CHAPTER 473: CHAPTER 473 : SETTLING SCORES FROM THE PAST LIFE (4)

"Your Majesty!"

"Supreme General!"

Pairs of hands held Zhang Fengxi up before he hit the ground.

Zhang Fengxi turned to look at Wu Shenxia. He clawed into her lower arm and murmured, "Track the Wuyang Palace Master’s corpse. The demons might plan to do something ominous with it."

"Yes, Sir!"

"W-wait."

The eldest of the Wuyang Palace Princes pushed himself off the ground and stood before Zhang Fengxi and Wu Shenxia on a pair of shaky feet.

"I... I can track my father’s whereabouts," he said with a trembling voice, before pointing to a direction. "His... his scent comes from that direction..."

Both Zhang Fengxi and Wu Shenxia gaped at the boy in disbelief.

"Impossible," Wu Shenxia said. "Young man, they took your father’s corpse to the Demonic Realm. You can’t possibly track his scent from such a distance."

Even if wolves possessed extraordinary sense of smell.

"I... I am not lying!" The eldest prince insisted. "I really can smell him! It’s faint but... But I am sure that it’s him!"

Zhang Fengxi pressed a hand against his bleeding arm and staggered to his feet.

"Better a clue than nothing," he decided. "Let’s go then, let’s find your father’s body."

Zhang Fengxi let the First Wuyang Palace Prince ride on Xiao Huang and led the rest of the army to where Wuyang Palace Master’s corpse was.

"U... Up here," the boy murmured, pointing to the higher layers of heaven.

"..."

The very notion of a demon breaching the higher heavenly planes was unheard of. Here, amongst the gods and deities, worldly attachments had long since faded. The celestial beings held no earthly possessions or desires, rendering them beyond the typical conflicts that fueled demonic incursions. Their sole purpose was the eradication of evil.

For a demon to infiltrate this sacred realm was akin to a rabbit seeking refuge in a fox’s den. It was an act of unthinkable audacity and a sure invitation to oblivion.

"Supreme General..."

Wu Shenxia called out to Zhang Fengxi, her tone lacking trust in the First Prince’s tracking ability.

"No, I promise!" The First Prince whipped his head and looked at Wu Shenxia.

"He’s here! I swear! His scent grows stronger and stronger!"

Zhang Fengxi pulled the reins on Xiao Huang.

"Go!" He roared, and the others had no other option but to follow him.

The group of heavenly creatures climbed one layer after another, but the First Prince did not ask them to stop at all.

Eventually, the ninth layer of heaven unfolded before them. A vast expanse stretched outwards, an ethereal emptiness bathed in the purest air imaginable.

Here, silence reigned supreme, a stark contrast to the bustling lower realms. Yet, for the lesser heavenly creatures, this pristine sanctity came at a cost.

Breathing grew labored, a physical manifestation of their limited cultivation as the thin air struggled to sustain them.

"Focus," Zhang Fengxi told his subordinates. "Do not get overwhelmed by the purity."

"Yes, Supreme General," the soldiers answered in unison.

"Over there."

The First Prince pointed in a direction.

Zhang Fengxi knitted his brows in concern.

There were not many places to go once one reached the ninth layer of heaven.

There was the Divine Platform Of Good And Evil where the 12 ancient gods had their monthly gathering to discuss the main issues of three realms, the secluded residence of the Goddess of Fate and Destiny, and there was also... The Execution Tower.

A stark silhouette against the bruised sky, the Execution Tower loomed before them. It was a place Zhang Fengxi visited only once in his seemingly endless lives, a single, agonizing memory etched into his soul.

He couldn’t recall the exact path, yet a suffocating dread coiled in his gut, mirroring the terror and desperation he felt that fateful day when he tried retrieving Xie Jianyu’s body to no avail.

Zhang Fengxi could hardly believe it.

The highest layer of the Heavenly Realm held a terrible danger for most demons. Only ancient, powerful beings, perhaps those on par with the First Demon King himself, could withstand its corrupting influence for long. Lesser demons who dared linger here too long would face a painful demise.

Why now?

Had the demons grown so strong that they were no longer affected by the oppressive atmosphere of the highest layer in the Heavenly Realm?

Zhang Fengxi turned to look at the soldiers trailing behind him. Save for Wu Shenxia, all of them looked like men suffocating from poisonous air.

At this point, they would only get killed by demons within a split second.

"Wu Shenxia, come with me. The rest, leave."

The soldiers were so grateful that they immediately fell to their knees.

"Supreme General, thank you for your kindness."

"Supreme General and General Wu, please be careful."

Wu Shenxia gestured for them to rise to their feet. "If we do not return within twenty minutes, inform the Emperor of today’s ambush at Wuyang Palace."

"Understood, General!" Came the retort in a chorus.

Zhang Fengxi nodded toward Wu Shenxia.

"Shall we?"

"Yes."

Atop their loyal mounts, the two alphas and the First Prince surged skyward. Their destination was the peak of the Execution Tower, where four torches, defiant against the encroaching darkness, blazed with an otherworldly brilliance.

When the three people arrived, they were met with a scene of bewilderment and horror. Tower officials, usually stoic figures in their white robes and pointed hats, were bound and huddled together like frightened pigeons -- all except two.

These two remaining officials, pale and trembling, strained under the weight of a lifeless form. They were standing on top of a monstrous contraption, a colossal machine with two rollers bristling with a hundred blades each.

There was a gaping hole beneath the corpse, big enough to accommodate an adult’s body. The body would be cut into a thousand pieces on its way down, before it was sent to the incinerator to be burned.

Upon recognizing his father’s corpse, the First Prince cried out, "NO! PLEASE DON’T CUT MY FATHER INTO A THOUSAND PIECES!"

The two officials froze, their gazes darting upwards as three heavenly figures materialized before them. Before a plea for help could escape their lips, a chilling sensation pressed against their throats – the unmistakable touch of a long blade, hovering in the air, its hilt held by an unseen hand.

A masked demon stalked past them, ascending the staircase leading to the rooftop. His form radiated a dark menace, accentuated by a sharp click of his tongue. "And why not?" he snarled, the question laced with disdain.