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Chapter 973: The Ferocious Dark Emperor

As Shenxiu finished speaking, nearly everyone's gaze shifted toward the Heaven and Earth Net.

A Patriarch Immortal artifact—such a treasure was beyond comprehension. The most powerful artifact in all of Taichu was merely an Ancient Immortal artifact, and even that was rarely seen by the common people. Yet the Purple Heaven Dojo had produced a Patriarch Immortal artifact?

Cheng Baiyi was slightly taken aback by Shenxiu's remark and glanced at him.

"And this is?" Cheng Baiyi asked, curious.

"Shenxiu," the master replied with a nod.

Cheng Baiyi didn't know Shenxiu but noticed the intense red gleam in the man's eyes. He shook his head slightly and said, "The Heaven and Earth Net is not quite a Patriarch Immortal artifact yet, but it has been imbued with the power of the Heavenly Dao. It's not far off. Calling it the strongest Ancient Immortal artifact wouldn't be an exaggeration."

"No wonder it could capture them," Sima Qing nodded in agreement.

"These two vixens were not easy to capture. It took my dojo's two elders nearly five years to wear them down before finally trapping them in the Heaven and Earth Net," Cheng Baiyi said with a sigh.

"The two elders have worked hard," Sima Qing said.

The two elders remained silent, standing respectfully behind Cheng Baiyi.

Cheng Baiyi turned his gaze to the two women inside the cage.

"They are truly exquisite!" Cheng Baiyi said, a hint of lust flashing in his eyes.

"Now that we've captured the Taichu Holy King, it's time to begin unlocking the 'Fox Realm,'" Sima Qing said excitedly.

Glancing once more at the two women, Cheng Baiyi said, "Before we proceed, I have a small request."

"Oh?" Sima Qing asked, intrigued.

"My senior brothers all have divine beasts, but I've never found one that suited me—until today. I've found something I like: humanoid pet beasts. After we unlock the Fox Realm, I'd like these two vixens to be mine,"Cheng Baiyi said without hesitation.

Hearing Cheng Baiyi's words, Sima Qing's eyes flickered. He had long coveted the Nine-Tailed Princess as well. When news from the Nuwa Realm revealed that the Taichu Holy King and the Nine-Tailed Princess were identical, Sima Qing's desire grew stronger. He had already been planning to take the two women as his personal concubines. After all, the thought of having the once high-and-mighty Taichu Holy King as his slave was enough to make his blood boil.

Sima Qing hesitated slightly, but reason ultimately prevailed. He nodded, "Very well, I'll leave the two women to Brother Cheng's care."

"I won't be polite then!" Cheng Baiyi grinned broadly.

"You scoundrels!" The sealed officials in the distance gritted their teeth in fury.

Their loyal Holy King was being treated like a commodity, passed around between these men. It was an unprecedented humiliation. Some of the officials could hardly hold back their tears.

"The entrance to the Fox Realm is complex, and only the Taichu Holy King knows all the details. We'll need to question her further," Sima Qing said.

"Of course. After all, we've been working all this time for the Fox Realm," Cheng Baiyi nodded.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Brother Cheng."

"Elder Huang, you've been refining the Heaven and Earth Net. Wake them up!" Cheng Baiyi ordered.

Elder Huang, one of the Purple Heaven Dojo elders, stepped forward. His hands moved in a series of complex gestures, and the Heaven and Earth Net began to glow with an intense black light. The net tightened around the two women, and the dark energy intensified, attempting to break through their protective barriers.

Inside the cage, the Taichu Holy King and the Nine-Tailed Princess shuddered as the corrosive energy pressed against them. Their eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing exhaustion and defiance.

"Wake up, Holy King," Cheng Baiyi said mockingly, his voice dripping with arrogance. "We have much to discuss."

"Yes!" The purple-robed man immediately responded.

"Master Shenxiu, I'll leave the next steps to you," Sima Qing said to Shenxiu.

"Hmm," Shenxiu nodded.

Shenxiu stepped forward, preparing to question the Taichu Holy King once Elder Huang had completed his spell. How Shenxiu planned to extract information would be his own method.

"Father, I want to take a closer look!" The green-clad youth standing behind Sima Qing suddenly said.

Father? Sima Qing's son?

"Go ahead," Sima Qing nodded, clearly doting on this son of his.

Cheng Baiyi, seeing Sima Qing's deference to Shenxiu and his son, did not intervene and allowed them to approach Elder Huang.

Elder Huang extended his right hand toward the Heaven and Earth Net, sending wave after wave of blue energy rippling into it. Inside the net, the black energy began to churn violently, assaulting the protective barriers of the two women.

As Elder Huang performed the spell and the others watched with anticipation, Shenxiu's pupils suddenly contracted, and a flash of purple light appeared.

A thin purple sword abruptly shot toward Elder Huang's back.

It was so fast—so fast that even the Ancient Immortals present couldn't react in time.

As Elder Huang channeled his spell, he only sensed a cold shiver up his spine, a terrifying sense of danger enveloping him. He unleashed his power in a desperate attempt to defend himself, but it was too late. The sword was too quick!

"Shhhk!"

The sword pierced through Elder Huang's heart and then sliced upward, splitting his head in two.

It was the green-clad youth? Sima Qing's son? No—at the moment of the attack, the youth's clothes had suddenly turned black, and his appearance morphed into that of another man—an ordinary-looking man whose features were so unremarkable that he would easily blend into any crowd.

"You scoundrel!" The other purple-robed elder accompanying Cheng Baiyi roared as he launched an attack.

"Boom!"

The assassin, after successfully executing his strike, attempted to escape. The purple-robed elder's palm strike propelled the assassin into the air.

"Buzz!"

Just as the black-clad man was about to flee, the sky suddenly changed, transforming into a world filled with crackling lightning.

The purple-robed elder had unleashed his "world" domain, trapping the black-clad assassin within.

The assassin hovered in the air, facing down the powerful cultivators below.

At this moment, the two women within the Heaven and Earth Net stirred awake—or perhaps they had been aware all along, merely choosing to remain passive while imprisoned.

"Sima Qing, what is the meaning of this?" Cheng Baiyi shouted angrily.

Sima Qing ignored Cheng Baiyi's accusations, instead glaring at the black-clad man and demanding, "Where is my son?"

The black-clad man glanced at Sima Qing and smirked, "Those I replace are already dead!"

"Those I replace are already dead?" Sima Qing's heart sank as the chilling realization hit him—his beloved son was dead.

In an instant, all eyes were on the black-clad assassin. His earlier assassination had been flawless! Everyone knew that the man he had killed was an Ancient Immortal.

The gathered Ancient Immortals and Great Celestials understood the magnitude of what they had witnessed. The assassin was only a Celestial Immortal, yet he had managed to kill an Ancient Immortal. How could someone so powerful exist?

However, now that the assassin was cornered, none of the powerful cultivators felt any fear. An entire assembly of Ancient and Great Celestials would not be intimidated by a single Celestial Immortal—such a notion was laughable!

"Who are you?" Cheng Baiyi demanded.

In their eyes, a Celestial Immortal entering an Ancient Immortal's "world" was akin to walking into a cage. The black-clad man was as good as captured.

"Great Zheng, Dark Emperor!" the Dark Emperor responded calmly.

His demeanor sent a wave of unease through everyone present. Did he not understand the gravity of his situation?

"Taichu Holy King, Nine-Tailed Princess! The news from Qingqiu has already been sent to the Holy King. He will arrive shortly," the Dark Emperor announced, directing his words toward the two women trapped within the Heaven and Earth Net.

The boldness of his statement infuriated the gathered officials—how dare he act as if he were at home?

At a mere glance from Cheng Baiyi, the purple-robed elder beside him moved into action, his figure blurring as he appeared next to the Dark Emperor.

"You wretch!" the purple-robed elder roared, launching a powerful palm strike at the Dark Emperor.

As the elder's palm descended, a large black sphere suddenly materialized in front of the Dark Emperor, ten zhang in diameter. The sphere intercepted the elder's strike, absorbing the blow.

"Boom!"

A massive explosion reverberated as the black sphere trembled slightly. The purple-robed elder staggered back, as if repelled by a powerful force.

A black sphere? What kind of sphere was this? That strike had been delivered by an Ancient Immortal!

The elder stared in shock, while the Dark Emperor's eyes flickered with a trace of surprise.

Behind Sima Qing, the Weiwang King prepared to intervene, but Sima Qing held up a hand to stop him. To step in now would be an insult to the purple-robed elder.

"How dare you!"

The elder roared again, sending another powerful strike at the Dark Emperor.

In response, the Dark Emperor merged into the black sphere.

"Whoosh!"

With a strange sound, the black sphere suddenly began to expand.

Bigger and bigger, the sphere grew, swelling to an unimaginable size—so large it became nearly as vast as Qingqiu itself.

In the stunned silence of the onlookers, the enormous sphere descended, colliding head-on with the elder's palm strike.

"Boom!"

The tremendous impact drove the purple-robed elder into the ground, tearing a massive rift in the very fabric of his "world".

The black sphere quickly shrank, and the Dark Emperor, now within it, shot through the rift.

"How dare you!" the Weiwang King shouted, no longer holding back as he appeared directly in front of the Dark Emperor, blocking his escape.

The Dark Emperor's expression remained fierce, showing no fear as he faced the Weiwang King. His form blurred, and suddenly there were three Dark Emperors, each fleeing in different directions.

Three Dark Emperors? A body-splitting technique? The Weiwang King, startled, struck out swiftly, shattering one of the Dark Emperors. But as he moved to capture another, he felt a sharp pain at his throat.

"Shhk!"

The third Dark Emperor, moving with uncanny speed, had slashed the Weiwang King's throat with a thin, deadly blade.

In the brief moment of shock, as the Weiwang King hurried to defend himself, the Dark Emperor shot through the rift and vanished.

The "world" dissolved, and the assembled cultivators frantically searched with their divine senses, but the Dark Emperor's presence had vanished without a trace.

Everyone fell silent, their hearts heavy with unease.

"Great Zheng!" Sima Qing finally hissed through gritted teeth.

This Great Zheng was terrifying—this Dark Emperor was terrifying. Before their very eyes, he had assassinated an Ancient Immortal, fiercely clashed with another, and, in his final escape, had even slit the throat of a third.

The memory of the Dark Emperor's ghostly and deadly efficiency left everyone with a chill deep in their bones. Such an assassin! A Celestial Immortal of the highest level was already so formidable—what would he become if he advanced to a Great Celestial or even an Ancient Immortal?

No one dared to dwell on that thought for long. A cold dread regarding the Holy Court of Great Zheng settled into their hearts.

How many more secrets did Great Zheng hold? How many more hidden cards did Zhongshan have?

The Weiwang King quickly swallowed several medicinal pills, working to heal his severed throat, but sweat continued to pour down his face. The close brush with death had been far too harrowing.

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8