Chapter 376: Chapter 96 The Emperor is Excluded
"Still alive?"
In the Void Illusion Realm, entangled consciousnesses separated, and Jiang Li’s first glance was directed at the Karma Collection that remained active even within the illusion.
However, he did not see what he had anticipated.
If the Emperor had died, Jiang Li’s Dao Fruit would have improved at least a little. Although this man had been diligently governing for decades, considering his current actions, calling him utterly wicked was not an overstatement. Jiang Li could have provided only a little assistance and still noticed some progress in his Dao Fruit.
But there was no increase in the fusion progress of the Dao Fruit, not even the slightest bit, which could only mean one thing—the Emperor had not died.
He had neither died under the Heart Demon Secret Sword unleashed by Jiang Li and Tianxuan, nor by anyone else’s hand.
He was still alive!
With this urgent thought flashing through his mind, Jiang Li immediately came to the worst possible conclusion.
But before he could inform Tianxuan, an intense fluctuation of Qi Mechanism suddenly emanated from outside the Imperial City.
To the north of the Imperial City, Yin Qi surged violently, and the light barrier that had been sealed from the outside showed turbulence, all because a Dragon Shadow rose into the sky. The dragon’s body, covered in red scales, toyed with the wind and clouds, demonstrating an infinite sense of power.
The body, long and continuous like mountains, coiled in midair and cast large shadows, like an aura from the Ancient Primordial era battering the light barrier. This caused the Yin Gods behind the light barrier to shake violently as if struck by a Thunder Strike.
Vast and magnificent, incalculable like the firmament itself, the Qi Mechanism emanating from this Dragon Shadow was comparable to the briefly restored full might of the Emperor, dominating the heavens and earth.
But unlike the Emperor, this Qi Mechanism was ancient and solemn, with the oppressive presence of a Heavenly Deity, and also carried the wild and overbearing force like a primordial demon.
"Is there another expert?" Jiang Li whispered in shock.
"Great Venerable!" Tianxuan uttered the name of the other party in a tense voice.
The Great Venerable of the Devil God Sect, a contemporary supreme power on par with the Emperor, had appeared at this incredibly delicate moment.
Tianxuan, who had been in fierce combat, flickered and twisted space, reappearing in midair with his gaze falling on the red Dragon Shadow weaving through the clouds.
The Immortal Queen and Zhang Zhixuan both retreated simultaneously, as did the Mo Sect Master, who had also ceased his attack.
The battle halted temporarily with the appearance of the Great Venerable.
The Dragon Shadow, responsible for such significant impact, appeared unconcerned with its surroundings. Amid the stirred wind and clouds, a pair of enormous dragon eyes split the clouds, gazing down from on high. The Dragon Shadow’s profound and majestic voice spoke lightly, "Emperor of Zhou, not bad."
As the voice faded, the wind and clouds scattered, and the massive Dragon Shadow gradually vanished within faint ripples.
It seemed that his appearance was solely for the purpose of uttering that one sentence.
Yet, this brief appearance brought with it tremendous waves and shock.
The Immortal Queen shook the Plain Cloud Realm Flag, numerous clouds coiling around her wispy figure, forming mystical shapes that enveloped her lofty presence. Like entering into the void, she disappeared.
Zhang Zhixuan transformed into lightning, shooting across the sky, reaching the heavens, vanishing from sight.
Seeing the situation unfavorable, these two immediately chose to withdraw, and no sign of resistance appeared on the surrounding light barrier. It was unclear whether they had some contingency plans hidden within.
However, now Tianxuan and the others could no longer be concerned with that. Almost the instant the Great Venerable left, Tianxuan twisted space, moving to the North Gate where the Great Venerable had appeared.
Soon after, Mo Yiling rushed to the place as well.
As for the Mo Sect Master, there was no trace of him, and it was unknown whether he was hidden in a dark corner or had already left.
Through the Void Illusion Realm, Jiang Li saw the stone statue-like figure standing in front of the palace gate.
The Emperor of Great Zhou was in a strange posture, holding the Emperor Sword in his hand, the blade pointed downward as if he was about to lift it, his mouth half-open and pupils constricted, indicating his surprise and shock.
"The Emperor’s Imperial Decree has become ineffective."
Outside the Imperial City, a figure shrouded in Yin Qi crossed the city wall and landed on the ground, speaking in a deep and somber voice.
Then a streak of fire crossed the sky, carrying intense heat to the ground, revealing the figure of the long Princess clothed in red.
These two had directly crossed the city wall, indicating that the decree prohibiting anyone within Divine Capital from flying higher than the city walls had become ineffective.
"But the Emperor is still alive," Tianxuan said with a tight focus on the Emperor’s figure, his voice serious.
Despite the figure showing no signs of life or Qi Mechanism, he was still alive.
Life signs and Qi Mechanism, in fact, referred to the fluctuations of life and True Qi. If these two ceased, life signs and Qi Mechanism would naturally be nonexistent and would not be sensed by others.
In theory, when life stopped, it was equivalent to death, but this was not always the case.
Emperor belonged to this uncertain exception.
"His time has stopped," the voice of Tianxuan became even more somber.
The Emperor’s time was frozen at a certain moment; he was still alive, yet as if he were dead.
He was indistinguishable from the dead, yet he could not burst out the Dao Fruit.
Only the dead would separate out Dao Fruit, the living would not.
Only by passing on the Emperor Dao Fruit could there be a new Emperor, otherwise, even if someone succeeded to the throne, it wouldn’t be proper or smooth.
The Emperor wasn’t the key, the Emperor Dao Fruit was. How could the Emperor become the Supreme without the Emperor Dao Fruit?
The Emperor could die, as long as the Dao Fruit was passed down, then the overall situation would remain undamaged. Conversely, if the Emperor Dao Fruit could not be passed down and remained ineffective, then even if the Emperor was still alive, it would be in vain.
The current world order was set by six Supremes; with one lost, the future was sure to change.
The Emperor was still an integral part of the Great Zhou’s order, the most critical part at that. Without the Emperor, the court would also fall into chaos.
In contemplation, Tianxuan, the Princess, and the figure enveloped by Yin Qi looked at each other, determination in their eyes.
"Take action, let’s assume the Emperor has already ascended to heaven," said the Princess, the Emperor’s elder sister, pursing her lips resolutely.
If they broke the stillness of time, the Emperor would most likely die, but for the sake of the Emperor Dao Fruit, this was a necessary choice.
Again, the Emperor was important, but the Emperor Dao Fruit was more so.
As the words fell, Tianxuan made the first move.
Behind her, the looming figure played with the nebula, and the ferocious sword light of "Seven Killings and Army Breaking, Yang Ling wreaking havoc" appeared.
The extreme killing move descended, the malicious sword light carrying starry Star Evil struck down, yet—
The killing sword light passed right through!
The Emperor was as if in another layer of space, the killing sword light passing through him without causing even a ripple, simply passing through his body.
Tianxuan frowned, her bare hand waved, and the sword light was promptly withdrawn, transforming back into stars. The Star Battle shifted, rearranging into a new pattern, "Po Jun Dark Star, making a tomb in the water."
The dark water was devoid of light, filling every inch of space. The fluctuations condensed from Star Evil submerged the figure of the Emperor, the extremely dangerous waves permeating space, trying to locate where the Emperor’s true body was, yet...
Tianxuan frowned.
Still useless.
"Soul Hook."
The Yin Qi whirled ominously, barely revealing the corner of a black royal robe. The man from the Yin Law Department reached out with a claw gesture; immediately, a chill wind picked up, slicing across the Emperor’s body but bringing back not a trace of the soul.
"Dao Fruit Abilities are also useless," his voice was equally heavy.
Even if the Emperor still had the "Heavenly Mandate" Divine Skills on him, his Dao Fruit Abilities could touch the Emperor but were simply not effective. Now, not even the ability to hook souls could find the target, let alone hook out the Divine Soul or Primordial Spirit.
Magic was useless, Dao Fruit Abilities were equally useless, and it seemed that direct attacks were of no use either.
The Emperor was clearly right in front of them, yet as intangible as a reflection in a mirror; even to take his life was impossible.
Perhaps, the Emperor couldn’t even kill himself.
From this, it appeared that the Emperor had indeed achieved the immortality he desired.
The four people around him all felt the difficulty, and worry emerged in their hearts.
Even if the Emperor just ran away, it would be better than this situation where they could see but not touch him. If he fled, there was still the possibility of his return. The current situation completely cut off the possibility of the Emperor Dao Fruit being passed on.
The group tried various methods again, even Mo Yiling momentarily set aside his reservations to use Dao Fruit Divine Power to seek a method of resolution.
The result was still in vain.
Magic, Divine Skills, fists, palms, knives, and swords, all were useless. Even the most straightforward and brute method of refining with True Qi Water was of no use, because they couldn’t touch the Emperor at all, so how could they refine him?
Without the ability to obtain the Emperor Dao Fruit, and the Emperor not even dead, it wouldn’t be easy to even have the Prince ascend to the throne temporarily.