Ying Prefecture, as one of the nine prefectures of Great Liang, should actually be called Ying Prefecture Prefecture, but due to its awkward pronunciation, people simply refer to it as Ying Prefecture.
The sea outside Ying Prefecture is known as the Immortal Sea. Little was known about this sea, but powerhouses like the Temple Master were aware that there might not necessarily be immortals residing out at sea. However, due to certain reasons, the waves out at sea were huge. Those terrifying waves were capable of tearing apart even Nepenthe powerhouses. Therefore, those ordinary ships that ventured into the sea had no ability to resist when encountering those waves.
No one knew where those waves came from, nor did anyone know what caused these terrifying waves, but cultivators all knew that they were the most terrifying things.
No one could ever cross those waves to see if there was really an island of immortals where immortals resided.
In the past, many cultivators had set out to sea in search of immortals, but they too encountered those waves, and all of them died at sea.
On the way back to the Infatuation Daoist Temple, the Chief Enforcer had surely set up layer after layer of obstacles. No matter where he went in this entire world, he would never completely escape his junior brother, so the Temple Master had finally chosen to come to Ying Prefecture and set sail out to sea.
Standing on the boat, directing it toward the unknown sea region in the north, the Temple Master's mood was heavy.
Setting out to sea might allow him to evade the Chief Enforcer's pursuit, but those waves in the deep, unknown waters might be something even the Temple Master could not escape.
It was like two cups of poison, only the Temple Master could decide which one to drink.
Staring at the boundless sea, the Temple Master's pale face was filled with a complex mix of emotions.In the distance, a slight ripple rose on the sea surface, causing the small boat beneath the Temple Master's feet to sway. Standing at the bow, he lost his balance and staggered to his knees, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.
A cultivator like him naturally would not have lost his balance because of the small boat's rocking; rather, it was the injuries sustained from his previous two battles with the Chief Enforcer.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the Temple Master looked at the blood in his palm and gave a bitter smile. Since his cultivation journey began, he had never been in such a sorry state. From the moment he entered the temple, he had been the previous Temple Master's personal disciple. Later, after becoming the Temple Master himself, he was revered wherever he went. How could he have ever been in such a miserable state?
He reached his hand into the sea, allowing the seawater to wash away the blood. The Temple Master's thoughts gradually began to scatter.
Ahead, there was a special aura; strange and unfamiliar. As a great daoist sage at the end of Nepenthe, even he found it difficult to discern the exact nature of the aura.
It was like an endless abyss, threatening to swallow him at any moment.
Fear arose within the Temple Master.
Just as he was about to turn around, he noticed that frost had already formed on the boat's body. Looking at the sea, he saw that, at some point, the surface had begun to freeze.
Turning around, sure enough, the Temple Master saw a figure on the surface of the sea.
It was precisely the Chief Enforcer.
He had caught up.
The Temple Master furrowed his brows.
The Chief Enforcer remained expressionless, simply waving his sleeve. In the sea of clouds, endless lightning flashed, and a lightning pool began to form above the Temple Master's head.
Lightning spells were not some secret technique; almost all daoist cultivators studied them, with only differences in skill levels.
It was not surprising that the Chief Enforcer knew such spells.
The Chief Enforcer did not speak, he just swung his sleeve in silence, and a series of thick heavenly lightning bolts immediately fell.
The ice-locked small boat could not move forward. The Temple Master furrowed his brows, forcefully pressing a hand on the boat to shatter the frost on it, also breaking the surrounding ice.
However, at this moment, the heavenly lightning had already fallen.
Countless bolts of heavenly lightning fell toward the Temple Master in an instant.
The surface of the sea immediately seethed, with countless areas exploding, resembling purgatory.
The Temple Master waved his sleeve to block one bolt of heavenly lightning, but at the same time, several bolts struck his body. At that moment, he sustained severe injuries.
Seeing this scene, the Chief Enforcer laughed loudly. "Senior Brother, you can only die now!"
His laughter was full of delight, the satisfaction of a long-held wish fulfilled.
The Temple Master's expression was ugly to the extreme. He was continuously struck by numerous lightning bolts, suffering repeated injuries. His body was now covered in wounds.
He was facing the greatest crisis of his life.
Spurt!
A mouthful of blood was spat out by the Temple Master.
A bolt of heavenly lightning directly pierced through the Temple Master's body.
This leader of Daoism was slowly losing his life force, not knowing when death would come.
The Chief Enforcer's eyes were filled with delight as he watched the Temple Master, on the verge of death in the lightning pool, his heart brimming with satisfaction.
But in the next moment, a brilliant radiance suddenly burst forth from the Temple Master's palm, striking the surface of the sea. It stirred towering waves, temporarily blocking the relentless lightning.
Seizing the opportunity, the Temple Master escaped the lightning pool and headed toward the depths of the sea.
But, the Chief Enforcer sneered disdainfully. At the Temple Master's current speed, there was no chance for him to escape with his life.
With a sweep of his sleeve, the seawater behind him surged hundreds of feet high, pushing forward in a massive wave.
Though the Temple Master was desperately moving forward, the wave behind him drew closer and closer.
The Chief Enforcer stood atop the wave like a deity overlooking heaven and earth.
While the Temple Master was his prey.
The next moment, the wave reached the Temple Master and completely engulfed him.
The Chief Enforcer raised both hands, and the berserk lightning descended in full force, causing the surrounding sea to churn and boil for dozens of miles.
Within this lightning pool, forget about humans, even swimming fish likely had no chance of survival.
Moments later, countless fragments of fish floated to the surface, staining the sea crimson.
The Chief Enforcer scanned the area, searching for the Temple Master's corpse.
It was his deepest concern. Even though he was now certain the Temple Master must have died here, without seeing the body, he could not rest easy.
Just as the Chief Enforcer lowered his head to search for the Temple Master's corpse, a massive wave suddenly rose on the distant sea.
A terrifying wave formed far away, then advanced rapidly toward his location, sweeping across everything in its path.
Sensing the horrifying aura, the Chief Enforcer paused for a moment before retreating swiftly. At the same time, he summoned the Profound Yellow Bell, positioning it in front of him as a barrier against the oncoming force.
The Profound Yellow Bell rippled with energy, creating a shield to block the incoming gale wave.
Meanwhile, the Chief Enforcer continued his retreat at high speed, with the Profound Yellow Bell moving backward alongside him.
The sheer terror emanating from the wave was overwhelming, even forcing a great daoist sage like the Chief Enforcer to choose to retreat.
Eventually, he retreated to within a few hundred miles of the shore, where the wave finally dissipated, as though something had been holding it at bay all along.
Suspended above the sea, the Chief Enforcer took back the Profound Yellow Bell and looked into the distance, remaining silent for a long time.
“You're already dead.”
After a long while, the Chief Enforcer produced the Temple Master's seal, which he had already refined a great deal.
“From now on, I am the temple master.”
The Chief Enforcer's figure dissolved into nothingness.
He disappeared above the sea.
Not long after the Chief Enforcer vanished, two figures appeared over the ocean.
They were two emperors of the world - one from the south, and the other from the north.
The Demon Emperor looked at the spot where the Chief Enforcer had disappeared and said with a smile, “That daoist is a petty man. Him staying alive might not necessarily be better than the Infatuation Daoist Temple Master being alive.”
Although the Temple Master had opposed Great Liang, from a certain perspective, he could still be considered a true daoist sage.
The Great Liang Emperor’s hair fluttered in the sea breeze as he listened to the Demon Emperor speak. He replied calmly, “Petty men are the least frightening, because they only think about themselves, and because of that, they often make many wrong decisions. To them, these decisions seem correct, so there's nothing to worry about.”
The Demon Emperor sighed. “Indeed, if you had to choose an opponent, he would naturally be the better choice.”
The Great Liang Emperor smiled and nodded.
The Demon Emperor looked at the Great Liang Emperor and said softly, “We truly admire you. Even in a situation like this, you could handle the arrangements so well. Unfortunately, after We kill you, it won't be long before We march my armies south.”
The demon race had long been wary of the Great Liang Dynasty's growing strength in recent years. The best option was to topple this dynasty entirely. As for whether they could fully rule over the human race, that was a matter for the future.
The Great Liang Emperor exhaled deeply and smiled faintly. “It won't be that easy.”
The Demon Emperor looked at the Great Liang Emperor without further words.
Throughout his life, he had experienced many things, even killing those closest to him. He could say he had no friends at all. Yet, he found himself wishing he could be friends with this Great Liang Emperor before him.
The two of them shared mutual respect, yet they stood on opposite sides of the river.
“Having chatted with you for this long, but in the end, we still have to fight. Have you picked the place?”
The Demon Emperor looked at the Great Liang Emperor. After their encounter in the desolate north, neither had immediately taken action. The Demon Emperor knew well that the Great Liang Emperor's injuries would not heal so quickly, so he was not in any hurry.
The Great Liang Emperor said, “Let’s make it the desolate north again, still can't let go of that place.”
The thirty thousand miles of desolate north, symbolized a profound humiliation in human history.
The Demon Emperor said, “I know that the emperors on your side are given posthumous titles after death. You're still alive now, but if you were to die, what posthumous title would you want future generations to give you?”
The Great Liang Emperor looked at the Demon Emperor and shook his head. “We will not die, so We have never considered such matters of posterity.”
The Demon Emperor stared at him silently, then abruptly vanished.
The Great Liang Emperor glanced at the sea, smiled faintly, and thought about the matter of posthumous titles. In truth, he had pondered it long ago, what kind of posthumous title would future generations use to encapsulate his life?
But no matter how much he thought about it, he could not arrive at an answer.
His life was simply too complicated.
Shaking his head, the Great Liang Emperor stopped dwelling on it. His figure disappeared as he once again headed toward the desolate north.
A battle between two emperors was about to unfold.
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