As the most powerful leading force in the Upper Eight Realms over the past three thousand years, Pill Fire City's accumulated heritage and strength were truly astonishing.
Unlike the far-sighted Peacock Great Emperor, the Danji Great Emperor was an ambitious, competitive, and ruthless figure.
In terms of raw strength, it was difficult to say whether the Peacock Great Emperor or the Danji Great Emperor held the edge.
In terms of sentiment and character, however, the Peacock Great Emperor was the universally acknowledged gentleman among the Emperor realm in the Upper Eight Realms—a magnanimous figure that even many enemies and rivals had to concede was a man of noble bearing.
The Danji Great Emperor, on the other hand, lacked the Peacock Great Emperor's compassionate concern for the world, nor did he possess the noble character of worrying before the world worried and rejoicing after the world rejoiced.
In summary, the Peacock Great Emperor valued compassion, while the Danji Great Emperor valued ambition.
Driven by that ambition, the Danji Great Emperor had elevated Pill Fire City step by step to ever greater heights. Pill Fire City's visible strength was already almost universally recognized as the foremost among all human territories.
Even the Glazed Tile City—the two had always been known as "Glazed Tile in the south, Pill Fire in the north"—had in truth been far less aggressive than Pill Fire City when it came to expansion.
As a result, over the past three thousand years of expansion and accumulation, the Glazed Tile City had fallen behind Pill Fire City. Although on the surface the two still appeared to be equals, in reality, after millennia of accumulation, Pill Fire City had surpassed the Glazed Tile City in most respects.
Most importantly, Pill Fire City had handled its relations with surrounding forces with exceptional precision—whether through force or persuasion.
As a result, the Danji Great Emperor held far more cards in his hand than the Glazed Tile City.
Now, upon receiving the news, the Danji Great Emperor had immediately summoned all of Pill Fire City's Emperor realm powerhouses.
Pill Fire City had originally boasted a full thirteen Emperor realm experts. These thirteen were all representatives of Emperor-level factions with deep, traditional roots in the city.
Beyond these thirteen traditional Emperor-level representatives, the Danji Great Emperor himself also had two Emperor realm followers under his direct command.
In addition, the Danji Great Emperor maintained very close ties with many Great Emperors from the rogue cultivator world, having established tight cooperative relationships with them.
On many occasions, when there were things the Danji Great Emperor found inconvenient to handle himself, he would enlist the aid of certain rogue cultivator Great Emperors and pay them a handsome fee.
Simply put, because Pill Fire City was so vast and powerful, it had sufficient bargaining chips and resources to attract rogue Great Emperors.
This situation was, in fact, no different from what
Of the thirteen Emperor realm experts, minus the two who had fallen in the Tiangui Kingdom, the remaining eleven—including the Danji Great Emperor himself—were now gathered together.
"Gentlemen, you must have all heard the news that has come back from the Myriad Domain," the Danji Great Emperor said, his tone extremely grave.
"Your Majesty Danji, those rumors were merely spread by rogue cultivators and haven't been confirmed with any certainty yet, have they? Our investigation disciples shouldn't have returned so quickly."
"Sending the investigation disciples was merely my last-ditch effort. The truth is, whether it was Elder Ma or Big Horn, their life-bound soul lamps have already been extinguished."
Many prominent figures of powerful factions would create a life-bound soul lamp. Once this soul lamp shattered, it meant that its owner had perished.
The moment the Danji Great Emperor spoke those words, every Emperor realm expert present could no longer sit still.
"Your Majesty, are the life-bound soul lamps of Elder Ma and Big Horn truly extinguished?" An Emperor realm expert with a mane of yellow hair, resembling a male lion, seemed unwilling to believe it.
The Danji Great Emperor frowned. "I am the master of Pill Fire City. Would I fabricate something like this out of thin air?"
"Your Majesty, with the Peacock Great Emperor gone from the Glazed Tile City, even if they have
"Exactly. I refuse to believe that aside from the Peacock Great Emperor, anyone in the Glazed Tile City could deny them both any chance to escape."
"Besides, they went in such secrecy that they never alerted the Glazed Tile City's people at all. Since the Glazed Tile City didn't know they were coming, there's no way they could have set an ambush. In a chance encounter, I still find it hard to believe they could have killed both Elder Ma and Big Horn simultaneously."
"Say, could it be that the Peacock Great Emperor isn't actually dead, and they had the misfortune of running into him?" Someone let their imagination run wild.
The Danji Great Emperor scowled and rebuked them. "Don't talk nonsense. That fellow Peacock can never appear again. There's a ninety-nine percent chance he's dead, and even if he isn't, he's crippled."
The Danji Great Emperor had been the main force in the battle against the Peacock Great Emperor. He was certain that with injuries of that severity, there was virtually no possibility of recovery.
At the very least, the Danji Great Emperor believed that if he himself had sustained such grave injuries, even he would have had almost no hope of being healed.
What's more, the Peacock Great Emperor had fled into the desolate Demon-Sealing Lands.