"I am willing to offer precious treasures and immortal rarities, to do my humble part in helping Hell prove that it is no weaker than the Heavenly Court..."
Feng Jiu's voice was hoarse, yet filled with sincerity.
"The Heavenly Court's prodigy assassins merely kill a few ordinary prodigies. Even if those prodigies followed their paths step by step to their limits, how many could become Saints, let alone catch up with the founding patriarchs of their traditions and ascend to Great Sainthood?"
"Precious few, I imagine!"
"But what about a Sacred Body?"
"Since ancient times, a great accomplishment Sacred Body has been able to challenge an Ancient Great Emperor!"
"So assassinating a young Sacred Body is equivalent to assassinating a young Great Emperor!"
Feng Jiu spoke earnestly, his words laden with endless temptation.
It had to be said that the Sacred Body Lineage's glorious battle record was simply too alluring. Countless ambitious prodigies and outstanding talents could not resist attacking this target that practically screamed for a beating.
Just listen!
A great accomplishment Sacred Body could challenge a Great Emperor!
-If I could knock a Sacred Body flat, wouldn't that prove I had Great Emperor Potential?
That really drew every last scrap of aggro!
Who could see a Sacred Body on the Emperor Road and not want to rush over, red-faced and impatient, to land a couple of blows?
Now, Feng Jiu had lit a funerary... guiding lamp for Hell's assassins.
To prove the golden reputation of their assassin organization, could anything carry more weight than assassinating a Sacred Body capable of challenging an Ancient Great Emperor?
-Rounding up, I killed a future Great Emperor-level figure!
Just thinking about it made the assassin at Hell's contact station breathe faster, his blood surging.
At that moment, he did not even want to accept the commission anymore. All he wanted was to return to Hell's supreme hall and report to its great figures.
Even without taking the money or accepting the commission, killing a Sacred Body to prove Hell's terror was perfectly reasonable!
-Restoring Hell's prestige is our bounden duty!
Fortunately, a thread of clarity remained in his mind. He licked his lips. "A Sacred Body... Nine inconceivable beings have emerged in this era. Who knows what forbidden methods this one might possess?"
"Those beings died long ago..." Feng Jiu said softly, like a devil whispering temptation. "No tradition in this world is indestructible. Even a legacy left by someone once invincible will lose its luster one day."
"The Sacred Body Lineage may once have reigned supreme, but ultimately, it never established an Ultimate Dao holy land as the Ancient Great Emperors did, nor left behind an Emperor Weapon that served as an extension of an Emperor's life, holding the mortal world in awe..."
"If the Sacred Body Lineage truly possessed forbidden trump cards, how could its families have declined and withered one after another over the years?"
Only that damned Azure Emperor's lineage could have it worse... Feng Jiu grumbled inwardly.
The Azure Emperor!
An Emperor who had attained the Dao as a member of the plant folk, he possessed wisdom that could be called the most "world-shaking" among the thirty Emperors throughout the ages. His record was there for all to see: he had set the record for the fastest decline of an Imperial Clan.
Even the ancient race of Primordial Lake had survived to the present day. After Emperor Yuan passed away, two perfectly accomplished Saint Spirits had attacked them, exacting a terrible price: all three of the Ancient Emperor's sons, each half a step from attaining the Dao, had died in battle. Yet their Ancient Emperor Weapon still deterred all challengers, and their standing remained supreme.
Even the families of the two human Sacred Emperors of Ziwei Star, Taiyin and Taiyang, had endured from the immemorial age to the present. Though others would usurp and steal their legacies in the future, they had still enjoyed over a million years of glory.
Then there was the Feathered Great Emperor's Feathered Divine Dynasty. Its bizarre conduct had cheated even its own ancestor, but before someone destroyed it with a heaven-shattering, earth-annihilating slap, it had commanded the Central Continent and thrown its weight around. It had blood-sacrificed a first-generation sacred physique on a whim, its nostrils pointed skyward in boundless arrogance.
Only that damned Azure Emperor!
In a mere ten thousand years, the Azure Emperor Lineage had declined until only a single Great Power remained, shocking every Imperial Clan and Ancient Emperor clan throughout history.
It was only ten thousand years. Even a Quasi-Emperor could struggle to live nearly that long, and two Saints taking turns could span those ten millennia. It was truly impossible to understand how they had died off until only one Great Power remained within that time.
Even the Sacred Body families fared better.
Of course, not by much.
A living great accomplishment Sacred Body, with blood and vitality at their peak, could challenge an Ancient Great Emperor.
But dead Sacred Bodies had left no Emperor Weapons to shelter their descendants.
Ultimately, their cultivation realm fell short. They were inferior to true Dao attainers, even with alternative Dao attainment.
A true Emperor merged with the Heavenly Heart Imprint, undergoing a transformation of their cultivation realm in every respect, without blind spots or flaws. Even an Emperor who knew nothing about formations could comprehend an Emperor Formation after becoming an Emperor.
Alternative Dao attainment merely reached the same height as an Emperor in one specialized field. In a contest across every field, it still fell short.
During the Chaotic Ancient Era, when this world's Heavenly Heart Imprint coalesced, it had been called an "Immortal King Foundation," meaning that it had wondrous uses even within the immortal Dao domain. How could alternative Dao attainment within the Human Dao Domain fully compare?
Unless a Divine Flower appeared, unfolding extraordinary laws for someone to witness and comprehend, allowing them to attain an inconceivable Dao Fruit. Perhaps that could produce the most extraordinary alternative Dao attainer in all of history.
Once a great accomplishment Sacred Body died, the decline of their family was inevitable, without an Emperor Weapon to deter enemies.
Not to mention that their ancestors had dug enormous pits for their descendants, trapping them so badly that their faces were covered in blood.
Confronting the forbidden zones, fighting bloody battles against the Supremes... Those things were one matter, earning the world's respect.
But certain tales of Sacred Bodies invariably included stories of them giving their essence blood to friends and relatives to extend their lives. That was a truly vicious pitfall!
Life in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands was bitter!
So bitter that even Ultimate Dao Supremes who could shatter seas of stars and destroy universes lived only ten thousand years in a lifetime. Despite their peerlessly invincible combat prowess, they still fell beneath the blade of time, either passing away or severing their own cultivation, clinging to a dying breath as they awaited the path to immortality.
For the sake of eternal life, some Ancient Emperors and Great Emperors had gone mad, casting aside their humanity, unleashing dark turmoil, and slaughtering all living beings.
With eternal life beyond their reach, people settled for the next best thing and sought to extend their lifespans. That was perfectly normal, was it not?
Unfortunately.
Immortal Medicine was hard to find.
A king of medicines required eighty thousand years of waiting.
Dragon loaches, immortal peaches, and the like were also rare.
Then came a verifiable piece of news: sacred blood could extend one's life?
Who would not be tempted!
No one dared approach a true great accomplishment Sacred Body to drain their blood.
But what about a Sacred Body's descendants?
Perhaps their blood would work too?
"Even their family legacies have withered, and many descendants of Sacred Bodies have died unnatural deaths. Yet precious few methods left by the great accomplishment Sacred Bodies have appeared..."
"So what does Hell need to fear?"
"A Sacred Body at the Great Power level, even with an impure bloodline, might still be able to extend a King's life, might it not?"
"Is that still not worth taking action?"
"Besides, I will pay a deposit..."
Feng Jiu said leisurely, "I have half a cubic measure of Nine Heavens Divine Jade here. I will leave one-third of it as an advance deposit..."
"Once the deed is done, bring me that Sacred Body's remains, and I will pay you the remaining two-thirds..."
"So, is Hell willing to accept this commission?"
"If not... then I will have no choice but to approach Human World."
If Hell could not do it, he would find Human World!
At those words, the assassin's expression changed. He spoke with utmost gravity. "Rest assured, fellow Daoist. I will bring you that Sacred Body's head!"