Divine Emperor of Death

Shirley explained what had happened underneath the mammoth crystal tree and had to expose that she cleared the Ninth Hidden Pagoda, shocking everyone. It was no wonder Shirley said she knew what the treasures were.

Dewzai also returned with Flamerose and Frostrose as they seemed to have reached an impasse.

"I'm afraid we can't heal such injuries," Flamerose said.

"That's fine." Shirley nodded, "Just help her out as much as you two can, ease her pain and suffering…"

"Don't talk as though I'm going to drop dead anytime…" Dewzai pouted, "I still have a few years of life left in me until I separate my soul from my body and live as a pure soul cultivator."

"You'd be dead from a karmic attack by then."

Shirley shook her head. When lacking a body, souls were highly susceptible to karmic attacks, and people wanted an Emperor-Tier entity like Dewzai to be gone from the world as soon as possible.

Dewzai couldn't retort. She pursed her lips and went back to a hidden corner, waiting for Flamerose and Frostrose to appear.

"Zahara… or Flamerose…" Shirley started, "Which one do you want to be called as, master?"

"No need to address me as master as you have exceeded my might. As for my name, I'm always Flamerose. There's no Zahara, just a temporary alignment of myself, no different than living a life after forgetting the past for a certain amount of time, like having amnesia."

"In that case, that's good."

Shirley smiled with relief, "I thought there would be some dissonance in your soul."

Flamerose giggled lightly, "There is dissonance in memories since there are fake ones implemented in us— probably to fit in better, but Frostrose and I can eventually filter through that. It is not a problem. The problem is— we still don't know why we have been given a second chance at life while the other inheritance masters are all dead, sacrificed as a means to participate in this heaven-forbidden competition. We're afraid our lives may be collected after the Candidacy ends."

"No, nothing of that sort will happen."

Shirley grasped Flamerose's hands, "I will see to it that such a thing doesn't happen!~"

Flamerose and Frostrose looked at each other, amused yet moved.

They felt gratified that they had chosen a daring person who was also very caring.

"This may be nothing but my speculation, but the World Master left the two of your lives intact because you've been revived by my husband, an Anarchic Divergent. They inevitably influence people's fate, whether it be a boon or a bane, so for the World Master to cause you two to die again would be like contending his abilities- no, clashing with his destiny."

Shirley pursed her lips, not knowing if the World Master didn't want to clash with Davis's path. However, she knew World Master could flip their entire world with a flick of a finger, so she thought again.

"No… the World Master simply may not have cared. It's just two lives out of the nine hundred and sixteen immortal inheritances and many more that got lost to death. Perhaps it's a combination of many factors coming togeth-"

"Shirley, thank you for consoling us." Flamerose held Shirley's hands tighter, "However, the truth is that this whole setup is to greatly lessen or avert karmic burden on falling from our clans, so us being alive is a great hazard to our clans."

"It is like sending energy to your right fist straight from the dantian instead of sending it all over the body and ending up in your right fist. The end result is the same, but the process is different in that energy gets lost, convoluted or amplified, and this is done in a way where karmic burden gets convoluted as much as it needs to be." Frostrose explained.

Their words caused Shirley's gaze to tremble.

Flamerose raised her hand and patted Shirley's head.

"It's fine. I got some courage from you. As you said, nothing will happen. So I will now go save a fox from dying."

"That little birdy also seems like she needs to heal. As for the payment, we'll take it later~"

Frostrose displayed a rare, doting smile before the twin phoenixes moved away, healing Dewzai and Rea Tyriel.

"…"

Shirley looked at the ground. She clenched her fists, appearing helpless.

She had inherited Flamerose and Frostrose's inheritances and earned the right to participate in the Candidacy, so for what reason are they exactly allowed here right now?

This was akin to cheating as there were five inheritors for the Fire Phoenix Clan and the Ice Phoenix Clan but it was still allowed? She possessed a dual inheritor identity for heaven's sake.

Shirley couldn't help but fear that they might really die when the Candidacy is over.

It was not like she had never considered it but hadn't needed to as everything was going smoothly. However, with Flamerose and Frostrose's memories returning, it was as though it signified their return to their state of dying.

Shirley felt apprehensive.

Abruptly, she felt two hands on her shoulder. Sensing that it was Evelynn and Isabella, she touched their hands and smiled, hoping that it would be fine.

Eventually, they found a hiding point in a durable mountain cave and made cultivation caves for themselves.

Time passed.

Six hours went by when they closed their eyes to recuperate their energy and there was no breakthrough in Hidden Pagodas. Evelynn, Isabella and Shirley remained hiding while the others went to hunt Crystal Beasts.

They eventually learned that these Crystal Beast Cores were a great resource for cultivation, allowing them to absorb heaven and earth energy from it as though they were sipping it like it was some delicious juice.

They found the absorption rate was ten times faster for magical beasts alone, and for humans, it was even faster, making them find it ridiculous.

Evelynn, Isabella, and Shirley also tried it, but unfortunately, it only seemed to work for those who didn't have seals. Those who still possessed seals seemed to be restricted from absorbing them too fast. The speed was the same as absorbing High-Level Immortal Crystals, which left them pissed.

Now, they wished someone had completed the remaining Hidden Pagodas so that they could get stronger and plunder them.

Why? Because they also discovered that the Gilded Realm Ascendant Pill was unusable.

The seals covering them practically… sealed them from being digested or diluted. They guessed that it couldn't be used until the Candidacy ended, which only made it garbage that attracted the eyes of toads, powerful ones at that. Their hopes of swallowing one at the Immortal Emperor Stage was dashed, leaving them wondering— no wonder it was given to them like that instead of the end of the Candidacy.

At this point, they were just painted targets.

'Sure enough, defending these pills until the Candidacy ends isn't easy at all, which makes these rewards justified…' They realized.

With that being the case, they finally made up their minds and announced what kind of rewards they possessed, shocking Founder Rocksunder and the others.

Time had passed, and it was the night of the second day, twelve hours before the third day since the Candidacy started.

Now, Hirona and Sierra had also arrived. Shirley revealed the true direction she was heading before she parted with them, so they eventually caught up.

It was just as they expected. The Fifth Hidden Pagoda was completed, but unfortunately, someone else won.

It seemed to be the Azure Tree woman from a mysterious power. They didn't know if that power even existed in the form of a group or not. However, they knew about the Azure Tree Lower Realm, so they guessed she was affiliated with them.

Once she obtained the rewards, it seemed that she instantly used the Escape Talisman to flee, leaving them unable to plunder the rewards.

They had gathered in the mountain cave, eating some fruits found for a change as they discussed the happenings. However, they were shocked to hear Evelynn's words when she suddenly announced the existence of Gilded Realm Ascendant Pills and its effects.

*Thud~*

"…"

Founder Rocksunder dropped the piece of fruit he was eating.

It was heavier than a King Grade Ore and was an Emperor Grade Treasure that mortals would crave, but it splashed on the ground and became one with the rocky surface, becoming spoiled in a matter of seconds amidst the silence.

"Say what!?"

Chaos nearly erupted as everyone focused on Evelynn. This revelation was far too heavy for them to sit still, so they stood up, but Evelynn raised her hand, opening her palm and displaying it for them all to see.

The visual intensity was too big for them, making them feel like they were suddenly thrown into a desert where there was only one source of heaven and earth energy, and that was nothing but this pill Evelynn was holding.

Without it, they would eventually die. In this case, they wouldn't, but they still felt like it, all wicked thoughts in their souls swelling up like they had been released from the gates of the underworld.

Evelynn closed her palm, making a fist before she flipped her hand anti-clockwise and flicked her finger. Abruptly, an object shot past Founder Rocksunder and the others, causing them to all subconsciously react and chase after it.

Once they were cognitive of their actions, they all raced to it but when the object hit the cave wall and shattered, they came to a stop realizing it was nothing but a rock.

Founder Rocksunder's eyes flashed. He turned to look around, impressed at the trio who stood near the exit.

"That was a perfect sleight of hand."

Evelynn was still calm, "As I said, this treasure is capable of making fathers kill their sons and sons their fathers. I did not do this to demean you all but to demonstrate the weight of this treasure exceeds our lives."

"Now, we don't want to be completely shameless, so we offer you two choices: One, you can wait for us to complete the Candidacy. Our husband will distribute the rewards fairly. Two, you can try to rob us through force. In that case, we might escape or might be forced to hand over what we have and make our escape. At that time, we wouldn't consider you allies anymore and deal with the Candidacy… appropriately."

"…"

"There's the third choice of carrying us to the remaining Hidden Pagodas. If we win, we could distribute the resources to the Fire Phoenix Clan and Earth Dragon Clan without holding back, but you shouldn't count on it as they could be cleared anytime, perhaps even the next second…"

Shirley wryly uttered, wondering if another seal would shatter from another mysterious coincidence, but it didn't.

Standing behind them was Flamerose and Frostrose. There was also Dewzai and Rea Tyriel as they were aware from the start while Flamerose and Frostrose were spoken to before all this started.

They consented to protect them, but their prowess couldn't possibly handle six powerful Immortal Emperors, all of whom advanced to Level Two immortal Emperor Stage by absorbing Crystal Beast Cores. Particularly, Noctis had completely stepped into Level Three Immortal Emperor Stage, so they couldn't possibly match their prowess.

"So, what's it going to be?"

Evelynn confronted them while dangling the Gilded Realm Ascendant Pill in her palm lazily. She wanted to know if they could be fully trusted.