Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 823: The Emperor has awakened and summons you.
Previously on Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal?...
Chapter 823: The Emperor has awakened and summons you.
Meanwhile, within the Immortal Realm of Earth Star.
The Divine Descent got completely destroyed, leaving Wu E's Divine Soul in a grave state of injury. As soon as his Remnant Soul merged back into his primary form, an excruciating, ripping torment exploded throughout his entire being.
"ROAR—!"
Such torment proved too much even for Wu E, a mighty Demon Immortal, to bear. He writhed in pain, his radiating aura noticeably diminishing by multiple levels.
This happened because the energy channeled via the Divine Descent formed an integral portion of his physique, infused with his Immortal Essence and Divine Soul.
With the Divine Descent now shattered, it felt as though a chunk of his Divine Soul had been brutally ripped out, and the Demon Core inside him had grown dimmer as well.
"Curse it… How does this Chen Huaian wield such overwhelming power? Is it possible he's another anomaly?!"
A savage gleam flashed across Wu E's gaze.
He had grounds to question Chen Huaian's background, yet the details provided by the Divine Lord pointed solely to Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng as the anomalies, excluding Chen Huaian entirely.
He might doubt his personal assessment, yet he placed absolute trust in the Divine Lord's evaluation.
Since the Divine Lord hadn't flagged Chen Huaian, he simply couldn't be an anomaly.
Perhaps Chen Huaian serves as the Dragon Soul inheritor?
Yet another idea emerged in Wu E's thoughts.
Across the endless loops of reincarnation, solely the Dragon Soul inheritor exhibited power beyond the norm. All other elements remained constrained by the Immortal Realm and the Divine Lords.
The Divine Lords acted like handlers deliberately nurturing a ferocious hound. Though they held the might to crush and slay that hound effortlessly, they always tossed it scraps to keep it alive. Simultaneously, they set it against the Dragon Soul inheritor, relentlessly driving that inheritor's power to ever-higher peaks…
It appeared the Divine Lords sought to extract something from the ever-empowered Dragon Soul inheritor.
Or maybe from the souls that persistently defied the wheel of reincarnation.
However, they failed to attain their objective every cycle, prompting them to reset the loop anew.
Still, Chen Huaian lacked the distinctive aura of a Dragon Soul inheritor, and he seemed somewhat aligned with Taotie.
That Taotie represented a stubborn, resilient mass of flesh, a troublemaking instigator ready to chomp at anyone in sight.
In every cycle, Taotie clashed with the Dragon Soul inheritor the instant they crossed paths, brawled with fellow Demon Immortals and Lingxiao's various immortals upon encounters.
The Divine Lords employed Taotie as a key instrument to counterbalance the Dragon Soul inheritor, thus permitting Taotie extended survival in each cycle.
Moreover, as the Beast King, Taotie bore an intense hatred for the Dragon Soul inheritor's aura, his animosity toward it exceeding even that of the Divine Lords.
Considering all this, Chen Huaian couldn't qualify as the Dragon Soul inheritor…
Then, where had the Dragon Soul inheritor vanished to?
With all nine Wells of Heaven now unsealed, the Dragon Soul inheritor ought to be emerging step by step at this point, correct?
"Wu E!" A deep bellow echoed from beyond the cave dwelling.
Wu E's frame jolted. He spotted a three-eyed weasel head peeking through the entrance.
This belonged to Great Immortal Huang, among the Four Great Demon Immortals serving under Divine Joy's authority.
"The Great Emperor has roused. He calls for you."
Great Immortal Huang's icy stare fixed on Wu E, harboring a blend of caution and avarice deep inside.
The avarice stemmed from Wu E's currently feeble aura, his core foundation harmed, evidently suffering major wounds.
Devouring Wu E presented the perfect chance right now!
The caution arose because Chen Niu, who dominated as the strongest across cycles, had been reduced to a worthless shell by Wu E, surviving only as a Remnant Soul in a wrecked shell, already thoroughly stripped by the lesser demons near Chen Niu's cave.
For a mighty earth dragon immortal to meet such an end stirred a pang of pity for a fallen peer.
It also instilled greater dread in Great Immortal Huang and the Golden Scale Heaven-Piercing Python toward Wu E, whose power had previously ranked merely average.
"Withdraw that greedy stare."
Wu E rose to his feet, unleashing a horrifying aura.
This aura now included the demonic might he had consumed from Chen Niu. The whole cave dwelling quaked beneath the force. Great Immortal Huang's expression twisted sharply, his form as though crushed under a colossal peak, slammed flat to the earth, immobile.
"You… you've ascended to the Earth Immortal level?"
His gaze brimmed with envy and terror.
He recognized Wu E's substantial progress, but hadn't anticipated that after absorbing Chen Niu, he'd shatter through a full realm, surging from Divine Immortal to Earth Immortal…
In all the cycles, neither he nor the Golden Scale Heaven-Piercing Python had attained such a milestone. Only Chen Niu lingered at the pinnacle of Divine Immortal, a single stride from Earth Immortal.
And Wu E remained in a condition with his Divine Soul impaired.
If restored to full strength…
Great Immortal Huang hunched his neck, the envy and bitterness in his eyes burying themselves deeper.
He backed away from Wu E's cave dwelling, bowing low outside.
Witnessing this, Wu E let out a frosty huff and strode forth boldly.
In the heart of the Blissful Wasteland, neither sky nor sun could be seen.
Dark miasma churned and billowed over the terrain, but it got thrust aside at the base of a circular mountain—the abode of the Divine Joy Emperor lay embedded inside that circular mountain's core.
From a distance, it resembled the yawning jaws of a colossal monster. Drawing nearer, one discerned that such "jaws" consisted of myriad bloodied bones pieced together. Crimson vapor oozed from the bone crevices, carrying a sickly sweet aroma, yet it could melt any approaching low-tier demon immortal into sludge in moments.
Wu E glided across the ground, thoroughly familiar with the scenes en route.
Myriad demon immortals thronged at the mountain's foot. Those fist-sized, luminous fissures in the rock marked the well mouths where Spiritual Energy from Earth Star's Mortal Realm filtered upward.
Skeletal snake demons wrapped around the rock fissures, their hides flayed raw by adjacent bear demons; fox demons slashed the necks of their kin with razor claws, solely to claim a strand of richer Spiritual Energy; even eagle demons with atrophied wings dove madly at rivals vying for spots.
Severed appendages and charred blood marred the soil everywhere.
Spiritual Energy, laced with the howls and cries of demon immortals, invaded Wu E's nostrils.
He scarcely batted an eye—in the Blissful Wasteland, only the law of the strongest prevailed. Today, they scrapped over Spiritual Energy; tomorrow, they might fall prey to superior predators.
Navigating through successive waves of demon throngs, Wu E at last arrived at the "bone portal" of the residence.
The instant he crossed the entrance, an oppressive force barreled toward him.
Every scale on his body bristled upright, only to get pressed down flat in the following moment.
Even his breaths grew strained.
Raising his sight, he peered at the lofty platform nestled deep inside the residence.
A colossal toad, spanning fully a thousand *zhang*, reclined there.
The toad's enormous maw clutched three golden gems. The glow from the gems shrouded its head.
And atop the toad's expansive brow, the upper half of an elderly man's body rose erect—that elder's skull tripled the size of an ordinary human's. His white locks and whiskers shone with a greasy luster, his countenance flushed like overripe produce, his eyes sealed shut, though his lips curved from ear to ear.
That grin lacked warmth; instead, it radiated a frenzy of delight, as though poised to swallow all in view at any second.
This figure was the Divine Joy Emperor, sire of every demon.
Wu E's limbs buckled. With a *thud*, he collapsed prone to the floor, his front paws clutching the surface fiercely.
He sensed the pressure from the Great Emperor flowed not from intent. It resembled the burden of the cosmos, weighing until his Demon Core quivered. The Earth Immortal prowess he'd shown Great Immortal Huang earlier now amounted to mere specks.
"Sub… subordinate Wu E, offers homage to the Great Emperor."
His tone quavered, his tail flattened to the ground, not daring the slightest twitch.
The elder on the lofty platform at last parted his eyes gradually.
They formed pupil-less orbs, mere cloudy whites.
Yet they pierced as if scanning Wu E's vitals and soul's core.
He spoke no words aloud, but his rasp echoed hoarsely and chillingly in Wu E's psyche: "Wu E, ah…" The elder's lips widened further, baring twin lines of tiny, keen fangs. "This Emperor understands you all ventured into the Mortal Realm?"
Wu E's core plummeted, icy perspiration sprouting on his brow. "Indeed… This subordinate, obeying the Great Emperor's decree, descended to the Mortal Realm to probe the Wells of Heaven's activities, and along the way… to hunt for premium Celestial Essence."
"Ah, right, premium Celestial Essence!" The elder's tone abruptly chilled.
The golden gems in the toad's jaws quivered faintly.
The scarlet haze inside the residence grew denser without delay.
Wu E sensed his neck tighten, like seized by an unseen grasp.
"Then explain," the elder's grin persisted, though his gaze gleamed with predatory ferocity, "during this descent, how much premium Celestial Essence did you succeed in acquiring?"
Every syllable struck like a massive mallet against Wu E's chest.
His frame trembled fiercely, his words fracturing.
"This sub… subordinate proves unworthy…
Sudden upheavals struck the Mortal Realm, the premium Celestial Essence… remains unclaimed.
I implore the Great Emperor's mercy!"