Immortal Martial Emperor

With Yun Mengyao’s life on the line, Hong Yu didn’t delay for a moment and left the Sword Sect immediately.

The Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm was located deep within the Cyan Nether Mountain Range, so all he had to do was follow the mountains, saving him the trouble of navigating.

Weaving through forests and mountains, dashing over jungle streams and rivers, Hong Yu pushed his speed to the absolute limit.

The Cyan Nether Sword Sect was not too far from the Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm, but it would still take an ordinary Celestial Soul Realm expert two full days and nights of frantic travel. Hong Yu’s Wandering Dragon Body Technique, however, was exceptionally profound, and his Power of Primordial Spirit far surpassed that of other Martial Artists at his level. As a result, he moved without the slightest pause.

At this pace, he would only need about a day and a night to arrive.

「Meanwhile...」

Back at the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, Elder Zhu had indeed prepared many medicines to condition Yun Mengyao’s body. However, they weren’t meant to suppress the cold poison within her, but to gently nourish her frail constitution.

Gazing at the young girl, who had fallen into a deep sleep after drinking the special tonic, Elder Zhu gently caressed her delicate, porcelain-like skin. It was smooth and supple with a slight coolness, an extremely pleasant sensation to the touch.

Elder Zhu smiled faintly, clicking her tongue in admiration. "The Extreme Yin Ice Soul Constitution... That great senior from long ago searched for fifty years and never found you. Now, when it’s my turn, you deliver yourself right to my doorstep. Tsk, tsk. Eternal youth, a beauty that will never fade, even in death! Geh geh geh..."

A sharp, grating laugh of triumph rumbled in her throat.

An intoxicated look appeared on Elder Zhu’s face, and her gaze upon Yun Mengyao grew increasingly fervent. "It’s just a pity this body is too weak. It still needs a few more days of conditioning. But it won’t be long. In about ten more days, I’ll be able to attain eternal youth and possess a peerless beauty that will never age or fade!"

"Little sister, you mustn’t blame me for being cruel. It’s just that your Extreme Yin Ice Soul Constitution is too captivating."

Elder Zhu seemed to be muttering to herself, yet also speaking as if Yun Mengyao could hear. "But don’t you worry, I won’t let you walk the path to the afterlife alone. I’ll send that brother of yours down the Path to the Underworld with you. Then, you two can be together forever!"

Her smile growing ever more brilliant, Elder Zhu placed a Prohibition near Yun Mengyao’s bed to prevent her from waking up and leaving, then left the room.

When she returned to her courtyard, she found Elder Luo with a sullen expression. He questioned her, "What are you playing at? Didn’t we agree to discreetly kill his sister? Why have you kept her alive instead?"

In Elder Luo’s eyes, Hong Yu was truly a thorn in his side.

First, during the advancement tournament, Hong Yu had repeatedly caused his predictions to fail, making him a laughingstock.

Then, during the assembly in the main hall, Hong Yu had relied on Elder Bai’s support to beat him to a pulp.

And finally, Hong Yu had completely emptied out the Luo Family’s treasury, a collection amassed over several hundred years.

Any one of these incidents was enough to make Elder Luo despise Hong Yu.

Combined, this deep-seated resentment had naturally transformed into chilling killing intent.

Elder Zhu had long expected this confrontation. Unhurried, she wore a seductive smile. "In all these years, have I ever broken a promise to you?"

"No, you haven’t."

Elder Luo was taken aback.

He was no fool. He had only flown into a rage upon hearing that Elder Zhu hadn’t made things difficult for Hong Yu and his sister. Now, after her words, he regained some of his composure and frowned. "Are you saying you haven’t forgotten your promise to me?"

"Of course not."

Elder Zhu grinned. "Just listen to my plan..."

Then, Elder Zhu explained the intricacies of her plan to Elder Luo.

Elder Luo looked at Elder Zhu with a stunned expression.

He was well aware of the specific nature of Elder Zhu’s research. He had even used the Luo Family’s financial and material resources to provide her with numerous test subjects who possessed special constitutions. In exchange, besides the benefit of becoming her lover, he had, more importantly, gained access to the Pill distribution channels that she controlled.

The Cyan Nether Sword Sect was the National Guardian Sect of the Fengyue Kingdom, and it received countless tributes from the kingdom every year.

Ever since getting in with Elder Zhu, Elder Luo had lost count of how much profit he had skimmed from these tributes.

You could say the two of them were like two grasshoppers tied to the same string.

If one prospered, both prospered; if one fell, both would fall!

"Eternal youth, beauty unchanging even in death? Are you certain that Refining this little girl into a Pill can achieve such an effect?" Elder Luo asked, astonished.

Elder Zhu nodded, stating with conviction, "You know I’m the absolute authority in this field of research. Right now, everything is ready. The only remaining risk is Hong Yu."

"You mean, you want me to take care of Hong Yu?" Elder Luo frowned.

Elder Zhu said as if it were obvious, "Don’t you wish you could slice him into a thousand pieces? This is the perfect opportunity. I’ve already tricked him into going to the Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm. With his strength, he’s no match for a Fiery Fire Demon Lion, but I can’t guarantee he won’t give up halfway and flee back here. I need this to be foolproof, which means Hong Yu cannot be left alive!"

"Of course I want to kill that little bastard, but you know what happens if a Sect Elder is discovered leaving without authorization..." Elder Luo said with concern.

Elder Zhu gave a faint smile and, with a flick of her wrist, produced an envelope. "Inside is a letter of commission written by my own hand. When the time comes, I’ll just announce that you’ve gone out to fetch a batch of medicinal herbs for me."

"It would be normal for me to leave with this letter, but if I’m fetching herbs for you, it’s unlikely I’d be going alone, right?"

"I’ve already made arrangements for that."

Elder Zhu snapped her fingers. A shadowy figure wrapped in a cloak slowly emerged from a dark corner and bowed respectfully to them. "Disciple Hong Lingtong pays his respects to Master and to Elder Luo!"

"Hong Lingtong? You’re actually willing to let your precious disciple go with me?"

Elder Luo’s eyes widened. He instinctively put a little distance between himself and Hong Lingtong, a trace of wariness in his actions. A cold, sharp look then appeared on his face. "Good, good! Martial Nephew Lingtong is strong enough to contend with an Early-stage Celestial Soul Realm expert. With me taking action as well, unless Hong Yu also has two Celestial Soul Realm experts or stronger on his side, he won’t be able to escape even if he grows wings!"

Hong Lingtong’s voice was cold and sinister, grating on the ears. It was mixed with a faint hissing sound, and as it echoed from within his cloak, it carried a ghastly quality...

"I will have my little darlings give him a warm welcome!"

...

「A day and a night later.」

Hong Yu finally reached the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm. Standing atop a high mountain peak and gazing into the distance, he saw a vast, hazy region shrouded in a purple mist before him.

The endless expanse of dense fog looked like a ferocious Primordial Chaos Ancient Beast crouching in the center of the land, its cavernous, bloody maw wide open, ready to devour any creature that dared to enter.

Even without entering, just standing on the outskirts and looking at it was enough to inspire a sense of profound shock and dread.

"So this is the Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm? The Demonic Qi is overwhelming. It truly lives up to its reputation," Hong Yu muttered.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Hong Yu popped a Pill for restoring Elemental Power into his mouth, replenishing the energy he had expended during his frenzied journey over the past day and night.

After crossing the final mountain peak, he at last set foot into the Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm, a place known as the "Life Forbidden Zone."

The moment he stepped into the Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm, the fresh air vanished completely, replaced by an atmosphere laced with a faint toxicity. Hong Yu instantly sealed all the pores on his body and swallowed an Antitoxic Pill before he could resume breathing normally. This was despite the fact that the Fourth Transformation of his Eight Desolates Saint Slaying Technique already gave him resistance to common poisons.

’But who knows how potent the poison in this Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm is?’

Better to be safe than sorry.

This was life-saving wisdom passed down by countless predecessors, paid for with their lives!

"Hm?"

Having walked less than a hundred meters, Hong Yu stopped and fixed his gaze forward.

Within his line of sight, on a patch of bare, black earth, white bones were piled high like a mountain. Strangely, however, there were no signs of any Desolate Beasts around this massive pile of skeletal remains. Not even a single blade of grass could be seen.

"As expected of the Ten Thousand Borders Demon Realm. Unpredictable danger lurks everywhere," Hong Yu said, taking a deep breath.

Hong Yu deliberately avoided the mountain of bones, advancing along its side.

The black earth felt soft underfoot. Hong Yu dared not tread with brute force, fearing he might sink into it.

He therefore activated his Wandering Dragon Body Technique, preparing to traverse this strange, black mire.

The Wandering Dragon Body Technique was mysterious and extraordinary, allowing him to move across the black mire with exceptional ease and grace.

In the blink of an eye, he was already at the center of the black mire.

Seeing that he was halfway across, Hong Yu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

However...

Just then, a squirming sensation came from beneath his feet. The movement was so bizarre, like an earthworm suddenly crawling under soft skin, that it instantly made his skin crawl.

He leaped into the air reflexively.

Almost simultaneously, with a great WHOOSH from below, a black object shot out from beneath the mire.

This sudden creature was as thick as a bucket. It reared high, the portion of its body emerging from the black mire alone reaching ten meters in height. And from the looks of it, an even larger and longer section remained hidden beneath the surface.

"ROAR!"

It seemed infuriated that its sneak attack had failed.

The black, giant creature shuddered violently, parting the black mire. Its massive body whipped up fierce gales as it twisted and lashed viciously toward Hong Yu.

’Dammit.’

Hong Yu pushed his Eight Desolates Saint Slaying Technique to the limit. A faint golden light swirled into a dazzling radiance as the Flowing Light Golden Armor materialized over his body. The mysterious giant beast’s strike landed with a loud BAM, smashing Hong Yu down toward the black mire.

"ROAR!"

The black giant beast seemed rather excited as it pursued Hong Yu.

’This thing wants to drag me into the mire?’

A sharp glint flashed in Hong Yu’s left Cyan Eye. Just as he landed on the black mire, in the very instant his feet were about to sink in, he suddenly redirected his momentum.

Using the force from the giant beast’s blow, his body glided backward.

Wherever he passed, his legs acted like two iron shovels, sending sheets of black mud flying everywhere and carving two deep, wide, jagged drag marks into the flat mire. The marks stretched for a full thirty to forty meters. The mire was too soft for him to push off from, so Hong Yu could only wait for the momentum from the blow to dissipate.

He had just come to a stop when the black giant beast lashed out again.

"BAM!"

This time, Hong Yu dodged with extreme speed, a wave of mud splashing over ten meters high behind him.

Just as the black giant beast was about to retract back into the mire, Hong Yu launched his attack. "Void Fire Dragon!"

Nine Fire Dragons swept out. Amid a series of thunderous BOOMS, the over ten-meter-long black giant beast was instantly blasted into a gory mess of flesh and blood.

’Is it finally dealt with?’

Hong Yu let out a long sigh of relief.

But in the next moment, his pupils suddenly constricted.

The entire mire began to churn violently, as if a terrifying, thoroughly enraged giant beast was about to burst forth from the ground...