“Boom!”
Ye Qiu threw a punch.
His fist had not yet neared the sword intent when he felt a surge of intense pain.
“Crack!”
Cracks appeared across his fist.
Blood seeped out.
“What?” Ye Qiu’s expression changed dramatically.
His current physical body was as resilient as that of a Saint powerhouse, yet before even making contact with the sword intent, he had been wounded by its sheer power.
If the punch landed, at best his fist would shatter, at worst the entire arm might not survive.
And this was merely a single strand of sword intent.
“Who exactly left this sword intent? Why, after so many years, does its power remain so immense?”
Ye Qiu tried to pull his fist back, but he could not. His blood boiled within him, hatred surged uncontrollably, entirely beyond his command.
At that moment, Old Nine’s palm pressed against his back.
“Kid, this seat will lend you a hand.”
Boom!
The instant Old Nine spoke, Ye Qiu felt a vast torrent of power flood into his body.
His fist shot forward like a meteor, striking with ferocious force.
“Bang!”
Golden light exploded. The sword intent shattered under Ye Qiu’s punch.
Buzz!
The moment the sword intent dispersed, dense purple qi emerged. Gradually, it coalesced into a human figure.
“Swish!”
Old Nine, as though confronted by something utterly horrifying, fled in panic into the vermilion blood coffin.
“Clang!” The coffin lid slammed shut, and the coffin sped into the Qiankun bag.
Then Old Nine’s voice sounded in Ye Qiu’s ear.
“Kid, you must listen to me. On no account use the Qiankun Cauldron or the Xuanyuan Sword, or you will not live to see another day.”
Old Nine’s voice was filled with panic and gravity.
Ye Qiu found it strange.
He knew Old Nine’s temperament well. Though reduced to a single severed arm, Old Nine was usually arrogant beyond measure, looking down on everyone. Yet now he was like a mouse before a cat, terrified to the extreme.
The figure formed from purple qi gradually solidified into a towering silhouette. Clad in a purple robe and wearing a golden crown, he stood with his back to Ye Qiu, radiating an aura of absolute supremacy.
“Who is this person?”
Puzzled yet gritting his teeth, Ye Qiu endured.
The pressure emanating from the purple-robed man compelled one to kneel in worship. The figure seemed an emperor reigning far above.
Were it not for the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Art circulating frantically within him, Ye Qiu doubted he could even remain standing.
As for the Long-browed Real Person, the instant the figure appeared he had retreated a thousand metres, his back drenched in sweat.
“Good heavens, who is this fellow?”
“How can a mere silhouette make my liver and gall quake?”
“Too terrifying.”
The Long-browed Real Person stood pale and motionless like a frightened rabbit.
At that moment, the purple-robed figure spoke.
“Who dares destroy this emperor’s decree?”
His tone was light, yet it thundered in the ears like heavenly lightning.
Ye Qiu’s eardrums burst at once, blood trickling from them.
This person actually called himself “this emperor”?
Could he be a Great Emperor powerhouse?
And those characters were his decree?
Though shaken, Ye Qiu felt hatred intensify at the sight of the figure.
At the same time, an unyielding will rose within him.
“No matter who you are, I am not afraid.” Thinking this, Ye Qiu declared loudly, “It was I who destroyed it.”
“Who are you?” The purple-robed figure asked, still facing away, as though Ye Qiu was unworthy of his direct gaze.
Ye Qiu drew a deep breath. “Ye Changsheng!”
“Ye Changsheng?” Upon hearing the name, the purple-robed figure unleashed invincible sword intent.
Instantly the sky rang with “zheng zheng” cries, winds and clouds churned, the void shattered.
The scene was utterly horrifying.
Every hair on Ye Qiu’s body stood erect, his teeth chattered, his face paled. He felt his body might explode at any moment.
Had Old Nine not repeatedly warned him against using the Xuanyuan Sword or Qiankun Cauldron, he would surely have summoned the cauldron.
The purple-robed figure’s presence was overwhelming.
“Unexpectedly, after so many years, that prophecy has come true.”
The purple-robed man murmured to himself. His back loomed like an impassable mountain.
“Who are you?” Ye Qiu demanded.
“Who am I? Heh heh…” The purple-robed figure gave a faint smile, then abruptly turned.
In that instant Ye Qiu felt the figure had become a heaven-piercing divine sword.
Dense purple qi shrouded the face, obscuring his features. Ye Qiu saw only a pair of eyes.
He had never beheld such terrifying eyes.
What manner of eyes were they?
Like stars, brilliant and radiant.
Like abysses, unfathomably deep.
Like forests of swords, brimming with boundless sword intent, sharp and piercing.
Yet also like twin burning divine lamps, impossible to meet directly.
The moment Ye Qiu looked into them, his heart seemed to stop.
Within those eyes he saw yin and yang perish and rebirth, sun, moon, and stars revolve, rivers flow backwards…
“Hiss!”
Ye Qiu sucked in a cold breath.
He could not conceive what being could contain so many visions within a pair of eyes.
Moreover, they radiated an aura of disdain for all under heaven.
This person seemed the true sovereign of heaven and earth.
Ye Qiu’s throat was dry. He had never encountered anyone so terrifying.
Those eyes regarded Ye Qiu, first razor-sharp, then gradually softening, and finally revealing curiosity.
“Did you kill the Dragon Emperor?” Ye Qiu spoke first.
“Indeed.” The purple-robed figure admitted without hesitation.
“Why did you kill the Dragon Emperor?” Ye Qiu pressed.
“The reason is simple.” The purple-robed figure replied, “Across the Six Realms, those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish. Whoever refuses submission to this emperor, I destroy.”
How domineering.
Ye Qiu continued, “Who exactly are you?”
“You do not know who I am?” Surprise flickered in the purple-robed figure’s eyes. Seeing Ye Qiu’s confusion, he laughed.
“I thought that old thing had told you everything. It seems he said nothing. You know nothing of me.”
The purple-robed figure added, “I too bear the surname Ye. If you do not object, you may address me as ancestor.”
Ancestor?
Ye Qiu froze.
“The Ye family ancestor?”
“No, the ancestor long ago perished in seated death. This cannot be my ancestor.”
“Then who is he?”
At that moment the purple-robed figure spoke again.
“Unexpectedly, that old thing truly nurtured an Eternal Longevity Physique.”
“Yet even if an Eternal Longevity Physique has been nurtured, so what?”
“I remain the God Emperor!”
Looking at Ye Qiu, the purple-robed figure declared, “Ye Changsheng, having met this emperor, you shall become a short-lived ghost.”
With those words, a streak of sword intent burst from him, carrying momentum to cleave heaven and earth, slashing straight down towards Ye Qiu.
