Divine Emperor of Death

Elizar Yantra looked at the arm that had just been severed, blood spurting out without end as he was unable to stop the bleeding. His dazed and panicked mind made him think if it was an illusion, but no, he knew that Ancestor Hiden Gilmore was talented in both Sword Intent and Illusion Intent.

Only one of his legs was with him now, and his protective talisman was also used up when the four Ancestors attacked him at the same time after Sect Master Bing Luli sneak attacked him during the interrogation. His body increasingly trembled since he knew that he would be killed within the next two moves or even one at this rate.

"Wait...! I surrend-'

Ancestor Hiden Gilmore's eyes narrowed with killing intent as he unleashed another attack with a wave of his arm, his form looking elegant. His sword slash that he made was towards empty space again. It seemed to disappear, concealing itself within the atmosphere before it came in a direction that Elizar Yantra wasn't even able to detect in his current miserable state.

"-No!!!-"

He miserably screamed when it ended!

*Clang!~*

Or so he thought when he saw a dark green-robed person's silhouette in front of him, controlling a scythe and defending against the elusive sword attack before it rebounded back toward his hand as he grasped it cockily.

Ancestor Hiden Gilmore's pupils dilated when he saw the figure, instantly retreating while his lips went agape.

"Devil Bane!"

Two voices echoed, the other from the person who almost died and felt incredibly thankful at this moment.

"Rejoice...! The Poison Lord doesn't want you dead yet for your pleasing tribute, so we moved in to save you."

Devil Bane's cold and vicious voice echoed. He snickered as he looked around, his gaze displaying disdain for the people of the righteous path.

"We...?" Elizar Yantra appeared overwhelmed yet confused.

The others also possessed the same expression when Ancestor Hiden Gilmore abruptly felt his scalp turn numb. He dashed to the left, but it was nothing but a decoy as he dashed to the right using illusion arts.

However...

"Wrong move, little fellow..."

*Whiz!~*

Dark green gaseous energy engulfed Ancestor Hiden Gilmore in the direction he truly went, causing his expression to become ugly.

"Hiden!!!"

A golden light swiftly moved into the space covered by dark green gaseous energy.

Ancestor Larzen Metaxas quickly arrived in between them and forcefully pulled Ancestor Hiden Gilmore out of that poisonous realm. Fortunately, he had used his protective talisman to cover himself, so he didn't get poisoned miserably but looking at Ancestor Hiden Gilmore, who looked like he was choking while his veins were sticking out of his skin, he scowled and bellowed towards the sneak attacker!

"Blood Thorn, remove this poison off of Hiden, right now!"

"Oh?"

Another green-robed silhouette manifested beside Devil Bane. Green hair flowed down till his waist while his appearance looked skewed as many veins protruded, looking like they had been poisoned by the poisonous energy he was practicing.

This person was none other than the gatekeeper of the Poison Lord Villa's Territory Gate that led to the Flowing Mist Sect, so it was apparent why Ancestor Larzen Metaxas knew of him. It was not only Ancestor Larzen Metaxas who knew of him but the others did as well.

Blood Thorn's presence instantly made the atmosphere more solemn, while Ancestor Larzen Metaxas didn't dare to aggravate the enemy anymore.

Blood Thorn was another Low-Level Law Rune Stage Powerhouse who practiced Poison Laws!

If they felt like they could deal with Devil Bane and still kill Elizar Yantra, then that thought became more despairing with Blood Thorn's arrival.

Ancestor Krane Parazen swiftly arrived beside Ancestor Hiden Gilmore and began prescribing pills that could save his life. Due to the implicit meaning in the Imagery Stone, he knew that the Poison Lord Villa might be involved, so he prepared a few antidote pills that might come in handy but were not fully effective as he was no Poison Master himself.

Nevertheless, since Ancestor Hiden Gilmore was not heavily injured, he mused that it would not lead to a fatal state and he would be able to overcome it by erasing the poison with his own energy before it seeps into his bones and organs.

"Tribute?"

While first-aid was advancing with Ancestor Larzen Metaxas's attention, Ancestor Wan Lanying's expression suddenly changed as she noticed a point, "You foul person! You dare to collude with the wicked path!? I thought they were trying to rope you in since they tried to defend you from Ancestor Tirea Snow's assassination attempt on you, but I see now that it is more than justified!"

"Hahahaha!" Elizar Yantra crazily laughed before his expression became full of hate, "So what!? I'm going to target you Mystic Ice Sect maidens next!"

He became more emboldened and admitted now that two powerhouses were here to protect him. Although it was now confirmed that he had become a traitor to the righteous path, he could care less at this moment since he had almost died, not to mention that his ticket to asylum in Poison Lord Villa seemed to already be obtained.

As for how? It was by sending his most beautiful daughter, Jue Yantra, to the Poison Lord. It looks like she had fulfilled her role and pleased the Poison Lord to have him be protected at this moment. Previously, he felt humiliated for sending his daughter even though he didn't get to kill Dian Alstreim as exchanged, but now, he felt that it was worth it as he got to keep his life!

Ancestor Wan Lanying's gaze was cold as she lifted up her hands, wanting to freeze Elizar Yantra to death. That threat he just made... It was no longer a matter of gaining justice for the Alstreim Family or a fellow woman like Ancestor Tirea Snow, but... it became personal!

"Hoho?" Blood Thorn interrupted with his hoarse voice, "Beauty Wan, do you think that it's worth it to offend our Poison Lord Villa for a mere vendetta of this level? You can't possibly want us to poison the lovely and delicate fairies of our world, no?"

Ancestor Wan Lanying clenched her teeth as her snow-white arm stopped in mid-air.

The Poison Lord Villa was a Peak-Level Emperor Grade Power whose most powerful powerhouse was a person who was known as the Poison Lord publically. No one knew his true name, but that didn't matter. He only had a High-Level Law Rune Stage Cultivation, but that was enough to terrorize even the Large-Sized Territories because his prowess was rumored to be such that he could face Peak-Level Law Rune Stage Powerhouses!

Who under the heavens would dare to offend him, afraid of being poisoned to death even if they managed to kill him!?

Of course, the Poison Lord rarely went out, not making a ruckus while enjoying his life as the Villa Master, and that kept him alive for the most part, but if provoked, he truly wouldn't leave anyone alive, leaving a massacre, a poison plague in his wake!

Looking at two of their powerhouses who were already occupied with treatment to stop the poison from invading Ancestor Hiden Gilmore's innards, she knew that the tides have turned to Elizar Yantra's side.

"Elizar, this favor, you know how to return it to the Poison Lord, right?"

Devil Bane saw that there was no response and turned to look at Elizar Yantra, feeling that this matter was already over.

"Yes!"

Elizar Yantra became stiff at the mention of the Poison Lord.

"This little expert will fulfill my role as Poison Lord's amusement..."

"Ahahahah!"

Devil Bane laughed out loud as he patted Elizar Yantra's shoulder.

"Not bad, not bad. You know how to live. No wonder you sold your most precious daughter to our Poison Lord."

Elizar Yantra's thoughts turned ugly as he felt humiliated, hate filling his mind against this Devil Bane, but he didn't dare to show it on the surface as he wryly smiled.

"Bastard...! You aren't even a good father...!"

Sect Master Bing Luli bellowed, her eyes appearing to be full of killing intent.

"Hehe, a little girl like you needs to end up on Poison Lord's lap to know what the world is like. Maybe I should target you next so our Poison Lord can enjoy-"

"You dare!?"

Ancestor Wan Lanying bellowed with rage, her expression contorting behind her transparent veil.

Elizar Yantra made a mocking expression and replied but in the distance...

"Tch... If possible, I didn't want to use Fallen Heaven and wanted to use these people to get rid of him so as to not move fate even by a bit, creating a larger wave in fate's trajectory. It is rather unexpected that the Poison Lord Villa would help that scum. Do they have a true reason to help him other than this so-called tribute?"

Davis's eyes narrowed while he began to contemplate but couldn't arrive at an explicit answer.

"Damn, this is going to be a headache if I get caught either way..."

He dismounted Nadia and floated in front of her big wolf face. Her big golden eyes were shining like jewels under the moonlight.

"Nadia, stay concealed and don't ever reveal yourself even if I'm in danger..."

"... Mhm~"

Nadia wanted to voice out her reluctance, but recalling that her Davis had become way stronger than her, she whimpered in assent.

Davis lovingly caressed her fur and kissed her forehead. He came prepared, wearing a pitch-black robe and a mask to conceal his identity. Confirming that these powerhouses were still engaged in a squabble with words, he silently made his way towards the beaming Elizar Yantra.

"Foolish Sect Master Bing Luli. You had a good life ahead of you while reaching the Law Rune Stage sooner than one could dream, but your arrogance, just like other geniuses, would be your downfall. You just had to go offend the Poison Lord Villa with your yappi-"

*Crack~*

A tiny bone-breaking sound could be heard as Elizar Yantra's voice abruptly stopped echoing. The righteous path turned to look at the sudden anomaly and found a black robed-person appear behind Elizar Yantra, knocking him out.

There were no undulations from his palm thrust, and almost nothing could be sensed other than the collapse of Elizar Yantra's undulations. Just pure brute force caused Elizar Yantra to faint. Simultaneously, the mountainous impact of his other hand swinging caused the ones close to him to be pushed back from the sheer force!

"What!?"

Devil Bane and Blood Thorn were caught off-guard as they were sent flying. However, they quickly managed to regain their balance after reaching a few dozen kilometers while Devil Bane shouted.

"A Low-Level, no! A Mid-Level Martial Overlord Powerhouse!?"

"Who are you!?" Blood Thorn's expression became ugly.

They no longer had the upper hand anymore.

At the same time, they tried to confirm Elizar Yantra's state of life and death and found that he was half-dead at this moment that everybody couldn't help but watch in utter shock.

*Whoosh!~*

"Stop!"

"Catch him!"

Davis grabbed the unconscious Elizar Yantra by the calf of his literal last leg as he shot towards the distance without answering their questions. Devil Bane and Blood Thorn followed him in pursuit without delaying their reaction.

"Wait! He's stealing our Flowing Mist Sect's Treasures!!!"

Only then did Larzen Metaxas react, his aged expression becoming awry. He looked between the recovering Hiden Gilmore and the treasures being stolen before he shot towards them in pursuit!

What seemed to be a struggle between the righteous path and the wicked path turned into a race to get a 'thing' that they required from the unidentified powerhouse!