Chapter 2482: The Enigma
As the Nine Heavens Celestial Court, Heavenly Punishment Alliance, Chaos Heaven Alliance, and Purple Bamboo Alliance grew in fame, snowflakes continued to fall over the sky of Heavenly Snow City. Lin Feng stood in the snow, his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, a figure strolled over—it was none other than the Demon Saint Emperor Xi.
Emperor Xi left footprints in the white snow as he walked to Lin Feng's side, standing there and gazing ahead.
"Want to use the three alliances to destroy the Temple Alliance?" the Demon Saint Emperor Xi said calmly. "Lin Feng, I will fully support you."
Lin Feng's pupils contracted slightly. He slowly turned his gaze, the indifference on his face vanishing. He was confident that with his current abilities, no one at this level of cultivation could see through his true identity as Lin Feng. Yet this ancient Demon Emperor, who seemed bound to him by fate, appeared to know.
Lin Feng had first heard the name Demon Saint Emperor Xi from his teacher, the Prophet. It was the Prophet who told Lin Feng that the Demon Saint Emperor Xi was once known as the Demon Emperor, who walked the Nine Heavens.
As for the name Demon Emperor, Lin Feng was all too familiar with it. Throughout his journey, the figure of the Demon Emperor had appeared many times in his path of martial arts. There was the line, "I wonder in the celestial palaces above, what year it is tonight"; there was the place where the small world's Yuan Fei resided, renamed Flower and Fruit Mountain; and most shocking of all, the words left behind in the Jade Emperor Palace.
Beyond these, traces of the Demon Emperor could be found everywhere—on the Heavenly Marsh Ancient Tree, in the Ancient Demon Cave, as if following him like a shadow. Lin Feng could only call it fate.
"Surprised, aren't you?" the Demon Emperor looked at Lin Feng, a smile appearing on his face. "In the Ancient Demon Cave, didn't you already hear the voice? I am your shadow. You are the ancient Demon King. Only your will can awaken him. Then, you will become the peerless Demon King, turning heaven and earth upside down, staining the Nine Heavens with blood, unrivaled and supreme."
"The Ancient Demon Cave... it really was you." Lin Feng's pupils shrank.
"Of course. Do you think, with your strength back then, you could have walked out of the Ancient Demon Cave? This is your fate. You are a Forbidden Body, of the darkness lineage; and I am also a Forbidden Body, a thousand years older than you, also of the darkness lineage. This is our fate. I am your shadow, or perhaps you are my shadow. We are originally one."
The Demon Saint Emperor Xi looked ahead and spoke slowly.
"Fate?" Lin Feng fell silent. Did fate truly exist?
"Does the Handsome Monkey King believe in fate?" Lin Feng slowly turned his gaze forward, as if speaking casually. Beside him, the Demon Saint Emperor Xi did not respond to his words. This made Lin Feng narrow his eyes.
Seeing the Demon Saint Emperor Xi remain silent, Lin Feng turned his gaze back to him and said softly, "Hmm?"
"You want to use the momentum to shake the Temple Alliance. I will lend you a hand." The Demon Saint Emperor Xi smiled. Hearing this, Lin Feng also smiled and said softly, "Thank you."
The Demon Saint Emperor Xi turned and walked away. Lin Feng watched his back, and in his palm, a faint trace of sweat had formed.
The Chinese characters left in the Jade Emperor Palace; the poem "I wonder in the celestial palaces above, what year it is tonight"; the name Flower and Fruit Mountain—all of it should have pointed to one thing: the ancient Demon Emperor came from the same place as him. Yet today, when he mentioned the Handsome Monkey King, the Demon Emperor changed the subject. This stirred Lin Feng's heart, making everything seem even more mysterious.
Another figure strolled over. This time, it was not the Demon Saint Emperor Xi, but Purple Bamboo. Lin Feng smiled at him. This Purple Bamboo could single-handedly contend with the Void Divine Temple's master; he was incredibly powerful.
"Any ideas?" Purple Bamboo walked over and asked Lin Feng with a smile.
"I'm contacting various powerful figures, preparing to join forces against the Flame Temple Alliance," Lin Feng said with a smile.
"Is our target only the Flame Temple Alliance? What about the Fate Temple Alliance?" Purple Bamboo continued.
"Right now, the Flame Temple is powerful and hostile toward us. If we can suppress them, they will no longer threaten our three alliances. As for the Fate Temple side, they won't be foolish enough to attack us," Lin Feng said slowly. Purple Bamboo continued to smile at him, a hint of depth in his eyes.
"I will support your actions." After saying this, Purple Bamboo turned and left, as if merely stating his stance.
Lin Feng looked at Purple Bamboo, a strange feeling rising within him. This time, he had concealed his identity to vie for leadership of the Heavenly Punishment Alliance. First, he encountered the Demon Saint Emperor Xi, who could easily see through him. Combined with past events, Lin Feng almost believed that the ancient Demon Emperor was truly his shadow—how else could he recognize him?
But now, Purple Bamboo's meaningful smile seemed to indicate that he also knew something, making Lin Feng feel odd. However, Lin Feng didn't dwell on it too much. His current goal was to dismantle and destroy the powerful Flame Temple Alliance.
After that battle, the Nine Heavens seemed to return to calm. Yet the people of the Nine Heavens could imagine the fury of the Void Divine Temple and the Thunder Divine Temple. Between them, they had only a little over ten Supreme Realm experts, and this battle had cost them three, instantly weakening their power.
Even so, the Seven Temple Alliance did not seek revenge at Heavenly Snow City. This was because the news that the Heavenly Punishment Alliance, Chaos Heaven Alliance, and Purple Bamboo Alliance were guarding Heavenly Snow City was now known throughout the Nine Heavens. The Fate Temple surely knew as well and would definitely have people watching Heavenly Snow City. If the Seven Temple Alliance attacked Heavenly Snow City, the Fate Temple and its allies would not miss such a rare opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to one of the temples.
The Seven Temple Alliance now had to be constantly on guard against the Fate Temple and its allies, all because of a decision the Fate Temple made years ago to abandon the temple fortress that had stood in the Nine Heavens.
At this moment, in Lin Feng's Star World, before the Star River, Lin Feng looked at the Great Accomplishment Saint Kings before him and smiled. "I once promised you all that once I reached Great Accomplishment Saint King, I would fight you. If you could defeat me, I would set you free. However, my cultivation level doesn't truly correspond to Great Accomplishment. Still, I will honor my past promise. Today, I ask you all to help me with one last task. After that, I will release the contract bonds and set you free."
When Lin Feng became the master of this Star World, he gained control over the freedom of these beings. He could decide whether to let them leave this world. Only Old Ox seemed to be an exception, able to exercise the same authority as Lin Feng within this world.
The Golden-Winged Great Roc heard Lin Feng's words and smiled. "Lin Feng, you're wrong."
"I'm wrong?" Lin Feng looked at him.
"Do you really think we are bound by the contract and cannot leave?" the Golden-Winged Great Roc smiled at Lin Feng. "When our former master left, he wanted us to go. But we were reluctant to leave this world and still wanted to wait for him. We never expected to wait for you, the new master of this Star World. Moreover, your strength is inferior to ours. Do you think, under these circumstances, you could command us to do anything?"
"Of course not," Lin Feng replied.
"But now you can," the Golden-Winged Great Roc laughed. "Whatever you ask us to do, it's no problem."
Lin Feng looked at the Golden-Winged Great Roc's grinning smile, and he too smiled, a brilliant smile. At the same time, he said, "I will definitely become the pinnacle existence of the Nine Heavens. I won't disgrace your former master."
"We all look forward to it," the last powerful Demon Saint laughed. Lin Feng nodded to them and then left this place.
The next moment, Lin Feng appeared before three Supreme Realm Demon Saints.
They too opened their eyes and looked at Lin Feng.
"Is it time to go to war in the Nine Heavens?" one of the Supreme Demon Saints who had helped Lin Feng before laughed, seemingly already aware of Lin Feng's affairs.
"Yes. This battle is crucial. It may affect the structure of the Nine Heavens," Lin Feng said directly.
The Demon Saint laughed. "If you need us, just come and get us."
Hearing his words, Lin Feng revealed a smile. It had been many years since he last visited, and he hadn't expected that the Demon Saints who had been cold to him in the past were now willing to help him. This filled him with gratitude.
"Thank you." Lin Feng smiled and left this place. His body vanished again, and this time, he appeared directly before the Treasure Hall. There was still one last door he had not opened.
Old Ox appeared behind him at some point. Lin Feng turned to look at him and smiled. "Old Ox, thank you."
As he spoke, Lin Feng even touched Old Ox's horns.
"You're getting bolder and bolder," Old Ox said to Lin Feng in a human voice.
"Hehe." Lin Feng laughed. "Brother Old Ox, the Demon Saints being so willing to help must have something to do with you, right?"
"Something like that," Old Ox didn't deny it. "Go in and take a look."
"Alright." Lin Feng nodded slightly. Then, his palm pressed against the door. Terrifying power surged out wildly. In an instant, the door radiated brilliant light. With a cracking sound, the door seemed to sense his Supreme Realm cultivation and slowly opened.
Lin Feng stepped inside slowly, and his heart trembled. They were all top-grade Sacred King weapons, at the Supreme level, and there were eighteen of them. The foundation of a deity was truly terrifying. Even a temple would find it difficult to produce eighteen such Sacred King weapons.
"These Sacred King weapons are enough to create a terrifying force," Lin Feng thought to himself. Unfortunately, he didn't have that many trustworthy Supreme Realm experts. Otherwise, eighteen Supreme Realm experts wielding such Sacred King weapons would be a disaster for the Temple Alliance.