Chapter 685: Who is the Demon God

Chapter 685: Who is the Fiendgod?

The fierce woman fought beautifully, and she was even more beautiful to look upon, though her opponent was in no mood to appreciate it.

A dark fiendish hand collided with Zhuque's blazing demonic claw amid the gloom, yet the clash ended with both propelled back several yards as roof tiles shattered, a sheer display of equal might!

He, along with the likes of Huangyang and Fengyin, was far from his peak condition, as evidenced by his still-mummified form which showed he had not fully recovered. His current state was actually a fraction worse than theirs, for the soul-wound dealt by Zhao Changhe's earlier arrow had not completely healed.

Yet Zhuque matching him stride for stride was not because of his weakness, but due to her own strength!

"You... are actually on the verge of the Grandmaster Realm, with half a foot already across the threshold?" The figure materialized from the darkness in profound shock. "How could it be so fast? During that battle with Xia Longyuan, you were merely at the level of one who had recently entered the Third Hidden Treasure!"

"The ways of the world are manifold and profound. Why should a cockroach left behind by time desperately cling to existence?" Zhuque turned her fair wrist, and flames rose from her palm, reflecting upon her vermilion bird mask. Her eyes still held the fierce, overbearing aura of past years, appearing truly divine and majestic.

Had an outsider been watching, they would scarcely have known who was the god and who was the fiend... or perhaps she was the god and the other the fiend, a contrast made starkly evident.

"I suddenly find myself wondering..." Zhuque smiled abruptly, her expression arrogant and mocking. "Your names do not appear on the Chaos Rankings, perhaps not because of the division of eras, but because... you are unworthy."

"Whoosh!" With those words, Zhuque's figure blurred, already sweeping past her foe. Blazing fire trailed after her like a great bird of flame soaring above the imperial palace, illuminating the entire night sky.

The citizens of the capital were startled awake by the sounds of battle, and it seemed they could hear the clear, resonant cry of a phoenix piercing the high heavens.

"Clang!" Xia Chichi deflected Yeletu's blade with a flick of her sword. Though in the midst of a fierce struggle, she could not resist muttering to herself, "This woman is so arrogant and domineering. Just how did he manage to make her so thoroughly submissive? I really can't fathom it."

Yeletu: "..."

Even if my army is bottlenecked in the palace gate passage and utterly disadvantaged, you shouldn't disregard me so completely!

Yet in truth, at least thirty percent of his own mind was fixed on the battle of gods and fiends overhead. He was currently suffering to the extreme, having lost all geographical advantage, his morale in the dust, while the Four Symbols Sect boasted experts as numerous as clouds. This battle was simply unwinnable. Fortunately, these men were all elite guardians; normal soldiers would have collapsed long ago. Now they could only barely hold on, delaying the moment of total annihilation.

His sole hope lay in enduring a little longer, waiting for the High God to defeat Zhuque and break this death trap with absolute martial might. Otherwise, everyone was doomed!

A fiendgod should be able to defeat Zhuque... surely...

"Boom!" The firebird swept across the sky, and a figure fled wretchedly through the shadows, his body clinging with flames that he managed to extinguish only with great difficulty.

He was actually completely on the defensive!

Aside from Zhuque's attribute heavily countering his own, her flames had already reached a fundamentally primal level. In terms of sheer heat, there might still be room for advancement, but where on earth did the unquenchable nature of this Nanming Primordial Fire come from?

When fire possessed the trait of being "unquenchable," an opponent would find themselves in immense trouble. Even if a single spark touched them, it took tremendous effort to eradicate, raising the difficulty of the confrontation by countless levels. Furthermore, Zhuque's heart-fire and soul-flame left no blind spots, burning the mind and scorching the spirit, and it seemed to inflict additional damage upon his current "mummy" state. A simple stream of fire was like a full banquet of techniques containing every attribute; no one with a specialized bias could handle it.

If this woman's flame intensity rose any further, what would become of them?

The firebird halted, transforming back into Zhuque's graceful form. "I will give you one last chance to state your name... otherwise, your Excellency might become the first ancient fiendgod of this era to die nameless."

The man did not answer. He seemed to take a deep breath, then suddenly vanished once more.

Zhuque looked up; even the faint moonlight in the sky had vanished, and the world plunged into absolute darkness, where even the falling snow appeared black.

The earth meridians held a sense of chaos, and the canopy above was not the sky she knew.

This was a sealed domain... the opponent had deceived her senses and vision, and was actually using his control to ambush Chichi.

Zhuque made this judgment instantly, her lips curling into an even more mocking smile as her graceful finger gave a gentle flick.

Behind Xia Chichi, flames suddenly erupted within the darkness, and a figure burst forth from the light, looking as though he were being publicly executed before a crowd of Four Symbols disciples.

"Control!" The man gasped in horror. "Controlling the fire upon my own body! You are already in the Grandmaster Realm!"

Leaving behind these words, he fled in haste, vanishing into the snowy night without even the courage to attempt another strike.

The sealed domain around Zhuque shattered into pieces, revealing the white snow once more.

She looked back at the shadow fleeing into the moonlight but did not pursue, knowing her speed could not catch him. She had not truly reached the Grandmaster Realm; it was merely that the fire previously thought extinguished by her opponent still left ashes clinging to his clothes. Within them lay the residual element of fire, which she had simply utilized... the so-called revival of dead embers. This move could certainly pass for the half-step Grandmaster Realm.

A half-step was not the true Grandmaster Realm, and in raw attributes like speed and power, she fell far short of such a shadow-type fiendgod. She had won this match relying on attribute suppression. Not only that, but her area-of-effect flames happened to counter the opponent's speed perfectly. One could say it was not a failure of his skill, but rather that he had met a ghost, unable to utilize any of his advantages.

Now, whether it was Zhao Changhe or herself, they both faced the severe problem of winning against an opponent but being unable to pursue and kill them. This matter had to be discussed and resolved once Changhe returned.

Zhuque did not dwell on it, her cold gaze falling upon the battlefield below.

Yeletu's heart grew cold to the bone.

He had hoped to endure a bit longer so the High God could defeat Zhuque and return to help... but what was this?

Among several battlefields, the first to decide a victor was the clash of gods and fiends? In a mere three or four exchanges, the High God had fled?

Who was the true fiendgod!

A sliver of light appeared on the horizon; dawn had broken.

A golden light flashed opportunely, conveying the heavily biased announcement of Zhao Changhe defeating Huangyang and repelling Fengyin.

Zhuque and Xia Chichi smiled simultaneously, nearly collapsing the solemn, murderous majesty they had just established.

Yeletu could not bother to watch these two women change their expressions; his mind was filled with utter shock.

How could this be... were the ancient fiendgods truly so vulnerable? Easily repelled here, and even more so there, with two defeated in succession! Were the fiendgods too weak, or were these people overbearingly strong?

"They have slept too long, and hidden too long, losing their bloody courage... in some aspects, they are not even your equal." Zhuque's slightly pitying voice drifted from above. Yeletu instinctively looked up, only for a slender hand to descend from the sky, striking his forehead.

Zhuque did not care to look a second time, her figure sweeping into the city gate passage as she began a frenzy of slaughter.

Xia Chichi was utterly speechless. "Imperial Mother..."

Zhuque forgot whom she was addressing.

Xia Chichi: "...Venerable One."

Zhuque looked back. "What is it?"

"Leave some alive. We need to question them about the state of the grasslands, and if we attack the divine hall, we will need guides." Xia Chichi said helplessly, "It's been a long time since you played the villain in the martial world, and your hands are itching, aren't they? Regrettably, you won't have the chance to scratch that itch in the future. Why not let a certain someone scratch it for you?"

"..." Unwilling to break the imposing manner she had just built, Zhuque said nothing and flew straight toward Tang Wanzhuang's direction, thinking to herself that she would teach this little minx a lesson later.

Yet when she arrived, the alley had already become a sea of blood and mountains of corpses.

Tang Wanzhuang stood quietly alone atop the pile of bones, calmly instructing her subordinates, "Bind the remaining crowd and throw them into the dungeon; I shall interrogate them personally. From this moment on, search the entire city. Those connected to these families—do not let a single one slip away."

Zhuque: "..."

This scene of a bloody sea and mountain of corpses should have belonged to me, and I really wanted to be the one to say that last line...

Only then did Tang Wanzhuang cast a glance at her, expressionless. "Has the Empress Dowager nothing to do?"

Zhuque said flatly, "I did not expect the so-called gods and fiends to be such trash."

Tang Wanzhuang replied, "Come off it, stop putting on airs. If you haven't fought your fill, go to Taihang, or you can go to Jinzhong. There will be plenty of fighting for you later."

Zhuque said displeasedly, "You aren't going?"

Tang Wanzhuang smiled faintly. "A minister does not vie for merit with the Empress Dowager."

"When have you ever regarded me as the Empress Dowager?" Zhuque said angrily. "You are clearly slacking off!"

"Please, I have many things to attend to." Tang Wanzhuang sized her up, then suddenly said, "Huangfu..."

Zhuque asked curiously, "What?"

"I think your blood-drenched villainous appearance, combined with your mask and vestments, makes you look truly beautiful when you kill."

Zhuque was stunned for a moment. Wasn't this Zhao Changhe's style of speaking? Aren't you supposed to despise someone like me? Was she infected by Zhao Changhe, or did you always think I looked good like this, and only fought with me because you were jealous of my beauty?

Without waiting for a response, Tang Wanzhuang had already led her followers away. "This battle is merely an appetizer; great battles will follow in succession... I wonder how things are on Batu's end. He had better not die too quickly..."