The Immortal Emperor Returns

Chapter 492 Duel to The Death

Chu Xun managed a weak smile. The Flaming Qilin was staring at him so angrily as if the Sacred Beast wanted to perforate holes on him for stealing his sweetheart.

In fact, the Flaming Qilin would have attacked if not for the fact that he was no match to Chu Xun.

“Urm… Your Eminence, shouldn’t you explain? There’s a certain someone here furious enough to kill me,” said Chu Xun, who was not happy about being misunderstood.

“Explain what?” asked a puzzled Su Wei’er.

Chu Xun was too speechless to say anything.

If anything, Su Wei’er’s response only seemed to infuriate the Flaming Qilin further.

“Just explain how did I help you,” Chu Xun muttered hastily, afraid that the Qilin might hurl a ball of fire at him.

“You told me to watch and bide our time by agreeing to Di Yanjing’s term. You said you’ll handle the rest,” explained Su Wei’er.

Chu Xun nodded and said to the Flaming Qilin, “So that’s it. Understand now?”

That hardly quelled his rage at all. “Since when did you make such plans?! Why didn’t I know about it?!” the Qilin lashed out viciously.

“Chu Xun told me secretly,” said Su Wei’er.

She should have chosen a subtler way of putting it. “Secretly!?” the Qilin spat with venom, “secretly?! How dare you!”

Chu Xun grinned bleakly. One might wonder if Su Wei’er was trying to frame him if not for the innocent look on her face.

Gao Mohan peered at Chu Xun with brimming admiration and flashed him a thumbs-up that looked like he was saying, “Good job in winning the Sacred Maiden’s heart!”

Meanwhile, Weng Xiong, too, clearly did not realize how he was making things worse, “That was incredible, Chu Xun. You really are my idol.”

“Yeah, he was. I was so afraid that you might not arrive in time,” Su Wei’er smiled sweetly, putting the final nail to the coffin.

The Flaming Qilin cracked his knuckles. “So they have been cheating on me behind my back!”

Su Lianyi stared at Chu Xun and the Flaming Qilin, afraid that a fight might break out between them.

A perplexed and bewildered Yan Xin pivoted his head left and right to look at them both.

Chu Xun felt so wronged that he nearly broke into tears. Gao Mohan and the others were unwittingly lending credence to the misunderstanding!

“I knew it, Devil! I knew you’re a good-for-nothing scoundrel and I have tirelessly tried to prevent this! And still, you’ve triumphed!” the Flaming Qilin’s eyes flared with indescribable anger that his hair was practically standing on ends.

“What’s wrong with you, Flaming Qilin,” Su Wei’er asked, thinking that he was overreacting.

“I-I…” the Flaming Qilin was lost for words. Tears of frustration streamed down his face as he grimaced, How?! Why?!

“Are you all right, Flaming Qilin?” Su Wei’er asked quickly, shocked to see him crying.

That was the salve that he needed. “She cares about me after all! It must be that scoundrel Devil! He must have come up with some devious plan to steal Su Wei’er from me!”

“Tell me, my dear, did the Devil intimidate you into this?”

Thinking that he was referring to Chu Xun’s telepathic messages to her, she shook her head and said, “No. I was doubtful at first, but when I saw things had passed the point of no return, trusting him was the only thing I could do then.”

Hearing her say “the point of no return”, the flames of anger in the Flaming Qilin rekindled and roared back to life. “WHAT?! YOU DEVIL!? HAVE YOU DONE!?”

Chu Xun did not know what to say. Su Wei’er and the Flaming Qilin were obviously misunderstanding each other and this kettle of fish was only getting worse.

“I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL, DEVIL!” the Flaming Qilin bellowed angrily.

Gao Mohan placed a hand on Chu Xun’s shoulder and said hushedly, “Our help will be no use here, Chu. But you really shouldn’t have stolen his sweetheart.”

Shi Yifei and the others all nodded their heads in agreement.

“Gods in Heaven, leave me alone!” scowled Chu Xun.

“I’m challenging you to a duel, Devil! A duel to the death!” yelled the Qilin fiercely.

“But why?! Why do you want to fight Chu Xun?! Aren’t you friends?!” Su Wei’er could not fathom what was going on. “One minute ago, they were fighting alongside each other like comrades, and now, it’s all torches and pitchforks?! What is going on between them?! A jealous attraction or rivalry?!”

“He’s proved himself to be a dishonest scoundrel, my dear. I’m sorry for not protecting you from his wickedness!” the Flaming Qilin moaned, grimacing with guilt.

“But what are you talking about?! Chu Xun did nothing?!” gasped a confused and perplexed Su Wei’er.

“Dammit…” the Flaming Qilin cursed under his breath, scowling at how his innocent heartthrob had fallen into the clutches of the evil Devil.

“Damn you, Devil! In the name of my pride as a Sacred Beast, I shall put to your evil-doing and sinful days to rest!”

Chu Xun gritted his teeth. This foolish beast could really do with a good beating before his stupid mind could properly see what was going on!

“If you need a round of walloping, you only need to tell,” said Chu Xun, hardly amused at all.

Knowing better than to dawdle, Su Wei’er, Su Lianyi, Gao Mohan, and all the others quickly moved aside to give them space.

As soon as they left, the timber of the cells shook as waves of lava and flames swept across the floors of the gaols, accompanied by the angry claps of thunder and lightning.

It turned out to be a battle that lasted barely minutes and the outcome was as predicted: the Flaming Qilin was ignominiously defeated.

Chu Xun could withstand the Flaming Qilin’s flames like they were nothing, but the Sacred Beast could hardly take the brunt of Chu Xun’s might and magic.

The duel had seen the Flaming Qilin being turned back to his original form, black and smoldering like a chimney as a result of Chu Xun’s lightning bolt bombardment. There it laid on the floors of the gaols, fully numb and flinching as if he was having a seizure.

“Qilin!” cried a horrified Su Wei’er who rushed to heal him.

The Elves had magic that healed extraordinarily well.

“I’m so sorry, my dear!” the Flaming Qilin spat. In his beast form, he threw back his head and snarled with frustration.

“Why, Qilin!? You didn’t have to do that? You’re no match for him,” persuaded Su Wei’er while she secretly wondered if he was masochistic.

“That’s enough fun and games for now. Time to go to work,” Chu Xun communicated using telepathy.

Hearing Chu Xun’s voice in his mind made him sprang up. He stared at Chu Xun, gasping, “Wait a minute?! That was telepathy?!”

Chu Xun was surprised too. “So you heard of telepathy before?”

“Of course! I am a Sacred Beast endowed with the knowledge and lore of my prestigious race!” the Flaming Qilin beamed proudly.

“That would explain why you’re so stupid because your brain’s too cluttered with other things,” teased Chu Xun, “that is what your little heartthrob meant by ‘secretly’, understand?”

“Erm…” the Flaming Qilin stared at Chu Xun blankly for seconds before glancing sheepishly at Su Wei’er, “so that’s what you mean by ‘secretly’? It was telepathy?”

“It was,” Su Wei’er nodded, “as I told you, it was during the ceremony just now.”

The Flaming Qilin stood there, speechless and bewildered until he finally spoke to Su Wei’er, “Your ability of expression really was… unique, my dear…”

Su Wei’er stared at him strangely, hardly understanding a word he said.

“Forget about her, your brain works in the most unique ways yourself,” scowled Chu Xun jokingly, “now get up. It’s time we look for Di Yanjing.”

The Flaming Qilin turned back to his human form and put on his clothes and tidied himself. He flexed his arms to stretched himself, now looking rather merry now that the misunderstanding had been dispelled. Loudly, he called, “Let’s go! It’s payback time for that swine Di Yanjing!”

Those who were at first sympathetic to the Flaming Qilin could only gawk with bewilderment at the impetuous character of the Sacred Beast. What a doltish and bumbling oaf indeed!

Di Yanjing lived on his own at the far south side of the Elvish woods.

At the veranda of his abode, Di Yanjing sat with Mo Yan.

“Thank you so much for your aid, General Mo,” Di Yanjing raised a glass to him, beaming with pride and satisfaction. For years he had waited and finally, his patience has been rewarded.

The fiendish chieftain raised his glass, but he made no attempt of drinking its contents. “Presbyter Di,” said the fiend, “now that the Elves are all within your command, can I be sure that we have your support?”

That little detail did not escape Di Yanjing’s notice. Mo Yan must be worried that the wine could be poisoned.

“Rest assured, General, that as allies, we should help each other. I’ll have the Arcane Guards spearhead the way out to the outside world in a few days.”

But Mo Yan shook his head, “No. The seal that keeps you here cannot be broken by the mere superiority of number alone. We need the help of the Cursed Tree.”

“Very well,” said Di Yanjing quietly, “the Tree answers to me now.”

“Thank you very much then, Presbyter Di,” smiled Mo Yan.

“Don’t mention it. We’re allies. In fact, I’ll need the Fifth Fiend Lord’s help to deal with the Queen later.”

“You share the same seniority as the Queen herself. Surely you are powerful enough to deal with her?”

Hesitation flitted briefly in Di Yanjing’s eyes. “You don’t understand. I cannot enter the area where the Queen is sealed.”

Mo Yan’s head dipped slightly in contemplation. “I see. What happened?”

“I’m afraid that’s a secret of my race, General. I hope you won’t mind.”

Mo Yan nodded, knowing better than to pry further.

Doubt gleamed Di Yanjing’s eyes once more. “Every Elvish monarch receives the blessings of his or her predecessor and the Divine Tree during their coronation which imbues him or her with the disciplines of the Arcane Codex that affords them a huge enhancement in their powers.”

The Elvish Queen was a powerful champion in the early stages of the Golden Immortal Realm prior to her incarceration. Even after centuries of stagnation, she could very well be at least a middle- or even latter-stage Earth Immortal which was still too powerful for Di Yanjing to handle alone. That was why he needed the help of the Subterranean Devils – because they had wicked magic that would allow its user the ability to consume the powers of others to augment his or her own.

“DI YANJING, YOU SWINE! I’M COMING FOR YOU! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR YOUR DOOM AT MY HAND!”

The Flaming Qilin’s voice rumbled across the horizons like thunderclaps. Di Yanjing and Mo Yan leaped to their feet with disbelief and they barely looked into the distance when they saw Chu Xun and the others racing towards them at full speed.

“You got out?!” yelped Di Yanjing darkly, “where’s Di Danqing?!”

“No more alive than ashes. Saves them the trip into the underworld too,” teased the Flaming Qilin.

Di Yanjing had felt a sensation of foreboding just now, but he did not expect that his fears would come true. Anger and malice swelled in him as he regarded his foes with a steely glare.

“I would have long fled away from here if I were you,” Di Yanjing’s face writhed with grotesque wrath.

“The fact that you’re still here is exactly the reason we’re not running!” spat the Flaming Qilin with disgust, “what’s more, why should we flee? Why should we be afraid of you?”

“Naive fools,” Di Yanjing sneered darkly, “you killed my brother! For that, I’ll tear you all to shreds!”

“I’d save my breath from all that blather if I were you,” remarked Chu Xun coldly.

“I admit that I have underestimated you, Devil,” said Mo Yan.

Chu Xun looked at the fiend with a wry look and said, “And what should I call you, Mo Yan? Or should I say, the Fifth Fiend Lord?”

Mo Yan’s face convulsed with shock and disbelief at what Chu Xun said.