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Fox Empress: Great emperors of the Divine Mountains, the Fox Clan is currently taking heavy damage. We request urgent reinforcements.

Fox Empress: Great emperors of the Divine Mountains, the Fox Clan is currently taking heavy damage. We request urgent reinforcements.

Fox Empress: Great emperors of the Divine Mountains, the Fox Clan is currently taking heavy damage. We request urgent reinforcements.

….

It was the same message, but she repeated it several times.

When she saw it, Xuan Ji replied directly in the group chat.

Lady Providence: Heavy damage? Aren't the dragons and vermillion birds still there?

Fox Empress: The Southern and Western Kingdoms, as well as the demons, have joined forces and attacked our territory. Although the dragons and vermillion birds are still here, there aren't enough of them to fend off such a large-scale invasion. The other Sacred Beast Clans are sending reinforcements, but even though I'm just a junior, I don't think it'll be enough.

They'd invaded the foxes!

Ye Zichen and Xuan Ji instinctively glanced at each other. Neither of them had anticipated that the demons would create such a commotion.

Why attack the foxes now, of all times? Were they worried that as the yao of the West and South attacked the River Styx, the East would attack from behind?

Seventh Dragonborn: I'm afraid I can't go anywhere right now. Even though not all that many demons invaded, various factions throughout the Divine Mountain have risen up to slaughter the Four Directions Palace's forces, as well as the ordinary citizens. I need to stay here and resolve this before I can go reinforce the Fox Clan.

Third Dragonborn: Same here!

Jade Pool Palace Master: Same here!

Ocean Emperor: Same here!

Hermit Emperor: Same here!

Their simultaneous, identical responses were a surprise; to think they'd all run into essentially the same problem!

Stranger: Heavenly God City and the surrounding cities are in much the same position.

"This…." As they took in these messages, the others froze. Violence had erupted on every Divine Mountain at once. They really were in no position to worry about others.

But the Nine-tailed Foxes were facing imminent annihilation….

Only Idealism: The Upheaval Alliance and Profound Pavilion will be there right away.

It was clear from both the Fox Empress' respectful tone and the way she'd referred to herself as a "junior" that this wasn't Su Qingyan; she must have lent her phone to someone else.

The actual Fox Empress was undoubtedly busy fighting various demon and yao experts; she had no time to request aid herself. From this alone, it was clear that the situation was urgent.

They couldn't afford to delay reinforcing the Nine-tailed Foxes.

Ye Zichen slipped his phone back into his pocket, but just as he and Xuan Ji were about to lead their troops to the foxes' aid, a group of river denizens blocked their path.

"Are you working with Gu Li too?" The ones standing before them were none other than some of the river denizens' top experts. They were all long-standing figures of the River Styx, and their cultivation was high enough to be titled 'emperors.' During the Southern Kingdom's invasion, they'd simply hidden themselves deep in the water, not getting involved. They'd only appeared after the River Styx expelled everyone inside its waters.

"You could say that." The vicious beast experts didn't hide it. They chuckled and nodded.

"Then you've sure got guts." Ye Zichen narrowed his eyes, then looked at them solemnly. "Aren't you afraid of what will happen when Emperor Hades leaves seclusion? Dying a hundred deaths wouldn't be enough to absolve you of your crimes."

When he mentioned Emperor Hades, the beasts' eyes clearly wavered.

They were naturally scared of Emperor Hades. Otherwise, there was no way they would have hidden themselves in the river for tens of thousands of years, not daring to rebel in the slightest.

Their fear of Emperor Hades had long since embedded itself in their very bones. It was so intense that, when Ye Zichen mentioned Emperor Hades, their hearts shook despite themselves.

"Hurry up and get out of the way, and we can spare your lives!" Ye Zichen suddenly roared.

The situation at the Nine-tailed Fox Clan was urgent, and they were the only ones free to go reinforce them. The longer these vicious beasts blocked their path, the worse it would be for the foxes.

Su Yan and Ke Ke were both in fox territory!

Setting aside the fate of the fox clan, even if he looked at this selfishly, he had no time to waste here. "If you don't want to die, hurry up and scram!"

It would be best if he could chase them off. If they fought, it would undoubtedly hold them back and lead to casualties. Before reaching fox territory, Ye Zichen had to avoid inciting any sort of incident.

"Kid, don't even think of using Emperor Hades' name to trick us." Unfortunately, it seemed as if Ye Zichen's threats were ineffective. The beasts continued, "Don't think we don't know what's going on; the same thing happened when the last Emperor Hades died. The river glowed the exact same way back then too. Surely you don't think Emperor Hades will ever come out again?"

"Why can't I?"

Boom!

The river water suddenly surged up into the heavens, several streaks literally piercing the clouds. The surging river water left the beast experts stunned, and their eyes flashed with terror.

Then, a pitch-black figure shot towards them, stopping directly before them. Not even the likes of Xuan Ji could see this new arrival's face.

"So, you know about my predecessor. It seems you've lived an awfully long time indeed. However, I hate nothing more than others bringing that matter up."

Crunch!

That vicious beast expert's neck instantly snapped. It all happened so suddenly that no one could tell what exactly had happened. They merely heard the emperor's voice. By the time they realized what had happened, the beast's head and body were strewn far apart.

"Em… Emperor Hades." When they saw who it was, the blood drained from the surviving vicious beast experts' faces. Their lips were quivering with such intensity that they couldn't even manage a complete sentence.

"Are the few of you consorting with demons too?" Even though Emperor Hades' tone was light, the imperial-evel beast experts all knelt in mid-air.

"No, no we're not!"

They were truly afraid!

Emperor Hades' sudden reemergence had turned their legs to jelly, and they no longer had the strength to stand up. Emperor Hades' demeanor was overbearing and imposing. The remaining beasts could only prostrate themselves before him and quiver; they didn't dare to even breathe too loudly.

Ye Zichen and the others' eyes widened. After all, Xuan Ji had just told them…

Emperor Hades had reached the upper limit of his lifespan.

But from the look of him now, he showed no sign of running out of time. Rather, he seemed vibrant and full of life.

"Hmph. You've sure got gall. You dare rebel against me?" Emperor Hades snorted, and the vicious beasts buried their faces in the dirt, too afraid to meet his gaze.

Then, the emperor turned towards Ye Zichen, Xuan Ji, and the others. "Thank you, everyone, for protecting the River Styx on my behalf."

"It was nothing." Xuan Ji smiled and nodded, but her gaze quickly darkened. "Emperor Hades, you…."

Before she could finish, he raised his hand to cut her off. "I'm no longer Emperor Hades, so don't call me that going forward."

"Then…."

"In this world, there's only one Emperor Hades, and it's not me anymore," said Emperor Hades. He pointed down at the glowing River Styx. "He…. is now Emperor Hades!"