Chapter 1778: I Refuse

“Are you aware it is a crime to trespass into the Purple Star Imperial Palace?”

Ziwei Emperor looked down on Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou like he would see right through them.

“We did not come in malice or hostility, Your Majesty, nor did we trespass into your abode on purpose. We ask for your understanding and your forgiveness,” Ye Qing replied meekly and respectfully, though he secretly raised his guard even further than it already was, unwilling to grow lax even a little.

“So, you claim it is an accident.” Ziwei Emperor smirked as if he did not believe his explanation.

“Well, it does not matter to me if you trespass intentionally or unintentionally.”

Ziwei Emperor changed the subject. “I can tell that you are exemplary examples of your kind. Your talent is great, your fortune is extraordinary, and your karma is supernatural.”

“It has been ten thousand years since I fell aslumber. Now that I have finally awakened, it is time to recreate the former glory of the Nine Glory Purple Star Heaven. You are fated with me, so I would like to grant you two an opportunity.”

“What is this opportunity, Your Majesty?” Ye Qing asked with a deep bow, though his caution was only growing by the second.

Ziwei Emperor said slowly, “I will ask you to lend me your aid and help me recreate the glory of the Nine Glory Purple Star Heaven. Will you help me?”

Ye Qing said, “We will be delighted to, but what can we juniors possibly do to help you, Your Majesty?”

“The Divine Court is lost, and the Nine Glory Purple Star Heaven is but a shadow of its former self after enduring the merciless passage of time. Its energies are exhausted, its stars are depleted. It won’t be long before it collapses completely.”

Ziwei Emperor explained, “I do not wish for this Heaven to disappear permanently. That is why I’ve set up the Nine Star Ziwei Spirit Deprivation God Seal. It absorbs the power of the stars to reforge the foundation of this Heaven.”

“As you may have noticed, the prisoners are all champions of the current era. Their sagely powers are of great use to me.”

Ziwei Emperor slowly voiced the true reason he imprisoned these champions, “Now, I am only a few people shy from completing the Nine Star Ziwei Spirit Deprivation God Seal. Not only do the two of you bear the blessing of the Heavenly Way, your powers are even more impressive. If you join them, then the Nine Star Ziwei Spirit Deprivation God Seal will be complete, and the foundation of this Heaven will be restored.”

“So, I ask you again: Will you help me?”

Ye Qing: “...”

Of course... not!

What kind of crazy frames committing suicide as an “opportunity”? If you want to complete the seal so badly, then why don’t you sacrifice yourself then?

Ye Qing finally understood why White Robe Demon Master and the other Sages were trapped here. It was because Ziwei Emperor was planning to use them as batteries!

Ziwei Emperor continued in a bewitching voice, “Of course, I’m not planning to kill you. You are humans of great karma and fortune after all. I will preserve a sliver of your mind. When my strength is restored, I swear to remake your bodies and take you in as my disciples. Together, we will rule over the Nine Glory Purple Star Heaven forever.”

Ziwei Emperor’s voice attacked Ye Qing’s mind again and again like a tidal wave.

To be fair, Ziwei Emperor’s offer was pretty tempting.

The Nine Glory Purple Star Heaven was one of the Nine Upper Heavens. Its accumulation was massive, and its mysteries were endless. If they could rule this place, then the benefits they would receive were practically unimaginable.

Not only that, Ziwei Emperor was offering to recruit them as his disciples. From the sound of it, he was going to grant them immortality as well. This was obviously a massive opportunity.

If they were anyone else, they might have accepted the offer without hesitation.

However, Ye Qing knew full well that there were no free lunches in this world. He did not doubt for a second that Ziwei Emperor’s promise was as great as the pitfalls.

If he had any doubt, he only needed to look at White Robe Demon Master to wash them away.

Besides, was the one sitting on the throne even the true Ziwei Emperor?

“You flatter us, Your Majesty.” Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath before saying calmly, “We are but fireflies on the ground; specks of insignificant dust that make up the earth. We do not think we are up for the task you would like to entrust us with, much less your expectation.”

“What do you think you are doing?”

Ziwei Emperor’s voice abruptly turned ice cold, and an indescribable blanket of pressure crashed down on the space once more. “I am offering you a heaven-sized opportunity; a fortune most people could not even dream of. You dare reject me?”

“Is that so? It’s fine though. We don’t mind passing off this opportunity to someone else!” Ye Qing replied indifferently.

“Good. Good. Good.” Ziwei Emperor was so angry that he smiled and repeated himself three times. His tone was ice cold, and his voice was brimming with bloodthirst.

“I was going to give you the opportunity to be of use to me. I was going to let you help me recreate the glory of the Nine Glory Purple Star Heaven since the two of you are people of great fortune and karma.”

“Alas, no amount of fortune and karma can make up for one’s stupidity. If you refuse to recognize what’s good for you, then you can repent your mistake in the next life!”

Ziwei Emperor launched his attack as soon as he finished.

Rumble!

The entire Purple Star Imperial Palace seemed to have come alive and unleashed a terrific wave of power.

The nine stars suspended in the sky burst into dazzling light as they resonated with each other and joined together into one gigantic cage of stars. It trapped Ye Qing, Feng Qingyou, and Elder Furnace inside.

At the same time, Ziwei Emperor lifted a finger and pointed at the trio.

Buzz...

Space shook, and countless starlight gathered at his fingertip. Then, Ziwei Emperor fired off a dazzling beam of starlight straight at Ye Qing.

The beam of starlight moved faster than anything Ye Qing had ever encountered before. It reached him in just the blink of an eye and could not be evaded.

“All that talk just to fight in the end. What a waste of breath.”

Ye Qing had anticipated this though. That was why he summoned the Earthly Sovereign Bell as soon as Ziwei Emperor took action.

Thang!

A melodious bell chime echoed throughout heaven and earth, and the Earthly Sovereign Bell unleashed countless rays of profound light that formed a golden screen in front of Ye Qing.

Buzz...

The beam of starlight struck the golden screen like a hammer and threatened its integrity greatly. However, it ultimately managed to block the attack.

“Huh? The Earthly Sovereign Bell?” Ziwei Emperor exclaimed in surprise as if he wasn’t expecting Ye Qing to block his attack. “It looks like you carry greater secrets than I anticipated!”

“You don’t say?” Ye Qing scoffed at the same time he secretly signed to Feng Qingyou with his hand. Feng Qingyou understood his meaning instantly.

“Hmph. You didn’t think you could defeat me with a broken bell, did you?”

Ziwei Emperor sneered as the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger.

Rumble...

Even greater power exploded from the depths of the Purple Star Imperial Palace.

An endless flood of starlight began pouring down from above like the waterfalls of the nine heavens. They gathered behind Ziwei Emperor and formed a gigantic starlight vortex.

The vortex rotated slowly while emanating a terrifying presence. It looked like it could devour everything and annihilate all life.

“All Sky, rise.”

At Ziwei Emperor’s command, the starlight vortex spun faster and generated a terrifying amount of attraction force.

Rumble rumble rumble!

Space shook, and the nine stars shook violently. Three hundred and sixty beams of starlight then flew out of the nine stars and merged with the starlight vortex.

Each beam represented the power of a star. Three hundred and sixty beams represented an obscene amount of power.

Inside the starlight vortex, the starlight combined to form three hundred and sixty god demons.

The god demons were impossibly gigantic. Demonic qi chilled the air, and their roars deafened the cosmos. Every single one of them gave off a world-ending presence.