The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 478 The Emperor (Part 7)

The battle raged fiercely in the open space outside the store.

Enraged, the drought demon clashed with Li Cunxiao, their battle creating a deafening spectacle.

Both were incredibly strong, and their fists and feet collided with a dull, drum-like sound that cracked the ground beneath their feet. Each of Hanba's punches was powerful and heavy, carrying the force to split mountains and shatter rocks, while Li Cunxiao used the fierce and powerful techniques of the Supreme Qiankun Skill to withstand them. His body was surrounded by a light golden aura. Although he was forced to retreat step by step, blood spilling from his mouth and nose, his ferocity did not diminish. He roared and pounced again and again.

Li Cunzhong shouted commands from afar, while Li Cunyong hid behind the rocks, his arrows flying cunningly at Hou Qing, who was under siege.

Hou Qing was in the most dangerous situation. With the combined attack of the three disciples of Tongwen Hall (Anger, Sorrow, and Joy), several brave disciples, and the Shang organization, although he was facing several opponents alone, his movements were already showing signs of stiffness.

Having learned the method to defeat the enemy, the opponent did not hesitate to suffer casualties. Wherever the swords passed, blood splattered, not to harm the enemy, but only to splash the filthy blood onto the person in white.

"The Bloodstained Chronicles are renowned throughout the martial world, yet they cannot be tainted by even a trace of filth. How does it taste, Lord Hou Qing?" Li Siyuan's hearty laughter echoed from afar.

Hou Qing remained calm, his bone flute deftly deflecting, plucking, guiding, and leading with exquisite skill. Each time, at the last possible moment, he would deflect weapons aimed at vital points or strike his opponent's joints, causing their attacks to crumble. A long sword, gleaming like a dragon, coiled around him, its cold light forcing his attackers to hold back.

However, the deliberately splattered blood, like maggots clinging to his bones, forced him to divert his attention to form a thin layer of protective qi to isolate himself, his internal energy being consumed like water. He glanced ahead out of the corner of his eye, then looked towards the direction of the restaurant, a trace of solemnity flashing in his cold eyes.

The four members of the Corpse Ancestor lived in seclusion beneath Yin Mountain. Although they were somewhat cautious due to the surrendered minister's seclusion, it was merely a precaution. Because the four of them had never faced the risk of revealing their identities beneath Yin Mountain, nor could they attract the covetous eyes of enemies, the Drought Demon could peacefully cook his delicacies in the shop, and the elder sister continued her incessant chatter.

This sudden upheaval is by no means without cause.

Inside the store, the scene is quite different.

Tables, chairs, and dishes had long since turned to dust, the walls were covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and dust was falling from the ceiling. Two figures moved so fast that they were just afterimages, colliding and separating wildly in the confined space. Each clash unleashed a chilling force, pushing the already crumbling shop to the brink of complete collapse.

Ying Gou stood tall with her petite body upright. Her crimson eyes were like congealed blood, cold and lifeless, and her whole body was filled with a deathly killing intent.

As for her opponent, he was even more crazed, shrouded in a thick, blue mist-like aura. Beneath his skin, something seemed to writhe, emitting a faint hissing sound. His speed and strength were several times greater than before. His ten fingers were spread wide like claws, their tips gleaming with a chilling blue light. His moves were bizarre and vicious, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, each strike aimed precisely at Ying Gou's vital points.

"Interesting, interesting. The Central Plains is indeed a land of outstanding people and abundant resources, living up to its reputation." Bali Shenyu took a direct hit from Ying Gou's crimson, almost tangible, whip shadow of qi. He staggered backward, black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but the madness in his eyes intensified.

"Your body is truly a marvelous vessel, one is insane, the other is cold-blooded and heartless. The two souls are squeezed together, the feeling of being torn apart and pulled must be unbearable, right? Come, let me devour her."

Ying Gou swayed slightly, her crimson eyes locking onto her opponent with an expressionless gaze, as if she were looking at an inanimate object. With a light tap of her toes, she moved closer like a ghost, her small hand silently striking Ba Li Shen Yu's chest. The air seemed to freeze where her palm struck.

Bali Shenyu let out a strange laugh and crossed his claws to block.

"Bang!" The energy exploded, and both of them were forced back half a step.

He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light as he looked around. "Want to get rid of that burden? Want to shut that noisy little thing up forever? Saint Dokoho is omnipotent. Just step aside, and the Saint can help you get rid of her, making you the true and sole master of this perfect body. How about it? This deal is much more worthwhile than you fighting me here."

His response was a sudden surge of indifferent killing intent and an even denser, more violent net of crimson energy.

Ying Gou's attack suddenly became three times more fierce, her qi tearing through the air and emitting a piercing shriek.

"A remnant of barbarian tribes, a crippled body of heretical magic, dares to disturb her peaceful cultivation?"

Instead of being angry, Bali Shenyu laughed and let out a wild roar. Blue mist churned, and his figure transformed into a blur, darting through the gaps in the crimson aura. His claws, carrying a chilling force that seemed to tear at the soul, launched a counterattack. The two collided violently once more, and the shop was ravaged as if by a hurricane, with the remaining beams and pillars groaning under the strain.

Not far from the shop, on a gentle slope in the valley, Li Siyuan stood with his hands behind his back, gently waving his folding fan, quietly observing the two battlefields. He did not rush to make a move, appearing quite leisurely.

"Brother, Ba Yeta..." Li Cunzhong finished dealing with the surrounding area, leaned closer and whispered, his face showing a hint of regret.

"Useless." Li Siyuan didn't even turn his head, his voice indifferent. "So what if he's dead? It's good that we've seen the true strength of the one inside. Tell Eleventh Brother and Shang that there's no need to attack Hou Qing head-on. Just wear him down and force him to continuously deplete his inner strength. As for Hanba, have Tenth Brother hold out a little longer and stall him."

He pointed his folding fan at the restaurant. "Our target is over there. Just a little longer, it'll be soon...almost there..."

He could clearly feel the terrifying fluctuations emanating from the restaurant growing increasingly violent and chaotic, like two volcanoes about to erupt, filled with a destructive aura. Even if he were to defeat Hou Qing and Hanba at this moment, he feared he still wouldn't be able to subdue the most mysterious of the Corpse Ancestors, Minghai Wuyai.

He was waiting—waiting for the other side to collapse on its own, waiting for the two inside to be severely weakened, and waiting for the corpse ancestors outside to be completely worn down. Only then would it be the perfect opportunity for him, the oriole stalking the cicada, to strike and easily seize the fruits of victory.

The waterfall roared, and water vapor filled the air.

Below the cliff, in a natural stone cave half-hidden by thick vines, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on a smooth blue stone. The mist from the cascading waterfall surrounded her, but could not conceal her current state.

Her eyes were tightly closed, her face was so pale it was almost transparent, and thin lines of blood trickled down from her seven orifices. Her body trembled violently and uncontrollably, as if she were being tortured to death.

She was enveloped by a violent, chaotic, and abyss-like black-purple vortex. The vortex spun silently, sometimes expanding as if to crack the rock wall, and sometimes collapsing as if to completely devour the person at its center.

Suppressed groans of pain escaped from her clenched teeth. Sweat had already soaked through her thin clothes, clinging to her exquisite curves and outlining breathtaking arcs, yet revealing endless vulnerability.

As the sun sets in the west, the evening glow fades.

As dusk settles, the roar of the waterfall and the dampness of the water vapor instantly fade away, as if separated by a heavy curtain.

The surrendered official opened his eyes in bewilderment.

As far as the eye could see, there was only endless white. The snow was knee-deep, and the cold wind was like a knife, whipping up fine snowflakes that felt like icy sand on the face.

The sky was a somber, leaden gray, hanging low as if within reach, yet also incredibly distant and empty. A huge, blood-red moon hung eerily in the center of this gray sky, its cold red light staining the vast snowfield and casting a dark crimson hue over everything.

The height of the heavens is as high as the heavens above the nine fields; it is five hundred million miles above the earth…

Before she could react, an invisible, immense force emanating from the vast sky suddenly seized her.

Her body was involuntarily pulled upwards, her feet leaving the ground, drifting towards the blood moon. The speed increased, and the cold wind turned into a mournful howl in her ears.

She looked down in dismay, the snowfield beneath her feet rapidly shrinking and receding. The continuous snow-capped mountains became tiny folds, the vast forests turned into blurry green patches, and the rushing rivers became as thin as silver threads. Her vision rose rapidly, the snowfield became a corner of the earth, the earth became a part of the infinite universe, and the universe itself shrank rapidly, merging into a vast, dark, and silent void dotted with countless cold points of light.

Nine heavens and nine fields, nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine corners…

There is no up or down, no left or right, only eternal darkness and lifeless stars.

She was as insignificant as a speck of dust, drifting aimlessly in the cold, desolate, and despair-inducing void of the universe. As far as the eye could see, the stars appeared densely packed, yet were actually billions of miles apart, cold and distant. Time had lost its meaning, direction had lost its meaning; only eternal solitude, like an invisible snow fog, completely engulfed her.

There is no way to seek the truth, the path home is blocked, life is impossible, and death is unattainable.

An extreme fear and despair, originating from the depths of her soul, of the infinity of the universe and her own insignificance, enveloped her entire being.

Just as her consciousness was about to be completely swallowed by the vast void, her Baihui acupoint on the top of her head was struck as if by divine lightning from the heavens. The violent, scorching, and extremely yang energy forcefully penetrated her drifting consciousness, threatening to completely incinerate and burst her faint consciousness.

The extreme torture of experiencing both ice and fire rages wildly at the level of the soul.

The surrendered official, with his eyes closed inside the cave, let out a suppressed groan of pain, and even more blood seeped from his seven orifices.

Non-action is without mystery, non-action is without limit, and it lies within this space…

The cold, deathly silence of the universe intertwined and tore at her body with the burning pain of pure yang energy. Her consciousness twisted violently in the gap between existence and nothingness, as if it might completely dissipate at any moment.

Its depths are empty and still, time has ceased and no trace remains…

Absolute silence descended once more, deeper than the void of the universe. Time froze completely, even one's own existence became blurred. Only the excruciating pain of being burned alive became the sole proof that she still "existed," yet it was also the most agonizing torment.

But suddenly, the surrendered official gritted his teeth and opened his eyes with a bang.

The Gita Snow Mountain is within easy reach.

The surrendered official was startled, then turned around in disbelief, only to see a red-haired girl struggling to drive a carriage, speeding forward through the thick snow. The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, whipped at their faces like whips.

Behind them, Xiao Wulie of the Li tribe led over a hundred elite cavalry in hot pursuit, the sound of their horses' hooves pounding the snow like a death knell, growing ever closer. Arrows whistled through the air from time to time, whistling past overhead and beside them, embedding themselves deeply in the snow or into the carriages.

"Princess..." The surrendered official heard himself trembling as he whispered, his voice young and terrified.

"Faster! Faster!" Si Yudan didn't have time to reply, her voice hoarse as she fiercely whipped the exhausted horse. Behind her shoulder blade, the fletching of a poisoned arrow trembled, and excruciating pain accompanied by numbness spread, half of her body beginning to lose control.

As the surrendered official looked back, the ferocious faces of the pursuers were faintly visible in the wind and snow, and he immediately reached out to touch the drumstick behind him.

But at that moment, a sharp pain shot through her feet. Endless, chilling energy from the depths of the earth surged into her Yongquan acupoints, freezing and tearing along her meridians. The chill instantly spread throughout her body, causing her vision to blur, and her hand reaching for her lower back grasped nothing.

The young girl forced herself to lift her head, but her pupils contracted instantly. Without thinking, she pushed away Si Yudan beside her, "Princess, be careful!"

Si Yudan snapped back to reality as a powerful arrow grazed her temple, scattering a few strands of hair. She bit her lower lip hard, the taste of blood filling her mouth. Her gaze swept over the pale, terrified face of the girl beside her, who seemed still dazed, then turned to the front of the carriage. More than ten riders were galloping from the end of the mountain road, also drawing their bows and nocking arrows.

“You surrendered subject,” Si Yudan’s voice trembled with pain and the cold wind, but carried an undeniable resolve, “Hold on tight!”

She yanked the reins sharply, and the carriage traced an arc on the snow, no longer trying to break through the encirclement ahead, but instead veering diagonally towards the steep Gita Snow Peak to the side. "Princess, that's a dead end!" the surrendered minister cried out in alarm, but immediately froze, the voice so familiar, like an echo from two hundred years ago.

"Shut up, hold on tight!" Si Yudan shouted, her eyes filled with a desperate madness. The carriage jolted and lurched through the thick snow, racing desperately towards the snow-capped peaks. The wheels creaked under the weight of the rugged path.

Behind them, Xiao Wulie's maniacal laughter and the sound of pursuing horses' hooves grew clearer and clearer.

"Siyu Dan, you have nowhere to escape! Surrender obediently, and perhaps you can be left with a whole corpse!"

The carriage surged up a relatively gentle snow slope, and suddenly the view opened up to reveal a vast, ice-covered lake. At the edge of the lake, the majestic peak of Gita pierced the leaden sky.

However, just as it reached the frozen lake, the already overburdened carriage snapped apart with a loud crack from the violent jolting. The horses pulling the carriage let out a mournful whinny and collapsed, exhausted.

The immense inertia nearly overturned the remaining frame of the vehicle. Si Yudan was thrown off, but she instantly regained her balance. Ignoring the excruciating pain, she grabbed the wrist of Jiang Chen, who had fallen to the ground right behind her, and yanked her up, pushing her behind a jarring, solid boulder at the edge of the frozen lake.

"Princess!" The surrendered official was instantly panicked.

Si Yudan immediately took the drum whip from her waist, the handle of which was inlaid with a strange black stone that shimmered with a dark luster. Si Yudan carefully examined the stone on the handle, and then, with her blood-stained hand, pressed the drum whip and the stone firmly into the surrendered minister's cold hand, with such force that the minister's knuckles turned white.

"Take it, and survive!"

Si Yudan's voice was extremely low, but without the slightest hesitation, "Find Jiu Gai for me, go and see the sunrise there..." Before she finished speaking, she had already pushed the surrendered minister completely into the shadow of the boulder.

"Princess!" The surrendered minister desperately tried to grab her hand, but his vision blurred and he staggered.

Si Yudan gave her a deep look, her eyes filled with complex emotions—resoluteness, reluctance, and entrustment. Then, she abruptly turned away, facing the surging pursuers. She drew the only remaining dagger from her waist; her blood-stained clothes fluttered in the wind and snow, yet her slender figure stood as upright as a javelin.

"You pigs and dogs of the Li tribe!" she hissed, her voice carrying through the wind and snow. "The spirits of the Yuling tribe are above, today, with this broken body, I will take your lives!"

She stopped looking at the surging pursuers, and with all her might, she cut her palm with a short dagger and knelt heavily towards the summit of Gita Snow Mountain.

"Warrior who tamed Xiongkulu, if your heroic spirit still lingers in Gita, Princess Siyudan of the Feathered Spirit Tribe is willing to offer your spirit as a sacrifice. Please unleash divine punishment to cleanse this place of its filth!"

The sound was shrill and pierced through the wind and snow.

Rumbling--

As if in response to her final call, a deep, rumbling sound, like a colossal beast awakening, echoed from the summit of Gita Snow Mountain. Immediately following was a deafening roar, like the earth splitting open. Towering snow, like a white, raging torrent, collapsed from the peak, carrying a devastating force as it cascaded downwards.

"Avalanche! It's an avalanche! Run!" The pursuers, their eyes bloodshot, frantically ran back, howling in terror.

A white torrent of death instantly engulfed the pursuers and mercilessly crashed into the icy lake. Si Yudan glanced one last time at the girl's horrified face behind the boulder, a reassuring smile seemingly trying to appear on her lips, but it was too late; the surging snow waves slammed down like giant hands.

"Live on...live on...find Jiu Gai in my place." These were Si Yu Dan's last words, like a brand, etched into the girl's soul.

"Live on... Jiu Gai..."

Inside the stone cave, Jiang Chen murmured unconsciously, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind. The dark purple vortex around her twisted violently, and the internal energy in her dantian surged wildly, like countless out-of-control venomous snakes, tearing fine bloody marks on her crystal-clear skin.

Just as she was sinking into despair and on the verge of collapse, a figure suddenly burst into the horizon of her grief-stricken vision.

He stood on the edge of the avalanche, the swirling snow seemingly making way for him. Clad in a blue robe and with dark hair, his figure was upright, his face somewhat blurred in the snowstorm, but his eyes, piercing through the barriers of time and space, were clearly reflected in her consciousness.

He reached out his hand to her, his eyes as deep and sharp as ever, but at this moment, they carried an urgency and...concern she had never seen before.
"Catch him...live on..." Si Yudan's weak voice echoed in my ears.

"No!" Another, stronger, heavier voice cried out from the depths of his soul, "Jiu Gai, you must fulfill the princess's request, you cannot leave!"

Why... is he here?

Chaotic thoughts and hazy, indistinct emotions tangled together like a jumbled mess.

His figure flickered in and out of sight in the wind and snow, sometimes clear as if right before her eyes, sometimes distant as if separated by a galaxy. This sudden turn of events caused her to struggle violently between extreme pain, heavy responsibility, and that inexplicable bond, her mind in turmoil, like a small boat thrown into the eye of a storm.

boom--

The already raging and out-of-control internal energy within his body completely broke through its last defenses in this moment of violent mental turmoil. The dark purple vortex suddenly expanded, almost filling the entire cave, and the violent energy crashed against the rock walls, causing gravel to fall in a shower.

The surrendered official suddenly tilted his head back and let out a painful scream that was not human, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose.

The fierce battle between Bali Shenyu and Ying Gou inside the store both paused at the same time.

Li Siyuan, who was behind the hillside outside the shop, suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

"Not in the store!"

The same realization flashed through their minds in an instant.

"Found it!" Bali Shenyu laughed maniacally, enduring Ying Gou's palm strike, and using the force, smashed through the already overburdened shop wall, transforming into a bloody shadow as he rushed straight to the stone cave below the cliff waterfall.

Almost at the same time, Li Siyuan's figure also disappeared from the hillside. He closed his folding fan and moved as fast as an arrow, unleashing his full power, his target also being that stone cave.

His face was no longer filled with composure and calculation, but only with the urgency of a desperate gamble.

What's the point of being a cunning predator? At this moment, all he wants is to be the first hunter to succeed!

Ying Gou's red eyes were filled with murderous intent. She chased after him at lightning speed, and several streaks of crimson energy tore through the air, aiming straight for Ba Li Shen Yu's back.

Hou Qing's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He flicked his bone flute like stars, disregarding his own wide-open defenses, and forcefully forced aside several enemies who were entangled in combat. His figure was as fast as the wind, and he tried to intercept Li Siyuan's figure from the side.

The drought demon roared repeatedly, and with one punch it knocked Li Cunxiao back, and also wanted to return to help.

However, Bali Shenyu withstood the fierce energy, a cloud of blood mist exploding from his back, yet his speed increased even further. Li Siyuan's movements were unpredictable, his entire body's Supreme Qiankun Technique operating at its peak, while Hou Qing's internal energy was severely depleted, and his interception failed.

Two figures, one blood-blue like a demon, the other gray like a phantom, rushed one after the other, almost simultaneously, to the entrance of the stone cave where the water curtain was half-hidden.

A violent and chaotic blackish-purple vortex erupted from inside the cave, causing those who witnessed it to turn pale.

With the blood claws of Bali Shenyu and the palm of Li Siyuan infused with the power of the Supreme Heaven and Earth, they reached out simultaneously, their target being the figure sitting cross-legged in the cave and the book spread out in front of her.

But at that very moment, a piercing shriek, sharp enough to tear eardrums, exploded out of nowhere from the direction of the valley entrance. At that moment, a sound so fast it surpassed even the speed of sound itself.

The two were startled at the same time and turned around to look.

Then a dark light appeared, carrying the force of wind and thunder, tearing through the thin mist, arriving first despite being behind, and crashing straight towards them.

It wasn't aimed at either Bali Shenyu or Li Siyuan, but rather it struck with incredible precision and ferocity at the base of a massive, protruding rock above the entrance to the cave.

A deafening roar echoed wildly through the valley, drowning out the thunder of the waterfall. The massive boulder, weighing hundreds of kilograms, was shattered to pieces by this single blow containing immense force.

Countless pebbles poured down like a torrential rain, instantly blocking most of the cave entrance. The resulting dust and moisture spread out, forming a murky barrier that forcefully blocked the outstretched hands of Bali Shenyu and Li Siyuan.

The two were violently shaken, forced to retreat by the sudden explosive force and the flying debris, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

Amidst the billowing smoke and mist, behind the two men, beyond hundreds of people, came a chilling voice, barely containing its furious killing intent.

"You lot, you have some nerve!!!"

Li Siyuan felt a chill run down his spine and stared intently. He saw that the dust and mist at the valley entrance were being violently torn apart by an invisible force.

The newcomer, dressed in a blue robe, danced wildly. With a casual gesture, the Taiping Sword, which had pinned Li Cunzhong to the cliff face in the distance, let out a clear and melodious dragon's roar, broke free from the rock wall, and flew back to his hand as a streak of light. He then arrived with the sword in hand.

One man, one sword, his spirit could swallow mountains and rivers.

Ying turned around and looked at him. The frost in her red eyes melted slightly, and a very faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

Xiao Yan, you have arrived.

------

Almost at the same instant that this oppressive force, capable of annihilating armies, dominating life and death, and causing the heavens and earth to lose their color, descended.

At the summit of Yinshan Mountain, on an ancient divine throne surrounded by light.

Without warning, Dokoho's sleeping eyes slowly opened a crack.

(End of this chapter)