Chapter 938 Ding Hao
Indescribable astonishment. That was what left the Imperial Lord stupefied.
Never had his authority and superiority been challenged before since he was made Imperial Lord. Never had he felt such fear and panic before. All this stranger did was just glare at him and here he was, feeling suffocated as if Fear had a hand constricting around his gullet. Even in those days before the mantle of Imperial Lord and its trappings fell upon his shoulders, he had never once felt like this before, even when enemies came close to thwarting his ascend to power.
But the image of the rusted sword and the wicked-looking saber on the totem that this young stranger brought demonstrated his intent.
The rusted sword w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu used came from him.
“Who are you? An Imperial Lord from an alien galaxy? How dare you show yourself here in the Ziwei Star Zone?” The Imperial Lord roared, his great powers churning like a storm, his very presence as a supreme G.o.d causing even Nature to tremor as if s.h.i.+vering in fear in the face of the G.o.d’s wrath.
The image of the green-clothed stranger did not respond. Instead, he merely waved a hand.
With a steely ring, the rusted sword shot into the sky and up into his grasp.
The stranger seized the sword. He ran his fingers down the rust-mottled blade and the copper-brown patches flaked off the weapon and rose into the sky, creating the scene of celestial bodies sparkling and twinkling in a star-studded night sky.
The power of a G.o.d.
He swung the weapon and fired a bolt. Just one bolt, but it was so fast that Imperial Lord Void could hardly react. It missed him—deliberately—so dangerously close, and Void could hear his ears ringing. Strands of black hair fell and dropped on his shoulder.
His forehead went slick with cold perspiration.
Still, the young stranger said not a word. He merely smiled and let go of the sword. It flew out of his grasp and landed back in the hand of a very much dead w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu like a bird flying back to its nest where its glowing light immediately faded as if the sword had turned into just an ordinary piece of weapon.
But it was not as simple as that. Li Mu’s cold and dead body began to show signs of life—albeit faint ones. Like a flame trying to survive in a storm, she looked like she was teetering on the edge of dying any time.
Nevertheless, it was the probable signs of life that rekindled the hope in Li Mu.
He looked up at the young stranger with joyful surprise.
The stranger merely smiled. This time, the motif of the wicked-looking saber on his totem glimmered like a star and an energy bolt shot forth, bearing down on Li Mu with the semblance of a gigantic cleaver.
The blow did not split open his head. But rather, it opened Li Mu’s perspective. The second it landed on his head, Li Mu fell through a spiraling wormhole, traveling at lightspeed through centuries and ages—a tour through the boundless universe for an entire eon before he finally regained his senses. By the time the breathtaking vision ended, the blow had entered him.
It entered—or rather, it was a.s.similated by—him.
There was no damage at all.
Li Mu stood there, still reeling with bewilderment from the vision when the stranger flicked a finger and fired a bolt that smashed the image of Imperial Lord Void into bits and pieces of confetti.
“You dare to project your avatar here, Stranger? By doing this, you leave your mark here. Proof that you have meddled with domains that are beyond your influence and authority. I will find you, and when I do…” The Imperial Lord’s snarling roars resounded from the bits and pieces of him still drifting on their way down to the ground. Then came a blasting shock wave and as the ripples of the eruption slowly died down, the image of the Imperial Lord was gone.
“Just like that? A flick from his finger and Void is gone?”
Song Yu and Silly Dog were seriously doubting their eyes.
“This is the reigning Imperial Lord, for crying out loud! Is this even true?!
“No, this must be a dream.
“That’s right. A dream.”
Both man and dog rubbed their eyes furiously in unison.
Meanwhile, Li Mu was in awe at the stranger’s power and abilities.
But with greater power and more experience than before, he knew that the blow defeated not the real Imperial Lord Void. Like the Imperial Lord Void that Wan s.h.i.+yu had defeated earlier, these were all merely the projected avatars of Void, not the real him. Although that dampened the fact that being able to destroy the avatar of a G.o.d with just a flick of a finger was nevertheless an extraordinary feat not one bit at all.
Especially since Void had said it himself; this young stranger was an ent.i.ty from another dimension.
For one to project his avatar through vast distances of s.p.a.ce and Time requires huge power. The more power is expended, the weaker the avatar is—possibly only just a one-ten-thousandth of the ent.i.ty’s full power. That this young stranger’s avatar has enough power to defeat Imperial Lord Void’s avatar with just a flick of his finger despite being projected far across Time and s.p.a.ce portended just how dangerous he was.
Li Mu immediately thought of the all-omnipotent being known as the Divine Emperor whom his mentor had once told him about.
“Is this him!?”
“But how did s.h.i.+yu know such a being!?
“That she wielded his rusted sword, it would not be a far stretch to say that she could be his student!
“And does this mean that s.h.i.+yu has a chance to live!?“
Li Mu bowed and saluted. “I thank you so much, sir. Please save s.h.i.+yu! I beg you!”
The young stranger merely peered at Li Mu, saying not a word.
“She sacrificed herself just to keep me safe, sir!” Li Mu added frantically, “So long if there’s a chance! I’ll do anything to get her back! Even if it means costing my own life!”
The stranger finally broke his silence.
With a voice as pleasant and clear as bubbling water, he spoke, “To activate the sword’s power, she had expended the energies of her psyches and soul. Without the life force to sustain her, her psyche and soul could no longer latch on to her, that by the time I arrive, all I could do is just keep one of each intact using that rusted sword. If you can find the remaining two psyches and six souls, you might be able to revive her just yet.”
Li Mu was ecstatic.
This was the greatest news he had ever heard all his life.
It was all he could do to remain patient. “Then what can I do to recover her missing psyches and soul, sir?” This was the most pertinent question of all.
“I’m afraid I don’t know.”
Hearing that sent Li Mu down into a chasm of despair.
“Speak to your mentor,” The stranger added all of a sudden, “He might know a thing or two.”
“Teacher?!
“That old charlatan?!
“If he knows Old Swindler, then he must be the Divine Emperor!”
“Are you His Divine Imperial Majesty, the Divine Emperor?” Li Mu asked, “Since you know my teacher?”
“I am not Ye Qingyu,” The green-clothed stranger replied, chuckling.
That hit Li Mu: Ye Qingyu must be the real name of the Divine Emperor. But if this stranger wasn’t the Divine Emperor, then who could this be?
With w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu still in his arms, he bowed once more. Respectfully, he implored, “If you would please let me know your name, sir. This kind deed of yours will never go forgotten. I shall strive to be able to repay you a hundred or even a thousand times over.”
The stranger cracked into a wry grin. Bobbing his head amusedly, he said, “Very well. I shall hold you to this promise. My name is Ding Hao, and we will meet again, I’m certain of that, and when we do, I shall hope that you remember your promise today.”
Li Mu did not fail to notice the sardonic jab in the tone.
Although he was sure that it must be just him reading the tone wrongly.
With such invincibility, there was no need for Ding Hao to pull his leg and have a go at him.
Li Mu would have wanted to ask more questions, but Ding Hao’s avatar was beginning to fade.
“I am the Saint of the Sword and the Saber; The One and Only; The Enlightened and the Eminent,” The last of Ding Hao’s lingering voice rang as his image disintegrated, “Time is running short, Li Mu. You need to grow and ascend fast.”
He peered at Li Mu, smiling.
All of a sudden, Li Mu had the ludicrous and most bizarre sensation as if he was staring at his own shadow.
Such a tingly and yet peculiar feeling.
But by the time Li Mu woke up from his momentary stupor, Ding Hao was gone. Faded without a trace.
It was done.
Li Mu hugged w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu firmly to his chest. He needed to get back to Randeng Temple and speak to Old Swindler quickly on ways to recover the rest of w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu’s psyches and souls. Everything else would not matter, not even the mounds of untold riches and valuables that still reside in the subterranean mausoleum beneath this palatial building.
He stepped out of the main hall.
There was Silly Dog, sticking his tongue out in what looked like an obsequious grin. He pawed at Li Mu’s feet.
Such are the ways of dogs sometimes—creatures that sometimes have treacherous streaks and wavering loyalties. As it happened, Silly Dog was the very epitome of this nature. Even so, Li Mu knew for a fact that it was Silly Dog who had been leading Lazulum on a wild goose chase around the Immortal Palace complex when he was badly injured hiding around the palatial city with w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu. He had been stalling Lazulum and had bought him and w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu precious time.
“I-I…” Song Yu looked like he had something to say, although he could not quite articulate it.
“WOOF!” Silly Dog turned tail at once, baring its teeth at him angrily.
Song Yu was flabbergasted. Just when he thought he was becoming close to this dog, the animal immediately turned his back on him.
But Song Yu could very well remember how Imperial Lord Void was defeated with just a flick of a finger. Witnessing it up close was like a punch into his gut.
He swiveled around and left.
He wasn’t afraid of Li Mu, but rather, the stranger who had appeared in his hour of greatest need.
Li Mu, having just survived the damage of the Liquid of G.o.dly Demise, still looked fragile, as was the emanation of his power; but if that Ding Hao being was still around, or he could still be watching Li Mu from afar, then trying to lay a hand on Li Mu would only be tantamount to suicide.
More so, since Song Yu realized that he needed to evaluate Li Mu.
With such a dangerous being on his side, it would be unwise if not foolhardy to offend him.
Li Mu watched Song Yu flee like a beaten dog.
He did not want to give chase. There was no time to lose.
He began making his way out of the Immortal Palace and on his way, he encountered demolished and toppled structures, all of them smeared with blood from mutant champions, including several dark-hooded warriors that Li Mu could only surmise as the mortal subjects of Imperial Lord Void.
Along the way, Silly Dog gave him a vivid recap of what happened during his absence.
And it was only then Li Mu knew that Bi Yan had been here, and she had tried resisting Imperial Lord Void before. More intriguing was the fact that it was this powerful ent.i.ty who had personally executed Lazulum. But at the same time, Li Mu did not know what to make of his relations.h.i.+p with Bi Yan since she chose to leave, more so, since the gigantic, severed hand was a part of her.
“Does that mean that this so-called gift of providence is nothing, but a trap sprung by Bi Yan and her race of mutants?”
The journey from the centermost regions of the Immortal Palace complex took two hours.
Once outside, Li Mu tried to reach the mysterious lady in yellow. But there was no reply from her.
Having a deeper understanding of the harmful effects of the Liquid of G.o.dly Demise only served to aggravate his concern for her wellbeing. But he could not locate her, let alone provide any help, hence he could only leave.
A day later.
“Ding Hao?!”
At Randeng Temple, Old Swindler’s eyes shot as wide as saucers, “You saw him!? How is that even possible?!”