Chapter 1332 Going All In
Yellow-colored water appeared silently. When the Martial Emperors from previous eras discovered in shock that the Imperial Palace, along with the entire front of the parade square, had already been covered by yellow water, it was already up to their ankles.
"It's water from the rapids."
"Water from the Underworld."
A few Martial Emperors exclaimed as they felt a chilly aura.
The sounds of a boat being rowed became clearer. An ancient, rundown boat was riding on a huge yellow wave from a great distance away. A scarecrow wearing a conical bamboo hat stood on its bow. It was holding a long oar in its hand and rowing toward them. Terrifying, indescribable majestic power surrounded the ancient boat.
"The Ferryman of the Netherworld?!"
A few Martial Emperors exclaimed. Evidently, they knew about the scarecrow's identity.
The Ferryman of the Netherworld was a terrifying being that existed countless of eras ago and once made an astounding name for himself. He was a creature at the fiendgod level, and even though he went into seclusion later on, which caused people from later eras to gradually forget about him, a few older Martial Emperors of the past had still heard about his fearsome reputation.
In an instant, the expressions of dozens of previous Martial Emperors changed.
The Ferryman of the Netherworld's aura was comparable to that of the current Martial Emperor, and it came surging toward them with the yellow waves, exerting huge pressure on them. They would be no match for this mysterious being if they met him head-on with less than maximum strength.
"Stop him."
A few previous Martial Emperors growled.
Four people emerged from the group. They transformed into flowing light and directly shot in the scarecrow's direction.
At the same time, two other figures flew toward the Ancient Fish Spirit, the Inspiration King.
The other Martial Emperors from the past continued on toward the Imperial Palace.
The Sky Emperor's orders for them were to break into the Imperial Palace and slay Immortal God Emperor Ye Qingyu while he was still recuperating. As such, time was a crucial factor for them. The strategy of choice of the Martial Emperors of the past was to hold off the Ferryman of the Netherworld and Ancient Fish Spirit first. Getting rid of Ye Qingyu could wait.
"Dammit, I'm pissed," the Ancient Fish Spirit roared in anger. "Why did four of them go to stop the Scarecrow Spirit but only two were sent to face me? Are they looking down on me? My power is much stronger than that Scarecrow Spirit, how dare you people take me so lightly... Die!"
The reason for his rage was that too few opponents had been despatched to handle him.
The great battle began.
The Ancient Fish Spirit unleashed an extremely strong force of fighting prowess, which allowed him to suppress two Martial Emperors of the past. This forced the Sky Emperor's camp to send out two more Martial Emperors to even out the odds a little more. The outcome of the fight could now swing either way.
Both he and the Ferryman of the Netherworld managed to keep eight Martial Emperors of the past busy.
Such results would be awe-inspiring during normal circumstances, but now, taking the entire situation into consideration, such strength was still unable to change the tide.
The dozens of past Martial Emperors that remained advanced toward the Imperial Palace again.
Sun Yi gave out an angry roar, igniting his will to fight and as encouragement to the warriors behind him.
However, the aura released by the advancing Martial Emperors of the past was enough to suppress them, forcing the warriors to take some steps back. Wounds appeared all over their bodies, and blood began spurting out.
Suddenly, a ray of divine radiance shot out from within the Imperial Palace.
The Martial Emperor that was in front of the others felt his chest shake before he could even react. His entire body then shot backward like a broken ragdoll being shot by a ballista.
Whoosh!
At this moment, the piercing sound of arrows whistling through the air rang out.
An arrow was stuck in the Martial Emperor's chest.
The huge arrow, with a black shaft and white feathers, was nearly halfway inserted into him and nearly nailed him flat to the ground. The white feathered end was still vibrating, and its black shaft was glowing with a strange hue. Mysterious tadpole-like orange-red formations were glowing, and they seemed to be suppressing the Martial Emperor's power, preventing him from removing the arrow.
The other Martial Emperors were immediately shocked.
What sort of person could cause severe wounds to a Martial Emperor of the past with an arrow?
"In the dark forest, the grass stirs as the wind blows. The General draws his bow in the night, and when he brings along others to search for the tiger felled by his white-feathered arrow, they find it buried in a tombstone instead!"
A voice came from behind the crenelated parapet wall of the Imperial Palace's low tower.
A fat person, who looked as round as a ball and was dressed in golden armor, was drawing his bow with his left hand and stringing an arrow with his right, and chanting the poem meant for him with a stern expression. Unquestionably, the person who had just fired that arrow was him.
"Divine Feathered General?" Sun Yi exclaimed.
He then realized suddenly that after the Divine Feathered General released his arrow, the crushing aura generated from the Sky Emperor's camp opposite had completely disappeared. It had been instantly shattered by the arrow.
But, how could this be possible?
Sun Yi understood this Divine General.
He knew that the Five Great Divine Generals and the divine monkey battle pet Sun Wukong had been transferred from the Heaven Wasteland Domain to the Guardian Royal City. All six, with the exception of the Divine Feathered General, Wang Lijing, possessed a bearing and pattern that was better than Sun Yi's; they could be considered as reliable battle companions. Only the Divine Feathered General acted sloppily. He was greedy and lustful, and he had many bad habits. He did not behave like an expert in the least bit, and he did not seem to possess a high level of cultivation on the surface. Sun Yi believed that he was just here to make up numbers, but he did not expect... that the elegance of his shot was comparable to the grace of the current Martial Emperor.
"Today, the [Divine Feathered Bow] will reappear... Kill!"
Wang Lijin's figure flickered as he directly leaped up from the top of the castle into midair. His bowstring vibrated, and sounds like that of the Dao and thunder rolling appeared. No one was able to keep track of how many arrows were released in an instant. A shower of golden arrows rained down on the Martial Emperors of the past.
The good-for-nothing and mischievous expression was already gone from Wang Lijin's face. It had been replaced by a resolute and bloodthirsty look, something rarely seen on him.
Exclamations rang out.
"Let's settle our score over the past few millions of years today... Come on, kill!"
Another voice rang out.
Wen Wan appeared on the plaza, a huge, blood-colored axe in his hand. He was as fearsome as an insane tiger, as majestic power circled around his body. The blade of his axe glittered as he hacked a previous Martial Emperor in two from his waist. The Emperor was not even able to react.
"Fire can burn away ancient hatred, and heroes rise from the flames... Are you ready to face a world of flames? Hahaha." Gao Diping's sorrowful voice rang out, containing insane laughter.
The yellow water from the rapids was already up to everyone's calves. It was also known as the Water of Death that could drown Emperors, but instead, it behaved like kerosene. In the blink of an eye, it helped Gao Diping's [Realm of Fire] amplify to frightening levels, as if it were about to burn down everything in its path. The Martial Emperors felt threatened as they remained in the flames.
"The final refining process and removal of all restrictions were meant for today."
"Everything will be settled today."
The Divine Generals Zhi and Jue appeared as well.
What was different was that their power had undergone a huge transformation. Their strength was at an indescribable level now, far exceeding that of the Martial Emperors of the past, as if it had returned to the same level when the Divine Light Court conquered the world. No, they were even stronger than their previous peak states.
They had comprehended different forms of life after undergoing countless lifetimes of reincarnation up until today. Finally, they ended their journey in the cycle of reincarnation and no longer desired to go into the next life. This life would be their very last, and they were going to get back what they had lost in the battles of Cloudly Clear Sea and the Divine Light Court. The enlightenment attained from reincarnation and the power of their previous selves combined together led them to enter a state that was more powerful than anything they ever achieved before.
Boom!
A gigantic golden cudgel came crashing down, instantly grinding another Martial Emperor into pulp.
The divine monkey battle pet, Sun Wukong, appeared with a loud, angry roar.
It had reached its final stage of evolution. Its battle strength was amplifying wildly, and it had removed its Seal of Reincarnation.
At the same time, an invisible figure was secretly and quietly harvesting its opponents' lives. A blood-red scimitar glinted. It looked like the grim reaper's scythe itself, and even the Martial Emperors of the past ended up bathed in their own blood.
The strongest fighters left behind by the previous Divine Light Emperor finally displayed their peak powers after undergoing countless rounds of reincarnation.
The battle was undergoing a fundamental transformation at this stage.
The appearance of the Six Divine Generals, divine monkey battle pet, Ferryman of the Netherworld, Ancient Fish Spirit, Empress Shui Xiu, and other high-ranking experts finally evened out things a little for the Immortal God Emperor's camp. Even though they were still lacking in numbers, such a factor was already inconsequential in a battle of such huge proportions.
Furthermore, the Immortal Empire still had a few trump cards up its sleeve.
"Hahaha, the Divine Shark is looking for his prey." Ximen Yeshui's hearty and wild laughter rang out. At the same time, a thousand-meter-long, blue-colored, ancient divine shark leaped out of the shallow water and swallowed a Martial Emperor whole.
The dark-faced scholar wielding a three-pronged battle halberd displayed his true power.
He was also an Emperor.
At the same time, white flower petals fell from the sky. A white svelte figure, which looked like the Moon Fairy, descended slowly and joined the battle. She was Bai Yuqing, the successor of Bai Yujing. Fifty years ago, she was already close to becoming an Emperor, and now, she had already secured a foothold in the realm and had the right to join in the battle.
Unsurprisingly, Song Xiaojun, the Emperor of Darkness from the Unmoving City of Darkness, appeared at this moment as well. The giant tyrannic bear appeared, covered in black flames, and descended upon the plaza before the Imperial Palace with a flourish, immediately crushing a Martial Emperor with one foot.
The Female God of War who was swathed in flames seemed to possess an unmatchable aura.
The Emperor of Darkness, who was widely rumored to have been injured, did not seem to be suffering from very serious wounds. She still possessed peerless battle prowess; after all, she was a Martial Empress of the current era, and she became one after Ye Qingyu did likewise. She possessed the divine power of the Bloodline of Darkness.
The hearts of Sun Yi and the other ordinary experts instantly seemed to have retracted into their stomachs.
The situation was not as bad as they had believed.
Furthermore, Sun Yi realized to his surprise that somehow, the space in a five-kilometer radius around the Imperial Palace seemed to have been sealed away by an immense, unidentifiable power. Such a kind of seal was ineffective on ordinary experts, but it prevented the Emperors' powers from affecting other parties and from damaging property. Even if the Emperors unleashed their maximum powers, the excess energy generated by them would be dispersed fifty kilometers away.
It had to be the Immortal God Emperor's doing.
If that was the case, then everything was under control.
"Reach the last stage of evolution, let's fight to the death," a Martial Emperor shrieked and began to attack wildly. The spirits of his companions who were crushed and nailed to the ground still survived, and they eventually chose to refine their powers to the maximum to revert to their peak conditions at the expense of their lifespans and spirits. They were going all out.
Otherwise, if they lost, their souls would not be reincarnated anyway.
The battle reached a fever pitch.