The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  For Wang Chong, what was truly important was suppressing the injuries caused by the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art and sorting out the nearly one thousand kinds of Stellar Energy in his body!

  Time slowly passed, and all remained still within the stone formation. Wang Chong continued to cultivate cross-legged on the ground while the Wushang Village Chief sat on the side and protected him. Around four hours later…

  The Wushang Village Chief glanced up at the sky and said to himself, It’s about time! A split-second later, he heard a grunt.

  Turning his head, he saw that the face of the motionless Wang Chong had grimaced in pain and his complexion was paling. Moreover, cold beads of sweat were beginning to seep out of his forehead.

  Swish!

  At this moment, there was a soft sound as one of the veins on Wang Chong’s exposed neck suddenly bulged and began to twist as if it was alive. And this bulging continued to spread across Wang Chong’s body, producing an extremely bizarre scene.

  “It’s a flare-up!”

  The Wushang Village Chief was keenly aware that this was caused by the chaotic state of Wang Chong’s Stellar Energy. At certain intervals, the various kinds of Stellar Energy that Wang Chong had suppressed would gather in one place and flare up. This experience would be exceedingly painful, and in this period, Wang Chong had very little ability to resist.

  Bang!

  The Wushang Village Chief immediately pressed a palm onto Wang Chong’s back, sending a surge of mellow and steady Stellar Energy surging into his body. This vast energy coursed along a set path to swiftly pacify Wang Chong’s rampant Stellar Energy.

  Whoosh!

  Wang Chong turned paler and paler, and his breathing became increasingly ragged. It was clear that this Stellar Energy flare-up had reached a critical juncture. The Wushang Village Chief frowned and poured in even more Stellar Energy. White curls of energy began to steam off the top of his head.

  As time passed, sweat began to appear on the Wushang Village Chief’s face. The Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art was one of the ten great arts, and its flare-ups were incredibly fierce. Even the Wushang Village Chief had to consume a significant amount of energy.

  Around fifteen minutes later, Wang Chong’s breathing finally began to steady. The Wushang Village Chief exhaled and slowly drew back his palm. He had helped Wushang endure the most vicious part, and Wang Chong could handle the rest himself.

  The stone formation finally returned to normal, and after some time…

  “Village Chief, many thanks!” Wang Chong said, slowly opening his eyes.

  The Wushang Village Chief merely smiled and shook his head.

  “It’s enough that you managed to get through it. This technique is far too dangerous. It’s best if you avoid fighting with others. In addition, there’s something else I wish to say to you…”

  As the Wushang Village Chief spoke, he glanced upward, a hint of concern in his eyes.

  “Something is wrong. Your master and the Formation Elder said to me before they left that they would only need six hours in total for their trip, but your master is now late by four hours. Your master has always been a punctual person and so would never be this late. Thus, I am prepared to go and investigate!”

  “I’ll go with you! You’ll have someone to coordinate with this way!”

  Wang Chong immediately stood up. Wang Chong also found it rather strange for his master to be so late.

  “There’s no need.” The Wushang Village Chief shook his head. “You still haven’t recovered from your injuries, and your Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art just had a flare-up. You’re in no shape for a battle. And besides, if I go alone, if something really has happened, I can act more flexibly.”

  There was also something else that he had left unspoken. The people that he and the Demonic Emperor Old Man were worried about the most at this time were those mysterious and seemingly omnipresent men in black. Every minute that Wang Chong spent outside was another minute where he might come under attack. But within the formation, his aura was concealed, and there was ample food and water, making this place much safer for him.

  “This…”

  After some hesitation, Wang Chong finally nodded.

  “Then we will do as Senior says.”

  Wang Chong also understood that he was in no condition to fight with others.

  “You just wait here. I’ll bring back your master soon!”

  After saying this, the Wushang Village Chief opened up the formation and departed the mountain.

  Since he had to stay, he might as well make himself comfortable. After thinking for a few moments, Wang Chong sat back down and quietly cultivated to recover his strength as quickly as possible.

  As the sky darkened and there was still no sign of the Wushang Village Chief or his master, Wang Chong began to worry.

  “Just where did they go? There’s still been no news from them. What a pity that I’m not familiar with this area…”

  “Ya!”

  Just when Wang Chong was preparing to head out, he heard the sharp shout of a woman. Wang Chong turned to look and saw a young woman of eighteen or nineteen clothed in white, her hand gripping a sword and her hair hanging loose, making her way toward the summit. She was being pursued by several men with sinister complexions.

  “Song Youran, you can’t escape!”

  The sinister men seemed to move as swiftly as flowing water. Wang Chong had once been one of the top experts of the world and had learned all manner of martial arts. He naturally possessed an extremely keen eye. There were body-lightening techniques like this in the army, but no soldiers could use them as exquisitely as these people.

  And for some reason, when these people attacked, they gave off a sinister and crooked aura.

  Members of the evil path!

  Wang Chong suddenly understood.

  “You guys go to the left and you guys go to the right. Spread out! No matter what, we can’t let this scoundrel escape!”

  As the beautiful young woman fled toward the summit, a youth of apparently rather high status and cold eyes immediately changed up his tactics, spreading out his five men into a large net to catch the girl.

  Clingcling! Clangclang!

  A few moments later, the girl was caught. The evil path disciples had silently coordinated together in swiftly cutting off her paths of retreat and forcing her to the summit.

  The white-clothed girl wielded her three-foot sword with incredible expertise, barely blocking the attacks of her numerous foes time and again. But she was still beset by perils on all sides, her body drenched in sweat and her breathing ragged. Her defeat was only a matter of time.

  “Wei Changting, you won’t have a good death! For the sake of one treasure map, your Black Yin Sect killed four of our disciples! Are you not afraid of our Righteous Alliance’s revenge?!”

  “Hmph, others might be scared of your Righteous Alliance, but not us! If you have a problem, just bring it up with the Five Ancestors! Song Youran, no one the old ancestor wants has ever managed to escape. Just obediently put down your arms and let yourself be captured!” Wei Changting coldly said.

  Chapter 1339 - Instruction at a Time of Dire Peril!

  Chapter 1339: Instruction at a Time of Dire Peril!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Ever since the establishment of the Righteous Alliance, the evil sects, without the might of the Demonic Emperor, had been simply incapable of fighting back. The only force left in the evil path was the Five Ancestor Alliance. Song Youran possessed unique status, and the evil path disciples had expended great effort to capture her, lying in wait for five days and five nights before springing the trap. No matter what, she could not be allowed to escape.

  “Song Youran, if we weren’t afraid of injuring you, cutting off an arm or leg, you would have been dead long ago. Just cease your resistance and give up. In any case, you’ll still fall into our hands at the end.”

  “Impu
dent!”

  Song Youran glared furiously at the leading youth.

  “Wei Changting, you’re the scum of our righteous faction. For the sake of greater power, you sold your master and your martial uncle and joined the evil path. These evil path disciples are rapists and pillagers, willing to go to any lengths, and you’re a perfect match for them. Falling into your hands is worse than death, and I, Song Youran, would rather die than let you be satisfied!”

  The girl gripped her sword, her expression brimming with rage and sorrow.

  Song Youran’s words caused the face of that man called Wei Changting to turn red.

  “Song Youran, I was only merciful again and again because of our past relationship, but you’ve forced my hand! Since that’s the case, we can’t be blamed anymore! Everyone, together! As long as she’s still breathing, there’s no need to worry about anything else!”

  Moments after he finished speaking, Wei Changting led the charge at Song Youran.

  Clang!

  Wei Changting’s attacks were swift and vicious, and his very first strike was aimed at the woman’s left breast.

  Creee!

  As Wei Changting attacked, the black energy around him transformed into wailing demon heads that vexed and dazed the mind.

  The Soul Absorbing Art!

  Within the stone formation, Wang Chong instantly recognized this technique. Back on the spirit vein mountain, his master rarely talked about the world of sects, but he knew that Wang Chong might one day encounter sect martial artists and feared that he might lose to them. Thus, when teaching Wang Chong martial arts, he would also explain some of the techniques used in the world of sects.

  The most unique attribute of the Soul Absorbing Art was its ability to seize one’s soul and dazzle the mind while also disrupting the flow of Stellar Energy. It was extremely famous in the world of sects. Countless sect disciples would pale at the mention of this art, but the Demonic Emperor Old Man only had contempt for it.

  Those in the lineage of the Demonic Emperor had always disdained to use such jack-of-all-trades arts. In battle, they always just forcefully seized their opponent’s energy.

  As Wang Chong was thinking to himself, the two sides began to fiercely battle. Shick! A bloody wound appeared on the girl’s body, and then a second, a third… more and more wounds began to pile on.

  “Hah, foul girls really are quite unreasonable. Once you’re captured, I’ll loosen you up a little and then hand you over to the ancestor. We’ll see how stubborn you are then!”

  An evil path disciple next to Wei Changting wickedly snickered. His Stellar Energy erupted as he aimed at the girl’s lower body.

  “Bastard!”

  The girl was both shocked and furious, and slowly, she began to panic.

  Just when her strength was running out and she was about to be captured by the five evil path disciples, a loud voice rang out in her ears.

  “Reverse the flow of energy and lock it in the Yangguan and Gongque!

  “Step on the Kan position and attack the Shanzhong and Zifu!”

  Despite the abruptness of this voice, it had a persuasive and trustworthy quality to it, as if a martial brother in her sect was guiding her in martial arts.

  In her exhausted state, this voice was like sweet dew, and Song Youran instinctively followed these orders.

  She stepped on the Kan position, and then her sword stabbed at the Shanzhong point of the evil path disciple to her right.

  Shick! A sword cut through flesh, and then that evil path disciple instinctively drew on his evil Stellar Energy to push away Song Youran’s sword.

  But the arts of the Righteous Alliance innately possessed the ability to pierce through Stellar Energy. Before the evil path disciple could completely get away, the sword had stabbed through his Shanzhong point, its bloodstained tip poking out of his back.

  “How could something like this happen…”

  The evil path disciple gripped the sword with both hands as he dropped to the ground. Even in death, he did not dare believe that an exhausted disciple of the righteous path had actually managed to kill him despite being surrounded by five people.

  Let alone the other evil path disciples, even Song Youran was startled that she had killed an evil path disciple in a single strike.

  “Who’s there?! Get out here!”

  Startled and dismayed, Wei Changting and the others retreated and warily surveyed their surroundings.

  But there was nothing except the gusting wind.

  Boom!

  Wei Changting’s straight brows creased and a cold light flashed in his eyes. A moment later, Stellar Energy exploded from his body, peppering his surroundings.

  Dingdingding! The ghastly pale Song Youran swept her sword to and fro, shooting out silvery bolts of Stellar Energy that scattered the evil Stellar Energy coming at her. But Wei Changting was not looking at her at all. His eyes were scanning the area, but all was quiet, with no sign of any other person.

  “Impossible! We’re near the summit, and there’s basically nowhere to hide! If there was someone else, I should be able to see them, but…”

  Wei Changting was frightened. He had spent many years in the world of sects, but this was the first time he had ever encountered a situation like this.

  “Master Wei, I’ll go to the slope and see if he’s hiding there!” one of the evil path disciples said.

  Wei Changting thought a little before shaking his head. “There’s no need to go through all that trouble. I have a way of forcing him out!”

  Wei Changting once more turned his attention onto Song Youran.

  “Song Youran! You brought this on yourself! Even if the people from your Righteous Alliance get here, no one can save you today!”

  Wei Changting’s aura suddenly changed, and then thick black energy began to pour off his body. A roiling black mist soon engulfed his entire face.

  Keee! Ghostly wails resounded through the world as the black energy behind him turned into ghost soldiers and ghost generals. Wei Changting himself seemed to transform into a demon, his aura becoming much sharper and deadlier.

  “The Demon Ghost Art!”

  Song Youran grimaced at this sight. The Demon Ghost Art was famous in the world of sects as an extremely cruel evil art. When cultivating this technique, one needed to go to large mounds of corpses to absorb the Yin energy, baleful energy, and death energy, and one also needed the blood extracted from forty-nine martial artists while they were still alive. Only then could one successfully cultivate this technique, and once it was used, it possessed immense power.

  “Song Youran, let me see who will save you now!”

  Shrouded in black energy, Wei Changting seemed like human, ghost, and devil all at once. He reached out with fingers outstretched, and a massive demon claw came shrieking out of the black mist to lunge at Song Youran. As the claw closed in, the Yin energy shrouding them transformed into countless skulls that rushed forward.

  “Not good!”

  Song Youran paled. When the Demon Ghost Art was used, the user would receive a large boost in every aspect. In her current condition, she was completely incapable of stopping this attack.

  “Step on the Qian position and go to the Li position!

  “Profound Sun Seals the Heavens!”

  “Dancing Willow Catkin!

  “Blazing Sun Rises from the East!”

  That voice rang out once more in Song Youran’s ears. At this moment of dire peril, Song Youran instinctively followed the voice’s orders. Summoning her Stellar Energy, she stepped on the Qian position, narrowly dodging Wei Changting’s sharp claws and cutting a path between two fingers. She proceeded from Qian to Li, dodging Wei Changting’s new attack.

  “Profound Sun Seals the Heavens!” Song Youran called out, her sword stabbing forward. With a rip, the thick evil energy around Wei Changting tore apart like a thin sheet of paper.

  “I broke through the weakness in his Stellar Energy!”

  Song Youran was startle
d and elated. Although Wei Changting was powerful, she had clearly managed to stab through the weakest part in his Stellar Energy barrier.

  This was like swimming along the thin border where two streams intersected, abnormally easy with little resistance.

  Swish!

  Wei Changting was still struggling to understand what was going on when his left arm was struck by a sword. He immediately fell back, his face ghastly pale.

  “Many thanks, Senior!”

  Song Youran was energized and immediately used the second move, Dancing Willow Catkin. Sharp and condensed Sword Qi immediately shot toward Wei Changting’s armpit, left abdomen, and dantian.

  Plush! A streak of Sword Qi left a bloody hole the thickness of a finger on Wei Changting’s left shoulder.

  Wei Changting had blocked two of the Sword Qi bolts, but he had failed to dodge the third lightning-fast strike.

  “Master Wei!”

  The other evil path disciples were alarmed by this sight and quickly attacked Song Youran from various directions like ghosts.

  That voice promptly spoke once more.

  “Water-cleaving Saber Draw!

  “Tiger Howl Dragon Cry!”

  Swish! There was a cold flash of light, and then the three evil path disciples fell back, shouting and panicked. One of them had had his clothes cut open by Song Youran, leaving a deep wound on his belly that had almost disemboweled him.

  At this moment, everyone was staring at Song Youran like she was a ghost, and none of them dared to act rashly. Even Wei Changting showed deep fear in his eyes. He had originally believed that since he was stronger and had the Demon Ghost Art, he would be able to easily capture Song Youran. But it was now apparent that this task would be much harder than he had imagined.

  Wei Changting suddenly changed his attitude, clasping his hands as he looked behind Song Youran, a respectful look on his face. “Might I ask which senior is here? This junior is Wei Changting of the Black Yin Sect. My master is the Black Yin Ancestor. This is a matter between our Black Yin Sect and the Righteous Alliance. I hope that Senior will not interfere!”