Chương 49: Manifestation of All Things

"Bastard!"

"Bastard!"

"Bastard!" Three more shouts came from the sky. The voices drew closer, carrying infinite fury, each word crashing down like a thunderbolt. BOOM! A flash of lightning. A figure landed in the courtyard. He was a man in his fifties, square-faced, with thick brows and wide eyes, radiating authority. It was Li Jinghong, the Prefect of Lianshan Prefecture. He strode toward the house. Each step was heavy with authority, the ground trembling beneath his feet.

His majestic presence was like a towering mountain, commanding even the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the soil to bow before him. He was like a vast ocean, absorbing the metabolism of countless sea creatures day and night, growing ever more boundless.

"I told you to stay in the capital. Why did you sneak here?"

"I told you to follow the Chief's orders. Why is it so hard for you?"

"I told you not to associate with mortals. Instead, you leave me a mess to clean up. How do you expect me to clean this up?" He pressed forward with each question, his anger rising, his aura growing sharper. Purple lightning churned above his head, electric serpents writhing. They tore the dark demonic energy that had blackened half the sky into countless strands, crushing every trace of demonic aura, leaving only purple heavenly thunder.

"Answer me, you bastard!"

"Hahahaha. Bastard? My dearest, most respected father, I address you with such affection, yet you call me a bastard. Is this tough love? Fine. Even if this is your love, could you at least add 'son' after 'bastard'?" Li Shuyan walked slowly out of the house, pale-faced, a faint smile on his lips, hands clasped behind his back.

"Bastard! I am asking you to answer me. Why did you come to Lianshan Prefecture? Who sent you?" Li Jinghong's face was dark as if about to drip water. The purple lightning in his eyes grew more violent with his fury.

"I want, I want, I want. Enough, Li Jinghong. Every time it is 'I want you to do this, I want you to do that, I want you to eat shit and drink piss.' Can you not ask one thing?

'Dear son, what do you want to do?'" Li Shuyan met his father's gaze, his eyes growing colder, his voice dripping with mockery.

"Unfilial son! I will ask you one more time. Who sent you?" Li Jinghong suppressed his rage. He had to confirm whether this bastard had come on a whim or was being directed by someone.

"Oh, my dearest father. You finally admit I am your son. Haha. Then let me tell you. I do not need anyone to send me. I go where I please. As for you, you are pitiful. You are led around by a leash like a dog. Tell me, should I envy you or pity you? Hahahaha..." Li Shuyan laughed, the demonic energy in his heart surging. No, it was not enough. He needed to be more arrogant, more unrestrained. He needed to vent all the hatred and pain he had accumulated over the years.

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"Unfilial son! Unfilial son! Truly an unfilial son!" Li Jinghong was furious, veins bulging on his forehead. Purple lightning crackled across his body. But he still held back and repeated his question.

"Who sent you?"

"Are you deaf? I do not need anyone to send me!"

"Good. Very good. Li Shuyan, you disobey the Chief. That is disloyalty. You disobey your father. That is unfilial. An unfilial and disloyal son. What crime do you deserve!" Li Jinghong roared. His Divine Energy exploded forth. Thunderclouds rolled in the sky. Purple lightning crisscrossed the ground. The dazzling light turned the world bright as day.

"Hahaha. Well said, Li Jinghong. I have committed crimes. I turned all of Xiangshi City into a demon domain. I devoured tens of thousands of lives. I am guilty of every evil. I deserve death. But you, as my father, what crime do you deserve!" Li Shuyan looked up at the sky, then down at the earth. The demonic energy in his eyes spread outward. In an instant, it consumed half the purple lightning in the sky. That half of the sky darkened again. Dark was good. Black was the color of health.

Look at the zebras on the savannah. They all shine black. Even better, zebras practice a system of free mating. They are born without fathers. Hahaha. How wonderful. What use do I have for a father!

"You bastard!"

"You are the bastard!"

"A father who fails to teach his son is at fault. Li Jinghong, do you know your crime!" Li Shuyan roared at the sky and stamped the ground. Behind him, a shadow gathered, slowly forming a sinister humanoid figure. It had leopard eyes and a lion's face, with a long, shaggy beard. It wore a crimson execution robe, a lotus-shaped official hat adorned with jade beads and pendants, golden boots treading over a thirteen-layered blood pool hell, and a nine-segmented black thorn iron whip in its hand.

The Ghost-Faced King of Hell had arrived. It turned its lion face toward Li Jinghong. The face twisted into a hideous grin, baring fangs, a crimson tongue writhing as it prepared to devour. It asked, "Li Jinghong, do you know your crime?"

"Hmph. Overconfident." Li Jinghong smiled disdainfully. Purple light flashed in his eyes. A hole opened in the sky above him. From the hole flew a creature of unknown origin. It was like a dragon but not a dragon, like a flood dragon but not a flood dragon. Four wings sprouted from its back. Its tail was like a phoenix's. Its claws were like a white tiger's. Its body was so vast it covered the entire sky. It advanced on the King of Hell.

Its face transformed into the Heavenly Thunder Lord, then into Li Jinghong's own stern visage, then into the Everlasting Emperor's kind and benevolent appearance. Manifestation of All Things. I am all things. All things can be me. I am the master of heaven and earth. Life and death, reincarnation all lie in my single thought. BOOM! Heaven and earth roared. Dark clouds blotted out the sun and moon. Thunder raged. It transformed. The entire sky became Li Jinghong's face. The entire earth became Li Jinghong's body.

BOOM! Another thunderclap. It transformed again into the Heavenly Thunder Lord's incarnation. It raised its five fingers. Lightning from the sky, the earth, the seas, the stars, and the endless void converged at its command, flowing into its body. It said:"I command the King of Hell to die!" BOOM! Torrents of purple lightning poured from its mouth, striking the King of Hell's body with explosive cracks. The King of Hell's form grew indistinct, as if about to disperse.

Li Shuyan snorted and shouted again, "Li Jinghong, do you know your crime!" In that moment, the Ghost-Faced King of Hell's body swelled several times over. It leaped up, soaring above the nine heavens, looking down on the Heavenly Thunder Lord. Its nine-segmented whip lashed down. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! The whip struck the earth. A massive chasm split the city from sky to ground, cutting through Xiangshi City. Buildings collapsed. Trees snapped. Countless lives were lost.

Absorbing their blood energy, the nine-segmented whip grew even more crimson and dazzling.

"Unfilial son!" The heavens and earth roared. A terrifying power came from the distant north. A colossal purple hand reached across the sky, borrowing power from the Chief of the Hall of Eternal Life. It rose to meet the Ghost-Faced King of Hell. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! The nine-segmented whip danced, striking the purple hand. BOOM! The two forces collided. The heavens shook, the earth trembled. The entire city of Xiangshi seemed ready to shatter. The ground cracked. Dust flew.

Countless ravines spread like giant fissures. Pfft! Li Shuyan spat blood. The Ghost-Faced King of Hell behind him shattered instantly, vanishing into thin air.

"My dearest father, you got lucky." If Fang Cheng had not intervened earlier and absorbed most of his life force, Li Jinghong would have stood no chance.

"Hmph. Unfilial son. Come back to the capital with me. The Chief will decide your punishment." Li Jinghong grabbed Li Shuyan by the collar and prepared to take off. But just then, a voice rang out:"Did I say you could leave?"