Chapter 767: Disrespect

This sentence was not spoken loudly, nor was it quiet; perhaps the feudal lords behind them did not hear it clearly, but Prince Chun and his son, who were guarding the Emperor, heard it all. Wang Fei never imagined someone could be so rude. His hackles rose, and he suddenly wanted to turn his head, but seeing his father glaring at him, he hurriedly mimicked his father, eyes fixed on the sky, his spirit wandering ten thousand miles away.

The Emperor frowned and said, "Gaoyuan Marquis, since you are in this state, I naturally will not hold anything against you. You have already done your best just now; now, just take good care of yourself."

The implication was: you are a dying man, so why are you still blathering? Wouldn't it be better to shut up, wait to kick the bucket, and receive your posthumous honors?

Gaoyuan Marquis did not mind, appearing truly "invincible" as she slowly said, "If Your Majesty regrets it, I can restore everything to its original state."

The Emperor was stunned and said, "Restore..."

Gaoyuan Marquis said, "Restore it to when the State Preceptor was still on the mountain, when all evil was warded off, and the Heavenly Demon dared not act wantonly. Your Majesty would still be the Supreme Sovereign, your enemies would all be defeated, you would long since be the true supreme ruler, all the power of the imperial court would be in your grasp, and there would still be much to accomplish. It is just that the State Preceptor's power would be as it was before on Zijin Mountain, stably protecting Jingcheng."

The Emperor immediately said, "That is impossible! Without the State Preceptor's power, where would there be any authority? Am I to play house on the Jinluandian?"

He stared at the Yin energy permeating near and far and said firmly, "Since I have grasped the power in my own hands, I am prepared to use it well to solve the problem. I will solve the Yin Calamity myself!"

At this moment, he heard chaos erupting outside; the men he had dispatched were already at work.

But the situation outside was not optimistic. Seeing the Yin energy in the sky becoming thicker and thicker, it reminded people of the days a few days ago when thunderclouds covered the sky. But the thunderclouds were not enough to make people afraid; the current Yin energy had begun to substantively affect people's spirits. Those with slightly lower cultivation felt cold from head to toe, a chill that was both eerie and terrifying rising from the soles of their feet, rushing straight to the top of their heads, as if it would pierce through their crowns. Many officials could not care about their decorum and huddled in their seats.

Even so, this was on the high Jindinglou, where the Emperor's Heavenly Seal radiated Thunder Light, providing some protection. The situation for the commoners below, the commoners in the city, and even the commoners in the outskirts of Jingji was only worse; the soldiers holding blades and spears could only frighten them, but could not protect them.

Gaoyuan Marquis's voice rose again, her tone gradually turning unpleasant, as she said, "Your Majesty, you must make a decision early. There is still room for redemption now; if you wait any longer and miss the opportunity, you will regret it forever! How much of the state do you really hold in your heart, and how much of the common people?"

The Emperor, originally restless and uneasy, felt a sudden stir in his heart upon hearing this, and staring at her, he said, "Xunqing, do you still have a way to undo this?"

Gaoyuan Marquis sighed, and for a moment there seemed to be a look of disappointment, but it quickly faded to indifference as she said, "There is still a way now. If I wanted to, all of Your Majesty's recent efforts would be washed away. The reason I ask Your Majesty is because I am, after all, a subject of Great Jin, born here and raised here. Does Your Majesty wish to eliminate the root of the trouble forever?"

The Emperor hesitated slightly, seemingly considering some plan, but eventually shook his head, and with a touch of heartbreak, said, "Xunqing, why can you not trust me?"

Gaoyuan Marquis's eyes were bright and piercing at this moment, the bloodstains under her eyes barely dry, as if she were scrutinizing him, and she slowly said, "It is precisely because I still want to believe in Your Majesty that I hope you will make a decision. After all, Your Majesty is the lord of all people, is he not?"

The Emperor said angrily, "You say you are a subject of Great Jin, but how come I do not see a shred of submissiveness in you? Is this the attitude you take when speaking to me? It seems the Empress Dowager did the right thing back then..."

The two were already heading toward a quarrel when suddenly a heart-palpitating sense of oppression arrived. One only heard several "thump, thump" sounds as some civil officials on the floor fell to the ground, convulsing all over.

In the sky, the place where the Yin energy was thickest suddenly opened a gap, and a monster crawled out.

The monster was like an earthworm, a soft cylinder. Its head stretched out, and its body grew longer and longer, but its tail had not yet emerged. The way it came out was like pulling a rope from a well; before it was pulled to the end, no one could tell how long it was. But the form pulled out now had gradually changed from an earthworm to something more like a roundworm coiled in an intestine.

Moreover, this giant worm had a mouth, or rather, a mouthpart. Besides the huge mouthpart at the front, a mouthpart opened every segment of its body. Inside the mouthparts grew two dense circles of teeth, one circle flipping outward and one circle hooking inward; just the sight of these densely stacked teeth was enough to trigger one's trypophobia.

Such a behemoth could be seen clearly even in the night sky. Moreover, the Star Gazing Platform at the very top of Jindinglou had an excellent view; the giant worm was right overhead, and it seemed that if it lowered itself, it could suck the purple-robed and gold-belted officials into that terrifying mouthpart.

It was shocking!

How could the people present, whether civil officials or members of the imperial clan, have ever seen such a thing? Even though the feudal lords had seen far more of the world than the court officials, they could not help but panic at this moment—

The more they knew the depth of the situation, the more they panicked. Because these Sword Heroes could feel the strength of this Heavenly Demon, it was by no means something they could deal with.

It was definitely not an ordinary Great Heavenly Demon! Even if it were not a Heavenly Demon King of Sword Immortal level, it was not far off!

How could such a Heavenly Demon descend into the Human World?

And...

"Why is there no World Fire?" someone among the feudal lords realized the problem first and blurted it out!

World Fire is the flame that ignites when a Heavenly Demon crosses the boundary and is suppressed by the World Will. Carrying World Fire means it is an otherworldly creature; World Fire can suppress the level of outsiders, and even a Heavenly Demon King can be suppressed or even killed by several Sword Heroes working together. This is common knowledge known to every Sword Hero who has been to the Qianxian; all the feudal lords, except for the imperial clan, had once fought on the Qianxian.

But there was no fire around this formidable Heavenly Demon King. Could it be that this guy had actually been accepted by the world?

Does that mean there is a complete Sword Immortal-level powerhouse before us?

Can't afford to provoke, can't afford to provoke!

A Sword Immortal-level powerhouse can only be handled by a Sword Immortal, so those feudal lords all focused their gazes on the Emperor:

Your Majesty, it is up to you!

Usually, such evil demons were handled by the State Preceptor; since you just took the State Preceptor's power, shouldn't you show us something?

If you prove that you truly have the power to defeat a Heavenly Demon King head-on, what would it matter if we all submit to you?

The Emperor felt the various expectant gazes, some provocative, some purely seeking help; these were all requests he should respond to, and requests from which he would benefit after responding.

However, he actually held these gazes in contempt; what he truly wanted to respond to was...

"Gaoyuan Marquis!" The Emperor glared at the old woman before him and said word by word, "I said that I would solve the trouble that follows; how could I speak falsely? Watch me carefully!"

Gaoyuan Marquis was startled and said, "Your Majesty, this is not a matter of a moment's impulse..."

It would have been better if she hadn't spoken; her speaking only made the Emperor's anger soar to the heavens, and he shouted, "Beast, how dare you! Give me your life!"

As he reached out, a thick pillar of Thunder Light shot into the sky, rushing toward that giant earthworm!

Everyone felt a surging and vast power; that destructive aura was pressing right before their eyes. Perhaps because they were closer, everyone felt that the oppressive feeling of this power was no less than that of the giant worm in the sky, perhaps even stronger!

How swift that lightning was; following the Emperor's shout, it reached the giant worm in the blink of an eye, and then...

It brushed past!

It missed!

The Emperor never expected this and was stunned for a moment. He did not continue to channel his power, and the Thunder Light immediately extinguished.

He froze for a moment, and the surroundings were also deathly silent.

At this time, someone behind him said calmly, "It is understandable that Your Majesty has a lapse in his first time using power. Although that long worm is large, it is but a drop in the ocean compared to the sky, and it is difficult to aim."

The Emperor felt a bit ashamed and annoyed upon hearing this; clearly, he had no previous experience of someone explaining his mistakes in such an unhurried manner. This could only be Gaoyuan Marquis; there was no second person in the world who would speak to him in such a tone.

He heard her continue, still unhurriedly, "Aiming with the eyes is not as good as aiming with the hands, and aiming with the hands is not as good as aiming with the heart. Your Majesty does not need to use your eyes to find the object first, then use your hands to follow the eyes, and then use your heart to drive the hands; directly anchor the Heavenly Demon with your heart, and the lightning will naturally obey." Following that, she explained several tips for attacking.

Her words were, of course, still peaceful; if taken as a teacher instructing a student, it was truly very polite. But considering she was saying this to the Emperor, it was overly rude; that unquestionable flavor was clearly still the guidance between a master and a disciple. Even the Grand Tutor who taught the Emperor when he was a child would never dare to use this tone to give guidance.

If it were before, the Emperor naturally would not have listened to such words, and he had just been flustered and exasperated. But after he missed his shot, he suddenly became nervous. Especially since Gaoyuan Marquis had repeatedly emphasized the tension of the current situation, gradually exerting a lot of pressure on him, he naturally hoped to get help at this moment. Wanting to grab a rope, he could not help but relax when he heard Gaoyuan Marquis clearly tell him what to do, and he began to follow her instructions.

Wang Fei watched this situation, feeling extremely shocked. Prince Chun hurriedly gave him a look again, telling him not to show any surprised expression, and even more so, not to let his imagination run wild. It was precisely because of Gaoyuan Marquis's current situation that she was completely unafraid of being held accountable later, so she did whatever she wanted. If Wang Fei thought this was the norm and lost his decorum in the future, the consequences would be unimaginable.

It must be said that the Emperor was actually a very intelligent person and learned new knowledge very quickly; he mastered the tips after only a few tries. Gaoyuan Marquis restrained her previous posture, smiled encouragingly, and said, "Your Majesty has learned it; try again."

The Emperor was very happy and looked at Gaoyuan Marquis again. Gaoyuan Marquis nodded very firmly: "Your Majesty will have no problem."

The Emperor's mouth twitched slightly, and he looked up—

The next moment, a beam of lightning pierced through that winding body in the distance!

"I hit it!" The Emperor turned his head to look at Gaoyuan Marquis again.

Gaoyuan Marquis raised his eyebrows and said, "It's not over yet, it's still far from enough, increase the intensity."

This remark was even more impolite, yet the Emperor did not mind, because he saw that in the sky, although the giant insect had been struck by lightning and was twitching in the air, it immediately adjusted its angle and actually opened its mouthparts wide, swallowing the lightning.

"It can swallow lightning!" The Emperor was a bit anxious.

Gaoyuan Marquis said firmly, "Then let it swallow, double it again, and strike it with even more lightning! It doesn't matter, the State Preceptor's power is enough to annihilate this monster!"