Chapter 761 — The Fierce Fiend's Mask

Suddenly a gateway came flying in and landed with a thunderous boom at the center of heaven and earth.

"The Heavenly Gate of Mingdu!"

Lu Li and the other gods and demon-gods cried out in alarm; the power of that Heavenly Gate of Mingdu pressed down, and everyone's primordial spirit sank with a jolt; one after another they were crushed flat to the ground, unable to move.

Di Yiyue's figure floated up; barefoot, she stood upon the Heavenly Gate of Mingdu and raised her head to look up, a half-smile on her lips. "My husband, why not come in your true body? Why manifest only through your divine arts? Your wife would so love to hear your sweet words again."

Upon the dark vault of heaven, the many faces of the Yin Son of Heaven quivered without cease; suddenly all the faces merged into one, and that face too gradually faded and vanished.

"Di Yiyue, I have indeed wronged you, and so I do not contend with you — not because I fear you."

His voice grew more and more distant. "But my task is already done. I cut open Fengdu not to stop you myself, but to let the power of Youdu enter. Heavenly King of Mingdu, you severed Tubo's horn to establish Fengdu; now you must settle your debt with Tubo! And now, I can retire, my work accomplished..."

Startled, Di Yiyue hurriedly looked toward the Nai River.

The Nai River fell suddenly silent.

The monsters and demon-gods that had poured from the river no longer fought; they stood motionless. Lu Li, Xuanming, and the other two of the four commissioners stationed themselves before the army of Youdu demon-gods, waiting in stern array.

From the Nai River a paper boat drifted out, its lantern light like a pillar, illuminating Fengdu.

At the bow an old man whose face could not be made out rose to his feet, lifted a hand to take down his hurricane lamp, and stood expressionless.

Then more paper boats drifted out, one after another; countless paper boats flew from the Nai River, and upon each stood an old man whose face could not be made out, holding a hurricane lamp that could rend the darkness!

Countless paper boats floated up into the sky, and the light of the hurricane lamps shone in every direction. The sky trembled, twisted, contracted; the earth rumbled and drew in upon itself, and the towering mountains in the darkness shrank down into the ground one after another, returning to flatness!

The space that Di Yiyue, Tian Shu the Heavenly King, and King Yan had opened up together just moments before was, in the blink of an eye, forced back to its original form by the old Yin courier!

"The Vaisravana Heavenly Palace!"

King Yan bellowed, and the earth shook without cease; in the darkness divine cities emerged one after another, their dark, heavy walls as though cast from black iron, standing deep within Fengdu. That place was the Vaisravana Heavenly Palace, one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces of the Kaigong Heavenly Court.

"Heroic spirits who died in battle for Kaigong!"

King Yan stared fixedly at the paper boats filling the sky, drew his sword and raised it high, and cried in a stern voice, "Bones of those who died in battle for Kaigong! I beseech you — fight once more for Kaigong!"

Boom, boom.

From the black-iron divine cities came terrifying tremors; within them, tall skeletal figures rose slowly to their feet, seized tattered weapons, and stood in silence, ghostly blue flames blazing in their eye sockets.

These were the gods and demon-gods who had fallen in the battle that destroyed the Kaigong era; their divine bones had been buried in Fengdu, and now they answered King Yan's call, waking from death.

Suddenly the gate of one black-iron divine city swung wide, and from it charged a three-headed beast, bearing a skeletal god on its back as it raced forward, hooves drumming fast.

The skeletal god carried a tattered great banner on his shoulder; the banner streamed in the wind, and one could just make out that it bore the character "Yue."

Upon the Heavenly Gate of Mingdu, Di Yiyue stared blankly at that "Yue" banner, and suddenly tears burst from her eyes.

That was her standard.

As the First Heavenly King, she too had possessed her own army of gods and demon-gods; but before the catastrophe struck she had left, to wed the Yin Son of Heaven.

Now she saw her banner again — but her subordinates had become white bone.

Even turned to bone, they still bore her war banner!

The skeletal god came racing up; suddenly the beast beneath him halted, and the god came to a heavy stop, planting the great banner beneath the Heavenly Gate of Mingdu, head raised and chest thrown out in pride.

Behind him, countless skeletal gods and demon-gods came marching with a clatter, halting at his back, orderly as one.

The gates of the black-iron divine cities swung wide, and more skeletal gods and demon-gods poured out, forming into squares, silent and soundless, arrayed against the paper boats in the sky.

The old man on the paper boat shook out his sleeve, and countless paper figures and paper horses flew from it, transforming into countless gods and demon-gods.

Neither side made a sound; they faced each other in stillness.

"To sever Tubo's horn is to pay a price."

On one of the paper boats, the old Yin courier held his hurricane lamp and spoke with utter calm. "The rules of Youdu may not be broken. Return Fengdu today, and no life will be harmed. Refuse, and not a blade of grass will remain."

Di Yiyue and the others felt a chill in their hearts. Tian Shu, clutching his wine jar, poured it down his throat madly and shouted, "Prefect, I'm the one who cut off Tubo's horn! If you've got the guts, come after me alone!"

"You're drunk again."

The old man on the paper boat glanced at him and said mildly, "There is no need to try to resist. For a million years, the worlds destroyed for resisting me are beyond counting. Once the rules of Youdu are violated, there are no innocents."

Di Yiyue laughed coldly. "Mingdu is also Tubo's horn! Why does the Prefect not go and destroy Mingdu, instead of bullying us? The rules of Youdu are horseshit — whoever is stronger than you can twist your horseshit rules however they please!"

The old Yin courier frowned and said no more.

The hurricane lamp's light continued to shine, and Fengdu was about to be forced back to its original form.

King Yan gritted his teeth, gripped the sword in his palm tightly, and said in a low voice, "Prepare to fight to the death!"

The old Yin courier sighed. "Stubborn and unrepentant."

Suddenly, on the bridge between life and death, Shen Mu carved a mask and tossed it down to one of the paper boats below.

The old Yin courier looked down at the mask. It was a familiar ghost-face mask, bearing two tear streaks.

The old Yin courier raised his head and looked up at the bridge. Shen Mu said softly, "I understand now. I've come back."

The old Yin courier's body gave a great shudder; the paper boats filling the sky suddenly collided, and the countless old Yin couriers merged into one, who bent down and picked up the mask.

The old man stared at the mask for a moment, then put it on the back of his head.

"Mu."

He raised his head to look at the youth on the bridge. "You've come back. Do you know how many years have passed?"