Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 182 The Prestige of Emperor Yan

The three Northern Frontier Alliance Universe Lords behind them also noticed the abnormality, and their pursuit stopped instantly, their faces full of vigilance.

One of them stared at the black figure, his voice tinged with uncertainty: "This aura... is it an avatar of the Flame Emperor?"

The other person frowned: "Why is Emperor Yan here? Did he come specifically to stop the Lord of the Northern Prison?"

The black-clad figure ignored their discussion, his gaze fixed on Cao Benqi, his voice icy cold: "Lord of the Northern Prison, this road is blocked."

Cao Benqi's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was wrong.

He suppressed his inner turmoil and feigned composure as he spoke: "Emperor Yan? I have no grudge against your human race, why are you stopping me?"

He deliberately feigned an arrogant demeanor to try and hide his nervousness—if he were recognized, or entangled by the Yan Emperor's clone, and with the Northern Frontier Alliance pursuing him, he might really be doomed today.

Ling Xuan scoffed inwardly, completely unmoved by his act. His aura surged slightly, and the stagnant spacetime grew even heavier: "Human territory is not a place for a universal enemy like you to trespass. Either retreat, or... stay here."

Seeing the other party's resolute attitude, Cao Benqi glanced at the Northern Frontier Alliance's Universe Lord behind him, who was gradually regaining his mobility and glaring menacingly. His resentment rose again: "Damn it! Why did Ling Xuan have to appear at this time? Was he doing it on purpose? Knowing that I was being hunted down, he still came to kick me when I was down!"

But he also knew that now was not the time to complain. The Yan Emperor was powerful, and there were pursuers behind them. A direct confrontation was definitely not an option.

Seeing this, the Lord of the Northern Frontier Alliance behind him couldn't resist mocking, "Lord of the Northern Prison, let's see where you can run now! The Flame Emperor has come, you won't be able to escape today!"

Cao Benqi was trapped on the spot, torn between his inner turmoil and his own mind, every second was excruciating.

Behind him, the three cosmic lords of the Northern Frontier Alliance were watching him intently, while in front of him, the imperial might emanating from the Flame Emperor's avatar acted like tangible shackles, firmly binding him.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his mind raced with rage: "Should I reveal my identity? Master Zuoshanke repeatedly warned me not to divulge even a single detail. But if I don't, how will Emperor Yan and the Northern Frontier Alliance let me go? Once exposed, my identity as the Lord of the Northern Prison will be completely useless, and Master's secret will be exposed as well. He'll definitely be furious. But if I don't reveal it, I'll die here today. What should I do?!"

"Emperor Yan, do you humans truly intend to be my enemy? Do you know that I have never attacked you humans first?" Cao Benqi shouted, suppressing his fear and panic, trying to regain some advantage in terms of momentum, but his voice trembled slightly due to tension.

"An enemy? You dare to challenge me?" Ling Xuan sneered, his eyes full of disdain. If it were really the Northern Prison Master disguised as the Mountain Guest, he might have to think twice. But this imposter dared to put on airs.

"If I kill you here today, there will be no more Lord of the Northern Prison." Ling Xuan's tone was icy and chilling, and his killing intent was undisguised.

"Hahaha, with Emperor Yan here, you, Lord of the Northern Prison, have no chance of escape." The three Universe Lords of the Northern Frontier Alliance behind him hurriedly echoed, their faces full of flattering smiles, and at the same time tacitly stopped their attacks.

Since Emperor Yan has set his sights on the Lord of the Northern Prison, it would be pointless for him to rashly try to seize him. It would be better to observe from the sidelines. If Emperor Yan is merely preventing the Lord of the Northern Prison from entering the human territory, he can wait for the right opportunity to make his move.

After all, the Yan Emperor's reputation was more terrifying than that of the strongest being in the primordial universe.

In the primordial universe, the strongest being in the universe who attacks the ruler of the universe will be targeted by the primordial universe, and if the ruler of the universe is killed, they will even be punished by the primordial universe.

But Emperor Yan's strength is comparable to the strongest in the universe, yet he himself is merely a master of the universe. If he were to take action against a master of the universe, the primordial universe wouldn't even bother to watch the spectacle.

Cao Benqi felt utterly desolate. Although he was usually arrogant and conceited, he was not without brains, otherwise he would not have chosen the Lord of the Spirit Rhinoceros, who was a relatively easy target to deal with.

He knew full well that the Flame Emperor was incredibly powerful, and that if he went all out, he would have no chance of survival.

"Damn it, if I perish, will Master Zuoshanke and the Giant Axe Founder revive me? Master said he wouldn't care whether I live or die, and the Giant Axe Founder is the teacher of Emperor Yan..." At this critical moment, Cao Benqi was still complaining about the others.

Finally, gritting his teeth and steeling his resolve, he instantly summoned the Northern Prison, a top-tier palace treasure.

It wasn't that he didn't want to use it before, but once he used the Palace Treasure, it would be difficult to escape the pursuit of the Lord of the Universe in the primitive universe environment where he couldn't teleport.

The Lord of the Universe can easily perceive messages from hundreds of millions of light-years away and maintain a high-frequency teleportation distance of tens of thousands of light-years.

It's easy to get yourself stuck in a traffic jam.

Cao Benqi moved with lightning speed, disappearing into the Northern Prison in a flash, clearly hoping to save his life with the defensive power of this treasure.

Seeing this, Ling Xuan was already prepared. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he slightly raised his right hand. Light surged in his palm, and a supreme palace treasure with a dark gold color slowly appeared.

The moment this treasure appeared, the surrounding space instantly twisted and deformed, and a powerful pressure surged forth like a tidal wave. Even distant celestial bodies began to tremble slightly, as if the entire universe was bowing down under this power.

With a thought, Ling Xuan unleashed the dark golden palace treasure, which pressed down fiercely on the Northern Prison. The suppressive power emanating from the palace caused fine cracks to appear in the surrounding space, determined to imprison Cao Benqi along with his Northern Prison.

Just as the dark golden palace was about to touch the Northern Prison, an extremely terrifying fluctuation suddenly came from the depths of the universe—the fluctuation was not a violent energy shock, but it carried a majesty that transcended the rules of the universe, as if even time stood still under this power.

The originally stable laws of the universe suddenly became violently disordered as if they had encountered a natural enemy, and retreated in all directions, forming a vacuum of law-free zones.

Immediately afterwards, an invisible, immense force, at an indescribable speed, broke through layers of space and crashed directly into Ling Xuan's supreme palace treasure.

Ling Xuan felt an irresistible force coming from the treasure, and the dark golden palace was sent flying uncontrollably, leaving a long trail in the starry sky before it barely managed to stabilize itself.

However, this force was very measured, targeting only the treasure and causing no real harm to Ling Xuan; it was clearly just a deterrent.

Therefore, the rules governing the universe have not disappeared.

This scene completely froze everyone present—the obsequious smiles on the faces of the three Universe Lords of the Northern Frontier Alliance instantly vanished, their mouths agape, their eyes filled with disbelief and horror. One of them even subconsciously took several steps back, his voice trembling: "What...what kind of power is this? Even the laws of the universe are retreating! Is...is it the strongest being in the universe?!"

The other person stared intently into the depths of space, his voice filled with fear and bewilderment: "How could the Lord of the Northern Prison know the strongest being in the universe?"

Ling Xuan narrowed his eyes, his heart filled with shock – he could clearly sense that the owner of that power was definitely at the level of the strongest in the universe, and might even be more unfathomable than the creator of the giant axe.

"The Mountain Dweller?"

Before everyone could recover from their shock, the figure from the depths of the universe had already completed the rescue: a ripple appeared in the space around the Northern Prison, and then the entire palace vanished into thin air, along with Cao Benqi's aura.

The mysterious figure did not linger. After rescuing Cao Benqi, it vanished completely into the depths of the universe as if it had never existed, leaving only that chaotic area of ​​laws to prove that everything just now was not an illusion.

The three Universe Lords of the Northern Frontier Alliance exchanged glances, their previous smugness completely gone, replaced by deep apprehension. Ling Xuan, meanwhile, stared thoughtfully in the direction where the Northern Prison had disappeared, clearly indicating that his plan to kill Cao Benqi while he was disguised as the Lord of the Northern Prison had failed. And it wasn't that the Mountain-Sitting Guest was truly indifferent to the life and death of his disciple.

The current Mountain Guardians have not yet lost faith in Cao Benqi. They still highly value this carefully cultivated disciple and will absolutely not allow him to fall easily.

Although the tense atmosphere in the starry sky has dissipated, a heavy shadow has been left in everyone's heart - no one expected that a notorious Northern Prison Lord would be involved with a mysterious strongest person in the universe, which will undoubtedly bring new variables to the cosmic landscape.

The three Universe Lords of the Northern Frontier Alliance were still in shock. One of them stared in the direction where the mysterious powerhouse had disappeared and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I've heard that the Lord of the Northern Prison has never offended humans. That mysterious powerhouse acted so decisively just now. Could it be... could it be that the creator of the giant axe of humanity was secretly helping him?"

The atmosphere in the starry sky froze instantly upon hearing these words.

"Damn it!" The Nine Nether clone suddenly turned its head, and the supreme imperial might around it surged out like a volcanic eruption.

In an instant, the space around him was twisted and crushed as if by an invisible giant hand, with large swathes of space collapsing into black abysses, radiating endless devouring power.

The distant stars seemed to be tossed about by a giant hand, their orbits thrown into chaos as they collided, shattered, and burst forth with blinding light.

The originally stable rules of the universe were thrown into chaos under the Emperor's might, and the flow of time slowed down, as if the entire universe was about to come to a standstill under this power.

Before the other party could react, the Nine Nether clone raised his hand and struck out with a palm.

This seemingly ordinary palm strike carried a power that made even the starry sky tremble.

The palm strike swept past, creating a massive rift several light-years long in the space ahead. Strange lightning flickered along the edges of the rift, and tiny fragments of space were constantly being drawn into it and instantly annihilated.

The surrounding light was also distorted by this force, forming eerie halos that completely obscured even the distant starlight.

"Boom—!" A muffled roar echoed through the starry sky. The palm strike, like an unparalleled power that had existed since the beginning of the universe, carried the momentum of creating the world and struck the Lord of the Raging Waves, who had just made his guess.

Without any suspense, the Lord of the Universe didn't even have time to deploy his defenses before his divine body shattered instantly under the terrifying palm force, turning into chaotic divine power that scattered across the starry sky.

"How dare you insult my master! I think you're courting death!" The voice of the Nine Nether Avatar was icy cold and carried an undeniable killing intent. His imperial might surged once again, pressing down on the other two Universe Lords of the Northern Frontier Alliance, "Lord of Shattered Stars" and "Lord of Flame Prison," making it almost impossible for them to breathe. The void beneath their feet was also dented by this pressure.

Just then, the scattered fragments of the divine body suddenly lit up with a light, and the shattered Lord of the Raging Waves began to reassemble his divine body.

In just a few breaths, his figure reformed, but his aura was extremely weak, clearly indicating that he had suffered a severe injury. Another blow would surely kill him.

As soon as the reorganization was completed, he looked at the Nine Netherworld clone in terror, his voice filled with extreme fear and trembling: "Emperor Yan, spare me! Emperor Yan, spare me! I really didn't mean it. I was just so frightened by that mysterious expert that I spoke without thinking. Please have mercy and forgive me this time!"

As he spoke, he tried his best to stabilize his illusory divine body, afraid of further angering Ling Xuan: "I have absolutely no intention of disrespecting the Founder of the Giant Axe. It was my foolishness, my idiocy, that made me utter such nonsense. I am willing to pay any price for my slip of the tongue, I only beg the Flame Emperor to show mercy!"

The Lord of Shattered Stars and the Lord of Fiery Hell also hurriedly stepped forward, pleading with smiles: "Emperor Yan, please calm down. The Lord of Raging Waves is not usually like this. He was truly frightened and lost his composure this time. The Northern Frontier Alliance and the human race have always kept to themselves. Please forgive him this time, considering that there have been no major conflicts in the past. We promise that this will never happen again!"

The Nine Netherworld clone coldly stared at the kneeling Lord of the Raging Waves, the killing intent in his eyes gradually receding, yet still carrying an overwhelming sense of oppression: "Today, considering your unintentional mistake and the lack of any substantial blasphemy, I will spare your life. If there is a next time, even if the leader of the Northern Frontier Alliance comes to plead for you, it will not save you!"

"Thank you, Emperor Yan, for sparing my life! Thank you, Emperor Yan, for sparing my life!" The Lord of the Raging Waves felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He carefully stood up, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Ling Xuan, the Nine Netherworld Avatar, swept his gaze like lightning across the three Universe Lords of the Northern Frontier Alliance. His supreme imperial might surged slightly as he said in a deep voice, "Remember this: the Lord of the Northern Prison has absolutely no connection with our human race. Even if he truly had a connection with us humans, if we humans wanted to protect him, how dare you touch him in the slightest?"

Although his words did not deliberately release any killing intent, they carried a sense of oppression that the three universe lords could not ignore.

"Yes, yes." The Lord of Shattered Stars, the Lord of Infernal Hell, and the Lord of Raging Tides nodded hurriedly in agreement, their eyes filled with awe.

They knew in their hearts that the Yan Emperor before them was not joking.

Throughout the entire cosmic sea, the power and terrifying strength of Emperor Yan are evident to all.

If we were to say who is most likely to break through the cycle of reincarnation and establish a holy land, it would undoubtedly be Emperor Yan, who emerged in the primordial universe era.

Emperor Yan's talent is nothing short of heaven-defying; he could break through and become the strongest being in the universe at any time.

However, there must be a deeper reason why he has not yet made a breakthrough.

Many powerful figures speculate that Emperor Yan was accumulating strength and building up his foundation, waiting for his understanding to be profound enough before making a breakthrough.

At that time, after undergoing the chaotic evolution of a miniature universe, it will surely soar into the sky.

The strongest beings in the ordinary universe would not dare to waste time at this stage, but with his terrifying talent of pushing the secret technique realm to the level of the strongest beings in the universe in just five thousand years, the Flame Emperor has the resources to make such a plan.

A mere few hundred epochs were but a fleeting moment to him.

Such talent is absolutely worthwhile, even if it takes trillions of epochs to cultivate.

Furthermore, the Lord of the Universe stage can retain an avatar. Once one breaks through to become the strongest being in the universe, one will return to the origin, and many abilities bestowed by the original universe will be taken back, and the avatar will naturally cease to exist.

For the current human race, this will undoubtedly reduce the number of super-strong individuals.

After weighing the pros and cons, Emperor Yan chose not to make a breakthrough for the time being, which was also for the sake of the development of the clan.

For this reason, whether they are lone travelers in the Cosmic Sea or some races in the Primordial Universe, those who feel hopeless about breaking through the cycle of reincarnation have all turned their attention to the human race, and have taken the initiative to approach and join the Hong Alliance.

In just a few hundred epochs, the Hong Alliance welcomed the participation of three powerful races, seven universe lords joined the alliance, and many powerful individuals from ordinary races and universe overlords responded to its call.

Even those forces that had not yet joined were all cautious and dared not easily offend Emperor Yan, just to leave themselves a way out.

After all, in this ever-changing cosmic landscape, no one can predict what the future holds, and befriending a super-powerful figure like Emperor Yan is always a good idea.

(End of this chapter)