Chapter 148: Void is Form

Even in death, his will remained like a curse, continuously eroding the victor and plunging them into endless torment.

"Migulalichi, Stoneshi!"

Upon seeing a deceased one whose entire created universe had been breached, they suddenly smiled toward Luohawu, chanted a spell, and then, a strange presence seemed to settle upon Luohawu's divine soul.

This discovery sent a chill down her spine. She hurriedly used her divine abilities to shatter the shadow of Wuyun's curse, but when she looked for Wuyun, there was no trace of him left.

She let out a cry, only to find her limbs completely immobilized, unable to budge even an inch, while a backlash of energy assaulted her very soul.

"The Emperor Tribulation!"

Luohawu never expected that falling under Wuyun's illusion would actually trigger the Emperor Tribulation. How absurd and ridiculous. For any consummate Immortal King to overcome the Emperor Tribulation, they had to continuously build up their momentum until it reached a certain threshold. Only then would the spirit of the Immortal Realm and the spatial dimensions perceive it, summoning the Emperor Tribulation and unleashing the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder!

If the momentum was insufficient to trigger it naturally, one would have to actively attack the heavens and earth, disrupt the spacetime channels, and interfere with the operation of the lower mortal realms to forcefully summon it. However, once triggered in this manner, the tribulation would directly unleash the World-Destroying Divine Thunder.

The difference between the World-Destroying Divine Thunder and the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder was evident in the consequences of failing them. Failing the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder left a glimmer of survival and even a chance for another attempt.

The World-Destroying Divine Thunder offered no such mercy. One either fell into the mortal realms or had their soul scattered to ashes.

Every opportunity for the Emperor Tribulation was precious, leaving Luohawu both thrilled and terrified. She was completely unprepared, and her natal immortal artifact was not with her—how could she possibly survive this?

Just as she was pondering how to break free and escape the state of being locked onto by the heavenly tribulation, she heard Wuyun shouting and roaring outside. Some sort of spiritual connection had unexpectedly formed between her and Wuyun.

Who on earth had angered Wuyun?

It was Daoyuan and Jiayouke!

Daoyuan's cultivation was at the early stage of Profound Immortal, while Jiayouke was at the early stage of Great Immortal—a full major realm apart.

Ever since Jieli had been strictly forbidden from cultivating alongside Jiayouke, the latter had been simmering with fierce anger. It was equivalent to having married a celestial beauty who could only be looked at, never touched, and who subjected him to endless commands at every turn.

For instance—"Husband Youke, since we are now companions, shouldn't we invite some local powers to celebrate?"

Or perhaps—"Youke, your cultivation is flawed. Let me help dredge your immortal acupoints and meridians. Don't be afraid, I won't touch the seals within your divine soul."

Or even—"Let the little ones handle it. Jieli's dancing skills are quite decent, let her perform one. I heard the two of you even enacted joy and sorrow once—yes, at Yueqi's request..."

Jiayouke swallowed his pride and endured. With Lord Wuyun absent, he felt too embarrassed to beg Hantu, and even began to suspect that Lord Wuyun's calculations were flawed! What husband-and-wife destiny—it was clearly a master-servant bond, with him as the servant and Daoyuan as the master!

Finally, Daoyuan caused a disaster. Relying on the presence of the Valley Master, she invited General Jumozu, a subordinate of Immortal King Jumo.

This Left General was actually a pig-faced immortal beast, romantic and debonair, who had married a grand total of over twelve hundred concubines of all sizes across the Yuanding General Star he governed.

Furthermore, he was indiscriminate in his appetites and fond of exotic creatures. He had suffered setbacks on this front before, having been played for a fool by the distant female relatives of the Emperor Snake, which had caused his cultivation to stagnate at the middle stage of the Immortal King realm.

He was quite surprised upon receiving the invitation, never expecting so many capable individuals to suddenly pop up in his jurisdiction.

Especially a few days ago, when they had captured a giant from the Taitai Immortal Clan who claimed to be the Third Prince, Gaole. Not only was he at the peak of the Profound Immortal realm and nursing injuries, but he was also remarkably arrogant.

The Giants were numerous, and he had heard a faint whisper of the Taitai clan. A mere minor clan, yet daring to act with such tyranny within his territory?

Using the power of the stellar core, he had suppressed the fellow directly. Gaole felt utterly wronged; he had simply wanted to use the local teleportation array to leave. Upon seeing that he was tall and possessed a stalwart immortal body, the guards had demanded three immortal stones' worth of passage fees.

Even though proof of identity was waived, he stubbornly felt it was unfair and started an argument. Winning the initial fight had felt exhilarating—below the Profound Immortal realm, no one was his match.

Unexpectedly, he was targeted by the Star Lord, suppressed once more, and taken prisoner for the second time.

Just as Daoyuan relied on the Valley Master, Gaole figured he still had Senior Black Horse to fall back on. When his life was threatened, he blurted out his family's slogan. Seeing the opponent sneer with contempt, he nervously invoked the name of the Black Horse, recalling the forces stationed here.

"I shall go and see this alleged reincarnation of the mount of Emperor Hantu."

After Gaole was suppressed beneath the earth, before he could finish doting on his newly taken concubines, he received an urgent report from his subordinates stating that a Profound Immortal was about to take a Great Immortal as a dao companion.

Why bother him with such trivial matters? The Left General was displeased, but the moment he heard the location, he immediately sprang to his feet.

It wasn't that his presence was strictly necessary, but rather: when had these people popped up, and why had the sensory array deployed by the stellar core and his own divine sense failed to detect them in the slightest?

One had to know that regardless of who it was, entering an owned planet without stating one's name or possessing an invitation was a grave crime of trespassing.

The light punishment involved scolding by powerful backers and a small fine; the heavy punishment involved having seals placed upon them, forcing them to labor for half a lifetime to pay off their debts just like old Bai.

"Fetch my finest Qianshan tiger bone liquor! I cannot go empty-handed!" the Left General barked coldly. This tiger bone was the whip bone of an Immortal King tiger demon, used for steeping in immortal brew to enhance physical strength and divine might.

He intended to make this nameless dao companion drink a few cups and watch them make a fool of themselves.

With time and location set, he was in no rush, but Jiayouke was extremely anxious.

Immortal King Rongya had painstakingly integrated his memories into the living beings of this realm. If the Star Lord were to arrive personally, would everyone's identities be exposed?

Daoyuan scoffed in mockery: "The Valley Master is right here, yet you still cower in fear. Go tell that black horse about this and make him prepare a congratulatory gift!"

When Hantu heard the news, he too was clueless. Daoyuan's marriage was supposedly destined by heaven as Wuyun had declared. When he tried to consult Wuyun, he only overheard Wuyun cursing himself for being a fool.

Especially when Wuyun muttered that old Bai's lack of effort was what caused the wretched state of his own physical body, Hantu's anger flared even higher. Out of sheer frustration, he simply retreated into his floating dwelling to reshape his body, ignoring the matter entirely.

Helpless, Jiayouke—unaware that Yueqi's avatar was actually Wuyun—went to consult Third Brother Bear.

The former black bear was now gleaming with golden light, having transformed into a golden bear of the same color scheme as the Battle King. Seeing the troubled figure seeking help, and figuring that the senior was still around so nothing could go terribly wrong, the bear bellowed: "This is a good thing! You must organize it grandly. Back in the day, when I took my old lady home, it was glorious and magnificent! Ah, too bad she lacked the karmic affinity for cultivation. If Senior could arrange a match for me, I'd definitely throw a massive celebration!"

Sensing the odd tone, Jiayouke wondered why this bear sounded so sour, so he turned to consult the Battle King.

Recalling that the senior was present, the Battle King pondered and said: "Had time not been so pressing, we should have widely distributed wedding invitations and invited the bigwigs of other star systems as well. But since we need to keep a low profile, inviting the master of this very planet will just have to do."

A dumbfounded Jiayouke sent a divine sense transmission to question Little Worm, only to see Little Worm embracing the green-leafed snake's head and shaking it: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. For such matters, you should go consult that dragon; he's an expert who has taken wives and concubines."

Thus, Jiayouke went in person to inquire. At that moment, Dragon One was watching his father build a family and establish a career within a multicolored bubble. As an artifact spirit, he had unexpectedly become the biological son transformed by Dragon One's divine sense within this illusory world.

This wasn't reconciling father-son affections; this was clearly an endless, life-or-death grudge match.

Upon hearing about Jiayouke's predicament, Dragon One narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and angrily said: "The Valley Master still holds the souls of the Ten-Fox Immortal King, so I can't very well go ask him. Besides, I too had a romantic destiny with the Ten-Fox. In short, rest assured—what Senior Wuyun said cannot be wrong. Go ahead and do it boldly, have no fear."

Having questioned a whole circle of people without obtaining the answer he wanted, Jiayouke returned to Daoyuan's side. Seeing her summoning a few minor ghosts to play and duel for her amusement, a wave of anger surged within him, and he scolded her a few times. The little ghosts fled in fright, displeased, and Daoyuan snapped: "What, are you unhappy?"

"It's not that I'm unhappy! As my dao companion, why won't you let me touch you even now? If you want me to agree to this, you must let me touch you!"

Faced with Jiayouke's aggressive attitude, Daoyuan grew irritated, pointed at Jiayouke, and said: "Fine then, come over here and touch me!"

Hearing this, Jiayouke did not show a shred of weakness. Instead of touching the foot Daoyuan extended, he lunged forward directly, wrapping his arms around her.

This was a desperate, all-or-nothing strike—and he failed completely.

What manner of cultivation did Daoyuan possess? A mere newly-minted Great Immortal had no business getting close to her.

Normally, a gentle breath would have been enough to sweep him away. Instead, Daoyuan unleashed a kick that struck squarely upon Jiayouke's divine soul, blasting him three hundred miles away before she spitefully declared: "Destiny? Go to hell with your heavenly destiny! Come on then, touch me and see if you dare!"

Injured by the single blow, Jiayouke crawled back in hardship to Jieli's side. Before he could voice his grievances, Daoyuan issued an order forcing the two to separate, and had Jiayouke locked inside an array formation to properly cultivate. The formation completely sealed off even his divine sense, let alone any chance of crying out for help.

In her mind, once they became dao companions and fulfilled the tribulation of marriage, she could happily shake off her shackles and leave.

Third Brother Bear witnessed everything Daoyuan did. Stealing a glance at Wuyun—who was happily drunk, dancing and telling stories in front of Luohawu, and even stumbling forward to flirt—he instantly realized that things were about to go terribly wrong this time.

Had Yueqi's physical vessel truly fallen into mediocrity, rendering it incomparable to the forging of the Emperor Hegemon?

By the time Wuyun plunged Luohawu into inescapable depths across various worlds and leisurely prepared to walk outside, the exact hour for Daoyuan and Jiayouke's wedding had arrived. The ceremony of the dual-cultivation partners was grand and solemn, representing a romance that neither Jiayouke nor Daoyuan could ever deny, no matter what heights of Immortal Emperorship they might achieve in the future.

"This is practically paving the highway to death for Jiayouke!"

Third Brother Bear gazed at the gathering clouds forming outside the array formation, sighed, and called over the spectators Battle King, Little Worm, and Dragon One, solemnly stating: "This time, let's just be good little melon-eating onlookers!"

Dragon One nodded. Wherever his draconic presence went, disaster followed. He must definitely not stick his neck out regarding Jiayouke's affair.

The Left General arrived swiftly, casually drawing a circle at the designated invitation location, and brought along two concubines as he strode over.

With a flash of spatial teleportation, he arrived amidst the mountain stream. Glancing at the multitude of fluttering spiritual monsters, he gave a light cough, whereupon the stone monsters and others instantly coughed up blood and passed out from the shock.

The Left General paid them no heed. His two concubines—one with a snake face and the other with a fox face—gently waved their hands, causing a shadowy projection to manifest over the location marked as Jiayouke's dwelling. Then, a majestic voice rang out: "The Star Lord has arrived, present yourselves and welcome him at once!"

Daoyuan furrowed her brows. She sent a voice transmission to the healing Jiayouke, and seeing that he failed to appear, she flew into a rage and went out to greet the visitor in person.

The moment Daoyuan appeared, the snake-faced concubine let out a gasp of surprise and said to the General: "My lord, it turns out the rumors are true. Word has it that the Hundred Flower Valley was destroyed, and the former unrestrained Great Immortal faction has returned, with their disciples fleeing to various star domains to seek refuge!"