Crazed Emperor
"CRASH! BOOM!" Another deafening explosion echoed across the battlefield as Yan Three sent yet another Guardian crashing to the ground. The earth shook violently, as if announcing the end of the world.
"Ughhh!"
The fallen Guardian screamed in pain as his right arm had been brutally torn apart.
Tai Yu, recognized as the second mightiest beneath the Eternal Heaven God Emperor and a Divine Master Rank Ten, found himself utterly overmatched by the monstrosity before him. Despite sharing an equivalent level of cultivation, the gulf between their powers was so vast it bordered on the unbelievable.
Dark energy covered his injured body, corrosively eating away at his flesh and bones. His eyes were reddened from pain, not just the excruciating agony of losing his limb, but the torment of witnessing the devastation surrounding him.
This was the Eternal Heaven Realm! A supreme King Realm in the Eastern Divine Region, a place worshipped and revered by countless cultivators across the lands! But now, everything was in ruins. Buildings crumbled, and the once pristine landscape was scarred by the fierce battle that raged on.
How could this be happening? Why was the once-mighty Eternal Heaven Realm now on the brink of collapse? Gazing up at the sky of the Eternal Heaven Realm, the fallen Guardian saw flashes of lightning tearing through the heavens, accompanied by dark, ominous clouds that obscured all else from his injured, blood-filled eyes.
It was as if the heavens themselves were mourning the fall of this once-great realm.
"Is this truly the end of Eternal Heaven...?" He asked himself, his voice barely a whisper amid the chaos and destruction that had befallen the realm. His heart ached at the thought, and despair settled in as he struggled to make sense of the devastation around him.
The Eternal Heaven Realm, once a symbol of hope and strength, now seemed destined to become a mere memory, swallowed by the darkness that threatened to consume it entirely.
Glancing in another direction, he spotted his God Emperor being tossed around like a ragdoll by Yan Two.
"BOOOOMM!!" Another strike from Yan Two connected squarely with Zhou Xuzi, causing his body to trail blood across the sky as it was struck. Zhou Xuzi didn't even have the time to recalled back his life treasure the Wilderness Suppressing Divine Cauldron to protected himself.
"MY LORD!" he screamed, rushing in that direction. But suddenly, there was a "crack!" followed by the sound of breaking bones and a resounding "BOOM!" His body slammed into the ground, and even more ribs and bones shattered from the force of the attack. "Ugh... p-puagh!" he coughed up blood.
"JIEEHEHAHAHA! Where do you think you're going, you pathetic insect?!" Yan Three cackled with malicious glee, his words sounding like they were straight from the depths of hell in the ears of the beleaguered Guardians.
"ZIEHAHAHAHA!!!" Another sinister laugh filled the air, a spine-chilling sound that echoed menacingly across the sky.
"Ugh...." The Eternal Heaven God Emperor groaned, his face contorted in pain as he was yanked by his hair. He had only just managed to regain his footing after being knocked to the ground.
"Die!"
Yan Two's voice was cold and ruthless as he swiftly delivered a devastating punch to the God Emperor's face. "Crack!... Tear!" The sheer force of the blow was unimaginable; it shattered several of the Eternal Heaven God Emperor's teeth and brutally ripped out chunks of his hair. The powerful impact sent his body flying uncontrollably through the air.
"Crash BOOM!" With a deafening sound, the God Emperor collided with a nearby building, utterly demolishing the fragile remnants of its structure. Dust and debris filled the air, adding to the chaotic scene.
"Huff...hufff...."
Gasping for breath, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor struggled to maintain his consciousness. "...aughhh...cough...coughh....." He sputtered, coughing up a mixture of blood and fragments of his shattered teeth. His battered body was a testament to the relentless brutality he had just endured.
Had he not been injured and caught off guard by Yan Two's surprise attack, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor wouldn't have found himself in such a dire state. The devastation of his entire realm, transformed into a brutal battlefield with no time for evacuation, weighed heavily on him. Countless lives, including those of his children and family members, had been lost in the carnage.
Under better circumstances, he would have had the strength to continue the fight. But now..."No!!! I can't let this continue, there are still those I must protect! There Must be!" It was as if a lightning bolt struck the mind of the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, reigniting the fire in his once-dimmed eyes. He still had Guardians, and perhaps some of his children had survived. The Dragon Monarch could still vanquish the devils! His realm might yet be saved!
He extended his arms, and another ancient white cauldron materialized before him, its presence a symbol of hope and power for the beleaguered God Emperor.
The ancient cauldron initially measured a mere ten feet in length, but as the white light streaming from Zhou Xuzi's arms surged into it, the cauldron began to expand at an astonishing rate. Within moments, it grew to a hundred feet, a thousand feet, and eventually ten thousand feet in length.
"AHHHHH!! DIEEEEE!!!!" The Eternal Heaven God Emperor roared, unleashing a powerful attack.
The mouth of the cauldron, now resembling a fathomless abyss, hurtled toward Yan Two with unstoppable force. This was the Eternal Heaven Great Void Cauldron, one of the most powerful treasures of the realm!
"Jiehahaha. I was actually waiting for this," Yan Two laughed, seemingly unfazed. Suddenly, from a dimension pocket, an unconscious figure appeared before him, their cultivation evidently sealed away. Yan Two callously tossed the young man in front of him, using him as a shield against the oncoming attack.
"Father...?" The young man's consciousness snapped back into focus as he materialized, only to be met with the sight of an enormous cauldron looming before him.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Recognizing the person Yan Two had placed in front of him, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor screamed in horror, desperately attempting to retract the attack. But it was too late!
"BOOOMM!!!", the young man was obliterated, leaving not even a single hair behind.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! QINGCHEN!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Zhou Xuzi roared in anguish, tears of blood streaming from his eyes. That had been his son! His cherished son, the only child he had with his Empress – Zhou Qingchen!
"YOU DEVIL! Ahhh! Die!" Zhou Xuzi exclaimed, nearly spewing blood from his mouth due to the intense combination of anger, hatred, and pain.
Zhou Xuzi's eyes turned a fiery red as he retracted the cauldron and launched another attack, this time with even greater power behind it.
The already darkened sky grew more ominous and terrifying, reflecting Zhou Xuzi's seething rage as he mustered all his strength for the assault.
"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He roared!
"Jiehahhahaha! You never learn!"
Yan Two laughed, pulling another young man from his spatial storage space artifact. It was another son of the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, Zhou Qingfeng!
Among the Eternal Heaven God Emperor's children, Zhou Qingfeng possessed the highest talent. However, since Zhou Qingchen was the son of his empress, he was named the crown prince despite his lack of talent. This didn't mean the Emperor didn't love his other son, Qingfeng; in fact, he felt considerable guilt towards him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Another blood-curdling scream echoed as the Eternal Heaven God Emperor tried to withdraw the attack once more, but it was too late.
"BOOM!!!" There was nothing left of the other young man again.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" With a "thud," Zhou Xuzi's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, screaming in unbearable pain and agony.
"Ahhhhhh...ahhhhahahaha..." His mind shattered, he alternated between laughing and crying, consumed by grief.
"AHHHH!!!!" Another Guardian fell, succumbing to the relentless slashes of the dark blades that tore through their form. Tai Yu now stood as the last Guardian remaining on the battlefield.
"Lord God Emperor! Come back to your senses!" He roared, acutely aware of the calamity unfolding before him. His empathy for the emperor's pain was almost as acute as the agony the emperor himself must be feeling, but he knew they could not afford to falter; the fate of the Eternal Heaven God Realm hung in the balance.
"We can seek vengeance only if we live!" Tai Yin cried out.
Then, with a resounding "Boom!" a surge of dark power struck him, sending him hurtling uncontrollably towards his God Emperor.
"Cease playing with your preys," Yan Two bellowed at Yan Three. It was evident to him that Yan Three was holding back; otherwise, his opponent would have been reduced to shreds by now.
"Jiehahaha!!!" Yan Three cackled, materializing beside his sibling. "Why should I rush? They're on their last breath as it is," he retorted.
"Hmm!" Yan Two grunted in acknowledgment. Though he was reluctant to admit it, Yan Three's assessment was accurate. Had it not been for the Guardians being weakened by the blast unleashed by the Dragon Monarch and the Eternal Heaven God Emperor's compromised state which led to a successful surprise attack, their conquest would not have been so effortlessly achieved.
Indeed, their Master had cautioned them about the potential for things to go awry... yet thus far, everything had proceeded without a hitch. Could it be that they had overestimated the might of Eternal Heaven's denizens? Had they always been this weak?
"Regardless, let's finish this,"
Yan Two remarked, recalling the conversation with his Master.
------------
"Master, where are we headed?" Yan Two inquired of Yun Che as they emerged from the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. Freed from the shackles of the dark energy by the power of the Darkness Calamities, they had been granted new life, no longer confined to the prison that had once given them immortality.
Yun Che, now their master due to the slave mark, Yan One and Yan Three were equally curious about their destination.
"We're just taking a tour around the God Realm," Yun Che replied. Yan Two breathed a sigh of relief, only for Yun Che's next words to send him crashing to the ground.
"Along the way, we'll also visits Eternal Heaven God Realm, maybe kills Long Bai as well" he added.
"....WHAT?!!!" The Three Yans were all simultaneously baffled. The Dragon Monarch? The most powerful being in the entire Primal Chaos?!!!!
"Master... could we perhaps discuss this further?" Yan Three proposed apprehensively.
"No, you will follow me," Yun Che declared, making it clear that the conversation was over. He walked away without looking back.
"Yes, Master!" The three Yans responded in unison. Bound by the slave seal, they had no choice but to obey their master, even though their hearts were filled with unease.
Yan Two trailed behind Yun Che, and as he glanced up at the distant dark sky.
.....
"Oh Yan Two, be wary when you clash with that old dog Zhou Xuzi, particularly of his cauldrons; they are quite powerful as treasure weapons," Yun Che advised.
"Yes, Master." Yan Two responded respectfully.
------------
"Lord God Emperor..." The weakened voice of Tai Yu cut through the chaos, as he somehow managed to reach Zhou Xuzi's side. ".....You cannot fall here..."
"Crack!!!!!"
"UGHHHH!!!!!!!" A pained grunt escaped Tai Yu as his leg shattered under the ruthless force of Yan Three's stomp.
"Ugh....." With every groan, it seemed his remaining life was being sapped away.
"Little bug, it's time for you to die" sneered Yan Three, gripping Tai Yu's head and hoisting his broken body.
"Ah....ah...." Zhou Xuzi's eyes, previously dimmed, suddenly widened, and a guttural sound emerged from him, a desperate attempt to articulate something. A flicker of life ignited in his gaze.
"You can't fall here...not...to the devils..." Tai Yu said as blood running down his entire body as it stained the area with red color of death.
"HMMM!!"
Yan Three's sneer deepened as his darkness profound power surged, engulfing the Guardian within his grasp. The shadows began to devour the man whole, and it seemed that soon, nothing would remain.
Zhou Xuzi's eyes, now alight once more, focused as he whispered, "...Tai... Yu..."
"Goodbye... my lord," came the faint, breeze-like utterance from Tai Yu as the darkness annihilated his existence.
"Zhu..Liu...Tai...Yao...Tai...Huang..."
"Tai..Yao.....Tai..Yin..."
"TAI YIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"AH...AHHHH.AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The sight of his comrade one by one flash though his eyes, the Guardians akin to a blood brothers, perishing before him ignited an inferno of rage in Zhou Xuzi. His eyes, already reddened, became as deep pools of blood as he began to rise.
"AHHHHH...AHHHHH.AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" His scream tore through the heavens.
"Hmm! screamed all you want; you'll be joining him soon enough!" Yan Three declared, his energy bursting forth in a wild torrent.
"Die!" he bellowed, forging a blade from the same darkness and bones thrusting it with all his might at the frenzied, wounded God Emperor.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!"
Erupting with immeasurable power and wrath, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor cleaved through the encroaching darkness, his aura so intense that the very clouds scattered. Yan Three's blade, wrought from shadow, couldn't come near him. The power of the God Emperor's unleashed fury even forced Yan Two and Yan Three to retreat.
"He's... he's burned his Blood Essence!" Yan Two exclaimed, recognizing the sacrifice.
Blood essence represents the very quintessence of a being's life force and spiritual energy. It is the concentrated vitality that runs deeper than blood, imbued with a person's essence and often linked to their soul and innate potential. Once they're burned up, there is no way to get it back!
"And not just a small amount," added Yan Three, noting the extent of the God Emperor's desperation. In a desperate act, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor set ablaze his blood essence, tapping into a newfound surge of strength that surpassed all prior displays of his might and shattered his former boundaries. It was clear that, in this dire moment, he had cast aside all semblance of rationality, choosing to consume his life's core energy in its entirety!
"Even so, this will change ...." Yan Three's declaration was abruptly silenced as a sharp "Thwick!" resounded, a cauldron piercing through his body. The same weapon that Yan Two had effortlessly fended off earlier was now vastly more powerful, incomparable to its prior strength.
"Eh...?" A sudden wave of feebleness overcame Yan Three, and his body collapsed onto the ground with a muted "Thud."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!