Chapter 776: The Manor Lord
Only four people appeared in front of the massive army opposing the demons that consisted of humans, demons, and magical beasts, however, none of these four people seemed worried.
When they were a hundred kilometers away from the army of humanity, they came to a standstill, and three of the experts stepped forward. These three waved their hands, and suddenly the entire horizon which had been bare was filled with Blood Demons.
There were even more Blood Demons than there were humans, demons, and beast cultivators, but these Blood Demons were not all strong. It was clear that there were even some Blood Demons who had not comprehended a full major dao yet, and these Blood Demons had no other purpose than to serve as cannon fodder.
Silence descended over the two armies; no one spoke as two figures moved in front of their armies.
One was Yama, and the other was a Blood Demon that shocked Hui Yue greatly. This blood demon was their Overlord, but what caught Hui Yue's attention was not the Overlord but one of the Manor Lords behind him.
His face was covered by a mask, a mask that was made from darkness itself. His skin was completely black, and his body was massive. When looking at him, Hui Yue instantly recognized him from the Vermilion Bird's memories.
Back in the Divine Beast World when Hui Yue had gone through three trials, the third trial brought him to another world where he saw the memories of a battle of epic proportions, a battle the likes he had never seen before.
Back then he had seen this Blood Demon fight against the Divine Beasts. At that time Hui Yue had not known the difference between Blood Demons and normal demons, and in fact, it was the first time he had ever seen a demon and his strength was phenomenal. Back then he had been called the Demon Lord and seeing that he was a Manor Lord, it was clear that his nickname was not far off.
After having looked at this Manor Lord, Hui Yue was slightly surprised. Did the Blood Demons have some plans for the Divine Beast World? Not only had they tried to acquire it back then, but they had also recruited An He who later became the Crowned Sovereign of the Divine Beast world.
After having looked at the Blood Demon Manor Lord, Hui Yue's eyes roamed over the demon’s Overlord, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise. The man looked like any other ordinary human except for a few things.
His eyes were purple, and he had a small horn on his forehead. He was not too tall, but he was lean, and it seemed as if every move he made caused the entire space surrounding him to shudder because of the strength he controlled.
Placing Yama and the demon Overlord in front of one another, both looked magnificent. Their auras were so overpowering; they spread far and wide causing many of the Gods to feel their legs tremble from their auras alone.
"So you showed up," Yama said with a sigh. Although he was aware that the last battle was imminent, he did not expect that it would be this soon, nor did he expect that they would attack when all of the heavenly dao experts had gathered. It was clear that they were quite confident in their own strength.
"Of course I would show up," the demon Overlord said with a grin on his face. "I heard that you were hosting a party for the hidden experts on your side, and I was quite curious as to how many hidden experts there really were amongst the humans and the beasts."
"So we decided to move up our plans a little; thus, here we are. You know what is going to happen. What’s the point of fighting back? The only thing you will achieve is for more humans to die rather than live a life of slavery."
"We will fight for our freedom and emerge victoriously!" Yama said with a loud voice, and his sentence caused all the humans and beasts to raise their weapons and roar out.
Even Hui Yue felt his blood boiling from this. He was eager to begin the battle as soon as possible and ready to fight the Blood Demons. Although he could not face the Overlord or the Manor Lords, Hui Yue had complete faith in his own strength. He had comprehended a heavenly dao; he should be able to protect himself and the others.
Hui Yue turned around and noticed that Zhong Fai was moving towards him. His face was a little pale, and his eyes were unfocused.
He was moving forward with unsteady steps, and Hui Yue frowned as he noticed that his friend was acting strangely.
"Fai, what's wrong with you?" Hui Yue asked, but at that moment, Zhong Fai doubled over, and it seemed as if he had lost his balance.
Hui Yue rushed to his side to catch him. Yet the moment he reached out, a dagger appeared in the hand of Zhong Fai and it thrust out with a speed so fast that Hui Yue could not react in time.
Hui Yue and Zhong Fai were incredibly close. Hui Yue had just caught Zhong Fai in his arms, and he was filled with worry, not even alert at all, as the dagger dug deep into his chest.
Hui Yue felt blood rushing up his throat and out his mouth, as he retreated faster than the eye could see.
Everything happened in a moment. When his friends noticed the dagger, it was already embedded into Hui Yue's chest, and everyone came into motion. The first to move was Pei Ziqi.
Amongst everyone present, Pei Ziqi was the one who had seen the most fights. Her hand came crashing down on Zhong Fai's back, shattering his body and grasping his soul.
Hui Yue was injured, but although it was serious, and although the dagger had penetrated his chest, he was not too seriously injured.
"Kill me," the soul of Zhong Fai pleaded, and Pei Ziqi was about to squash the soul when Hui Yue coughed and raised his hand, gesturing for her to wait.
Although a few of the cultivators close by had seen and were observing what was happening, not many paid attention to Hui Yue and the others. Instead, they were drawn to the conversation between Yama and the demon Overlord.
Hui Yue was supported by Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun as he made his way next to the soul of Zhong Fai who was motionless within Pei Ziqi's grasp.
"Kill me," the whispering voice of Zhong Fai sounded again. "Use my remaining lifeforce to heal yourself!"
"I was a free man when I entered the galaxy as a God, but I came across An He who was out on a mission," Zhong Fai spoke hurriedly. His soul was already starting to dissipate slightly from going against his slave mark.
"He placed a slave mark on me. This slave mark is similar to the one he placed on his crusaders, though the mortal body is incapable of containing all the Ancestral Worldpower and only their soul and An He's orders is what remain of them."
"Because I was a God, I was able to withstand his Ancestral Worldpower, but I lost my free will."
"No matter how much I fought back, it was impossible for me to make my body listen. My order was to enter your wedding. He called me a wedding present and then told me to gain your trust. I was to assassinate you, and now that I have attempted my mission I have gained momentary control of my soul again."
"I wish to die! I want to be free again! Just kill me and allow me to enter the Yellow Spring. Make it possible for me to have a new beginning. Even if you heal me, I will just be a slave to An He; it is a life worse than a dog’s!" Zhong Fai pleaded as Hui Yue reached out his hand.
His eyes were filled with sadness, and he was clearly struggling internally. Although Zhong Fai had betrayed him, it was not something he had done out of his own free will. Hui Yue wished to help him escape the slave seal, however, after seeing the sadness and the pleading in Zhong Fai’s eyes, he took over the soul of Zhong Fai from Pei Ziqi and sighed. "I will fulfill your wish. Do not worry; I will ensure that An He pays for this!"
"Thank you." Zhong Fai's voice was getting weaker and weaker, "I wish that I had taken the chance to follow you when I had the opportunity," he sighed. "I valued my freedom too much, but ended up losing it all; I am truly sorry Yue."
Hui Yue nodded his head, "I am too." He said with a low voice before he withdrew the rest of his lifeforce and absorbed it. His body healed at a visible pace, but he felt a scar in his mind. He was hurt that Zhong Fai, the man he considered his friend, had been treated this way by An He.
Silence descended over the group as all the friends were overcome with emotions. Hui Yue had ended Zhong Fai’s life with his own hands, but he had no choice since otherwise his soul would have been forever trapped by An He.
At this moment, he felt a shining star within his core lit up with a light so strong and soothing that he felt much better.
This star was soothing Hui Yue's mind; it was relaxing him and making the agitation vanish into thin air.
It was healing his soul, while the light was growing stronger and stronger, blinding Hui Yue until it started diminishing. Then a silhouette made from light stood in the core of Hui Yue's body.
Hui Yue reached out his hand and touched the silhouette, and his mind instantly exploded with memories from his previous life.
Matter was formed, and so was life, everything ever made was capable of becoming sentient, and slowly, long long ago deep in the darkest parts of the early universe an ancient star that had existed ever since Pangu first created the universe gained its sentience.
It was a burning mass of Ancestral Worldpower, burning brighter than every other star. On the star’s surface formed small star spirits and sprites that inhabited it. No beasts nor humans were capable of living on this star, but this star was the light for countless other worlds in the galaxy; it was the source of life in the newly born galaxy, but as the galaxy expanded the old worlds started to coalesce and created the Archaic World.
The star withstood the decay of time, it withstood as it saw its brother and sister worlds collapse and turn to Ancestral Worldpower tidal waves, but as time went on, the energy within the star could not continue to struggle to contain its shape, and slowly it too started to collapse.
Being a star, Hui Yue sensed how, although it was sentient it was very apathetic. It did not care about the life and death of other creatures; it did not even consider its own life and death as a matter of much importance.
Although the star cared about its spirits, it did not resemble the care Hui Yue felt for his family or friends. It was more of an appreciation of their mutually beneficial relationship.
The star was without a doubt one of Hui Yue's lives, the one that he had lived for the longest, but it was also the briefest memory of them all.
The life had been very much the same throughout the eons, and not much had changed. There were no emotions, no real experiences, that shook Hui Yue's mind, but he felt a new calm overflow within his body. He was clearly much calmer than before.
As Hui Yue returned to reality, he noticed that everyone close by was looking at him. He could feel that he was growing stronger and stronger, and at the same time, it was clear that the heavenly daos were descending upon him.
The heavenly dao of the heavens was descending upon him. This was the dao he had been blessed with by the star, and he could feel how it merged with his soul. It remade his entire body and made him gain strength once again.
Even the two Overlords couldn’t help but stop their verbal sparring as they noticed that someone had taken this time to break through and comprehend a heavenly dao.