Imperial God Emperor

Subsequently, Zhong Yuan watched in astonishment as Ye Qingyu, who had been as unstoppable as a killing god, collapsed silently into the flames, seemingly unconscious and completely motionless. Judging from his look, he would promptly be incinerated by the blazing [Red Lotus Hellfire] was it not for the cauldron's protection.

What's going on?

Seeing this scene, Zhong Yuan's first reaction was not one of delight.

Instead, he was somewhat puzzled.

He had been thoroughly traumatized after falling for Ye Qingyu's schemes multiple times, allowing Ye Qingyu to annihilate the Black Moon Divine Palace elites gathered here. The deaths of several thousand disciples and five Saints proved to be a most painful lesson. Therefore, his initial reaction this time was not to feel that an opportunity had arrived, but was instead to be afraid that this was another one of Ye Qingyu's ploys that sought to lure him to turn back and fall into a deathly trap.

He knew just how much Ye Qingyu hated the Black Moon Divine Palace experts like him.

The latter was the first person since time immemorial to frighten a Great Saint-level being to this extent.

In fact, it was not just Zhong Yuan, but also many other experts, who were frightened.

At this time, all of the experts displayed a curious hesitation in unplanned unison, and none of them rushed forth to tussle for Ye Qingyu's treasures. On one hand, this was because the [Red Lotus Hellfire] had yet to dissipate, while on the other hand, they, like Zhong Yuan, had been scared silly by Ye Qingyu's might and methods earlier, and were afraid of being duped by him once more.

However, Zhong Yuan ultimately did not choose to flee with abandon.

Feeling somewhat lucky, he paused his footsteps and observed with great caution.

The experts who had rushed out together with him did the same. Although fearful of Ye Qingyu, they remained unwilling to pass up any possible opportunity, and thus began to operate their yuan qi on the spot and observe carefully.

The experts from various factions, who had been watching these developments from the periphery of the Black Moon Divine Palace’s representative station, also followed suit.

People's inner desires were always so easy to draw on.

If something had really happened to Ye Qingyu, some of the earlier onlookers would also scramble for his divine treasures. After all, if he was truly dead, those treasures would become ownerless, and would not count as being taken away by force or trickery. This certainly did not violate any heavenly principle and was morally justifiable.

Time passed so slowly that every second felt like an age of its own.

Gradually, many pairs of eyes lit up.

This was because they discovered that the ferocity of the [Red Lotus Hellfire] was subsiding at a visible speed, and eventually, the fallen [Cloud Top Cauldron] automatically kept these terrifying flames back within itself. After several dozen breaths' worth of time, the [Red Lotus Hellfire] completely vanished.

"What's happening?"

"It kept the flames back."

"Hmm... this shouldn't be a pretense."

"The splendor on that giant cauldron has vanished as well. It's powerless and seems to have fallen into stillness. Perhaps Ye Qingyu has lost control of it because his injuries are too serious."

"That's quite likely. After all, his injuries from that earlier battle were indeed serious."

Several people exchanged looks.

If this, the fall of an Immortal Step realm expert, had taken place in the past, the surrounding experts, who each had seen innumerable bloodsheds, would certainly not be this scrupulous. Now, however, not a single figure dared to walk up for some time. After all, on that stretch of land ahead which did not reach ten kilometers in length, four Great Saints, more than ten Saints, and several thousand elite disciples of the Black Moon Divine Palace had perished in just half a day. Save for the youth in bloodied white clothes, anyone else who walked on to that seemingly-demonic stretch of land could possibly drop dead.

There were those who worried that this was part of Ye Qingyu's entrapment scheme.

They believed that, seeing his adversaries escape with no way of being stopped, Ye Qingyu chose to feign death so as to lure them back before slaying them one after another and burying them here. Although he might appear to be lying dead on the ground right now, it would only take this miracle-creating youth a moment to leap back up and obliterate everything.

The atmosphere was strange like never before.

And somewhat intriguingly awkward.

Bam.

Finally, someone who could bear it no longer kicked a rock into flight.

Unexpectedly, it smashed right on to the surface of the [Cloud Top Cauldron], giving off a long metallic noise which was followed by no subsequent movement.

A hint of joy flashed across several pairs of eyes.

That the giant cauldron had lost even its most basic strikeback protective power could only mean that it was out of control, and in other words, Ye Qingyu was truly unconscious... In any case, the likelihood of this was very, very high.

The temptation eventually proved too great, causing someone to take the risk.

A flickering figure zipped toward the giant cauldron like an electric flowing light.

After several bobs, the figure finally landed beside the giant cauldron and carefully operated his yuan power. Then, with utmost caution, he reached a hand out and gave a gentle push. The cauldron was instantly pushed open, revealing that clipped at its base was Ye Qingyu's near-disintegrated and badly-mangled figure, of which the aura was faint and the blood qi was barely visible...

He was indeed unconscious.

Overjoyed, this figure raised a hand to grab a little something from Ye Qingyu.

"Is he really dead?"

"Haha, this is a godsend."

"I'll kill anyone who dares to vie with me."

Angry roars were heard.

Virtually at the same time, several other experts who had been quietly watching also could not hold themselves back upon seeing such a scene. As they acted concurrently, beams of aurora light shot forth. Someone killed the figure who was nearest to Ye Qingyu, while someone else operated a magical ability to send others flying off and created a giant phantom yuan qi hand which grabbed at Ye Qingyu's mangled body...

Bam!

The figure who had opened the [Cloud Top Cauldron] became the target of many experts and was instantly turned into slime.

Countless figures reached beside Ye Qingyu.

Operating his power frenziedly, Zhong Yuan sent three or four figures flying before raising a hand to take away the [Cloud Top Cauldron]. Meanwhile, someone stepped on Ye Qingyu's body...

It all seemed like things could no longer be salvaged.

Just then, a strange change occurred.

A beam of green brilliance shone down from the Void.

This beam of green light did not contain any terrifying aura, destructive power, or power of law, and seemed completely ordinary. However, all of the scrambling experts within a hundred meters of Ye Qingyu's body, whether they be near-invincible Great Saints or mysterious experts who held rare treasures, were instantly pushed away with no room for resistance, like grains of sand being washed off by a wave...

"What's happening?"

"This..."

"What power, this is..."

"Who did this?"

A hard-to-restrain bout of astonished cries rang out.

Seeing the treasures they had gotten hold of being lost, all of the experts felt like their hearts had been slit by a knife. They could not comprehend what kind of power this beam of green brilliance was, for it did not carry any pressure or force yet was as irresistible as fate itself.

Ye Qingyu's figure, as well as the [Cloud Top Cauldron] that nearly fell into Zhong Yuan's hands, remained at their original spots.

"That's...?"

Someone pointed toward the sky and exclaimed.

All of the experts raised their heads to look at the sky.

What they saw was that a green-skinned and bald-headed fat man had surreptitiously appeared in the Void a hundred meters above, with his head lowered to look at the crowd below. He did not seem to have the manner of an expert, nor did his body emit any terrifying aura.

"Pass the Quasi-emperor's decree that Ye Qingyu of the Heaven Wasteland Domain's Human Race has performed meritoriously and is found not guilty of any wrongdoings. For a hundred days, no being within the Vast Thousand Domains shall cause him any trouble."

This fat man clearly had on a proud and boastful face which could not be concealed. However, he painstakingly put on a solemn look while delivering this proclamation to the experts below.

As soon as he spoke.

A beam of green light flowed down from a piece of broken clothing in his raised right hand into Ye Qingyu's unconscious body, which subsequently became shrouded by a cloud of green mist that seemed to mend its injuries.

The surrounding experts stared speechless at one another.

They did not recognize who this fat man was.

However, his words shocked them.

A Quasi-emperor decree?

Did he actually mention a Quasi-emperor decree?

Is he for real?

According to the legends, the martial emperor was the last person to gain domination over the entire universe. Absolutely matchless, he could enforce justice on behalf of the heavens, and represented universal will in designating rules. Any decree he passed became iron law that was not to be violated, and any violating party would be terribly punished either by having their fate pared down or their good fortune reduced, or being struck dead by the martial emperor himself.

Although a Quasi-emperor was not a martial emperor in the true sense, they, too, possessed the capability of communicating with the entire universe and the qualification to enforce justice on behalf of the heavens. They thus could represent the universe and lay down decrees with similar power to those of a martial emperor.

In recent times, no martial emperor had emerged, while Quasi-emperors had been few and far between. Occasionally, a questionable Quasi-emperor would pop up for a fleeting moment, but they did not possess the ability to issue decrees. This was why such a decree had not appeared in this world for several thousand years.

Why has it made a reappearance today?

The experts were highly uncertain.

Staring at the broken piece of clothing that the fat man raised above his head, a few relatively-older experts revealed shocked and fearful expressions. The clothing itself was nothing special and was made of green linen that did not contain any divine power. However, the gently-panning green light was exactly the same as the green splendor which had driven everyone away earlier. This feeling caused them to recall an age which was ruled by human Heaven's prideling, and then to think associatively about the news which spread on the Fierce Beast Peak not too long ago...

"Is it... [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei]?"

Zhong Yuan was the first to react.

Due to being excessively shocked and alarmed, his voice was rather strange and hoarse, sounding as if someone was covering his mouth as he spoke with a dry throat.

Then, every figure seemed to become petrified.

Not a peep was heard throughout the world.

Complete silence.

[Quasi-emperor Xiaofei]?

These words rang explosively with booms and buzzes in everyone's hearts and minds, numbing their bodies and wiping their minds completely blank, thereby rendering them devoid of all thinking ability.