Read Novel Full Book 8 Chapter 33 - It Was You!
Book 8 Chapter 33 - It Was You!
A thunderous rumbling echoed out, and the entire Asura Realm shook ceaselessly.
This small world, suspended beneath the Six Paths of Reincarnation in the Underworld, was not as vast as the Underworld itself or the world containing the Nine Provinces and Ten Lands; nevertheless, its internal space was by no means small. Yet, as everyone looked around, they saw the very earth supporting the Asura Realm shattering in every direction.
At the eastern and western horizons, a pair of unimaginably massive palms clawed their way out of the ground; to the south, two colossal knees burst through the soil; and in the far north, the earth split open to reveal a headless neck.
It was a giant deity. The moment he broke free from his bonds, everyone present—including the three ancient sovereigns like the Yin Sovereign—felt a profound, primal terror rising from the very core of their being.
No words were needed; they understood clearly that this was an opponent they could not possibly resist.
However, the couple—Bai Qiuran and Jiang Lan—exchanged a glance.
“An old acquaintance,”
Jiang Lan remarked with a touch of emotion.
“Mm, an old acquaintance indeed.”
Bai Qiuran nodded.
“He’ll likely be quite surprised when he sees you.”
Jiang Lan smiled.
No one noticed their quiet interaction; at that moment, almost everyone’s attention was riveted to the depths beneath the Asura Realm, focused on the “thing” that was about to break free from its seal.
“Xingtian and the Emperor once contended for the throne; the Emperor severed his head. That is what I unearthed from the most ancient records.”
Sovereign Ran stood upon the shattered earth, gazing at Bai Qiuran with an indifferent expression.
“Yet, he was not truly dead. Given his power, even if the five Great Immortal Emperors were to strike personally, none would dare claim victory. Everyone—for the sake of your lives—you had best flee.”
“Sovereign Ran.”
Bai Qiuran weighed his words before asking:
“May I ask… why did you release him?”
“Why?”
Sovereign Ran chuckled softly. “I simply didn’t want to be anyone’s pawn anymore… Besides, I don’t believe Immortals should be meddling in the Six Paths of Reincarnation.”
“So, you released him—hoping to pit a tiger against a wolf—intending for this ancient demon god to confront the five Great Immortal Emperors ?”
Bai Qiuran shook his head.
“You are too arrogant; this is playing with fire. Without sufficient strength as a foundation, you are merely inviting your own destruction.”
“Arrogant?”
Lord Ran sneered.
“It is not your place to lecture me. Let’s see if you can even survive against him first.”
“Him, you say…”
Bai Qiuran glanced at the giant god, who was slowly rising as he broke free from the earth’s shackles, yet he made no move to react.
“Ghost Emperor.”
Seeing the demon god on the verge of breaking the seal, Lord Yin bowed respectfully to Bai Qiuran from the sky and asked:
“How shall your subordinate proceed?”
“Just watch.”
Bai Qiuran said calmly:
“Rest assured, I have everything under control.”
Lord Yin nodded to him. Then, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, he—along with Lord Bone and Lord Blood—led nearly half the forces of the Underworld (including their entire upper-echelon combat strength) to wait composedly within the spatial rift in the sky.
Soon, the earth shattered completely, collapsing to form a vast void. Bai Qiuran raised his hand and, with a simple grasp, swept the army and territory of the Asura King Moke into a pocket dimension he had instantly created; meanwhile, the army of Asura King Hetian fell into utter chaos.
Countless Asuras screamed as they plummeted. Some capable of flight managed to wobble into the air and escape the disaster, but many unlucky souls—even after taking flight—were struck by falling debris and knocked down into the dark abyss below.
Lord Li mustered his remaining strength, attempting to rise unsteadily. Yet, just as he condensed the black halo of light behind his head, a giant hand shot out from the darkness and snatched him up, crushing him within its grip. “You bastard!”
He struggled ceaselessly within the giant hand, cursing furiously:
“You faithless pig!”
“Delicious…”
A low, rasping voice echoed from the darkness. Then, Li Zun was dragged into the gloom by that massive hand; from within the blackness came the hair-raising sound of chewing, accompanied by Li Zun’s shrill, agonizing screams.
He was dead—and not even his soul had managed to escape.
Venerable Ran, however, nimbly dodged the hand reaching for him and rapidly ascended to a safe altitude.
“Struggling is futile.”
He looked down, his gaze locking onto Bai Qiuran.
“I will destroy this corrupt cycle of reincarnation; nothing can stop me today.”
“What a coincidence.”
Bai Qiuran nodded.
“Venerable Ran, you have committed a grave offense. I must apprehend you and punish you in accordance with the laws of the Underworld.”
“Worry about your own life first.”
Venerable Ran sneered.
“Unless your power surpasses that of the five Great Immortal Emperors , no matter how vast your reach, you will end up as nothing more than his fodder.”
“Venerable Ran, I know you resent me.”
Bai Qiuran spoke to Venerable Ran, who was hovering in mid-air:
“Today, I’ll show you exactly why I hold the title of Ghost Emperor.”
Although he had never truly desired the position, faced with the current situation, Bai Qiuran had accepted the allegiance of the Underworld’s emissaries.
If what Venerable Ran said was true, then even if he didn’t want the throne, he would have no choice but to take it.
The ground of the Asura Realm was crumbling into nothingness. From the darkness, a colossal deity slowly rose; the upper half of its body emerged from the abyss below, revealing itself to everyone present.
It had no head; its massive torso was wreathed in swirling dust and mist. Its eyes were located on its chest, and its navel was a gaping maw—a mouth that was still chewing, with gore seeping between its teeth and trickling down the corners of its lips. The colossal deity stooped down, groping through the darkness for a moment before drawing out a massive, four-sided bronze shield and a long, gigantic axe.
He swallowed the immortal body and soul of the Ghost Venerable he had been holding in his mouth, then slowly spoke:
“So many years have passed; I had almost forgotten the exquisite taste of blood and souls.”
His voice, deep and resonant like a great bell, rolled outward, echoing and reverberating throughout the Asura Realm.
“I hear the human race overthrew the Heavenly Palace and became so-called… Immortals? And you lot are their underlings—what was it called again… Ghosts?”
He reared back to gaze at the Ghost Venerable and the Soul Takers standing within the spatial rift, the eyes on his chest narrowing into slits.
“No matter whose underlings you were, you belong to me now. Go find me blood and flesh to feast upon, or else I shall devour you.”
He spoke not out of arrogance, but because he was truly capable of carrying out the threat. The power disparity within the Celestial God race was immense; the lowest-ranking gods possessed no divine office—only brute strength and physical might. They were weaklings within the race, holding a status barely above that of slaves from mortal races, and serving merely as cannon fodder in the celestial armies.
Yet, even they required a cultivator at the Soul-Splitting stage or higher to contend with.
As for Celestial Gods who had attained divine office and power, their strength surged to a vastly higher level—one that even ordinary Immortals struggled to withstand.
As an ancient Celestial God, this giant stood at the very pinnacle of his race.
In the past, he had dared to openly vie with the Heavenly Emperor for the throne. While his strength certainly fell short of East Emperor Taiyi himself, he was undeniably more powerful than the Emperor’s two chief stewards, Lu Wu and Ying Zhao.
Had that fellow not suddenly appeared, leading a force to personally sever his head and subdue him, he—an open rebel—could have continued to live a life of magnificent ease and freedom throughout the era of East Emperor Taiyi. As a candidate for the Heavenly Emperor and one of the supreme celestial deities, he was—in terms of raw power—superior even to Immortal Emperors of the Firmament Realm. Moreover, during the long eons spent in confinement, he had completely devoured the divine souls and powers of the “fellow inmates” sealed alongside him; thus, dealing with these Immortal Venerables and underworld Soul Takers was hardly a challenge.
The giant god had assumed these fellows would either wisely submit and become his obedient servants, or—overestimating their own strength—resist him and end up as a meal in his belly.
Yet, upon hearing his words, they neither submitted nor resisted; it was as if his speech had been nothing more than a passing breeze.
The giant god felt a surge of irritation, but just then, he heard a familiar, gentle voice.
“That won’t do. They’re my people; you’re trying to poach my subordinates right in front of me—that gets a thumbs-down from me.”
Puzzled, the giant god turned to look at the white-haired man wearing a ghostly mask, who was hovering a few miles away from his upper abdomen.
“Don’t you remember me?”
Bai Qiuran smiled at him:
“Xingtian, long time no see. You seem to have grown even bigger—did you take some ‘Grow-Big-Happy’ supplements?”
After scrutinizing him closely for a moment, the giant god Xingtian finally recognized the aura emanating from the man and cried out in terror:
“It was you!”