Soon after, another shocking piece of news rocked both the Vast Thousand Domains and the Dark Realm—the Empress of Darkness, Song Xiaojun, has been ambushed by a powerful enemy as she was patrolling the defensive line of the Great Wall. Although she managed to escape, it was rumored that she was injured.

The entire world was in an uproar when this news was released.

Song Xiaojun was a current Martial Emperor, an invincible martial artist who stood on the summit of the formation martial way. Yet now, she had been ambushed and was injured. If anyone had heard this piece of news in the past, they would have dismissed it as a joke, but this was such a sensitive time when five or six past Martial Emperors joining forces to attack no longer seemed impossible. Thus, the idea that she was ambushed and injured no longer seemed like a far-fetched rumor.

As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

The Immortal G.o.d Emperor was seriously injured and so was Li Xiaofei. Now that Song Xiaojun was also injured, the only Martial Emperor left was Empress Shui Xiu. Although she was still extremely powerful, she could not leave the Vast Thousand Domains. And now that the other two Martial Emperors were injured, she was the only Martial Emperor in peak condition, so the Immortal Empire no longer seemed as powerful as it did before.

After all, no one was sure whether Empress Shui Xi would be the next target of the secret force.

The rising wind forebodes the coming storm.

Those forces and people who finally realized that something was wrong could also sense the terrifying aura that loomed over the Vast Thousand Domains and the Dark Realm. It seemed like there was a force that was secretly hiding in the dark acc.u.mulating strength and power, and this force was waiting for the right chance to pounce like a giant beast and swallow both heaven and earth.

Then, as time pa.s.sed, the situation became even more unfavorable for the Immortal Empire.

First, several provinces that had previously sworn allegiance to the Immortal G.o.d Emperor in the Dark Realm suddenly rebelled against the Immortal Empire. And the old n.o.blemen who had decided to swear allegiance to the Immortal G.o.d Emperor after he had exerted pressure on them suddenly resisted the governance of the Immortal Empire as though they had already made this pact beforehand. The more aggressive factions even issued a public challenge to the Immortal G.o.d Emperor.

Fortunately, the new armies of the Fire Province and Earth Province seemed to have sensed danger and had already withdrawn from these provinces. Thus, the Immortal Empire didn't suffer any significant losses on the military front. This was even more crucial since the Fire Province and Earth Province were troops personally groomed by the Immortal G.o.d Empire. These troops managed to retain their ability to fight, but they seemed to pale in comparison to the rebellious strength summoned by the aggressive old n.o.blemen.

Two of the ten major battalions of the Immortal Empire staged a mutiny and there was internal strife within the military. The forces loyal to the Immortal Empire started to be in a disadvantageous position.

"The Immortal Empire had ascended to power too rapidly and relied too much on the strength of one person to crush all resistance. The Immortal Empire might have seemed extremely magnificent, but their foundations ultimately proved to be unstable."

"His time in power was too short."

"I daresay that the Immortal Empire is destined to come to an end within a short period of time."

"The Immortal Empire might have dazzled brightly, but it ultimately seems as though its period of glory will be as short-lived as a meteor."

"A period of anarchy is about to descend upon the world."

"Hehe, I'd like to see how Immortal G.o.d Emperor Ye Qingyu will die..."

All sorts of rumors circulated around the various domains of both worlds. Both worlds had welcomed a golden age of prosperity several months ago and everyone sang the praises of the Immortal G.o.d Emperor and swore allegiance to the Immortal Empire. But now, the times had changed and several ambitious forces started to stir up the public and spread all sorts of untruths about the Immortal Empire as they prepared to take advantage of this opportune time.

As the situation worsened, the scrutiny on the Immortal Empire's response intensified.

Three days later, the Immortal Empire sealed the Immortal Dojo and the Domain Gate of the Ancient Sky Dragon Domain, and stopped its practice of accepting disciples throughout the year.

This made it seem as though it was trying to escape from disaster.

Everyone could tell that the Immortal Empire had been severely weakened after this news was made public.

The Immortal Empire would have never reacted in such a way in the past.

Before both worlds could fully process this information, another set of rumors started to circulate—the Empress of Heaven Wasteland Domain, Yu Xiaoxing, had secretly entered the Dark Realm on the guise of inspecting the new armies of the Fire Province and Earth Province along with her trusted officials. Then, there were also speculations that Empress Yu Xiaoxing had not gone to the Fire Province and Earth Province but had immediately used a secret pa.s.sageway to enter the Guardian Royal City after she entered the Dark Realm.

The various forces immediately drew on all their information channels in an attempt to validate these rumors.

Everyone was astonished since it was publicly known that Immortal G.o.d Emperor Ye Qingyu and Li Xiaofei were both in Royal City.

At best, Yu Xiaoxing could be visiting her lover, and at worst, this could possibly be a sign that the Heaven Wasteland Empire was about to come to an end. She might have been visiting Ye Qingyu in Royal City in an attempt to put up a final desperate struggle.

All sorts of speculations ran wild.

The movements of several important figures within the Immortal Empire would be made public at the first instance, no matter how confidential these movements were supposed to be. It was as though there was an invisible force at work that constantly made these pieces of news public.

As these rumors were constantly being validated, there were also untrue rumors flying around that made both the Heaven Wasteland Empire and Immortal Empire extremely jittery. Even those who had been extremely loyal started to feel uneasy.

Next, rumors circulated that Empress Shui Xiu, who had been standing guard over the Immortal Dojo, and the Empress of Darkness, who was rumored to be injured, had also secretly gone toward the Guardian Royal City to meet with Immortal G.o.d Emperor Ye Qingyu.

It was also rumored that the governors, imperial staff, and Quasi-emperor realm experts of the provinces who were under the control of the Immortal G.o.d Emperor had been ordered to head to Royal City by the Immortal Empire. At the same time, the main battalions under the control of the military headquarters of the Immortal Empire, and the new armies of the Fire and Earth provinces were also mobilized for all sorts of reasons and headed toward the important strategic locations around the Guardian Royal City...

In conclusion, the experts and battalions with a certain amount of combat power were all mobilized to head toward the Guardian Royal City and its surroundings within a short period of time.

"I bet Immortal G.o.d Emperor Ye Qingyu is quaking in his boots," someone remarked derisively.

The Immortal G.o.d Emperor, who should have been fearless and invincible, was now forced to rely on outsiders and the military to guard the city where he was located. This was a sure sign of cowardice and also showed how far the Immortal Empire had fallen.

The obvious conclusion from these rumors was that Ye Qingyu was afraid and this was why he had summoned all the power of the Immortal Empire toward him, planning to turn the Guardian Royal City into an impregnable fortress. In other words, he was feeling the pressure from this secretive power and had summoned his strongest attacking forces in preparation to put up a final desperate struggle.

"Ye Qingyu is finished," someone predicted.

When an Emperor who had once been invincible showed obvious signs of fear and started to make plans to retreat, his decline was almost certain.

All sorts of incidents, both major and minor, kept happening throughout the Vast Thousand Domains and the Dark Realm. These incidents were all designed to put the Heaven Wasteland Empire and the Immortal Empire in a bad light.

If Song Jiannan's death and the destruction of the Alliance of Domains were challenges to the authority of the Immortal G.o.d Emperor, then as the situation worsened, this was no longer about a challenge to his authority, it started to be about the survival of his empire.

The fact that this empire that had brought about an unprecedented golden age of prosperity had suddenly gone into such a steep decline within a year and a half seemed unbelievable.

However, after all these pieces of news started swirling around for less than ten days, everyone was stunned by an even more astonis.h.i.+ng piece of news.

The secretive force that had been lurking behind the scenes had finally made an appearance.

In a day, several dozen figures, who were unbelievably powerful and who carried with them an aura that made it seem like a sovereign had descended upon this land, arrived in the sky above the Guardian Royal City. Their bodies shone with Emperor qi and they were shrouded by dazzling Emperor splendor. They looked like dazzling stars that descended upon the sky above the Guardian Royal City. They exuded an obvious murderous intent and exerted such immense pressure that they sealed off the entire Royal City and its surrounding area, which spanned tens of thousands of kilometers.

"It is time to exact my revenge."

A figure stood high above all these Martial Emperors like a divine king commanding his troops. He stood on the summit of the Nine Heavens and his entire body shone with a blue light that seemed like vengeful fire from the depths of h.e.l.l. He exuded a cold lethal aura and killing intent.

It was none other than the Sky Emperor who had been missing for a while.

He had finally made an appearance.

Unlike the previous time when he had fled in defeat, the Sky Emperor and the ghostly power that exuded from him was many times more powerful than before. In fact, he was even more frightening now than when he was at his peak. Evidently, he must have had a new miraculous encounters over the past decades that had given him the strength and confidence he sorely needed to defeat Ye Qingyu.

The dozens of Martial Emperors who had appeared were the Martial Emperors of the past who had sworn their allegiance to him.

This time, the Sky Emperor had completely unleashed his strength and power.

"Ye Qingyu, why don't you appear and commit suicide in front of me. I might just decide to spare your loved ones if you do so," the Sky Emperor's voice boomed. He sounded like he was a fiendG.o.d delivering judgment, and his voice echoed throughout the Heavens above the Guardian Royal City.

The Sky Emperor luxuriated in the feeling of his enemy kneeling in despair at his feet.

However, there was no response from the Guardian Royal City.

He shook his head with a cold laugh since he had been expecting this.

"Attack... and kill everyone within Royal City," he ordered with a savage laugh as though he was a G.o.d of death.

Rumble!

The Martial Emperors of the past attacked in unison and charged down toward the Guardian Royal City. Their dazzling flames exploded like fireworks that shot out in all directions and were like meteors that seemed intent on the annihilation of the entire world. They expressed their need for vengeance through the ear-splitting booms of their Emperor qi. And the power of Dao laws seemed to be on the verge of collapsing, as Dao sounds echoed across the land in a series of cras.h.i.+ng booms...

From a distance, they seemed like demons who had descended upon the world from the sky with the single-minded intention of annihilating the universe.

A destructive battle was about to begin.