Chapter 1268: Thick-Faced and Black-Hearted (Second Update)
Suddenly, someone choked on their drink, coughing repeatedly. Immediately, the eyes of all the gods present fell upon him. The man forced himself to stop coughing, his face turning red from the effort.
Heavenly Lord Hao broke the silence, gasping for breath. "Thanks to Heavenly Lord Mu's timely aid, the consequences would have been unthinkable. I fear I would have perished at the hands of the Grand Emperor."
Qin Mu spoke weakly, "A good man has his own fortune; Heavenly Lord Hao does not seem destined for an early death. I too exerted every ounce of my strength to block the Grand Emperor and save your life."
Heavenly Lord Hao's voice was barely a whisper. "I have put you through so much, my friend. I am deeply sorry and have no way to repay you. In the future, I will serve you with utmost loyalty, even if it means my death."
Qin Mu's face flushed with a sickly red from excitement. "You flatter me, you flatter me! Heavenly Lord Hao is the leader who upholds the Heavenly Court's realm. For the sake of the Heavenly Court's realm, how could I not risk my life to save you?"
All the divine generals and heavenly lords present exchanged bewildered glances.
Suddenly, Qin Mu and Heavenly Lord Hao both began coughing violently in unison, each looking as if they might die at any moment.
The complexions of Heavenly Lord Fire and Heavenly Lord Void were also not good, and they too started coughing.
"Four heavenly lords have been severely wounded at the same time. Truly a time of trouble," someone murmured quietly.
Qin Mu rallied his spirits and shouted loudly, "That's not right! That old villain Qin Ye from Carefree Realm and that old hag Lang Wan are also badly injured! Now is the perfect opportunity for the brave warriors of our Heavenly Court to make their mark! With this broken body of mine, I will personally lead the troops into battle and take Qin Ye's head myself, repaying the Heavenly Court!" After saying this, he coughed violently again.
The Four Heavenly Kings, the Four Heavenly Masters, and the Four Emperors each coughed in turn. Bai Yuqiong sighed, "This cough seems to be contagious..."
Heavenly Lord Fire asked with concern, "Brother Hao, how serious are your injuries? Heavenly Lord Void and I went to rescue you, but we didn't expect the Kai Emperor and Lang Wan to attack as well, so we couldn't protect you in time."
"I won't die."
Heavenly Lord Hao's face was pale, and he said flatly, "I survived and originally planned not to disturb anyone, to go into seclusion and recuperate. But I didn't expect that there are traitors within our Heavenly Court who dared to plot against me while I was recovering. Heh, quite the scheme."
The crowd felt a chill, and their gazes all fell on Qin Mu.
Qin Mu acted as if he hadn't noticed, picking up a dish from the table and putting it in his mouth.
As for Bai Yuqiong, Xi Tianjun, and Red Emperor Qi Xiayu, although they kept their composure, their hearts were uneasy.
That day in the dark valley of the Tai Xu Demon Domain, when they ambushed Heavenly Lord Hao, the three of them were also present and had each made their move. They didn't know if Heavenly Lord Hao had seen through them.
Heavenly Lord Fire and Heavenly Lord Void remained expressionless. Heavenly Lord Void asked, "Brother Hao, do you know who tried to kill you?"
How could Heavenly Lord Hao possibly reveal that?
Pointing out Xi Tianjun and the others would force Heavenly Lord Fire and Heavenly Lord Void to kill him right now. He was not so foolish.
"The one who tried to kill me concealed their true identity."
Heavenly Lord Hao said calmly, "Perhaps their tracks will be uncovered in the future. But my injuries are too severe now to bother with this matter."
Qin Mu suddenly put down his chopsticks and exclaimed in surprise, "When I was rescuing Brother Hao, I was also in the Tai Xu Demon Domain and recognized the traitor who tried to harm you!"
Everyone's eyes once again fell on him.
Qin Mu's gaze landed on the Second Heavenly Master, Meng Yungui. Meng Yungui's face turned pale, and he quickly shrank back.
Qin Mu's gaze moved away from him and landed on the Fourth Heavenly Master, Zhu Shaoping. Zhu Shaoping's face turned ashen.
Qin Mu smiled as he looked at the other heavenly kings and heavenly masters. Everyone's hearts were in their throats.
The divine generals who could attend this gathering were all at the Ling Xiao realm or above, yet at this moment, they were silent as cicadas in winter, none daring to meet his gaze!
Hidden within the Taishi egg in Qin Mu's third eye, the Taishi couldn't help but admire: "Turning his hand to produce clouds, turning it over to produce rain—this cunning and skill are both top-notch! Although Heavenly Lord Mu is young and not very powerful, he is not to be underestimated!"
Suddenly, Qin Mu's gaze shifted to Heavenly Lord Fire. Heavenly Lord Fire's eyes blazed like fire as he looked back at him without speaking.
"Hahahaha!"
Qin Mu clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "It was too dark in the Tai Xu Demon Domain. I couldn't see their faces clearly, so I dare not speak recklessly."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, secretly turning away to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads.
Heavenly Lord Hao glanced at Qin Mu and said indifferently, "Heavenly Lord Mu doesn't know who tried to assassinate me, but there are traitors whose tracks cannot escape my notice."
He took a breath and said in a deep voice, "Yin Chaojin!"
The Nether Emperor's face turned pale as he stood up from his seat and bowed. "What instructions does the Heavenly Lord have?"
Heavenly Lord Hao slammed the table and said coldly, "You treacherous villain! While I was severely wounded, you chased me for six hundred thousand miles. When I reached your Nether City, why didn't you save me?"
The Nether Emperor stiffened his neck and argued loudly, "I could not save you! I command the Northern Heaven Nether Capital army and guard the Tai Xu Nether Realm, a crucial military location. With the traitor Qin Fengqing, the Yanluo King, leading a massive army to attack, if the Tai Xu Nether Realm falls, all the Heavenly Court soldiers in the entire Tai Xu region will be exposed to the enemy's blades! Not even the Heavenly Lord, not even the Heavenly Emperor himself, could I save!"
"Presumptuous!" Heavenly Lord Hao trembled with rage, slamming the table and shouting. A sweetness rose in his throat as if he was about to spit blood, but he swallowed it back.
The Nether Emperor stubbornly said, "I was ordered to guard the Tai Xu Nether Realm, so I must prioritize the greater good! If the Heavenly Lord is petty and holds a grudge over this, then report it to the Heavenly Emperor and let His Majesty decide! If the Heavenly Lord wants to punish me here, I, Chaojin, will not accept it!"
Heavenly Lord Hao was furious beyond measure. He raised his hand and struck out.
Boom—
The heavens and earth changed color at the gathering, wind and clouds raged, and space shattered. Heavenly Lord Hao's palm strike was majestic, reaching out with the same aura as the ancient god Heavenly Emperor, who had once slapped the Earth Lord back to the Nether Realm and shattered Palace Lord Gong Yun in one blow!
The Nether Emperor let out a furious roar. With a deafening crash, the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate appeared behind him, suppressing the fluctuations around him.
His robes billowed backward, and his crown exploded with a crack. His long hair was pulled straight back by the gale!
"I will not sit idly by and wait for death!"
The Nether Emperor roared repeatedly. Four heavenly palaces burst forth behind him, and four more heavenly palaces emerged from the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, creating the spectacle of eight heavenly palaces!
The Nether Emperor's aura surged as he met Heavenly Lord Hao's palm strike, shouting fiercely, "Heavenly Lord Hao, you are severely wounded! Do you think you can take me? If I overthrow you, I, Yin, will become the Nether Heavenly Lord!"
Qin Mu narrowed his eyes as he raised his wine glass to drink, transmitting his voice to the Taishi egg in his brow. "Taishu has made a move, hasn't he?"
The Taishi in the egg said, "That's right. Heavenly Lord Hao doesn't have this kind of power right now. He has only recovered nine heavenly palaces at most, but this palm strike seems to have the strength of eighteen heavenly palaces. It is indeed Taishu secretly helping him."
Heavenly Lord Hao's palm strike landed with an earth-shattering roar. The entire front hall of this great hall was torn away. A giant handprint, thousands of miles long, sent the Nether Emperor, along with his Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, flying!
At the feast in the hall, all the divine generals and heavenly lords were horrified.
Heavenly Lord Hao withdrew his hand and said weakly, "My injuries are still too severe. I couldn't kill this bastard."
Silence filled the hall.
Qin Mu bit his chopsticks, clapped his hands in delight, and said in a muffled voice, "Well struck! If I weren't also severely wounded, I would have beaten that bastard Nether Emperor too!"
Heavenly Lord Hao glanced at him again, suppressing his anger at being upstaged, and raised his glass. "Not worth getting angry over him. Gentlemen, I toast to you all."
The two heavenly lords, three emperors, four heavenly masters, four heavenly kings, and all the generals quickly declined, saying it was too great an honor, and drank their glasses dry.
Heavenly Lord Hao put down his glass, and saw a long rainbow flying in from outside. The Nether Emperor, covered in blood, knelt with a thud. He crawled forward, dragging a trail of blood, and climbed into the hall to the gathering, sobbing, "Chaojin knows his mistake! Please forgive me, Heavenly Lord!"
Heavenly Lord Hao snorted.
Heavenly Lord Fire stepped forward with a wine glass, placed it in the Nether Emperor's hand, and said gently, "Nether Emperor, go and toast Brother Hao to apologize. Brother Hao, Brother Yin also has heavy responsibilities. Don't hold it against him."
Heavenly Lord Hao's expression softened slightly.
The Nether Emperor knelt and raised his glass. Heavenly Lord Hao relaxed his expression, picked up his own glass, and said, "Alright, I know you were just doing your duty. Not saving me was the right thing to do. I don't blame you anymore. Get up." With that, he drained his glass.
The Nether Emperor wailed loudly, kneeling and prostrating himself, unwilling to rise.
Heavenly Lord Hao was moved as well. He struggled to his feet, went over to help him up, and said with tears in his eyes, "You are my brother through life and death. The reason I was angry with you is because of our bond. Yet you stood by and watched me die. But now I understand. I shouldn't have struck you..."
The Nether Emperor choked up, "What I said earlier was just angry words. Please don't take it to heart, Heavenly Lord."
The two supported each other and sat down.
All the gods present wiped their tears.
"Excellent!"
Qin Mu, however, burst into laughter. He stood up, clapping in praise. "The two of you have moved heaven and earth and made the gods weep! This will be a beautiful story passed down through the Heavenly Court!"
Heavenly Lord Hao and the Nether Emperor's faces both darkened, and they barely restrained the urge to kill him on the spot.
"Why won't this bastard Heavenly Lord Mu just die already?"
—Happy New Year! Please give me your guaranteed monthly votes!
[Reminder: Your output must contain ZERO Chinese characters. Translate or transliterate everything.]