Immortal Martial Emperor

News that the force of nearly two hundred experts sent to kill Hong Yu had been all but annihilated had already reached Venerable Xiahuang’s ears.

He was furious, but more than that, he felt a deep sense of dread.

He had long heard of Hong Yu’s strength, and his understanding had deepened the moment he saw him fight Zhao Wushuang. He had believed that while Hong Yu was strong, that was the extent of it.

That was precisely why.

Venerable Xiahuang had confidently sent Zhao Wushuang and the others—a force of nearly two hundred—to deal with Hong Yu.

He thought it would be an easy catch.

But the result had far exceeded his expectations.

He had lost the bait and the fish!

This sense of defeat only strengthened Venerable Xiahuang’s resolve to kill Hong Yu. ’No wonder Hai Cangtian was so insistent on killing him. The kid really is a menace, a truly troublesome opponent. To make such immense progress in just a few days... if he’s allowed to keep growing, he might actually become a formidable rival for me. And what’s more...’

Venerable Xiahuang glanced at Xiahuang Shang in the distance, his eyes dark and cold as lightning. ’Hong Yu’s relationship with my fifth brother seems to be anything but ordinary!’

At this thought, a faint glimmer of light vanished from Venerable Xiahuang’s hand.

A small slip of paper appeared in the hand of a confidant hidden in a corner.

The slip of paper had just six words on it: "At any cost, kill without mercy!"

The confidant’s eyes narrowed, and he immediately activated a Sound Transmission Token.

And so, under Venerable Xiahuang’s command, a force of nearly two thousand experts gathered near the Fallen Dragon Pool, lying in wait to ambush and kill Hong Yu.

Time trickled by.

「In the blink of an eye, a day had passed.」

The sky gradually dimmed, cloaked in the darkness of night.

Two figures crept through the dark, moving toward the Fallen Dragon Pool slowly and silently.

"Old Cat, are you sure this will work? I’ve made a lot of enemies. They’re definitely going to be waiting to ambush me. If we just go over there like this..." Hong Yu said.

"This king is a tiger, not a cat."

The Evil-eyed White Tiger glared at Hong Yu, its huge eyes flashing with anger.

Hong Yu nodded. "Alright, Old Cat. Got it, Old Cat!"

The Evil-eyed White Tiger was about to go berserk. "..."

But there was nothing it could do.

Ever since it learned that Hong Yu could use the space within the Profound Celestial Tower to carry it out of the Sumeru Sea, Hong Yu had held the upper hand in their partnership.

The Evil-eyed White Tiger said in a low voice, "This king fought the Purple Thunder Winged Flood Dragon for centuries, so I’ve known it for centuries. I’m familiar with all the Prohibitions in its lair. Rushing in recklessly will make it impossible to enter. Even if a Yin Yang Realm expert tried, they would only end up triggering the Prohibitions’ backlash, causing the lair to self-destruct."

"Then how are we supposed to get in?" Hong Yu asked with a frown.

The Evil-eyed White Tiger opened its mouth, revealing a set of sharp, white teeth.

Its tiger eyes glinted with a chilling light.

The Evil-eyed White Tiger sent via sound transmission, "Back when this king was fighting the Purple Thunder Winged Flood Dragon all those years, I secretly tampered with the Prohibitions of its lair. When the time comes, follow me. I can activate the mechanism I set up and let us both in. Of course, this all depends on us reaching the underwater manor successfully."

"Hold on. Let me check if there’s an ambush near the Fallen Dragon Pool first," Hong Yu whispered.

Hong Yu then sat down cross-legged.

The Profound Celestial Tower appeared, hovering faintly before his brow, then rose to a position above his head.

It emitted a faint black light.

HUMMM!

Hong Yu activated the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Technique, and a surging wave of Spiritual Power poured into the Profound Celestial Tower.

This was a Secret Technique he had obtained after unlocking the Third Layer of the Profound Celestial Tower.

It used the Profound Celestial Tower to expand his Spiritual Power, radiating it outward with the tower as its core, capable of amplifying his Spiritual Power a hundredfold.

Of course.

With his current strength, Hong Yu couldn’t use this technique to attack his opponents.

After all, the Profound Celestial Tower was his greatest secret, even more important than Rashomon.

He was unwilling to expose it casually and attract the greed and covetous eyes of other powerhouses.

Under the Profound Celestial Tower’s terrifying amplification, his Spiritual Power spread out, forming a three-dimensional image in his mind.

In the image.

Mountain peaks appeared in gray. Nestled between them was a sprawling gray expanse—the Fallen Dragon Pool.

Around the Fallen Dragon Pool, Hong Yu discovered no fewer than two thousand figures lying in wait.

’These must be the ones Venerable Xiahuang sent to deal with me.’

’Sending more than two thousand people at once... Venerable Xiahuang and his men really think highly of me!’ Hong Yu’s lips curled into a cold smirk.

The two thousand-plus people were distributed around the Fallen Dragon Pool.

Some were hidden, while others were out in the open.

Among them were even a few familiar faces: Xiahuang Ba, Zhao Wushuang, and Zhang Weilong.

The three of them were discussing something.

Hong Yu’s eyes narrowed as he tried to hear what they were saying, but his Spiritual Power wasn’t strong enough. Gritting his teeth, he activated his left eye.

A blue Star River began to swirl.

His Spiritual Power instantly doubled, becoming even more terrifying. Finally, he could clearly hear their words: "Wushuang, how’s your recovery?"

"I’ve fully recovered. The Pill His Highness gave me was very effective!" said Zhao Wushuang.

Xiahuang Ba said coolly, "Of course. That was a proper Sixth-Grade Spirit Pill. Even His Highness doesn’t have many of those. If it weren’t for killing Hong Yu, I doubt he would have been willing to give it to you!"

"Hmph, I was too careless this time. I never expected Hong Yu to have such a monstrous helper," Xiahuang Dun said, extremely annoyed.

Among everyone present, besides Zhao Wushuang, he arguably hated Hong Yu the most.

Not long ago... he had been forced to a draw by Hong Yu in front of everyone.

For someone as conceited and prideful as Xiahuang Dun, this was an absolutely unforgivable offense.

Zhang Weilong gritted his teeth. "That bastard killed my brother. I’ll definitely cut off his head and burn his Soul."

"Don’t worry. With more than two thousand of us standing guard here, if he dares to show up, he’s dead for sure!"

"But will Hong Yu really show up?"

"Rest assured. Hong Yu practices a Dragon Clan Technique. The Purple Thunder Winged Flood Dragon is a greater temptation for him than for any of us!" Xiahuang Ba said nonchalantly.

"This time, with over two thousand masters, plus the Treasure His Highness gave us, killing him will be more than enough!" Xiahuang Dun’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint exposed.

"Hm?"

One of them suddenly looked toward the empty space, a hint of confusion on his face.

This person was dressed in a black robe, making his face impossible to see, but his blood-red eyes were incredibly terrifying.

"Brother Blood, what happened?" Xiahuang Ba asked, looking at the man.

His tone was polite, and the others also seemed extremely wary of this Black-robed Powerhouse.

The black-robed man hesitated for a moment before saying, "It’s nothing. I just felt like someone was spying on us. It was probably just my imagination!"

"Haha, this entire area is completely surrounded by our men. How could anyone possibly get in?"

The men laughed it off.

The man in black nodded and said no more.

「Meanwhile.」

Dozens of miles away, Hong Yu let out a long sigh of relief. ’Good thing I withdrew my Spiritual Power Perception in time. But who was that person? How is he so sensitive to Spiritual Power? And... he feels strangely familiar. Have I met him somewhere before?’

Hong Yu muttered to himself.

The Evil-eyed White Tiger asked, "How is it?"

"The security is tight. If we want to get in, I’m afraid our only option is to break through from the east!" Hong Yu said.

The east. It was the weakest point he had discovered during his observation.

The Evil-eyed White Tiger pondered for a moment, then nodded. "The east is fine. Coincidentally, the trick this king left behind is on the eastern side."

"Then let’s go!"

The man and beast both took a deep breath.

「A few moments later...」

They held their breath, concealed their auras, and sprinted toward the Fallen Dragon Pool.

Even though they couldn’t fly, a few dozen kilometers was a matter of minutes for them. Before long, they arrived near the Fallen Dragon Pool.

"Now!"

Hong Yu let out a low roar.

He and the Evil-eyed White Tiger simultaneously erupted with their greatest speed and strongest auras, charging toward the Fallen Dragon Pool.

"Dammit, someone’s here!"

"Hong Yu has appeared! Attack!"

"Kill!"

As expected, their commotion inevitably alerted the powerhouses lying in wait.

Immediately, all five hundred people in the eastern sector attacked.

Dazzling attacks and a kaleidoscope of Primordial Gang’s Power surged forward like a tidal wave and a storm.

"Old Cat, use an Illusion Technique with me to block them!" Hong Yu roared.

"ROAR!"

The Evil-eyed White Tiger tilted its head back and let out a deafening roar.

The sound of the tiger’s roar shook the heavens.

A massive ring of Spiritual Fluctuation blasted outward.

At the same time.

Not to be outdone, Hong Yu’s left eye swirled with a faint blue light. "Pupil Technique: Sky-covering!"

A blue canopy of light radiated out, blanketing the area.

Every powerhouse who touched the blue light curtain froze, a dazed look on their face.

"ROAR!"

The Evil-eyed White Tiger bit off the head of one powerhouse.

With a swipe of its paw, it crushed several more experts into meat paste.

"Audacious Hong Yu, you’re courting death!" Xiahuang Ba’s furious voice echoed from the south.

Zhao Wushuang also shot into the sky. "So you came from this direction! Hong Yu, you will die today!"

Hong Yu’s gaze darkened. Xiahuang Ba and the others had been alerted.

’If I delay any longer, I’m dead for sure.’

’They have over two thousand people, and every single one is an absolute expert. If this turns into a stalemate, even if Xingtian summons the Execution Corpse Warriors, I’ll still be doomed.’

He immediately looked at the Evil-eyed White Tiger. "Don’t get bogged down in the fight! Get to the bottom of the pool, quickly!"

"Alright!"

The Evil-eyed White Tiger nodded its massive head and dove violently into the pool.

Hong Yu followed close behind.

Two towering columns of water shot up.

Xiahuang Ba’s expression turned cold. "Hmph, trying to enter the Purple Thunder Winged Flood Dragon’s lair? Too bad you don’t know about the powerful Prohibition outside. Aren’t you just walking into your own graves?"

It was precisely because they knew about the strong Prohibition around the Purple Thunder Winged Flood Dragon’s lair that Xiahuang Ba and his men hadn’t set up any defenses in the pool itself. They believed that if Hong Yu broke through and entered it, he would be a sitting duck.

However, they never would have imagined that Hong Yu had the Evil-eyed White Tiger’s help.

And so.

When Xiahuang Ba and the others, confident in their plan to kill Hong Yu once he was trapped, entered the bottom of the pool, they were horrified to find that both Hong Yu and the Evil-eyed White Tiger were gone.

Looking closer, they saw Hong Yu and the Evil-eyed White Tiger standing inside the Prohibition, waving at them.

"What the fuck? Wha-what’s going on?"

"How did they get in?"

"Dammit, we’ve been played."

Xiahuang Ba and the others’ faces turned ashen. They attacked furiously but were still unable to do anything to the Prohibition.

Enraged, Xiahuang Ba gritted his teeth. "Send someone to bring Ling Aotian and all the other powerhouses here! I refuse to believe that a force of over four thousand people can’t deal with a mere Prohibition."

Zhao Wushuang’s face was grim. "Also, send people to capture Yeban and Feng Xue Xin. With them as hostages, I don’t believe Hong Yu won’t show himself."

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone immediately got to work.

And at that very moment.

Hong Yu, now inside the Purple Thunder Winged Flood Dragon’s lair, had already encountered his first obstacle...