Dominator Emperor

Chapter 492: Chapter 490: Divine Blood Burning

“The Shen Ran Phoenix Lady is truly ruthless. She completely disregards the lives of others, even daring to use the Ghost Race for a blood sacrifice.” Among the Ghost Race, someone snorted coldly in dissatisfaction.

But expressing dissatisfaction was the most anyone could do. No one dared to make a move against the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady; she was the fiancée of the Emperor’s Throne, after all. Though her vicious methods were infuriating, not even the great figures of the Ghost Race were willing to make an enemy of her over something like this.

BANG—BANG—BANG— The entire Blood Furnace began to shake. Huge palm prints and fist marks appeared on the walls of the Jade Furnace. It was clear that Li Qiye was raging inside, trying to shatter the furnace and fight his way out.

The Blood Furnace was far more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Inside, Li Qiye fought with world-shattering force, battering the furnace until it warped, yet he was still unable to break it.

After wave after wave of attacks, the commotion from the Blood Furnace grew weaker and weaker. Eventually, there was no movement at all. It seemed Li Qiye had failed to break out and was finally being consumed by the furnace’s refinement.

“Li Qiye must be done for,” someone murmured, seeing the stillness of the Blood Furnace. “That technique is too vicious, too cruel. Faced with such a blood sacrifice, he never stood a chance.”

“What a terrifying Divine Blood Burning… What a vicious technique.” Even fellow members of the Ghost Race felt a chill run down their spines as they muttered.

The experts of the Human Race held their breath. Seeing the silent Blood Furnace, they knew the situation was dire. Yet, until the very end, they held onto the belief that Li Qiye wasn’t dead. Through this battle, Li Qiye had become their pride. For someone like the First Evil Man to emerge in the Ghost Sacred Realm was surely a sign of hope for the Human Race!

“No… impossible—” Seeing the lack of movement from the Blood Furnace, Qiu Rong Wanxue sensed the worst. Her face paled and she shook her head in disbelief.

“Relax,” Lan Yunzhu said slowly to the horrified Qiu Rong Wanxue, her own composure a stark contrast. “If a mere technique from the Divine Burning Country could kill him, how could he possibly stand against an Emperor Immortal Gate? The truly powerful Emperor Immortal Gates of the Ghost Race, the ones that actually rule the Ghost Sacred Realm, haven’t even made a move. If a single Shen Ran Phoenix Lady from the Divine Burning Country can defeat him, what right does he have to challenge the world?”

Qiu Rong Wanxue took a deep breath, struggling to calm herself. She stared intently at the Blood Furnace, hoping more than anything that her Young Master would walk out of it alive.

“The Shen Ran Phoenix Lady is truly formidable.” Seeing the quiescent Blood Furnace, a Ghost Race expert sighed softly. Even though sacrificing thousands, perhaps even close to ten thousand, of their own kind left a bad taste in their mouths, they had to admit her methods were incredible.

‘Perhaps the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady had planned for the worst from the very beginning. Her generous rewards were merely a way to gather more hired thugs. In the end, if necessary, she would sacrifice them all in blood, as long as it meant she could kill Li Qiye!’

‘Perhaps everyone was a part of the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady’s scheme from the very start. From Li Qiye himself to the powerful experts tempted by her bounty, all were merely pawns on her board.’

It wasn’t just the experts from other races; even the great figures of the Ghost Race felt a chill. The Shen Ran Phoenix Lady’s methods were truly remarkable. She was clearly not some reckless fool who only knew brute force.

The invincibility of the Emperor’s Throne already made countless people wary. If he also had a wise and capable partner like the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady—a master strategist who left nothing to chance—the prospect was even more terrifying.

Their union would surely push the Ten Thousand Bones Throne to a new zenith in the future, creating an era of boundless glory!

Only now did many people realize there was a reason the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady was the fiancée of the Emperor’s Throne. He hadn’t chosen her merely for her stunning looks.

After all, among the billions of souls in the Ghost Sacred Realm, beautiful women were a dime a dozen. As the successor to the Ten Thousand Bones Throne and the most brilliant, top-tier genius of his generation, the Emperor’s Throne had his pick of wives. Countless daughters of Great Sects and princesses of Ancient Countries would have gladly married him. Countless Heavenly Pride Girls would have knocked on his door with marriage proposals.

And yet, the Emperor’s Throne and the Ten Thousand Bones Throne had chosen the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady from the Divine Burning Country. Though it was a first-rate country, its status was nowhere near a match for a behemoth like the Ten Thousand Bones Throne.

Now, many understood. The Shen Ran Phoenix Lady had become the fiancée of the Emperor’s Throne not just for her looks, nor just for her astounding talent, but for her intellect and her cunning!

The Shen Ran Phoenix Lady sat high upon her Phoenix Carriage, her gaze fixed coldly on the Blood Furnace. Her stunningly beautiful face was devoid of expression, as if everything was proceeding exactly as she had anticipated.

“Such a worthy partner. She is truly deserving of being the fiancée of the Emperor’s Throne,” someone sighed. “With this act, the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady has not only avenged her brother and established her own authority, but she has also eliminated the greatest future threat to the Emperor’s Throne.”

Everyone could see that even if Li Qiye’s current Dao Practice was inferior to that of the Emperor’s Throne, with enough time, he would have become the greatest threat to the Three Heroes of the Netherworld. The one to end the Emperor’s Throne’s era of invincibility might very well have been Li Qiye of the Human Race.

But now, all of that was hypothetical. Li Qiye was dead. He could no longer threaten the Emperor’s Throne.

SPLOOSH—SPLOOSH—SPLOOSH— A soft sound echoed. Just when everyone was convinced that Li Qiye was dead, something strange happened. Flowers began to bloom on the walls of the Blood Furnace—no, they were blossoms of blood.

“What’s happening?” Everyone was startled to see the blood mist around the furnace suddenly thicken, swirling like congealing blood.

The Blood Furnace appeared to burst into flames. The crimson light flared like a raging fire, growing ever more intense.

“No, Li Qiye isn’t dead! The Divine Burning Country disciples inside the furnace are sacrificing themselves in blood!” a great figure from the Ghost Race exclaimed, his expression changing drastically at the sudden turn of events.

Even the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady, seated high on her Phoenix Carriage, saw her expression change drastically. She shot to her feet, her eyes locked on the Blood Furnace.

CRACK— A web of fissures spread across the Blood Furnace. With a final shattering sound, the entire furnace exploded into countless fragments that rained down on the ground.

The blood mist within the furnace had been completely incinerated. Fiery red Order Divine Chains crisscrossed the sky. As Li Qiye’s figure reappeared, the chains retracted with a series of CLANGS. With a final CLANK, they formed a giant lock that instantly fastened onto Li Qiye’s body before vanishing from sight.

Only then could everyone see that every wound on Li Qiye’s body had vanished. It was as if he had never been injured in the first place.

“Hmm. All that Blood Sacrifice Essence refined into my Essence Fire Law… it’s quite nourishing,” Li Qiye said with a faint, nonchalant smile as he landed on the ground, the nine suns behind him vanishing. He appeared as calm and carefree as a floating cloud.

It must be understood that the Nine Yang Locking Heaven Technique was once an incomparably vicious Possession Skill. A Forbidden Technique like Divine Blood Burning couldn’t even compare to the Nine Wheels Locking Heaven Technique, let alone the real thing. The blood sacrifice was instead incinerated by the Nine Yang Locking Heaven Technique, which refined all the Blood Sacrifice Essence into Essence Fire Law. This, in turn, only benefited Li Qiye.

“Yes!” Seeing her Young Master so full of life, Qiu Rong Wanxue was overcome with joy. She couldn’t help but pump a delicate fist, her heart soaring with happiness.

Lan Yunzhu, however, had expected this all along. She simply shook her head and murmured, “Unless the Emperor’s Throne himself shows up, all of this is pointless.”

“Ha! I knew it! How could our Human Race’s First Evil Man be killed so easily?” A human expert cheered excitedly upon seeing Li Qiye was still alive.

As for the Ghost Race cultivators, a chill ran through their hearts and they held their breath. A great figure murmured, “This kid is too heaven-defying. He survived even that… If he had an Immortal Emperor’s Weapon, who in the world could possibly stop him?”

Li Qiye stood casually on the battlefield. He looked at the distant Shen Ran Phoenix Lady and smiled. “Any other tricks up your sleeve? You should use them now. You might not get another chance.”

BOOM— With a deafening roar, the eighteen experts guarding the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady’s carriage instantly charged forward, blocking Li Qiye’s path.

These eighteen experts were different from the rest. They wore masks painted with images of insects and beasts, and they exuded a chilling, severe aura. A single glance was enough to tell that these were battle-hardened veterans, seasoned through countless wars.

In an instant, all eighteen experts erupted with an Immortal Emperor’s might. Laws swirled around them, and for a moment, the eighteen seemed to merge and transform into a living Immortal Emperor Scripture.

“The Eighteen Beasts!” a great figure of the Ghost Race murmured, his expression changing upon seeing them. “This is the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady’s final and strongest bastion—the eighteen guardians of the Ten Thousand Bones Throne!”

The Eighteen Beasts. These eighteen experts were not from the Divine Burning Country; they hailed from the Ten Thousand Bones Throne itself. Each was an extraordinary Great Saint Venerable, and what made them even more terrifying was that they cultivated Emperor Techniques!

Among Great Saint Venerables, there was a clear gap. A Great Saint Venerable from a Great Teaching Territory simply couldn’t compare to one from an Emperor Immortal Gate. Those who cultivated an Emperor Technique held a massive advantage and possessed far greater strength than those who did not.

And as for the Ten Thousand Bones Throne, it was in a league of its own. As a lineage that had produced Three Emperors, it possessed more Emperor Techniques than any other Emperor Immortal Gate. A Saint Venerable from the Ten Thousand Bones Throne might cultivate several Immortal Emperor’s Techniques simultaneously—a luxury that other Sect Inheritances could only dream of. That was the difference.

“The Eighteen Beasts… legend says their defense is so strong they can even withstand a full-powered attack from a Saint Emperor,” someone murmured in awe.

A great figure from the Ghost Race nodded. “The defense of the Eighteen Beasts is indeed formidable. Even a Saint Emperor attacking in person would likely fail to break through it. Otherwise, they would never have been assigned to protect the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady.”