Spoils of War

Although Huang Huai had absolute confidence in Guan Erye, he still felt a bit nervous. As Huang Huai secretly wondered how Guan Erye would react to the combined attack of He Yuan and the Scarlet Body Ghost Face Yaksha God, Guan Erye's divine eyes, which had been half-closed, suddenly snapped open. A divine light shot out from his phoenix eyes. In the next moment, Guan Erye's divine eyes, devoid of any emotion, turned towards He Yuan. The divine radiance that had emanated from his body suddenly flared, instantly engulfing He Yuan's body like a blazing sun.

Seeing the endless killing intent in those divine eyes, a chill that seemed to originate from the depths of his soul rose within him. He Yuan's ferocious face froze instantly, and the Scarlet Body Ghost Face Yaksha God's divine body, which covered his form, shattered the moment the divine radiance touched it.

He Yuan's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared intently at the Holy Lord Emperor Guan, who hadn't moved but had effortlessly extinguished his life force with his vast divine might. He then looked at Huang Huai, who was protected behind the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's divine body, and murmured, "Who exactly is this deity?"

Cracks began to appear all over He Yuan's body. At this moment, He Yuan's soul, will, and powerful life force were all annihilated by the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's divine might, leaving only a sliver of obsession.

Huang Huai also hadn't expected Guan Erye to simply open his eyes and, with his divine might alone, instantly kill the incredibly arrogant Mo, who had been so arrogant just moments before.

Witnessing He Yuan's life force vanish the instant Guan Erye opened his eyes, Huang Huai couldn't help but recall the saying.

"Guan Gong does not open his eyes. When he opens them, blood is sure to be shed!"

Huang Huai glanced indifferently at He Yuan, whose eyes were filled with unwillingness, and said with a hint of disdain, "Remember this, your executioner is the Great Emperor Who Subdues Demons of the Three Realms, the Holy Lord Emperor Guan, whose divine might suppresses the heavens!"

As Huang Huai's voice fell, He Yuan's body instantly disintegrated, turning into a mist of blood and vanishing.

At the same time, the Holy Lord Emperor Guan, who had opened his eyes and displayed his divine might, closed them again. His divine body, radiating endless authority, then dissipated. The divine light receded, and when Huang Huai looked again, the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue was still enshrined on the altar, radiating solemn majesty. The incense candles that had just begun to burn still emitted a faint aroma of incense and fire.

Meanwhile, the moment the Holy Lord Emperor Guan manifested, a beam of divine light shot up into the sky, and a divine phantom of the Holy Lord Emperor Guan appeared, covering almost the entire Shun'an Ward.

Almost all cultivators were alarmed. They looked up at the sky and saw the immensely powerful Emperor, whose eyes were half-closed, suddenly open his phoenix eyes. All those who witnessed the Emperor opening his eyes felt an bone-chilling, endless killing intent, and their hearts were filled with a sense of impending doom.

At the Great River Sect's encampment, Yang Li, the Sect Leader, clad only in his inner garment, and the Second Elder Zhang Yan, along with several other high-ranking members of the Great River Sect, all cast their gazes in the direction of Shun'an Ward.

"Such heavy killing intent, such terrifying divine might. As expected of a being of Imperial Sovereign. I wonder what blind fool dared to provoke such a powerful being into acting without restraint."

Hearing his Sect Leader's sigh, Zhang Yan said with a hint of self-mockery, "To that being, we are no different from ants. Does such an existence need to consider the feelings of ants when acting?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Great River Sect looked grim. Han Song let out a sigh and said with forced cheerfulness, "If nothing unexpected happens, that being is likely living in the Shun'an Ward area. As long as we find them and serve them carefully, it might not be a bad thing for our Great River Sect."

Yang Li sighed and looked at them, "This is the top priority for our Great River Sect. Everyone must take it seriously."

Meanwhile, in the house next door to Huang Huai's, Tang Yuan suddenly sat up from his bed. Looking through the window, he saw the scene of the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's divine spirit opening his eyes and unleashing his killing intent above Shun'an Ward. He was deeply shaken.

The divine phantom disappeared in an instant, but Tang Yuan's heart was still in turmoil. He put on his outer robe, got out of bed, and walked to his desk. On the desk lay the "Nine Heavens Divine Spirit Painting" he had drawn during the day.

Looking at the Emperor in the painting, whose eyes were half-closed, he recalled the immense power and terrifying killing intent displayed when the divine spirit opened his eyes just moments ago. Tang Yuan murmured softly, "Lin'er is right. When this Emperor opens his eyes, it's a completely different scene, because it signifies endless killing!"

Huang Huai was unaware that the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's manifestation to save him had caused such a commotion. However, at this moment, Huang Huai was bowing respectfully to the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue.

Kneeling before the Statue, Huang Huai bowed sincerely. Looking at the Statue, Huang Huai could feel that it seemed dimmer than before.

Because Huang Huai was too familiar with this particular Statue of the Holy Lord Emperor Guan, he could detect the subtle change. An ordinary person would never have noticed it.

Recalling the scene moments ago when the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue manifested and annihilated the Mo with its divine might alone, and then looking at the dimmer Statue, Huang Huai had a vague guess.

Even if the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue had undergone some change after arriving in this world, no matter how it changed, the power consumed during its manifestation to slay the demon must have come from somewhere.

Thinking of the Seventh Elder of the Great River Sect's manifestation of the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess, which absorbed incense and fire, and the common phenomenon of people worshipping Guardian Deities and Guardian Spirits for peace, Huang Huai felt that he had roughly grasped the relationship between the manifestation of statues and incense and fire.

Now that the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue had dimmed after manifesting, it was likely because the manifestation to slay the demon had consumed the incense and fire power contained within it.

With this guess, Huang Huai's gratitude deepened. He now roughly surmised that the Statue had dimmed considerably because it had consumed the accumulated incense and fire power. Therefore, he had a way to replenish the consumed incense and fire power for the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue.

After worshipping the Statue, Huang Huai could barely contain his joy. Although he didn't know why the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue had suddenly manifested when he was in danger, it was undeniable that Guan Erye had manifested to save him. That was enough for him.

With the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue present, he had at least some reliance and confidence, didn't he!

He stood up and placed two rather conspicuous Molotov cocktails aside. Fortunately, the Holy Lord Emperor Guan had manifested. Otherwise, if he had thrown those two Molotov cocktails, his newly purchased house would likely have gone up in flames.

His gaze swept across the area, and Huang Huai paused, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes.

He Yuan and the Scarlet Body Ghost Face Yaksha God he worshipped had turned to dust under Guan Erye's divine might. Apart from a faint smell of blood in the air, there was no need for cleaning. However, where He Yuan's body had collapsed, a palm-sized Jade Ruyi and a pale green bead shimmering with an unusual luster remained.

Seeing this, He Yuan couldn't help but show a hint of surprise. He had never seen either this Jade Ruyi or the pale green bead before. It went without saying that these two items were the belongings left behind by He Yuan after his death.

To be honest, when He Yuan and his worshipped divine statue had turned to dust without a trace under Guan Erye's divine might, Huang Huai hadn't even considered looting the corpse for treasures. He didn't even have the conditions to do so; they had been completely obliterated.

Yet, after He Yuan had turned to dust, these two items remained. Even if Huang Huai was slow to react, he would realize that these two items were likely not ordinary.

After all, if they were ordinary items, they would never have survived the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's manifestation!

Thinking of this, a flicker of anticipation flashed in Huang Huai's eyes. Just as he was about to step forward, he paused, as if remembering something. He first bowed towards the Holy Lord Emperor Guan's Statue and said, "Great Emperor above, please bless me!"