Inside the grand hall of the Saint Unity Sect, the figure of Emperor Yunlan had already slipped out like a phantom. His speed was lightning-fast as he lunged toward Jiang Chen's position.
The Divine Zhuque wasted no words. It simply unfurled its wings and, with a single beat, sent streams of heavenly fire raining down toward Emperor Yunlan like a cascade of meteors.
Emperor Yunlan's speed seemed to have surged several-fold in an instant. Facing such a dense barrage of heavenly fire, he transformed into a streak of flowing light and shot toward the lower-left, aiming for the outside.
"Jiang Chen, you little coward — stay holed up here while this emperor goes to kill Shaoyang and that useless relic from the Purple Smoke Sect first."
Emperor Yunlan's target, it seemed, was not Jiang Chen at all. Instead, he was hurtling straight toward the mountain range on the opposite side of the palace.
This move from Emperor Yunlan deeply infuriated Jiang Chen. He barked, "Senior Zhuque, this wretch is insolent — please, take him out for me."
The Divine Zhuque shrugged its enormous plumage. "Are you certain?"
"Certain." Jiang Chen nodded with complete conviction.
He could see that Emperor Yunlan's movement technique and aura had suddenly skyrocketed — this was likely the result of the Heavenly Demon Lord's direct guidance.
If Emperor Yunlan reached the area where Shaoyang and the Purple Smoke Sect's ancestor were stationed, Shaoyang's strength might be enough to hold his own. But the old ancestor of the Purple Smoke Sect would surely be killed in a single strike.
The Purple Smoke Sect's ancestor had shown rare loyalty in following him, and Jiang Chen had no intention of letting him become the first sacrifice in Emperor Yunlan's defection to the Demon Lord.
The Divine Zhuque let out a long, piercing cry. A pair of fire wings rose high, and its true form swelled enormously, blotting out the sky. It launched itself forward, arriving even ahead of its own pursuit. Its wings swept through the air, sending two blazing walls of flame roaring outward, slashing down at Emperor Yunlan's back.
Though Emperor Yunlan's speed had improved dramatically, it was ultimately nothing more than the Heavenly Demon Lord forcing his growth. Expecting him to rival the Divine Zhuque in such a short time was simply unrealistic.
Fortunately, Emperor Yunlan understood this perfectly. Before his momentum faded, he had already activated the Heavenly Demon Golden Armor Talisman.
A strange golden light erupted, and in an instant a layer of golden armor seemed to envelop his entire body, making him feel as though he had become utterly indestructible.
The Heavenly Demon Golden Armor Talisman not only boosted his defenses to an entirely new level, but also doubled his speed in the same instant.
This incredible transformation brought a surge of calm to Emperor Yunlan's heart.
"Hmph! A beast is a beast. Even an ancient divine bird is still a beast. Catching up to this emperor? Keep dreaming!"
Emperor Yunlan had actually begun taunting the Divine Zhuque aloud.
Though the Divine Zhuque could not speak the human tongue, it clearly understood human language. Hearing Emperor Yunlan's provocation, the ancient bird's fury ignited instantly. Once the wrath of an ancient divine bird was truly kindled, the consequences were inevitably terrifying.
Had the Divine Zhuque not been at the very end of its life cycle, this eruption of rage would have been cataclysmic enough to rend heaven and earth.
Sensing the Zhuque's fury rising higher and higher, Emperor Yunlan felt a twinge of regret for having provoked it so brazenly. But the moment he recalled the power of the Heavenly Demon Golden Armor Talisman, his composure returned once more.
In the blink of an eye, man and bird gave chase, soaring further and further from the Saint Unity Sect's palace.
Jiang Chen had anticipated this outcome long before. He murmured, "Senior Zhuque truly is old. Otherwise, in its prime, even if that old Yunlan had received the Heavenly Demon Lord's guidance, he wouldn't have lasted a moment against Senior Zhuque."
Just as suspicion churned in Jiang Chen's mind, his spiritual sense contracted violently once more. The next instant, a thought struck him.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
From within the palace, twenty or thirty figures burst forth. Jiang Chen was intimately familiar with every one of them. Cultivators who had reached a certain level possessed near-eidetic memory.
He hadn't even gotten a clear look at their faces before he was almost certain — these figures were the human cultivators who had fled directly into the Heavenly Demon Lord's domain.
Now, their identities had transformed. They were demon servants under the Heavenly Demon Lord's command!
Understanding dawned on Jiang Chen in a flash. His expression turned cold. "What a classic 'lure the tiger from the mountain' ploy."
Jiang Chen's reaction was instantaneous. He saw through the Heavenly Demon Lord's scheme at a glance. With the Divine Zhuque and Emperor Yunlan drawn ever further away, this remaining group was undoubtedly coming straight for him.
He could almost feel their malicious intent converging on his position, charging toward him with murderous ferocity.
"Jiang Chen, my boy, what do they call this? They call it 'heaven has a wide road, yet you won't walk it — hell has no gate, yet you barge right in.'" The Emperor-realm expert from the Undying Heavenly Capital carried forward the enmity that organization had harbored against Jiang Chen since its very founding.
Even after defecting to the Heavenly Demon Lord, that hatred had not diminished in the slightest.
The two Emperor-realm experts from the Heavenly Harmony Palace and the Celestial Sound Temple were equally eager to posture, each shouting threats.
"Jiang Chen, we have come on the Heavenly Demon Lord's orders to take your life. Accept your death!"
One figure after another, swift as lightning, descended around Jiang Chen like dumplings falling from the sky, landing within a hundred-zhang radius. Within moments, he was completely surrounded.
"No more talk — everyone, attack together and put this brat down!"