Divine Emperor of Death
chapter-3856

"Your majesty!"

Autarch Yulan Nazarin reached out his hand towards Clara, wanting to save her, yet he was suddenly engulfed in a pitch-black smog. His heart raced as he struggled to see through the thick haze, feeling lost and disoriented as the death energy threatened to enter his body.

Contrary to his calculations, the black smog seemed to suffocate him, making it difficult for him to breathe as he stumbled blindly forward. He had a momentary lapse of judgment from the shock he received, not expecting a mere Level Seven Immortal Emperor to be able to trap him, a Level Three Autarch with extraordinary prowess.

This inheritor, known as Rokushi Mirai, was able to battle with an Autarch of his level.

He turned back, quickly locking onto the source—a strange stone that shone black and released an abominable gas that twisted and writhed in the air, spreading doom. Even the heaven and earth energy around him seem to lose their vibrancy and perish while the fabric of space keeps eroding, threatening to plunge him into the spatial rift below.

Realization dawned on him as he understood the power of this cursed substance, capable of weakening even the strongest of beings like him. With his senses heightened, he knew he had to act fast before the gas consumed him entirely. Steeling himself, he summoned his energy from the depths of his dantian and struck with his fist.

A burst of flames exploded from his fist, engulfing the abominable gas in a blaze of fury. The flames danced and crackled, devouring Rokushi Mirai as though she were a mere doll. As the fire raged on, the air cleared. However, the deathly gas quickly appeared from nowhere, seeking to suffocate him again.

"What!?"

A hand stretched out from the darkness, seeking to destroy him. It reached his throat, but he pulled back and punched out again.

*Booom!~*

The force of his punch created a fiery shockwave that pushed back the hand, dispersing the deathly mist momentarily. With a fierce determination, he focused his energy once more and unleashed another wave of fire with a wave of his hand, pushing back the deadly gas even further. The explosion surged in between them, creating a temporary barrier of protection.

As he caught his breath, he clenched his teeth, turning around to protect Clara.

At the same time, he couldn't believe how Rokushi Mirai was using such a treasure repeatedly, considering it would drain all strength with just one attack unless it was the spirit of the treasure attacking him. However, it unleashed repeated attacks despite him throwing three attacks equaling Level Six Autarch Stage.

By now, it would've lost its energy if the spirit was moving on its own, but it didn't seem one bit weak, still brimming with an insurmountable amount of energy that he couldn't see the end of. Then again, he couldn't probe the true grade of the treasure either, as the death energy completely eroded his senses the moment it neared the stone.

He quickly prioritized saving Clara, knowing he had messed up by bringing her here.

The easy target that was ripe for the taking turned out to be a phoenix in a sparrow's clothing.

He descended, trying to save her from falling into the spatial rift before it was too late.

*Whizz!~*

Autarch Yulan Nazarin waved his hand, creating a protective barrier of flames below Clara and the other two.

At this moment, Clara's magical beast already seemed to have grown into a giant King-Tier Ice Phoenix, doing its best to fly away from the spatial rift. It appeared to be holding up well, but the air of the death energy was also having an impact on it, greatly weakening it.

*Shriek~*

It cried out in terror as it struggled to maintain its flight. Even he was barely holding his sanity in check against this death energy that shook him from the bottom of his soul. Consequently, he decided to quickly retreat. The death energy continued to pursue him relentlessly.

However, he made it to them first.

With a swipe of his hand, using transcendent soul force, he grabbed them all and tried to rush out.

However, the spatial rift's pull was too strong, causing him to be delayed, which allowed the harrowing terror of the death energy to catch up to him and engulf him again.

"How revolting!"

His body abruptly turned into a fountain of lava as he unleashed his full power to push back against the death energy. He burned his blood essence, made up of the Supreme Nova Body, a physique that was at Empyrean Grade. It granted him more power, allowing his prowess to skyrocket for a period of time.

With a burst of fiery energy, he managed to break free from its grasp and escape from the spatial rift, leaving behind a trail of destruction in his wake. As he emerged on the other side, he realized the true extent of his newfound abilities.

Never in his life did he have to burn his blood essence, but looking at Clara, he thought it was all worth it.

*Rip!~*

At this moment, a dagger appeared from a crack in space, right beside Xiaolan's head. However, the target seemed to be someone else.

"…!"

Autarch Yulan Nazarin noticed this strange assassin who popped out from nowhere, or rather, was hidden within the myriad layers of space without a single movement and couldn't be found until he moved. He waved his hand, intending to blow him away with a speedy attack, but it was too late.

The dagger pierced toward Clara instead of Xiaolan, intending to end her life.

However, she was suddenly pulled back, and a man intervened, punching out with his own hands with full strength. Resplendent light shone from his fist as he punched the assassin. The force of his blow was as tough as a powerful fist from a Level Nine Immortal Emperor, perhaps even stronger, enough to knock the dagger out of the assassin's hand and send him flying backwards.

At the same time, the man was also sent flying from the clash as he slid back to the phoenix's wings.

However, the assassin only flew a bit backwards before he threw a pouch of powder.

"Poison!"

Davis shouted.

However, Autarch Yulan Nazarin's attack arrived at a timely moment.

The poisonous powder dispersed in the air, but a sudden wave of fiery attacks burned everything before the poisonous powder could fully disperse.

*Whoosh~*

Autarch Yulan Nazarin stood protectively in front of Clara, making sure she was safe from any further harm. His senses scanned the area and quickly found around four Peak Level Sovereign Stage assassins, which made matters clear for him.

He hadn't found Rokushi Mirai.

She laid a trap here, intending to kill whoever came here.

"Die!"

At this moment, Rokushi Mirai's voice echoed.

A violent ball of death energy sank on them from above, causing havoc and catastrophe all around the space around them.

Autarch Yulan Nazarin acted swiftly, unleashing a barrage of fiery attacks to counter the deadly energy. He shielded Clara from harm, and his focus was honed on the Peak Level Sovereign Stage assassins lurking nearby while he dealt with Rokushi Mirai.

However, the shockwave from their battle caused Xiaolan to stumble back to the front, nearly losing her balance. She received a lot of impact, causing her to bleed all over, but she barely held on as she flew away carrying them.

But she didn't notice Davis falling off her wings.

"No!"

Clara shouted, intending to jump.

However, Autarch Yulan Nazarin's energy that shielded her also stopped her from leaving.

Within a second, Xiaolan had already carried them tens of kilometers along the cave path.

Davis landed on the ground as he looked around. As Xiaolan carried them further along the cave path, the ground beneath them suddenly began to shake violently. The cave walls started to crumble and collapse, sending rocks and debris tumbling down towards them.

Davis quickly scrambled to his feet, trying to follow them as the cave continued to collapse around them.

"Since you're here, don't bother leaving."

However, a cold voice emerged from the space around him.

Davis shifted his head and threw a hand. A dagger missed his forehead, but he caught a head, which he crushed underneath the bare strength of his fist, his fingers squeezing through that assassin's eyes.

He instantly cast a soulscour technique, but-

*Bang!~*

The assassin's head exploded, causing Davis to take his hand back. He saw that his bloody palm was now contaminated by some kind of rune.

"Curse Laws…?"

He narrowed his eyes before quickly punching out behind him.

*Boom!~*

An intense shock wave shook space and practically caused a black-robed assassin to be thrown out of the void as he appeared in real space. His senses had just adjusted to the dark area around him, but a fist came ramming through and sank right into his face.

*Bang!~*

His head exploded into a bloody mess before the man who ended it rushed towards the phoenix. However, by this time, the ice phoenix had already left the area, causing him to avoid all the crumbling rocks before he arrived in a relatively safe space.

"Who are you?"

Abruptly, a black-robed figure appeared from the confines of the shadows. They slipped out like a spirit, looking at him with wide eyes that shone with a grayish light.

It was none other than Rokushi Mirai.

"Your senses are honed to the extreme, enough to find these elite assassins whom even I would find it difficult to detect."

"…"

Davis's eyes were narrowed.

He had to admit that she was sharp and intelligent, considering she played the Candidacy well by gaining a unique treasure, arcing her way to the Third Hidden Pagoda that was surrounded by Empyrean Crystal Beasts, and even completing it as she received one or two Gilded Realm Ascendant Pills, of which she must've already digested one and became too powerful, able to defeat Level Two Autarchs or even barely battle Level Three Autarchs on her own.