The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  The mountain was in tatters, its slopes covered with snapped banners, fallen corpses, pools of blood, and mottled swords. All these things needed time to clean up.

  Although the Righteous Alliance had suffered no small loss, judging by the bodies on the mountain, the Black Yin Sect had also come away with severe losses. This was particularly because Song Yuanyi had appeared at the last moment and killed many Black Yin Sect experts.

  “Right, Father, did you get anything on this excursion? Did you find the Demonic Emperor or the Origin Immortal Mountain?” Song Youran suddenly asked. Her question instantly attracted the attention of others, and all of them looked over curiously.

  Wang Chong’s heart thumped as he looked over as well. His master and Song Yuanyi were mortal foes, and his master had been gone for so long at the same time that Song Yuanyi had gone out. This inevitably made Wang Chong feel a little worried.

  His greatest concern at the moment was his master’s current location.

  Song Yuanyi fell silent, a look of recollection in his eyes.

  “There’s been no progress on the Origin Immortal Mountain, and whether it’s really here is still a matter for debate. This immortal mountain appeared far too easily. I’m afraid the matter might not be as simple as we think it is,” Song Yuanyi lightly said.

  “What about the Demonic Emperor Zhang Wenfu then? Has there been any news of him?” Righteous Alliance Elder Ouyang Changheng suddenly spoke, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

  Demonic Emperor Zhang Wenfu was infamous for his many evil acts. He had raised countless bloody storms in the world of sects, and a large part of the reason the Righteous Alliance had come was for him.

  Before Song Yuanyi could speak, a muscular man around two meters high stepped forward. “We ran into him, but he managed to escape. He even managed to injure a few of our men.”

  There was a bloody wound on his face that stretched from his cheek bone to his temple, and one could even spot a hint of bone. It appeared that he had been injured not too long go.

  Sikong Yuanjia!

  This was another elder of the Righteous Alliance, and in terms of status, he was above Ouyang Changheng.

  Sikong Yuanjia’s face was pale and his breathing ragged. These details along with the wound on his face indicated that he had suffered a significant loss in that battle he spoke of.

  Chapter 1350 - Master’s Whereabouts!

  Chapter 1350: Master’s Whereabouts!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Buzz!

  Sikong Yuanjia’s words immediately caused an uproar on the peak of the mountain, with many people whispering to each other in shock.

  On the side, Wang Chong mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

  His master had been gone for far too long, and Wang Chong had started to get worried, but Sikong Yuanjia’s words set him at ease. His master was already on the verge of becoming a Subtle realm expert, and though the Righteous Alliance might have many powerful experts, it was not so easy to deal with his master.

  It’s fine as long as he’s okay, Wang Chong said to himself. He had been anxious to join up with his master, but this was no longer so urgent.

  “How could that be? With the alliance lord present and so many experts from our Righteous Alliance, how could Zhang Wenfu possibly escape?!” Ouyang Changheng called out in alarm as he turned to Song Yuanyi and Sikong Yuanjia in shock.

  “And hasn’t Zhang Wenfu already gone through a cultivation defect? How could he still be this powerful?!”

  “We also don’t know what’s going on. This scoundrel was hiding for two years, and not only has his strength returned to its former peak, it has exceeded it. He’s even more difficult to deal with than he was in the past, and his methods are different, too. His attacks are made of thousands of intersecting threads of energy combined into a dreadful strike, but he used none of the evil arts he used in the past.”

  As Sikong Yuanjia spoke, there was deep shock in his eyes.

  The Demonic Emperor had forged his reputation through slaughter, and even after so long, the people of the world of sects still paled at the mention of his name. Many experts of the Righteous Alliance would even start shaking at the knees if they saw Zhang Wenfu.

  Anyone who was a member of the world of sects feared Zhang Wenfu.

  “That’s the Myriad Spirit Sea Art! This is the only art in the world of sects that matches up. I heard that he obtained this supreme art in his early years and stored it in his treasury. But even though that art was in his treasury for many years, he never succeeded at cultivating it. He must have encountered some lucky opportunity that allowed him to construct after destruction and successfully cultivate it,” Song Yuanyi coldly said, his expression stern and dignified.

  Buzz!

  The crowd once more fell into an uproar, exchanging glances of fear and trepidation. Even Sikong Yuanjia appeared shocked. It was clear that Song Yuanyi had never mentioned this to him.

  On the side, Wang Chong remained unperturbed, but his heart shivered. Song Yuanyi was undoubtedly one of the most formidable and most problematic characters he had ever encountered.

  With just a few words, he had been able to determine the origins of his master’s martial arts. This alone was enough for Wang Chong to understand why his master regarded this man as such a formidable foe.

  Young Master Qingyang’s status is special, and Song Youran’s words are probably not enough to convince him. I will have to be careful for the next few days, Wang Chong noted to himself. Although Song Youran had spoken up for him, Wang Chong did not believe that these words were enough to trick the Righteous Alliance Lord.

  “But, Alliance Lord, isn’t it said that no one has ever been able to cultivate the Myriad Spirit Sea Art? And Ji Andu even broke Zhang Wenfu’s dantian. How could he still cultivate the Myriad Spirit Sea Art after that?” an elder asked.

  “I’m not clear on this, but I’m confident that what he used was the Myriad Spirit Sea Art,” Song Yuanyi lightly said.

  Ji Andu suddenly spoke, his voice cold and sinister and his face harsh. “Alliance Lord, that old scoundrel Zhang Wenfu is sinister and crafty, cruel and callous. Now that we’ve discovered him, we can’t let him escape! Andu requests that Alliance Lord redouble the search efforts. We have to kill Zhang Wenfu!”

  The moon instantly turned strange. Wang Chong gazed at the nearby Ji Andu, thick killing intent flashing through his heart. This bastard had already betrayed his master once, and now he wanted to attack him again. Truly shameless to the extreme!

  Wang Chong clenched his fists and silently said, I planned to let you live for a little longer, but it seems I’ll have to think of a way to remove you now!

  The other Righteous Alliance alliances also had rather strange expressions as they looked at Ji Andu, hints of contempt in their eyes. Whether one was righteous or evil, those who betrayed their teacher and sect were always looked down upon. While it was logically sound for Ji Andu to want to deal with his former master, on principle, everyone looked down on him.

  But Ji Andu acted like he couldn’t see, intentionally ignoring those looks of disdain. He only gazed at Song Yuanyi with an extremely stern look.

  “This is something that we needed to do anyway. But even though the Demonic Emperor Zhang Wenfu managed to escape, we didn’t come away empty-handed. Afterward, we discovered that the Demonic Emperor was interacting with a person from the world of sects, and we learned from them some important news. While the Demonic Emperor was retired, he recruited a new disciple. This disciple isn’t very old, only around seventeen or eighteen, and they also cultivate the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art!” Song Yuanyi said.

  Rumble!

  The Righteous Alliance disciples who had remained at the mountain were flabbergasted by this news, particularly Ji Andu, who raised his head as if someone had given him a sharp jab.

  “What?!”

  Ji Andu’s pupils constricted, his fists tightly cl
enched, and his entire body erupted with dangerous energy. Even though he was doing his utmost to restrain himself, his eyes still leaked out intense killing intent and jealousy.

  This damn old man!

  Ji Andu’s mind was bursting with rage.

  He had never even considered this possibility. The rules of the Demonic Emperor’s lineage were extremely strict, and it had taken an immense effort for him to finally become the Demonic Emperor’s disciple. That old scoundrel usually kept his affairs to himself, but now, he had taken on another disciple. This was simply unacceptable to Ji Andu. Jealousy became a venomous snake that caused his face to twist with savagery.

  While Ji Andu was overcome with rage, Wang Chong was stunned.

  The Imperial Court and the world of sects were two different worlds. The people of the Imperial Court knew nothing about the world of sects, and the people of the world of sects similarly had little understanding of the court. Thus, even though the Demonic Emperor Old Man had already taken action twice, because this had happened on the battlefield, not many people in the world of sects knew about this. His master had also never talked about him to outsiders, so Wang Chong truly did not know how these sect martial artists had managed to learn of the matter.

  “Alliance Lord, is this information to be trusted? After all, given what happened back then… would Zhang Wenfu really take another disciple?” A Righteous Alliance expert walked out of the crowd, and as he spoke, he glanced fearfully at Ji Andu, whose face was still twitching in rage.

  That man had been betrayed by his own disciple. After such an incident, a normal person would have a shadow cast on their heart and be unwilling to take another, and the person in question was cruel and callous, making this even more unlikely.

  Wang Chong said nothing as he gazed at the Righteous Alliance Lord, Song Yuanyi. Not even he understood how this news had leaked so soon after he had arrived in the northwest.

  Song Yuanyi said nothing, only glanced at Sikong Yuanjia. Sikong Yuanjia understood and stepped forward.

  “There should be no problem with this information. When we discovered the Demonic Emperor Old Man, there was a formation elder at his side. Although this man doesn’t have much of a reputation in the world of sects, he is skilled in all kinds of ancient formations. This man was also of great assistance in allowing Zhang Wenfu to escape this time. And when we investigated, we learned that the news of the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s disciple had been unintentionally revealed by this formation elder while he was chatting with Zhang Wenfu. Based on what that man said, the Demonic Emperor’s new disciple is extremely young but also extremely powerful, and it was easy to see that Zhang Wenfu greatly favored this new disciple of his. On this journey to the northwest, he actually brought this disciple with him. While the Demonic Emperor and that formation elder went scouting, they left his disciple in the rear.

  “Since this matter was unintentionally revealed by that formation elder, it should not be false.”

  Everyone turned solemn at these words. Ji Andu’s eyes exploded with even greater killing intent while others began to contemplate this new development. Meanwhile, Wang Chong’s mind was reeling.

  So it’s him!

  Not even if you had beaten him to death would Wang Chong have believed that the leak was from the Formation Elder, but now that he thought about that man’s personality, it truly did seem possible.

  This is a problem, Wang Chong said to himself.

  “Young Master Qingyang, do you have any thoughts on this?”

  The voice of Song Yuanyi rang out in his ear, and Wang Chong looked up to see that man’s eyes and his emotionless face that made it impossible for others to tell what he was thinking.

  “Heh, this one is a wandering crane and cannot possibly understand the matters of the world of sects more than the alliance lord. This one has nothing to share.”

  Wang Chong slightly bowed as he calmly replied.

  Song Yuanyi only smiled inscrutably as he turned his head back around.

  “Strengthen the guard around the mountain. Although the Black Yin Ancestor has gone, no one knows when he might come back. We can’t give them a single opportunity!” Song Yuanyi said.

  Everyone bowed and loudly replied, “Yes, Alliance Lord!”

  Song Yuanyi glanced at Sikong Yuanjia and said, “Yuanjia, you have the most experience in this field, so I leave the details to you.”

  “Yes, Alliance Lord!”

  Sikong Yuanjia hastily bowed, deep respect on his face.

  The ‘conference’ was quickly drawn to a close, and everyone dispersed.

  Once everyone was gone, Song Youran suddenly walked over and apologetically said, “Young Master, my apologies. I hid my identity from you and did not tell you that I was the daughter of the Righteous Alliance Lord.”

  “It’s a minor matter. Miss Song does not need to worry about it.”

  Wang Chong waved a sleeve and smiled. He was only a little surprised by this matter but did not actually care about it that much.

  Song Youran felt much better after hearing Wang Chong say this.

  “Be at ease. Father has already promised me that we will definitely help you search for your bodyguard,” Song Youran said.

  As the sky darkened, Song Youran led Wang Chong away to prepare a place to stay for him.

  Creee!

  As the Righteous Alliance disciples were busying away on the mountain, the cry of an eagle came from high overhead, though this attracted little notice. In the sky, a large eagle with sharp eyes was circling over the mountain.

  This eagle did not have the normal black-in-gold eyes of ordinary eagles, but ones that were totally and frighteningly red. As it looked down from the heavens, the eyes instantly locked onto an azure-robed figure in the crowd, none other than Wang Chong happily chatting with Song Youran.

  Chapter 1351 - Hidden Danger!

  Chapter 1351: Hidden Danger!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Thwish! The moment the eagle spotted Wang Chong, its bloody eyes rippled. With a flap of its steely wings, it kicked up a gust and shot off like a comet toward the green hills to the east.

  After traveling several dozen li, that bizarre eagle with blood-colored eyes descended onto the outstretched arm of a man standing under a massive ginkgo tree.

  “Haha, Little Guaiguai has found the target!”

  The black-clothed man beneath the ginkgo tree bizarrely chuckled. He drew back his extended arm and used his other to stroke the eagle’s back while he locked eyes with the blood-colored eyes of the eagle.

  Hiss!

  A moment later, the black-clothed man breathed in, and a bloody mist immediately arose from the eagle’s body. This bloody mist moved and shifted as if it had a life of its own. Rather than scattering, it condensed into two streams of mist that surged into the man’s eyes. A moment later, red images appeared in the man’s mind.

  These images were almost all of what the eagle had previously seen, though everything was now dyed blood-red.

  “Blood Eye! How is it? Where is the target?” A cold and aloof voice came from behind him.

  The three men wearing bamboo hats were standing nearby. Their hats were slightly tilted so that the majority of their face was hidden, and they had cloaks wrapped around their bodies. They were like bats that had fallen to earth, bizarre and mysterious, their appearances concealed.

  “Haha, I’ve already seen him. He’s on a mountain twenty-five li to our west. There are many banners on that mountain, so we can’t miss it. Moreover… it seems like the King of Foreign Lands has once more found many allies!”

  The man in black wickedly chuckled. After being pursued for so many days and killing a good number of their men, in the end, he had still failed to escape their eyes.

  “Allies?”

  One of the men in bamboo hats slightly raised his head, glancing at Blood Eye in surprise.

  “Mm!”

  Blood Eye sternly nodded
.

  “Their banners on the mountain have the words ‘Righteous Alliance’ on them, probably some sect from the Central Plains, and it seems like it has many powerful fighters,” Blood Eye said.

  “Nothing but clowns! There’s no need to worry about them. Kill anyone who dares to oppose us!” another man in a bamboo hat said, his voice as cold as that of a demon god from the netherworld.

  The other two men in bamboo hats nodded. As the gods of this world, they regarded all mortal factions, no matter how powerful, as nothing more than ants, hardly worth their attention.

  At best, that Righteous Alliance was nothing more than a somewhat larger ant.

  “Get ready! We’ll move out at the Zi Period. Kill everyone!” one of the men in bamboo hats firmly ordered.

  ……

  Meanwhile, at the Righteous Alliance base, Wang Chong was seated cross-legged on a rock, looking down below. The marks left by the battle during the day had been cleaned away, and it appeared to Wang Chong as if nothing had occurred at all.

  Wang Chong slowly scanned the area and saw the disciples of the Righteous Alliance resting or meditating, their expressions extremely calm.

  The fierce battle during the day seemed like a part of the everyday routine to them, and Wang Chong couldn’t see even the slightest ripple of emotion in their eyes.

  Killing is rampant in the world of sects. Even the fiercest battle might be like eating or drinking to them.

  As his gaze move farther down the mountain, Wang Chong saw at least five elders of the Righteous Alliance stationed at the base of the mountain, storms of energy rising from their bodies as they stood guard over different directions.

  Each of these Righteous Alliance elders had reached the peak of the Saint Martial realm, and some of them were even at Gao Xianzhi’s level.

  These five elders sat motionless at their assigned positions, and though the explanation was that there had just been a major battle and the Black Yin Sect and the Five Ancestor Alliance might choose to attack in the middle of the night, Wang Chong sensed that the Righteous Alliance was actually targeting him. These five elders in their five positions formed a cage that trapped him within.