Chapter 1826: Talisman Seeds

"The Yong Emperor really isn't dead?"

"He's back?"

Everyone erupted in uproar at once.

Earlier, when they heard Yang Liu's account, some still harbored doubts; now, all vanished like smoke.

The Yong Emperor indeed wasn't dead. That meant what the Chen Ling Emperor said was false... The truth was that he had colluded with humans, murdered the royal clan, and was unforgivable!

"Hurry over!"

The crowd was stunned, and Liu Yang was also overjoyed.

Others didn't know, but he had contacted the Yong Emperor and the teacher in advance, aware of what the two had prepared.

Unite all forces that could be united; coming now meant they had organized, formed a force capable of contending with the Ling Emperor, and were about to reclaim power.

Whoosh!

Unable to hold back any longer, he flew straight toward the city.

Seeing the alliance leader advance, the others dared not hesitate and followed closely.

Before long, they arrived at the very center of the royal city, the place for sacrifices—a high platform towering into the clouds. Blood flowed down the surrounding stairs, dyeing them a vivid red, giving an eerie sensation.

On the circular staircase, banners were planted, fluttering loudly in the wind. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, a massive vortex loomed overhead, as if infinite power was converging at the vortex's center, ready to pour down at any moment.

The Chen Ling Emperor hovered above the platform, allowing the violent currents to swirl around his body.

Below the platform knelt a dense crowd of alien spirit clansmen, all seemingly unconscious and motionless, numbering tens of thousands. It appeared they were being sacrificed with their lives.

Above them were countless treasures, herbs, ores... too numerous to count, exactly the ones Zhang Xuan had disguised as Wu Tao to appraise earlier.

"Chen Ling, you allied with humans, ambushed me, abandoned trust and righteousness; slaughtered your own people for sacrifice, destroyed the foundations of our ancestors! Today is your death day!"

Opposite the Chen Ling Emperor, the Chen Yong Emperor hovered quietly, staring at the corpses and blood on the ground, his eyes blazing with fury.

He had known this guy was crazy, but not this crazy.

Allied with humans, trying to kill him was one thing; directly capturing a hundred thousand clansmen for sacrifice... his crimes were too numerous to record!

"Kill me? With you?"

With a cold laugh, the Chen Ling Emperor's eyes held contempt.

If it were the Yong Emperor of before, he might have been wary, but now, gravely wounded and barely alive, still thinking of killing people... a dream!

"What about us?"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wind howled, and several figures appeared abruptly—Mo Ling Gu Sheng, Huo Xu Gu Sheng, and others.

"Mo Ling, you ungrateful wretch..."

The Ling Emperor narrowed his eyes, then looked at Chen Yong Emperor: "Yong Emperor, you allied with him, but you probably don't know that he played a major role in your current predicament, do you?"

If not for Mo Ling Gu Sheng contacting the strong from the Hundred Schools of Thought, he alone could never have harmed the Yong Emperor in the slightest.

"Do you think sowing discord between us now will work?"

The Yong Emperor snorted.

Mo Ling Gu Sheng had indeed helped the other side before, but now he followed behind the young master, with everyone united; dwelling on the past was meaningless.

Moreover, his greatest enemy now was the Ling Emperor; killing him would let him die with his eyes closed.

"Sowing discord?"

The Ling Emperor was about to continue speaking when he spotted a huge sacred beast not far away, his expression turning even uglier: "Huo Xu Gu Sheng, back then, the Yong Emperor drove your clan from their homeland, an irreconcilable hatred. Are you still going to ally with him? If you help me, I will not only coexist peacefully with you but also fully return the lands your sacred beast clan once inhabited, and even compensate for your losses over the years..."

One Mo Ling Gu Sheng was nothing to fear, but adding Huo Xu made things tricky.

Huo Xu Gu Sheng's true combat strength was even slightly stronger than his own peak, second only to Chen Yong Emperor. Charging in now, with his injuries so severe, he was definitely no match.

"I've said it before: the sacred beast clan has its pride. If I could ally with you, I would have agreed long ago!"

Huo Xu Gu Sheng waved a hoof.

In fact, before Chen Yong Emperor sought him out, the Ling Emperor had visited several times, only to be driven out each time.

His face darkened, the Ling Emperor narrowed his eyes.

He had thought that even if the gravely wounded Chen Yong Emperor could rally support, it would be at most a ragtag bunch, nothing to worry about. He never expected Mo Ling Gu Sheng to openly betray him and Huo Xu Gu Sheng to directly submit...

In the past, he wouldn't have dared to imagine it.

How did he manage it?

"Yong Emperor, you do have some skills, more than I imagined. But... with just you all, you still can't kill me!"

Knowing further words were useless, Chen Ling Emperor exhaled and regained his confidence: "You all come out too!"

Whoosh!

As his words ended, the many alien spirit clan ancient sages Zhang Xuan had encountered in the Ling Emperor's palace flew over simultaneously, standing in a neat row, emitting powerful auras.

These were the many kings from before.

"Something's wrong..."

Glancing at these people, Chen Yong Emperor and Mo Ling Gu Sheng exchanged looks, their expressions turning serious.

Previously, these people helped Chen Ling Emperor out of mutual benefit; the so-called alliance was not solid. But now, they stood firmly around, as if they would charge forward recklessly at the slightest advance.

When did these people become so loyal?

"They've been controlled..."

Frowning, Zhang Xuan's expression also turned grave.

With his research on souls, he could naturally see that although these people still had their own consciousness, they had been mastered by someone, becoming something like puppets.

If it were just an alliance, coercion and bribery, along with various arguments, could make it crumble. But puppets that only obey orders... that wouldn't be so easy!

It might well turn into a fierce battle!

"Controlling puppets with souls? This... how is this possible?"

Mo Ling Gu Sheng couldn't believe it.

He had studied souls all his life, understanding them to the marrow, but controlling ancient sages with souls... was still impossible.

The one before him, controlling so many ancient sages of strength not inferior to his own, even seeing it with his own eyes, he found it hard to believe.

"It's the talisman seeds!"

Remembering something, Chen Yong Emperor stiffened and said through gritted teeth.

"Talisman seeds?"

Zhang Xuan and the others all showed puzzled expressions.

This thing, not only he but even Huo Xu Gu Sheng and Mo Ling Gu Sheng, were unaware of.

"It's something left by an immortal envoy. It can be planted in the body. Once activated, even an ancient sage must obey unconditionally; otherwise, the talisman seed explodes, and death is certain!"

Chen Yong Emperor said.

"Immortal envoy?"

"Back then, Grandfather was killed in battle with Confucius, and the clan was in peril, facing extinction at any moment. So they sacrificed to heaven, spending countless resources to invite an immortal envoy from the Upper Realm. To control the situation, he planted this thing in every ancient sage. My father was also planted with it!"

Chen Yong Emperor explained: "Later, the immortal envoy was captured by Confucius, the talisman seeds' effect vanished, and everyone was spared. Otherwise, the royal clan of the alien spirit clan would have been completely wiped out back then."