Imperial God Emperor

The Qingluo Chamber of Commerce was the biggest chamber of commerce within the Heaven Wasteland Domain and also a huge conglomerate that had rapidly risen in the Vast Thousand Domains. Everything had gone smoothly for it over the past few years and Song Qingluo, who headed the chamber of commerce, was an outstanding beauty and a capable woman. She had a remarkable business acumen and had always been pursuing the right business strategies, so she was highly regarded by her allies and her competitors. 

Evidently, this wasn't the main reason why the Qingluo Chamber of Commerce could reign supreme over the Vast Thousand Domains and even make inroads into the Dark Realm over the past few years. 

The main reason was that Song Qingluo's background was a little astonishing. 

First, she was the classmate of Immortal God Emperor Ye Qingyu and also friends with him. It was rumored that when the Qingluo Chamber of Commerce had been in trouble, Ye Qingyu had stood up for her even before he became Emperor. Their close friendship could not be underestimated. Second, Song Qingluo was also the sister of another Martial Emperor of the Immortal Empire, Song Xiaojun. Their biological relationship could not be ignored since there were only a handful of Martial Emperors of the current generation. Didn't the close relationship shared between the Qingluo Chamber of Commerce, Ye Qingyu, and Song Xiaojun showcase her astonishing background? 

There were many who were jealous of the Qingluo Chamber of Commerce's success and admired Song Qingluo's beauty, but no one had actually dared to make a move against the Qingluo Chamber of Commerce. 

However, the Qingluo Chamber of Commerce suffered heavy losses not long after the Immortal God Emperor was injured. 

A group of traders led by Song Qingluo's father, Song Jiannan, were mercilessly attacked in the Dark Realm and were all brutally murdered. All 671 of them were slain, including Song Jiannan and even the group's guide. There wasn't a single survivor and they were all murdered ruthlessly. 

Their corpses were discovered by an exploration party and then this brutal massacre was brought to light. 

When the news was made public, it shook the entire world. 

The fact that this tragedy had happened during such a sensitive time was thought-provoking, especially since Song Qingluo's father was amongst those slain. 

This was significant because Song Jiannan was not only Song Qingluo's father, he was also the father of a current Martial Emperor, Song Xiaojun. They were no longer as close as before but they were still related by blood. Who could have been so fearless to even think of attacking Song Jiannan? Was this person or force not afraid that a Martial Emperor would pursue this matter to the very end in anger? 

The Immortal Empire responded. 

It was said the Empress of Darkness, Song Xiaojun, who was at the western frontier of the Great Wall, went into self-isolation after hearing the news. Her trusted general Lingyun led three hundred top-level scouts from the Unmoving City of Darkness to the murder scene to conduct investigations. Everyone was extremely jittery and no one knew the outcome of the investigations. 

However, there were even more people who felt that those behind this attack could possibly be the same people behind the attack at the Platform of Green Clouds. This seemed like another exploratory attack from the same perpetrators. 

This was a challenge issued by those who were against the Immortal Empire. 

They wanted to use such methods to anger the Immortal Empire and the Immortal God Emperor, hoping that the Immortal God Emperor would make an appearance. This would prove whether the rumors were true about the Immortal God Emperor being seriously injured at the Platform of Green Clouds when [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] had staged his attempt to become Emperor, or whether this was merely a smokescreen. 

Several dozen days passed by. 

The Immortal God Emperor did not make an appearance. 

The Immortal Empire joined forces with the Heaven Wasteland Empire to investigate this case and track down the whereabouts of the murderer, but they weren't able to find any useful clues. 

It was also rumored that the person who murdered Song Jiannan and the others proved to be a Martial Emperor and this was why the highly-skilled experts from the Immortal Empire had failed to capture him. 

Another month later— 

This tragic case seemed destined to be an unsolved murder. It was a huge blow to the authority of the Immortal Empire, especially the Immortal God Emperor. 

No one expected Song Jiannan's death to be just the beginning, and something even more shocking happened next—— 

The Alliance of Domains in Heaven Connect City of the Chaotic Ruins Domain of the Vast Thousand Domains was attacked by a nameless expert, and the divine temple of the Alliance of Domains was reduced to dust after the battle. The spokesperson of the Human Race, and the leaders of the White-robed Divine Guards, Lin Yutang, Tang Chong, and hundreds of highly-skilled experts of the various races were all reduced to ash after the battle. 

There were several witnesses to this incident. 

It was said that the clouds in the heavens had rolled violently as though a violent ocean had consumed the heavens and that it had been a terrifying sight to behold. Then, dozens of golden and gray lightning and thunder slaps smashed down from the misty layers of the firmament and landed hard on the divine temple of the Alliance of Domains. The defensive formations of the divine temple, which had been in operation for thousands of centuries, managed to hold on for about ten minutes before it collapsed into a pile of rubble. Almost everyone who was within the divine temple of the Alliance of Domains had been slain. Only a few others who were outside at the time of the incident were lucky enough to survive. 

The person who attacked the divine temple was extremely powerful, and moreover, it was more than one person. After the incident, Empress Shui Xiu personally arrived at the scene and deduced that at least six Martial Emperors of the past must have had attacked at the same time to be able to cause such damage. 

The rest of the domains and the Dark Realm were all in shock. 

Everyone knew that the Alliance of Domains of the Vast Thousand Domains was no longer an independent alliance that looked after the various affairs of the Vast Thousand Domains. After Immortal God Emperor Ye Qingyu rose to power, the alliance had quickly sided with the Immortal Empire, especially the influential figures such as the spokesperson of the Human Race and the spokesperson of the Demon Race, who were all loyal to Ye Qingyu. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the Alliance of Domains was now a part of the Immortal Empire. 

Countless people were dumbfounded since the complete annihilation of the Alliance of Domains was a massive slap to the face of Immortal God Emperor Ye Qingyu. 

If the death of Song Jiannan was a huge blow on a personal level, then the destruction of the Alliance of Domains was a huge blow politically. This was something that an invincible Emperor who reigned supreme over the world would not be able to tolerate. 

After the incident, the Immortal Empire was enraged. 

A seasoned supreme commander within the empire, Nie Tiankong, was tasked to lead half the experts from the ministry of supervision from the military to investigate this matter. Heaven Connect City was extremely jittery because Nie Tiankong had once been Ye Qingyu's guide and had obtained the trust of the Immortal God Emperor. Thus, the fact that he was mobilized showed how angry the Immortal God Emperor was. 

However, since Immortal God Emperor Ye Qingyu did not head to Heaven Connect City in the Chaotic Ruins Domain to investigate this matter, the investigation seemed like it lacked authority. Nie Tiankong might be a high-ranking official, but there was still a vast difference between him and the Immortal God Emperor. 

These two consecutive incidents were a huge blow to the Immortal Empire, but in spite of that, the Immortal God Emperor refused to show himself. What did this mean? 

It meant that the Immortal God Emperor had truly been injured during the events at the Platform of Green Clouds. And it was highly plausible that he was so seriously injured that it affected his foundation. 

Otherwise, he would have definitely made an appearance, since even a short appearance would have been enough to calm down the military. 

Anyone with a brain would have been able to reach this conclusion after giving this matter some thought. 

Now that Immortal God Emperor Ye Qingyu was so seriously injured that he was unable to appear, didn't it meant that the glorious reign of the Immortal Empire was about to come to an end? 

If the Immortal Empire were to collapse, would it lead to a period of chaos and anarchy where everyone would fight for a piece of land? This was a huge blow to the ordinary lifeforms and smaller forces, but it was a huge cause to rejoice for those ambitious and power-hungry people. This meant that their moment had finally arrived and they could do whatever they wished without having to be restrained by the law and order implemented by the Immortal God Emperor. 

This was especially so now that the golden age of great prosperity had arrived and highly skilled experts were emerging in large numbers who had achieved breakthroughs in their cultivation stages along the martial way. These ambitious men, who were now more powerful than ever before, became even more hungry for power. 

At the same time, many other people and forces wondered what kind of force was behind the attacks on [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] and the Alliance of Domains. What was it about this force that caused a Martial Emperor of the past to spontaneously combust willingly and even possessed the authority to mobilize five Martial Emperors of the past? Once they started to make comparisons, they realized that the power and combat strength of this mysterious force seemed to be on par with the Immortal Empire. 

This was terrifying news indeed. 

Since when did such a terrifying force exist in this world? 

Could it be evil spirits of all kinds dancing in riotous revelry? 

Or the awakening of the fiendgods? 

Just as the entire world was still reeling from the shock and disbelief from the events over the past couple of months, something even more shocking happened. 

The Immortal Dojo in the Ancient Sky Dragon Domain had been attacked in a brutal manner. 

This attack was almost exactly the same as the attack on the Alliance of Domains. Several Martial Emperors of the past had joined forces to attack the Immortal Dojo in an attempt to repeat the destruction caused at the divine temple of the Alliance of Domains. They were clearly intent on the destruction of the Immortal Dojo, but this time, the Immortal Dojo was prepared and Empress Shui Xiu was already guarding the Immortal Dojo. She countered powerfully and forced those experts who had attacked to retreat. 

The Immortal Dojo was safe. 

Empress Shui Xiu unleashed a power that made the entire world tremble in fear when she fought off the martial sovereigns of the past. 

"There is a vast difference in strength between a current Martial Emperor and a Martial Emperor of the past," she concluded. 

This incident spread like wildfire throughout the entire world. 

The Immortal Dojo was personally established by the Immortal God Emperor and it represented the future of the Immortal Empire. The force behind the attack had evidently done this to test the Immortal God Emperor in an attempt to deduce if he was truly seriously injured or if he was secretly plotting something else. However, no one was able to tell what the result of this attack was, but the parties concerned might have managed to profit from it. 

"Empress Shui Xiu's words clearly show how weak the Immortal Empire is at the moment," someone secretly concluded. 

Empress Shui Xiu's strongly worded statement made it seem like Martial Emperors of the past would be roundly defeated by current Martial Emperors. So even though the Immortal God Emperor was injured, the Immortal Empire still had two current Martial Emperors. And therefore, their position would not be threatened and all past Martial Emperors were nothing compared to them. 

However, this statement seemed at odds with her usual method of handling affairs. 

Instead, this revealed the weakness of the Immortal Empire. If they were so eager to prove themselves, this meant that it was highly plausible that they were merely putting on an act and weren't as strong as they seemed. 

"I guess the time is ripe now. Ye Qingyu must truly be injured and unable to fight, so we can start implementing the next stage of our plan... We have to let him experience the despair of his family and friends turning their backs on him. Hahaha!" Someone laughed maliciously. 

These people had been eagerly awaiting this chance to strike.