The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Abu Muslim’s cold and stern voice resounded over the army. Gao Xianzhi had led an army of thirty thousand in stymying him at Talas for two months, and now, these remaining Tang soldiers were even stronger than the Anxi Protectorate army from back then. If they were allowed to retreat back to the Western Regions, they would continue to be an endless source of trouble.

  Rumble!

  Explosions rang out through the air.

  Qutaybah, Abu Muslim, Huoshu Huicang, Aybak, and Ziyad pursued Wang Chong with all their power, leaving white trails more than one hundred feet long behind them.

  “Retreat! Hurry and retreat!”

  Panicked voices could be heard in the distance.

  These five could see that the Tang craftsmen had already mounted warhorses and begun to flee. Within Talas, the shepherds that had followed the army had begun to abandon their herds and wagons, fleeing in a panic on their own warhorses. If this continued, it would soon be the turn of the actual Tang soldiers, ill news for the Arabs and Tibetans.

  “Kill them!”

  With no time to think, Abu Muslim attacked, sending out a churning ball of black energy thundering toward the first defense line.

  The earth continued to groan as more powerful bolts of energy followed, Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad also beginning their attacks.

  But the true threat was always the Arab War God, Qutaybah.

  Kacrack! The entire world seemed to tear apart, and then a golden beam of Sword Qi, tens of thousands of feet long, slashed down with world-cleaving might, surmounting the steel defense line and thundering toward Wang Chong and the fleeing Tang army.

  Rumble!

  At this moment, a hint of panic appeared on Wang Chong’s face. He suddenly turned and unleashed a howling beam of Sword Qi to block Qutaybah’s descending strike. At almost the same time, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, Gao Xianzhi, and the black-armored guard roared as they used their own attacks.

  “You can run no longer!”

  Before the attacks could land, they exploded in midair, but to Qutaybah, this was enough. The goal of that attack had never been to kill Wang Chong, but to keep him here and cut off any hopes he had of escaping. More importantly, because Wang Chong had turned around to block the attack, Qutaybah had succeeded in getting to six or seven paces from him.

  He was closely followed by Abu Muslim, Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad.

  They were much slower than Qutaybah, but they were only sixty to seventy feet away. The four of them fanned out so that they could surround Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the black-armored guard, the Wushang Village Chief, and Gao Xianzhi. The four of them together with Qutaybah could undoubtedly unleash a heaven-shaking assault.

  Wang Chong might be lucky enough to survive this wave of attacks as he had the previous one, but the same could not be said for the others. Whether it was the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, or the black-armored guard, they were all heavily injured and exhausted. They would not be as lucky as Wang Chong.

  Qutaybah, Abu Muslim, Aybak, and the others were so ardent in their pursuit and desire to kill Wang Chong and the Tang army that they had failed to notice that the Demonic Emperor Old Man, Wushang Village Chief, Gao Xianzhi, and the black-armored guard had all stopped running. Not only that, they had also begun to work with Wang Chong and step forward to confront Qutaybah and the others.

  If one looked carefully, one would discover that the five of them had intentionally picked their positions, following some sort of rule or method. This was causing their Stellar Energies to resonate with each other.

  Boom!

  In a golden explosion of light, Qutaybah grasped his sword and unleashed a celestial pillar of Sword Qi, once more assailing Wang Chong’s group. This attack was on a completely different level from the previous ones, far surpassing them in strength, momentum, and heat. Even more terrifying was the destructive energy that Qutaybah had infused into the attack. It far surpassed the energy of a Great General, a pure energy that could burn everything in the world into nothingness.

  The energy of the Subtle realm!

  Wang Chong grimaced as the thought occurred to him. He was no stranger to this level of energy. When his master had brought him into the world of energy, he had raised his head and seen that energy from a higher level of spacetime. Qutaybah’s previous attacks had not contained this kind of energy, but to Wang Chong’s surprise, Qutaybah had apparently obtained some sort of breakthrough through this battle and reached an even higher level.

  Although this attack was not infused with very much of this higher-level energy, and Qutaybah was still some distance from reaching the Subtle realm, this display left Wang Chong and the others stunned.

  “General Li!” Wang Chong bellowed, his voice fraught with panic. Survival or death, victory or defeat—all of it depended on this final battle.

  Boom!

  Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. With a massive boom, a vigorous armor-covered hand clenched a massive war banner and thrust it into the ground behind the first defense line.

  The power of the impact was so great that the entire battlefield groaned, the ground rippling like it was water. At the same moment, an invisible energy spread out with unimaginable speed, immediately covering a range of several thousand feet. Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, Gao Xianzhi, the black-armored guard, and the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner were fused into one.

  Chapter 1142 - Detonating the Myriad Rakshasa Formation!

  Chapter 1142: Detonating the Myriad Rakshasa Formation!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Booom! Everyone felt as if the lofty and imposing city of Talas had suddenly shaken, and they could sense an enormous surge of energy. This energy was so vast that it seemed like the boundless ocean, enough to make any martial artist feel insignificant. Even an existence as powerful as Qutaybah would instantly feel like an ant.

  “This is…!”

  Abu Muslim, Aybak, Ziyad, and Huoshu Huicang were aghast at the surge of energy rising from beneath Talas. Even Qutaybah’s magnificent beam of Sword Qi slowed down for a moment.

  “This is… the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation!”

  In the distance, Dalun Ruozan’s eyes flew open.

  There was only one thing under Talas that had this level of energy: the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation that had allowed Talas to stand for hundreds of years. But this energy was extremely stable, so it was normally impossible to sense its flow. It was extremely unusual for it to madly surge like this.

  “These bastards! What are they trying to do!”

  Dalun Ruozan’s mind was instantly fraught with unease, and as if in response to his worries, the earth droned, the shaking rising to an even more intense level.

  This enormous energy arising from the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation beneath Talas rapidly began to flow along some sort of special pathway, surging beneath the earth to reach the feet of Wang Chong and the Demonic Emperor Old Man, resonating with the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner.

  In a flash, the auras of Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, the black-armored guard, and Gao Xianzhi began to swell, and all of their energies fused together into an enormous formation.

  And the core of this formation was not the black-armored guard and his Nine Dragon Blood War Banner, but Wang Chong, standing across from Qutaybah.

  “Not good! Kill him!”

  With a heaven-shaking bellow, Abu Muslim immediately attacked Wang Chong. At almost the same moment, Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad also attacked, their expressions brimming with concern.

  No one knew what the Tang were up to, but they had definitely done something to the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation. There was no doubt that all of this had been planned out. Wang Chong and the Tang remnants were not actually planning to retreat to the Western Regions. All of this, the flight and the order
s to abandon Talas, was to fool them and draw them toward this place.

  “Abu Muslim, Qutaybah, you’ve finally realized it? Alas, it’s too late!”

  Wang Chong’s voice resounded in their ears, and then his strength began to swell. Through the power of the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner, Wang Chong was able to absorb the energy of the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, Gao Xianzhi, the black-armored guard, and all the energy within the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation deep below Talas. This energy was so dense that it was almost tangible, pouring into his body through every pore in a frenzied torrent.

  Wang Chong had never interacted with such a massive energy source before, and this energy pushed his cultivation level to new and inconceivable heights.

  The Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art rumbled in his body, and the illusions of the sun and moon reached an absurd level of realism. Under the light of the sun and moon, Wang Chong’s strength rose by leaps and bounds. In the blink of an eye, he had surpassed not only Abu Muslim, but also the Arab War God Qutaybah.

  Buzz!

  Qutaybah’s pupils constricted, a look of extreme apprehension crossing his face.

  No one knew how Wang Chong and the others had done it.

  The Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation that had silently lurked beneath Talas for hundreds of years was actually being used in a battle.

  Qutaybah was strong, but he was not so strong that he could singlehandedly fight against the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation.

  “Seeking death!”

  Qutaybah’s face chilled, and ‘God’s Might’ suddenly shot out from his hand, traveling together with a magnificent beam of Sword Qi toward Wang Chong’s head, moving much faster than Abu Muslim’s and Aybak’s attacks.

  “Kill them!”

  Aybak fiercely howled, and countless Arab cavalry began to charge forward. Aybak hoped that the enormous number of men charging would weaken the attack of Wang Chong’s group.

  But even so, it was still too late.

  Only now did Aybak realize that all the elite Tang armies had appeared around Wang Chong’s group, merging together into an enormous formation.

  These elite Tang armies had used the excuse of covering the Tang retreat to join together with Wang Chong’s group and inconspicuously assemble into a formation that linked them to the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation.

  All of this had been completed silently and surreptitiously. While Dalun Ruozan was scheming to defeat Wang Chong, Wang Chong had used the opportunity to retreat and successfully draw Qutaybah into a trap.

  “Qutaybah, accept your fate! Today, you will be buried here!”

  Wang Chong’s resounding and high-spirited voice seemed to echo through the multiverse. Boom! Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Chong linked with the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner and immediately unleashed the energy the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation had built up over the centuries.

  Boom!

  Behind Wang Chong, the lofty walls of Talas which had stood for centuries began to shudder as if some giant invisible pair of hands was grabbing and shaking them. And then, the city of Talas collapsed with a boom.

  The earth cracked apart with a deafening boom, and out of the cloud of dust, an enormous power more terrifying than anyone could imagine slammed into Qutaybah like a meteor. Qutaybah’s Sword Qi that had caused the entire world to pale lasted for only a brief moment before crumbling in the face of this vast flood of power.

  The flood of Earth element energy carried on after destroying Qutaybah’s Sword Qi, crashing into Qutaybah, Abu Muslim, Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad, even sweeping up the Arab cavalry.

  “Ah!”

  Amidst the explosion, the screams seemed particularly shrill, and the air was suddenly raining severed limbs. Charging Arabian warhorses could dent steel with their impacts, but in the face of this destructive flood of Earth element energy, these Arabian warhorses and their steel armor crumpled like paper.

  Boomboomboom!

  Fierce shockwaves were being emitted from the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner, pushing into all the Arab cavalry nearby. In order to prevent the Tang from fleeing, six to seven thousand Arab cavalry had packed themselves on the front lines, but now that Wang Chong had activated the power of the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation, these elite Arab horsemen were immediately blasted to pieces.

  Explosions continued to ring through the air, plumes of dust rising more than ten thousand feet high. Debris and gravel were constantly shooting out of the dust, banging against the steel walls like they were sharp arrows.

  Neeeigh!

  Countless warhorses neighed, throwing their riders off their backs and plunging the entire battlefield into chaos.

  All of this had been too abrupt. No one had expected that the Tang who had been fleeing in terror, at the end of their rope, would unleash a move like this at the final moment. Six to seven thousand Arab cavalry were immediately annihilated while the fates of Qutaybah, Abu Muslim, Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad remained unknown.

  “This… this is impossible!”

  Dalun Ruozan’s eyes were wide open, his eyes flashing, his entire body seemingly having been struck by a lightning bolt.

  “Impossible! Simply impossible!”

  Dalun Ruozan felt like his heart was a block of ice, his two hands trembling within their sleeves. His composed and intelligent face had long ago turned ghastly pale.

  Dalun Ruozan had never expected that just when it seemed like the Great Tang had clearly lost, Wang Chong would turn around and launch a counterattack.

  For a spell, Dalun Ruozan had believed that he had won and that Wang Chong had no chance of turning the tides. But now, the battle was turning in the direction he had least wanted to see.

  All was silent, the Arab cavalry and generals staring with wide eyes at that churning cloud of dust. They stared in fear and concern at where the dust was thickest, all of them waiting for the final result.

  Chapter 1143 - The Death of Qutaybah (I)

  Chapter 1143: The Death of Qutaybah (I)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, Gao Xianzhi, the Wushang Village Chief, and the black-armored guard were also staring as they awaited the final result. Behind them, the towering city of Talas was no more, leaving behind only collapsed walls and churning clouds of dust that seemed to be resonating with the plumes of dust in front of Wang Chong’s group. Without the support of the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation, this storied fortress had disappeared.

  The Talas that not even the Arabian Behemoth Army could destroy had been instantly turned into a ruin.

  But no one would have expected that not even sacrificing the city of Talas and destroying the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation could truly kill the Arab War God.

  A few moments later, a fierce coughing could be heard from the depths of the cloud of dust, a sound that immediately made Wang Chong and the others grimace.

  “Unforgivable! Truly unforgivable!”

  A sinister and furious voice resounded in everyone’s ears.

  Hwoooo! In a vicious gust of wind, the massive pillar of dust that had dominated the battlefield was instantly scattered away. More than one hundred feet off the ground was that familiar figure, dignified and disdainful.

  Although it wasn’t possible to see his face, everyone could only think of one person when they saw this figure.

  The Arab War God, Qutaybah.

  “Impossible!”

  Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, and Gao Xianzhi all widened their eyes in utter shock. Gao Xianzhi was particularly stunned, his hands instinctively clenching into fists.

  Though it had been Wang Chong who had proposed the plan, Gao Xianzhi had supervised the entire process. Moreover, he had asked Wang Chong to verify details of the plan to him repeatedly, so he knew the entire plan l
ike the back of his hand.

  The power of the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation was simply too immense, far beyond that of any martial artist. Even Wang Chong had to use the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner and the formation created by the others to simply unleash the energy. Even doing something as simple as digesting the energy to use it for himself was out of the question.

  No one could endure this dreadful power. Every moment it remained inside one’s body was another moment where it could possibly explode within the user.

  Gao Xianzhi’s experience and knowledge told him that there was no martial artist powerful enough to resist this power. This was simply beyond the abilities of human beings. Gao Xianzhi had never imagined that Qutaybah would survive.

  Bang!

  Gao Xianzhi had barely begun to think about these things when that dignified and imposing figure suddenly shot forward in a storm of energy. Boom! All the dust was instantly swept away, revealing that radiant golden figure charging toward Wang Chong and the others.

  This golden figure had initially been very far away, but a moment later, before anyone could react, he was right in front of them.

  “Not good!”

  Wang Chong paled in alarm, immediately punching out, condensing his Stellar Energy into a mountainous steel fist that thundered at Qutaybah. At this moment, the Arab War God was covered in blood, his hair in complete disarray, his breathing extremely ragged. And yet his energy had only gotten stronger, reaching an even more terrifying level than before.

  Wang Chong could sense that even though Qutaybah seemed rather hard-pressed, the energy in his body was more powerful and pure that it had ever been before. It was as if there was a blazing sun inside his body, an energy that transcended ordinary Stellar Energy.

  The Subtle realm!

  Wang Chong shuddered when he sensed that energy, a look of disbelief on his face. He was no stranger to this kind of pure and sun-like energy, but he had never imagined that Qutaybah would be so talented and powerful. In the middle of an intense battle, he had actually managed to break through into the Subtle realm.