Chapter 594 – Facing Duke Ming
“Heh!” As he raised the Demon Emperor’s Seal that he grasped in his hand, Duke Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and displayed a bland and placid smile that would cause discomfort to anyone who gazed upon it.
“It has gone perfectly according to my royal father’s plans,” said Duke Huai, no longer trying to attack the Little Demon Empress. Instead, he sidled over to Duke Ming’s side. Even though his body was covered in wounds, the smile he displayed was incomparably self-satisfied.
“Your goal was… the Demon Emperor’s Seal!” The Little Demon Empress held a hand to her chest. Her expression may have been calm, but she radiated a bone-piercing killing intent that caused the air around her to freeze solid.
Low-level profound practitioners used spatial rings as storage devices, but once one reached the rank of Monarch, one could open a personal dimensional pocket. One could store important objects in this dimensional pocket, so that these things would not be so easily lost or stolen like the objects in a dimensional ring.
Stealing something from someone’s dimensional pocket was far harder than killing that person… If one truly killed that person, his dimensional pocket would collapse as well, and the items inside that pocket would either be ripped apart by the spatial energies or fall into the cracks between dimensions. Either way, those items would never appear again.
The reason behind Duke Ming not personally taking action and letting Duke Huai attack was to take advantage of the instant when the Little Demon Empress would be powerless to defend herself once she had used her full force to deal with Duke Huai, and seize her dimensional pocket… stealing the Demon Emperor’s Seal that lay inside!
“You really need to thank this thing, because it has let you live until now,” said Duke Ming, dangling the Demon Emperor’s Seal in front of him. His voice was as tranquil as water, but it would cause the heart of anyone who heard it to palpitate, “This duke knows that as long as a member of the Demon Emperor’s clan has it on their person, once they encounter any life-threatening situations, it will automatically drink your Demon Emperor blood to help you use the blood escape technique, and it can even help you directly leave this Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley. The price would merely be the loss of some blood essence!”
“This duke has waited far too long for this day to come… so how could I give you such an opportunity?!!” Duke Ming grasped the Demon Emperor’s Seal tightly, and his normally placid smile finally turned rather sinister.
The Little Demon Empress’ face paled for an instant and she ground her teeth silently. She replied in a deep voice, “You… Why do you know the secrets of the Demon Emperor’s Seal?!”
“Hahahaha!” Duke Huai gave an unbridled laugh, “Little Demon Empress, the things that my royal father knows far exceeds what you have imagined! There are some secrets of the Demon Emperor’s clan that my royal father knows of that even you do not know!”
“This duke does not mind telling you that when the ceremony was suddenly stopped halfway, even though this duke suspected that you were going to do something, I did not have any clues to act upon. However, my royal father knew very clearly where you were headed all along… Because my royal father knew that you could use the Demon Emperor’s blood within you to activate the Demon Emperor’s Seal and forcibly open the sealing profound formation that sealed Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley… and once you were inside Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, you could use the Demon Emperor’s Seal to force your way out as well.”
The Little Demon Empress, “…”
“But Little Demon Empress, it has to be said that your decision to halt the ceremony once you had received the Demon Emperor’s Seal so you could awaken your bloodline as soon as possible was truly a wise and brilliant choice. If not for the guidance of my royal father, this duke would not have even begun to guess it. Even if I had managed to deduce your actions, I would have arrived far too late… Because if you had truly awakened your bloodline, it would have caused a great hindrance to this duke.”
“But it’s just too bad…” Duke Huai let a mocking grin form on his face, “that in the end, you, the Little Demon Empress, are a mere woman! If a woman were to dare to awaken the Golden Crow bloodline, it would lead to only one result: death! From time immemorial, the Demon Emperor had always been a man, so no one had ever known about this particular detail. Even you direct inheritors of the Demon Emperor’s bloodline did not know… yet my royal father had complete knowledge of it! So not only were you unable to fulfill your wishes by coming here… you have even given us an incredible present!”
“You pitiful woman, how could you possibly think that you were my father’s adversary?!”
The Little Demon Empress tightly clenched her hands and both her small face and her lips had been drained of all color. But her eyes were filled with a nearly golden-colored firelight… in that moment, her fury and her profound energy were raised to their extremes.
“Without the Demon Emperor’s Seal, whether by the blood escape or the dimensional escape… heh, you no longer have any possibility of leaving this place alive,” Duke Ming said as his smile filled his face, and he extended his palm towards the Little Demon Empress. Within his palm, a small cluster of crimson-black flames swayed, “So now you can let go of everything and die… and when you reach the Yellow Springs, do not forget to help this duke send his regards to your pitiful royal father and royal brother… Oh?”
Duke Ming’s voice suddenly stopped and his head tilted and looked southward. A disdainful laugh escaped from his mouth after that, “Oh? It seems like a little rat has scampered inside. Princess Caiyi, looks like your luck isn’t so bad after all. Before you die, someone actually specially volunteered himself to be your burial partner.”
After Duke Ming had said those words, both Duke Huai and the Little Demon Empress felt an aura approaching fast… It was definitely traveling at the speed of a Sovereign Profound Realm practitioner, but the aura being emitted was abnormally low… it was only at the Sky Profound Realm! At most, it was only at the peak of the Sky Profound Realm.
An aura at the peak of the Sky Profound Realm, yet it displayed the speed of a low-level Monarch, and it was only one person… Whether it was the Little Demon Empress or Duke Huai, they had only seen this kind of person once in their life… Moreover, the rapidly approaching aura was not unfamiliar to them!
“Could it be…” Duke Huai violently swiveled his head and his face revealed a deeply incredulous expression.
The elements in this place were incomparably active, so the rate at which Yun Che’s Great Way of the Buddha absorbed the energy of heaven and earth was far faster than it was in the outside world. When Yun Che had flown from the starting point to the central region, he could maintain his maximum speed without exhausting too much energy or tiring out.
Once Duke Huai and the rest had discovered Yun Che, Yun Che had already firmly locked on to the Little Demon Empress’ position…
Whoosh!!
A fierce gale blew past, and as an afterimage faded away, Yun Che’s figure was standing in front of the Little Demon Empress. Once he saw that the Little Demon Empress was not dead and did not even seemed to be wounded, his heart instantly felt better.
“Yun… Che!” He was in disbelief before, but at this moment, Yun Che’s face had clearly appeared in his field of vision. Duke Huai’s pupils instantly dilated and his throat trembled with astonishment. A low and deep howl that carried a deep hatred and bloodlust rose from his throat.
For him to react as if he had met a great adversary proved that Yun Che had already formed a shadow in his heart and soul.
“Oh?” Duke Ming raised his eyebrows immediately. An unexpected appearance, a young face and a speed that was not matched at all with his profound strength. All of these already caused Duke Ming to take interest in the young man in front of him. And once Duke Huai had yelled out that name, it caused the interest in his gaze to immediately grow by several times, and he slowly swept his slightly narrowed eyes over Yun Che’s body thrice.
“Why did you come here?!” Yun Che’s sudden appearance undoubtedly caused the Little Demon Empress great shock and also caused a layer of dark clouds to descend on her heart… Because once he appeared at this place, Duke Ming and Duke Huai would definitely not let him leave this place alive!
“Oh, I just came out for a stroll, so I could take in the night breeze. But to my surprise, I saw that the seal over the entrance of the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley had disappeared, so out of curiosity, I decided to take a peek inside,” Yun Che said in a carefree and relaxed manner, as if he completely missed the danger that he was in. He said these words to relax the guards of both Duke Ming and Duke Huai… If they found out that he had already informed Yun Qinghong regarding the opening of the seal, they would definitely act in an incomparably decisive manner….
So given the current scenario, every second he dragged out increased their hope for survival… Since Yun Qinghong was already alerted to the fact that Duke Ming may be the real mastermind, he would definitely not come by himself. Instead, he would bring along a group of experts that could deal with Duke Ming as well!
It was only if he could drag it out until that time comes that they could dispel the danger surrounding the Little Demon Empress.
“Idiot!” The Little Demon Empress naturally did not believe Yun Che’s words, as his previous lightning speed had already betrayed his anxiety. She said in a low voice, “Leave this place right away! No matter what happens… you are not allowed to turn back!”
After saying that, the flames wreathing the Little Demon Empress rose ten of meters into the air. Yun Che gave the Little Demon Empress an astonished look… The Little Demon Empress who gave other people the impression that she was devoid of all emotions was actually planning to use her full strength to obstruct Duke Ming and Duke Huai in order to give him a chance to escape….
It looked like she was not as cold-hearted as she made herself out to be….
But it was clear that her plan was untenable. Yun Che shrugged his shoulders and said, “I think I’d rather not waste the energy… If it’s an opponent that even you cannot flee from, then it is even more impossible for me.”
“… Stupid! Why are you so stupid that you have come to die?!” The Little Demon Empress yelled fiercely. Her face, which looked like that of a young maiden, had fury and gloom written all over it, emotions that completely clashed with her young and tender childish face.
“Oh… So you are that Yun Che,” mused Duke Ming as he had finished measuring Yun Che, his face revealing a rather interested smile.
Yun Che turned around and looked at Duke Ming, and there was a smile that did not seem like a smile plastered on his face, he said, “Oh the renowned Duke Ming actually knows this humble one’s name, this humble one is completely overwhelmed by the favor you have shown to me.”
Duke Huai gave a cold snort and he wanted to step forward to say something, when his face suddenly froze over… Because when Yun Che had spoken just now, he clearly mentioned… the two words “Duke Ming!!”
What was going on… How could he know the name “Duke Ming?!” Even the people in Demon Imperial City had not seen him for over a hundred years, and his existence was practically forgotten. But this Yun Che who had only arrived in Demon Imperial City for three months… Why would he be able to yell out the two words “Duke Ming?!”
For an instant, astonishment flashed across the Little Demon Empress’ face.
“Oh?” Duke Ming’s eyes instantly narrowed into two long slits, and the gaze directed from those slits unerringly rested on Yun Che’s eyes, “Interesting, you actually recognized this duke.”
“Of course I would recognize you,” Yun Che said as he crossed his hands across his chest. In front of this terrifying character whose strength dominated Illusory Demon Realm, who could cover the sky with one hand and whose intellect and shrewdness were deep and unfathomable, Yun Che did not even seem the least bit nervous. Instead, he smiled merrily and replied, “I not only know that you are Duke Ming, I also know that….”
“It was you who colluded with Mighty Heavenly Sword Region one hundred years ago to kill the previous Demon Emperor… and it was also you… who personally killed the Little Demon Emperor!!”
Yun Che’s words were undoubtedly both astonishing and earth-shaking. The Little Demon Empress’ entire body shook dramatically and she fiercely and suddenly raised her head; she seemed to slip into a daze for an instant… while Duke Huai did not have enough time to conceal the look of pure astonishment which appeared in his eyes. Even Duke Ming, who had been staring straight at Yun Che all this while, had turmoil flash in his eyes for a moment.
Yun Che’s brows immediately sank… This guess turned out to be one hundred percent truth.
“Are you agitating him? This guy’s profound strength has actually reached the tenth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm! If he wants to kill you, even using one finger would be enough!” Jasmine said in a solemn voice.
“…” In this world where Profound Gods were only a mythological existence, the tenth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm was the very peak of all profound practitioners! No matter if it were in Profound Sky Continent or in Illusory Demon Realm, these existences were true monarchs who looked down on everything under heaven and could not be surpassed! An existence which humans would brand as God!
Yun Che had never dared to think that he would actually … face this kind of peak expert so quickly… A person who was truly unrivaled under the heavens!
Yun Che silently sucked in his breath and replied Jasmine, “I definitely do not want to agitate him… But you must know, curiosity is one of humanity’s great weaknesses! And in this world, there are very few things left that would make a kind of person like Duke Ming curious. But the words I have just said will definitely be enough to induce him to keep questioning me!!”
“Every additional word spoken will increase our chances of escaping!”