Divine Emperor of Death

A crimson-purple-robed woman slid down the mountain filled with volcanic ashes. Her black hair swayed in the wind as she descended. She felt strange undulations in the distance and caught sight of three people holding strange armaments.

Her brows raised, filling her shrewd black eyes with curiosity.

'Three Level Three Immortal Emperors… those armaments they're holding seem strange yet dangerous…'

She could instantly tell those armaments weren't ordinary. At the same time, she recognized that they had spotted her as they seemed to be talking about her when she noticed a red-haired man pointing at her.

'Oh my… I'm in danger...'

She inwardly giggled, knowing they would definitely chase her if she ran. Instead, she took the initiative to go to them.

And as she expected, they stood still, waiting for her to appear like they held the upper hand.

She made her way to them, crossing puddles of rivers as the area was like a swamp leading to the ocean.

Finally hovering before them at a comfortable distance, she cupped her hands, "Greetings, fellow cultivators. I come in hopes of exchanging knowledge."

"Zenova Artoria, are you a Divergent?"

Zenova Artoria looked at the spirit woman. She recognized that she was a Fiery Starburst Inferno Spirit, ranked first in the Immortal Grade Rankings, a Heaven-Tier Spirit.

Heaven-Tier Spirit Attribute Sources were blessed by the heavens, easily able to cross three levels in battle prowess soon after their birth. After they mature and undergo heavenly tribulation, even without any extra resources, they would be able to cross four or five levels in prowess.

For a first-ranked Flame Essence, a Fiery Stardust Inferno Spirit, her prowess would be seven or even eight levels higher, retaining the same prowess in the Immortal Emperor Stage.

This was a true supreme genius in front of her, someone that she couldn't beat with her current cultivation base.

However, she didn't recognize that this spirit existed back in the Stairway of Regression, which made her wary enough.

Zenova Artoria raised her hands and lightly shrugged, "I can't be blamed if people are easily influenced by others, and I can't be bothered to deny every accusation thrown at me by the people who want me killed."

"Then how do you explain your usage of annihilative property in your lightning? That is something only Anarchic Divergents receive as a penalty for their wicked existences."

"Is that truly the case?" Zenova Artoria pressed on.

"It is said in myths that even Heaven Warriors sometimes possess lightning with a similar prowess to annihilative lightning like the five-colored lightning. I possess a strange physique that allows me to devour any lightning I want, and I devoured this lightning from the Divine Emperor of Death himself when I fought with him."

"…"

Her words made the three of them narrow their eyes in suspicion.

"Are you implying you are equal in prowess with someone who defeated the Fire Phoenix Clan?"

Zenova Artoria widened her eyes, exaggeratingly so.

"Of course not. I don't dare- think I'm equal to him, but that man is magnanimous enough to gift me annihilative lightning because I gave him enough benefits in the form of teaching Firestorm Laws." She lied through her teeth.

"…"

The three of them still glared at her.

The Fiery Starburst Inferno Spirit had her eyes narrowed for some time before she relaxed.

"Whatever— you're playing on thin ice. It's only a matter of time before you get plagued by karmic burden and turn into a Divergent if you forcefully use heavenly properties for your own selfish reasons."

"Of course. This is only a phase for me to increase my powers. Hopefully, I will find better and more powerful lightning than annihilative lightning in the true immortal world. I would also be interested in your flames, but I'd rather not court death at this point. So how about we just share information and go our own ways?"

Zenova Artoria asked, her voice melodious and articulate.

"Go our own ways?"

Southstar raised his brows, "Lady, do you think you can survive a crystal beast horde with your Immortal King Stage cultivation base?"

"I can't, but I don't think you are trustworthy either."

"Fair enough."

Southstar nodded.

The three of them knew they could easily kill her, but at the same time, they knew that she still possessed a Defensive Talisman and an Escape Talisman from her confidence. Perhaps she was acting, but they didn't think it was necessary to kill her after conversing amongst themselves using soul transmissions.

"Alright, what do you have to offer?" The female spirit asked.

"I know where one of the Crystal Gates is."

Zenova Artoria's voice turned solemn.

"Oh?"

The three of them looked at each other.

Even if they can't return with the treasures, it would allow them to save their lives.

"What do you require in return for the location of the Crystal Gate?"

"The happenings so far will do."

Zenova said calmly, causing Raigen to look at her with some suspicion.

"Isn't that cheap?"

"Perhaps, but I do not see that way. Even the slightest information can change how I play this game."

"..."

The way Zenova Artoria said it was as though she could even take them down as long as she possessed enough information, making them feel amused. Nonetheless, the female spirit nodded.

"Let's not stay here. We'll move and talk."

"That's fine with me." Zenova agreed.

The four of them moved together.

Zenova Artoria maintained some distance from them as she flew. She wasn't foolish enough to stay close and get killed by a single attack, but she had the Defensive Talisman in her sleeves, ready to use it.

Nonetheless, she thought back to Yi Feng and her prisoners, wondering if they had died.

A Crystal Beast Horde with a Peak-Level Immortal Emperor Stage Crystal Beast indeed did besiege her, so she had no choice but to flee. Yi Feng had an Escape Talisman, so she guessed he should be fine, but as for Fanwain, Altross, and Zoltross, she guessed they were dead as she had their cultivation bases sealed and stripped off their Talismans after torturing them, especially Fanwain, that half-toad and half-rhinoceros fey who was incredibly rude to her.

When the crystal beast horde besieged her, she actually released them from her bindings.

She didn't kill those three losers with her own hands because she used them to lose the crystal beast horde while she and Yi Feng shot away in different directions.

Still, she felt that it was a pity since she wanted to gift them to Isabella but never got to see her or any one of Isabella's sisters. It would've been a good chance for her to put Davis in her debt since helping them would translate to him being the one to repay it as their husband.

Nonetheless, she kept an eye on the trio ahead of her.

They traversed the edge of the shore, trying to find the furthest point that would lead them towards the sea.

Eventually, they found a rocky and grassy path ahead, cutting through the ocean. They became happy, but on the way, some inheritors tried to join them. However, the trio noticed these people were the ones who left without saying anything, so they attacked them, causing them to flee as they jumped into the ocean.

"Ahaha! Losers~ How dare they ask for a share in cores after leaving?

Raigen laughed at their fleeing silhouettes.

"This distance should be fine…"

The Fiery Starburst Inferno Spirit turned to look at Zenova Artoria and cupped her hands.

"My name is Agnirei. You can call me Agni, but first things first, where is the Crystal Gate?"