868 The Coup

Wu Qi returned to where he was without alerting anyone. He called back his clone, then rolled up his sleeves and let out a faint sigh. Princess Zhang Le gave him a look, then took out a handkerchief while smiling and wiped some sweat off his forehead. After all, he had just killed a Primordial Immortal. Although the victim's cultivation base was weaker than his, it still took him a great effort to achieve that.

In the realm of 'Dao', the situation of absolute repression similar to that between a Gold Immortal and a Heaven Immortal was no longer a thing. Under the condition when the Laws of Heavenly Dao comprehended by two experts, one from the realm of Primordial and the other from the realm of Divine Gold Primordial, were conflicting, the former could easily escape the latter. Therefore, even though it seemed easy for Wu Qi to destroy the daoist's immortal body and shatter his immortal soul, he had actually spent a great effort to carefully calculate his attack.

He smiled and nodded to the princess, then whispered in her ears what had just happened. The princess gave him a look of reproach from the corners of her eyes, but then chuckled and said, "If I were you, I'd go back there now, disguise as a daoist, and slay that bald donkey before making him escape only with his natal relic. This will surely set off more fireworks."

Wu Qi shrugged and said with a wry smile, "Yes, it will be fun, but I fear we might attract some unwanted attention if I do that, and the fireworks might turn into a disaster for us."

Princess Zhang Le thought for a moment. "Are those few old fogies really that formidable?" she asked in a low voice.

Wu Qi's face twitched. He was silent for a long time before he slowly nodded and said, "Yes, they are very strong. In those days, their cultivation bases were already several levels more advanced than mine, and Chaos Fiend Gods like Ao Buzun could hardly breathe under them. They were the ones who laid down the foundations of today's Dao League and Buddhist League. I was no match for them, whether in terms of wits, means, or cultivation bases. As for now..."

He paused and smacked his lips, then went on, "…we still have to be extremely careful in everything we do!"

The princess narrowed her eyes with an expression that said she was not convinced. But she knew Wu Qi would not make up a story to scare her, so she just clenched her jaws and took her discontentment out on those unlucky fellas from outer heavenly realms.

After several days of cooperation, Wu Qi, Yu Gu, and the others had grown accustomed to the steps of abducting people. By now, they were no longer rushing to claim the prizes in a messy swarm. Instead, each of them was assigned a kingdom, so they only had to defeat the Oracles and army, capture the emperor and all the officials, and abduct the people of that particular kingdom.

Of all these kingdoms, most of them controlled a planet each. Their populations ranged between billions to tens of billions, and their armies often numbered in tens of millions. As long as their high-ranking officials were all taken down, Great Yu's Supreme Oracles would be able to freely capture the armies and the people.

The emperors and high officials were bound to be killed; they were the best candidates for blood sacrifices. As for the armies, it was a good idea to use them as cannon fodder. They just needed some basic training and some simple armaments. Since these kingdoms were captured as a whole, the soldiers' families were under the control of Wu Qi and others as well, so there was no worry that they would not obey the commands.

Whenever a new heavenly realm landed, Wu Qi and others pounced on it like a pack of hungry wolves, splitting it apart. And, as predicted by the monk and the daoist, after they had carved up the armies and the people of more than seventy heavenly realms, more and more Supreme Oracles began to pour over from Liangzhu. Not only them, but even those Kings and powerful clans were also attracted. These were free manpower, and they made the best slave laborers or sacrificial offerings. It was a huge fortune they could not afford to miss.

While Wu Qi and others were busy gobbling up the people from outer heavenly realms, something happened in Liangzhu.

The incident unfolded when Wu Qi and his companions were frantically capturing the people from the 297th heavenly realm. On this day, the weather over Liangzhu was very bad. The moon was reddish, and half of it was obscured by dark clouds; the air hung heavy with gray fog as the moonlight—pale and gloomy—crept through it and sprinkled across the city. The whole atmosphere forced away the ancient capital's dignified appearance and made it look like a graveyard.

Ji Yu, the King Xin Shan, and Ji Lao, the King Li Shan, walked briskly through the imperial palace.

Ji Yu was Emperor Haozun's 798th son, the oldest among the rest who were still alive. All his elder brothers were born too early, and they had long been dead before they could wait until the day their father died. Born a period ago from one of the emperor's beloved concubines, he was given the title of King from the moment he was born.

Ji Lao, King Li Shan, was Ji Yu's blood brother. As for how many elder brothers he had, perhaps neither Emperor Haozun nor himself could remember. In any case, there was no mistake that he was the emperor's son; he was given the title of King as soon as he was born as well.

As the Human Emperor's sons, King Xin Shan and King Li Shan actually had little real political power. Unlike King Yang Shan who served in the imperial court, they had no fiefs or independent incomes, but only the titles of King. A few imperial gardens where they could spend their time, several hundred bodyguards, and a sum of pocket money given by Emperor Haozun every year which they could use to reward singers and dancers or buy something they liked to eat and drink, these were their greatest privileges.

In Great Yu, being the Human Emperor's sons was actually the saddest thing. Most of them lived shorter than their father and had no hope of succeeding to the throne. In addition, their every move was closely watched, and they could not violate the rules and regulations set in place by their ancestors. Otherwise, they would be severely punished. Their lives were no different from that of a clay puppet, and yet they had to live it with relish.

Due to its recent rebellion, the Human Emperor had ordered Ji Ao to command and station You Xiong Army outside of Liangzhu. By now, the safety of the capital city was in the hands of the newly founded Flying Bear Army. The commander-in-chief and his deputy of this army were none other than the brothers, King Xin Shan and King Li Shan.

Led by several eunuchs, King Xin Shan and King Li Shan strode quickly through the palace. Their faces were grave, and there was a disturbing aura all over them. The eunuchs were shivering, and the shiver turned into tremble whenever a gust of night breeze cut through them like a sharp knife.

The night, the moonlight, and both King Xin Shan and King Li Shan were so strange that these eunuchs felt a chill pouring out from the bottom of their hearts. It felt like they were lying atop an old coffin, and some ferocious zombies were trying to drag them inside.

They walked up the mountain that was the Torch Dragon with long and quick strides. Soon afterward, they came before the great palace on the mountaintop. A row of heavily armed Long Bo men had stopped them from going further, staring at them with hostility in eyes and placing their hands on the hilts of their swords. If both the Kings did something unusual, these guards would kill them without hesitation.

Staring at the building, King Xin Shan cried out in a deep, powerful voice, "Father, your son Ji Yu has an urgent military intelligent to report!"

After a moment of silent, Emperor Haozun's voice echoed out, "Come in!"

Both Kings entered the great hall. The heavy doors swung shut behind them, silencing the sounds from the outside world. Emperor Haozun was sitting squarely on the throne at the far end of the hall. Several beautiful women, their dresses a little untidy, were carefully arranging his clothes, straightening his cuffs by pressing them with their delicate fingers.

A huge bed was slowly sinking into the floor; the brocade on it in a mess, with traces of blood on it.

Only a few people knew that Emperor Haozun, who seemed to never leave this great hall, actually slept with his concubines here every night. With his strong cultivation base, stupendous stamina, and energy, he had sex here every night with several of his favorite consorts, and even enjoyed the young flesh of a few teenage girls. It was because of some strange habit that he rarely left this great hall, the heart of Liangzhu's entire defense system.

The emperor gave King Xin Shan and King Li Shan a cold glance, and then lightly clapped his hands. The few beautiful women bowed quietly to him and then walked slowly into the back of the hall.

He cleared his throat and said, "What urgent military intelligence do you have for me?"

Both Kings fell to their knees at the same time. "Someone in the Flying Bear Army have turned traitors!" said King Xin Shan in a deep voice.

Emperor Haozun was startled. Suddenly, the armrests beneath his hands shattered and vanished as he growled through his clenched teeth, "Someone in the Flying Bear Army have turned traitors? You...you...What had I told you that day? How could anyone from this army turn traitors?"

King Xin Shan bowed his head and said, "I've yet to find out who betrayed us, but I found this in the barracks by chance!"

As he said that, he reached out a hand, and King Li Shan hurriedly passed him a bundle of blue cloth he had been carrying. King Xin Shan unwrapped the bundle, revealing a white lotus flower that was about the size of a rice hopper and appeared to be carved out of a whole piece of white jade, with the Seven Treasures of the Buddhist League embedded on its petals.

Emperor Haozun let out a furious roar and grabbed the flower. Beams of starlight shot out of his eyes and struck it, causing it to produce a buzzing noise while a thick layer of bright light was slowly pouring out from deep inside the flower.

"It really is a magical artifact from the Buddhist League! What are those bald donkeys trying to do this time?" The emperor thundered, gritting his teeth. "King of Dong Hai and Yu Gu had sent in a message the other day…Outer heavenly realms are constantly invading Pangu Continent now. What the hell do they want to do?"

A sheet of spirit light broke out of the white lotus flower, and an ancient bronze buddha suddenly leaped out of it and struck Emperor Haozun in the forehead with a staff. A deafening clang rang out as the staff bounced back and the buddha jerked back for dozens of steps. "What a tough head!" he cried out in shock.

Grinning coldly, the emperor clenched his palm and crushed the flower. "I knew this would happen! When I succeeded to the throne, the Grand Oracle of that time had told me that I would die at the hands of my own sons. I've been waiting for the day to come!"

King Xin Shan and King Li Shan lifted their heads at the same time. They had both transformed into the avatars of the Buddha, with three heads and six arms. "In that case, please allow yourself to be seized without putting up a fight, Father! We do not want to bear the sin of patricide!"

Emperor Haozun made no answer but threw his head back and roared with laughter. He calmly clapped his hands, trying to activate Liangzhu's defense system. Once the formation was activated, he and the spirit cave beneath You Xiong Plain would connect as one, and his cultivation base would be elevated to the peak of Dao Breaking Realm immediately.

But, the formation did not respond at all.