Chapter 39: You saw a wisp of my aura and thought it was the whole, much like a mayfly gazing at the universe

Huge eyes opened, radiating boundless divine light. Li Xuan’s expression remained calm as he withdrew his consciousness from afar and looked toward Chen Xiyue.

The heavy, dark clouds drifted apart piece by piece, instantly transforming into auspicious clouds.

Li Xuan’s figure was boundless and of unfathomable height, with nebulae around him appearing merely like specks of dust.

As for Chen Xiyue and the others, they were no bigger than ants resting in the palm of Li Xuan's hand.

They were as weak as tiny insects. Li Xuan’s gaze had never truly been fixed on them; what had appeared before them earlier was merely a wisp of his aura.

Through the Art of Transforming the Three Pure Ones from a Single Breath, that was all they had encountered. But at this moment, Li Xuan’s true form was revealed.

Lifting his head, Chen Xiyue witnessed this very sight: boundless auspicious clouds and dense starlit constellations, beneath which a colossal figure lowered its gaze to look down upon him.

Chen Xiyue’s pupils contracted violently, widening in an instant as he stared in disbelief at that enormous face. The overwhelming pressure left him in a daze. This face belonged to Li Xuanyi!

It was Emperor Taixuan!

In an instant, Chen Xiyue’s mind went blank. He refused to believe it, dared not believe it, as he vividly recalled how Li Xuanyi—whom he had just pierced through—had transformed into a wisp of breath and drifted right into the palm of the giant face floating above!

A wisp of breath!

Just a wisp of breath!

The one he had killed was merely a wisp of aura!

It was not Li Xuanyi, nor was it the Great Emperor Taixuan!

It was not Li Xuanyi at all, but just a breath?! A mere breath?!

Chen Xiyue stared unbelievingly at Li Xuan’s face. The face was infinitely vast, its height immeasurable, overlooking the entire mortal world. Chen Xiyue’s face flushed crimson, his head swam, and an endless wave of humiliation engulfed his entire being.

In a split second.

Trembling, shivering uncontrollably—a profound sense of panic rose within Chen Xiyue’s heart. It was the kind of primal terror one feels upon encountering a primordial beast, a being overwhelmingly superior to oneself.

Even without intentionally targeting him, the sheer existence of such an entity was enough to induce trembling. At this moment, that was precisely how Chen Xiyue felt, especially since this terrifying entity was someone he knew intimately!

He was the person Chen Xiyue had schemed against, the person he had intended to consume, and now, that very being was looking down upon him, casting a downward gaze. A pair of eyes, devoid of joy or sorrow, watched him with unrippled serenity.

It was as if he did not even exist within those eyes. No, it was not that he didn't exist; he did exist, but this very existence failed to evoke the slightest hint of pleasure or recognition.

Viewing Li Xuan at this moment was no different from a mayfly looking up at the vast universe.

So much for consuming the Emperor of Xuan and ascending as Emperor Xiyue—at this very moment, all of it turned into bubbles.

Chen Xiyue stood frozen in place, raising his head to stare blankly at Li Xuan’s towering form. In this instant, it felt as though he had returned to his days as a mere mortal, confronting the dark and unknown horrors of the world.

Li Xuan gazed down at Chen Xiyue with a detached expression, saying nothing. Ever since Chen Xiyue had revealed himself, he was nothing more than a clown performing on a stage.

Li Xuan felt a profound sense of disappointment and no longer deigned to regard Chen Xiyue with even a sliver of regard.

"Hahahahaha," Chen Xiyue laughed, tears and mucus streaming down his face as he spat out a mouthful of dark, black blood. Under the sheer weight of Li Xuan’s gaze, his internal organs were already fracturing.

The most crucial thing was that Li Xuan hadn't even made a move. Merely looking at Chen Xiyue, merely manifesting his presence without wielding any actual power...

Yet Chen Xiyue’s state of mind had already collapsed, and his physical body was disintegrating.

Coughing up blood, Chen Xiyue wore a crazed expression. He wanted to laugh, to laugh uproariously—so much for strength being strength and weakness being weakness, so much for all those petty schemes!

He had even dreamed of devouring Li Xuan, yet Li Xuan had never once considered him worthy of attention.

Not only that, but he had previously boasted that the seventh realm of quasi-emperor could effortlessly slay a great emperor, mocking Li Xuan as a good-for-nothing. At this moment, those arrogant words pierced through his heart like sharp blades.

Chen Xiyue opened his mouth once more and coughed up a fresh mouthful of blood.

The ten of them—two quasi-emperors, two half-step quasi-emperors, two saint kings, two great saints, and two saints—how wildly arrogant they had been to dare challenge the Great Emperor Taixuan!

How blindingly arrogant, how utterly grotesque!

"Emperor Xiyue..."

Quasi-Emperor Chen Xingyi’s physical body was fracturing, yet the upper half of his face bore a look of wild elation. They had finally emerged from seclusion; they had to devour the Great Emperor Taixuan so that their master could successfully ascend as the Great Emperor.

Otherwise, their fate would undoubtedly be unimaginably grim.

Chen Xingyi, Dan Du, Lin An, and the others wore expressions of fierce excitement, their demeanors solemn yet tinged with triumphant smiles. So what if he was the Great Emperor Taixuan? He was utterly vulnerable, pierced through by a single spear thrust from their master.

On the other hand, Ji Chun, Wu Xian, and the others looked as desolate as mourners at a funeral. The emperor—the great emperor had actually been pierced through by a single spear!

However, it did not take long for them to realize something was gravely amiss. The great emperor had transformed into a wisp of mist and vanished completely.

Stunned, they watched as Chen Xiyue tilted his head back to gaze at something in the sky. Suddenly, he was struck as if by lightning, wearing the expression of someone who had just witnessed an absolute impossibility—crazed, with tears and mucus running down his face.

That expression left everyone present utterly dumbfounded and chilled to the bone.

Lifting their heads, all of them saw two full moons appearing high in the firmament, while a starry sky and auspicious clouds manifested simultaneously. They were utterly at a loss.

Chen Xingyi could not fathom what his master was looking at. "Master, Taixuan..."

Chen Xiyue let out a hollow laugh, spat out another mouthful of blood, and pointed toward the heavens. "All of us... are in the palm of the Great Emperor Taixuan."

Chen Xiyue’s words stunned everyone present. Chen Xingyi raised his head, his expression freezing.

Two full moons... No, those weren't moons! Those were... eyes!

Terror!

A pair of eyes was watching them from the heavens!

The rest of them raised their heads one after another and beheld the two glowing orbs. In an instant, the truth dawned upon them. That was a pair of eyes!

*Crack.* The moment he understood this reality, the sound of internal fracturing echoed from within Chen Xingyi’s body. It lasted merely a fleeting instant.

His state of mind collapsed, his body turned pitch black, and his expression twisted into one of sheer horror and disbelief. The Great Emperor—the Great Emperor Taixuan hadn't even shown his true self; a mere wisp of his aura, executing a casual attack, had reduced him to this state!

His quasi-emperor body had been severed.

How could Chen Xingyi ever accept this? He had looked down upon Li Xuan, never imagining that Li Xuan could possibly be this terrifyingly powerful!

Who on earth had started the rumor that the Great Emperor Taixuan was the weakest great emperor?!

The light faded from Chen Xingyi’s eyes, his expression vacant, and as his quasi-emperor aura leaked away, he began to undergo self-dissolution and pass away!

"Chen Xiyue."

Li Xuan’s figure manifested atop Duxiu Peak, gazing indifferently at Chen Xiyue. At once, Wu Xian and the others wore fanatical expressions. The Great Emperor! The Great Emperor was vastly more powerful than they had ever imagined!

Killed? Pierced through?

What godforsaken quasi-emperors! They had dared to act so arrogantly merely against a wisp of the Great Emperor's aura!

Upon beholding the true form of the Great Emperor, Chen Xingyi had directly dissolved into nothingness and passed away!

Chen Xiyue offered a bitter, self-deprecating smile.

"Haha, we truly were pathetic clowns," Chen Xiyue casually tossed aside the quasi-emperor weapon in his hand, letting it clatter to the ground as he cast a melancholic gaze toward Li Xuan.

Li Xuan spoke in a calm tone, "Tell me, who orchestrated this scheme against me? Cui Ning was one of the masterminds, but I refuse to believe he—or you—possessed the capability to plot against me several millennia ago."

Li Xuan suspected that someone else stood behind Chen Xiyue. Cui Ning was the origin of the demonic cave and the reason Chen Xiyue and the others had managed to survive.

Yet Cui Ning was dead, while Chen Xiyue and the others remained safe and sound. Perhaps even Cui Ning had been manipulated by Chen Xiyue all along.

Chen Xiyue froze slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching. "No one behind me plotted against you. It was I who plotted against you. Now that I look back..."

Chen Xiyue lowered his head to look at his own hands. "...How utterly pathetic. An emperor is truly not someone who can be so easily schemed against."

A trace of a smile surfaced on Li Xuan’s lips. "Then that is truly unfortunate. I am afraid I have disappointed you."

Chen Xiyue laughed, a bitter, hollow laugh. "Great Emperor Taixuan, to have a fellow great emperor send me off on my final journey before death... it is still an honor."

Chen Xiyue had already given up all hope. Li Xuan remained silent.

Dan Du and Lin An stepped forward together. "Master."

Without a word, Chen Xiyue raised a hand and instantly executed Dan Du, Lin An, and all the others.

Dan Du’s expression jolted as he looked at Chen Xiyue, a look of bewilderment in his eyes. But a moment later, his expression smoothed out, and he closed his eyes.

Lin An lowered his head, gazed at the wound on his chest, and laughed aloud, fresh blood spilling from his lips. "Very well! This worthless life of mine was granted by Master, and now I return it to you, Chen Xiyue!"

"Great Emperor Taixuan, take care! It is I who have failed the Great Emperor!"

With those words, Lin An bowed deeply toward Li Xuan.

Dan Du cupped his fists and spoke, "We thank the Great Emperor, and pay our respects to the Great Emperor. We were the ones in the wrong."

The fallen saint-realm figures of Xiyue Sacred Land knelt in unison. "We thank the Great Emperor!"

One by one, their figures and auras faded away into nothingness.

Li Xuan remained noncommittal, his expression entirely detached.

Chen Xiyue stroked the palms of his hands. "There is no need for you to dirty your hands with these people; they are too vile."

"Might I ask a favor of you?" Chen Xiyue looked up at Li Xuan.

"Speak." Li Xuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing down at Chen Xiyue. He neither agreed nor refused, well aware of what Chen Xiyue was plotting.

Unfortunately, Li Xuan could only tell him that he had miscalculated.

Chen Xiyue sighed softly. "I originally intended to leave behind an orthodox lineage, but now, I only ask one thing of you: spare a thread of vitality for Xiyue Sacred Land, and let the remaining disciples of Xiyue Sacred Land live on."

Li Xuan smiled faintly. "Very well, I can spare their lives for now."

—Only to kill them the next time we meet.

Chen Xiyue nodded in assent. His aura gradually faded away completely, and his quasi-emperor corpse collapsed onto the earth.

"Great Emperor."

Ji Chun surveyed his surroundings, a deep sense of sorrow gripping his heart. Their Xiyue Sacred Land had not been destroyed at the hands of their enemies, but rather by the very hands of their sacred land's founding patriarch.

The saint-realm elders of Xiyue Sacred Land stared at Chen Xiyue’s quasi-emperor corpse, hatred burning in their eyes. For Chen Xiyue to die so easily was far too merciful.

Li Xuan lifted his head, his colossal projection vanishing. With a wave of his sleeve, Xiyue Sacred Land shuddered. In an instant, countless wisps of spiritual radiance rained down, and Xiyue Sacred Land instantly returned to peace.

Vitality bloomed once more.

It was just that it now lacked the warmth of human bustling activity.

Ji Chun’s expression shifted slightly. The methods of the Great Emperor Taixuan were truly unfathomably profound; such earth-shattering changes brought about with a mere wave of the hand were simply beyond his comprehension!

"You mistook a mere wisp of my aura for my entirety, like blind men touching an elephant in utter ignorance, no different from mayflies looking up at the firmament. Chen Xiyue, where on earth did you get the confidence to think you could keep hiding?"

Li Xuan looked down at the corpse and suddenly spoke out loud.

Seeking votes midway through the chapter. Thank you for your support, esteemed patrons!

_(:з」∠)_