Chapter 2091: The Gift of the Mist Emperor
Pan Buwang’s body suddenly stopped struggling, his pupils completely frozen. He murmured, “That’s right. A waste like me never deserved Wuqing. If not for me, she wouldn’t have fallen victim to that madwoman… Living like this… what else can I possibly do…”
The Mist Emperor spoke in a deep voice: “By living, you can reclaim everything you once lost. By living, you can make all those who kicked you when you were down fear and regret. By living, you can avenge your mother. By living, you can personally travel to Eternal Night Divine Kingdom to confirm whether Shen Wuqing lives or dies. By living, you can help the living Shen Wuqing escape her current fate, or avenge the dead Shen Wuqing!”
“Ha, haha…” Pan Buwang laughed as if he had heard the greatest joke. He smiled bitterly—smiling at this so-called Mist Emperor, and even more at himself: “You think I don’t want to? I dream of achieving all this every night… But I am nothing but a pitiful abandoned pawn, a useless waste! So useless that even my roar is a joke in others’ eyes, so worthless that I only want to sink into dreams and chase illusory fantasies…”
“You truly are a waste.” The Mist Emperor’s assessment was cold. “But in this emperor’s hands, no matter how worthless a waste, he can become a sovereign who towers over all living beings!”
The terrifying voice pressed down. The Mist Emperor’s figure suddenly approached, and his right foot, wrapped in thick Abyss Dust, stomped heavily onto the center of Pan Buwang’s back.
“Mm!” Pan Buwang let out a low groan. But his body and profound strength were completely suppressed by the Abyss Lin Shen, leaving him utterly powerless to resist.
His resistance was merely instinctive. Then he was still, allowing the stomp. Pain was written on his face, but not a trace of fear of death.
A mass of extreme darkness burst violently from the Mist Emperor’s body, then surged straight down toward the Pan Buwang beneath his feet.
In an instant, Pan Buwang’s eyes bulged. Both eyeballs were instantly dyed a pure pitch-black. Within his body, it felt as if thousands of dark demon blades were piercing and slashing, like the torture of death by a thousand cuts, causing him to let out a pained roar from his mouth.
But this roar lasted only a moment before he forcibly suppressed it. All that remained was the sound of teeth grinding against each other, nearly shattering.
The Mist Emperor sneered. “Beneath this crippled soul, there’s actually a fairly hard bone.”
As he spoke, the black profound light on his body burst forth once again.
*Boom!*
Pan Buwang’s body suddenly split open. Several thick jets of blood spurted from his back.
The pain, surpassing the limit his soul could bear, shattered all his teeth. His mouth screamed out a desperate, ghostly wail of agony.
But at that moment, the Mist Emperor kicked out, sending him flying heavily.
The pressure on his body lessened considerably. Pan Buwang’s back was torn, his mouth full of blood. He struggled to his feet. When he looked up, his face bore not hatred or fear, but deep bewilderment. Then he stammered out, trembling with disbelief, “You… what did you do to me…”
“Merely forcibly opened one of your divine ranks.” The figure beneath the gray mist spoke the most absurd words in this world. “And incidentally made your body more compatible with Dark Profound Force. Haven’t you already sensed it yourself?”
Pan Buwang’s body swayed, nearly stumbling. He steadied himself with difficulty, then shook his head in a daze. “No… no… I truly am in a dream… all this is indeed a dream.”
“A waste is a waste. You can’t even believe in your own transformation.” The Mist Emperor sneered, mocking him, then suddenly raised his hand. Three black spikes shot straight toward the dazed Pan Buwang.
*Chi!*
The black spikes entered his body. The soul-piercing pain instantly drained the color from Pan Buwang’s face, and also seemed to awaken his chaotic soul.
“Would a pitiful dream have such excruciating pain?” The Mist Emperor stepped forward slowly. Each step closer made Pan Buwang’s soul involuntarily heavier. “Pan Buwang, tell this emperor, now—do you choose to continue being a pitiful waste who has given up on himself, or… to reclaim everything you’ve lost, to take revenge for yourself, for your mother, and for your Shen Wuqing!”
Pan Buwang looked up, revealing an expression exactly as the Mist Emperor had predicted—so fierce, so savage, so mad.
He understood all too well the turmoil in Pan Buwang’s heart and soul at this moment.
Complete hopelessness and powerlessness had turned his heart to ash.
But give him just a tiny glimmer of hope, and he would stop at nothing… let alone such a dazzling light, brighter than any dream.
“Who are you? Who are you really!” He stared fixedly at the gray mist before him, but neither his sight nor his spiritual sense could touch even a single trace of what lay beneath.
He really did have one more divine rank. At this moment, he was like Pan Buzhuo—a nine-divine-rank being.
The Dark Profound Force within him had indeed become much tamer.
Either of these was something he believed utterly impossible.
But the excruciating pain penetrating his soul was precisely what told him this was not a dream.
“The Mist Emperor.” The figure beneath the gray mist let out an abyssal demon’s low growl. “I have already made it clear: I am the Mist Emperor who rules this world’s Mist Sea! And in this world… the one and only true emperor!”
Pan Buwang reached up to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth and said in a deep voice, “Beneath the Pure Land, who dares claim to be emperor? Who dares call themselves emperor! Just who… are you? And why are you helping me like this? What is your goal?”
He wanted even more to know how the Mist Emperor had forcibly awakened a divine rank within him, and how he had achieved such perfect dark compatibility.
If this were to be made known, he couldn’t imagine what violent upheaval it would cause among the six divine kingdoms.
The Mist Emperor did not reply. His body slowly rose into the air, then he slowly spread his arms.
In an instant, the Abyss Dust in the surrounding space gradually dispersed like the thick morning fog.
Pan Buwang’s entire body stiffened. His eyes, already bloodshot, slowly widened, and widened… until not a trace of white remained.
Because he saw the most terrifying scene of his life.
As the Abyss Dust scattered, he saw the legendary Primordial Lin Shen. Its massive body stood quietly behind the Mist Emperor, only its enormous pupils flickering with terrifying ghostly light.
And behind the Primordial Lin Shen were thousands of black figures lined up in rows… actually thousands of Abyss Beasts, each with a different aura. The clearly shining Abyss radiance proved they were fully alive, yet not a single one released its destructive instinct. Instead, they stood there, utterly silent, utterly orderly, utterly docile, standing behind the Mist Emperor.
“Lie down,” the Mist Emperor said indifferently.
*Boom! Crack!*
The sound of thousands of impacts overlapped, the noise as great as if the earth were splitting and the sky collapsing… yet it was nothing compared to the shock within Pan Buwang’s heart.
All the Abyss Beasts, including the legendary Primordial Lin Shen, lay prostrate on the ground, their movements perfectly synchronized. Not a single Abyss Beast showed even the slightest hesitation. Even their heads were pressed to the ground, like a crowd of subjects paying homage to their emperor.
“Ah… ah…” Pan Buwang’s eyes bulged, his mouth wide open. A hoarse, trembling sound forced its way out of his throat involuntarily.
“Pan Buwang.”
The Mist Emperor’s voice sounded again, but now it fell on Pan Buwang’s ears like the illusory voice of a celestial being from beyond the world.
“Tell me, who am I?”
“You are…” Pan Buwang’s lips moved involuntarily: “The… Mist Emperor.”
Everything in his sight was too shocking, too incomprehensible. He actually uttered the words “Mist Emperor” with his own mouth.
He, who greatly revered and respected Yuan Huang, had personally called another man “Emperor.”
“Very good.” The Mist Emperor offered him brief praise. “You are the one this emperor has chosen. Now, kneel and worship me as your master. This emperor will grant you the power to take revenge.”
Pan Buwang’s expression froze for only half a moment, then he fell heavily to his knees:
“Pan Buwang, abandoned son of Xiaodie, is willing to worship the Mist Emperor as master. I gratefully thank the Mist Emperor… thank you, Master, for this gift!”
The Mist Emperor murmured, “Aren’t you going to ask why it’s you? And… what price you will have to pay?”
Pan Buwang kowtowed heavily. When he raised his head, his eyes held only a nearly manic brutality: “As long as the Mist Emperor… no, as long as Master is willing to grant me the power of revenge, this body… this heart… this will… can all be given to Master!”
“Very good. Remember the words you have spoken now!”
The Mist Emperor raised his hand and performed Jie Mo Huo Tian. In an instant, the last trace of light in this Mist Sea space was devoured completely. Endless darkness converged. Within a few short breaths, it seemed as if the entire world had been transformed into an endless abyss of darkness.
Pan Buwang was full of shock. He raised both hands, and where his fingers touched, there was darkness so thick it felt almost tangible.
“This is where you will stay for the next three years!” The Mist Emperor’s voice came from within the darkness. “I will make your body fully attuned to darkness, becoming the most perfect child of darkness in this world, elevating your dark talent to a height your father god could never reach in eternity!”
“Let your obsession, your desire, your unwillingness, your hatred… drive your progress with all their might!”
“At the Pure Land gathering three years from now, you will defeat Pan Buzhuo with your own strength, repaying the trampling he gave you a thousandfold! Let everyone see the foolishness of your father god, let your father god endlessly regret having abandoned you!”
“Let your mother rest peacefully in death! Let your Shen Wuqing, whether in the world of the living or the world of the dead, see a Pan Buwang who has become incredibly strong for her sake, not a worthless waste who has given up on himself!”
“Do you understand!”
Every word the Mist Emperor spoke hammered directly into the deepest part of his soul.
His hands had clenched into fists at some unknown point. His nails dug into his flesh, blood flowing freely, but he felt no pain at all. Only a completely boiling will and conviction condensed into words that escaped his lips: “I will definitely achieve this… definitely!”
“If Wuqing truly still lives, I will take her out of her cage! If she is dead… I will kill Shen Wuyanye… kill Shen Wuyi!”
The Mist Emperor raised his hand in the darkness: “Now, show me all the profound arts you have cultivated. Let me see what crude dark power your Xiaodie Divine Kingdom practices!”
…
Yun Che walked out of the cultivation space, ten days later.
“Do you really trust that Pan Buwang that much?” Li Suo asked, not without worry. “If he becomes powerful in the future, reclaims his position as Divine Son, and even becomes the Xiaodie Divine Sovereign… how could he still listen to you?”
Yun Che gave a mysterious smile. “Before falling into the Abyss, Qi Tianli once said to the Demon Empress that just one Mo Beichen nearly destroyed the God Realm. If the true Abyss were to descend, it would be impossible to offer any resistance at all.”
“And what he learned from Mo Beichen about the Abyss Emperor was that he is a gentle and benevolent person. He advised the Demon Empress to give up any hopeless struggle, welcome the descent of the Abyss, and seek coexistence.”
“But the Demon Empress’s reply to that matter had a great impact on me.” Yun Che murmured softly. “She said… never hand the initiative over to others.”
“So…” Li Suo seemed to understand. “When it comes to Pan Buwang, the initiative is in your hands?”
The corner of Yun Che’s mouth tilted up. “This emperor’s gifts are very expensive. So expensive that… perhaps it will take the entire Xiaodie Divine Kingdom to repay them!”
Just then, sensing his aura, Liu Zhanyi hurried over and reported, “Young Master, Imperial Prince Meng Jianze invites you to his residence as a guest. He says he wishes to apologize for his offenses during the ceremony the other day.”
“Ridiculous!” Yun Che said disdainfully. “If he wants to apologize, he should come bowing to my doorstep himself, not summon me to his place! Tell him to get lost.”
Liu Zhanyi quickly said, “It’s not that Imperial Prince Jianze is being rude. Rather, he was punished by the Divine Sovereign and confined to his residence for half a year, unable to leave, so he sent someone to invite you. During this time, he has sent someone every day, and each time they wait a full two hours.”
Liu Zhanyi gestured with her eyes toward the outside of the hall. “Imperial Prince Jianze’s people came again an hour ago and are still waiting outside the hall.”
Yun Che waved his hand dismissively. “Tell him to…”
But then his eyes narrowed slightly, and he changed his tone. “Tell him to go back and inform his master that I will arrive in one hour.”
He went to the kitchen pavilion for a short while, made a few pastries that were passable in shape but excellent in color and flavor, and personally delivered them to the Dreamless Pavilion. He coaxed Meng Kongchan into eating eagerly, praising them endlessly.
After maintaining their “father-and-son affection,” Yun Che finally strolled slowly toward Imperial Prince Meng Jianze’s residence.
Yun Che felt that this fellow was definitely going to send him a big gift.
Meng Jianze, having received the news, was already waiting early. The moment Yun Che stepped inside, he greeted him with a face full of smiles: “Jianze welcomes the arrival of the Abyss Divine Son. That the Abyss Divine Son would grace this place with his presence is truly Jianze’s great fortune. Even my humble residence shines brilliantly.”
His posture now had not the slightest hint of the disdain and arrogance he’d shown that day. As he spoke, even his waist bent several degrees lower.
Yun Che swept his gaze across the man’s face and said with a faint, ambiguous smile: “At the ceremony that day, I clearly refused the title of Divine Son. Now, the only Divine Son of the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom is His Highness Jianxi. Yet you, known by all as the foremost loyal hound of His Highness the Divine Son, call me, a man of a different surname, ‘Divine Son.’ Aren’t you afraid that if His Highness Jianxi learns of this, it will create a rift between you?”
Although he had mentally prepared himself, being hit with such direct and unpleasant words still made Meng Jianze’s eye twitch involuntarily. But he kept his smile undiminished and said, “Although the Abyss Divine Son refused the title of Divine Son, by now, not only in the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom, but throughout the world above and below, who does not know the name ‘Abyss Divine Son’?”
He was not exaggerating in the least. Within these ten short days, the news of the Abyss once again producing a Perfect Divine Rank had already spread throughout the six divine kingdoms and every corner of the Abyss. The Pure Land must have received the news long ago.
The former Weaving Dream Divine Son, Meng Jianxi—the radiance of his divine son status had already dimmed far too much in the eyes of the world.
After speaking, Meng Jianze made an extremely solemn bow, lowering his posture to the utmost: “That day, Jianze was blind and without eyes, offending the Abyss Divine Son with many words. The irrational attack even nearly injured the Abyss Divine Son. Although I have already been punished by my father god, not being able to personally apologize to the Abyss Divine Son has left my heart constantly filled with fear, making it difficult to eat or sleep.”
Yun Che did not reach out to support him. Instead, he wore a harmlessly innocent smile. “Judging from Imperial Prince Jianze’s attitude, it seems this is not merely an apology in words. Could it be… you have also prepared some gift of atonement?”
Yun Che’s initiative in bringing it up caught Meng Jianze slightly off guard. He quickly said, “Of course! If I can earn the Abyss Divine Son’s forgiveness, I am more than willing to pay any price.”
He turned sideways, making a gesture of invitation. “Please, Abyss Divine Son, enter the hall. Jianze will certainly give you a satisfying surprise.”