This is a new journey.
A chance to grow stronger, to comprehend life and death.
"Buzz."
The river of rules vibrated.
The river water washed over Chen Fan's physical body, his comprehension of life and death deepening with each passing moment.
...
Sword City.
Three days had passed since the return of Old Demon Chu and his companions.
For these three days, Sword City had been peaceful.
Save for the initial commotion when Old Demon Chu brought people back, Sword City had been largely silent.
The central thatched hut.
On this day, virtually all the powerhouses of Sword City had gathered here. Da Feng Novel Network.
Old Demon Chu, Mad Emperor, Xi Qiu... and those who had returned alongside them, Tian Zai and Wu Sheng.
Everyone was present.
This was a meeting of Sword City, presided over by Long Ling.
"Everyone."
As the initiator of the meeting, Old Demon Chu spoke first: "Last night, more people entered Sword City."
People had entered Sword City.
Sword City had always been a place of freedom, where people could come and go as they pleased.
This rule had been in place since the predecessor of Sword City, the City of Freedom.
People could come freely.
They could also leave freely.
Yesterday, people had entered the city, many of them, and had taken up residence in the vacant houses within Sword City.
"..."
No one replied.
After a long pause, Long Ling had to speak: "These people should be from the Imperial Palace."
The five Heavenly Emperors of the Immortal Realm, the five Imperial Palaces, and nothing else.
"They don't have good intentions," Xi Qiu said with a bitter expression.
Everyone else looked at him.
Their gazes were filled with confusion. Why?
Xi Qiu explained: "A bunch of Demigods, arriving silently, and subtly surrounding us, do you think this is what normal people would do?"
Wouldn't normal people gather together?
Yet, these people had surrounded the central thatched hut.
Everyone exchanged glances slowly.
"Let's wait,"
It was Mad Emperor who spoke.
He remained in his soul state, yet his physical body was incredibly solid.
"If they don't make a move, we don't make a move. We wait for the City Lord to return." This was his suggestion.
Others had no better ideas.
In the end, they could only nod.
Wu Sheng added, "Fellow Daoist Long Ling, please keep an eye on things these few days."
Long Ling nodded.
Indeed, they had to keep an eye on things. A group of Demigods, no one dared to be careless.
...
The vision returned to the river of rules.
The river drifted along, and no one knew where it was.
Chen Fan... had emerged from seclusion.
Emerging from the river of rules, half of his body was suffused with death qi, and the other half with vital energy.
Life and death flowed.
Looking back at the river of rules, the depleted rules had been restored.
The Great Dao of Life and Death was now incredibly robust.
"Good."
The river surged, with monstrous waves.
The current river of rules had reached a certain limit.
It seemed to be awaiting an opportunity for breakthrough, after which it could transform.
"The Emperor Realm?"
He felt that this was the case.
The opportunity for transformation was the Emperor Realm.
His gaze swept towards the end of the river of rules. The mist still billowed, obscuring the scenery at the end.
The stone wall still existed.
After pondering for a long time, he was tempted to break through the stone wall again, but ultimately, he gave up.
Several days had already passed, and it was time to return to Sword City.
He was a lone wolf, accustomed to being alone.
But since he had taken responsibility for Sword City, he would not abandon it.
Much like Wenlan City in the lower realm.
"Let's go."
With a single step, he stepped out of the river of rules.
He had returned to the Immortal Realm.
Abundant vitality flowed through his body, sweeping away the last trace of death qi.
"Hoo."
He exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Beneath his feet, the power of rules surged.
His figure vanished from his original position, soaring towards the distant Sword City.
...
Sword City.
At the central thatched hut, Old Demon Chu and the others were all present.
"Dong."
On the seventh day.
Outside the city, a massive foot suddenly descended from the sky.
A colossal giant, its head emerging from the clouds, looked down.
"Chen Fan."
A cold roar echoed through heaven and earth.
The pressure of the heavens and earth pressed down.
In an instant, it was the might of heaven.
It was a supreme existence, whose voice alone forced the entire Sword City to its knees.
"Boom."
Old Demon Chu shot up into the sky.
But before he had flown halfway, he fell from the sky with a "bang."
Blood spurted out.
His physical body was covered in cracks.
Like porcelain about to shatter.
Old Demon Chu exclaimed in horror: "How is this possible... how is he so strong?"
He hadn't never faced a Heavenly Emperor.
In the Mad Realm, they had joined forces to fight against White Dragon Heavenly Emperor from the White Imperial Palace.
At that time, although there was pressure, it didn't feel insurmountable.
Now, facing a Heavenly Emperor alone, he felt that despair-inducing pressure.
He also understood how much pressure the City Lord had endured that day.
Too strong.
Was this the power of a Heavenly Emperor?
It was truly despair-inducing.
"Ant."
The giant, Xi, looked down with icy eyes.
In the chaos, he had been wounded by Chen Fan.
For a Heavenly Emperor, this was an immense humiliation.
Today, he had come for revenge.
A Heavenly Emperor cannot be insulted.
"Boom."
A destructive hurricane surged into the sky.
It transformed into a palm of destruction, catching the falling Old Demon Chu.
"Be careful."
Old Demon Chu's expression was gravely serious, more so than ever before.
Mad Emperor nodded.
He had once been a Heavenly Emperor and understood the power of a Heavenly Emperor better than Old Demon Chu.
But it was precisely because he had once been a Heavenly Emperor that he was the only one who could stand up at this moment.
This time, Xi Qiu did not step forward.
There was nothing he could do. He had already fallen from the Demigod realm.
He had consumed too much energy by merging with the river of rules, and seven days were not enough to recover.
At this moment, only Mad Emperor and Old Demon Chu could stand forward.
And Old Demon Chu was injured in the first strike.
Mad Emperor looked up, meeting the gaze of the colossal giant.
"Mad Emperor?"
Giant Xi's eyes were filled with disdain. "You were once a Heavenly Emperor yourself. Although you no longer possess the cultivation of a Heavenly Emperor, you were still a Heavenly Emperor. To willingly submit to a weakling, I truly look down on you."
Mad Emperor's identity had long been known.
"It is not submission."
Mad Emperor corrected him. "I owe him a favor and am staying in Sword City for a while to repay that debt."
He had been rescued by Chen Fan, and this was a debt of gratitude.
If not for this, he would not have chosen to come to Sword City that day.
Therefore, he said, "Your grudge with Chen Fan can wait until he returns. Chen Fan is not in Sword City at the moment."
"I believe that as a dignified Heavenly Emperor, you would not hold innocent people accountable for the sake of another?"
A gambit.
Mad Emperor did not want to fight.
To be precise, he did not want to engage in combat with a Heavenly Emperor.
If it could be resolved peacefully, he would not object.
"Heh."
Giant Xi's gaze was filled with disdain. "The likes of ants, to die by my hand is their fortune."
Below the Emperor Realm, all are ants.
In this world, what is lacking is not people.
"..." Mad Emperor.
A headache.
Since he had chosen to come to Sword City, he had indirectly accepted Chen Fan's entrustment.
To protect Sword City.
He just hadn't expected Chen Fan to leave for so long this time.
And that a dignified Heavenly Emperor would personally come seeking revenge.
Mad Emperor couldn't have anticipated this.
Chen Fan probably wouldn't have either.