While the Brocade Emperor’s tone was relaxed, it caused the Encompa.s.sing Emperor to glance at him again.
Now, Yan Zhaoge slowly concluded his cultivation session, the starlight emitted from his acupoints gradually being retracted in returning to his body.
As he opened his eyes and saw the Encompa.s.sing Emperor and Brocade Emperor, he smiled, “This Yan has been impetuous. Please mind not how laughable it is.”
The Brocade Emperor and Encompa.s.sing Emperor both said, “It is okay.”
Meng Wan smiled, “Congratulations on further advancing your cultivation base, Senior Brother Yan.”
“Thank you, Junior Sister Meng,” Yan Zhaoge stood up and said as he looked at the devilish palace of flame around them, “This place no longer holds anything of value now.”
They left the palace composed of flame, the Encompa.s.sing Emperor saying after a time, “Influenced by the Exalted Rahu Luminary, Little Friend Feng has headed deeper into the Nine Underworlds and will be hard pressed to leave clues for us. Not only would it be difficult to go after her, it will also be much riskier if we continue moving forward.”
The Nine Underworlds possessed numerous great devils at the end of the day.
The Encompa.s.sing Emperor looked at Yan Zhaoge and Meng Wan, “This old man believes that we should return to the World beyond Worlds and report this matter to the Three Sovereigns, letting them make a decision on how best to deal with this.”
“At that time, if we are to venture into the depths of the Nine Underworlds, the leaders.h.i.+p of the Three Sovereigns would aid us greatly.”
Hearing this, Yan Zhaoge slowly nodded, “Thank you for empathising with this Yan’s feelings, Encompa.s.sing Emperor. I am not someone who does not know the weight of matters. Heading deeper into the Nine Underworlds without any leads whatsoever would be no different from sending a sheep into the mouth of a tiger. While I am worried about my wife, there seems to be nothing that can be done about this now.”
“Your words just now were wise and dependable. This Yan can raise no objection to them.”
Meng Wan agreed, “We have already troubled you by making you come this far. This junior will naturally abide by what you and father decide on.”
The Encompa.s.sing Emperor said, “No need to stand on ceremony, Little Friend Fu. We have gained much from our trip to the Nine Underworlds this time. We would not have known otherwise that the Exalted Rahu Luminary actually performed such a deed.”
He looked at the Brocade Emperor, who smiled, “While regrets are inevitable, things in this world never always go according to one’s will. This may be a destined tribulation.”
Hearing the Brocade Emperor’s words, the gazes of Yan Zhaoge and the Encompa.s.sing Emperor flickered slightly, their gazes moving between he and Meng Wan.
They ceased in their advance as they left that devilish palace of flame and attempted to go back the way they had come.
Along the way, Yan Zhaoge kept an eye on the Brocade Emperor’s movements.
Still, he seemed to be normal right now, at least from the surface.
The abnormal thing originated from the external world!
As Yan Zhaoge and the others were retracing their steps in leaving the Nine Underworlds, partway through their journey, a strong sense of foreboding suddenly arose in all their hearts!
A sense of crisis could be felt from all directions amidst this boundless, endless darkness!
Suddenly, majestic tides swept the area, rus.h.i.+ng straight towards them!
That terrifying aura actually surpa.s.sed that of True Immortals who had already pushed open the door to Immortality.
The first thought that came to their minds was that despite already having kept as low key as possible, some more powerful devils of the Nine Underworlds had still been alerted to their presence at the end of the day.
Yet, a majestic voice next reverberated amidst s.p.a.ce, “Where is Yin Tianxia’s descendant?”
“This Sovereign can clearly feel the aura of Yin Tianxia’s Immortal Artifact which stems from the orthodox Dim Radiant Twelve Arts.”
“A Sovereign of the Immortal Court,” The Encompa.s.sing Emperor’s face suddenly fell, “And not just one of them too!”
Yan Zhaoge’s pupils dilated abruptly, “Why would Sovereigns of the Immortal Court appear in the Nine Underworlds? Did they coincidentally discover me with the Dim Radiant Wheel, or is it that…”
Thoughts flashed through his mind as he turned to look at the Brocade Emperor.
The Brocade Emperor had a calm expression on his face as he smiled, “While the Sovereigns of the Immortal Court are formidable, they are still inferior to our orthodox Daoism’s Three Sovereigns at the end of the day. While I and Fellow Daoist Li may not be confident of obtaining victory over them, we are still capable of playing around with them for a bit. Let us not get overly entangled in battle. It would be ideal if we can shake them off with the help of the environment of the Nine Underworlds.”
The Encompa.s.sing Emperor shot a deep glance at the Brocade Emperor before saying decisively, “Leaving comes first!”
He flicked his black sleeve, bringing Yan Zhaoge along in speeding towards another direction.
The Brocade Emperor performed the same action as he speedily left along with Meng Wan.
As frenzied tides swept the area behind them, the second person’s voice resounded, “Li Jun, Fu Yunchi, must things really get so ugly between us?”
“You were the ones who were blocking our path. It is us who should be finding fault with you,” The Encompa.s.sing Emperor said, “Does the Immortal Court intend to break our agreement?”
The first voice resounded, “Quibble not! Yin Tianxia sought his own death, and his descendants similarly cannot be forgiven! That is our agreement. If you insist on being mantises before the carriage today, do not blame me for showing you no mercy!”
The Encompa.s.sing Emperor’s tone was mild as he said, “We can only offend you here then.”
With that, he continued proceeding forward alongside the Brocade Emperor, transforming into a bright streak of light in traversing the darkness of the Nine Underworlds.
Yan Zhaoge did not mind being taken away along with the Encompa.s.sing Emperor. He observed the Brocade Emperor even as he looked behind him.
Roiling sand had actually arisen amidst s.p.a.ce which had previously been dim and filled with devilish qi all around.
A boundless sea of sand that surged to the heavens roiled and extended non-stop as it pursued Yan Zhaoge and the others.
Meanwhile, a phoenix was soaring in the air above the sea of sand.
It was different from the fire phoenix that Yan Zhaoge was used to seeing, that which originated from the lineage of the World beyond Worlds’ Phoenix Ritual Mountain’s Wutong Slope.
This phoenix was, shockingly, an ice phoenix.
It was small and intricate, merely being six foot tall when it was standing.
Spreading its wings, it did not seem conspicuous as it soared above the sea of sand as it was just like an unnoticeable tiny white dot.
Still, the sense of power that emanated from within was incomparably more powerful than when in the case of the late Zhuang Shen, a Human Exalt.
As compared to this ice phoenix, Zhuang Shen was really like a firefly before the bright moon.
“Before the Great Calamity, there was once an Ice Phoenix Emperor with his Ice Phoenix Rebirth Scripture,” Yan Zhaoge narrowed his eyes, “In the current Immortal Court, an expert who can claim the Sovereign t.i.tle has already appeared from this lineage. Although it is of the Immortal Court, it is still remarkable indeed.”
Instead, Yan Zhaoge could not match that roiling sea of sand with any specific supreme martial art that he knew of.
While there were a few kinds which it bore a resemblance to, they were not completely the same.
From the looks of it now, it might be like the Dim Radiant Twelve Arts, being a brand new supreme martial art which had been created with reference to the crystallised intelligence of predecessors.
While the foundation of the Immortal Court’s martial pract.i.tioners was the treasured light of the power of faith, they did not lack supreme talents. Their high population was not simply for show.
Both sides battled, going wherever the fight took them.
The Brocade Emperor and the Encompa.s.sing Emperor had not the leisure to remain low key and conceal their movements now as the intense clash instantly drew the attention of the numerous devils of the Nine Underworlds, with more and more of them approaching the scene.
Finally, a similarly terrifying aura emanated from the distance, a frenzied, sinister roar resounding deafeningly from the distance. A great Devil of the Nine Underworlds which was equivalent to an Immortal realm expert in strength had been attracted over!
While they had no intention of teaming up, the experts of the Immortal Court and the Devil ended up catching them in a pincer.
The great Devil blocked the path of Yan Zhaoge’s group as the two Sovereigns of the Immortal Court instantly made use of this chance to catch up to them.
The Encompa.s.sing Emperor flicked his sleeve, releasing Yan Zhaoge. The Brocade Emperor did the same with Meng Wan too.
The two began concentrating fully on this battle with their foes while Yan Zhaoge brought Meng Wan along in retreating to the side.
A free-for-all ensued as these three sides engaged in a heaven-roiling, earth-overturning battle amidst the devilish domain in this region of the Nine Underworlds.