Chapter 629 - 628: Dereliction of Duty

Chapter 629: Chapter 628: Dereliction of Duty

"Who the hell are you!?"

Supreme Emperor Qianyuan stared at him in shock. A towering killing intent instantly enveloped the entire hall. When this killing intent invaded the bodies of the many ministers present, they collapsed to the ground, losing all will to fight.

These ministers were not weak, all of them at the Core Formation Stage or higher, but they crumpled instantly before this killing intent. Even the Void Spirit Stage experts felt their knees go weak, as if a single glance could kill them in an instant!

Everyone else was baffled. ’Isn’t that Celestial Cloud Emperor? Why is he being asked who he is?’ Most of them didn’t know Supreme Emperor Qianyuan’s true origins—that everything he had was a gift from the Creation Celestial Divine King.

If not for the Martial Arts and Elixir Pills bestowed by the Creation Celestial Divine King, how could he have broken through to the Saint King Stage? If not for the Rule Power granted by the Creation Celestial Divine King, how could he have remained here so effortlessly?

As Guardians, they were naturally not subject to the power restrictions of this place. However, as time went on, the restrictions grew weaker. In the past, even a peak Spirit King Stage Cultivator couldn’t stay here for long.

Now, even Saint King Stage Cultivators could remain here and even break through to higher levels, provided they had better Martial Arts and more Spirit Medicines. Without a mountain of resources, breaking through was still incredibly difficult.

This was precisely the case for Supreme Emperor Qianyuan. As a Guardian, he had failed to do his duty, instead choosing to establish his own sect and empire. Establishing a sect was one thing, but the Netherworld passage was on the verge of collapsing, and he hadn’t even gone back to repair it.

Instead, he now planned to become the First Empire, to ascend to the position of the most powerful empire, casting all his duties as a Guardian to the back of his mind.

If not for the Creation Celestial Divine King, Supreme Emperor Qianyuan would still be some ordinary Cultivator training in an unknown corner of the world. He was given such a great fortune, yet the moment the Creation Celestial Divine King left, he immediately abandoned his post as a Guardian.

If the Creation Celestial Divine King were to return, he would surely be furious.

Facing this towering killing intent, Yi Tianyun maintained a faint smile, looking completely unfazed.

"Who I am... is that important? You’ve forgotten your primary duty. The Netherworld passage is about to be destroyed. And you? You’re here building an empire. If the passage collapses, can you bear that responsibility? To be frank, you have betrayed the trust the Creation Celestial Divine King placed in you!" Yi Tianyun snorted coldly.

Once the passage collapsed, it would mean there was no longer a path to the Netherworld. With more and more experts appearing in the relatively resource-scarce Mortal Realm, it would become increasingly crowded.

Previously, Cultivators were constantly urged to move on, but now they could only remain here. Fortunately, the Celestial Realm still existed, so things could be maintained for a while. The situation had devolved to this state largely because the Netherworld passage was not repaired, drastically reducing the balance.

The many Divine Kings did not do this without reason. The Celestial Realm and the Netherworld were far stronger than the Mortal Realm, and vastly more spacious—easily several times, or even more than ten times, the size of the Mortal Realm.

"I asked who you are! How do you know so much!"

Supreme Emperor Qianyuan descended step by step, his gaze icy as he stared at Yi Tianyun. All escape routes had already been sealed. The power of a second-level Saint King Stage expert erupted completely, unleashing a ferocious Combat Power that was simply astounding.

Supreme Emperor Qianyuan: Second-Level Saint King Stage cultivation, possesses the Divine Wood Body. Vast Life Force is condensed within his body, granting him powerful Healing Ability. Proficient in Martial Arts such as Divine Wood Supreme, Wood God Technique, All Trees Return to the Root, etc. Weakness: Fire Attribute Attacks. Comprehensive Combat Power: 2.8 billion (in a furious state). Kill to obtain...

’Just by getting angry, without even using any other Martial Arts, his Combat Power is already as high as 2.8 billion.’ ’No wonder he looked down on the World Dragon Empire. With this level of power, the World Dragon Empire’s Supreme Ancestor really is trash.’

"Who am I?" With a wave of his hand, Yi Tianyun summoned the power of the Creation Celestial Divine King, which quickly churned in his palm. "I am the successor of the Creation Celestial Divine King. By that logic, you should be addressing me as Young Master!"

"The successor of the Creation Celestial Divine King..." Upon hearing this, not only did Supreme Emperor Qianyuan show no respect, but he threw his head back and laughed. "No wonder you’re so powerful! So you’re the Lord’s successor!"

Behind him, Emperor Qianyuan was stunned. As Supreme Emperor Qianyuan’s son, how could he not know about these matters? He had never imagined that Yi Tianyun was the successor to the legendary Divine King. No wonder Celestial Cloud Emperor was so formidable.

’No wonder, no wonder...’ Far from feeling any respect, a glint of greed appeared in Emperor Qianyuan’s eyes.

’This means that Yi Tianyun is a priceless treasure! Capturing him would mean obtaining a wealth of precious Martial Arts, countless Treasures, and even the Creation Celestial Divine King’s most valuable techniques!’

"But so what? The Lord has long since left this place. I waited for so long, but he never returned. Was I supposed to spend my entire life guarding that godforsaken place?" Supreme Emperor Qianyuan sneered. "It’s meaningless. My heart was never in it. My dream is to become a true emperor, to be worshipped by the masses, not to wait for death in that cold, desolate place!"

"That sounds reasonable enough, but who stopped you from becoming an emperor? Couldn’t you have repaired the Netherworld passage on your way to becoming one?" Yi Tianyun shook his head. "There’s no need to make excuses for yourself. You simply had no intention of doing it. In fact, it’s safe to say you did this intentionally. You want the Netherworld passage to close so you can influence the situation in the Mortal Realm."

"Once that happens, no one will be able to come, whether from the Celestial Realm or the Netherworld!"

If the passage *to* the Netherworld is sealed, then the passage *from* the Netherworld will also automatically close. The two locations are different, but they are connected. Once the Netherworld passage is gone, only the Celestial Realm passage will remain.

Initially, it would probably hold, but over time, it too would collapse.

This is because the passages allow energy to seep out and flow into the Mortal Realm. Without the Netherworld passage, the balance will be broken, and over time, the Celestial Realm passage will also collapse.

The Divine Kings created the passages not only to allow people from the two worlds to travel back and forth, but more importantly, to guide other energies into the Mortal Realm.

If the passages are all gone, no one will be able to ascend unless someone breaks through to the Divine King level and carves out a new one. With no stronger experts arriving, Supreme Emperor Qianyuan would become the strongest existence in the Mortal Realm, ruling over everything.

If he were to go to the Netherworld or the Celestial Realm, his cultivation level would only be considered decent. He probably couldn’t even deal with the National Preceptor of the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom.

For the sake of his own ambition to become an emperor, he was willing to break all the rules left behind by the Divine Kings. It was truly despicable.

"So what if I did? I’ve said it before: in my territory, even if you’re a dragon, you’ll coil up for me!" Supreme Emperor Qianyuan sneered. "I am the Guardian here, not you!"

"You, a Guardian?" Yi Tianyun sneered back. "I have a feeling that if it weren’t for you, the Demon Fiend sealed in the Celestial Rock Town Ancient Stele wouldn’t be able to break its seal so quickly!"

"A hundred years at most. Once that seal is broken, your dream of being an emperor will prove to be quite fragile. Who will you be able to protect then? You’ll be lucky if you can even protect yourself!"

Yi Tianyun’s every word was heavy, striking Supreme Emperor Qianyuan’s heart like a hammer and leaving him stunned.