Mutual Destruction
As Zhang Xuezhou continued forward along the path created by the roots of the Willow Tree, a familiar secret place came into view.
The former glory of the Heavenly Court is now buried in these collapsed ruins.
Donghua promoted the merger of Kunlun and Lingxiao, but this secret place, which was destroyed and left as a memorial, was not included in the merger.
"Come out! What's the point of hiding? Where's your former shrewdness and strategic brilliance?"
Sent into this secret place by the Willow God, Zhang Xuezhou looked around but found no trace of Donghua, so he couldn't help but shout out loud.
The roots behind him quickly retreated back into the ground as if they had encountered a natural enemy. It was an unexpected turn of events that Li Changgeng's Demonic Sound Technique could restrain Liu Shen.
Zhang Xuezhou stared intently at this secret space, searching for every trace of decay.
"You... now that you have seen me, the Emperor, why do you not kneel!"
The Emperor's voice came, and Zhang Xuezhou glanced at it.
"The Wraith is the size of a three-year-old child, with long hair, blood-red eyes, night vision, and the ability to mimic voices. It can infiltrate shadows and possesses a certain degree of stealth attack capability. In the past, it impersonated the Emperor to deliver imperial decrees, and after the fall of Kunlun, it guarded the Imperial Treasury!"
The characteristics of the demons mentioned by Zhang Hao quickly came to mind for Zhang Xuezhou.
The demons used to work very well with the Emperor, but without proper information, they can be exposed very quickly.
But it was precisely because of this cooperation that Zhang Xuezhou quickly determined that Donghua had indeed been here, and even commanded the demons to deal with Zhang Xuezhou.
"You demons can't defeat me. You've corrupted the body of the Haotian Emperor and obtained everything from him. Why are you hiding and afraid to show your face? Where has your arrogance as a cultivator gone?"
Despite Zhang Xuezhou's repeated provocations, Donghua remained silent, and even Wangliang, who had spoken earlier, stopped talking.
However, Zhang Xuezhou was certain that Donghua was very likely located in this secret place.
"My companions are all outside the secret realm; I've come alone. Don't you dare come out to meet me?"
If Donghua's retreat under the combined attack of Zhang Xuezhou, the new emperor, and Divine Lord Zhenyuan was a normal move, then the fact that the other party was currently hiding did indeed make Zhang Xuezhou somewhat suspicious.
Are you afraid of me?
Or are you plotting something?
"Wraith, you should still recognize me. If you can't distinguish between the real and fake Emperor, it's best not to interfere and use magic to conceal him!"
Zhang Xuezhou spoke repeatedly.
He was someone who had appeared among the gods of the Heavenly Court under the Emperor. Many old gods had seen him once, and even if the gods didn't care about him, they wouldn't be so careless as to not recognize him when they met.
The demon hesitated slightly before speaking, perhaps recognizing the person.
Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly reminded him, only to hear a low groan.
"Don't push me, or we'll both die!"
As expected, Donghua's voice rang out, allowing Zhang Xuezhou to determine the location.
"Interesting!"
Zhang Xuezhou looked slightly taken aback, his gaze fixed on the area behind the bronze throne.
That was where Donghua was, but Donghua didn't show himself or stand up; instead, he just made some harsh threats.
This reversal of priorities in the threat made Zhang Xuezhou sigh, and for a moment he almost thought that he had been the dominant party in the past.
But in all these decades, he has never been truly dominant; all of his actions have been counterattacks from the weak.
Even now, Zhang Xuezhou, wielding the spirit wood staff, was not confident he could defeat Donghua. He even doubted that the spirit wood staff could break through the Emperor's physical body.
Donghua's threat at this moment was like Zhang Xuezhou's ability to instantly kill his opponent, forcing him to choose his trump card for a counterattack.
"What method do you intend to use to take me down with you?"
Zhang Xuezhou walked slowly, holding the spirit wood staff, and circled around to look behind the bronze throne.
"Let's die together!"
Before Zhang Xuezhou could clearly discern the shadow of Donghua lurking behind the bronze throne, he felt the secret place tremble violently, and the world instantly turned pitch black.
"Oops!"
As he leaped into the air, Zhang Xuezhou felt countless dust particles and pebbles raining down on him, plunging everything inside the secret realm into chaos.
The electric sparks guided by the intense friction of the geomagnetic elemental light illuminated part of the area, as well as the rapid fall into the pitch-black mystery.
Donghua's swift suicide caught Zhang Xuezhou completely off guard. He had only just asked a question when Donghua unleashed his power.
Just thinking about how Donghua originally wanted to destroy the Immortal Court by crashing into the Kunlun Secret Realm, Zhang Xuezhou knew very well that this secret realm would inevitably experience an impact collision.
Flying through the air is useless, and hiding underground won't save you from the impact. There's no safe area in the secret realm; you can only rely on your strength to hold on, just like how Yuanshi Tianzun survived using the Zhutian Qingyun Technique.
Zhang Xuezhou has always acted unpredictably, and Zhang Xuezhou is even more so. With just a few words, they started talking about mutual destruction, something Zhang Xuezhou never imagined.
"Willow Goddess! Willow Goddess, quickly pull me out!"
Zhang Xuezhou called out, but the Willow God, who had brought him here by relying on the tree roots, did not respond. Only the demon that had previously imitated the Emperor's voice let out a scream.
"The Willow Goddess was instantly torn apart. Taotie, Chong, Changqin—the Holy Son was right. The Emperor is indeed problematic. He is no longer the Emperor he once was; he has gone mad!"
The demon cried out repeatedly. His eyes could see everything in the darkness, and he saw the willow god's demon body being torn in two. The instantaneous break caused the willow god's countless tree roots to roll back and forth in the secret place, bursting out a dying scene.
Zhang Xuezhou found it hard to accept that Donghua had so quickly resorted to a suicidal tactic. To powerful figures like Wangliang, this was undoubtedly a crazy and unacceptable act.
There was no fighting, no pulling or tugging at the emperor and empress, no arguing, and none of the usual procedures were followed; everyone simply faced destruction.
In such a chaotic and uncontrolled collision in a secret location, no one can guarantee their survival.
"The Emperor has truly gone mad!"
"Everyone goes crazy if they live too long, and I'm about to go crazy too!"
"If living this long enough will drive me insane, I'd rather not have the five hundred years of lifespan from this Immortality Elixir!"
Three more Kunlun deities spoke from the darkness. These deities hadn't even figured out the situation, but instead, like a suicide squad, they mentioned their uncontrollable impulses and symptoms of madness.
The group exchanged only a few words before starting to sing a ballad, seemingly indifferent to life and death, and unafraid of the death brought by the collision with the secret realm.
"I don't want to die! If you have any treasures or Technique Method, please use them to protect me!"
A purple Law Power light shone over his body, and Zhang Xuezhou could only unleash his full power, maximizing his body's defensive capabilities.
He watched the geomagnetic light flashing wildly with electricity. At that moment, he felt as if he were sitting on a runaway rocket, the rocket almost melting from friction with the atmosphere. Even though Zhang Xuezhou knew that there was a potentially safe space outside the geomagnetic light, he would find it difficult to penetrate and escape.
For him, a hard landing was the only option.
If the gods of Kunlun choose death, he hopes these great gods can lend him a hand.
Zhang Xuezhou cried out for help, and a piece of animal hide covered in barbs flew over and covered him, while an earthen prison surrounding him materialized.
Later, a dark-colored ancient jade zither exuding Yao Qi was erected in the earthen dungeon.
"I'm not crazy, and I don't want to die!"
The demon emerged from the darkness, its Law Power light distorting the face of this priest, who was only the size of a three-year-old child, as it screamed and squeezed together with Zhang Xuezhou.
Just seconds later, the impact from the secret realm was upon them.
Zhang Xuezhou felt the sky and earth of the secret place tremble three times. Everything around him was instantly smashed to pieces. His crouching body was sometimes squeezed into a ball and sometimes stretched as if it were about to crack, but in the end it was flattened.