Imperial God Emperor

"It's you?" 

Ye Qingyu's face hardened icily. 

This beautiful woman was none other than Jiang Xiaohan, who he hadn't seen for a long while. 

Although he had defeated Jiang Xiaohan during the previous battle, Jiang Xiaohan's final words before she disappeared made him realize that it was highly possible that this woman was still alive. However, she had not shown up during the past two thousand years, so Ye Qingyu gradually forgot about her. He didn't care whether she was dead or lurking in the dark, he would not pursue her as long as she did not meddle in the affairs of the Vast Thousand Star Domains. 

He didn't expect Jiang Xiaohan to appear at this very moment. 

Moreover, she seemed to have formed an alliance with the King of Destruction, the Abandoned Fiendgod, and the God of Consciousness. 

"As expected, you're still alive," he said coldly. 

Jiang Xiaohan ignored him. 

Her aura was extremely strange and it seemed as though she was not part of this world. He could see her but he couldn't sense her presence with his divine sense. Her flaming red skirts looked like fiery flames dancing across her body, and she had become even more beautiful since he last saw her two thousand years ago. She gave off a noble and ethereal air, and even the successor of White Jade Capital, Bai Yuqing, who was said to be the most beautiful woman of the Vast Thousand Star Domains, paled in comparison to her. 

"His weakness is homesickness," Jiang Xiaohan said with a cold smirk. "You'll be able to overcome his martial way with the sound of homesickness and trigger his inner demons." 

The God of Consciousness hesitated for a moment, then its tune changed to the sound of a guzheng. A rousing melody could be heard from the ball of light—it seemed like a wanderer was overcome with sorrow because he was so far away from home and had no way to return home. At the same time, it also sounded like an elderly mother calling out her son's name, beckoning him to return home, and more than that, it sounded like the playful cheers of childhood playmates... 

The sounds of the guzheng passed through some kind of mysterious medium and headed straight for Ye Qingyu. 

Ye Qingyu felt his heart grow cold. 

I'm not the Divine Light Emperor, so his inner demons will not affect me, he thought to himself confidently. 

He had not become one with the Divine Light Emperor's physical body, did not possess the accumulated intellect, strength, and experience of the Divine Light Emperor after 107 reincarnation cycles, nor did he probe and try to incorporate the Divine Light Emperor's memories with his own. He had not done so because he wanted to prevent homesickness from becoming his inner demon. The Divine Light Emperor's homesickness had affected him so much back then that he could not progress even further, and it grew so intense that it became his personal demon. This ultimately led to the collapse of the Divine Light Court. 

He could not guarantee that he would be able to suppress the Divine Light Emperor's inner demons after becoming one with the accumulated strength and intellect of the Divine Light Emperor after 107 reincarnation cycles, and thus, he decided to find another way. 

He found Jiang Xiaohan's suggestion of using homesickness to defeat him absurd and ridiculous. 

Jiang Xiaohan had been quiet for more than two thousand years, or rather, she had been observing the situation secretly over the past two thousand years, but she was still as ruthless and cruel as before. She appeared at the most critical moment to deal him a deathly blow, but she was still unable to understand the heart of the matter. She only knew one side of the story, but not the other side. 

As expected, the guzheng's homesickness tune from the God of Consciousness did not pose much of a threat to Ye Qingyu and had the same effect on Ye Qingyu as the other musical tactics earlier. 

"Why isn't it working?" the Abandoned Fiendgod yelled loudly. "Jiang Xiaohan, you've misjudged him. What a disappointment." 

Jiang Xiaohan looked composed as she said, "Just wait and see." 

The God of Consciousness did not show any signs of hesitation and it seemed to have full faith in Jiang Xiaohan's words as the sounds of the guzheng continued to flow out of it and constantly charged toward Ye Qingyu. The melody was even clearer and more rousing than before, so it was clear that it had drawn on its origin power of a King of Sovereigns to unleash this attack. 

"I guess you won't give up until you're dead..." Ye Qingyu said with a cold laugh and slammed his hand against the [Cloud Top Cauldron]. He was about to exert the formation mysterious technique to counter the attacks of the God of Consciousness, but suddenly, his face turned pale. He stumbled in midair and almost fell. 

What is going on?

His face turned pale all of a sudden. 

He suddenly felt his spirit waver, and he was overcome by an unprecedented sense of distraction. His divine consciousness seemed as though it would break apart at the next moment, and he could sense his power start to turn on him uncontrollably. He also lost control over the power of a King of Sovereigns as well as the [Cloud Top Cauldron]. 

"Is this... truly my inner demon?" he asked in horror. 

Jiang Xiaohao smirked coldly and said, "I know you haven't become one with that physical body and have not actually gotten the accumulated wealth of the Divine Light Emperor. But I'm sure you know very well that you're still his reincarnated form, even if you have yet to become one with his physical body. Your physical forms, cultivations, and memories might be different, but you can't change the fact that you share the same spirit... Thus, his inner demon is imprinted on your spirit. Even if you don't feel homesick most of the time, shades of the Divine Light Emperor's inner demon still reside in the depths of your spirit." 

"How did you know that?" he asked in surprise. 

This was supposed to be an extremely well-kept secret. Throughout the entire Vast Thousand Star Domains, only the Six Divine Generals and the spirit monkey battle companion, Sun Wukong, knew the truth. Song Xiaojun, Yu Xiaoxing, and the rest of his close friends were not even aware of his past, so how did Jiang Xiaohan manage to find out? 

Moreover, she even managed to accurately point out that this was his only weakness—a weakness that he wasn't even aware of. 

The King of Destruction and the Abandoned Fiendgod had been on the brink of despair but they were now thrilled by this development. 

Did it really work?

Was the weakness of this matchless prodigy from the Vast Thousand Star Domains something as simple as homesickness? 

Was it that simple? 

The sound of the guzheng grew louder on the battlefield. 

The God of Consciousness released an intense and dazzling beam of light and exerted its techniques and divine abilities to their maximum level. Ancient and simple musical notes traveled out from the true depths of the dark universe, and these notes contained a strange and mysterious power as they shot toward Ye Qingyu. 

The tables had turned on him instantly. 

Ye Qingyu exerted his nameless breathing technique and pushed the power of his [Cloud Top Cauldron] to its maximum level. A chaotic primordial light exploded from it and became one with the sword will from his Life Sword to wrap itself around him. It transformed into layers of defensive light shields but was still unable to block out the endless string of musical notes. 

An inner demon! 

It was truly his inner demon. 

Ye Qingyu gradually started to lose control over his spirit, and as this barrage of musical notes continued to attack him, he was suddenly overwhelmed with an intense feeling of homesickness so strong that he couldn't suppress it. He had an urge to drop everything and return home, to see his old friends from his hometown, and drink the water of his hometown... 

Whose hometown did he miss so badly? 

His thoughts slowly started to get muddled up. 

He didn't have any firm recollections of his friends or characteristics of his hometown. It seemed as though he was just missing the concept of home. 

Once his inner demon was triggered, the consequences would be disastrous. 

At his cultivation level, Ye Qingyu should have already broken free from worldly desires, and in particular, his spirit should have been refined to the point where it was flawless. Thus, the moment an inner demon broke free, it meant that his power would turn against him cataclysmically. 

How could this be? Ye Qingyu wondered as he sensed danger. 

He tried to gain control of his defenses but it was too late. 

The notes from the guzheng contained a targeted and mysterious power, and after they triggered his inner demon, his inner demon burst out from his divine consciousness like a raging torrent. The very foundations of his cultivation were shaken and he couldn't even summon any strength. 

He immediately exited the state of the [Limitless Divine Way] because his inner demon was even more destructive in this state. 

The spirit within the [Cloud Top Cauldron] awakened and automatically started to control the [Cloud Top Cauldron] after it sensed danger. It buzzed and vibrated rapidly and countless bright yellow silk ribbons fell from its mouth and protected Ye Qingyu within. 

The Abandoned Fiendgod and the King of Destruction launched frenzied attacks against him but the [Cloud Top Cauldron] kept all their attacks at bay. 

Nonetheless, no matter how powerful the [Cloud Top Cauldron] was, it was still unable to expel the inner demon that raged within him. 

Thirty minutes later, Ye Qingyu was completely unable to put up a fight at all. 

He sat cross-legged, and after he exited the true form of a King of Sovereigns, he looked as tall as an ordinary human. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the [Cloud Top Cauldron] and exerted his divine consciousness with all his might and the nameless breathing technique in an attempt to suppress his distractions and inner demon, but this only made it worse. 

The God of Consciousness leveraged this opportunity to intensify its attacks. The sounds of the guzheng echoed for millions of kilometers around, and mysterious musical notes appeared and drew on the power of planets to crush down and attack Ye Qingyu. 

Jiang Xiaohan's face was extremely cold as she stood completely still in the void. 

The King of Destruction and the Abandoned Fiendgod tried countless times to break past the protective barrier of the [Cloud Top Cauldron] and take Ye Qingyu hostage. Now that they learned that he seemed to know the mysteries behind absorbing the fortunes of a King of Sovereigns, they had to get their hands on it at all costs. 

However, the [Cloud Top Cauldron] let out a long howl and released countless strips of bright yellow silk ribbons, which were like millions of Great Dao that enveloped Ye Qingyu within them. No matter how hard they tried, they were unable to penetrate the bright yellow silk ribbons. 

Ultimately, the Abandoned Fiendgod and the King of Destruction were forced to stop for now. 

They had already exhausted a lot of their energy in today's battle and couldn't afford to continue expending their strength so frivolously. 

Time slipped by, second after second, minute after minute. 

Ye Qingyu's condition worsened. 

His face grew pale and the fortunes of the military that had wrapped itself around him earlier were also completely exhausted and vanished into thin air. His powerful cultivation and combat strength seemed to have been completely sealed, and a black misty halo floated above his head. This misty halo was full of evil and negative qi... 

His inner demon was starting to manifest itself. 

The situation looked ominous. 

Ye Qingyu couldn't have imagined that the Divine Light Emperor's homesickness had manifested itself within him because he was a reincarnation of the Divine Light Emperor... How was he supposed to control it? How would he be able to expel this inner demon from his body? Countless ideas whizzed through his head. The Divine Light Emperor had almost died because of this inner demon, and now it was his turn. 

Danger loomed over him. 

What could be the solution to this problem? 

In the distance, a ray of white lightning shot out from the direction of the astronomical continent and rapidly hurtled toward Ye Qingyu.