As the demonic aura erupted, Bright Emperor’s gaze turned bestial, surging with the might of a savage beast.
A shroud of black mist enveloped his body.
“Kill me,” he said again, staring at the Emperor’s Sword in his hand.
“Don’t waste your effort, you cannot kill him.”
At that moment, from within the black fog behind Bright Emperor, a human face emerged, speaking faintly.
“Who are you?” Jiang Yun demanded.
“The Three Thousand Dao Court, the Primal-Chaos Demon Tower, the Golden Roc Immortal Realm, and the Unified God Sect, you little ones have all gathered,” the face laughed.
“What’s this? The old monsters didn’t come? Just sending juniors here to die?”
“Who exactly are you?” Yu Huang asked.
“Why, isn’t it for us that you’ve come this time?” the face chuckled.
From the black mist grew two arms, which seized Bright Emperor and dragged him off into the distance.
“Kill me!” Bright Emperor’s voice continued to echo.
“Don’t let them take him!” Jiang Yun barked sharply.
His aura flared, and he was the first to give chase.
The others all followed, trying to pursue Bright Emperor.
But midway, countless liches swooped in.
They surrounded the group, not attacking, only obstructing, disrupting their advance.
“You will be imprisoned here,” the face’s voice carried from afar.
From all around them, black beams of light shot into the heavens, staining the sky.
Then, like the bars of a prison, they descended, trapping everyone inside.
Xu Zimo felt out the aura.
The black mist carried a corrosive power, not only against the flesh, but also capable of dissolving the soul and true fate in an instant.
Touch it, and one would surely die.
“What now, everyone?” Xu Zimo asked.
He knew these people must have a way.
“It seems Bright Emperor has indeed perished here,” Jiang Yun said, frowning.
Though Bright Emperor had shown his face just now, everyone sensed that only an empty shell remained.
His true fate and Dao source had already been corrupted.
“Gongyang Ce was right. The liches are only one step away,” Gui Che muttered.
“We’ve come just in time.”
Seeing Xu Zimo’s puzzled look, Bai Tihe explained, “Do you know why we’ve all gathered here?”
“To search for the sects’ lost treasures,” Xu Zimo answered. “You told me before, but I didn’t believe it.”
“Yes, that’s part of it,” Bai Tihe admitted. “But that wasn’t the full truth, so I couldn’t reveal it before.”
He continued, “The lich race has a new scheme, they seek to rekindle the Calamity of the Liches. We received word long ago, so we went to Gongyang Ce, to divine the heavens for us. Who would have thought the matter would be tied to Bright Emperor himself?”
“And then?” Xu Zimo asked.
“The situation is more complicated than you think. Rather than explain, I think what you’re about to see for yourself will be more convincing,” Bai Tihe said.
From his storage ring, he took out a strange object, a cage of insects.
But these were no ordinary bugs. Each glowed faintly, like eternal flames, flickering but never extinguishing.
“The prison around us is formed from lich aura,” Bai Tihe explained. “These are Lich-Eating Insects. They can help us escape.”
“So you had preparations all along,” Xu Zimo remarked.
“If everything is proceeding as planned, our forebears should already be stationed outside this small world,” Yu Huang added. “When the time comes, not a single lich will escape.”
His voice brimmed with killing intent, cold and severe.
The “forebears” he mentioned naturally referred to the founding ancestors and strongest figures of each Dao Court.
“Everything was within the plan,” Gui Che rumbled, casting a glance at Bai Tihe.
“But some have ulterior motives, wanting to split off and claim all the merit for themselves.”
His meaning was obvious.
Bai Tihe had tried to cooperate with Xu Zimo, ensuring that the credit would be his alone, since Xu Zimo had no use for such merit.
“I only meant to leave myself a fallback, in case something went wrong,” Bai Tihe chuckled.
Yu Huang said nothing further. Instead, he released the Lich-Eating Insects.
They buzzed into flight, swarming toward the thick lich aura.
“These are a foreign species, found especially to counter the liches,” Yu Huang explained, watching as the insects gnawed at the dark mist.
Before long, they had chewed open a small opening in the prison.
“Go!”
The group exchanged a look, then darted through the gap.
But Xu Zimo did not follow. He remained inside.
“What’s wrong, Brother?” Bai Tihe asked.
“You all go ahead. I’ll wait here,” Xu Zimo smiled.
“Do you not wish to know the truth?” Yu Huang asked.
“The more one knows, the duller it becomes, and there’s no benefit to it,” Xu Zimo waved.
“I won’t meddle in your affairs.”
The others studied him, doubt flickering in their eyes.
“If that is your wish, we won’t press you,” Yu Huang said with a smile.
The group exited.
The insects were retrieved, and the prison sealed once more.
When all around had quieted again, Xu Zimo finally raised his head and smiled faintly.
“Now then, what do you want from me?”
The heavens above rippled without a sound.
Unnoticed, a figure had appeared in the sky.
It was the very same lich who had earlier slain the Flame Lion and seized the beast bone for Xu Zimo.
“This matter, we do not wish to be enemies with you,” the lich said.
“You know me?” Xu Zimo asked.
“I don’t, but someone does,” the lich replied. “This is muddy water. For you, it holds no profit, nor harm.”
“Who?” Xu Zimo frowned.
“I cannot say. But you will meet in time,” the lich said.
“Whatever you wish to ask, I can answer. But truly, we do not want to fight you.”
Xu Zimo fell silent, thinking.
This matter’s gains and losses indeed had nothing to do with him.
“I want to know about Bright Emperor,” Xu Zimo finally said.
“Please, follow me,” the lich gestured.
With a wave of its hand, the prison dissolved, and before them appeared a gate of void.
Following the lich, Xu Zimo stepped inside.
At once, he felt a peculiar power.
As if time itself were being rewound.
Traces of the great river of time flowed all around him.
He strode across the void, as though walking upon that river, pursuing the origins of events.
Suddenly, the void trembled, and the scene began to spin, overturning heaven and earth.