Chapter 758: The Fall of a Martial Emperor

At this critical moment between life and death, all the experts bearing Martial Emperor imprints frantically activated them to summon the Martial Emperors of their respective factions.

Thirteen Divine Thought avatars of Martial Emperors materialized in the sky above the altar.

These illusory figures of the Martial Emperors were tall and majestic. The moment they appeared, their gazes fell upon the altar, which resembled an infernal abyss, and horror dawned on all their faces.

When they saw that the top Third Layer Martial Sovereigns of their own factions had lost their consciousness, a hint of fury began to smolder in their eyes.

With a Martial Emperor’s Profound Sense, they could naturally tell that the minds of their top Third Layer Martial Sovereigns had been taken over by some malevolent entity, erasing their original consciousness.

“What is this abomination? Get out of there!”

One of the Martial Emperor’s Divine Thought avatars roared and decisively jabbed a finger toward the Martial Sovereign from his faction.

BOOM!

A ripple of power, infused with the might of a Nine Heavens Martial Emperor, sank into the man’s body. The face of the Third Layer Martial Sovereign, who was controlled by the vile Demonic Qi, immediately twisted in agony. Strands of black Demonic Qi billowed out as he was clearly thrown into a violent internal struggle.

The other Martial Emperors also took decisive action.

BZZZZ!

In an instant, waves of multicolored Profound energy swept out. Terrifying streams of power poured into the bodies of the various Third Layer Martial Sovereigns, battling fiercely against the Demonic Qi for control.

“How dare you touch the puppets of my Spirit Demon Race? Die!”

At that moment, the Third Layer Martial Sovereigns who had no Martial Emperors to save them, their bodies possessed, began to glow with a terrifying demonic light in their eyes. They let out guttural, broken roars before viciously attacking the illusory figures of the Martial Emperors.

“Hmph. A mere wraith dares to attack me? Die!”

One of the Martial Emperor’s Divine Thought avatars sneered and struck the attacking Third Layer Martial Sovereign with his palm. Under the Martial Emperor’s might, black qi burst from the Sovereign as he was sent flying backward in a pathetic state. However, he was completely unscathed. He simply twisted his neck and charged forward once more.

‘What?’ The Martial Emperor’s Divine Thought avatar was stunned.

Although he was only an avatar, he still possessed the might of the Nine Heavens. An ordinary Third Layer Martial Sovereign shouldn’t have been able to withstand a single one of his palm strikes.

But this possessed Third Layer Martial Sovereign, despite being sent flying in a sorry state, was completely unharmed. This already surpassed the power a Third Layer Martial Sovereign should possess.

He wasn’t the only one; the other Divine Thought avatars of the Martial Emperors were encountering the same thing. The physical durability of these Third Layer Martial Sovereigns, whom they had previously scorned, had nearly doubled after being possessed by the vile Demonic Qi.

What alarmed them even more was that these controlled Martial Sovereign puppets were fearless, seemingly had no concept of pain, and attacked with reckless abandon. Their Profound energy felt endless and carried a sinister, cold aura that was proving to be a huge problem.

‘What in the world is this place?’

The Martial Emperors were horrified. Everything that was happening completely surpassed their understanding.

After all, only a dozen or so Divine Thought avatars of the Nine Heavens Martial Emperors had appeared. But with one or two possessed Third Layer Martial Sovereigns on the smaller altars and as many as two or three on the larger ones, the total number was staggering.

Facing the onslaught of nearly one hundred Third Layer Martial Sovereigns, the dozen or so Divine Thought avatars of the Nine Heavens Martial Emperors were immediately put on the defensive.

BOOM!

Just then, pillars of black demonic energy erupted from the numerous altars, soaring into the sky and suppressing the Profound energy within the Nine Heavens Martial Emperors.

“Damn it! Celestial Dragon Roar Skill—Dragon Blood Awakening!”

The Long family’s ancestor, Long Xingtian, let out a furious roar. An invisible wave of energy radiated from his Divine Thought avatar and surged frantically into the body of the Long family Patriarch, Long Yuan.

“AHHH!”

Pain twisted Patriarch Long Yuan’s face as his pitch-black eyes suddenly turned blood-red. Steam billowed from his entire body. A faint, dragon-shaped phantom appeared above his head, and a dense layer of blood-red Scale Armor covered his skin. Instantly, wisps of black Demonic Qi began to seep out from the cracks between the scales.

A moment later, clarity gradually returned to Patriarch Long Yuan’s expression.

“Ancestor, I…”

He stared at the scene in a daze, completely unaware of what had just happened.

“Long Yuan, I am currently at the bottom of the abyss and cannot offer you more assistance. You must lead the disciples of the Long family away from here immediately. Go to the outer perimeter and wait for me. My Divine Thought avatar will do its best to hold off the experts here for you.”

Long Xingtian said, his expression grim and his voice cold.

There were far too many Third Layer Martial Sovereigns possessed by the black Demonic Qi, and their power was terrifying. Even for a Nine Heavens Martial Emperor, it was impossible to slay them when limited to a mere Divine Thought avatar.

If this dragged on, the energy of his Divine Thought avatar would be completely exhausted, and Long Yuan and the others would undoubtedly fall into danger once more.

“But Grand Elder Long Cheng…” Long Yuan said anxiously.

Long Yuan hadn’t been the only expert from the Long family to enter the altar. A Grand Elder named Long Cheng, also at the Third Layer, had also been possessed by the black Demonic Qi and turned into a puppet.

“We can’t worry about him now.” Long Xingtian shook his head, his voice heavy. “What has descended is merely a Divine Thought avatar; my power is insufficient. I can only save you. If I try to save Long Cheng, not only might I fail, but all of you would be endangered as well. As for Long Cheng… consider his life a sacrifice for the family.”

Long Xingtian glanced at a Long family expert above the altar, completely shrouded in black Demonic Qi. A look of grim resolve crossed his face as he commanded coldly, “I will cover for you. All of you, leave at once!”

“Yes!”

Knowing the situation was dire, Long Yuan and the others quickly retreated from the altar area, with Long Yuan providing cover for the group.

Meanwhile, among the Yuchi family, clarity was also gradually returning to Yu Chi Bugong’s eyes.

After exhausting much of his energy, the Yuchi family’s ancestor, Yuchi Huade, had finally purged all the black Demonic Qi from Yu Chi Bugong’s body.

However, Yu Chi Bugong did not possess a special bloodline like Long Yuan. Thus, even though the black Demonic Qi had been completely driven from his mind, he had still suffered considerable trauma.

After rescuing Yu Chi Bugong, Yuchi Huade made the exact same choice as Long Xingtian: his Divine Thought avatar would remain behind to cover the retreat, buying his family’s experts a chance at survival.

It was not just the Long and Yuchi families; after rescuing their own experts, nearly all the other Nine Heavens Martial Emperors present made the same choice.

In an instant, escape parties composed of experts from the major factions fled at top speed under the cover of the Nine Heavens Martial Emperors’ avatars.

“Seniors, save us!”

“Don’t leave us behind!”

Some of the Martial Sovereigns on the outermost altars, who had no Martial Emperors to protect them, flew forward with panicked expressions to plead for help.

They had scornfully dismissed Ye Xuan’s earlier warning and were now filled with regret. Seeing the experts from the Long family and other factions being escorted to safety under the protection of their respective Nine Heavens Martial Emperors, they scrambled as if grasping at their last lifeline.

Diao Minghuang, Jiang Chonghuang, and Mu Jin were among this wretched group.

“All of you, get lost! Anyone who takes another step forward will be killed without mercy!”

Long Xingtian roared furiously, and the wave of pressure that radiated from him sent Diao Minghuang and the others flying backward.

His Divine Thought avatar had barely any energy left. It had been difficult enough just to save Long Yuan and his people; how could he possibly spare the effort to rescue others?

The Martial Sovereigns who rushed toward Yuchi Huade’s group met an even more tragic fate.

“Die!”

A Peak of Second Layer Martial Sovereign, desperately trying to force his way into the Yuchi family’s escaping party, was instantly slapped into a mist of blood by Yuchi Huade, which then dissipated into the air.

“Hmph. You ants were meant to be cannon fodder, to attract the attention of the demonic puppets. If you mix in with our group, how are we supposed to rescue our own people?”

A look of disdainful mockery was plain to see on Yuchi Huade’s face, his killing intent palpable. He was utterly cold and ruthless.

The actions of the various illusory Martial Emperors filled the hearts of the Martial Sovereigns from smaller factions and the unaffiliated cultivators with despair.

It had to be said that the power of a Nine Heavens Martial Emperor, even as a mere Divine Thought avatar suppressed by the power of the altar, was still far beyond what any Third Layer Martial Sovereign could ever hope to match.

Under the cover of the dozen or so Divine Thought avatars, a good number of experts were gradually led away from the altar’s vicinity, gaining a sliver of hope for survival.

At this rate, there was little doubt they would succeed in escorting the elites of their factions to safety before the energy of the dozen-plus Divine Thought avatars ran out.

A subtle excitement began to stir in the hearts of the protected Martial Sovereigns from the major factions.

But just then, the Divine Thought avatar of a Nine Heavens Martial Emperor suddenly cried out in alarm, a look of absolute horror in its eyes. And then…

POP!

Before everyone’s shocked eyes, his Divine Thought avatar exploded without any warning, instantly turning to ash and vanishing.

The Martial Sovereigns from that Emperor’s faction could only stare, dumbfounded and utterly shocked, their faces masks of disbelief.

‘Just a moment ago, our ancestor wasn’t even attacked. How could his Divine Thought avatar turn to ash and vanish in an instant?’

‘Could it be…?’

A trace of terror surfaced on their faces as a possibility they dared not even consider entered their minds.

For a Divine Thought avatar to perish without warning and without being attacked, there was only one explanation: something had happened to the true body.

If the true body were to suffer a grievous injury or perish, the Spiritual Power maintaining the Divine Thought avatar would vanish, and the avatar itself would naturally collapse in an instant.

“Our ancestor… he…”

The eyes of the Martial Sovereigns from that faction filled with terror, and their hearts sank into an abyss.

Just then, another Nine Heavens Martial Emperor nearby also cried out, terror filling his eyes. The next moment, with a soft PUFF, his Divine Thought avatar also turned to ash and vanished without a trace.

“AHHH!”

Before the crowd’s shock could even subside, another Martial Emperor roared in fury and horror before also turning to dust and vanishing before their very eyes.

In just a few short moments, the Divine Thought avatars of three Nine Heavens Martial Emperors had perished without any warning, leaving everyone present completely stunned.

Although the remaining Nine Heavens Martial Emperors hadn’t perished, their faces were all masks of sheer horror. Some looked as if they had seen something indescribably terrifying, their eyes filled with utter dread.