The Immortal Emperor Returns

Chapter 249 The Might of the Firmament Chain

Like a withering plant coming back to life quickly, Chu Xun’s body recovered at an exponential rate—his hair began to shine once more, his hair soft and smooth again, and his aura spiking high speedily.

“Stop that, you puny ant! I’ll let you go! I’d even take you as my personal apprentice!” The voice in the cave boomed with a tinge of fear.

Such was the indomitable might of the Firmament Chain, that whatever the giant skeletal hand had robbed from Chu Xun, it was being drawn back in full.

The monster inside the cave let loose a series of angry, guttural howls.

Forged by the very laws of Nature, the Firmament Chain had been consuming Chu Xun’s True Energy while keeping him in check, and the gigantic skeletal hand’s draining away of Chu Xun’s life had angered it.

The Chain pulsed with another blinding glow, then it withdrew quickly.

Crack!

An ear-splitting clap of bones cracking resounded and the skeletal hand began splitting.

“What devilry is this, you puny ant! Take it away! Take it away now or I’ll smash you to bits!”

“Who do you think you are,” Chu Xun scoffed and said, “You should worry about yourself instead of making threats.”

“For thousands of years I have endured, imbecile, you think something as paltry as this can kill me? Just you wait. I’ll get out and I’ll skin you alive and make an oil lamp out of your hide and I’ll keep you for ten thousand years.” The disembodied voice spat with boundless hatred.

“I’ll await your coming back with bated breath.” Chu Xun taunted.

He was very much surprised himself. He did not expect and could not believe that the Firmament Chain would manifest itself just to save him.

Crack!

Webs of cracks, like the work of a spider, spread across the ivory hand with flakes of bone chipping away at being grounded by the withdrawing Chain. Suddenly, all five digits of the hand burst into splinters.

Boom!

The entire hand ultimately exploded into bits and the Chains fully retreated back into him.

Bang! Bang...!

The giant skeletal hand, which had been more than tens of meters long, had been crushed and destroyed.

“Argghhh... One day... One day, boy... I shall return...” the voice echoed from inside the cave, sounding frailer and weaker by the second until everything went silent.

Chu Xun projected his Divine Sense into the cave and sensed the fissure in the barrier of dark light healing, closing back.

By then, the Firmament Chain had completely returned back inside him and resumed its slumber.

A cold glint flashed in Chu Xun’s eyes, and he charged towards where the battles were still raging.

Boom!

Golden light trails followed in the wake of the movements of his golden staff as he brought it down hard on one of the hooded men, killing him instantly.

“KILL THEM ALL!”

Angry beyond measure, Chu Xun caught sight of a Human King of the Sifang Sword Sect and swung his staff around at him with more trails of sparkling gold shadowing closely behind.

Boom!

The Human King saw him coming and did all he could to defend himself but in vain. The golden staff smashed his skull, blowing off the whole upper half of his body altogether.

“You’re all going to die here.”

With his aura thick with rancor and malice, Chu Xun made full use of his fists and staff.

Bang!

Another Human King of the Sifang Sword Sect fell, collapsing with mists of blood spraying from his wound.

The hooded men and members of the Sifang Sword Sect thought of retreating when they saw the gigantic white hand being destroyed. But Chu Xun was just too quick for them and he did not intend to let anyone of them walk free.

In barely seconds, Chu Xun had effortlessly killed three of their number, frightening the Sifang Sword Sect members and the Cultists alike to their wits’ end.

More so for the members of the Sifang Sword Sect, who were all regretting coming and Chu Xun was now vengefully picking them out one by one.

“Chu the Devil, it was true that we have erred. But we beg of your mercy. Let us go and we shall never cross your path again, we so swear...”

Bang!

He could not even finish. Chu Xun’s response came abruptly in the form of his golden staff smashing into his face, reducing his skull to a grotesque pulp of flesh and blood.

“I made a vow that I would slaughter each and every one of the Sifang Sword Sect,” Chu Xun growled.

Puff!

Jiu You’s spear barreled through one of the men’s throat like a dragon. The spear rang a metallic sound, and the man’s head erupted.

Thud!

Winsome Widow, with the Purple-gold Armor’s tenacious defensive capabilities, took a hit from her enemy and retaliated with a fiery blow from her fist, burning the man alive until he turned into blackened crisps.

Puff!

Not far away, blood fountained in an arterial spray several meters tall. Snarling victoriously, Yan Chong quartered his enemy into two at the waist and with his broad-faced saber, he beheaded the man.

Roaring like a conquering hero, Lei Bao swung his sword breaker and split the head of his enemy, one of the hooded men who had lost his will to fight.

The tables were immediately turned around with Chu Xun’s return.

“Chu the Devil... Kill me if you will... You will die nonetheless... The Sifang Sword Sect has been conspiring with others to kill you... It will not be long... Hahahaha...”

With frost in his eyes, Chu Xun hissed, “They need not come seeking for me. Rest assured that I will pay a call to them myself.”

Bang!

The golden staff screamed through the air, slamming into the man and he instantly burst into bits, utterly obliterated.

With that, all seven of the Human Kings mobilized by the Sifang Sword Sect for this mission, were all butchered, all thanks to Chu Xun.

The remaining members of the Broken Souls Cult were left petrified with shock and despair at Chu Xun’s might and savagery.

It did not take long for them to be slaughtered as well.

Chu Xun flicked several spurts of Immortal Qi into his companions, helping them to regain their strengths and heal themselves.

“Thank you so much for your help, sir!” Chu Xun said gratefully to Yu Cheng.

“Slaying monsters and defeating evil is our responsibility, my friend,” said Yu Cheng, beaming broadly.

“Come to think of it,” he stared up at down Chu Xun curiously, “I’d never have expected that you are the infamous Chu the Devil. Pray forgive my insolence earlier.”

During their meeting on Chu Xun’s journey to Longcheng City, Yu Cheng had mistakenly Chu Xun for a good-for-nothing scion of a wealthy family and had advised him to not predispose himself to pleasure, but to train and study magic. And for that, he felt embarrassed to have tried to teach the latter to suck eggs.

Chu Xun stared strangely at Yu Cheng, remembering his advice, and he smiled sheepishly.

Then something else crossed his mind and he bolted towards the cave.

Everyone was stunned. What was Chu Xun trying to do?

Only, Chu Xun came back out, grinning broadly. The magical golden tree and fruits were real after all, and he had plucked off all seven of the magical pears on the tree.

He came back and offered the first one to Yu Cheng.

“A magical fruit,” he said. As Lord of Healing, Yu Cheng naturally understood the benefits, but he was more surprised at Chu Xun’s gesture.

“A magical fruit for you,” Chu Xun said, “As a token of gratitude.

Yu Cheng took it with hardly any objections. He of all people understood how valuable magical fruits were. In fact, he had been seeking some for himself for research and empirical purposes.

Jiu You strolled over, her fair little face smiling. With a playful wink, she held out a hand.

With hardly any hesitation, he gave one to her as well.

Crunch!

Jiu You opened her mouth wide and took a bite. Juices of gold dribbled down her chin and the sweet aroma of the fruit wafted around. A strange glow flared on her little face, only to extinguish and shine again repeatedly.

With a few bites, Jiu You finished the fruit and her aura grew thicker and stronger at a noticeable rate. Her little frame shone with a golden light; even her purple hair glittered with a golden sheen.

“How do you feel?” Yan Chong asked with everyone else looking expectantly.

“Tastes good.” Jiu You smacked her little lips.

“Urm...” Everyone rolled their eyes. That was a magical fruit, surely no one would dispute its flavor. But that was hardly the answer they anticipated.

“And... urm... my powers seemed to have grown a little.”

What!?

Everyone was left speechless. How flippant a way to describe the benefit of consuming the fruit, they groaned.

Yu Cheng in particular gawked in silence, staring at Jiu You as if she was something that had popped out of tales of legends and fables. Finally, he breathed, “So... there’s more than meets the eye with this little lass as well.”

Most people require time to fully assimilate the magical properties of the fruit after ingesting it. But it seemed that Jiu You was able to circumvent this step and immediately absorb the benefits.

Yan Chong and the others, however eyed Jiu You with both fear and irritation, murmuring words of “Of course”, and “You don’t say”. For a little girl, looking around eight or nine of age, yet with great ease, she was able to kill Human Kings like killing ants. Even fools could see she was a little monster on the inside.

Finally, Chu Xun instructed, “Wait for me at the foot of this mountain.” He needed to cast an enchantment to magically seal this place.

An hour later, they returned to their inn.

The entire mountain had been sealed and the monster inside the cave which had addressed itself as an immortal, was nowhere to be seen. There was no way to ascertain if it had truly died. But to prevent the Broken Souls Cult from once again reviving any plans of bringing back that monster, he could only seal this place for now and return once more to finish the job once and for all when his powers grew.

The morning sun was showing its glimpse on the horizon when they made it back to their inn. The adventure had taken one entire night—an ordeal which had nearly cost them their lives.

The formerly-crowded inn now looked as deserted as a crypt. The other warriors must have fled in the night.

With only Yan Yi and his companions remaining there.

Chu Xun first instructed everyone to return to their respective rooms to wash up and clean themselves. Their appearance looked haggard especially after their battles.

They regrouped at the tavern of the inn. Everyone was famished after a night’s worth of fighting.

They were eating when Yu Cheng muttered suddenly, “I’m joining you all.”

Everyone could not quite believe their eyes. The Lord of Healing was known to be a hermit that preferred to act and roam alone without being bridled by rules or responsibilities and this sudden change of heart was contrary to his usual character.

“Well, welcome!” Chu Xun beamed.

In addition to his remarkable prowess in battle, Chu Xun was confident that his healing skills would be of great use in the future. With him coming along, they would have a healer with them at all times who could greatly increase their survivability.

What was more, this battle had reflected Yu Cheng’s honor and trustworthiness.

“Long I have roamed like a driftwood,” Yu Cheng breathed and said, smiling, “It’s time I find myself a place to stop and rest for good.”

But there were also those who do not believe his words.

“Tell me, old man, what is your true purpose for joining us?” Yan Chong asked suspiciously.

Yu Cheng’s eyes flitted quickly past Winsome Widow strangely, and answered earnestly, “I told you. I want a place to call home. And don’t call me old man.”

“Really?” Yan Chong muttered with doubt. He could not believe that one as proud as a Human King could allow himself to serve others only with a pretense as naive as “wanting a place to call home”.

Realizing the looks of doubts from all over the table, he waved dismissively and admitted at last, “Oh, all right! I’ll tell you the truth! Look at all of you! With Chu Xun leading you, you are enjoying the high time of your lives! Tell me if anyone won’t be jealous of watching each of you having a Sacred Relic of your own!”

Lei Bao grinned. Patting Yu Cheng’s shoulders like a big brother, he said, “Rest assured that our Lord will treat you fairly so long as you serve him well. I’m sure with your ability, and you’d have a Sacred Relic to call your own after eight to ten years! Don’t worry about that!”

“Why you!” Yu Cheng scowled, “You think I don’t know that Chu Xun has been leading you for not even a month!? Why should I wait for eight to ten years?!”

“Because you’re ugly,” Lei Bao muttered as a matter-of-factly, stroking his beard.

Everyone else nearly choked on their food when they heard that.

When breakfast ended, Chu Xun ordered Yan Chong and Winsome Widow to first withdraw back to Fire Dragon Palace. The rest would come with him to the Rock Sect.

The Broken Souls Cult, the Sifang Sword Sect, and Tianlong Fort. He would deal with them one by one.

They reached Guangyang Town in the afternoon and they split.

Chu Xun and his companions raced towards the stronghold of the Rock Sect.

It was at Wujin Mountain, a few hundred kilometers to the south of Pingshun Town.

The Broken Souls Cult had given the Rock Sect a month to vacate Wujin Mountain and twenty-five days had passed since then.

With hardly much time to spare, Chu Xun intended to slaughter the entire contingent of cultists that would come. Right after disembarking their flying conveyance, they boarded a carriage that would take them straight to Wujin Mountain.

The carriage was passing through the streets on the way out of Pingshun Town, when Chu Xun felt his heart tugged painfully.

“What’s wrong?” Jiu You asked, noticing Chu Xun’s spasms.

Chu Xun shook his head. He did not know the reason himself, save for a strange, inexplicable sorrow that suddenly came to him and almost made him shed tears. It was the same sensation like when he first saw Hua Qingwu lying lifeless and dead inside the casket of ice.

“Little Wu...” Chu Xun gasped anguishedly and suddenly, his eyes shot out two purple rays of light!

That activated the Evocation of Heavenly Secrets, and he felt a strange force driving him, giving him another purpose.

“Go to the Rock Sect and wait for me there,” he said suddenly, “I will rejoin you later.” With that, he opened the doors and leaped out of the moving carriage, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Jiu You pouted with annoyance, gazing in the direction where Chu Xun had left.

With an astonishing speed that allowed Chu Xun to cover hundreds of meters in one step, he bolted through the streets, leaving sonic booms that thundered in his wake while ignoring the screams and cries of surprise from the masses around. He finally realized what that strange force was driving him: Hua Qingwu’s missing soul.