"Green Emperor?"
The Heavenly Demon Dao Venerable, who had been playing his zither, suddenly paused. Having always kept an eye on the Great Yi Sacred Court, he naturally knew of the Green Emperor. Over the years, he had already learned what this thing was—a dog of misfortune, a hound of calamity, a beast so steeped in bad luck that even its fur had turned green. It was an absolute walking disaster. Within Great Yi, everyone feared and dreaded it.
Especially when the Green Emperor opened his mouth to sing—it was nothing less than devilish sound drilling into the ears, tormenting countless common folk.
Most importantly, the Green Emperor was utterly shameless.
Once tainted by it, escaping was nearly impossible; no matter what, you would end up caught in its stink.
However, just a moldy, ill-starred dog wanting to stop him? That was nothing but wishful thinking. He was a Dao Venerable, eternal as the heavens, honored as the world, immune to all evils. A mere Green Emperor—others might fear it, but he did not.
"Excellent, a kindred spirit has come knocking to spar in music! How could I not oblige? I must let my voice soar, I mustn't let this confidant be disappointed!"
The Green Emperor squinted his eyes in excitement.
These past years had been blissful for him. Within Great Yi, countless kobolds revered him as their sovereign. Wherever he went, they treated him with the utmost respect, offering all manner of rare treasures. Moreover, with Great Yi's abundance of marvels, his cultivation had skyrocketed as if inflated with air. In the Scripture Pavilion, he had even found a cultivation method perfectly suited for him, causing his strength to grow uncontrollably fast.
That technique was especially unique: the Scripture of Calamity and Misfortune.
It was a terrifying art that directly cultivated the power of calamity. Normally, no one could cultivate it; forcing it would only cause instant backlash, endless misfortune, and a miserable death.
But the Green Emperor, steeped in bad luck, was the perfect vessel.
Not only did he instantly enter the path, he advanced by leaps and bounds. More than that, he began to truly control a fearsome power of disaster. By now, his cultivation was no less than the Dao Platform Realm, and he was already brushing against the threshold of the Dao-Proving Realm.
Of course, the nature of calamity and misfortune was beyond what ordinary realms could describe.
At this point, there were few in heaven and earth whose strength the Green Emperor's disaster-force could not shake.
Even against a Saint, he dared to give it a try.
Thus, the chance to spar musically with someone like the Heavenly Demon Dao Venerable was exactly what the Green Emperor desired most. He had no resistance at all—rather, his green fur quivered and fluttered with excitement.
Then, reaching into his crotch, the Green Emperor pulled out… a giant trumpet!
It looked like a green bell with the top cut off, a handle at the base, and its surface engraved with mysterious runes weaving together.
This was none other than the Green Emperor's life-bound treasure—the Green Trumpet!
This treasure had no other function—just one: amplification.
It magnified sound to an insane degree, spreading across vast regions, while also strengthening it. At the Yellow Rank, it tripled sound; at the Profound Rank, tenfold; at the Earth Rank, a hundredfold.
With such amplification, sound's power multiplied a hundred times, becoming more penetrating, more destructive.
Since acquiring this trumpet, the Green Emperor had never fully unleashed his voice through it. To him, its greatest purpose was to let more people hear his singing—so unforgettable that it would linger for days, echoing in the mind.
This time, he was going to test it in earnest, to sing to his heart's content.
After all, to be allowed by Yi Tianxing himself to sing before the masses was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Trumpet."
Seeing the Green Emperor brandish the giant trumpet, the Heavenly Demon Dao Venerable's lips twitched.
The Green Emperor plus a trumpet? What kind of nightmare would that be? Even he, a Saint, could not predict the outcome.
"Want to sing? Then die first."
Without hesitation, his ten fingers began plucking the zither again.
The melody grew urgent, brimming with a unique, ever-thickening rhythm, sweeping toward the Green Emperor as though to drown him on the spot, trapping him in demonic sound, leading to corruption and eternal damnation.
"Hahaha, here comes your Emperor!"
Far from frightened, the Green Emperor was exhilarated. To him, this was a supreme honor—his entire being buzzed with excitement.
"I have recently made profound research into some divine songs. Today, I shall bring them forth to befriend you in song!"
Straightening his expression, he stood before the trumpet.
Pulling out a comb, he smoothed his green fur, adjusted his oversized shorts, and with a solemn face, began to sing.
"Pig, your nose has two holes, and when you catch a cold, snot drips down like noodles!"
The very first line carried raw, heartfelt emotion. Amplified by the trumpet, his voice blasted directly toward the Heavenly Demon Dao Venerable, colliding head-on with the demonic zither's melody. The two waves of devilish sound intertwined, overlapped, yet still surged toward their targets.
The trumpet's focus was the Dao Venerable, but its shockwaves spread far and wide—over Xuanhuang City, across surrounding realms.
"It's the Green Emperor! What do we do? Demonic sound in front, Green Emperor behind!"
"We're finished! Even the Sound-Suppressing Jade Cicada can't block this! Check my nose—did I grow a pig snout? I swear I feel like I turned into a pig!"
"No, wait! The Green Emperor's voice seems weaker than before. I can withstand it!"
"Yes, though it's still awful, the force is clearly reduced. He's clashing with the Dao Venerable! Their sounds are neutralizing each other! With the Jade Cicada, we're safe!"
The common folk quickly realized—the torment was dozens of times lighter than usual.
For them, this was a blessing.
Now, it was simply a matter of who would win—Green Emperor or the Heavenly Demon Dao Venerable.
"What devilry is this?"
The Dao Venerable could feel a strange power within the Green Emperor's voice. It wasn't only grating—it had a terrifying law-like force, as if his words became reality. Amplified by the trumpet, it was powerful enough to cancel out much of his own zither's True Chapter of Heavenly Demons, even beginning to invade him.
The next moment, under the insidious force, he felt… transformed.
It wasn't dangerous, just cosmetic. No real harm, no mortal peril. Just a ridiculous change he could easily dispel later. For now, with his hands busy on the strings, he could only ignore it.
But others saw it clearly.
Even Ancestor Minghe and the rest gaped in disbelief, horrified.
The Heavenly Demon Dao Venerable's nose… had become a pig snout. With two long strands of mucus dangling, swaying in midair.
"Pig… pig… nose!!"
Even the hardened Dao Venerables trembled at the sight.
If their own faces suddenly warped into pig features, it would be unbearable. It wasn't just losing face—it was losing all face.
Meanwhile, the Green Emperor himself also changed. His green fur, stimulated, grew wildly. But he remained fearless, still singing with passion.
"Pig, your eyes are pitch-black, gazing and gazing, yet never seeing the end."
"Pig, your ears are so wide, flapping and flapping, yet deaf to my calling you stupid."
Line after line, brimming with sincerity.
And the Dao Venerable's face kept shifting. His ears silently grew into pig ears, as large as fans, almost festive-looking.
"This Green Emperor…"
Even Yi Tianxing's lips twitched, though inwardly he couldn't help but applaud: Beautifully done!
"What a vile hound."
Outside, the other Dao Venerables watched with stormy faces.
Since Motian Dao Venerable had acted, he represented all Nine Heavens Dao Venerables. And now his very face had turned into a pig's. This was humiliation beyond limits—an utter slap to their collective dignity.
But most shocking of all was that the Green Emperor truly affected them.
That was terrifying to even imagine.
"Bastard!"
The Dao Venerable, feeling his transformation, was nearly driven to vomit blood.
This was humiliation—unforgivable humiliation.
He was going to kill that dog.
"Pig, your tail is curled so tight, running and jumping, yet you can't escape it!"
Yet the Green Emperor was unfazed, still lost in the ocean of art, singing deeply:
"Pig head, pig brain, pig body, pig tail, always the obedient child who never refuses food!"
"Die! True Chapter of Heavenly Demons, Second Movement—Seven Emotions Transformation!!"
The Dao Venerable's melody shifted, and instantly, his demonic music surged with an indescribable power of the seven emotions, fusing into the zither's notes.