Immortal Martial Emperor

"Oh no, that thing is breaking out!"

Xuee Mo shuddered, an incredibly terrifying Energy Aura erupting from his body.

His five-meter-tall body began to swell, and in the blink of an eye, he stood nine meters tall!

This was no 500-year-old Snow Ape, as Hong Yu had expected. This was a 900-year-old one. And judging by its height of nearly ten meters, it was a powerful expert on the verge of reaching the thousand-year mark.

His aura skyrocketed from the Peak of Primordial Core Realm all the way to the Peak of Primordial Embryo Realm!

The Snow Ape gently placed the trembling Little Snow Ape from his shoulder onto the ground. He looked at Xuee Lin and growled, "Xuee Lin, take the children and hide at once."

SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

Xuee Lin nodded frantically.

Gazing at the black aura in the distance, her eyes also betrayed a flicker of terror.

Then, Xuee Lin led a group of Little Snow Apes away. All the Snow Apes in the world of ice and snow were stirred into action. Countless elderly, weak, and young were being evacuated.

ROAR!

Xuee Mo soared high into the sky.

With a sharp cry, powerful Snow Apes with massive bodies began to appear around him, each one over five hundred years old.

"Lord Xuee Mo!"

All the Snow Apes looked at Xuee Mo with gazes full of heartfelt reverence.

Xuee Mo nodded, his voice grave. "First and Second Squads, you are to protect our people during the evacuation. The rest will follow me to the Central Main City to protect the High Priest. We must not, under any circumstances, allow that thing to break free!"

"Yes, sir!"

There were over ten thousand powerful Snow Apes, moving in perfect unison.

Two thousand of the powerful Snow Apes flew out ahead to organize and protect the evacuation.

After a moment’s hesitation on the ground, Hong Yu flew high into the air.

All the Snow Apes watched Hong Yu with wary, hostile eyes.

Xuee Mo raised a hand, looking at Hong Yu. "Human, you should take shelter with the others. We’ll find you after we’ve resolved this."

Hong Yu shook his head. "I think I’ll go with you and see for myself."

"Hm? But it’s very dangerous over there..." said Xuee Mo.

Hong Yu grinned. "Judging by your grim expressions, you aren’t completely confident you can handle that thing, are you?"

Xuee Mo and the other powerful Snow Apes all fell silent.

That thing was truly terrifying. If the High Priest hadn’t been suppressing it all this time, it would have escaped long ago.

Now, the High Priest was gravely ill and his strength was fading. Without him, they truly lacked the confidence to face this monster.

Hong Yu smiled. "If you fail, I’ll have to face that thing eventually anyway. You might as well have my help. My cultivation may not be particularly high, but some of the techniques we humans possess might just be of use to you!"

Xuee Mo hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly. "Very well, human Hong Yu. If our Snow Ape Race survives this calamity, you will forever be a great benefactor to our people!"

"Mm."

Hong Yu nodded.

The gazes of the other Snow Apes on Hong Yu softened considerably.

Then the host of experts took to the sky, streaking toward the Central Main City. The more than eight thousand powerful members of the Snow Ape Race were a dense, white mass, like a single enormous cloud.

The Central Main City was immense.

The entire city was laid out in the pattern of a strange Array, its parts mysteriously interconnected to form a Barrier that provided Shelter for the city.

However...

The city’s Barrier was faltering under the onslaught of the black Demonic Qi, looking as though it could collapse at any moment.

It wouldn’t hold for much longer.

"Lord Xuee Mo, the High Priest asks that you assign men to maintain the Barrier!" a powerful, nine-meter-tall Snow Ape shouted, flying out from the main city.

Xuee Mo nodded and directed the eight thousand powerful Snow Apes to disperse and reinforce the Barrier.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Terrifying waves of energy pulsed from within the Barrier.

With no experts left to guard it, the main city was empty. As the Demonic Qi rampaged, buildings collapsed and shattered, kicking up spectacular clouds of frost and dust.

"ROAR! Damn snow monkeys, you can’t stop me! You can’t stop me..."

"The day I break this Barrier will be the day your Snow Ape Race is annihilated! I will slaughter every last one of you..."

The scalp-numbing roars echoed from within the black Demonic Qi.

It shook heaven and earth, the sound waves rolling out like a ravaging Thunder Sound.

Some of the weaker Snow Ape experts could not withstand the assault of the Demonic Sound, their qi and blood roiling within them.

Led by Xuee Mo, Hong Yu followed and saw a massive altar at the entrance to the main city.

In the center of the altar, a towering, thirty-meter-tall white figure sat cross-legged. He was the very source of the city’s Barrier!

’So this is the High Priest of the Snow Ape Race? Thirty meters tall... He’s a three-thousand-year-old monster!’ Hong Yu was inwardly astonished.

"Xuee Mo greets you, High Priest!"

Xuee Mo landed on the edge of the altar and spoke with reverence.

The High Priest slowly turned his gaze. His face was impossibly ancient, and though his eyes were clouded like Chaos, they held a profound wisdom—the look of one who had witnessed the endless turning of ages and seen all of history.

Hong Yu had never seen such a gaze before.

The High Priest gave Xuee Mo a slight nod before his gaze fell upon Hong Yu. It was as if he could see right through him, and a flicker of surprise surfaced in his clouded eyes.

A faint sigh escaped him, his hoarse voice extremely weak. "Human friend, welcome. I apologize that your visit has coincided with such a crisis."

"I am Hong Yu. It is an honor to meet you, High Priest."

Hong Yu cupped his hands in a respectful salute, then glanced at the black Demonic Qi rampaging within the Barrier. "Senior High Priest," he asked, confused, "what exactly is that monster in there?"

"In there is..."

The High Priest paused, his gaze on the black Demonic Qi tinged with both fear and resentment. "That... is also a Snow Ape. But it is a Demonized Snow Ape!"

"What? A Demonized Snow Ape?"

Hong Yu was stunned.

The High Priest said no more, as if there were secrets he was unwilling to speak of.

After a moment of silence, the High Priest spoke. "Human friend, would you be willing to do me a favor?"

"Please, Senior, ask away."

The High Priest said, "Can you help our Snow Ape Race overcome this crisis?"

"Me?" Hong Yu asked. "Senior, forgive my ignorance, but if the mighty Snow Ape Race cannot handle it, what can a mere Primordial Core Realm cultivator like me possibly do?"

The High Priest said calmly, "My Snow Ape Race has no way to defeat it. With the full strength of our people, we can only suppress it. But I am old, so old I can barely move. Once I die, there will be no one left in the Snow Ape Race who can suppress this Demon. You, however, can help me!"

"I have protected the Snow Ape Race for three thousand years. I do not want to watch my children die horribly at this Demon’s hands. Human, are you willing to help me?"

The High Priest’s words were calm, yet tinged with helplessness and sorrow.

The powerful Snow Apes gathered around began to weep.

Hong Yu was moved. Gazing at the High Priest’s ancient face, he took a deep breath. "If it is within my power, I will do everything I can!"

"Good!"

The High Priest’s clouded eyes brightened. He said to Hong Yu, "I know you possess a Supreme Treasure, but your strength is insufficient to wield it. I have a method that can help you activate this Treasure. Are you willing to help the Snow Ape Race by using that Treasure to suppress this Demon?"

"A Supreme Treasure?"

Hong Yu frowned slightly.

’The only things I have that an ancient monster like the High Priest, who’s lived for thousands of years, would call a Supreme Treasure are the Profound Celestial Tower and Rashomon.’

’The Profound Celestial Tower is the foundation of my very being.’

’And the strangeness and power of Rashomon are simply inconceivable.’

’I wonder which one the High Priest means?’

The High Priest asked calmly, "Human, are you willing?"

"Alright!"

Hong Yu gritted his teeth and nodded firmly.

He had his own reasons. For one, if this Demonized Snow Ape escaped, it wouldn’t just be a disaster for the Snow Ape Race; he’d be caught up in it as well.

Secondly, Hong Yu genuinely admired the High Priest’s spirit in protecting his people for over three thousand years.

He didn’t want to see the Snow Ape Race annihilated.

"Good. Very good!"

The High Priest took a deep breath, then turned to Xuee Mo. "Xuee Mo, from this moment on, you are the High Priest of the Snow Ape Race. I’m entrusting our people to you!"

"What? High Priest, are you planning to..." Xuee Mo cried out in alarm.

His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at the High Priest, gritting his teeth. "You can’t! High Priest, you can’t do this..."

The other powerful Snow Apes also seemed to sense what was happening and turned to the High Priest. "High Priest, you mustn’t do this..."

"High Priest, the Snow Ape Race can’t survive without you!"

Gazing at the numerous powerful Snow Apes, the High Priest’s ancient face took on a nostalgic expression. His eyes were as deep as the starry sky, and he let out a soft sigh.

His ancient, hoarse voice seemed to pierce through the Cosmos and Primordial Chaos, traverse the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow, and gaze upon all the world’s great changes. "Of all the things in creation, who can live forever? Who can escape the Reincarnation of life and death? Even a Heaven and Earth Venerable will one day fall. Even this world will one day be destroyed."

"I have lived for three thousand years. It is enough. It is truly enough."

The High Priest’s benevolent gaze swept across the entire Snow World. A soft, proud light appeared in his eyes as they rested on Xuee Mo and the others. "You must all remember: the lineage of the Snow Ape Race must not be broken. Even if it costs you your lives, you must ensure that the Snow Ape Race endures!"

"High Priest..."

All the powerful Snow Apes wailed in grief.

But the High Priest’s face was serene. Rays of white light rose from his body, like a blazing sun amid the snow.

The gentle light enveloped Xuee Mo and the other powerful Snow Apes.

As the light enveloped them, the strength and aura of every Snow Ape expert began to rise. Xuee Mo, in particular, shot past a height of ten meters, reaching a full twenty.

The aura radiating from him was terrifyingly vast, as deep as an abyss and as boundless as the ocean.

The High Priest grew even weaker. He looked at Xuee Mo. "Xuee Mo, you are the greatest warrior of the Snow Ape Race. You must protect our people!"

"High Priest, I swear, even in death, I will never let the Snow Ape Race come to harm!" Tears streamed down Xuee Mo’s face as he kowtowed heavily.

The High Priest smiled faintly, then looked to Hong Yu. "Human, it is your turn."

"I am ready, High Priest."

Hong Yu nodded.

The High Priest gave a profound smile. Suddenly, with a BOOM, his body exploded, and a stream of white light surged into Hong Yu.

Hong Yu felt a wave of scalding heat course through him. With a WMMM, the Rashomon suppressed within his body shot out. Its golden light blotted out the sun, and the Luo Rune Seal slowly lifted from Hong Yu’s palm.

Amid the spreading golden light, the High Priest’s ancient voice slowly echoed, "Rashomon, oh Rashomon... Human, to have obtained such an item... I know not whether it is a blessing or a curse for you."

As his voice faded, the High Priest dissipated completely.

A potent energy surged into Rashomon. As light swirled, a Life Rune Seal slowly flew out and merged with Hong Yu’s left hand.

The Luo Rune Seal in his right hand, the Life Rune Seal in his left.

With the two seals combined, Hong Yu soared into the air atop the terrifyingly massive Rashomon. Bare-fisted, he thrust his palms toward the Demonized Snow Ape, imprinting them upon it...