Vengeance and the Emperor's Return

This was a dark, secret chamber. Within the room were laid out countless instruments of torture. In the center was a single rack, upon which was bound a panicked, bedraggled young man in white robes.

“This… this…” Dong Qi stared at the instruments around him, his face turning pale.

“Who is it? Who exactly have I offended?” Dong Qi trembled in fear. “They even destroyed my Snowdragon Mountain.” All his former arrogance and bluster were gone, replaced by pure terror.

The soldiers in the corner of the room stood guard in silence.

Suddenly—

With a rumbling sound, a stone door opened. A woman and a youth dressed in animal hides walked in. This only made Dong Qi feel more confused and uneasy. He didn’t recognize these two people at all.

“Princess,” the soldier on guard said respectfully.

“You may leave,” Yuchi Xiyue instructed.

“Yes.” The soldier immediately departed, and the stone door closed once more.

Yuchi Xiyue and Ji Ning both stared at the panicked, bedraggled man bound to the rack. The two siblings had long ago reviewed the intelligence reports regarding ‘Dong Qi’ multiple times; his features were deeply seared into both of their hearts.

“Dong Qi!” Killing intent flickered in Ji Ning’s eyes.

“It was you. You! You destroyed my home, caused my father’s death, and drove my mother to die of grief!” Yuchi Xiyue’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. She grabbed a nearby ladle, scooped up a portion of the flowing, blazing silver liquid from a basin, and directly splashed it onto Dong Qi.

Hua~~~ The scorching silver liquid splashed onto Dong Qi’s body. He let out a miserable, piercing shriek, his neck straining upward as he screamed in unimaginable agony, his face as pale as paper.

When he came to his senses slightly, he immediately cried out in terror, “Mercy! Mercy! Please!”

Ji Ning’s eyes were also red.

Everything… the source of everything was this worthless son of a noble clan before him, this hateful bastard, this petty, hateful minor character he had once regarded as beneath his notice! And yet, this same petty character had caused the early deaths of his parents, and his cousin-sister’s parents as well. A debt of patricide was a blood feud not to be shared under the same heavens!

“It hurts! It hurts! Mercy!” Dong Qi shrieked.

“It hurts?” Ji Ning picked up a magic treasure nearby that resembled a branding iron and walked over. “This is only the beginning, Dong Qi. Take it slow, and enjoy yourself.”

“No… no… no!” Dong Qi felt a chill in his heart and let out a miserable shriek. However, this torture chamber was covered with formation wards; the outside world could not detect anything happening within.

Ji Ning directly pressed the branding-iron treasure against him, channeling elemental ki into it. Instantly, sizzling sounds could be heard as it seared Dong Qi’s ragged, torn skin, sending up plumes of smoke. When Ji Ning withdrew the treasure, a pattern of a flame had appeared on Dong Qi’s skin. This flame pattern faintly drew upon the power of heaven and earth.

“Ah! Ah! Ah! It hurts! It hurts!” Dong Qi’s entire body convulsed. The flame pattern seemed to be scorching his whole body, repeatedly burning him alive until he felt he was on the verge of collapse.

Yuchi Xiyue said coldly from the side, “Don’t worry. These are just some of the torture methods of our Grand Xia’s imperial clan. You’ve only tasted two of them. I won’t let you die so easily. I will prepare spiritual medicines and heal you again and again. I will make you experience all ten thousand types of torment the Grand Xia Dynasty has to offer. I will make you understand pain, and I will make you know regret!”

Hearing this, Dong Qi felt his spirit shatter. Ten thousand types of torment? The two he had just experienced were already driving him mad.

“What have I done to offend you? What exactly have I done to offend you? You must have the wrong person!” Dong Qi was on the verge of tears.

With a rumbling sound, the stone door opened once more.

A snow-white hound walked in, followed by the stone door closing again.

“Do you still recognize me?” Uncle White’s eyes were also filled with savage killing intent as he stared at Dong Qi.

“A Whitewater Hound?” Dong Qi was stunned. Deep in his memories, a scene from decades ago surfaced in his mind. It was of a tall, stalwart man and a loving, devoted couple. The pregnant wife was truly beautiful, with an extraordinarily rare aura. Her pregnancy only added a strange, alluring charm to her, which had made the young Dong Qi’s heart stir back then.

And so, he had given the order. Yu Tong and Shui Yi had moved to strike.

“Remember now?” Ji Ning said coldly. “That couple from back then were my parents.”

“And the man you had killed was my father!” Yuchi Xiyue was utterly unhinged with wrath. Her father, who had doted on her so deeply in her childhood. Those broad, mountain-like shoulders, that bright and hearty laughter… they had appeared in her dreams countless times. He was the father she loved most in all the world. And her gentle mother as well.

Ji Ning and Yuchi Xiyue both stared at Dong Qi.

A chill ran down Dong Qi’s spine.

“It was you who killed Yu Tong and Shui Yi?” Dong Qi asked in a trembling voice.

“Yes,” Ji Ning nodded. “And now it is your turn, the mastermind.”

“My junior apprentice-brother was too lenient. He only used the 'Heart-Scorching Art' on those two,” Yuchi Xiyue said through gritted teeth. “Those two died and that was that. But as for you, the mastermind? You will taste all ten thousand torture methods of the Grand Xia. You’ll be just about dead by the time that’s done. Then I will collect your soul into the 'Heart-Chaining Furnace'. I will make your soul suffer torment day and night, for a thousand years, for ten thousand years!”

Dong Qi’s eyes went blank with despair.

Ji Ning looked towards his cousin-sister. Although he himself was filled with a burning hatred and wanted to torture him to death and utterly destroy his soul, compared to his cousin-sister, he was far behind.

“Cousin-sister, tormenting his soul for ten days and ten nights is enough,” Ji Ning said, his own eyes red, via a mental transmission. “There’s no need to let a piece of trash like him keep you mired in hatred for a thousand or ten thousand years.”

To torment Dong Qi for a thousand or ten thousand years meant that Yuchi Xiyue herself would be sunk in hatred for that same span of time.

Tormenting another was also tormenting oneself.

“My hatred has long taken root, little brother. Do not bother yourself with me,” Yuchi Xiyue said, her gaze nearly twisted and crazed.

Throughout his growth, Ji Ning had been taught by his parents for over a decade, then by the Diancai Immortal, and had a good brother in Mu Northson. Thus, Ji Ning’s heart had remained untwisted.

But Yuchi Xiyue… after her parents died, she had endured countless hardships alone. She didn’t even want to recall those bitter experiences. Even after she was taken back to the Grand Xia imperial capital by her maternal grandfather, she remained extremely withdrawn and solitary. Only when facing her cousin-brother could her heart feel some warmth.

Dong Qi died a very miserable death.

After three months of torture, he finally died. His soul was taken into the 'Heart-Chaining Furnace' and tormented for another month. In the end, it was King Yan who took action. Although Yuchi Xiyue kept the Heart-Chaining Furnace on her person, making it impossible for ordinary people to kill the soul within via a magic treasure, King Yan was capable of it. He extinguished Dong Qi’s soul.

“Ji Ning, spend some time with Xiyue. Over this past half year, she has mostly vented the hatred in her heart. If she is allowed to continue like this, she will only fall completely into demonic madness. If you keep her company, you can help her gradually emerge from this hatred.” King Yan personally spoke to Ji Ning, and Ji Ning naturally took the words to heart.

Late autumn.

Deep within the space above the Grand Xia imperial capital was a hazy, grey void. Whoosh~~~ The grey nothingness suddenly parted, forming a massive passageway that faintly shimmered with golden light. An endless row of black-armored soldiers flew through the air, and behind this front line of soldiers came groups of black-armored riders on heavenly steeds. Further back, a sinuous, enormous black dragon soared through the skies. This black dragon radiated an overwhelming aura of power, immensely strong. It was pulling an enormous, golden-glowing immortal chariot. Golden lanterns hung all around the chariot, and seated upon it was a man in black robes.

This black-robed man had a simple, ancient face, and his eyes were like bolts of lightning. Where his gaze fell, it seemed as though heaven and earth would split apart.

His majesty caused the surrounding soldiers to tremble with fear and reverence.

Behind the immortal chariot followed wave after wave of black-armored soldiers riding on warships. These warships were each a hundred zhang long. However, compared to the chariot, they were far inferior. One must know that the black dragon itself was ten thousand zhang in length, and the chariot was comparable in size to the divine black dragon.

And so.

An imperial procession, with nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine guards.

The entire formation flew directly downwards, heading straight for a single, towering palace, the Tianmang Hall. At the very top of the Tianmang Hall, past the clouds, a vast host of fairy maidens, soldiers, and generals were already prostrating themselves. These fairies, soldiers, and generals were at least at the Primal Daoist level. However, being able to serve closely by the side of the ‘Grand Xia Emperor’ was a stroke of immense fortune for them.

“Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty!” a burly, two-headed Fiendgod knelt and shouted, the first to speak.

Instantly, the throngs of fairy maidens, soldiers, and generals behind him all knelt down: “Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty!”

The black dragon pulled the immortal chariot down to land.

The vast armada of black-armored soldiers that had surrounded the chariot swiftly spread out, taking their positions.

“Mm.” The black-robed man walked down from the chariot. After taking just two steps, he arrived at the imperial throne not far away. He sat proudly upon the throne, looking down from on high, and then commanded, “Summon King Qi. Tell him to come here.”

“Yes!” the two-headed Fiendgod acknowledged the order.

The black-robed man sat high upon his throne. His gaze swept out, piercing through layers of clouds and mist. The entire Grand Xia imperial capital was laid out before his observation.

He sat high above, the true, absolute ruler of this major world.

However, his vision had long since been cast upon the Three Realms themselves. He rarely spent any time staying within the world of the Grand Xia Dynasty.

“Decades ago, the Netherworld, the underworld of the Three Realms, was suddenly attacked. The Six Paths of Reincarnation collapsed and was destroyed. Afterwards, those ambushing enemies disappeared without a trace,” the black-robed emperor murmured softly to himself. “The Netherworld Kingdom is the destination for the souls of the Three Realms. Its importance is paramount, and its defenses were incredibly tight. The Ten Kings of Hell and Lord Cui, the First Judge, are all True Immortals of Pure Yang. The Buddha Ksitigarbha of the Buddhist faith also holds the line there. There are plenty of other old monsters lurking in the Netherworld as well… their power is utterly formidable. And yet, when the attack came, they were completely unable to resist. The Six Paths of Reincarnation was destroyed in an extremely short period of time. We cannot even determine who did it, or which faction these people belong to. Not even an existence like my master is able to discover the truth.”

“This hidden, secret power… it is terrifyingly strong. Its first strike was aimed at the Six Paths of Reincarnation.”

“It seems… the Three Realms are about to descend into chaos.” Deep worry filled the eyes of the black-robed emperor.

A great upheaval in the Three Realms would be utterly terrifying.

In the boundless ancient past, Pangu had split open the heavens and created the Primordial World. Later, that Primordial World shattered, giving rise to the three thousand major worlds and the countless minor worlds. This shows just how terrifying such a cataclysm could be.

“Every time a great cataclysm occurs, true peerless heroes are born,” the black-robed emperor said, looking down at the Grand Xia imperial capital from on high. It is said that heroes arise in times of chaos. It is precisely during these times of great upheaval and tribulation that the truly powerful existences of the Three Realms are generally born.

“This time, the first Immortal Fortunes Assembly since the destruction of the Six Paths of Reincarnation… those heroes who are to be born will likely appear within this assembly,” the black-robed emperor mused to himself.