Chapter 489
Now it seems that the elders of the Five Sects had already reached an understanding with the Great Freedom Demon Emperor long ago?
"I made a promise."
The words of the Great Freedom Demon Emperor were clearly an acknowledgment.
"Then why are you here?"
"Where the Dao lies, I must come." The coldness in the Great Freedom Demon Emperor's eyes intensified.
The elder from Haori Mountain was momentarily taken aback, glancing at the Great Freedom Demon Emperor, seemingly guessing something, but naturally wouldn’t let it slip: "Aren't you afraid that the Five Sects will kill you?"
The Great Freedom Demon Emperor, who had always been cautious and contemplative, was uncharacteristically resolute today, his expression unwavering, his voice icy: "Whoever dares to stop me, I will kill them."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere between the two parties felt as if it had frozen.
"Demon Emperor... are you truly determined?"
"There's no other way!"
The myriad demons' banner in the Great Freedom Demon Emperor's hand radiated a brilliant light, and the fierceness in his eyes shone even brighter, as if he had truly made up his mind to kill anyone who stood in his way.
The elder from Haori Mountain's expression grew increasingly grim, seemingly wary, yet he remained unyielding.
Then the Great Freedom Demon Emperor spoke again: "I only want the Jiushan Sect."
"Jiushan Sect?"
The momentum of the Haori Mountain cultivator plummeted, as if he were deep in thought.
"After killing Zheng Fa of Jiushan." The Demon Emperor's voice was low, "I will withdraw from Dongzhou and return to the sea."
Upon hearing this, the elder from Haori Mountain hesitated even more.
"I do not want any spiritual materials or resources from this land."
The elder's imposing aura gradually receded, and his attitude surprisingly softened.
Zhao Jingfan felt a heavy weight settle in his heart, but he dared not speak, unable to find the words. He could only listen to the exchange between the two while taking out a communication talisman.
At that moment, the elder asked:
"Since you aim for the Jiushan Sect, why bother... with these people?"
He gestured towards the many corpses of mortals floating in the sea.
"If he continues to hide in the Jiushan realm..." The Great Freedom Demon Emperor chuckled lightly, "He will know that these people died because of him."
"Is that useful?"
The elder was taken aback.
"There's no harm in trying."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jingfan's eyes widened in horror, for the phrase "there's no harm in trying" had already cost countless lives.
But he was even more worried—Zheng Fa, in his view, always had an inexplicable sympathy, especially for mortals. The Great Freedom Demon Emperor had truly hit the nail on the head!
He sent the communication talisman flying, the last two words being:
"Don't come!"
...
Zhao Jingfan's communication talisman lagged far behind those sent by other sects.
Within the Jiushan realm, Zheng Fa had already received distress signals from four or five sects—those submerged by the Great Freedom Demon Emperor were not limited to the Qingmu Sect.
"The two counties have already been submerged by floodwaters..."
Zheng Fa calculated in his mind, his gaze growing deep.
He knew the Great Freedom Demon Emperor had come for him, but he still couldn't understand why he had brought so many demon clans—when it came to the contest for the Dao fruit, the lower-level cultivators were practically useless.
"Let's go." Uncle Pang urged Zheng Fa, "The Great Freedom Demon Emperor is powerful. If we flee to Haori Mountain, would he dare to flood it?"
"We can't escape; the Great Freedom Demon Emperor has his sights set on me."
"...Then we should take refuge in Jiushan!"
This had some merit.
Qingjing Bamboo was particularly effective against the Great Freedom Demon Emperor, and now that he had the Fusang Wood and the Qingping Sword, defending the Jiushan realm might not be so daunting after all.
Of course, that was uncertain...
He had caused a slight change in the Fusang Wood's Dao fruit, which seemed to have a significant impact on the Great Freedom Demon Emperor. This time, he would undoubtedly come at full force.
The biggest problem now was that he had little grasp of the Great Freedom Demon Emperor's strength.
Moreover...
"Taking refuge in the Jiushan realm, this 'Mutual Aid Treaty'... would be a joke."
Zheng Fa looked at the communication talisman in his hand.
This treaty wasn't strictly enforced; at least it didn't involve heart demons, but it related to the credibility of the Jiushan Sect.
If they truly stood by and did nothing in the face of death, the hearts of the people in the Hundred Immortals Alliance would scatter.
Sister Zhang's expression was icy: "What do those people in the Hundred Immortals Alliance care? If you suffer any loss for their sake..."
She raised the Qingjing Bamboo in her hand, startling Zheng Fa. Did she intend to hit him?
"I won't let them off easily in the future..."
Oh, perhaps Sister thought hitting him was too harsh and wanted to wipe out the entire Hundred Immortals Alliance instead...
"Sister, how could you not know how afraid I am of death?"
Zheng Fa truly didn't want to act recklessly.
He had no particular feelings for the Hundred Immortals Alliance.
Zheng Fa calmed his somewhat agitated sister and shook his head: "It's just that I can't escape, nor can I reconcile."
The Fusang Wood was now a bit troublesome...
This thing had merged with his body, and he didn't even know how to separate it.
What was even more terrifying was that the Fusang Wood seemed to have some connection to the modern world, which not only involved the safety of Tang Lingwu and the old man Bai but also related to Zheng Fa's greatest secret.
This meant that Zheng Fa had no option to offer the Fusang Wood as a bargaining chip for survival.
He had realized long ago that he and the Great Freedom Demon Emperor had gradually become mortal enemies.
The grievances might not matter, but the immense benefits concerning the Dao fruit and the modern world were irreconcilable.
Moreover... he felt somewhat stifled, too passive.
Just then, two more communication talismans enveloped in Sister Zhang's aura flew in.
Zheng Fa's eyes lit up as he grabbed the two talismans.
Now he was certain that the person impersonating Sister Zhang was Chen Ting.
Chen Ting was one thing, but the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor behind her was no small figure.
Zheng Fa didn't know much about the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor, but every detail left a deep impression:
One or two epochs ago, the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor entered the Jiushan realm and killed the previous master, the Tianzun.
From the fragmented memories Zheng Fa had received, the Tianzun was no weakling; he was one of the strongest during the Divine Dao epoch.
There were even records of the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor communicating with the Tianhe Zun.
That was a matter of the past.
What mattered more was the "future."
In Mu Qingyan's memories, the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor seemed to establish a force called the Jiuyou Underworld.
If this Underworld was the same as what Zheng Fa knew, then the hidden strength of the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor was likely far beyond what the Xuanwei could imagine.
Even if Zheng Fa was overthinking the Underworld.
But the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor had stood at the pinnacle of the Xuanwei realm for at least three epochs.
There was also something that made Zheng Fa regard the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor with high esteem—
He had witnessed Chen Ting kick the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor, transforming into a subordinate of the Jiuyou.
At that time, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was furious!
But now it seemed that the Great Freedom Demon Emperor appeared completely oblivious, treating Chen Ting as a trusted confidant!
To let a mere Golden Core cultivator deceive a Dao fruit wielder...
That was... somewhat terrifying.
At the very least, it indicated that the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor seemed to be stronger than the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor!
Was Chen Ting's message a self-revelation?
That seemed unlikely.
The one who truly wanted to communicate with him...
Was it the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor?
Thus, when he saw these two communication talismans, he was extremely concerned.
He held the two talismans in his hand, read them, and suddenly opened his eyes wide, a glimmer of joy in them.
Seeing him like this, Sister Zhang looked over.
Zheng Fa handed the two talismans to her. After she read them, her brows raised in surprise.
Uncle Pang and the others were equally astonished.
"The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor is being revived by the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor?"
"He has dark hands within him?"
"He even taught secret methods?"
Uncle Pang's tone was urgent, a mix of joy and disbelief.
Zheng Fa was also somewhat puzzled by all this.
Did the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor have nothing better to do than revive the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor?
If he revived him, why would he want to kill him again?
Wasn't that asking for trouble?
Most importantly, why... did the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor place his hopes on himself?
Was it because of the Fusang Wood's Dao fruit? Or the Qingping Sword?
How did he know?
Zheng Fa couldn't clarify these questions now. He glanced at the secret methods taught by the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor, which were not cultivation techniques but rather seemed more like offensive strategies...
Could the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor be trusted...
And could this secret method be practiced?
Suddenly, another communication talisman flew in, its content very brief—so brief that after reading it, Zheng Fa even read it again.
It contained only one line:
"This method was passed to me by the Tianhe Zun."
"I'll practice it!" Xie Qingxue exclaimed upon seeing this, taking out the Qingping Sword. After testing it twice, she suddenly opened her eyes and said, "Yes! The Qingping Sword has responded!"
Zheng Fa let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at the others.
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