Chapter 41: Death

"I promised Little Ming that I will teach him cultivation when he turns 17... Too bad that I'd have to break my promise. Yue, my precious girl... I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you with your physique... I hope Liang'er will achieve what I couldn't."

"Zhen... here is my storage ring. Give it to Little Ming... This is a gift for him from his grandfather. An apology for breaking my promise. It can only be opened by someone from the royal bloodline... Liang'er won't be able to do it either. It will be useful for little Ming in his future endeavors."

"And most importantly... Please keep what happens here a secret. Don't even tell my brother about what will happen here in a few moments. Keep it a secret until Xu Liang becomes an immortal."

"What is going to happen? What are you going to do, Your Majesty? You're worrying me." War God Zhen asked with a concerned look on his face.

Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu looked at him with a calming smile before he placed his hand on the barrier.

The whole Qi on the red planet started getting restless as the Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu's eyes turned blazing red. The sky that was clear until a few moments ago was suddenly covered with dark clouds.

It started thundering heavily as the world began shaking. A powerful aura expanded from Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu. From his expressions, it seemed like Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu was going through extreme pain.

"Ahh... " Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu coughed out a mouthful of blood that struck the barrier and immediately disintegrated.

"This... Your Majesty! Stop it! You're using your life force! If you keep doing it, you will... you will die!" War God Zhen let out loud as he gazed at the Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu with a worried look on his face.

Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu didn't respond. In fact, it seemed like he couldn't respond as he focused on the barrier.

"I... I'm sorry, but I can't let you see the light of the day... It... it's my duty... to stop you... and I will do it till my last breath." Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu said after much struggle.

After the initial moments, it started to look like the barrier was absorbing the life force and the Origin Qi of Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu. His condition kept deteriorating while the barrier started becoming more and more stable.

After half an hour, it looked like the barrier was completely stable. As the barrier absorbed all of the Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu's life force, he fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty!" War God Zhen let out loudly as he ran towards Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu. He supported the shoulders of the Heavenly Emperor as he gazed at him with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Zhen, But this was the only possible way. This is all I can do for our world. Don't worry about me, little Zhen. Even if I'm gone, you will have an even better Emperor, Xu Liang. Our Heavenly Realm will only reach greater heights under him. Please take care of him." Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu said with the last bit of strength that he had remaining.

Just before Heavenly Emperor closed his eyes, a scene of the past flashed before his eyes.

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 "Dear Zhu, You are about to become the Emperor of the Heavenly Realm. There's one thing that you must know before you agree to take on the responsibility." A bad dressed in shining golden armor said as he gazed at a man in front of him that looked like 25-26 years old. The man looked like the younger version of Tian Zhu.

"Yes, Father." Tian Zhu replied to his father.

"It's about the Red Planet and the barrier. I've been guarding the barrier throughout my reign. It had been thousands of years. Although it hasn't happened yet, there will come a time when the barrier will start to weaken and get unstable. If the barrier breaks, the whole world will suffer. When that time comes, as the Emperor, it will be your duty to heal the barrier." His father said in a serious tone.

"How can I heal it, father?" Tian Zhu inquired.

"It's a secret only known by the Emperor's but to heal the barrier, the Ruler must give away his life and soul to the barrier... It's a sacrifice that's a must for the world." His father answered.

"I'm not sure when it will happen and it might not even happen during your reign, but you just need to be aware." He continued.

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"I did it, father..." Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu muttered before he lost all his strength.

His breathing stopped and his eyes closed. The body of Heavenly Emperor Tian Zhu started shining brightly as it turned into a blue orb of light. This orb of light started floating in the air and soon it was absorbed by the barrier.

The barrier grew even stronger and looked like it had finally recovered to its peak.

War God Zhen kept sitting there for hours without moving in the slightest as he stared at the barrier with a blank look on his face.

The sky that was covered with dark clouds had suddenly become clear. The thundering had stopped as well.

The Demonic Qi that covered the planet disappeared like it was never there.

Back in the Demonic Realm, the Demon Emperor was sitting on his throne in the darkroom. His eyes were closed and his arms were folded.

"So you decided to give away your life to stop the calamity. I can't say that I didn't expect this from you, but did you really think that this would be the end?" The Demon Emperor said. It seemed like he was talking to himself  

"You gave your life for your home, but that home will be the one that destroys the dreams and hopes that you left behind."He continued.

"You can stop the destruction on the outside, but what about the darkness hiding in your home?"  Demon Emperor muttered to himself with an expressionless look on his face.