Chapter 2203: Crushing Their Hopes and Dreams
Even the prospect of winning the authority of the underworld was nothing compared to the terrifying fate of being trapped in the Naihe Oblivion River forever.
Zu An sighed. “I gave you a chance before, but you actually ignored the Ocean races out of selfish interests, and you also ignored the fate of the entire world.”
When he sensed that a Naihe Oblivion droplet was just an inch from him, the Dragon King really started to panic. “Please let me go out of respect for Hongyu! I can personally tell her to properly serve you in the future!”
Zu An’s face darkened. The water droplet shot straight through the Dragon King’s forehead.
The Dragon King’s expression became blank, and his body collapsed, being devoured by the river. At first, he seemed to snap out of his daze and struggled briefly, but soon after, his body stiffened. Then, he completely turned into a numbed water ghost of the river.
Zu An remarked coldly, “If you can even sell out your own wife, who would still choose to trust you?”
When he saw Zu An walk toward him, the late Fiend Emperor gritted his teeth. “Did you think I would beg just like the Dragon King did?”
He understood the grudge they shared. There was no way Zu An would let him go. If he were in Zu An's position, there was no way he would do that either. Why bother acting weak before his death then?
Zu An nodded slightly. “As expected of the Fiend Emperor. You still retain the dignity of an emperor even in this kind of situation.”
As he watched the layers of defenses around him melt away bit by bit, and the river water came within half a foot of him, the late Fiend Emperor realized that this time, there was no way of making a comeback. However, he wasn’t willing to die just like this and had to get back at Zu An somehow. He exclaimed, “Do you think you’re really all that amazing for taking advantage of the Second Empress? I can now tell you that the Second Empress has an innate Sacred Widow Body. She is cursed by the world. Anyone who becomes her husband will die tragically in the end. Back then, I refused to believe in such supernatural things, but I only ended up proving that curse. I’m sure you’ll soon follow after me.”
The late Fiend Emperor had a huge smile. When he thought about how Zu An could only be proud of himself temporarily, and was doomed to follow in his footsteps soon, he immediately felt relieved.
Zu An replied with a strange expression, “The Second Empress mentioned this to me before, so she suggested that we not get married, and for us to just remain as lovers. That way, the curse won’t affect me.”
The late Fiend Emperor’s eyes immediately widened; he was dumbstruck.
“Screw yoooou!” He was now completely ruined.
This bastard is too despicable! It’s not enough for him to kill his enemies, he even crushes their hopes and dreams! You have successfully trolled the late Fiend Emperor for +1024 +1024 +1024...
He was filled with despair and couldn't keep up the defenses around himself anymore. Shortly after, he was swallowed up by the endless Naihe Oblivion sword energy, and his soul sank into the reddish yellow water.
Zu An walked up to Zhao Han, who was struggling bitterly too.
After seeing both the Dragon King and the late Fiend Emperor die one after another, Zhao Han felt his body go completely cold. He sighed. “Are you the bane of my existence? Whether it's in the human world or in the underworld, all of the plans I carefully set up only ever ended up helping you. I only regret that I didn’t put an end to your evil on our first meeting!”
You have successfully trolled Zhao Han for +999 +999 +999...
He practically hissed those words through gritted teeth.
Zu An remained completely calm and said, “This is still the reality of the situation. Aren’t your majesty’s words a bit laughable?”
Zhao Han gradually calmed down. “You’re right, a loss is a loss. Why bother speaking such pointless words?”
Then, he said, “There is just one thing I am confused about. Just how did you become so strong? Even if you could really control the Naihe Oblivion River, you shouldn’t be able to have such overwhelming power.”
Just then, the shower of sword ki had covered almost everything. Its terrifying power was even more dazzling than the resplendent sword he had faced in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.
Zu An chuckled. He looked at the towering Yin Mountain and replied, “Who said I could only use the power of the Naihe Oblivion River?”
As expected of the Necropolis Emperor being my good friend. Even though he said that it was completely fair, he chose to hold the final competition between the Yin Mountain and the Naihe Oblivion River.
When Zhao Han followed his gaze, he finally realized something. If one were to talk about mountains, how could the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons’ mountains possibly compare to the underworld’s Yin Mountain? This mystical mountain could very well hold the mightiest dragon veins in the world.
Zu An moved closer to Zhao Han’s ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “Your (please fill in the blank yourself) is so good!”[ref]The 'fill in the blank' part is directly translated from the raw.[ref]
The grudge between the two of them was far greater than what Zu An had shared with the late Fiend Emperor. He naturally wouldn’t let Zhao Han pass on that happily. Zhao Han’s breathing immediately quickened, and his face turned entirely red. Then, his entire body began to quickly expand.
The only reason why he had been saying so much to Zu An was so that he could close the distance, then detonate his own soul to take Zu An down with him. Once he heard those words, how could he still hold back?!
Unfortunately, Zu An seemed to have anticipated that. Suddenly, a black hole pressed down on the top of Zhao Han's head. His swelling body suddenly seemed to spring a leak. All his energy rushed straight into the black hole until he gradually shriveled up.
“Noooo!” Zhao Han screamed in despair. Not only had his final attack failed to injure his nemesis, all of his cultivation had eveb ended up being nourishment for Zu An! Was there anything else in this world that could be more despair-inducing?
You have successfully trolled Zhao Han for +1024 +1024 +1024...
When Zhao Han was nothing but an empty shell, Zu An tossed him into the Naihe Oblivion River. His soul completely turned into an ordinary water ghost that could never break free.
...
After the three were dealt with, the entire underworld began to stir.
This was what a proper sovereign was supposed to look like! All that scheming, allying, and collusion wasn’t worth anything! The ruler of the underworld had to be the strongest, someone who could one-sidedly crush all their opponents!
Zu An looked up at at the floating Netherworld Book of Life and Death. He flew straight over and grabbed it. In that instant, a trace of light flickered from the book, and his surroundings also flowed with light.
The underworld was normally mostly black and white with only a few traces of color, such as the reddish-yellow Naihe Oblivion water and the red spider lilies. But right now, Zu An’s surroundings were bright and colorful. All of the creatures in the underworld manor were excited. Just how many years had it been since they saw such rich colors?!
All of the departed spirits realizedsomething. In the future, this was going to be the ruler of the underworld, their new emperor! As such, they couldn't help but bow down respectfully.
Zu An closed his eyes. He could somehow sense the endless souls offering him their respect. The instant he came into contact with the Netherworld Book of Life and Death, a flash of understanding had appeared within him.
The book represented the underworld’s highest authority. The one who held it could rule over everything in the underworld. As long as he willed it, he could understand what was happening in every corner of the underworld. He could appear in any place in the underworld, too.
At the same time, the lives and ascensions of every single soul fell within his grasp. Souls couldn't die, because if they died, they would only return to the underworld. After a long period of slumber, or after paying a certain price, they could be revived. But as long as he wished, he could make those souls completely disappear from the world, eradicating them in the truest sense. They would no longer be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Apart from death, he could also set them free, saving the tormented souls in Hell and sending them to be reincarnated. He could also decide whether they'd be reincarnated in the higher three or lower three paths.
Of course, those weren’t things he could do without limit. He needed to use the corresponding amount of virtue. The more difficult something was, the higher the cost would be. Naturally, there were also some special ghosts who had to comply with the fundamental laws that existed in the underworld. He couldn't alter those at will either.
After all, the virtue system was the foundation of the entire operation of the underworld’s six paths of reincarnation. If he completely destroyed all of that, the entire underworld’s foundation would be rocked.
Zu An frowned. He wanted to see just how much virtue he had. Soon, a line of numbers appeared in front of him.
The number of zeros left him completely stunned. When he counted them, he discovered that the amount was actually ten billion!