C141 Green Incubus and the Great Emperor

Boom!

A towering figure wrapped in a silver-white robe, his dark skin stark against the fabric, landed with sudden force.

His eyes blazed with eerie green flames.

The robe clung to his frame, hinting at the power beneath its snug embrace.

"Heh!"

A toothless grin spread across his face, radiating an aura of decay yet timeless antiquity. "So, you're the youngster who's won the sword soul's favor?"

Qin Yun, Lee Yuchan, and Yu Yuan braced themselves, sensing an imminent threat.

Yu Yuan's brow furrowed as he covertly reached out to the sword soul, simultaneously sending a thread of thought into the white paper fan, attempting to connect with the child intertwined with darkness and light.

"And who might you be?"

Qin Yun of the Seven Divine Sect, his sleeves concealing four Azure Yang Arrows, stood ready for battle.

"You're the spirit that was lurking by the bronze monument, aren't you?" Lee Yuchan eyed the humanoid creature with a mix of surprise and recognition. "For some reason, there's something about you that feels familiar to me."

The towering man, a Moon Demon crafted from bone and sinew, chuckled once more.

He lifted a hand, and the flesh within his palm writhed, unleashing a powerful, soul-wrenching suction.

Qin Yun, Lee Yuchan, and the elder of the Seven Divine Sect at the Penetrating Stage were struck by a soul-shaking, mind-splitting agony.

The Yin Gods of Qin Yun and Lee Yuchan were wrenched from their spiritual centers, nearly drawn into his grasp.

"Whoosh!"

An Azure Yang Arrow shot from Qin Yun's sleeve, its fiery trail like a blazing sun, igniting the sky with a torrent of flames.

"Amusing."

The odd man in the silver-white robe deflected the Azure Yang Arrow with his other hand, his touch sending innumerable dark sparks and soul threads that instantly dispersed the arrow's fiery wake.

With a flick of his finger, he struck the Azure Yang Arrow.

"Clang!"

The arrow recoiled as if hammered by iron, scattering sparks in all directions.

Qin Yun's face drained of color, but before he could react, the strange man chuckled, "Enough!"

Lee Yuchan's spirit, having left the Yin God, had woven a web of spiritual consciousness as intricate as a butcher's cuts. In an instant, her web was severed, vanishing as if it had never been.

As Lee Yuchan's Yin God teetered on the brink of falling uncontrollably into the stranger's palm, he abruptly clenched his fist. The powerful suction that threatened to ensnare everyone's souls vanished without a trace. Instantly, Qin Yun and Lee Yuchan's Yin Gods snapped back into place.

The elder from the Seven Divine Sect let out a muffled groan and crashed to the ground. The three mightiest individuals present were visibly shaken, staring at the odd figure before them, uncertain of how to proceed. Had the man not clenched his fist and ceased his sinister palm technique, their Yin Gods and souls would surely have been inescapable, drawn into his grasp.

Why did he relent at the last moment?

The strange man's eerie green eyes bore into Lee Yuchan. A shiver crawled up Lee's spine, and with growing unease, he demanded, "What are you staring at?"

"I never would have guessed—it's still out there, not lost to time," the stranger mused, seemingly lost in memories, before addressing them, "If I could claim the Moon Demon from the Green Incubus, what chance do your Yin Gods stand?"

His gaze shifted abruptly to Yu Yuan. "Kid, now that you've earned the sword soul's approval, do you recognize me?"

"Green Incubus?" Qin Yun's face paled. "The spectral soul bound to the bronze monument is the legendary Green Incubus?"

Lee Yuchan, too, was taken aback.

The mention of "Green Incubus" sent a ripple of astonishment through the others. According to the ancient lore of the Profound Sky Continent, a demon known as the "Green Incubus" had been around since before the rise of empires, before humanity ascended to dominance among the races.

"The bronze monument was erected to contain the Green Incubus, but it ultimately succumbed to its influence, becoming part of the demon itself," the stranger said with a sinister laugh. "The Green Incubus is most likely to break free from its bindings swiftly. This alien soul from the stars has long been an object of my desire."

Qin Yun bristled at the revelation. "That Green Incubus is our quarry."

"You? Can you truly defeat the Green Incubus?" The stranger's laughter boomed. "Just the two of you, with your Yin Gods, think you can stand against the Green Incubus? And you, a member of the Seven Divine Sect from the Rainier Empire, do you really believe your narrow escape from a grave injury last time was mere simplicity?"

"How did you know?" Qin Yun exclaimed in surprise.

"It was partly my doing that you managed to escape with your life, despite your grave injuries," the enigmatic figure said, each word striking at Qin Yun. "The Green Incubus sensed my presence and awoke from its ancient slumber. It was preoccupied with guarding against me, which is why it spared you."

"Then, who might you be?" Lee Yuchan inquired with utmost seriousness.

"Isn't it obvious?" The strange man grinned broadly.

"You..." Lee Yuchan shuddered, a name surfacing in her thoughts, but she dared not utter it.

That name was forbidden, one she could never speak aloud.

"I am but a humble lad, Yu Yuan, hailing from Darkmoon City in the Silvermoon Empire. Fortune smiled upon me, allowing me to gain the sword soul's recognition," Yu Yuan said, bowing slightly with great reverence. "To encounter the Emperor in this realm is a privilege indeed."

"The Emperor?" Zhan Tianxiang echoed, bewildered. "Which Emperor?"

Qin Yun, too, was perplexed. "Your Excellency, to which Emperor do you refer?"

"The founder of the Kingdom of Rewia, the Sky Shocking Emperor," Yu Yuan revealed.

"The Sky Shocking Emperor?"

"He is the creator of the Martyr Spell, the most fearsome and bloodthirsty tyrant of the Profound Sky Continent. Once at the pinnacle of the Yang God Stage, he was poised to achieve true transcendence as the Sky Shocking Emperor!"

"Wasn't the Sky Shocking Emperor fatally wounded and slain by the Sword Sect's mightiest?"

"My heavens, can it really be?"

The younger generation was astounded to learn that the peculiar man before them was the fabled Sky Shocking Emperor, and the revelation sent shockwaves through the group.

The Sky Shocking Emperor was a figure of countless legends on the Profound Sky Continent, a bloody sovereign whose deeds were beyond description—a true legend among legends.

An emperor of the Profound Sky Continent, he created the Martyr Spell and massacred billions, nearly attaining ultimate liberation.

Such a character commanded deep respect from the many great practitioners of both the Heavenly Source Continent and the Quietus Continent whenever they spoke of him.

Who could have imagined that this earth-shattering individual would be found deep within the forbidden lands, using his skeletal remains as a scaffold to consume the soul of the mightiest Moon Demon?

"For years, the Green Incubus and I have been locked in a secret struggle. I sought to consume him with the Martyr Spell, and he, in turn, coveted my soul," the strange man chuckled heartily. "He has been bound by the forbidden lands far longer than I, subject to greater constraints. But as a human, the land's restrictions upon me are somewhat lesser."

"I'm willing to lend you a hand in slaying the Green Incubus. The bronze monument of the Green Incubus holds no value for me, so I'm happy to part with it. But the soul of the Green Incubus, that must be mine."

"Furthermore, I'm prepared to eliminate any powerful Alien Soul Evil Spirits that awaken later on. But just so we're clear, their souls are mine to claim."

"Anything with a physical form, I have no interest in. How does that sound to you?"

He turned his gaze to Yu Yuan.

"..."