Chapter 1576: False Kings

"True Kings May Not Enter..." Qin Jiujie squinted at the new word. "We did all that just to add a single word to the Heavenly Emperor Edict?"

"Do you think that these Edicts are easy to modify? Even with a Heavenly Emperor Talisman, changing the Law set by a stone tablet requires the consent of the Heavenly Emperor who made it. Otherwise, the talisman would have no effect. Unless, of course, a Heavenly Emperor personally descended to take action," the Spirit Eye Underworld King explained. "In addition, only the Origin Reversion Institute has the power to supplement it. After all, the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus Grand Devil King is unable to pass through the World's End River and without our help, it will only be able to stare blankly as the Other Disaster is beaten back."

The Spirit Eye Underworld King glanced at the stone tablet with five words and continued, "The Heavenly Emperor Talisman will supplement it, allowing more of the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus' power to be projected here."

Qin Jiujie nodded. The action seemed simple, but it had rewritten the Laws that affected the Stygian Rain.

Originally, the Stygian Rain limited the strongest combatants to be Pinnacle Dukes. However, that was no longer the limit—it had changed to that of False Kings! They were like Kings, but at the same time they weren't. Thus, they were given such a title. Strictly speaking, this wasn't a specific cultivation level, it was more of an attainment. Since ancient times, those who could reach the point of being a False King were even rarer than those who had properly entered the King Stage. Using the Pinnacle Duke as an example of those at the top of the Duke Stage, the False Kings were known as those who were at the absolute apex of the Pinnacle Dukes. Those who wished to attain this status had to have a specific foundation—six Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds and three nine-pillar Duke Bergfrieds. This made tem far stronger than ordinary upper ninth-grade Dukes, but strictly speaking, they had not reached the King Stage. It was a rare achievement, and one worthy of a title.

Those who could forge six Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds was just one step away from becoming Transcendent Dukes, equivalent to Kings. They usually possessed shocking talent and were unrivaled. Thus, if they tried their best, it was quite likely they would be able to forge a seventh Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried and become Transcendent. To these geniuses, the title of False King wasn't a mark of honor, it was actually a show of failure!

Thus, False Kings were naturally rarer than true Kings. Based on the information Qin Jiujie knew, there wasn't a single False King in the entire Heavenly Origin Divine Continent. The ones who were closest to that stage could very well be Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e, two sixth-grade Transcendents. However, they fell short of False Kings since there was a difference of three nine-pillar Duke Bergfrieds.

As Qin Jiujie considered these possibilities, he suddenly sensed terrifying corruption fluctuations emanating from the bottomless pit. He then turned his gaze towards the ninth-grade True Devils that were now emerging from the darkness. They began yet another round of merciless slaughter and devouring. Broken limbs were sent flying in every direction, accompanied by savage roars.

With the change to the Heavenly Emperor's Edict, the Others were once again consuming and fusing with each other to reach a new level of strength as per the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus's will. They could now get infinitely close to the power of a King, but not truly step into it the King Stage. This act of cannibalization and devouring would be unimaginable for living creatures, but to the Others, it was instinctual.

Although the False King Other created by such a process might not survive for very long, it was more than sufficient to ensure that they would emerge victorious in this war. Qin Jiujie was well aware of the impact a False King Other would have on the battlefield—it would smash through the three Heavenly Emperor powers in an unstoppable fashion and their offensive would suffer miserably. Their bolstered morale would plummet.

The Spirit Eye Underworld King and Qin Jiujie waited for another two days. After which, the roars coming from the deep abyss before them halted. They could sense a horrifying existence being born as overwhelming corruption radiated from it.

When they focused their gazes into the depths, they could hear the squelches of blood, flesh, and mud flowing in torrential streams. Floating in the veritable tide of blood was a gigantic, fleshy ball that bobbed up and down. The ball's surface was engraved with numerous gloomy and eerie runes, each one resembling a pained and twisted human face. A moment later, the fleshy ball was ripped open and a pale, skinny hand stretched out of it.

A naked figure emerged, resembling a slender woman. Its only unusual feature was that it had a pair of white wings sprouting from its back. In fact, it even gave off a sort of sacred and untouchable sensation. However, when the wings unfurled, one could see that the "feathers" were actually countless fingers that had been soaked in liquid for so long that they had turned pale and swollen.

A chilly aura swept out from it. The Spirit Eye Underworld King and Qin Jiujie could sense that the Finger Winged Other emitted corruption undulations that far surpassed the previous ninth-grade True Devils.

A False King Other had been created.

The Finger Winged Other lifted its head and looked at the two, its pale and beautiful expression revealing an enchanting smile. Its instincts as an Other immediately compelled it to slaughter them. However, just as it took a single step forward, a command echoed through its mind, suppressing its instinctual desires. Then its finger wings opened up and the Other shot into the skies. When the Finger Winged Other left, a gloomy wind swept through the area and the Stygian Rain began to pour down once again.

The rain fell like a monsoon, filled to the brim with the aura of death and decay.

Qin Jiujie held his hand out and caught a droplet of the Stygian Rain in his palm. When he focused on it, he discovered that there was something different about it.

The droplet contained almost indiscernible pieces of ash that were invisible to the naked eye. They were like maggots, constantly swimming in the liquid.

"The Stygian Rain has become even more terrifying," Qin Jiujie lightly commented.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

It was clear that the Heavenly Emperor Talisman had played its part by allowing for even more of the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus's strength to be projected.

In this case, whether it was the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin's Evil Cleansing Spring Rain Formation or the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li's Divine Crystalline Radiance Demon Purifying Formation, both would be affected without a shadow of a doubt.

"The three Heavenly Emperor powers have cruised along smoothly for too long. It's time for a surprise." The Spirit Eye Underworld King hoarsely cackled. "That's good news for us. The more experts that die, the riper the Life Fruits will be."