#671 - The Emperor's Struggle
As the Crown Prince of the Divine Court finished speaking, a tall and imposing figure appeared above the vast purple-armored army in the clouds. Bathed in sunlight, the figure seemed ethereal, like a mirage.
General Zhu!
He stood high above, looking down upon the world, clad in heavy, divine red armor. His face was stern, his eyebrows resembling fiery clouds. His long hair was coiled beneath a divine crown, and seven massive, fan-shaped swords floated behind his head, each radiating a different divine light, as if seven divine authorities stood behind him.
Before General Zhu, Zhu Xi and the escapees felt a sense of awe. Some couldn't withstand the pressure and knelt directly.
General Zhu's right hand was half-raised, playing with two beads in his palm, which looked like two stars being compressed, a truly shocking sight.
"Crown Prince, how dare you slander the immortals and deities and question the Divine Court? If His Majesty were to find out, how heartbroken would he be?"
General Zhu's voice echoed. As he spoke, a vertical eye suddenly opened on his forehead, unleashing a terrifying red light that descended from the sky at incredible speed!
Everything happened so fast that the Crown Prince of the Divine Court didn't have time to react.
Boom—
The red light struck the Crown Prince, and the terrifying impact sent the escapees flying.
Some attempted to flee, but the tunnel created by the Crown Prince had disappeared. As the escapees tried to leap up, they were suppressed by an unimaginable force, even forced to kneel.
The wind howled, rubble scattered, the forests were uprooted, and everything felt like the apocalypse had arrived.
Zhu Xi was forced to kneel halfway. She struggled to look up, her pupils trembling, her eyes filled with fear.
What terrifying suppression!
She couldn't imagine how terrifying it would be if he used his full power.
The red light dissipated, leaving only the white bones of the Crown Prince, which trembled before collapsing into a pile on the ground.
This scene filled the other thousands of escapees with despair.
Even the Crown Prince had to die. How could they possibly survive?
The aloof General Zhu's expression was so indifferent, as if he had killed not the Crown Prince, but a mere insect.
The countless purple-armored soldiers standing in the clouds were equally expressionless, further intensifying the atmosphere of despair in this world.
General Zhu turned over his right hand, and the two beads in his hand fell. As they fell, they released brilliant light, eclipsing the heavens and the earth.
As the intense light fell, Zhu Xi couldn't help but look at Gu An beside her, gritting her teeth as she asked, "Didn't you say you had a way?"
Gu An glanced at her, the corners of his mouth rising in a smile. His smile seemed so arrogant to Zhu Xi, appearing exceptionally mad at this moment.
Zhu Xi didn't understand why this person could still smile. A scorching heat wave descended from the sky, causing her consciousness to go blank in an instant.
Boom—
A world-shattering explosion erupted on the ground, and countless trees were swept away like bits of grass. Countless Divine Court soldiers coldly overlooked everything.
General Zhu's expression changed, and a look of greed appeared in his eyes.
...
Under the twilight.
Zhu Xi, who was lying on the ground, suddenly opened her eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was gasping for breath, looking like she had just woken up from a nightmare.
She immediately sat up and saw Gu An's figure.
Gu An was sitting on the open ground beside her, with a bonfire burning in front of him. He was holding a mirror in his hand, as if looking at himself.
Zhu Xi came back to her senses and subconsciously looked in other directions. She found herself on a cliff, with distant mountains stretching endlessly, their ridges draped in the glow of the sunset, a desolate and beautiful sight.
"We escaped?"
Zhu Xi looked at Gu An, asking nervously.
Gu An stared at the Seven Stars Mirror, saying, "Yes, we escaped, but we're still in the Grand World of Taiwei."
"Senior, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave!"
Zhu Xi left these words and turned to leave.
"Don't you want to become stronger?"
Gu An's voice came, causing Zhu Xi to stop in her tracks.
She turned her head to look at Gu An, her expression complex.
Gu An still didn't look at her, his gaze fixed on the Seven Stars Mirror.
...
The Grand World of Tianling, Qiankun Sect.
Early in the morning.
Gu An and the Heavenly Spirit God were walking down the street, seemingly strolling around, but they were discussing major events at the level of the Great Thousand Worlds.
"I learned from my close friend that the atmosphere in the Heavenly Court is not right. It is said to involve the struggle for the position of the Heavenly Emperor, and countless unimaginable forces are secretly plotting. Even Heavenly Gods can hear rumors."
The Heavenly Spirit God said with a solemn expression. At Gu An's suggestion, he began to improve his relationship with other Heavenly Gods. The close friend he mentioned was an immortal deity from the Misty Immortal Court.
Gu An watched the roadside stalls as he asked, "Is Tian Hao involved? It seems that Immortal Lord Taiyi and Immortal Lord Xuan Su were aiming for him before."
The Heavenly Spirit God shook his head, saying, "Even if Tian Hao is the reincarnation, he is far from being able to compete for the position of the Heavenly Emperor. Not to mention him, even Immortal Lords are infinitely far from the Heavenly Emperor in terms of rank. Moreover, this struggle will not erupt immediately. It is estimated that it will brew for a long time. One day, the Great Thousand Worlds will also feel the disputes of the Heavenly Court."
Although he didn't know much about the Heavenly Court, he at least knew what the Heavenly Emperor symbolized.
That was the supreme position and power, symbolizing the strongest in the Heavenly Dao!
"Speaking of which, I discovered an immortal deity in the Grand World of Taiwei. He and the Divine Court..."
Gu An recounted his experiences in the Grand World of Taiwei. A hundred years had passed since he rescued Zhu Xi, and his clone was now accompanying her.
In addition to spying on the human world through the Seven Stars Mirror, he occasionally wandered around the human world of the Grand World of Taiwei.
The Divine Court was constantly conscripting divine disciples in various places. Mortals who became divine disciples would sever ties with their families forever. Some places would compensate their families, but some places were forcibly conscripting.
Gu An saw these divine disciples being sent into a huge pill furnace, which was refining some kind of pill, but it had not yet been completed.
This should be what the immortal deity sought. The Divine Court had been offering this for millions of years.
Millions of years had passed, and the pill furnace had filled countless mortal lives, but no pill had been produced. This made him very curious about the origin of this pill.
He also told the Heavenly Spirit God about this, hoping that the Heavenly Spirit God could answer.
The Heavenly Spirit God frowned, saying, "It is not uncommon to refine pills with living spirits. I don't know exactly what kind of pill that immortal deity will refine, but it has not been produced after refining for so long. I'm afraid it is related to the struggle for the position of the Heavenly Emperor. The Grand World of Taiwei is one of the top Great Thousand Worlds in the Three Thousand Great Worlds. I suspect that other Great Thousand Worlds are also doing such things."
He did not rebuke the immortal deity's behavior, but he was more concerned.
He knew the immortal deity's style of doing things.
Immortal deities will also indulge in evil, but they will not leave traces.
In other words, the Grand World of Taiwei will perish sooner or later!
"If such a situation occurs in many Great Thousand Worlds, then in the future... the Three Thousand Great Worlds may be destroyed, and then the Heavenly Court will re-open the Three Thousand Great Worlds!"
The Heavenly Spirit God's expression was extremely solemn, and his words also changed Gu An's expression.
