Chapter 360: Chapter 360
360: Chapter 348: Soul of Mountains and Rivers 360: Chapter 348: Soul of Mountains and Rivers He looked straight ahead at the emptiness of everything, his naturally proud head unwilling to lift and gaze upwards.
Si Li casually wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth, making no attempt to hide it, her elegance apparent in every gesture and movement.
There was no denying that at this moment, she appeared more like a solitary king than the Venerable Immortal in the city.
She wouldn’t flaunt her strength by concealing her wounds and vulnerability.
Her broad-mindedness surpassed the heavens and the earth; this world might indeed injure her, but could never extinguish her spirit.
The phoenix’s cry resounds across the nine heavens, its battle cry piercing the fields!
A king’s conduct in this world should aim to sweep clean the Four Seas!
The bloody spear in her hand faded like a shadow, while Si Li gracefully toyed with the Four Seas Sword, her narrow eyes unapologetically looking down upon the Emperor standing atop the city walls.
Her tone was almost chiding, “Stay put and don’t provoke me.”
With that, she flicked her finger, and the Four Seas Sword landed sharply at the Emperor’s feet.
The sword tip sank three inches into the soil, and the reflective sword body mirrored the Emperor’s tall and majestic stature.
The Emperor’s gaze, burning with fierce fire, seared across the expanse before him.
That was the Royal Sword which he once held in his hand!
Not only had his weapon been smashed into the Mortal World, but now even his personal Imperial Sword had fallen into the hands of another.
Throughout the Four Fields of Immortal City, there was a hushed and stunned silence—out of shock, but also because it was too hard to believe.
Had the Emperor truly been defeated?
And by a member of the Corpse Demon Royal Family at that?
Years ago, his sworn brother, Immortal Venerable Zhu Zhan, had harnessed the power of All Heavens and Gods to eradicate the Corpse Demons of the world, sealing Corpse King Jiang Chen in a place impenetrable to sight.
Yet the War God, the Venerable Immortal, the Heavenly God among men, had been defeated at the hands of Jiang Chen’s descendant!
They felt unable to accept such a reality.
If that line of reasoning stood, then the Corpse Demon Clan, presumed to be as feeble as a broken limb of the Demon Clan, still possessed such horrific strength.
Did that not mean that the Tianyao Continent was on the verge of giving rise to a second Demon Clan, one with the power to threaten the heavens and the earth?
With such inferences, terror grew in the hearts of the onlookers, and the thought of an uncontrollable future filled them with unprecedented fear.
Si Li noticed the dead silence and unease within the city and let out a light laugh, offering a rare comforting reassurance, “There’s no need to be so tense.
As you can see, it’s not that I am too strong, but that Chenghuang is simply too weak.”
She uttered the most honest words with an arrogant face.
Si Li hadn’t lied; her condition was indeed not good, weakened to a point where immediate nourishment couldn’t compensate.
She was enveloped in an unfamiliar hunger.
Despite the city being full of fresh blood and flesh, she had always been selective about her food.
But when her words reached their ears, especially to the Emperor, they stung like a naked insult.
The Emperor slowly closed his eyes.
The world seemed vast and chaotic; he was confused and found it all rather absurd.
As a sovereign god, his pride led him to step forward and draw the Four Seas Sword with nonchalance, sheathing it as his will to fight gradually faded away.
He said coldly, “Had not my Divine Element been destroyed, the secret treasures of the mountains not been stolen and lost, and old wounds not been difficult to heal, do you think you would have the right to stand before me and claim solitude?”
His words seemed a self-consolation, an explanation owed to all living beings.
And so, they responded with shock.
“The Emperor’s Divine Element has been destroyed?
Who dared commit such a disrespectful act?”
“So the stolen secret treasure from the mountain was for the Emperor to heal his injuries; the thieves are accursed!”
“Gods and Immortals rely on their Divine Element; without it, most souls vanish like dissipating smoke, marking their end.
For the Emperor to fight this battle, maintaining his grace, is nothing short of admirable, earning our utmost respect.”
So it turned out that his Divine Element had been lost, God tainted with chronic illness.
It was no wonder, then, that the battle was so strenuous for him.
Nevertheless, the might displayed by the Corpse Demon Princess was still shockingly speechless.
The people’s hearts settled slightly; it was understandable that the Emperor was hindered by his injured Divine Element.
Wasn’t there still the Princess?
Surely, such misfortune wouldn’t strike both her and the Emperor, both losing their Divine Element.
“How is it, Chenghuang?
Unable to win the fight, must you bring out your wife?
You really haven’t changed at all, with your endless excuses and backing.”
Si Li spoke with a smile, yet there was sarcasm in her tone as she crossed her arms, “Speaking of the lost Divine Element, I must inquire with Emperor Chenghuang about the beginning of creation.
Among the countless tribes of Demon Spirits, there was a Demon Clan known as the Enchanting Demon.
Their Soul Power was not high, their lifespan short, and their reproductive abilities limited and weak.
Mostly comprised of female demons, they were born from the mischievous evil of Demon Spirits, considered the lowest and most useless amongst the Demon Clans.
Yet, why is it that in the Demon World, among the seventy-two Demon Generals, half are Enchanting Demons?
There are rumors that one of the Lords of the Six Rivers of the Demon World is actually from the Enchanting Demons.
Now on the Demon Lands, the Enchanting Demons reign supreme and mighty.
Countless righteous warriors have perished at the hands of Enchanting Demons.”
The Emperor’s face had already turned extremely unsightly, even involuntarily lifting his head, looking deeply puzzled as he stared at Si Li, wondering how she could know these things!
Si Li continued, “As for that so-called secret treasure of the mountains, I believe it must be the relic fragment of reincarnation, rumored to have the power not for making one invincible, but for reconstructing parts of the body.
Emperor Chenghuang, do you really think that if the treasure were left intact, your sword would not have been taken by me?”
The Emperor’s lips quivered slightly as if touched on a sore point, his heart filled with intense shock—it was the first time he couldn’t hide his discomfiture.
The onlookers within the city, however, could not comprehend the meaning behind Si Li’s words.
They began to whisper amongst themselves.
“Why bring up the Enchanting Demon Clan out of the blue?
That lascivious breed, just hearing of them pollutes the ears.”
“So the Emperor’s secret treasure was a relic fragment?
What does repairing the body’s functions mean?
Could it be, apart from his Divine Element being damaged, even his Sacred Body has been harmed by the Demon Thieves?”
“Princess Si Li said that during the birth of the world, the branches of the Demon Clan were abundant, with the Enchanting Demons debuting as the weakest.
Yet, somehow, they rose to strength overnight.
Could this be related to the Emperor’s lost Divine Element?”
Although spoken softly, how could such whispers escape Chenghuang’s hearing?
His face twitched, as if stung by a venomous scorpion.
The entire visage became draped with a dark cloud, and with every uttered whisper, the emotions surging within grew denser, like a cloud of silt pressing upon the city’s borders.
His eyes, filled with the lightning of All Heavens, grew deeper, and to an outsider, the Emperor remained calm and collected with a king’s poise, but the Reverse Scale within his chest had been provoked.
With a step forward, the ancient and weathered Immortal City cracked under his foot, clouds of age-old dust spouting from the fissures, weightlessly floating around him.
Between each particle of dust, strands of green lightning sparked to life, forming a sky-covering net of thunder, its dazzling tendrils earning the cityscape an azure hue.
With that single step, he had summoned the soul of the land from the Four Seas and Nine Provinces.