Imperial God Emperor

This had been a peak Quasi-emperor but he was killed as easily as though he was merely a child. Ye Qingyu grabbed another Quasi-emperor to him and this Quasi-emperor's struggles were all in vain. When Ye Qingyu tried to search his mind, the result was exactly the same as before. The Quasi-emperor's mind exploded and Emperor’s qi circulated around dangerously. He was unable to get anything from these Quasi-emperors despite the fact that he was now a Martial Emperor.

"I'm going to fight to the death with him."

"Kill, kill him."

"Since there's no way for us to escape, let us die along with him."

At that moment, the Quasi-emperors who had assumed that everything was playing out according to plan earlier felt the shadow of death loom over them. There was no way for them to escape and they were like trapped beasts that had descended into lunacy. They unleashed their strongest force in unison and charged ferociously at Ye Qingyu.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The power of Dao laws surged and countless flowing lights were like an endless swarm of bees that charged toward him.

These flowing lights were countless fake Emperor weapons that had been activated by the Quasi-emperor and caused explosions that ripped the void apart and turned the surrounding area where Ye Qingyu was standing into a destructive Chaos ocean. They had thrown everything behind their attack to kill him.

However, the [Blood Drinker Sword] appeared in Ye Qingyu's hand and slashed across the void.

The [Blood Drinker Sword] cut across the destructive ocean of Chaos like a hot knife through butter, and this ocean split into two. All the energy released from those weapons were completely absorbed by the [Blood Drinker Sword], as though it was a whale drinking water. Then, the silver sword body of the [Blood Drinker Sword] shone even brighter.

Slash!

The [Blood Drinker Sword] flew across the sky at his mental command.

Its silver light flickered elusively as it slashed through space and all the Quasi-emperors in its way were killed as easily as though it was stringing candied hawthorns on a stick. Their figures instantly turned into dust that filled the air and they were completely annihilated while their yuan qi and energy were absorbed by the [Blood Drinker Sword].

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The [Blood Drinker Sword] vibrated, then it flew back to Ye Qingyu's hands.

Then, the long sword covered the surface area of his entire palm like flowing water before it tunneled under his skin and vanished without a trace, as though it had become one with his body.

His current cultivation meant that he would not spare any of these Quasi-emperors. He had used his [Blood Drinker Sword] to kill the Quasi-emperors effortlessly and didn't encounter any difficulties along the way. He wiped out the dozens of Quasi-emperors who had been attacking Song Xiaojun earlier and turned them into dust that scattered across the universe. The ancient fiery Phoenix was the only creature he had spared.

Screech——!

It let out an angry wail and tried to attack Ye Qingyu but couldn't approach him.

"Do you not know who I am?" Ye Qingyu asked and the soundwaves from his voice contained a sharp warning that tried to bring this strangely violent Phoenix back to its senses.

However, it failed to be effective.

The ancient fiery Phoenix was still extremely violent, as though it had lost its divine sense. It was still incredibly savage as it tried to pounce on him.

"How could this be?" Ye Qingyu said with a frown.

He had already sensed a strange aura from this Phoenix when they had exchanged blows earlier and he was sure that this ancient fiery Phoenix was none other than the Celestial Phoenix Maiden who he hadn't seen for a long while. After they had last met at Ren Puyang's office within the divine temple of the Vast Thousand Domains, he hadn't seen this gorgeous prodigy who had been through several near-death experiences with him again. He hadn't expected that the next time they met, she would have already turned into an ancient True Phoenix with no sense of reason who attacked Song Xiaojun.

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden had once told him that their race's mandate was to keep an eye on the forces within the Unmoving City of Darkness.

Did this mean that the Phoenix Race was not part of the Vast Thousand Domains but rather, they were part of the Dark Realm? In other words, did the Phoenix Race come to the Dark Realm after they vanished entirely the last time?

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden was acting very strangely.

He could tell that some kind of energy within her bloodstream had been activated and this resulted in her reverting back to the appearance of her ancestors, but she didn't possess the true power of the Phoenix Race and could only unleash less than one percent of their original powers. She was more powerful than a peak ninth step Quasi-emperor and was just a whisker away from being a Martial Emperor. She was definitely the strongest opponent amongst all who were attacking Song Xiaojun earlier.

He noticed that after the Celestial Phoenix Maiden transformed into an ancient fiery Phoenix, she had lost her will and ability to reason and had become a violent and ferocious beast. This was extremely odd and he suspected that the Celestial Phoenix Maiden was being controlled by someone else against her will.

He continued to try to awaken the Celestial Phoenix Maiden from her violent state but to no avail.

"Capture!" Ye Qingyu said.

An Emperor qi exploded from his lips —— this was the manifestation of the one hundred eight characters mysterious technique and captured the ancient fiery Phoenix that struggled furiously.

"Brother Qingyu, do you know her?" Song Xiaojun couldn't help but ask.

She usually didn't take an interest nor felt curious about anything, but when she was with Ye Qingyu, she became as animated as a curious child and she looked at him with interest.

Ye Qingyu nodded and said, "She's the Celestial Phoenix Maiden of the Phoenix Race and a friend of mine."

"Someone must have controlled her spirit. The power of her blood has been tainted and the hidden energy within her blood has been forcibly activated. Moreover, someone has also planted a spell within her body..." Song Xiaojun said confidently after looking at the Phoenix.

Ye Qingyu froze for a moment and immediately realized that Song Xiaojun would possibly have a good understanding of the Phoenix Race since their mandate was to keep an eye on the Unmoving City of Darkness. This was why she could see what was wrong with the Celestial Phoenix Maiden more accurately than he could.

"Is there any way to break this stronghold?" he asked.

"It'll be difficult since the person who did this to her was extremely powerful and is probably as strong as you are. Moreover, any technique that involves the spirit and the power of blood would be very complex. There are three solutions and the worst solution would be to use someone with an invincible cultivation to break this stronghold. However, the person who breaks this stronghold must first have a very good understanding of Emperor spells and must be of a certain level of cultivation. Otherwise, one mistake could result in the destruction of her body and spirit. The second solution would be to find the person who is using this spell to control her and either kill that person or force him to remove this spell. The best solution is to find a relative like her who shares the same True Phoenix blood as her. The closer their bloodline is, the better it would be and we'd have to use the relative's body to disperse the effects of this spell and gradually destroy it. The best bet would be her father or her grandsons..." Song Xiaojun listed three solutions at once and it was obvious that she was very familiar with this situation.

Ye Qingyu was surprised by her knowledge of this matter and asked curiously, "Why are you so knowledgeable about this subject?"

A charming smile appeared on Song Xiaojun's face as she said truthfully, "The Phoenix Race is an ill-fated race and those of their race had always met with tragic ends. The entire race might seem extremely powerful and glorious but their race has been groomed and controlled by others. Even the most outstanding prodigy of their race would have their autonomy taken away from them after they've reached maturity and they would become puppets of others. Those who have groomed them will use a dark and evil mysterious technique to activate the power of their blood and use their True Phoenix fire unique to their race to deal with the Unmoving City of Darkness. This is because the Phoenix fire is the only thing that would be able to cause sustained damage to our bloodline and it's the only thing that would be able to restrain us... Many other matchless prodigies of the Phoenix Race had also been trapped in the same fate as your friend and I've also come across others who shared her fate. She isn't the first and our wise ancestors had tried to help the Phoenix Race dispel this curse on their race and understood some secrets, but unfortunately, their efforts haven't paid off..."

"What? How could this be?" Ye Qingyu was astonished.

This meant that the Celestial Phoenix Maiden had become so powerful and terrifying because someone had used an evil mysterious technique to activate the power of her blood and controlled her spirit with a spell to turn her into a puppet who would blindly obey the masterminds of the Dark Realm?

He vaguely sensed that there was an ancient and dark secret behind Song Xiaojun's words.

He would have never thought that the Celestial Phoenix Maiden's fate would be so tragic.

He suddenly remembered how the Celestial Phoenix Maiden had seemed a little strange when they had last met at Ren Puyang's office. She looked at him as though she had many things she wanted to say, but they only chatted about other topics before they left in a hurry. Before she left, the Celestial Phoenix Maiden had stared at him for a long while, brimming with words that she wanted to say but ultimately left unsaid...

Did her actions mean that the Celestial Phoenix Maiden had already known what would happen to her and that she was using their final moments together to bid him farewell?

Had such an unjust fate befallen the prodigious girl of the Phoenix Race who had been as proud as the True Phoenixes of the heavens, who had always stood by her principles with determination, and that beautiful and amazing talented girl who had always insisted on protecting him?

"I have to save her," Ye Qingyu said resolutely.

He knew that the Celestial Phoenix Maiden had fallen for him and he had also taken a liking to this Celestial Phoenix Maiden. Although his affection for her wasn't to the point that he wanted to marry her, as a friend, he would never allow the Celestial Phoenix Maiden to be controlled by those evil spells and would not allow her to be a pawn to which a tragic fate would ultimately befall her.

"Sure, bring her back with us to the Unmoving City of Darkness and you may refer to the ancient books in our city. You might just be able to refine the techniques that the wise ancestors of the Unmoving City of Darkness have left behind and possibly help her recover her senses and at the same time, change the fate of the Phoenix Race. After all, you're now a lofty Martial Emperor," Song Xiaojun agreed readily. "Based on my understanding, the Phoenix Race and the Unmoving City of Darkness had once been close allies and had not been enemies. However, we've only became enemies due to several incidents later."

"Very well," Ye Qingyu was very concerned about the Celestial Phoenix Maiden and was filled with fury toward those who had made her this way.

The more powerful he became and the loftier he stood, he found himself able to see the scenes that most ordinary people would never be able to see and also discovered some secrets. It was clear that the relationship between Phoenix Race and the Unmoving City of Darkness could not be explained in a few sentences. At the moment, his top priority was to make sure that the Celestial Phoenix Maiden regained her senses. Then, he would be able to conduct further investigations.

"Let's go," Ye Qingyu sealed the powers of the ancient fiery Phoenix and took Song Xiaojun's hand in his. They would leave the battlefield in space to return to the Unmoving City of Darkness of the Dark Realm.

At that moment——

"Go? Where do you think you're going?" a cold voice that was full of killing intent rang out.

Strange waves that were like ripples on a pond suddenly undulated around the surrounding battlefield and a terrifying Emperor qi surged at them from three different directions as three figures who were like fiendgods appeared in three different locations. Their bodies gave off a limitless Emperor qi that seemed to be as boundless as the ocean.

This was the aura from true Martial Emperors. They were not fake Emperors, neither were they Quasi-emperors.

Three true Martial Emperors appeared in space.

"Ye Qingyu, did you really think that we didn't know what your origins and identity were? The Emperor of Darkness was merely a bait and this trap was laid out for you. Since you've already fallen into our trap, do you think you'd be able to leave in one piece? Ha ha, why don't you stay behind?" a cold voice rang out contemptuously and piercing killing intent drew closer to him.