Chapter 87 is nothing more than a dish
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Having said what he needed to say, Di Jiang looked at Duan Jiuyou expressionlessly: "Is there anything else you want to ask?"
9game said, "That's all."
"If you're done, then go out. I need to rest for a bit."
Duan Jiuyou hummed in agreement, feeling somewhat disappointed.
In the past, they didn't separate after discussing important matters like they do now. Instead, they discussed important matters in casual conversation and spent more time together.
Both of them still harbored resentment about what happened last time, and their conversations would inadvertently reveal some of their emotions. Duan Jiuyou wanted to resolve this issue, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words back.
Di Jiang sat alone at his desk. The window was open, and outside was a crabapple tree about to bloom. A small figure passed by under the crabapple tree.
Di Jiang didn't close the window until Duan Jiuyou had completely left the courtyard. He then slowly walked to the Luohan bed and spat out another mouthful of blood.
He had suppressed this vomit for a long time, and even medicine could not stop it. He sat cross-legged, formed hand seals, and slowly circulated the energy twelve times until it got dark before opening his eyes.
There was no light in the study, but a sturdy, wooden-post-like dark figure was watching him from his seat.
Di Jiang rolled his eyes at the vassal and said, "Can your eyes cure diseases? You think you can heal me just by looking at me like that?"
The vassal said, "No, but this thing is acceptable."
He summoned a cluster of white flames from his palm, which reflected many unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar faces. These people had numb expressions and were surrounded by equally indifferent barbarian soldiers in an open area.
The vassal said, "If Yuan Chi insists on fighting you, consuming the spiritual energy of these people will at least help you temporarily recover 90% of your divine power."
Spiritual energy is like the inner elixir of a cultivator; it is pure and genuine power, and consuming it can greatly nourish the body.
However, ordinary people's cultivation level is too shallow, so they can only temporarily improve their power. Long-term consumption will not be beneficial, but it is just enough to fight Yuan Chi.
As for the people whose spiritual energy was drained, they were like a plate of food on a table, turning into a handful of bones in an instant.
The emperor flicked his finger and extinguished the flame in the hands of his vassal.
"You've thought of everything, preparing the medicine for me in advance. But I haven't stooped so low as to use such a despicable method as replenishing my spirit with my own to improve myself."
"It's just a dish. As long as it's good for you, what difference does it make what you eat?"
The vassal was still a beast, his thinking was closer to that of a wild animal. In his eyes, there was no right or wrong, good or evil, only profit and loss.
When his master fell ill, he would "bring" him food that would help him recover. Whether the food was a kind and innocent "little white rabbit" or a vicious jackal or tiger, it was not a matter of concern to him at all.
The minister said, "You refuse to eat because of Duan Jiuyou, right? Didn't you two have a fight? Since you've had a fight, just let it go. You are a man destined for great things, why let her hold you back? It's just womanly sentimentality. Anyway, she doesn't care about you."
The vassal was always straightforward; his strength was his loyalty to his lord, but his weakness was that he couldn't speak very tactfully.
Emperor Jiang lit a glass lamp. He originally didn't want to pay attention to his vassals, but as he looked down at the lamp, he became angrier and angrier. He glared at them and said, "Are you sick? Which eye of yours can tell that she doesn't have me in her eyes?!"
The vassal said, "She has you in her eyes, but that's because you are the chosen one. Duan Jiuyou is a divine official of nine dynasties, bearing the responsibility of protecting the common people. He values righteousness and considers the overall situation. In her eyes, your life is not just your own."
"Even an idiot like you could figure that out?"
The wick in the glass lamp had grown too long, causing the flame to flicker incessantly. Di Jiang took a pair of scissors and used them to cut off a section of the wick.
"Wouldn't that be better? I am one with all living beings. If she protects all living beings, she must protect me. Even if she doesn't have me in her heart, she must pretend to be."
The candlelight stopped flickering and returned to its usual calm, but the vassal inadvertently stirred things up again.
"In that case, we really have to thank this opportunity. Without this premise, Duan Jiuyou would not have been so devoted to us. It's a good thing, really."
The vassal still doesn't know that the ten emperors' opportunity was a hoax, and the emperor has no intention of telling him.
The fewer people who know about this, the better; ideally, there should be none left.
The minister said, "In any case, you should consider my suggestion. Yuan Chi is treacherous and cunning. If he discovers that your primordial spirit has not yet recovered, he will definitely do you a disservice. If he catches you off guard, you will suffer even more injuries."
“I never expected him to obediently hand over his soul to me. A battle between me and Yuan Chi is inevitable.”
The minister was alarmed: "Then why did you sacrifice your own life force to intimidate Yuan Chi today? Wasn't it to make him back down?"
"If I don't intimidate him, how will he go and take the souls of those 30,000 soldiers?"
Emperor Jiang looked towards the Ten Realms Palace, his eyes deep and dark, as if he were looking into the Soul Cleansing Pool where blue flames were dancing.
“Yuan Chi cultivates the Dao of No Life, so no matter how superior the divine essence and soul are, they cannot be dissolved in his body. The souls of the thirty thousand soldiers are to him what the spiritual source you just gave me is—a short-term supplement with no real benefit. So when their souls fell into the Soul Cleansing Pool, he never touched them. This time, I forced his old illness to relapse and demanded the thirty thousand souls back. He was unwilling to be controlled by me, so naturally he resisted.”
The minister's thoughts gradually became clear: "You deliberately made him think that your primordial spirit had been greatly healed, which was to force him to use the soul in the Soul Cleansing Pool to increase his power and fight you. Once he made the move, it would be exactly what you wanted, so that you could take the soul out of his body during the battle."
"It's rare to see you so clever," Emperor Jiang praised his vassal.
"But why would he rather fight you with all his might than offer up his soul and borrow your power to leave the Ten Realms? Could it be that he hasn't lived in the Ten Realms long enough?"
“Because of my reputation,” Di Jiang sighed. “I have a bad reputation, I’m known for my ruthlessness and my tendency to betray those I’ve helped. He doesn’t believe I would take him out of the Ten Realms. The Soul Cleansing Pool is an ancient divine artifact. If Yuan Chi were to activate the souls within it, his own primordial spirit would be damaged. If he were to use it merely to make a deal with me, he would only be harming his primordial spirit for nothing, and he might not even be able to leave the Ten Realms. Do you think he would be foolish enough to make an exchange with me?”
"But didn't you tell Duan Jiuyou that Yuan Chi wouldn't act rashly?"
"You're eavesdropping on our conversation again?" Di Jiang glared at him, his eyes full of disdain.
The vassal remained unfazed: "I didn't eavesdrop on purpose. I just happened to be waiting outside the door and casually pressed my ear against it to listen."
Isn't this intentional?
Di Jiang refrained from arguing with the vassal, and simply said, "If I didn't say that, how could she let me fight alone? In my battle against Yuan Chi, I must personally take action to bring back the 30,000 souls. There is no room for error. She is impulsive, and forcibly joining the battle would only make things worse."
The vassal conjured flames in his hand once more.
"Since this battle is inevitable, you should quickly consume these spiritual resources. Once Yuan Chi absorbs the soul, his cultivation will greatly increase. Do you intend to risk your damaged 60% primordial spirit? The people of the Tenth Realm are not of our kind; why should we care about their lives? Guiding souls into one's body is extremely harmful; what if—"
Even straightforward people like the vassals were unwilling to voice any unfavorable speculations.
The people in the flames have been controlled by the vassals within an illusion. The emperor can absorb the spiritual energy into his body with a mere flick of his finger, and at the same time end these lives.
The Emperor's original plan was the same; to be precise, the initial plan was to consume these spiritual sources to increase his own attack power.
The vassal said, “My lord, you bear the lifeblood of your clan, and this battle concerns the lives of thirty thousand soldiers. You should not hesitate. If you cannot bear to take action, I will be the villain!”
...
at the same time.
Within the Ten Realms Palace, ten thousand souls surged forth, rushing into Yuan Chi's body. Soul fire swirled within him, accumulating immense power.
Yuan Chi flipped his palm over, looking at the surging azure power in his hand and sighing with regret. If this power could have been preserved for a long time, how powerful he would have been!
This must be the power the imperial empire possessed at its peak.
The strongest cultivator in the Three Realms, no wonder everyone curses him yet fears him. When a person becomes this powerful, he is no different from a demon.
Yuan Chi was very satisfied with himself now, and turned to face the six guardians behind him.
"Have all the men you assembled arrived?"
Tan, one of the protectors, clasped his hands and reported, "The Ten Realms' Imperial Guards have all gathered. When does the Demon Lord plan to depart?"
Yuan Chi said, "Now."
He didn't want things to drag on; he needed to finish this quickly. Once he won this round, he could sleep soundly!
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