Young Noble Be Monster Slaying
Chapter 955: Is That True?

"Hah..."

In the pitch-black cavern underground, the Guardian Ruler was drenched in blood. Holding a scorched lump of flesh to his chest, he sighed. In the end, he had still failed to save the emperor.

Even severely wounded, the Guardian Ruler still had the power to escape. He could have broken out at any time, as long as he didn't get trapped by the Celestial Cosmic Ring. Why would he sacrifice his own life just because he couldn't protect the emperor?

To begin with, the emperor was just one of many of his juniors in the Xia Family, a rather mediocre one at that. So, if things went wrong, the Guardian Ruler would have been the first to ditch the emperor and flee. The only reason he had put on a show of perishing together was to bluff the Noble Dharma into backing down. But who would have thought the old man would refuse to yield even in death?

Well, that worked out too in the end. The Golden Crow's Soul Essence had indeed slammed the Noble Dharma to his death. 

In that eruption, the Guardian Ruler had fully unleashed the Great Dao of Ultimate Yang, merging completely with the flames and becoming a blazing sun incarnate. Not even the other two Heavenly Origin Realm cultivators had noticed anything amiss. Then, taking advantage of the chaos, he slipped underground. 

Merging with the Golden Crow's Soul Essence to create an escape route was something he did often. The Guardian Ruler had always enjoyed provoking others and making enemies, so he had explored countless deadly lands since his youth. The only reason he survived the fatal and self-destructive attack he had dealt was that he had innumerable ways of escape.

Unfortunately… he had carried the emperor with him, and the emperor had lacked the ability to merge with the Golden Crow's Soul Essence. As a result, he'd been roasted into a scorched lump of flesh… It even smelled kind of fragrant.

That meant the Guardian Ruler had killed the emperor. However, if he hadn't taken the emperor with him, the emperor would have suffered an even more miserable death or fallen into the hands of the Celestial Charm Master. If that had occurred, he might have avoided death, but it would've caused more trouble since he was the ruler of the Yu Dynasty after all. That was why the Guardian Ruler had no choice but to bring him along.

It could only be said that the emperor had been unlucky. If he had survived the attack that had been powerful enough to kill even the Noble Dharma, then he could've escaped along with the Guardian Ruler.

The Guardian Ruler grumbled to himself about the unfortunate way things turned out and tossed the scorched lump of flesh aside.

Regardless of what was happening outside, the Guardian Ruler had to circulate his qi and recover before venturing out again. It was far too dangerous otherwise. Fortunately, now that the emperor was gone, his only source of burden and weakness was gone too.

The Guardian Ruler said, "This really isn't my fault. You are the emperor, after all. Now that the nine provinces are in danger, it is only natural that you die for your empire.

"I'll definitely do everything I can to support your son. I won't be as rough with him as I was with you... You have my word."

Feeling a little guilty, he muttered, "Of course, considering the situation in the capital of Yu, he probably didn't make it out alive. Who knows how many of the imperial family are even still alive? Maybe it's just me and that crazy woman from Mount Shu...

"Between the two of us, I think I'd make a better emperor. At least I'm a bit more humane than her.

"Then… I guess I'll reluctantly take the throne. Who would've thought I'd get this chance after two hundred years? Heheh... This turn of events is really something.

"But don't worry, I always keep my word. I'll do everything I can to help your son ascend the throne… From now on, you're my sworn father. I'll even call you ‘Father' at your burial mound.

"By seniority, I should be your granduncle, but it's fine. We'll just go by our titles.

"I don't have any experience being emperor. When I was young, I wanted the job but never got the chance. Later on, I couldn't be bothered with that stuff. If I get the chance in the future, I'll burn some offerings at your burial mound, and you can come to me in a dream with some advice.

"Not sure if being emperor is any fun though..."

"It's just okay," said a voice from behind him.

The Guardian Ruler jumped in surprise. "Huh?"

He turned around and found that the scorched lump of flesh had somehow turned back into the emperor in his yellow robes. The emperor was staring at the Guardian Ruler with an unreadable expression.

Shocked, the Guardian Ruler asked, "When did you come back to life?"

The emperor still seemed a bit dazed.

"Probably..." he answered, scratching his head, "right around when you said I'd be your sworn father from now on..."

The Guardian Ruler had no idea what was going on. He was stunned speechless.

The emperor stared at him for a long moment before asking, "Is that true?"

…

"They're alive! Alive! All of them!"

Staring at the restored city and the revived citizens, everyone stood dazedly in astonishment. They understood what had happened, but it was so amazing that they could not believe it.

It wasn't just the dead that had been resurrected. The entire city had returned to life!

Even Gongyang Qi had survived!

His hair had turned completely white, and his face seemed to have lost its color, looking all withered and wrinkled. The divine light in his eyes was gone, and so was his cultivation energy. Gongyang Qi was now just a frail, ordinary old man.

But he was still alive.

With his job finally done, Gongyang Qi fell.

Shentu Yang rushed forward and caught him, shouting, "Old Gongyang, you did it! You really did it!"

Cheers erupted around them, and lively noises gradually filled the city once again. The revived mortals likely remembered nothing of what had happened, and even the cultivators would forget soon. Like waking from a dream, none of them would remember the ordeal they had suffered.

Nevertheless, the Eminent Ones who had contributed to the revival would remember.

Despite looking extremely exhausted and weak, they were in very high spirits.

Gongyang Qi had saved the capital of Yu! 

And Chu Liang had saved him.

Gongyang Qi waved his hand, dismissing his own efforts. He gazed at Chu Liang and said, "It was him... If not for Young Hero Chu supplying such a vast amount of spiritual qi at that final crucial moment, my lifespan wouldn't have lasted until the end."

"Headmaster, your righteousness knows no bounds," Chu Liang replied, cupping his hands together and bowing respectfully. "At that moment of crisis, you did not hesitate to sacrifice your life to save everyone. Esteemed Elder, I only made a tiny contribution. It's hardly worth mentioning."

Only Gongyang Qi truly understood how critical Chu Liang's contribution had been. The amount of spiritual qi he had supplied was nearly equal to that of all the other Eminent Ones combined. Without that, they might have ended up dying alongside Gongyang Qi.

However, with so many eyes fixed on them, Gongyang Qi simply waved his hand and drew the attention away from Chu Liang. He said, "Without each and every one of you, we could not have accomplished this. It's just a pity that we didn't have enough spiritual qi to restore everything completely. The Heavenly Gate cultivators were revived, but their lost cultivation energy is gone for good."

They managed to revive the cultivators at the seventh and eighth realms who had died in the capital of Yu, but those cultivators would have returned as sixth-realm cultivators at most. If Gongyang Qi had tried to restore their Great Dao as well... it would truly have cost his life.

After all, even Gongyang Qi had lost his Great Dao. Now, his physical state was likely even worse than that of an ordinary old man. Riddled with injuries and illness, he had only a few years of life remaining.

Nonetheless, Gongyang Qi had performed a miracle so great that his name would live on in history for ten thousand years after his death.

The Imperial Supervisory Commissioner suddenly spoke up. "Now is not the time to relax. Evil Ksitigarbha is still at large; the crisis in the mortal realm is far from over. We must evacuate all the citizens of the capital quickly and find a safe haven for them. We also need to gather all the Eminent Ones across the world and launch a campaign to eliminate Evil Ksitigarbha! This calamity is just as bad as the war against the Demon God three thousand years ago!"

He didn't even need to say it. They all saw Evil Ksitigarbha as a dire threat. 

Evil Ksitigarbha possessed power rivaling that of a Hallowed One. He was treacherous, cunning, and hell-bent on destroying the world—a truly terrifying enemy of the world.

"We still don't know where Evil Ksitigarbha has gone..." Chu Liang muttered. "With his immense power, anywhere he goes will become a disaster zone. We have to notify every region in advance and begin evacuations."

"Where would he go..." Shentu Yang looked into the distance. "If his goal is to destroy the mortal realm, and he started by descending upon the capital of Yu, where would he strike next?"

Chu Liang's eyebrows furrowed in realization. Jiang Yuebai and her father wore the same expression. 

The three of them exchanged glances and shouted in unison, "Mount Shu!"