The Records of the Human Emperor

Chapter 1423: Breaking Out! (I)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

"Senior Zhou, the situation isn't that serious yet. The Five Poisons Elder, the Snake King, and the Black Poison King might be formidable, but they're not invincible!" Wang Chong blurted out. He lowered his head, his eyes gleaming as his mind rapidly turned.

"Everything has a flaw. We can't kill off all the snakes and bees, but that's not even necessary. We just need to find their controllers. Once we find their real bodies and kill them, everything else will resolve on its own."

"Haaa! How could it be that easy?"

The Formation Elder couldn't help but sigh at Wang Chong's words.

"Although it really is as you say, if the Five Poisons Elder and the others were really that easy to deal with, they would have been killed long ago. Your master probably understands this more than anyone else."

The Demonic Emperor Old Man did not deny this. He remained vigilant of the situation around them, and with a flick of his finger, he sent several thousand bolts of energy hurtling through the air, cutting down yet another swath of crows.

But the Demonic Emperor Old Man did not appear at all relieved. Hissing and rustling, countless snakes converged from all sides, already only a few hundred feet from the group.

Hisss! At this distance, the snakes writhed and raised their heads, spitting out poisonous gas from their mouths. This increased the range of the poisonous mist and made it even more dangerous.

The group's hearts were heavy.

The Formation Elder frowned as he anxiously said, "People have tried to kill them before, but all of them without exception ended up dying. No one has even seen the true bodies of these old monsters, only heard their names. To find their true bodies in such a short period of time is simply impossible!"

"That's not for certain!"

Wang Chong gave a subtle shake of his head.

As Wang Chong and the others were discussing how to deal with the Five Poisons Elder's group, another development took place outside the Stellar Energy barrier.

The lifeless crows scattered across the ground suddenly began to tremble, and then with a shake of their wings, they shot back into the air.

In the blink of an eye, these slain crows had risen back up, some of them turning their sharps eyes on the Demonic Emperor Old Man's barrier and shrieking toward it like arrows.

Thudthudthud!

The crows thudding against the Stellar Energy barrier sounded like they were made out of steel, but the Demonic Emperor Old Man's Stellar Energy was not so easy to break. The crows broke themselves against the fortress of Stellar Energy, even breaking their necks.

But these crows were completely unaffected. Even though their heads had been twisted to face their backs, their wings were still flapping.

Even the Demonic Emperor couldn't help but grimace at this sight. Behind him, the Formation Elder shot to his feet in alarm while the Wushang Village Chief made an unsightly face.

"What's going on here?"

Shock appeared in Wang Chong's eyes. He had never encountered such a thing before, something that exceeded all bounds of imagination.

The rules of life and death were absolute!

Anything dead was dead. There was no way to revive them. Not even Wang Chong, someone who had lived, died, and been reborn, had ever encountered such a situation.

The oddities of the martial arts world had already completely exceeded his imagination, leaving him flabbergasted with disbelief!

"It's the Gu1 Poison King! The Gu Poison King! I didn't think that even he would show up!"

The Formation Elder nastily grimaced.

The appearance of the Five Poisons Elder had only made him somewhat uneasy, as this individual only countered his formations, but the Gu Poison King was an entirely different matter.

"Gu Poison King, you actually dare to oppose this old man!"

A furious bellow erupted from the Demonic Emperor Old Man's mouth. Before anyone could react, a vast and boundless storm of energy erupted from his body and swept over the world.

The last hint of geniality vanished from the Demonic Emperor Old Man's body.

The name of this legendary existence of the martial arts world, 'Demonic Emperor Zhang Wenfu', still held great power in this realm. True, the Demonic Emperor Old Man had changed much in the last two years.

But the challenge from the Five Poisons Elder's group had stimulated that ironfisted and domineering energy that was latent within his body.

The energy erupting from the Demonic Emperor Old Man's body twisted the space around him and seemed to set it ablaze.

"Master!"

Wang Chong was alarmed by the tyrannical energy coming from his master. This was the first time he had ever seen him so enraged.

After a long while, a raspy and ethereal voice began to speak, constantly drifting here and there. "Hahaha, Demonic Emperor, you rule your evil path and I will rule the Miao2. We've always been like the well and the river, our waters never mixing. This was the case even at the peak of your rule. But if you want something to blame, blame the allure of the Origin Immortal Art. Although we old scoundrels made our name with our poison arts, we also want to become the world's number one. No one can resist this sort of temptation, right?

"And besides, every dog has its day. You've ruled the martial arts world for so many years, it's about time we got a chance to sit on your throne!"

Wang Chong had never heard such a bizarre voice before. It was like the vibration of a string, so alien that it was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man, woman, youth, or elder.

But the sense of sinister danger was enough to leave a deep impression on anyone.

That raspy voice stated its ultimate objective. "Hand over the map to the Origin Immortal treasury and that key treasure, and I can have Five Poison and the others call back their pets and let you leave alive."

"Hmph, some shameless old poison masters who don't even dare to show their faces want to become the world's number one?"

The Demonic Emperor's face was cold and tough, his voice icy.

"I'll give you one last chance. You still have time to retreat. Otherwise, nothing but death awaits… You think the Origin Immortal Art is something you old poisonous things can corrupt?"

"Hahaha, Zhang Wenfu, you're just trying to scare us! You're nothing more than a phoenix without feathers, and you want to deal with us?"

"What does it matter that you're the Demonic Emperor? Even at your peak, we didn't fear, so why would we now?"

"Keke, come back to us once you have the ability to deal with our little pets!"

One sinister voice after another spoke, belonging to the Five Poisons Elder, the Seven Fiends King, and the Black Poison King.

"Hmph, Zhang Wenfu, did you hear? Not a single one of us will comply, nor will anyone else. I know that you're a powerful martial artist, but even the most powerful martial art is no match against Gu poison. I'll give you five minutes to consider and hand over the treasure. If I don't see those treasures within five minutes, you and your disciple should prepare to make this place your final resting place!"

After saying this, the Gu Poison King fell silent.

Hissing and buzzing continued to be heard on the ground while crows cawed in the skies, but the attacks ceased.

Within the Stellar Energy barrier, the four frowned and began to think.

"What are these scoundrels up to? There's no reason for them to stop their attacks now," Wang Chong suddenly said.

"It's not that they don't want to attack, but they're worried that we'll destroy the treasure. They worry that if we're poisoned, we might choose to simply destroy the map so that no one can get it," the Formation Elder sternly said, his expression extremely worried.

"In these circumstances, we have to think of a way to break out. We can't just sit around and wait for death!" the Wushang Village Chief blurted out.

"It's not that simple!"

The Formation Elder shook his head, his brow creasing even further.

"With the four of us together, we can still stave them off, but if we split up, those flying Gu in the air will allow the Gu Poison King to take us down one by one.

"Moreover, everyone out there is looking for us. Once we leave, we'll probably be found by someone else soon after. While we might be trapped here, at least those other old monsters won't appear for now."

All fell silent. Everyone understood who the Formation Elder was talking about: Song Yuanyi, the Black Yin Ancestor, the Myriad Ghost Ancestor, and the other titans of the martial arts world. These people were much more difficult to deal with than the Five Poisons Elder's group.

No matter what they did now, the situation would turn out poorly.

All was quiet as time continued to pass, second by second.

Suddenly, Wang Chong trembled as if in realization, and he smiled.

"Perhaps the matter is not as bad as we thought. Putting aside Song Yuanyi and the Black Yin Ancestor for now, those old poison masters don't have it as easy as they think they do."

"Ah?"

The Formation Elder was taken aback, raising his head to stare in surprise and confusion at Wang Chong.

The Demonic Emperor Old Man spoke up at this time. "Chong-er, have you noticed something?"

The voice was abnormally calm.

"Heheh, it's just a pack of clowns. Do they really think we can't do anything to them?"

Wang Chong raised his head and chuckled.

"You've found their real bodies?"

The Formation Elder shivered in realization.

The Five Poisons Elder, Black Poison King, and the others had all relied on poison to make their fame. They were incapable of engaging in close combat. This also meant that they would hide very far away, and while they were on their guard, it was basically impossible to find their actual position.

But it was apparent from the tone in which Wang Chong and the Demonic Emperor Old Man spoke that they had already found them.

Wang Chong silently smiled while the Demonic Emperor Old Man remained placid and calm, but his eyes were deep and profound.

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1. As mentioned in chapter 409, 'raising Gu' refers to a practice of placing numerous poisonous insects in a jar and letting them kill each other until only one remains. The poison from the survivor, the concentrated poison of all the insects killed, is then extracted to be used in assassination.↩

2. 'The Miao' was used in ancient China to refer to people who lived in what is now southern China. Its mention here is seemingly to indicate that the Gu Poison King comes from the south.↩