Chapter 81: Playing Along

"Now we just wait for the Chu family's Demon Emperor to arrive!" Iron Fist Saint chuckled, his entire body trembling with excitement at the mere thought of slaying an emperor!

Golden Saint Elder nodded in agreement. He dared to employ such tactics precisely because Long Yuan had previously stated that no emperor-tier methods could threaten him. With that assurance, he could confidently set this trap to lure all these forces into his scheme. Damn if the thought didn't get his blood pumping - after living most of his life, he'd never done anything this bold!

The various faction elders soon returned to prepare their emperor-slaying methods. Meanwhile, news about the Dragon Blood Lake spread from Heavenly Dragon Abyss to Qingyang City.

As expected, on the very day the news reached the city, Long Yuan appeared above the Dragon Blood Lake. After circling several times and attempting multiple fruitless assaults to enter the lake, he ultimately left in frustration. This entire performance was carefully observed by the Divine Fist Sect and other factions watching Heavenly Dragon Abyss. Now everyone was convinced - that flood dragon had truly come, radiating the terrifying aura of a peak Demon Emperor!

"It seems Jiao Yun's intelligence was accurate. The Chu family's Demon Emperor's strength has indeed reached the terrifying pinnacle of Demon Emperor realm!" Some sects who initially considered this operation excessive now hesitated. While Hell's Gate had bestowed powerful tools, none could guarantee instant annihilation of such a formidable opponent - their strongest artifact being merely a peak emperor-tier talisman.

Little did they know this was all part of Long Yuan's elaborate act, designed to gather all their strongest experts in one place for a single devastating strike!

During this period, the Chu family invested massive amounts of Essence Stones to activate the first layer of Chrono Pagoda. Apart from the Dragon Protector Guards, numerous Chu family geniuses entered, including even Chu Tianyang himself. He couldn't pass up this opportunity - despite possessing the Myriad Spirits Saint Body, achieving breakthrough from Martial Venerable to Martial Saint would normally require immense time. Only the Chrono Pagoda could provide such time compression!

Many elders also entered the pagoda for secluded cultivation, but Clan Leader Chu Jingyue remained outside. Originally possessing a spirit-grade Golden-Light Physique, Long Yuan had rewarded his diligent service to the family with a Physique Evolution Pill, elevating him to king-grade Golden-Light Battle Physique! Despite this "mere" king-grade physique, his cultivation had shockingly reached early-stage seventh rank Martial Venerable!

This breakthrough came from his unique comprehension of clan fortune's cultivation assistance - a method surpassing even the Chrono Pagoda's tenfold acceleration! The stronger the clan fortune, the faster his cultivation progressed, functioning similarly to Long Yuan's system-granted cultivation boost. As clan leader, he enjoyed priority access to all Beast Tamer-acquired elixirs, ensuring his cultivation never lagged despite administrative duties.

As the mortal realm's full moon rose, Long Yuan arrived above the Dragon Blood Lake. "Heh, quite the welcoming committee," he mused, divine sense revealing over thirty saint-grade experts lurking in the shadows - undoubtedly every faction's hidden elites. The murderous aura concentrated here could threaten even an early-stage emperor! Multiple emperor-grade killing formations lay in wait, revealing their determination.

Playing his role, Long Yuan deliberately emitted only early-stage Demon Emperor aura, further convincing the observers about Jiao Yun's intelligence. "Just as reported - peak emperor aura last time, now only early-stage. The full moon indeed weakens him!" This boosted their confidence tremendously.

Golden Saint Elder gripped a black spear beside Divine Fist Sect's Elder Wu Chen, both wielding imperial artifacts bestowed by Hell's Gate. "Enter! Go in already!" Wu Chen urged, watching the flood dragon circle above. "Though... is that really a flood dragon? It looks more like a true dragon!"

"Nonsense!" Golden Saint Elder shook his head, though inwardly thrilled - this was his first glimpse of Long Yuan's true form, the mortal realm's only true dragon! This very sight stirred his draconic bloodline profoundly. "Why so excited?" Wu Chen asked curiously. "We're about to slay an emperor! Isn't that exciting enough for you?" "Fair point! This will be historic!"

As all watched eagerly, Long Yuan plunged into the Dragon Blood Lake, entering their kill zone. "Activate the formations!" Wu Chen roared excitedly. Brilliant lights erupted as three layered barriers sealed Heavenly Dragon Abyss, terrifying energies saturating the air - emperor-grade trapping and killing formations designed specifically to annihilate the Chu family's Demon Emperor.

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As the formations activated, over thirty saint-grade experts emerged simultaneously, grouped by faction. Each group channeled power into their imperial artifact, unleashing world-rending auras. "An ambush?!" Long Yuan feigned shock, desperately charging toward the barrier only to be violently repelled.

"Hahaha! Too late to realize now, Chu family's Demon Emperor! Today I shall bathe my peerless iron fists in imperial blood!" Iron Fist Saint laughed uproariously. However, they remained cautious, first unleashing Ten Thousand Swords Sect's pre-arranged emperor-grade "Annihilation Cross-Sword Formation" to weaken their prey.

Instantly, billions of dazzling sword beams erupted from the formation, converging from all directions with annihilating force toward the central Long Yuan. "This emperor-grade formation from our Sword Mountain might not kill you, but it'll certainly skin you alive!" Elder Sword Dawn declared solemnly, gripping his longsword.