Chapter 0498: The Ultimate Battle
After this, the Yan Huang City Lord, the Taixu Sage Master, the Dubhe Sword Immortal, and the others would complete the trade with the Ghostly Emperor.
This was actually an extremely tough matter.
This was because no one would truly trust the other party, so no one would take the first step. If the ghostly cultivators had taken the first step, the divine continent coalition would have protected Dong Yue Wu. The cultivators of the divine continent would have no reason to hand the egg to them.
If they had handed the egg over first, no one could guarantee that the immoral ghostly cultivators wouldn't destroy the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom. It was especially so for the Dragon Slaver Lord, who was infamous and had no credibility to speak of.
These were all tough questions that were hard to predict. It was at least be extremely difficult for Wu Yu to do this himself.
Having made the decision, the Yan Huang City Lord and the rest had to take on huge pressure. If their plans failed and the divine continent was affected, they would also become the sinners of the divine continent like Wu Yu.
However, they didn't relinquish the responsibilities. They proceeded without hesitation and took the responsibilities onto their shoulders.
That egg was currently in the hands of the Taixu Sage Master, who would be the one handing it to the Ghostly Emperor.
When the ghostly cultivators saw that the divine continent had made their decision, they were exhilarated. The Dragon Slaver Lord also smiled and said, "You guys have indeed made a wise decision. Congratulations! The truth is that we have no wish to attack the divine continent. It exhausts our manpower and resources without getting much in return. As long as we get that egg, we will definitely retreat and not touch a single grass on the divine continent. I'm willing to stake my personal moral standing on it. Hehe!"
As to whether they would fulfil their promise after they got their hands on the egg, it didn't matter much to the divine continent. This was because the coalition of the divine continent wouldn't believe them at all.
Facing the ghostly cultivators, the Yan Huang City Lord said, "If it is just as you have said, please release the sealed array around Dong Yue Wu and retreat beyond the East Sea. if you do that, we will gladly hand this thing over. At this juncture, mutual belief would clearly make things go smoother. Don't you think so?"
The eight Emperors burst into hysterical laughter.
"Forget it. Since no one is willing to trust the other, let's go by the old rules. Both of us shall release what we want at the same time. Truth be told, all we want is that egg. The life or death of these mortals has no attraction to us at all. They are simply a means to threaten you guys.
Although it might seem simple, the process of both parties releasing what they wanted would be a perilous one.
First, the Yan Huang City Lord was standing on the barrier created by the Dragon Slaver Lord. He was probably thinking of laying a new defensive barrier to protect Dong Yue Wu the moment the Dragon Slaver Lord released his seal. With him there, Dong Yue Wu would definitely be safe. The only reason why the Dragon Slaver Lord had control over this area was simply because he had the first-move advantage.
As for the Taixu Sage Master, he stood before the Ghostly Emperor.
The Ghostly Emperor didn't speak a word and simply flew over. When everyone was reeling over the impending battle, this young man flew directly before the Taixu Sage Master to the astonishment of the crowd. He stood less than a meter away from the Taixu Sage Master and extended his hand over to him. Those dull, grey, and empty white eyes were just like bottomless pits, and they were staring right into the eyes of the Taixu Sage Master.
"Hand it over!" the Ghostly Emperor, Necro Lord, said plainly.
The Taixu Sage Master lifted his arm and held the egg in one hand. At this moment, the Ghostly Emperor was also in contact with that egg. Both of them held each side of the egg.
Before this, the Taixu Sage Master had assessed the toughness of this egg. He seemed to have come to the conclusion that this egg wouldn't break easily. Therefore, the Ghostly Emperor was rather assured.
When both of them held on to each side, it was the most nail-biting moment for the rest of the crowd. Everyone was squinting their eyes while staring intensely at this risky moment!
At this moment, the Ghostly Emperor waved his hand at the Dragon Slaver Lord, who remained behind him. After an action from the Dragon Slaver Lord, the black light barrier over Dong Yue Wu indeed started to dissipate gradually. As the barrier was dissipating, the Yan Huang City Lord executed a Heaven Earth Void technique to cast a thick, golden-colored light barrier. When the black light barrier disappeared completely and a golden-colored light barrier replaced it, the majority of the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom appeared to be safe. It was especially so for the area of the Heavenly Sword Sect, where the Yan Huang City Lord had paid special attention to. One could see that in the blink of an eye, a spirit design had fallen on the Bipo Mountain Range and formed an impenetrable fortress over it!
"You can release your grip now." At this moment, when everyone was holding their breaths, the dry and cold voice of the Necro Lord resounded once again. His grey eyes were circulating constantly as though he was about to suck a human's soul into them.
Everyone was wondering if it would be better for the Taixu Sage Master to forcefully snatch the egg or crush it completely since the Yan Huang City Lord had almost fully gained control of the situation with Dong Yue Wu.
In that case, they wouldn't be thrown into a dangerous situation again.
However, this was just their wishful thinking. It would probably be difficult to for it to happen. Moreover, at such a close distance, the Ghostly Emperor clearly would guard against this. When he came into contact with that egg, one could see greyish mist forming a network over the egg. Some even entered deep into the egg shell.
The Taixu Sage Master held on for a little longer till the Yan Huang City Lord had almost full control over Dong Yue Wu. When the entire Dong Yue Wu Kingdom was secured within a golden fortress, he finally let go of the egg.
Wu Yu had also witnessed the entire development with his own eyes.
When the Ghostly Emperor got what he wanted, the side of ghostly cultivators were cheering without reserve.
The eight Emperors and many others were full of smiles as though they had accomplished something great.
The Ghostly Emperor stared intensely at the egg. He turned around and returned to the side of the ghostly cultivators. When he swung his arm, he signalled for them to retreat. They were indeed thinking of retreating. After all, he would likely want to spend his time on that egg after this incident. If he had succeeded.... Clearly, he would get even stronger and it would be impossible that he wouldn't return to the divine continent.
The ghostly cultivators were cheering.
On the side of the cultivators, everyone had a solemn expression. After handing out something so crucial, it was clear that the situation was exceptionally dreadful. At this moment, a battle to the death was the only option. However, the only worry they had was if the Ghostly Emperor managed to escape despite the battle erupting. In that scenario, it would be another nightmare when he returned.
The current situation was no longer something Wu Yu and Jiu Ying could affect.
Before the Yan Huang City Lord and the Taixu Sage Master gave their orders, the crowd saw the ghostly cultivators off and didn't take action. When the ghostly cultivators were gradually disappearing from their sight, some of them couldn't help but become flustered. What if the Ghostly Emperor got away? He was the greatest enemy of theirs.
As time passed, everyone's hearts were palpitating violently.
Suddenly, the Taixu Sage Master made a strange action. With his back facing the Ghostly Emperor, he seemed to be executing something with a solemn face. One could see an entirely white round disc appearing in his hand. That disc was formed from mist and was currently circulating. Within the round disc, lights resembling countless stars were rotating, forming dazzling symbols from time to time.
Suddenly, Wu Yu witnessed something he couldn't believe.
In the round disc, an object appeared from below as though it had floated onto the surface of the water. The entire process was exceptionally quick. In the blink of an eye, the shape of the object was entirely visible. At that instant, Wu Yu was almost completely stunned. This was because the object that appeared in the hands of the Taixu Sage Master was none other than that egg!
He had handed the egg over to the Ghostly Emperor before and yet the egg had returned to his hands at this very moment.
Quite a number of people had witnessed this!
When the Imperial General and the Yan Huang City Lord saw what happened, he shouted, "Everyone, get ready for battle! Our goal is to annihilate all the ghostly cultivators! It's time for the battle that determines all lives and deaths! This will be on everyone!"
Even Wu Yu had not reacted to it.
The moment the egg appeared in the hands of the Taixu Sage Master, he didn't speak a second word before putting it away. With the egg in his hands and him guarding it, it would clearly be safer than if the egg had remained with Wu Yu.
Clearly, the situation was beyond expectations. Now that the egg had returned to the hands of the Taixu Sage Master, whatever they had said before was just part of an act. This was their real plan from the beginning! Disregarding the Mizar Sword Immortal and the rest, even Wu Yu was in the dark.
Although no one knew what methods the Taixu Sage Master had employed, it was clear that he had fooled the Ghostly Emperor. If even the Ghostly Emperor had not discovered it, it should be some unfathomable method! At the very least, there were probably few who knew about it. Perhaps only the Yan Huang City Lord and some select few had known about it. After all, snatching something from the Ghostly Emperor wouldn't be that simple.
Wu Yu was still completely in shock.
Indeed, the older, the wiser!
What the Yan Huang City Lord and the rest had said previously was completely reasonable and had convinced the majority of the experts from the divine continent to get themselves prepared for battle. However, they were, in fact, hiding the truth from everyone and had no intention to truly hand the egg over to the ghostly cultivators. This was the perfect ending they had sought after. Now that the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom was protected and the egg wasn't lost, the situation was great for them.
The ghostly cultivators had resorted to countless means in this battle. On the side of the divine continent, the Taixu Sage Master and the rest played along while treading on a dangerous line. They had finally gotten one back.
Naturally, having his treasure snatched away while he was at his happiest moment would definitely infuriate him. Just as expected, a deafening growl reverberated from a long distance away.
That was a growl from a huge beast.
All the ghostly cultivators turned around abruptly and glowered intensely at the cultivators of the divine continent. It was especially so for the Necro Lord. Those greyish eyes were circulating at a frenzied speed, creating a huge, dullish-grey vortex!
The anger of the ghostly cultivators erupted abruptly. Led by the Ghostly Emperor, their anger raged as they charged ahead.
"Unscrupulous cultivators! How dare you trick us! Do you know how gruesome your outcome would be for infuriating our Ghostly Emperor?"
"Our Ghostly Emperor had wanted to snatch it directly and killing every single one of you initially. Now that you guys have truly angered him, just wait for your end on the divine continent!"
Among the eight Emperors, several Hell Emperors remarked in horror. One could tell that even they were afraid of that Necro Lord!
Having anticipated this, the Taixu Sage Master and the rest were rather calm. If it was a group battle, the side of the divine continent would basically be fighting with two against one. Therefore, the problem wouldn't be grave. The Yan Huang City Lord and the rest had long made preparations for the battle. The eleven Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm experts would deal with the eight Emperors and sect leaders of the four major sects. Another three would assist the eleven to kill their opponents one by one. At any point in time, the objective would be to have three groups of two against one. As for the rest, which also included the Taixu Sage Master, the Yan Huang City Lord, the Dubhe Sword Immortal, and the Imperial General, they would surround and attack the Ghostly Emperor!
As for the other Sword Sages and generals, there wouldn't be a problem for two of them to easily crush such an opponent!