"Once you wear the mask too long, can’t you take it off again..."
Zhong Shenxiu ultimately chose to use the identity of the Undying Evil Emperor to wage war against the Great Wu Dynasty.
This, of course, was not for the sake of the Shanyao Gang.
The kindness he had shown to the Shanyao Gang before seemed generous, but it was merely a way to make himself feel comfortable.
It was easy to mislead those unaware of the facts.
Choosing the identity of the Undying Evil Emperor this time was for the sake of future finalization and planning.
Of course, it sounded much cooler.
The Evil Emperor stepping into the Imperial Palace, overwhelming the present world!
It indeed sounded very cool and impressive.
If it were changed to Xun Liuyi destroying the Imperial Palace, that flavor would be a bit lacking.
Even a thousand years later, if recorded erroneously, it might end up as Gou Liuyi destroying the Imperial Palace, leaving behind the anecdote "Dog Tramples the Imperial City"... Pah Pah Pah!
Zhong Shenxiu shivered and quickly expelled this thought from his mind.
At that moment, he saw the severely wounded Blood Robe Duke in front of him.
Dressed in white, now dyed red by his own vomited blood, indeed making him the Blood Robe Duke.
In Zhong Shenxiu’s ears rang the still powerful voice of the Blood Robe Duke, "The Stone Buddha Scripture!? Stone Buddha Temple truly is full of rebellious traitors; after I killed the Great Mo Monk, I should have immediately eradicated that band of bald thieves!"
He was one of the three Great Grandmasters who had surrounded the Saint Monk initially; how could he not recognize the stone skin defense on Zhong Shenxiu?
"Blood Robe Duke... don’t flatter yourself too much."
Zhong Shenxiu’s voice was hoarse and sinister, "With your capability, you couldn’t break the Saint Monk’s Stone Buddha Unbreakable Divine Power. The Saint Monk spared you that day merely because you were the weakest... you must know between Grandmasters, there are differences too."
Even though the combat power of Great Grandmasters is close, making it hard to determine the winner, there are always one or two who transcend common sense!
The Saint Monk was one.
And Zhong Shenxiu himself, likewise.
Having cultivated three Divine Skills and having re-cultivated the Nine Lives Evil Technique back to nine lives, he believed that on the Heavenly List, there was no one he could not handle!
Of course, confidence is one thing. The real test would be a hands-on experience.
At that moment, he was ready to use the royal court as a whetstone to test the quality of his Divine Skill.
The Stone Buddha Unbreakable was not merely covering his body with a layer of solid stone.
It was rather a more metaphysical concept.
In the eyes of the Blood Robe Duke, standing before him was no longer the Evil Emperor, but an instantly expanding, tree-like growing, high-reaching Stone Buddha, looking at him with a compassionate gaze.
Compared to this enormous Stone Buddha, the Blood Robe Duke was nothing but an ant!
This represented that in the clash of Grandmasters blending with heaven and earth, the Blood Robe Duke had been completely overwhelmed by the divine spirit!
Following this, Zhong Shenxiu was confident that within thirty moves, he could take this Great Grandmaster’s life without sustaining much injury!
However, the royal court would not allow such an outcome.
In the battle of Great Grandmasters, even Grandmasters are mere ants, therefore, the only possible intervention could come from another Great Grandmaster!
Zhong Shenxiu sensed a flash of Sword Qi.
Like the Milky Way pouring in reverse, a peerless belt swept across the sky, turning into thousands of sword shadows, each falling petal of the sword blossom contained supreme sharpness, its exploding Sword Qi enough to behead Grandmasters!
"Excellent swordsmanship, today’s visit is regretful not to see the Lingnan Moth Sword!"
Zhong Shenxiu needed no weapon; his body was his best weapon. His fingers, covered in stone skin, pinched and pressed, instantly shattering each sword blossom.
The swordsmanship suddenly changed, flowing like mercury, and amid the immense Sword Intent, a figure abruptly appeared.
His hair and beard were completely white, and he held a three-foot-long sword, moving his sword slowly yet swiftly among thousands of other sword strikes.
Eighth on the Heavenly List, Royal Tributor of the Great Wu Dynasty, wielder of the Thousand Silk Sword, Mu Tianliu!
The tip of his sword suddenly split, and the blade evenly divided into countless strands as fine as cow hair, resembling iron worms with a life of their own, locking Zhong Shenxiu’s surrounding space and explosively stabbing towards the center.
Refining the sword into silk!
True refinement of the sword into silk!
Through the spiritual perception of the Great Grandmaster, Zhong Shenxiu felt that the object in his opponent’s hand was not an ordinary iron sword, but rather the opponent’s own body!
The sword in his hand was a part of his body.
This was not a metaphor; it was reality!
Countless fine needles fell on Zhong Shenxiu, creating a crisp explosion like rain hitting banana leaves or pearls dropping onto a jade plate.
The Stone Buddha Scripture, truly one of the four great odd books, formed a defense with its Divine Skills that was incomparably firm, forcibly breaking all those myriad fine needles.
The broken needles fell to the ground, quickly crawled up Mu Tianliu’s trouser legs, and gathered in his palm to reforge into a dark iron sword.
He moved to one side, forming a pincer attack with the Blood-Clothed Marquis against Zhong Shenxiu.
"To be honest... I’m rather puzzled... what did the Great Wu Dynasty give you to make you serve it so loyally unto death?"
Zhong Shenxiu sighed.
Although the Wu Dynasty was legitimate, each Grandmaster possessed their own unique will, like Yan Wushuang.
And for a Great Grandmaster, believing that they were bought by the court to exert effort for it seemed probable, but to risk their lives and sacrifice themselves seemed excessively unreasonable.
"How could someone like you, a traitorous subject and rebel, understand our loyalty to His Majesty and to the court?"
Mu Tianliu caressed his long sword, a stern aura emerging from him.
Zhong Shenxiu’s expression turned solemn; he sensed the resolve of these two Great Grandmasters—they were determined to fight him even if it meant risking their own lives!
’Could there be something wrong with the dynasty’s Cultivation Technique? Have their minds degraded after becoming Great Grandmasters?’
His expression darkened, and he sighed, "It’s a pity that the court just updated the Heavenly List, and now it will be lessened by quite a few..."
Different stands, different beliefs, at this moment there was nothing more to say, only... battle!
The Blood-Clothed Marquis let out a long howl. His Cultivation Technique was special—the more he was injured, the more unmatched his fighting spirit and strength became.
At this moment, he beat his chest, and blood beads seeped out of his pores.
The blood beads suddenly exploded, turning into a mist of blood and forming a rainbow in the air, within which a long, monstrous phantom appeared with sharp teeth and claws and a thousand legs, pouncing towards Zhong Shenxiu.
At the same time, Mu Tianliu let out a clear whistle, thrusting 365 swords in an instant!
Each sword shadow crisscrossed through the void, capable of slicing metal and breaking jade, with unequalled majesty.
After these 365 swords, he thrust another, pushing forward the countless preceding shadows, like the waves of the Yangtze River, sending waves of sword Qi surging towards Zhong Shenxiu.
The two Heavenly List Great Grandmasters, forming a joint attack, even a Saint Monk had to handle them carefully!
Zhong Shenxiu brought his hands together, suddenly pushing out one palm to the left and the other to the right.
Behind him, the giant stone Buddha seemed to move as well, under its huge Buddha’s Palm, any waves of blood or sword Qi would turn to dust.
However, in that instant, a nearly transparent thread, incredibly threading through the exchanges of the other Great Grandmasters, like a fishing line wielded by a rod, cleverly entered into the fray, its end charged with formidable true power, striking directly at Zhong Shenxiu’s brow!
Fifth on the Heavenly List, East Sea Fisherman’s Whale Fishing Technique!
The Great Grandmasters surrounding the Undying Evil Emperor were not two, but three!