Chapter 1027: Pummeling the Netherworld Emperor
The Netherworld Prince, carrying the Eight Trigrams Mirror and tucking the snakeskin bag away, walked out of the Profound Heaven Palace.
Just as he was about to turn back for one last look, the Profound Emperor’s voice rang out: “Until you enter the Primordial Realm, do not look back. Walk forward, and do not take the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge—it requires entering the Heavenly Court. Travel from the Heavenly River to the Primordial Capital. You are my son; though the water route is slower than the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, it will only cost you an extra year or so.”
The Netherworld Prince trudged forward in silence. When he reached the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, he happened to see Qin Mu’s Heavenly Dragon Carriage about to enter the bridge.
The Netherworld Prince quickly bowed in thanks, saying, “Thank you, Heavenly Sovereign, for speaking well of me before my parents, allowing me to escape my confinement.”
Qin Mu stepped out of the carriage, helped him up, and smiled. “It was a mere trifle, hardly worth mentioning. Where is the Prince headed?”
The Netherworld Prince replied, “My parents are sending me to the Primordial Realm to see the world.” He then recounted the Profound Emperor’s warning not to look back.
Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then laughed. “I know why you’re not allowed to look back, and I also know who you’ll meet on the road. Don’t worry—I’ll give you a divine ability. Even if you encounter that person, you’ll be able to escape.”
The Netherworld Prince was surprised. “My father excels in divine calculations—does the Heavenly Sovereign also master this art?”
Qin Mu chuckled heartily. “The Profound Emperor never taught me his divine calculations. I simply deduced something from your words.”
He activated a divine ability, his ten fingers shifting through countless transformations, then lightly tapped the Netherworld Prince’s brow. Smiling, he said, “Prince, look at the eye on my forehead.”
The Netherworld Prince gazed at the vertical eye on Qin Mu’s brow. “Heavenly Sovereign, what divine ability is this?”
The vertical eye on Qin Mu’s brow blazed with light. He laughed. “You’ll know in time. Now, Prince, you may go.”
He returned to the carriage, and the six heavenly dragons pulled it into the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge.
The Netherworld Prince shook his head and continued on. Before long, he reached the depths of the Heavenly River, leaped in, and transformed into a colossal dragon-turtle. With a flick of its dragon tail, it vanished into the water.
As the son of the Black Tortoise, his speed in water was immense. His massive body caused the Heavenly River’s water level to surge as he swam.
In the days before the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, the Heavenly River’s waterways were crowded with merchant ships traveling between the various heavens. But after the bridge’s construction, the number of vessels had dwindled.
The Netherworld Prince swam freely, feeling an unprecedented sense of relief. After being suppressed for six hundred thousand years, he was finally unbound, and the lightness was immense.
Yet, as he traveled, he noticed very few ships, which struck him as odd.
After two monotonous months, his earlier exhilaration had long faded.
There were many aquatic divine spirits and dragon kings in the water, but none recognized him as the prince of the Northern Pole Heaven. His speed was so great that they often couldn’t even catch a glimpse before he was gone.
One day, while swimming underwater, the Netherworld Prince spotted several ornate multi-story ships on the surface. Curious, he recalled the Profound Emperor’s warning and ignored them, pressing on.
On the ships, many divine generals and enchanting goddesses danced and sang to melodious music. An emperor was enjoying the performance when he noticed the Heavenly River suddenly swelling. Looking down, he saw a colossal dragon-turtle swimming beneath his ship.
The emperor laughed heartily. “Brother Netherworld, please stay!”
Hearing this voice, the Netherworld Prince’s heart jolted. “That sounds like the Netherworld Emperor, Yin Chaojin. What’s he doing on the Heavenly River? Last time he visited the Northern Pole Heaven, he bragged about becoming the Black Emperor of the Netherworld Capital. Then, failing to get the Five Thunder Gourd, he released a swarm of bugs to gnaw at it…”
He had history with the Netherworld Emperor. He wanted to stop, but remembering the Profound Emperor’s words, he pretended not to hear and swam on.
The Netherworld Emperor’s divine power surged, lifting his ship into the air to chase after him. Laughing, he called out, “Brother Netherworld, have you forgotten your old friend? These six hundred thousand years, I’ve missed you terribly!”
The Netherworld Prince still pretended not to hear, moving forward.
The Netherworld Emperor couldn’t match his speed and shouted, “Brother, have you no regard for our past friendship? We used to play together, and I called you elder brother!”
The Netherworld Prince recalled the past and slowed down, thinking, “We were indeed close back then… Bah! Back then, the Netherworld Emperor and Heavenly Sovereign Hao and the others only schemed for my family’s treasures, knowing my parents had many precious artifacts. They often tricked me into giving them away!”
He sped up again, and the Netherworld Emperor yelled, “Turtle with your head in your shell!”
The Netherworld Prince flew into a rage, stopped immediately, and turned around. The Heavenly River instantly dried up. Furious, he bellowed, “Yin, you brat, who are you calling that?”
The ship flew over and crashed onto the water’s surface with a thunderous boom. The Netherworld Emperor knelt on the deck with a thud, smiling. “Brother, if I hadn’t provoked you, would you have turned back? I apologize. I haven’t seen you in so long; I missed you to death, so I resorted to this trick.”
Seeing the Netherworld Emperor kneel before him, the Netherworld Prince felt a pang of guilt, and his anger vanished. He quickly transformed into human form, helped him up, and said, “My father told me that if I turned back during this escape, I’d face utter doom, so I ignored you. It wasn’t intentional neglect.”
The Netherworld Emperor took his arm and guided him onto the ship, laughing. “I’ve missed you so much over the years. I even pleaded with your parents to release you, but my words carried little weight. Now that you’re free, you must enjoy yourself thoroughly and make up for the sixty thousand years of missed pleasures!”
The Netherworld Prince said, “I still need to travel…”
“A little time won’t matter!”
The Netherworld Emperor laughed heartily, ordering music and dance. Rare delicacies that even an emperor would struggle to enjoy flowed out like water. He invited the Netherworld Prince to sit. “Brother, you can see I’ve made it big these years.”
The Netherworld Prince ate and drank. “Last time you visited, you said you’d become the Black Emperor of the Netherworld Capital and would soon become another Lord Tu Bo. Have you become Lord Tu Bo now?”
The Netherworld Emperor shook his head. “I was just boasting to you.”
He sighed with emotion. “Back then, we were such good friends, with deep bonds. Only you were suppressed for sixty thousand years over a trivial matter. Honestly, in terms of skill, how could I compare to even a fraction of you? I could become the Black Emperor, on equal footing with your parents. If you hadn’t been suppressed, your achievements would surely far surpass mine—maybe even a Heavenly Sovereign position would have been yours! What a pity…”
He shook his head and smiled. “But now that you’re free, let’s not dwell on this humiliation. Drink!”
The Netherworld Prince drank, feeling a pang of melancholy. Back then, the Netherworld Emperor’s skills were indeed inferior to his. With his noble lineage, bearing the blood of the Profound Emperor and Martial Emperor, and his diligent cultivation, deep cultivation base, and high comprehension, he had been suppressed for sixty thousand years. Now his old friend had become an emperor—it was hard not to envy him.
The Netherworld Emperor watched his expression. “Brother, now that you’re free, you can’t drift through life aimlessly like before. What are your plans?”
The Netherworld Prince said, “My father wants me to try my luck in the Primordial Realm.”
The Netherworld Emperor scoffed. “What’s so great about the Primordial Realm? A backwater with no benefits. If you go there, you’ll only end up as a servant for Heavenly Sovereign Xiao. You know Heavenly Sovereign Xiao? He was Cloud Heavenly Sovereign’s disciple. You saw him back then—always baring his teeth at everyone, looking down on ancient gods and demigods.”
The Netherworld Prince recalled Heavenly Sovereign Xiao and said in surprise, “That’s him? We once planned to beat him up, but he always hung around Cloud Heavenly Sovereign and the others, so we never got the chance.”
“Exactly him!”
The Netherworld Emperor urged him to drink. “That brat has made it big now, becoming a Heavenly Sovereign! Back then, how could his skills compare to yours? He wasn’t even fit to carry your shoes! Now, heh…”
The Netherworld Prince downed his cup, growing more displeased.
The Netherworld Emperor kept pressing drinks, calling over divine officials and generals to toast, along with singing and dancing girls who nestled into the Netherworld Prince’s arms and lap, offering endless toasts.
Before he knew it, the Netherworld Prince was dead drunk—the wine was exquisite and could even intoxicate the soul.
He drank heavily, alternating between laughter and tears. The Netherworld Emperor watched, waited a moment, and saw the Netherworld Prince collapse onto the table.
“Brother? Brother?”
The Netherworld Emperor called twice. The Netherworld Prince mumbled a response and fell into a deep sleep.
“This wine is indeed potent—even I’m a bit tipsy. Worth the effort of gathering the souls of gods and brewing it with ancient qiong flowers for all these years.”
The Netherworld Emperor staggered to his feet, seeing that the gods, singers, and dancers on the ship were all passed out.
He clapped his hands, and several divine generals with masked faces emerged from the cabin, bowing in attendance.
“Silence everyone on the ship—leave no survivors. Send their souls to the Netherworld Capital. Take him alone to the Heavenly Court’s rear palace; someone there will receive you.”
The Netherworld Emperor said flatly, “Place him in Consort Yu’s bed, to sleep with her.”
A divine general with a bronze fang mask asked, “And Consort Yu?”
“Kill her, of course. Make her death gruesome, and arrange her lower body appropriately. After all, the Netherworld Prince, drunk and lustful, broke into the rear palace.”
The Netherworld Emperor looked up at the sky, murmuring, “His Majesty will be enraged, execute the Netherworld Prince, and then punish the Northern Emperor Black Tortoise. That’s only natural. Other ancient gods won’t dare to object.”
He looked down at the unconscious Netherworld Prince, shook his head, and sneered. “You think your parents suppressed you? Fool, they were protecting you! If they hadn’t suppressed you for sixty thousand years, you’d have died long ago—you wouldn’t have even survived the end of the Dragon Han Era!”
“I released those bugs to gnaw at the gourd vine, not for the gourd, but for you. I’ve been watching you all this time, and now I can finally spring the trap.”
As he spoke, the Netherworld Emperor felt something was off. The Heavenly River split open, revealing a massive eye beneath it—thousands of times larger than his ship!
The eye blinked and then vanished.
The Netherworld Emperor frowned. Suddenly, the sky split open, revealing an even larger eye, bigger than the one in the river!
“No, no, this looks like my divine ability! But that shouldn’t be my eye… The last time I used this ability was in Fengdu…”
Cold sweat broke out on the Netherworld Emperor’s forehead. He suddenly realized: “That is my eye!”
“My primordial spirit sensed that my thoughts and consciousness were trapped, so it opened its eye to investigate!”
“Everything around me is fake—someone has created an illusion for me!”
“Break!”
His cultivation erupted, shattering Qin Mu’s consciousness divine ability. The illusions vanished instantly, revealing that he was still on the ship, with music and dance continuing, and he was raising a cup to toast the Netherworld Prince. That was when he must have fallen under Qin Mu’s consciousness divine ability!
“Who trapped my consciousness with such a divine ability and created this illusion? Could it be Yan Shaoqing?”
Just as he thought this, the Netherworld Prince across from him was already seething with rage. The cup in his hand shattered, and his hand transformed into a massive fist that slammed into the Netherworld Emperor’s handsome face!
The Netherworld Emperor was one of the rarest beauties in the world, rivaling Medicine Master. The punch twisted his face, nearly driving it into his skull!
As the son of the Black Tortoise, the Netherworld Prince possessed immense strength. This punch blasted the Netherworld Emperor’s primordial spirit out of his body, and the ship exploded from the terrifying force!
The Netherworld Prince threw another punch, but the Netherworld Emperor’s primordial spirit had already returned to his body. Four heavenly palaces emerged behind him, blocking the blow. Then, a Netherworld Capital Heavenly Gate appeared behind him, channeling the Netherworld Prince’s fearsome power into the gate.
The Netherworld Emperor flew backward, passing through the gate. When he emerged from the other side, he was fully restored, without a scratch!
“It shouldn’t be Yan Shaoqing—he’s still at the Lingxiao realm, without the power to trap my consciousness without my notice! Could it be that the Crimson Emperor has revived?”
The panic on the Netherworld Emperor’s face faded, replaced by confidence. Though the Netherworld Prince was strong, he was still an Emperor Seat from sixty thousand years ago—no match for the Netherworld Emperor of today!
Just then, his expression changed drastically as he saw the Netherworld Prince raise the Eight Trigrams Mirror.
“Damn it!”
The Netherworld Emperor rushed into the Netherworld Capital Heavenly Gate. The Profound Emperor’s divine weapon erupted with power—Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Mountain, Fire, Water, Marsh, Wind—all bursting forth and surging into the gate!
The Netherworld Capital Heavenly Gate shook violently, its layers of reincarnation worlds nearly pierced through. Cracks spread across the gate!
The Netherworld Prince activated the Profound Emperor’s divine weapon again, but the Netherworld Capital Heavenly Gate sank into the Netherworld Capital and vanished.
“Yin Chaojin, I treated you like a brother, but you treated me like a fool!”
The Netherworld Prince cursed for a long time, then left in fury.
In the Northern Pole Heaven, the Profound Emperor and Martial Emperor rarely gathered together. They gazed into the distance at the Heavenly River. After a long silence, both sighed in relief and exchanged smiles.
“That foolish son still turned back. He was a hair’s breadth from utter doom. Luckily, he met Heavenly Sovereign Mu.”
The Martial Emperor smiled. “Heavenly Sovereign Mu’s divine ability is truly wondrous and unfathomable.”
The Profound Emperor’s expression grew troubled. “His divine ability reminds me of that extinct race…”
They exchanged another glance, their faces grave.
The Creators.
The powerful race that once enslaved the ancient gods.
—Heh, another big chapter!