"Ministers of the Five Dragons of Huaxia, have you found any news?"
Upon seeing the appearance of the five ministers of the Five Dragons of Huaxia, Zhu Zhi immediately asked.
However.
Zhang Yingxiong and the other four sighed and shook their heads.
"No, we've searched everywhere we should and shouldn't have, but we still have no clues."
"It's as if the Emperor suddenly vanished into thin air, as if he never existed."
"Perhaps..."
At this point, the five stopped speaking, because the outcome they least wanted to see was about to happen.
"We're back today because we received news in Xijiang that the Emperor... Hmm?"
Mid-sentence.
The five looked at Di Yi, who was wearing a bronze mask, their faces full of curiosity.
They felt a familiar aura from Di Yi.
They seemed to know this person!
It seemed so!
"Who are you, sir? Can you take off your mask?" Zhang Yingxiong said.
Zhang Yang and Zhu Zhi remained silent, watching.
Di Yi, however, was very straightforward.
Seeing his old friends, he removed his bronze mask for the first time.
Beneath the bronze mask was an extremely rugged face, covered in wrinkles.
Crisscrossed, it was full of vicissitudes.
Like a woodcutter who had endured wind and rain.
"What? You don't recognize me?" Di Yi retorted.
"It's you! Di Yi!"
Upon seeing Di Yi's face clearly, Zhang Yingxiong and the other four exclaimed.
They knew Di Yi.
Although they had few opportunities to interact, only two or three times.
But they were all aware of Di Yi's existence.
However, before the incident with the Five Dragons of Huaxia, Zhang Yingxiong had visited the Imperial City and had not sensed any trace of Di Yi.
This also led them to not suspect Di Yi later on.
They thought Di Yi had been killed by the fake Emperor.
To their surprise, he was still alive and had even come to Linhai City.
"I never expected you to still be alive!"
"Quick, tell us, do you know where the Emperor is?" Zhang Yingxiong pressed.
Di Yi chuckled.
"Heh, compared to what you Five Dragons of Huaxia have gone through, my situation is also quite tragic."
"I almost died at the hands of Gu Congtian and the fake Emperor. Fortunately, I managed to escape into Shennong Gorge and survived."
Shennong Gorge.
So that's how it was!
The five ministers of the Five Dragons of Huaxia suddenly understood.
They had gone to Shennong Gorge back then because they had heard that there had been a fight on the road from the Northern Territory to Shennong Gorge, which was why they went.
"So, you know where the real Emperor is?" Zhang Yingxiong asked.
Di Yi nodded.
"Yes, I know where the real Emperor is, and he is currently alive. I've already told Zhang Yang and the others, but they don't believe me."
Immediately.
Zhang Yingxiong and the other four looked at Zhang Yang, "What's going on? Where is the Emperor?"
Zhang Yang and Zhu Zhi, who had been listening to the two without interrupting, exchanged glances.
From the conversation between Zhang Yingxiong and the other four, and Di Yi, Di Yi's identity had been confirmed.
Therefore, what Di Yi said should be true without a doubt.
"Di Yi just said that the Emperor is in the Imperial City, and the current fake Emperor is the real Emperor," Zhang Yang said.
What!
As soon as this was said.
Zhang Yingxiong and the other four showed the same expression as Zhang Yang and the others when they first heard it. They couldn't believe it.
"The fake Emperor is the real Emperor? What a joke!"
"I'm not joking. I'm very sure of this, because both the real and fake Emperors reside within the Emperor's body. There are two souls existing within the Emperor's body," Di Yi confirmed.
"This is also why I was severely injured by the fake Emperor and Gu Congtian back then... "
Di Yi fell into memory, recounting the entire sequence of events to Zhang Yang and the others.
Back then.
Not long after the Emperor had conquered the empire, he began to become moody and strange for a period of time.
Di Yi, who had been inseparable from the Emperor, also noticed this.
He was also worried about why the Emperor's temperament had changed so drastically, so he took the initiative to talk to the Emperor.
However.
It was precisely during this conversation that Di Yi was severely injured by the fake Emperor and Gu Congtian.
Unaware of the reason, Di Yi chose to flee immediately.
Although it was a situation where he was bound to die, fortunately, the real Emperor later gained control of the body, which gave Di Yi a chance to escape into Shennong Gorge.
Moreover.
The secret of the Emperor's body was also told to Di Yi by the real Emperor when he was in control of the body.
...
"So that's how it is!"
"I never imagined that after we searched for so long, the fake Emperor was the real Emperor."
Zhang Yang and the others were equally shocked to learn this earth-shattering secret.
If Di Yi hadn't brought it up, they would never have known.
Immediately.
Zhang Yang frowned, "Then how can we save the Emperor now?"
"Only by severely injuring the current fake Emperor can the real Emperor have a chance to regain control of the body!" Di Yi said.
Severely injure the current Emperor?
When Di Yi proposed the solution, Zhang Yang and the others fell silent.
The Emperor had been in the Imperial City for a long time and had basically never come out.
If they were to severely injure the real Emperor, they would have to personally go to the Imperial City.
But if they did that, they would be rebelling.
The consequences would be very severe at that time.
"Is there any other way besides this?" Zhang Yang asked.
"No," Di Yi shook his head.
"Actually, the reason I came out of seclusion was because I heard about the matters between you and the Emperor in the Northern Territory. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen to come out."
"With our current lineup facing the Emperor, although the chances of winning are not high, they are not very low. But this should be our last chance."
"Otherwise, once you are dealt with by the Emperor, the entire world will be in the hands of the fake Emperor, and I will be even more isolated."
After hearing what Di Yi said, Zhang Yang and the others became solemn.
Indeed.
The strongest force they could muster now was probably this.
But the fake Emperor was not alone. He had Gu Congtian behind him, and even the Evil Cult Emperor who had fled today.
The strength of these three people.
It was outrageously strong, and they were simply unable to deal with it.
Di Yi saw their grim expressions and knew that he had been too pessimistic just now.
He couldn't help but comfort them.
"Although the situation is dire, it's not as bad as you imagine. Don't forget that as long as we severely injure the fake Emperor, the real Emperor can regain control of his body."
Hearing this.
Zhang Yang and the others' eyes lit up.
Right.
As long as they severely injured the fake Emperor, the real Emperor would be saved.
Once the real Emperor was rescued, they would only have to face Gu Congtian and the Evil Cult Emperor, which would significantly reduce the pressure.
Currently, the known strength of the Evil Cult Emperor was at the eighth star of the Yuanfu Realm.
Gu Congtian and the Evil Cult Emperor were evenly matched in their fight, so their strength should also be around the eighth star.
Otherwise, Gu Congtian, as the sovereign, would not have allowed the Evil Cult Emperor to develop his forces so unscrupulously.
Therefore, the only one whose realm was unknown was the fake Emperor.
"Di Yi, do you know the realm of the fake Emperor?" Zhu Zhi asked.
"If nothing unexpected happens, he should have reached the ninth star by now," Di Yi said.
As expected.
The fake Emperor's realm was indeed at the ninth star.
Zhu Zhi and Zhang Yang had already speculated about this.
"So, if we ignore the others, we will have to face two eighth-star cultivators and one ninth-star cultivator."
"To severely injure one and hold off the other two, the difficulty is still very high," Zhang Yang said solemnly.
"It's high, but not impossible," Di Yi smiled, then looked at Zhu Zhi.
"Elder Zhu, it depends on your determination. If you are willing to part with the items left by King Ming, then we have a chance."
Zhu Zhi gave a wry smile and explained.
He naturally understood what Di Yi meant. "I do have a ninth-star talisman stone left by King Ming. However, this talisman stone is not something anyone can use."
"It must be very compatible with Righteous Qi, or one must be a descendant of King Ming. Therefore, apart from our descendants of King Ming, you people..." Hmm?"
"Zhang Yang! It seems possible!"
As he spoke, Zhu Zhi suddenly remembered something. When Zhang Yang came to infiltrate, he had almost completely absorbed the Righteous Qi!
Di Yi nodded.
Zhang Yang had the aura of Righteous Qi on him, which he had discovered when he was in Fuxi Village.
"I want you to give King Ming's talisman stone to Zhang Yang, and then give the remaining talisman stones to suitable people who are descendants of King Ming."
"At that time, I will block the Evil Cult Emperor, and you, the Yuanfu Realm experts, will block Gu Congtian."
"As for the fake Emperor, he will be handed over to Zhang Yang, after all, the crystal coffin he holds is no ordinary item."
Di Yi's plan was quite thorough.
Zhu Zhi pondered for a moment and then agreed.
If the one who became stronger was Zhang Yang, then he had no objections.
After all, Zhang Yang would definitely not be an enemy of the descendants of King Ming, of this Zhu Zhi was absolutely confident.
Moreover, if he hid his strength this time, the fake Emperor would not spare the descendants of King Ming!
"Okay! I'll go get the talisman stone right away," Zhu Zhi said.
With that, as Zhu Zhi was about to leave, the Beast King of Zhenxi rushed in.
"This is bad, the situation is not good."
"The martial forces in Xijiang just informed me that people from the Guma Kingdom have crossed the border and are heading towards the Imperial City in full force."
"Could they be coming for us?"
What!
This news from the Beast King of Zhenxi shocked Zhang Yang and the others.
They looked at each other, and this news was quite bad for them.
"It's likely that the Evil Cult Emperor told Gu Congtian that I'm still alive, so the fake Emperor and the others knew they were exposed and sent people over," Di Yi guessed.
Zhang Yang and the others nodded.
It was likely so.
It seemed the Emperor was no longer going to pretend and intended to destroy them directly.
This would have both advantages and disadvantages for them.
"This way, we can wait for the Emperor in Linhai City, and we won't have to rebel, causing unrest in the world."
"But, on the other hand, our pressure has increased, and we need to allocate some people to deal with the Yuanfu Realm experts from the Guma Kingdom," Zhang Yingxiong said solemnly.
According to Di Yi's plan, Di Yi would deal with the Evil Cult Emperor, Zhang Yang would deal with the fake Emperor, and the remaining Yuanfu Realm experts would deal with Gu Congtian.
But.
Now that the elites of the Guma Kingdom had arrived, they needed to allocate some Yuanfu Realm experts to deal with them.
Then, when facing Gu Congtian, their pressure would greatly increase.
Even though the five ministers of the Five Dragons of Huaxia were all fifth-star Yuanfu Realm cultivators, plus Zhu Zhi's sixth-star, it was still not enough.
Everyone frowned and fell into deep thought.
"Perhaps there is a way, but we need to try it first," Zhang Yang said solemnly.
"What way?" everyone asked.
"Let the five ministers try to absorb the Righteous Qi. If they can absorb the Righteous Qi, then they can also use the talisman stones."
"I just don't know if Elder Zhu still has any talisman stones of eighth-star or higher?" Zhang Yang asked.
Eighth-star talisman stones?
Zhu Zhi recalled and said gravely.
"There is still one eighth-star talisman stone left, left by King Ming's guard commander. However, his power is not easy to inherit. This person killed too much in his life, and the power he left behind is also full of violence."
"It's good that there is still one. This is the only way now," Zhang Yang said.
"Indeed, we have to try. One of us five will surely succeed," the five ministers of the Five Dragons of Huaxia said in unison.
"Alright, then we'll go to Central Island now," Zhu Zhi nodded and agreed.
Time was of the essence.
Zhang Yang and his group went to Central Island overnight.
Leading the group to the location below the Righteous Qi Sword, Zhu Zhi stepped forward and prayed devoutly.
Then, he had the five ministers stand below the Righteous Qi Sword.
"Ministers, when the Righteous Qi appears later, do not use any Yuan Qi to resist. Open yourselves and absorb it with all your might."
"If the Righteous Qi is compatible with you, it will automatically converge into your bodies."
"Do not use Yuan Qi to guide it, otherwise, if the Righteous Qi is not compatible with you, it will cause some damage to your bodies."
The five ministers heard this and nodded solemnly.
Zhang Yang also watched from the side, looking nervous.
Boom!
Immediately.
As Zhu Zhi activated the Hao Ran Jun Zi Sword, a large amount of surging Righteous Qi erupted from the ground, sweeping across the entire square.
Looking at the visible Righteous Qi, Zhang Yang understood why the Righteous Qi had emerged from underground.
It was probably because of the underground palace where the talisman stones were stored.
For a moment.
The entire Central Island was filled with righteous energy. The Righteous Qi shone brightly, turning the night into day.
Zhang Yingxiong and the other five ministers stood in the sea of Righteous Qi.
They opened their minds and continuously communicated with the Righteous Qi.
But...
The Righteous Qi showed no intention of gathering towards them, which made the five anxious.
They then took the initiative to approach the areas where the Righteous Qi was most concentrated.
But no matter where they went, the Righteous Qi would automatically disperse.
It was clear that the compatibility was not enough!
The five immediately frowned and began to discuss among themselves.
"No, if this continues, by the time the Righteous Qi is depleted, we still won't be able to absorb it!"
"That's right, if it doesn't work, let's guide it ourselves, using Yuan Qi! I don't believe that a mere Righteous Qi can't be conquered!"
"Good! I'll go first!"
Immediately, one of the ministers used Yuan Qi to forcibly gather the Righteous Qi and infuse it into himself.
"Haha, isn't this easy? I... Pfft!"
Just as the minister thought he had succeeded so easily, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood!
He directly fell to the ground, and all the Righteous Qi left his body.