Standing on top of a mountain outside Liangzhu, Wu Qi, Princess Zhang Le, and Qixia watched the blood-colored beam of light that Ji Dai had transformed into pierce through the void and enter the city like a ghost. Wu Qi chuckled and waved a hand. With the gesture, the earth energy in the surroundings drifted over and wrapped them inside before diving into the earth. Shrouded in a cloud of rainbow smoke unleashed by Qixia, they effortlessly sneaked into Liangzhu as if they had never existed.
At the moment, Emperor Haozun was not in the city. He was quelling the provinces and reining in the hearts of the people in the southern region with the Flying Bear Army. With no one in control of Liangzhu’s most powerful defensive formation, nobody could detect Wu Qi’s movements. Although there should be Dao Breaking experts in the Secret Palace, according to human tradition, they were either in hibernation or meditating in some secret cave abodes. Hence, they would never pay any attention to the ordinary affairs in the city.
So, Wu Qi’s small team entered the city unimpeded, then followed the aura Ji Dai had left in the air to King Yang Shan’s mansion.
“This Ji Dai has the devil’s own luck. He is indeed King Yang Shan’s eldest son, which explains why he had such an excellent life-saving artifact,” said Wu Qi with a sigh. At first, it was no big deal for a fellow like Ji Dai to die as he intended, and it could serve as a warning to some unruly people. He had meant to kill everyone but Yu Qingcheng, so the message could be carried back to Liangzhu. However, Wu Qi did not expect that Ji Dai actually had a life-saving talisman, which he had used to transform into a beam of light, pierce through the void, and flee, the speed of which was so fast that even Supremacy Three Flame could not catch up.
In any case, Wu Qi had already dealt Ji Dai several heavy blows along the way. He was probably depressed enough to kill himself by now. So, although he was not dead, it did not make much difference. Wu Qi believed that Ji Dai was now suffering a psychological blow far worse than death.
Soon afterward, Wu Qi and his companions arrived in a secret chamber about 100,000 feet underground in the backyard of King Yang Shan’s mansion. A thousand feet long and wide, and about a hundred feet tall, the spacious stone chamber was as neatly and simply constructed as any other building in Great Yu. Its walls, floor, and ceiling were all made up of black stone slabs, tens of feet thick each. There were no other furnishings inside except for a dozen blocks of stone, which were orderly arranged and used as chairs.
Dozens of bronze hands were mounted on all four walls, each holding a pearl the size of a human head. Vaguely, clouds of smoke and waves could be seen swirling inside these translucent pearls as they shone so brightly that even the finest dust was visible to the naked eyes. As the light shone from all directions, there was no shadow on the ground. The pearl had a peculiar effect: its light was a natural magic-breaker. Any ordinary magic touched by it would release smoke of various colors and smell, enough to attract the attention of others. In Buddhist League, it was called the ‘Dustless Pearl’.
The fact that so many precious pearls were used to light up this stone chamber proved that it was a very important place in King Yang Shan’s mansion.
When Wu Qi, Princess Zhang Le, and Qixia sneaked in here, they too were repelled by the light. But, Wu Qi immediately absorbed the light with the Primal Purple Energy and fused their aura with it. In this way, they were able to smoothly enter the chamber, attach themselves to a peal, and hover in the bright light, quietly looking at the people inside.
King Yang Shan was sitting on the middle stone block with his hands placed on his knees, his face serious. Beside him sat seven kings of his rank. Wu Qi recognized King Yin Shan, King Cang Shan, King Hao Shan, King Ding Shan, and King Gu Shan. The five of them were King Yang Shan’s hardcore supporters. The other two, as they were called by others, were King Yuan Shan and King Jing Shan, who were clearly allies that King Yang Shan had recently courted. Apparently, after several major upheavals, King Yang Shan’s power in Great Yu’s court had expanded considerably.
All the kings, dressed in black robes, sat in a semicircle around King Yang Shan. Judging by their positions, it was clear that he was the leader of this small group. Everyone sat in the same posture as him, with their backs straight, legs apart, and hands on their knees.
Shortly after Wu Qi sneaked into the chamber, he heard a loud noise and then saw Ji Dai and Yu Qingcheng fall awkwardly out of a corner. The corner got calm again after a flash of lightning spat them out. Wu Qi glanced over there and saw a small, short-range teleportation formation, capable of transporting a small group of men across a distance of no more than 300,000 feet. Supposedly, it was used by them to travel between here and the surface.
Ji Dai’s legs had been burned clean by Supremacy Three Flame, but it was only when Yu Qingcheng brought him into the chamber that he let out a cry of pain. He tumbled to the ground while trembling and crawled awkwardly toward King Yang Shan, then suddenly coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood. He really looked miserable. Anyone with a softer heart would not punish him anymore.
But, Wu Qi clearly saw that the color of Ji Dai’s blood was bright and red; it must have been forced out by himself, and not because of some internal injuries. Moreover, with his cultivation base and the amazing healing speed given by the cultivation technique of the human race, his legs should have been grown back long ago. He should not have come to see King Yang Shan with missing legs. Clearly, he was pretending to be miserable.
Unfortunately, King Yang Shan was not one to be fooled easily. Upon seeing Ji Dai’s miserable look, he snorted coldly and waved his hand, throwing out an invisible force to knock Ji Dai away. Amidst his shrill scream, Ji Dai’s bones were all shattered; the blow had almost killed him. “I don’t have a useless son like you! You’re nothing but a piece of crap! You’ve disgraced me!” King Yang Shan growled in a low voice.
Then, he glared at Yu Qingcheng and said coldly, “The Flying Bear Army has recently formed the Camp of Death. Ji Dai will be the first captain of this camp, and you will be his military advisor. Now get out of here, both of you!”
Yu Qingcheng trembled with fear. Knowing that the news of Ji Dai and him being forced to crawl out of the city in Dong Hai was already learned by King Yang Shan, he did not dare to quibble. Instead, he obediently lifted Ji Dai and left the chamber. Ji Dai, too, was terrified out of his wits. Although all his bones were shattered, he dared not to utter a single noise.
Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le smiled at each other. The so-call Camp of Death should be an army like the death squad. Ji Dai’s defeat clearly cost him King Yang Shan’s favor, and he was sure to have a hard time. Then again, it was actually easier to make meritorious service in the death squad. If he could fight hard, he might still have a bright future.
Shaking with anger, King Yang Shan cried out in a low voice, “What a worthless son! I should have stripped him of his title!”
“Don’t be angry, my brother!” King Yin Shan said in a flat voice. “Young people lack experience, so it’s no big deal for them to make small mistakes. The most important thing for us now is to figure out a way to get rid of that King Dong Hai.”
Wu Qi’s ears pricked up at King Yin Shan’s words. The questions of why this group of men led by King Yang Shan had turned against him, and why they had sent Ji Dai to seize him of his hard-earned fruit, had always been on his mind.
“Those who are not our kind are sure to be of a different heart,” King Cang Shan suddenly sneered. “This guy has mixed in with us and pretended to be faithful all the time, I am sure he is harboring some ill thoughts!”
Wu Qi was appalled. Not their kind? What made him not their kind? Although he had converted his body into a chaotic body after cultivating the Scroll of Stealing, and although he was a Chaos Fiend God in his previous life, he was a real human in this life! He was not some prehistoric beast, and he had no greed for Great Yu. So, why did this man describe him like that?
Then, he heard King Gu Shan speak, “This fella has grown too powerful, with countless soldiers under his command! If we clash with him head-on, we will be at a disadvantage. But, if those people learned that he was your pawn planted on Myriad Immortals Planet, you will be in a passive position.”
King Yang Shan breathed a long sigh. While frowning, he said, “After Heaven wiped out a dozen or so of my strongholds in outer heavenly realms, I always thought those from the Warring States Period were dead. I never expected they would be like this now.
“They were very capable, for they had undone the curse I put on them…and even my Ancestor God, Hei Mo, was silent about it. Their strength has grown to a very strong degree. If we don’t get rid of them, they will become a major problem for Great Yu sooner or later.”
Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le exchanged a look. Their lips moved slightly and said the name ‘Lu Buwei’ at the same time.
Wu Qi’s heart was filled with remorse. If he had known that, he would have strangled Lu Buwei or captured him alive, and would not have caused so many problems. He and the six states might be able to hide their plans from everyone, but not Lu Buwei, the cunning old fox. All Lu Buwei had to do was tell Liu Bang about it and send a letter to Liangzhu, and everyone would know all about Dong Hai.
Forcing down the malice in his heart, Wu Qi looked at King Yang Shan and wanted to hear what else he had to say.
King Yang Shan was in such a bad mood that he kept sighing. After a long time, he shook his head and said, “Ever since His Majesty said that he would not pass the throne to any of his princes, and that he intended to choose one of us to succeed him, I’ve been tempted, and that King Hei Shan has been more aggressive. It’s a small matter that I can’t get the throne if King Dong Hai’s background is known to King Hei Shan… What worries me is how are we going to deal with his reckoning when the throne is in his hands?”
King Yuan Shan and King Jing Shan’s faces twitched slightly at the same time, but they recovered their composure in the blink of an eye. Wu Qi saw the change in their faces, and King Yang Shan seemed to sense it as well. “King Yuan Shan, King Jing Shan, I know you both were close to King Hei Shan. Why don’t you…”
There was a long silence, but they eventually shook their heads. They had chosen King Yang Shan’s boat, and it was impossible for them to get off now.
After waiting for a long time and not seeing the two of them move, King Yang Shan cleared his throat and said faintly, “Ji Dai has done a terrible job. Now that King Dong Hai is on his guard against us, things have become difficult to deal with. In short, we will either bring him to Liangzhu so we can keep an eye on him, or we will wipe out his power. There is no alternative.”
All the kings in the chamber looked at each other, then stood up and said, “What shall we do, my brother?”
King Yang Shan was silent for a moment, then slowly raised his right hand and swung it down like a blade.
Standing on top of a mountain outside Liangzhu, Wu Qi, Princess Zhang Le, and Qixia watched the blood-colored beam of light that Ji Dai had transformed into pierce through the void and enter the city like a ghost. Wu Qi chuckled and waved a hand. With the gesture, the earth energy in the surroundings drifted over and wrapped them inside before diving into the earth. Shrouded in a cloud of rainbow smoke unleashed by Qixia, they effortlessly sneaked into Liangzhu as if they had never existed.
At the moment, Emperor Haozun was not in the city. He was quelling the provinces and reining in the hearts of the people in the southern region with the Flying Bear Army. With no one in control of Liangzhu’s most powerful defensive formation, nobody could detect Wu Qi’s movements. Although there should be Dao Breaking experts in the Secret Palace, according to human tradition, they were either in hibernation or meditating in some secret cave abodes. Hence, they would never pay any attention to the ordinary affairs in the city.
So, Wu Qi’s small team entered the city unimpeded, then followed the aura Ji Dai had left in the air to King Yang Shan’s mansion.
“This Ji Dai has the devil’s own luck. He is indeed King Yang Shan’s eldest son, which explains why he had such an excellent life-saving artifact,” said Wu Qi with a sigh. At first, it was no big deal for a fellow like Ji Dai to die as he intended, and it could serve as a warning to some unruly people. He had meant to kill everyone but Yu Qingcheng, so the message could be carried back to Liangzhu. However, Wu Qi did not expect that Ji Dai actually had a life-saving talisman, which he had used to transform into a beam of light, pierce through the void, and flee, the speed of which was so fast that even Supremacy Three Flame could not catch up.
In any case, Wu Qi had already dealt Ji Dai several heavy blows along the way. He was probably depressed enough to kill himself by now. So, although he was not dead, it did not make much difference. Wu Qi believed that Ji Dai was now suffering a psychological blow far worse than death.
Soon afterward, Wu Qi and his companions arrived in a secret chamber about 100,000 feet underground in the backyard of King Yang Shan’s mansion. A thousand feet long and wide, and about a hundred feet tall, the spacious stone chamber was as neatly and simply constructed as any other building in Great Yu. Its walls, floor, and ceiling were all made up of black stone slabs, tens of feet thick each. There were no other furnishings inside except for a dozen blocks of stone, which were orderly arranged and used as chairs.
Dozens of bronze hands were mounted on all four walls, each holding a pearl the size of a human head. Vaguely, clouds of smoke and waves could be seen swirling inside these translucent pearls as they shone so brightly that even the finest dust was visible to the naked eyes. As the light shone from all directions, there was no shadow on the ground. The pearl had a peculiar effect: its light was a natural magic-breaker. Any ordinary magic touched by it would release smoke of various colors and smell, enough to attract the attention of others. In Buddhist League, it was called the ‘Dustless Pearl’.
The fact that so many precious pearls were used to light up this stone chamber proved that it was a very important place in King Yang Shan’s mansion.
When Wu Qi, Princess Zhang Le, and Qixia sneaked in here, they too were repelled by the light. But, Wu Qi immediately absorbed the light with the Primal Purple Energy and fused their aura with it. In this way, they were able to smoothly enter the chamber, attach themselves to a peal, and hover in the bright light, quietly looking at the people inside.
King Yang Shan was sitting on the middle stone block with his hands placed on his knees, his face serious. Beside him sat seven kings of his rank. Wu Qi recognized King Yin Shan, King Cang Shan, King Hao Shan, King Ding Shan, and King Gu Shan. The five of them were King Yang Shan’s hardcore supporters. The other two, as they were called by others, were King Yuan Shan and King Jing Shan, who were clearly allies that King Yang Shan had recently courted. Apparently, after several major upheavals, King Yang Shan’s power in Great Yu’s court had expanded considerably.
All the kings, dressed in black robes, sat in a semicircle around King Yang Shan. Judging by their positions, it was clear that he was the leader of this small group. Everyone sat in the same posture as him, with their backs straight, legs apart, and hands on their knees.
Shortly after Wu Qi sneaked into the chamber, he heard a loud noise and then saw Ji Dai and Yu Qingcheng fall awkwardly out of a corner. The corner got calm again after a flash of lightning spat them out. Wu Qi glanced over there and saw a small, short-range teleportation formation, capable of transporting a small group of men across a distance of no more than 300,000 feet. Supposedly, it was used by them to travel between here and the surface.
Ji Dai’s legs had been burned clean by Supremacy Three Flame, but it was only when Yu Qingcheng brought him into the chamber that he let out a cry of pain. He tumbled to the ground while trembling and crawled awkwardly toward King Yang Shan, then suddenly coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood. He really looked miserable. Anyone with a softer heart would not punish him anymore.
But, Wu Qi clearly saw that the color of Ji Dai’s blood was bright and red; it must have been forced out by himself, and not because of some internal injuries. Moreover, with his cultivation base and the amazing healing speed given by the cultivation technique of the human race, his legs should have been grown back long ago. He should not have come to see King Yang Shan with missing legs. Clearly, he was pretending to be miserable.
Unfortunately, King Yang Shan was not one to be fooled easily. Upon seeing Ji Dai’s miserable look, he snorted coldly and waved his hand, throwing out an invisible force to knock Ji Dai away. Amidst his shrill scream, Ji Dai’s bones were all shattered; the blow had almost killed him. “I don’t have a useless son like you! You’re nothing but a piece of crap! You’ve disgraced me!” King Yang Shan growled in a low voice.
Then, he glared at Yu Qingcheng and said coldly, “The Flying Bear Army has recently formed the Camp of Death. Ji Dai will be the first captain of this camp, and you will be his military advisor. Now get out of here, both of you!”
Yu Qingcheng trembled with fear. Knowing that the news of Ji Dai and him being forced to crawl out of the city in Dong Hai was already learned by King Yang Shan, he did not dare to quibble. Instead, he obediently lifted Ji Dai and left the chamber. Ji Dai, too, was terrified out of his wits. Although all his bones were shattered, he dared not to utter a single noise.
Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le smiled at each other. The so-call Camp of Death should be an army like the death squad. Ji Dai’s defeat clearly cost him King Yang Shan’s favor, and he was sure to have a hard time. Then again, it was actually easier to make meritorious service in the death squad. If he could fight hard, he might still have a bright future.
Shaking with anger, King Yang Shan cried out in a low voice, “What a worthless son! I should have stripped him of his title!”
“Don’t be angry, my brother!” King Yin Shan said in a flat voice. “Young people lack experience, so it’s no big deal for them to make small mistakes. The most important thing for us now is to figure out a way to get rid of that King Dong Hai.”
Wu Qi’s ears pricked up at King Yin Shan’s words. The questions of why this group of men led by King Yang Shan had turned against him, and why they had sent Ji Dai to seize him of his hard-earned fruit, had always been on his mind.
“Those who are not our kind are sure to be of a different heart,” King Cang Shan suddenly sneered. “This guy has mixed in with us and pretended to be faithful all the time, I am sure he is harboring some ill thoughts!”
Wu Qi was appalled. Not their kind? What made him not their kind? Although he had converted his body into a chaotic body after cultivating the Scroll of Stealing, and although he was a Chaos Fiend God in his previous life, he was a real human in this life! He was not some prehistoric beast, and he had no greed for Great Yu. So, why did this man describe him like that?
Then, he heard King Gu Shan speak, “This fella has grown too powerful, with countless soldiers under his command! If we clash with him head-on, we will be at a disadvantage. But, if those people learned that he was your pawn planted on Myriad Immortals Planet, you will be in a passive position.”
King Yang Shan breathed a long sigh. While frowning, he said, “After Heaven wiped out a dozen or so of my strongholds in outer heavenly realms, I always thought those from the Warring States Period were dead. I never expected they would be like this now.
“They were very capable, for they had undone the curse I put on them…and even my Ancestor God, Hei Mo, was silent about it. Their strength has grown to a very strong degree. If we don’t get rid of them, they will become a major problem for Great Yu sooner or later.”
Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le exchanged a look. Their lips moved slightly and said the name ‘Lu Buwei’ at the same time.
Wu Qi’s heart was filled with remorse. If he had known that, he would have strangled Lu Buwei or captured him alive, and would not have caused so many problems. He and the six states might be able to hide their plans from everyone, but not Lu Buwei, the cunning old fox. All Lu Buwei had to do was tell Liu Bang about it and send a letter to Liangzhu, and everyone would know all about Dong Hai.
Forcing down the malice in his heart, Wu Qi looked at King Yang Shan and wanted to hear what else he had to say.
King Yang Shan was in such a bad mood that he kept sighing. After a long time, he shook his head and said, “Ever since His Majesty said that he would not pass the throne to any of his princes, and that he intended to choose one of us to succeed him, I’ve been tempted, and that King Hei Shan has been more aggressive. It’s a small matter that I can’t get the throne if King Dong Hai’s background is known to King Hei Shan… What worries me is how are we going to deal with his reckoning when the throne is in his hands?”
King Yuan Shan and King Jing Shan’s faces twitched slightly at the same time, but they recovered their composure in the blink of an eye. Wu Qi saw the change in their faces, and King Yang Shan seemed to sense it as well. “King Yuan Shan, King Jing Shan, I know you both were close to King Hei Shan. Why don’t you…”
There was a long silence, but they eventually shook their heads. They had chosen King Yang Shan’s boat, and it was impossible for them to get off now.
After waiting for a long time and not seeing the two of them move, King Yang Shan cleared his throat and said faintly, “Ji Dai has done a terrible job. Now that King Dong Hai is on his guard against us, things have become difficult to deal with. In short, we will either bring him to Liangzhu so we can keep an eye on him, or we will wipe out his power. There is no alternative.”
All the kings in the chamber looked at each other, then stood up and said, “What shall we do, my brother?”
King Yang Shan was silent for a moment, then slowly raised his right hand and swung it down like a blade.
