Chapter 420: Chapter 417: Opened the Door to a New World

Hearing the green-robed man’s words, the Pig Emperor could no longer maintain his composure. His face instantly broke into a wide grin that reached from ear to ear, his eyes narrowing into slits. His smile was absolutely radiant.

’This young fellow is pretty sharp!’ the Pig Emperor thought to itself, nodding nonstop.

What had it been waiting for?

It was waiting for this exact moment!

Asking the green-robed man to compose a poem was just a pretense. The real goal was to show off its own "cultural depth."

Mo Qi slapped a hand to his forehead and silently retreated some distance.

’Is this composing poetry?’

’This is fucking asking for death!’

’Now there’s going to be a good show.’

After seeing the Pig Emperor’s satisfied smile, the green-robed man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had yet to realize what a colossal mistake his quick tongue had caused, nor did he have any idea what he was about to face.

It was only many years later that nine powerful experts emerged from the Five Poison Sub-Palace.

These nine experts were not mutes, yet they never spoke, because they held the proverb "silence is golden" as an absolute truth.

No one knew why, and this became one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Five Poison Sub-Palace.

"Since you are so humble, eager to learn, and have insisted so strongly, this emperor will reluctantly deign to instruct you. This will save you from becoming a laughingstock in the Martial Arts World for your lack of culture," the Pig Emperor said in a serious tone.

The lead green-robed man was speechless. "..."

A bad premonition began to creep over him.

’Hey, I don’t want to learn this at all, okay?’

’And when did I ever "insist so strongly"?’

’You look so excited and eager—that’s not what "reluctantly" looks like, okay?’

’Why do I get the feeling this is a trap?! A huge one at that!’

The Pig Emperor ignored the green-robed man’s strange look and cleared its throat. "Listen closely and remember this: very few are fortunate enough to receive this emperor’s instruction!"

Just as the Pig Emperor was about to begin its "performance," Mo Qi, feeling uneasy, retreated another hundred meters.

Qian Duoduo and the others, who had initially been curious and wanted to get closer to watch the fun, all turned pale at the Pig Emperor’s last word, "instruction." They looked like they had seen a ghost, spun around, and fled in all directions.

Before leaving, they didn’t forget to cast a sympathetic glance at the green-robed men.

Only Jin Sanpang remained, scratching his head in confusion.

The hearts of the nine green-robed men sank in unison.

If they couldn’t see what was happening by now, they were complete idiots.

"OIIIIINK~~~~"

The performance began with its signature, ten-thousand-year-old, soulful pig squeal.

BOOM!

The nine green-robed men felt as if their heads had been struck by a ten-ton hammer. The clamor of cymbals, gongs, and drums rang endlessly in their ears, leaving them dizzy and tight-chested.

THUD!

Their legs gave out, and all nine of them collapsed to their knees.

They literally dropped to their knees the moment it opened its mouth.

’Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?’

’Is this the end of the world?’

"Pigs are the finest delicacy on Earth!" The Pig Emperor stepped forward, spreading its trotters in a mock-heroic pose.

Little did it know, with its palm-sized, meaty-orb body and short, twig-like trotters, the pose wasn’t the least bit heroic. Comical, on the other hand? A perfect ten.

PFFT—

The nine green-robed men froze as if struck by lightning. Unable to bear it any longer, they all spat out a mouthful of old blood.

The Pig Emperor, however, seemed not to notice, still lost in its "sea" of poetry.

"Is there any reason not to love them?"

"When prepared by this emperor, they radiate an aura of righteousness!"

Perhaps its poetic inspiration had truly struck, for this time the Pig Emperor delivered the final three lines of its poem all in one breath, with barely a pause between them.

BLECH—

The nine green-robed men simultaneously retched and began to vomit violently. They threw up so much that they nearly emptied their stomachs of acid and bile.

They felt completely hollowed out.

They weren’t vomiting because the content of the Pig Emperor’s poem was disgusting. Rather, the sound of its recitation inflicted immense spiritual pain and a torment so unbearable it was impossible to shake off.

It was an indescribable and inescapable ordeal.

The nine green-robed men lay sprawled on the ground, their strength completely drained. Their vision went black, and their bodies twitched from time to time.

A deafening roar echoed in their minds, their souls trembled, and their Seas of Consciousness churned violently.

’Terrifying!’

’It’s just too terrifying!’

’Are these the legendary verses that mortal scholars love to recite?’

’Why are they so horrifying?!’

’And was what the Pig Emperor recited really a poem?’

’Why did it sound more like a low-rent limerick?’

The nine green-robed men swore that they had done more roasting in this one day than in the past several decades combined.

As time went on, the sound of the Pig Emperor’s recitation was like a potent aged wine; its kick grew stronger and stronger. They felt progressively worse, until they were more than half-dead.

That feeling of a living death was worse than anything they had ever experienced. Not even the agony of having their hearts devoured by poison—which their sect elders had forced them to endure as children first learning the Dao of Poison—could compare.

If it were possible, they would have preferred to die on the spot to escape this torture.

Unfortunately, their Seas of Consciousness were in disarray and their bodies were drained of all strength. They couldn’t even muster the energy to kill themselves.

All they could do was lie there like dead fish, helpless and in despair.

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible! It took this emperor less than a minute from start to finish to compose that poem! I’m a goddamn genius! Hahaha!"

The Pig Emperor planted its trotters on its hips and roared with laughter.

In the distance, Qian Duoduo and the others wiped the cold sweat from their brows, their hearts still pounding in terror.

This was especially true for Li Yuanhao, who had personally experienced the terror of being at the Pig Emperor’s mercy!

The demonic sound of its recitation still haunted him like a nightmare. It often jolted him awake from his Cultivation, and several times he’d come close to suffering a Qi deviation.

Mo Qi shook his head, speechless. They had played this "torture by poetry" game many times, but the Pig Emperor never seemed to get tired of it.

"Hm?"

Mo Qi suddenly let out a surprised grunt. His gaze traveled past the Pig Emperor and landed on Jin Sanpang, who was standing less than ten feet away.

’Why didn’t San Pang run? Wait! How is he completely fine?’

Mo Qi was astonished to discover that Jin Sanpang was completely unaffected by the Pig Emperor’s recitation!

That was something even he, a practitioner of the Chaos Scripture, couldn’t manage.

Soon, the others noticed this strange phenomenon and gathered around as well.

As Mo Qi and the others drew near, they overheard a landmark conversation between Jin Sanpang and the Pig Emperor.

It was this very conversation that opened the door to a new world for the Pig Emperor, while simultaneously building a bridge to a purgatory of torment for everyone else.

"San Pang, what did you think of this emperor’s poem?" the Pig Emperor asked, its head held high with pride.

Jin Sanpang gave a goofy smile, rubbing his large, bald head. "San Pang doesn’t know what poems are, but the last word of every line you said sounded about the same. It was a lot like the rhymes my dad used to sing to me. Brother Zhu, have you ever thought about singing?"

"Hm?"

The Pig Emperor’s eyes lit up.

’Singing?’

’What an interesting suggestion. This emperor is very interested indeed!’

’Well, I’ll be. Why didn’t this emperor think of that before?’

’Singing is way more fun than reciting poetry!’

’Poet King, Poet Saint, Poet Immortal... none of those titles are as cool as "Song God"!’

’This emperor has decided! From now on, address this emperor as... the Song God!’