Chapter 1845: Mediocre Emperor Not Dead?

Inside the Otherworldly Demon King City.

Within a sealed room, dense enchantments covered the walls, isolating it from spatial manipulation and spiritual probes.

The sound of a table being slammed echoed, and a middle-aged man with sharp, upright eyebrows immediately stood up, his face contorted in anger.

“Treason! This is nothing short of treason!” he roared. “The three Emperors of the Spirit Race are meant to protect each other, yet he has violated this sacred rule! Colluding with humans to ambush and assassinate His Majesty Emperor Yong—he is a disgrace to our race! All brave men of the Spirit Race must unite and overthrow this illegitimate regime!”

A young Otherworldly Demon surveyed the room, his voice filled with fury.

If Zhang Xuan were here, he would undoubtedly recognize this individual as his student who had infiltrated the Otherworldly Demons... Liu Yang!

At this moment, he had gathered a group of "like-minded individuals" to denounce the crimes of Emperor Chen Ling and Emperor Chen Xing.

When Emperor Chen Ling returned over a month ago, he announced to the world that Emperor Yong had died after being ambushed by human powerhouses, and that he and Emperor Xing had sustained severe injuries trying to rescue him, but were ultimately powerless to save him.

At the time, everyone believed this story. However, later, as many human powerhouses entered the Subterranean Lair, another rumor began to spread: that Emperor Chen Ling had collaborated with the Human Sages to kill Emperor Yong.

Initially, people dismissed this as a tactic by humans to incite internal strife among the Spirit Race. But then, Emperor Chen Ling took control of Emperor Yong's army and massacred its generals, which made everyone uneasy.

An hour ago, Emperor Yong's most favored successor gathered them and recounted the entire sequence of events. Only then did everyone realize the truth, becoming utterly enraged.

The Otherworldly Demons reigned supreme and were feared by humans precisely because their three Emperors were united and acted as one. Now, however, they were betraying each other and conspiring with humans against their own kind. This was a heinous and unforgivable act, a complete reversal of their principles.

“Emperor Ling and Emperor Xing are incredibly powerful; they are at the pinnacle among the Ancient Sages. Even if we know the truth, what can we do? We simply cannot fight them!”

Seeing the group's agitated state, one Otherworldly Demon couldn't help but shake his head.

Their feelings were understandable, but even severely wounded, Emperor Ling and Emperor Xing were still peak Ancient Sages—not opponents a group of Great Sages could contend with.

The three Emperors ruled the world not just through power and cunning, but more importantly, through an unshakeable strength.

“I know that as well,” Liu Yang said. “However, rest assured, since His Majesty Emperor Yong is still alive, he will naturally return to deal with the traitors himself. Our task is merely to control any unrest when he does, manage the scattered deployments, and prevent chaos from engulfing the world!”

“That's right!” another Otherworldly Demon added. “We cannot control the conflict between their top echelons, but we can control the Spirit Race and prevent further unforeseen events!”

“If chaos erupts, humans might seize the opportunity to launch a full-scale assault, and tens of thousands of years of the Spirit Race's foundation could be destroyed in an instant!”

Several Otherworldly Demons nodded in agreement.

They could not intervene in the conflict between the three Emperors, but they could manage their own faction, minimizing the harm caused by the upheaval.

“Since we all share this idea, our alliance is now established,” Liu Yang said, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw everyone agreed with his view. “As an alliance, it naturally requires a leader to issue unified commands. Otherwise, if everyone acts independently, it will only lead to disarray!”

“Of course, we need a leader!” one person exclaimed. “Brother Yang, as Emperor Yong's successor and the most profound cultivator among us, the position of alliance leader naturally belongs to you!”

“Only you can lead us now, regain control of the situation, and prevent utter chaos!”

Everyone clasped their fists in salute simultaneously.

Aside from the Ancient Sages, he currently commanded the greatest respect. Otherwise, Emperor Ling would have long since killed him. Having him as the alliance leader would garner the most support.

“Since you all insist, I will not decline,” Liu Yang said, standing up. He clenched his fist, placed it over his chest, and raised his eyebrows with unshakeable resolve. “I only hope that everyone remembers... All for the Spirit Race!”

Among the Otherworldly Demons, his name was not Liu Yang, but Yang Liu. The "Brother Yang" everyone referred to was indeed him.

Anyway, he wasn't particularly well-known among humans, so reversing his name now would go unnoticed.

As for gathering all forces today and finding a way to control the Spirit Race, this was precisely what his teacher had specifically instructed him to do before going to the Spirit Emperor Palace.

“All for the Spirit Race!”

Everyone rose simultaneously, each filled with excitement.

As expected of Emperor Yong's chosen successor, he truly was the pillar of the Spirit Race!

“Now that the alliance is formed, let's first decide how we should proceed...” Just as Liu Yang, seeing everyone's conviction, was about to continue speaking, his eyebrow twitched, and he flipped his wrist.

A communication jade token appeared in his palm. He glanced at it, and his eyes immediately narrowed.

“Alliance Leader, what happened?” an Otherworldly Demon asked, looking over.

“Emperor Chen Ling is rounding up cultivators above the Saint Realm and performing life sacrifices at the city's altar. It's said that he has already slaughtered thirty thousand people...”

Liu Yang clenched his fist.

“Thirty thousand people?”

“He's an animal...”

The people in the room could no longer contain themselves and stood up in unison.

Even among the exceptionally talented Otherworldly Demons, those who reach the Saint Realm are few. Sacrificing the lives of their own people, and slaughtering tens of thousands at once—has this guy gone mad?

“Alliance Leader, what do we do now?”

Everyone was on the verge of exploding, looking in unison at Liu Yang in the center.

“Using life sacrifices combined with treasures, he must be trying to worship the Spirit God, to pray for power and rapidly recover from his injuries!” Liu Yang stated.

Everyone nodded.

Emperor Chen Ling's injuries were extremely severe; healing them through self-cultivation alone would take an unknown amount of time, perhaps even a lifetime of despair. Only by sacrificing to the deities could he hope to recover!

However, the cost of such a sacrifice was immense, especially when seeking power. It required not only treasures but also fresh blood.

The rules of heaven and earth dictate fairness in all things; one must pay to gain. Even deities are no exception.

Knowing that this person had slaughtered tens of thousands, everyone realized he must be conducting an enormous ritual sacrifice.

“What we must do is immediately organize a team to stop him from carrying out this sacrifice. Otherwise, if we let him continue, it will be too late for everything...” Liu Yang stated firmly.

“Alright!”

Everyone nodded in unison.

They had to stop him. Otherwise, if he succeeded and his injuries fully recovered, any further resistance would be futile.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just as they were about to break through the surrounding enchantments to stop Emperor Chen Ling's sacrifice, the ground trembled violently, like a colossal thunderclap. Rushing out of the room, they looked towards the source of the sound and saw a powerful surge of energy emanating from the very center of the King City, where Emperor Chen Ling's sacrifice was taking place.

An explosion in that location? Could it be that the sacrifice had failed?

“What happened?”

Unable to contain himself any longer, Liu Yang turned to look at the guards stationed in the courtyard.

One guard, filled with excitement, his voice somewhat shrill, exclaimed: “It's Emperor Yong... Emperor Yong isn't dead! He's back!”