Chapter 738

About another half-hour passed, and nearly all the prodigies had arrived in the great hall.

A female disciple in black robes stepped onto the platform ahead and looked at the crowd: "All prodigies, please be quiet, everyone, be silent!"

The bustling crowd below finally silenced their noise.

The great hall fell still.

The woman said: "Now, the meeting officially begins. Please rise and respectfully welcome the Demon Emperors' arrival!"

Whoosh…

No sooner had the woman finished speaking than everyone rose from their seats.

On the dozens of jade lotus platforms behind the black-robed woman, sacred light blazed forth.

Then, on a high dais, a Demon Emperor clad in crimson Daoist robes manifested his true form.

One!

Two!

Three!

…

One after another, Demon Emperors appeared, each towering a thousand zhang tall.

These were not their true bodies, merely dharma forms.

The dharma forms of Demon Emperors often reached three thousand zhang; some at the peak of Mahayana cultivation could extend to ten thousand zhang.

But due to the limited space of this hall, their manifested dharma forms were proportionally reduced, each now standing merely a thousand zhang tall.

Vast radiance surged forth alongside countless magical forces.

He Pingsheng's gaze swept across.

The dharma forms varied: phoenixes, celestial foxes, divine apes, peacocks, and more!

Even, He Pingsheng spotted a human among the multitude of dharma forms.

The human cultivator wore a crimson Daoist robe, with a cluster of golden flame burning atop his head; his eyebrows were sharp as swords, his eyes bright as stars, his appearance ethereal and transcendent.

He Pingsheng knew this human was almost certainly the Undying Divine Emperor.

"Huff… huff… huff…"

Beside him, Zhou Qing's breathing grew heavy.

Clearly, she had immediately recognized the unfaithful man of years past, Zhao Xiangdu.

"Is it him?" He Pingsheng sent a spiritual thought to Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing replied, her voice trembling: "Yes… it's Zhao Xiangdu!"

Hum…

Hummm…

The Demon Emperors' dharma forms continued to coalesce above.

After more than a dozen breaths, all the Demon Emperors took their seats.

Only a little over twenty in total.

Not every Demon Domain's Emperor had come.

"Please be seated!"

The Demon Emperor seated at the center front, clad in silver Daoist robes, waved his hand toward the crowd.

His true form was a divine ape.

He was the host of this Stone Platform Gathering: Jin Gang Demon Emperor.

Jin Gang Demon Emperor was the Demon Emperor of the Divine Ape Clan and the ruler of this Tian Gang Demon Domain.

As the host, though not of the Divine or Phoenix clans, he played a crucial role in this Stone Platform Gathering.

Whoosh…

Nearly two thousand people sat down.

Jin Gang Demon Emperor lightly swept his sleeve and continued: "Today is merely a meeting among prodigies. We Demon Emperors need not appear, but seeing so many prodigies from Tianhuo Continent gathered here reminds me of our own days participating in the Stone Platform Gathering long ago!"

"Hehehe… Ah, today and yesterday, this night and last night—truly… it feels like a dream!"

"Seeing you, we see ourselves from years past!"

"Of course, this prodigy meeting also has a major announcement: the full competition schedule and events of this Stone Platform Gathering!"

"That will come last!"

Jin Gang Demon Emperor spoke little.

After saying this, he turned to look behind him and asked: "My fellow Daoists, do any of you have anything to say?"

All were Demon Emperors; some even surpassed Jin Gang in combat power. He merely held the right to speak first due to being the host—not that others were exempt from speaking.

The next moment, Dalun Mingwang said: "I have something to say!"

The next moment, she stepped forward with her long leg, instantly appearing beside He Pingsheng.

"He Pingsheng… we meet again!"

"Hehehe…"

Dalun Mingwang, bright-eyed and fair-faced, faced He Pingsheng directly.

The entire venue erupted again in hushed murmurs.

"I… I…" someone wanted to curse, but seeing so many Demon Emperors present, he dared not speak outright—only half the curse escaped, leaving him stunned: "Just who is this guy? Even Dalun Mingwang knows him?"

"This human boy seems rather unusual?"

"Did you hear? His name is He Pingsheng!"

"I've never heard that name before!"

"It must be a coincidence!"

Countless prodigies whispered among themselves.

Above, the Demon Emperors all turned their gazes toward He Pingsheng.

Especially the human Emperor Zhao Xiangdu—when he saw He Pingsheng, his expression remained calm, but when he saw Zhou Qing beside him, his face turned instantly pale.

Even his body trembled slightly.

How is this possible?

Is it her?

Is she still alive?

No, no, no… all these years, she couldn't possibly still be alive—she died long ago.

Even if her death was faked back then, without reaching Mahayana, she could never have lived tens of thousands of years.

Then… is this woman a reincarnation of Qingmei?

Or is it merely a coincidence—she just looks exactly like her?

Hmm… I'll ask later.

"Greetings, Mingwang Elder!" He Pingsheng rose respectfully and bowed with clasped hands.

Dalun Mingwang said: "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

He Pingsheng frowned.

Dalun Mingwang extended her hand—a soft whip shot out, instantly wrapping around Wang Dun and dragging him over.

Though both bore the Five-Fifty Talismans, she couldn't kill Wang Dun, but catching him off-guard and restraining him briefly was still well within her capability.

"What the hell…" Wang Dun cursed outright: "Old hag… can't you at least give a warning before you strike?!"

Wang Dun spoke without restraint.

This scene stunned countless prodigies and Demon Emperors.

"This…"

"I… I… damn it…"

"This guy…"

"Is he trying to die?"

Even many Demon Emperors couldn't help twitching their faces: Good heavens, this is Dalun Mingwang! You're just a tiny human, albeit a prodigy—how dare you speak to the fourth-ranked combatant like this? Don't you want to live?

The leader of the Tengshe Clan nearly fainted: Master, I only took you in because of your extraordinary talent and brought you to join our clan for the Stone Platform Gathering—and you… you dare offend Dalun Mingwang?!

We're done. We're truly finished.

I only hope Dalun Mingwang doesn't take her rage out on the Tengshe Clan when she explodes.

The leader had already decided: as soon as this is over, he'd kick Wang Dun out.

Damn it, I brought you to compete, not to cause trouble!