Hell, he had been consumed by worry and had intended to step forward to help.
Only to hear Yeyun bark, "Stay back. Taishu Xu's life belongs to me and me alone."
I must slay him with my own hands to appease the hatred in my heart.
"Little sister..." Di Qin called out anxiously.
Wen Shiqing appeared beside him at some point and said, "Her cultivation has broken through."
Distraught with worry, Di Qin only noticed upon Wen Shiqing's reminder that Yeyun's cultivation had miraculously crossed several tiers in a short span of time. In this brief moment, she had already reached the Half-Step Divine Emperor realm. Immediately following that, he saw a blue spirit body and a red spirit body emerge from her body, hovering on either side of her.
"It's the fire seed and the water seed."
As the water and fire seeds darted beneath her feet, blooming lotuses materialized with every step she took, intertwining in red and blue to create a deeply alluring sight. Taishu Xu was turned pale with fright by this overwhelming aura. One had to know that above the Emperor realm, every single tier was like climbing a ladder to the heavens; after a millennium of cultivation, he had only reached Divine Emperor Peak, and it was only with the blood demon energy bestowed by Emperor Venerable that he had barely crossed the threshold into the Half-Step Divine Emperor realm.
Yet the woman before him had been driven by a mere surge of stimulation to leap straight into the Half-Step Divine Emperor realm—a level that usually required shattering the void to attain.
"Taishu Xu!"
Yeyun's gaze was ice-cold. A single thought from her froze him in place, and he could clearly feel terror welling up from the depths of his soul. "What did you do to me?"
"Someone come! Guards, seize this wretch at once!"
At this sharp cry, countless warriors wearing the ceremonial robes of Human Emperor Palace messengers rushed out from all directions. Yet their steps were somewhat stiff, and their bodies emitted no aura of the living; instead, they were shrouded in a thick aura of death—they were puppets fashioned entirely from corpses.
Upon seeing these figures, Taishu Xu was instantly overjoyed and barked sharply, "Where are the Emperor Venerable's messengers? Why haven't you slaughtered this witch on the spot yet?"
As soon as his words fell, those puppets known as Emperor Venerable's messengers stiffly shouted:
"Di Yun, you collude with demons and possess demon blood; every living soul has the right to put you to death."
"Di Yun, you are rebellious and defiant, casting aside all moral principles and committing treason. How dare you lead a mob to disrupt the Human Emperor Palace? Your crimes warrant death."
Yet these puppets were no match for Yeyun, let alone with Di Qin and Wen Shiqing guarding her flanks.
As for the Soul Emperor's evil intent, it was suppressed by Candle Dragon's soul-sealing array, while the ancestors of the major clans held the line. The disciples of the other sects and warriors slaughtered the blood demons to rescue people.
Taishu Xu, already severely wounded, could not last more than a few rounds in the hands of Yeyun, who had now advanced to the Half-Step Divine Emperor realm.
Seeing his life force steadily slipping away, he finally began to panic.
"Di Yun, you cannot kill me! If you kill me, what will become of all living beings in this world?"
"All living beings? Hahaha, what a magnificent excuse—'all living beings'! Could it be that everyone in the Three Realms Heaven loves to use all living beings as an excuse?"
Yeyun looked up to the heavens and laughed loudly, pressing the tip of her Zhan Yan spear directly against Taishu Xu's throat. "Let me tell you, I was never a good person to begin with, nor do I care about the so-called common people. From the moment the Seventh Army was trampled into the dust, the common people have had nothing to do with me."
"A dragon has a reverse scale, and touch it you die. Taishu Xu, if you had obediently played the part of your Human Emperor and treated Yutian well, how could today have ever come to pass?"
"What a pity! From the moment you dared to touch my man, your fate was sealed. Forget about mere mortals like you who call yourself an Emperor; even if an ancient god descended to this world, if they dare to touch my man, I will slaughter them all the same."
The Zhan Yan spear came down upon Taishu Xu, making him grimace in agony.
"You... you speak with unbridled arrogance! Do you really think that killing me will allow you to escape from here? I tell you, Emperor Venerable's grand army is about to descend. Kill me, and you won't live to walk out of here either."
"Hmph, so what if I am arrogant?"
Yeyun raised her voice sharply, her tone merciless: "I, Di Yun, will never bow my head to anyone. My entire life I have walked upright and unashamed; above, I owe nothing to heaven and earth, and below, I owe nothing to the common folk. From this day onward, neither the Human Emperor Palace nor the Immortal Palace shall remain upon this earth."
As for the Heavenly Dao!
Mere laws of Heavenly Dao—so what if I refuse to obey them?
The moment Yeyun's words fell, the Zhan Yan spear drove straight into Taishu Xu's throat. A silver flash cut through the air, and His Majesty the Human Emperor stared wide-eyed as his life force was instantly snuffed out. Immediately afterward, his soul drifted out from his body, and just as it tried to flee, Yeyun reached out and grabbed it.
His face twisted in utter terror: "Di Yun, spare me! I can order them to fall back, and you can leave freely—ah... Lord Emperor Venerable, save me!"
Bang!
With a fierce squeeze, the soul exploded.
This time, Taishu Xu was left with not even the tiniest speck of dust remaining.
If a person wishes to achieve greatness and renown, they must step over others to reach the top.
Originally, I disdained these so-called worldly authorities and only wished to find a corner of this land to live in peace with my family. Yet now, you have forced my hand, leaving me no choice but to claim supremacy.
Yeyun's gaze was as piercing as a torch, an icy aura sweeping across her entire body. Standing there, she looked like a divine god descended to the mortal realm, an unyielding pillar supporting the heavens. Her eyes were resolute and filled with murderous intent. She raised her foot, stepped onto the Human Emperor's back, and swung her blade to sever his head. Decisive and swift, fresh blood splashed everywhere, staining her white robes crimson.
With Taishu Xu's death, the subordinates of the Human Emperor Palace instantly lost their fighting spirit, dropping their weapons and fleeing in all directions, while the controlled puppets collapsed to the ground one after another.
Yet at this moment, Yeyun showed no further mercy. Since you sought to drive me to my death, I have no choice but to eradicate the roots to prevent any trouble.
In less than an hour, the entire Human Emperor Palace was turned into a sea of blood. The once immortal paradise of the Human Emperor Palace was reduced to a purgatory. To prevent their corpses from being utilized by the blood demons, Yeyun summoned the Red Lotus Karmic Fire to burn them completely to ashes, leaving only that vast expanse of crimson to bear witness to the life-and-death struggle that had just taken place here.
Everything seemed to have returned to peace.
The evil intent had also been completely suppressed by Candle Dragon's soul-sealing array.
The enemies were all slain.
Yet her heart felt utterly empty. Yeyun stared blankly at the spot where Gong Yutian had vanished, her eyes turning red as she bit her lower lip tightly.
I am willing to believe that you will return, but when will you come back?
In a year?
Two years?
Ten years?
Or how long?
...
Meanwhile, deep within the subterranean palace of the Human Emperor Palace.
Taishu Zi stood beside the pool of blood and said respectfully, "Master, that Emperor Venerable has already been controlled, and Taishu Xu has fallen in battle. This means our plan has already been discovered by Di Yun. I'm afraid it won't be long before she breaks in here. What should we do then?"
"Taishu Zi, our goal was to lure her in and make her deliver herself straight to our doorstep."
"What if she doesn't fall for the trap?"
"You and Taishu Xu harmed her husband; how could she possibly not seek revenge against you? Besides, that lord has already arranged everything. Just wait obediently!"
Having said this, the bloody shadow shrank back into the pool of blood, and the subterranean palace returned to silence.
Trembling with fear, Taishu Zi waited nearby. Yet in a place he could not see, wisps of black Qi poured into the top of his head. As the black Qi grew denser and denser, the whites of his eyes gradually began to turn pale, occasionally shifting to black before finally turning completely pitch-black, resembling a man-devouring black hole that looked increasingly eerie and bizarre.
Bang!
Accompanied by a loud explosion, a beam of light broke into the previously pitch-black subterranean palace.
Someone had ripped open the ceiling of the subterranean palace. When the entire roof was torn away, the sight that met their eyes caused everyone to gasp in horror.
The pools of crimson blood covering the ground had already dried, turning thick and reeking of foulness. Countless human skeletons littered the floor, alongside rotting, incomplete corpses. The entire scene was utterly gruesome and bloody.