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

Chapter 479 The Emperor (Part 8)

From the direction of the valley entrance, the billowing dust was violently torn apart by an invisible force, and a figure in green stepped over broken stones and branches. The green robe fluttered wildly in the turbulent air, making it impossible to look directly at.

Li Siyuan's face was deathly pale, his folding fan was tightly gripped, and all the scheming in his eyes turned into fear. He stared intently at the direction of the smoke-filled valley entrance, his fingers trembling.

Xiao Yan's steps seemed slow, but with each step, his figure covered dozens of feet, as if shrinking the distance to an inch.

Bali Shenyu looked up abruptly, and his scalp tingled. He was indeed a madman, but having been around him for years and known for his reputation, he was among those who had once dominated the grasslands on the banks of the Huangshui River, where a single man had silenced the leaders of hundreds of tribes. How could he not be wary of the man before him?
"Damn it, go stop him!"

But in a moment of impulse, Bali Shenyu disregarded Li Siyuan's pale face and pushed his evil power to an unprecedented peak, transforming into a twisted, evil shadow of intertwined blue and red, rushing straight towards the cave.

Li Siyuan turned around in astonishment, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

In the distance, Xiao Yan's eyes remained indifferent, without the slightest fluctuation. Facing the frenzied rush of Ba Li Shen Yu, he simply pointed his left hand like a sword, then pointed it from afar.

Within the dantian, the chill of frost, the gentleness of clouds, and the speed of wind—three distinct yet shared forces—instantly merged and flowed together, transforming into a pure, powerful, and unparalleled chaotic energy.

"boom."

A condensed, almost tangible spiral of energy, its entire body a chaotic, grayish color, burst forth from Xiao Yan's fingertips.

It started out no thicker than a thumb, but the moment it left the body, it frantically devoured the surrounding air, light, and even sound. In the blink of an eye, it swelled to the size of a water vat, its color like leaden clouds pressing down on a city, its momentum like a pillar of heaven collapsing.

This column of air was not a straight line, but rather it spun at high speed, creating terrifying shockwaves visible to the naked eye. Wherever it passed, two members of the Sorrow organization who had not yet reacted were instantly reduced to ashes, hard rocks shattered and flew apart inch by inch, and trees as thick as bowls were uprooted and instantly pulverized in the gray vortex.

The dust and debris were forcibly swept up by this overwhelming force, forming a devastating torrent that arrived at the scene with a speed several times faster than the attack of the Divine Jade of Bali.

Li Siyuan was the first to be hit, and suddenly felt as if his liver and gallbladder were about to burst, as if the whole world was pressing down on him.

In that instant, his pride in his lightness skill and unpredictable movements, his martial arts prowess that could be considered top-notch, appeared so pale and laughable in the face of this absolute power.

All that remained in his eyes was the rapidly expanding, chaotic energy that filled his vision; his eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.

The instinct for survival overwhelmed everything. He let out a low growl that was not human, and with all his might, he rolled and pounced to the side in a disheveled manner, revealing his ugly posture. Where was the composure of the so-called Confucian scholar and sage?

Even so, the violent aftershocks from the edge of the energy column still slammed into his back, shattering his protective aura like paper. He spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the distance.

Meanwhile, Bali Shenyu, whose vest was directly facing the column of air, was on high alert. The moment he turned around, his pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints.

Although he was insane, he was not ignorant. The moment Xiao Yan released his Qi, the fear originating from the depths of his soul overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.

He wanted to stop his momentum and dodge, but the momentum of his full-force lunge into the cave, combined with the terrifying suction force of the air column, left him no time to make any effective reaction.

"May the Eternal Heaven help me!!"

At the critical moment of life and death, Bali Shenyu let out a long roar, his eyes filled with even more madness. Instead of retreating, he advanced, pushing the internal energy granted to him by Duokuohuo to an unprecedented peak, forming an extremely thick protective aura on his body. He also gathered all his life's power in his palms, intending to withstand this earth-shattering blow head-on.

However, reality is reality.

The chaotic pillar of energy collided with his protective aura without any fancy moves.

With a soft sound, the protective aura of Bali Shenyu, which was strong enough to clash with Ying Gou for a short time, was as fragile as thin ice under the sun in the face of this pure, powerful and incomparable chaotic qi, and instantly disintegrated and annihilated.

The column of air continued its momentum, crashing into Ba Li Shen Yu's chest without any obstruction.

"puff!"

Bali Shenyu felt an indescribable, terrifying force, a mixture of extreme cold, crushing weight, and tearing storm, violently rushing into his meridians. The internal energy he tried to gather crumbled instantly, like snow meeting boiling water, and was then brutally destroyed by the force that had invaded his eight extraordinary meridians.

He truly deserves to be called a genius among shamans, one in a million. He took a direct hit from the Qi Scripture and managed to neutralize most of the Qi pillar. The remaining force passed through the Bali Divine Jade and crashed into the mountain wall behind him, dissipating completely.

Bali Shenyu was slammed against the mountain wall next to the cave by the Qi Scripture, then slid down, his whole body curled up like a boiled shrimp, blood gushing from his mouth.

Ten feet away, meeting Hou Qing's focused gaze, Xiao Yan took another step forward, shrinking the distance to an inch. The hum of the Taiping Sword in his right hand suddenly rose, and the green light on the blade surged. As the sword light flowed, faint phantoms of green lotuses bloomed, withered, and bloomed again at the tip of the sword.

The sword light rose, like the Milky Way pouring down from the heavens.

There were no complicated sword moves, only a pure and incredibly fast sword light. Where the sword light passed, space seemed to be torn apart, and a chilling sword aura spread out, causing the water droplets splashing in front of the cave to instantly condense into tiny ice crystals and fall down.

The sword intent was overwhelming, as if a thousand troops were galloping and roaring in the sword light, or as if ten thousand years of frost had frozen the nine provinces.

As the saying goes, "A hall full of flowers intoxicates three thousand guests, a single sword's frost chills fourteen provinces!"

In Bali Shenyu's pupils, filled with madness and excruciating pain, only this dazzling, bluish-white cold light under the setting sun was reflected.

Avoid? The thought had barely formed when the sword light arrived.

Block? What can a mere divine jade block?

"laugh!"

The sword's edge pierced through Bali Shenyu's heart meridian without any hindrance.

His body stiffened completely. He looked down in disbelief and saw a huge hole in his chest, from which countless sword energies raged endlessly.

"No...do-koho...help..."

Before his hoarse plea could even be uttered, he exploded from the inside out, then vanished without a trace, carried away by a gentle breeze from afar.

Both body and spirit perished.

Not far from Bali Shenyu, Ying Gou, standing with her arms crossed on the broken roof, watched the power of the sword strike, then turned to look at Xiao Yan, and involuntarily pursed her lips.

In that devastating instant, Li Siyuan, who had coughed up blood and gotten up, did not hesitate at all. He didn't even glance at the sword light. He pushed the Supreme Qiankun Skill, which he had cultivated all his life, to its limit. His figure shot backward like a wisp of gray smoke blown away by a strong wind, rushing towards the two Tongwen Hall disciples who were closest to him and were in a panic.

At the same time, he flicked his folding fan, and several golden rays shot out, which were actually several Jinxing piercings aimed at the ground and a few scattered rocks behind Xiao Yan.

The moment it landed, the Jinxing Thorn hissed and emitted puffs of pale green poisonous smoke that quickly spread and obscured visibility.

After that, he grabbed one of the disciples by the back of the collar and with his other hand, flicked and pushed him across the shoulder. The disciple felt a tremendous force surge through him and was involuntarily thrown into the air, letting out a terrified scream as he crashed straight into Hou Qing, who was rushing to intercept him.

Li Siyuan, using the force of the push, accelerated backward again, precisely blending into the group of Yinshan auxiliary soldiers who were fleeing in all directions, crying out for their fathers and mothers.

He quickly stripped off the tattered fur coat of another servant soldier he had knocked down and draped it over himself. He grabbed a handful of dirt and smeared it on his face. Instantly, he curled up and, with the terrified crowd, desperately rushed towards the densest part of the forest deep in the valley.

The movements were executed in one smooth motion, and were indeed incredibly fast.

However, a cold voice, as if whispering in his ear, suddenly froze his fleeing figure.

"Want to go?"

Li Siyuan was terrified, his heart almost leaping out of his chest. He looked up abruptly and saw Ying Gou appear directly in front of him on his escape route, startling the fleeing soldiers into kneeling in panic.

"Nobody can stop me!"

Driven by extreme fear, Li Siyuan's courage surged. He raised his palm and struck Ying Gou directly. In this desperate attack, he repeatedly raised his Supreme Divine Universe Skill, exhausting all his internal energy, hoping only to force this killing god away.

Ying Gou's crimson eyes flickered slightly, but she neither dodged nor avoided. Her small, white hand reached out with an unusually slow pace.

Li Siyuan's wrist, which was channeling internal energy, was gripped precisely and directly by that small hand, and the sound of bones cracking immediately followed. Before the excruciating pain could even reach his head, Ying Gou's other hand, like a venomous snake striking, swiftly struck several major acupoints on his chest, including the Tanzhong and Qihai points, as well as the Tianding and Jianjing points on his shoulders and neck.

A deathly, dormant energy instantly invaded, piercing deep into his meridians and vital points. Li Siyuan's surging internal energy deflated completely, like a punctured balloon.

"Ugh!"

A bloodcurdling scream finally escaped Li Siyuan's throat, but it was very weak and powerless.

He lay limp on the ground like a dead dog with all its bones and tendons removed, his eyes filled with boundless despair and unbelievable fear.

Having traversed half a lifetime and schemed countless times, he couldn't even withstand a single move from this woman!
Ying Gou, expressionless, picked up the limp Li Siyuan as if he were a bag of garbage, and threw him towards Gongyang Zuo, who was arriving late and had entered the battlefield with Shili Qixiang and three hundred other righteous cavalry.

Shi Li Qi Xiang was instantly horrified, but Gong Yang Zuo chuckled. Two night scouts pounced on him like wolves and tigers, instantly binding Li Si Yuan like a dumpling.

"Brother!" From behind the distant rocks, the only surviving member, Li Cunyong, sensed that Li Siyuan had been captured and immediately drew his bow. Three armor-piercing heavy arrows, imbued with the remaining power of his life's work, were aimed in a triangular formation at Xiao Yan's unsuspecting back.

Xiao Yan didn't even turn around; he casually flicked his left hand three times in mid-air.

Three crisp, metallic sounds, like the clash of metal, rang out almost simultaneously. The armor-piercing arrows, forged from fine iron, shattered instantly, turning into dust that fluttered down.

Xiao Yan casually thrust the Taiping Sword forward, and a dazzling, sun-like sword aura flew out, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, instantly traversing a distance of dozens of feet.

Just as Li Cunyong leaped out from behind the rock and was about to draw his bow again, the so-called sharp sword energy was already upon him.

"puff."

The sword energy pierced through the rock without hindrance, then passed right through his body, pinning him to the mountain wall behind him like a rag doll, his blood meandering down the rock face.

He opened his mouth blankly, and the powerful bow in his hand finally slipped out of his grasp, and his blind eyes went out completely.

Below the hillside, the drought demon held Li Cunxiao's arm tightly, and the latter's roar still echoed through the valley.

"Your master is finished, and you're still fighting?!"

But upon hearing the voice of the drought demon, Li Cunxiao, whose mind was in a daze, turned red in the eyes and pounded the ground heavily with his large hands, like a heartbroken giant bear.

Hou Qing's figure flashed to Li Cunxiao's side like a wisp of smoke, and the red umbrella in his hand spun in front of him.

Li Cunxiao froze abruptly, the fierce and heartbroken glint in his eyes quickly replaced by bewilderment and blankness.

The drought demon glanced at Hou Qing, then slowly released its grip.

Li Cunxiao's massive body lunged forward and crashed heavily to the ground. He struggled for a moment, but ultimately couldn't get up, only breathing heavily in a daze.

The remaining members of the Shang organization, along with the remnants of the Tongwen Hall, seeing Li Siyuan captured alive, Li Cunyong killed, and Li Cunxiao suppressed, completely lost their last shred of fighting spirit. They all knelt on the ground, begging for surrender.

Anger, Sorrow, and Joy exchanged a glance, and taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention shifted, they suddenly sprang up from the ground and split into three directions, fleeing desperately towards different directions outside the valley, wishing they had two more legs.

Hou Qing then bowed in the direction of Xiao Yan and said, "Your Majesty, you might as well teach your disciple another move."

Xiao Yan had already reached the stone cave, but upon hearing this, he smiled. The Taiping Sword in his hand emitted a buzzing sound and flew out instantly, covering a distance of a hundred steps in the blink of an eye.

A moment later, several loyal followers galloped over from outside the valley and beheaded the three men who had been pierced through the back of the heart.

The Taiping Sword drew an arc in the air, but instead of flying back into Xiao Yan's hand, it went straight into the scabbard stuck in the stone wall above the cave. The sword was as clear as ever, without a drop of blood on it.

At the same time, the sound of hooves thundered from the direction of the valley entrance. Hundreds of palace cavalry and elite cavalrymen, like efficient harvesting machines, disarmed the surrendered members of the Shang organization, the remaining Jin army, and the completely collapsed auxiliary troops.

Xiao Yan didn't even glance at the captured Li Siyuan or the cleared battlefield. With a wave of his sleeve, a strong wind blew, and the rubble blocking the cave entrance was shaken away by his powerful internal force, revealing the scene inside the cave.

On the blue stone, the surrendered official sat cross-legged, but his condition was already precarious. The winding blood lines in his seven orifices were shocking to behold, and his once fair and jade-like skin was covered with bloodstains, as if a delicate porcelain was about to shatter.

The dark purple vortex surrounding her was extremely violent, while her aura was weak and chaotic, like a candle flickering in the wind. She was clearly in the final stage of retraining the Nine Nether Profound Heaven Divine Art after her power had dissipated.

Xiao Yan's heart tightened. He stepped into the cave, and instantly, a gentle and mellow Three-Part Returning Qi, primarily of Yang attribute, condensed in his palm. Without hesitation, he gently pressed it onto Jiang Chen's trembling, thin back. The mellow internal energy carefully probed in, attempting to calm the raging evil energy within her body and protect her faltering heart meridian.

The moment he injected his inner force, Jiang Chen's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened.

However, those once alluring peach blossom eyes were now filled with an empty, bewildered void. Her lips moved, murmuring unconsciously, her voice drifting like a dream.

"Why you..."

This murmur, as soft as a mosquito's buzz, struck precisely at a hidden corner of Xiao Yan's heart.

The surrendered minister's words lacked the usual confrontation or deliberate distance. Instead, they stripped away all pretense, revealing the most genuine confusion between illusion and reality, or rather, a dependence that even she herself was unaware of.

Xiao Yan's hand, which was pressed against her back, paused slightly. A feeling of anger mixed with pity surged within him. In the end, he simply said in a soft, almost forceful voice, "It's me. Don't speak."

"No, you can't come. Jiu Gai... wait for me... wait for me..."

"not good."

Xiao Yan felt a sudden alarm bell ringing in his heart and immediately tried to increase his internal energy input to forcibly stabilize her rampaging energy.

But it was too late.

The surrendered minister's body trembled violently, as if struck from within by an invisible, immense force. The dark purple vortex surrounding him suddenly contracted inward and then exploded with a deafening roar.

A violent shockwave erupted from her, scattering all the remaining moisture and debris in the cave. Xiao Yan's hand, which was pressed against her back, was violently thrown back by the force of the outburst.

The next moment, the surrendered official lowered his head and clenched his fists, as if he was enduring something.

"Your subject has surrendered. I am Xiao Yan. Leave everything to me."

Xiao Yan raised his hand to comfort her, but she just looked at him, then patiently took a step back. She then ignored everyone outside the cave, smashed straight through the not-yet-completely-cleared entrance, and amidst the flying rubble, transformed into a black-purple streak that was almost impossible to see with the naked eye, shooting toward the main peak of Yinshan at an incredible speed.

"You surrendered subject!" Xiao Yan shouted sharply, knowing that she had been completely devoured by her inner demons and was teetering on the edge of demonic possession, her condition extremely dangerous.

Without hesitation, he quickly ordered Hou Qing, who had just arrived at the cave entrance, "Order Gongyang Zuo and the others to guard this place and clean it up. Li Siyuan is to keep a close watch on it and ensure nothing goes wrong!"

Before he finished speaking, his figure was already like a streak of azure lightning tearing through the sky, chasing after the out-of-control black-purple stream of light, rushing towards the main peak of Yinshan Mountain.

A cold glint flashed in Ying Gou's crimson eyes, and her petite figure, like a weightless wisp of blood-red smoke, followed closely behind Xiao Yan without a sound, yet with no slowness whatsoever.

On the main peak of Yinshan Mountain, the leaden-gray sky seemed to press heavily on the summit, and the setting sun, like blood, dyed the snow covering the peak into an eerie dark red, as if it were soaked in blood.

What's even more unsettling is that the snow that should have melted in the late spring breeze has now mysteriously detached from the mountainside, as if weightless, and is suspended in mid-air, drifting slowly.

An ancient and vast pressure emanating from the deepest part of the mountain was like a prehistoric beast that had been sleeping for hundreds of millions of years suddenly opening its eyes and awakening.

An invisible force field enveloped the surrounding area, making the air thick and heavy. Even the roar of the cascading waterfall seemed to be forcibly suppressed and distorted by this pressure. Top experts like Hou Qing and Hanba felt a significant stagnation in the flow of their internal energy, as if they were trapped in an invisible quagmire.

Xiao Yan's expression was as still as water, and he held nothing back. Golden light, azure light, and black baleful aura intertwined and surged wildly around him, his figure moving like lightning, relentlessly pursuing the elusive, chaotic black-purple stream of light in front of him.

With each step he took, the rocks beneath his feet groaned under the weight, as if he were stepping on the violently pounding heart of the Yinshan beast, subtly resisting the immense pressure emanating from the mountaintop.

Ying Gou's blood-red eyes were fixed on Xiao Yan's back. Her figure flickered and swayed among the steep cliffs, like a wisp of blood-red smoke clinging to the bone, always half a body length behind Xiao Yan, silent and still.

The two, one in front and one behind, increased their speed to the extreme, facing the increasingly heavy and terrifying pressure that seemed to freeze and crush their souls, like two arrows shooting against the current, fiercely rushing straight towards the summit of Yinshan's main peak.

The mountain wind howled in my ears, and the closer I got to the summit, the stronger the sense of oppression that came from my soul became. There was also more and more snow floating in the air, as if I were in an upside-down white, deathly sea.

Finally, after passing through a band of light that flickered between light and shadow, composed of suspended ice crystals and thin clouds, the view from the summit suddenly burst into view.

Xiao Yan had no time to examine it closely and followed the surrendered official deep into a cave.

Inside the cave, in front of the stone gate, at the center of the altar, a figure stood silently.

She was exceptionally tall, appearing even more imposing than the drought demon from afar. She wore a wide, faded, and worn-out dark blue robe made of some unknown material, embroidered with intricate and ancient star maps and shamanic totems in dark gold thread.

She held a staff in her hand, and two tangible gazes seemed to pierce through the cloth obstructing her eyes, landing precisely on Xiao Yan.

A sigh sounded.

"Bearing the imperial star, surrounded by purple aura... truly a descendant of the Li Tang dynasty. Ha... the Li family's dragon vein has given birth to such a variable as you."

Her gaze, obscured by the blue cloth, seemed to shift slightly, sweeping over Ying Gou, who stood indifferently behind Xiao Yan, before finally returning to Xiao Yan.

"But, do you wish to save the body that Si Yudan's lingering resentment resides in?" The voice paused, as if chewing on the ancient hatred contained in the name, before turning into a low sigh of unclear meaning, "Very well. She is the 'key' that led you here, and you... may be the final 'key' to unlock this true prison."

"Do you know why this skill is called 'Nine Nether Profound Heaven'?"

"Do you know what exactly this domineering force that Yuan Tiangang seeks?"

(End of this chapter)