He was fleeing, his defeat sealed at this moment. Spirit Sequence Five and Spirit Sequence Eighteen would never let him have his way; they were intercepting him, blocking his path, and seeking his life...
One earth-shattering secret art after another was unleashed. The Sovereign was battered, his injuries mounting as he fell into a wretched state.
He had been careless, after all, and was now paying the price for his arrogance.
He had originally thought himself strong enough to sweep through everything, fighting his way to the far west to meet those three old fellows.
He wanted to speak with them, to tell them to get out of his homeland so he could continue being its monarch.
Alas,
He had been arrogant for a lifetime, and once again, he was experiencing failure.
He never feared failure, for his entire life had been a cycle of defeat and triumph.
Just like in the years past, from the Twilight Continent to the Boundary Sea, then to the 3,000 Provinces, and finally being imprisoned in Fanzhou...
He was always like this—experiencing a moment of glory where he swept through all, only to suffer a setback and fall into the dust.
He felt it was only natural and did not take it to heart, for he firmly believed that victory would ultimately belong to him. If not today, then tomorrow.
He fled toward the east, following the direction Xu Xian had taken—the path pointed out by the girl in the red bridal gown. He had seen it all.
It was true that he and Xu Xian did not get along, but he was well aware that if there was a corner of this world that had not yet fallen to darkness, it would certainly be in the direction that boy was fleeing...
In the heart demon dreamscape, he had glimpsed a fragment of Xu Xian's past. In that memory, he had been held in contempt by Xu Xian, who claimed he was merely a temporary enemy.
He refused to accept that.
He regarded Xu Xian as his fated enemy; what right did that boy have to look down on him?
Why was it that the boy treated the darkness he had never even met as his fated enemy instead?
So, after ascending to the heavens, he had traveled west against the tide. He simply wanted to see just how much this so-called darkness was worth.
He wanted to see if those old fellows who had once slumbered in seals were truly as powerful as they had appeared in his dreams.
He had not seen them, yet he had already lost—defeated by the hands of two Ancestral Spirits in the Immortal King stage.
“Stop him!”
“Bring him down!”
The two Ancestral Spirits exhausted their means, yet the Sovereign still escaped. Spirit Sequence Five pursued relentlessly, wreathed in endless black mist as he chased toward the east...
At a signal from Spirit Sequence Five, Spirit Sequence Eighteen extended his claws toward the Water Qilin and the other two.
The three watched helplessly as the Sovereign was defeated and left them behind. Knowing things were looking grim, they turned only to see the monster closing in on them, prompting them to curse in frustration.
It was happening again, just like before. It was just as he had said in the past—
“Are you willing to follow me, even if it means experiencing failure?”
“Split up and run!”
“Go!”
They fled in different directions, hoping to shake off the monster's pursuit.
Unfortunately, they were not the Sovereign, and they certainly were not the Immortal Kings they once were. Having only recovered to the Heaven Immortal stage, the three were defeated, captured, and imprisoned one by one by Spirit Sequence Eighteen...
“Let go of me!”
“Bullying the weak... have you no shame?!”
With the three captured, Spirit Sequence Five used them as leverage against the Twilight Emperor.
The Sovereign turned a deaf ear, completely indifferent.
The three were symbiotic with him; as long as he lived, he had a hundred ways to call them back. How could he possibly stop? He was more than happy to let the three of them stall for some time on his behalf.
He fled with single-minded focus, ignoring the suppression of the laws of darkness as he crossed several provinces.
In Spirit Sequence Five's vision, the Twilight Emperor's figure soon vanished.
Spirit Sequence Eighteen caught up, carrying the three captives, and asked gravely, “He’s gone. What do we do now?”
Flickering light danced in Spirit Sequence Five's blue eyes as he activated a divine ability—the Darkness Pupil—to perceive the world and glimpse the wasteland.
Yet, that fellow seemed to have vanished into thin air. Even within the area covered by his divine sense, there was no trace of him to be found.
Given the other party's speed and the fact that he had been struck by the Heavenly Spirit Curse from his third eye, it should have been impossible for him to escape this range so quickly.
Therefore,
He likely possessed some sort of divine ability that could shield him from the darkness and evade detection. This was exactly what was giving Spirit Sequence Five a headache.
“I can't detect him!”
Spirit Sequence Eighteen emphasized again, “I told you, this person is strange. He possesses the characteristics of our clan.”
Spirit Sequence Five murmured softly, “Who exactly is he? Why has his soul fallen into darkness, yet his physical body remains uninfected?”
Spirit Sequence Eighteen had no interest in that. He only wanted to know if they could catch him. Otherwise, the humiliation he had suffered over the past few days would be something he’d just have to swallow.
Most importantly, since the man's soul had fallen into darkness, he must know some of the secrets of the Spirit-Devouring Tribe. It was fine as long as those secrets stayed with him, but if they fell into the hands of those fellows in the Immortal Land, it would be a massive problem.
He said worriedly, “If he crosses the Spirit River and reveals our clan's secrets to those old fellows, swaying the tide of battle on the front lines, you and I will be the sinners of the Greedy Realm. How would we ever face the Ancestors? How would we be worthy of an audience with the True Spirits?”
Spirit Sequence Five did not deny it; that was indeed the reality.
Furthermore, his very existence was a threat to the Greedy Realm that could not be ignored.
A fellow who could freely travel through the grey wilderness without being swayed or detected by the darkness could do far too much.
Just like the five Spirit Towers that had been destroyed.
Besides,
Judging by his tone, his strength was far from its limit. As time passed, he would surely continue to recover.
If he truly was an Immortal Emperor, his appearance in this dark era where no emperors existed could very well deal a fatal blow to the darkness's grand ambition across the stars.
He suspected this was why the Leader of the Sequence had sent him personally.
The goal was to strangle this variable in its cradle.
But...
He had still let him escape.
He gazed toward the east. “He won't get away.”
“What do you plan to do?” Spirit Sequence Eighteen asked.
Spirit Sequence Five did not answer. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the three captives and asked, “Who exactly is he?”
The Water Qilin shouted defiantly, “If I told you, you'd be scared to death! He is the Undying Great Emperor who shook Cangming in the Era of Ancient Immortals! And we are his sworn brothers! If you know what's good for you, release us now. Otherwise, once our Sovereign returns to his peak, none of you will escape!”
A look of deep displeasure and disdain crossed the brows of Spirit Sequence Five and Spirit Sequence Eighteen.
None of them would escape?
It might be a bit of a hassle, but even if an Immortal Emperor were truly born in this Cangming where the laws were at their end, so what?
“Go back. Hand them over to the Leader of the Sequence and report the intelligence to the Ancestral Spirit Hall.”
“What about you?”
Spirit Sequence Five said calmly, “I will head to the Far East Army Camp to find Third Sister.”
Spirit Sequence Eighteen nodded. “Fine!”
The two split up, one heading east and the other west.
The battle of kings in Huangzhou had concluded!
...
The Twilight Emperor was still fleeing, heading toward where Xu Xian was.
On the other side, having spent a day refining the spirit sources, the group continued their long flight.
Li Shuhe, as before, stayed a step ahead, appearing on mountain peaks to guide them.
The nine of them charged ahead with single-minded focus.
After refining the spirit sources, they were no longer subject to the erosion of the darkness.
Their speed had increased significantly. Based on Fanzhou's day and night cycles, they could cover a hundred thousand li in a single day.
Seventy million miles. If all went well, it would take less than three years.
Elsewhere,
Spirit Sequence Five had not found any trace of the Sovereign, but he had reached Black Spirit City in Sword Province ahead of him. At this moment, Black Spirit City was eerily quiet.
Aside from the wandering Death Spirits, not a single intelligent dark spirit could be seen.
Frowning, he arrived atop the Spirit Tower that had been extinguished but had not collapsed. As his thoughts blanketed the surroundings, his expression grew increasingly heavy.
“…Two groups?”
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