Chapter 1425: Friends, Bound by Life Itself (Fourth Update)
"This kid sensed my killing intent and escaped by turning into demonic qi." Qiang Tianfei lowered her hand, sighed softly, and stepped down from the God-Slaying Platform.
Beneath the God-Slaying Platform, her bedchamber had already been destroyed, leaving only a single gate standing forlornly. The reason the gate hadn't been destroyed was that Qiang Tianfei's seal still protected it.
Qiang Tianfei walked up to that gate, paused to look at it for a moment, then shook her head and turned away.
Behind her, the gate creaked and collapsed, shattering into pieces.
Her seal had finally been worn away completely.
"Why does Your Highness look so troubled?" Fang Ziyan approached Qiang Tianfei, studied her expression, and asked cautiously.
Qiang Tianfei sighed and recounted the plan A Mu had proposed, saying, "Although I know he has ill intentions, I still find myself tempted to take the God-Slaying Platform to the Xuan Capital. But I don't know where the trap he's dug lies, and it's truly vexing."
Fang Ziyan thought for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, when the Mu Heavenly Lord spoke with you, he only mentioned the benefits, not the drawbacks. If Your Highness considers things from that angle, you might be able to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune."
Qiang Tianfei's eyes lit up, and she praised, "You are indeed clever. This is a good approach—perhaps I can avoid falling into the pit. If I take the God-Slaying Platform to the Xuan Capital and simply use the baleful qi to refine my divine blades, no one will stop me. But if I thrust the two blades into the Heavenly Duke's body to seize his lifeblood, then I will have offended the Ancestral God King."
Fang Ziyan said, "Although the Ancestral God King is extremely powerful, his strength is not the pinnacle among the Ten Heavenly Lords."
Qiang Tianfei smiled faintly. "That's the logic. Even if the Ancestral God King wants to contend with me, he cannot win. The only problem now is whether the other Heavenly Lords will block me. One Ancestral God King is nothing to worry about, but if the other Heavenly Lords join in, I'll have to think twice."
Fang Ziyan's eyes flickered. "Your Highness, will the other Heavenly Lords block you, or will they block the Ancestral God King?"
Qiang Tianfei chuckled. "Ziyan, you truly are clever! The other Heavenly Lords will definitely guard against the Ancestral God King! He is the son of the Heavenly Duke. If he gains the Heavenly Duke's power, he will surely surpass all past and present, becoming the strongest under heaven, and attaining the Heavenly Court realm will be effortless! The others will guard against him, and most will demand an equal share of the benefits—that gives me an opening."
She smiled slightly. "Once the divine blades are forged, the Ten Heavenly Lords will be nothing to worry about. By then, it will be too late for them to notice me!"
She was brimming with confidence. With a flick of her sleeve, the fabric struck the air with a resounding crack. "The Mu Heavenly Lord thought he had dug a chasm-like pit for me, but he never imagined it would instead benefit me! When that time comes, the look on that little brat's face will be absolutely priceless!"
Fang Ziyan flattered, "Though the Mu Heavenly Lord is cunning and an old fox, compared to Your Highness, he is far inferior."
Qiang Tianfei couldn't help but laugh with delight.
A stream of demonic qi fled far away, leaving the God-Slaying Platform behind. Sure enough, the demonic qi coalesced, and A Mu emerged from the black smoke. The smoke followed him, swarming into his body until it completely vanished.
"Human greed... Qiang Tianfei will definitely not be able to resist. In the battle at the Xuan Capital, she will surely intervene to contend with the Ancestral God King for the Heavenly Duke's physical body. But Qiang Tianfei probably won't realize that she's not the only one eyeing the Heavenly Duke's body—the Hong Heavenly Lord is also watching!"
A Mu looked up and saw that most of the Heavenly Court had already descended upon the Ancestral Land. Complete descent would likely happen within the next ten days or so. He thought to himself, "The Hong Heavenly Lord will never allow the Heavenly Duke's physical body to be lost. He is the true old fox. As soon as Qiang Tianfei makes her move, she won't escape his schemes!"
Eliminating the Heavenly Duke would inevitably be an unimaginably fierce battle. A Mu didn't know how many of the Ten Heavenly Lords would act, but he guessed that the Hao Heavenly Lord would not participate.
Although the Hao Heavenly Lord had recovered some strength, he had not yet reached his peak.
The Xiao Heavenly Lord had been exiled and would not appear either.
As for the other Heavenly Lords—the Gong Heavenly Lord, the Fire Heavenly Lord, Yan Tianfei, Langxuan Divine Emperor, and the Xu Heavenly Lord—how many of them would show up?
"The Xu Heavenly Lord won't go. The Xuan Capital's Heavenly Dao suppresses her Netherworld Dao, unless she can unify the Heavenly Dao and Netherworld Dao. She will most likely stay behind in the Heavenly Court to guard against sneak attacks from the Kai Emperor and the other three ancient god emperors of the Four Extremes."
"Yan Tianfei has the support of the Taiji Ancient God and is very powerful. It's hard to say whether she will go."
"Langxuan Divine Emperor has obtained a withered prehistoric Dao Fruit, greatly increasing his strength. He will most likely go this time. This is a good opportunity for him to show off his brilliance."
"The Eleventh Heavenly Lord, Shi Qiluo, will definitely go! He has just become a Heavenly Lord and must seize this chance to establish his authority, or else it will be hard to command respect!"
"And the Fire Heavenly Lord will certainly go! After all, he hates evil as if it were his enemy and despises the ancient gods the most."
"As for whether the Gong Heavenly Lord will go, that's harder to say."
A Mu pondered for a moment. The Earth Lord could not go to the Xuan Capital and had no way to join forces with the Heavenly Duke. Moreover, the Earth Lord likely knew about the Heavenly Duke's plan, so he would definitely not interfere in this matter.
The only ones who could intervene were the Kai Emperor, Lang Wan, and the Moon Heavenly Lord. With their strength, if they were joined by the three ancient god emperors, they might have a fighting chance.
However, the Ten Heavenly Lords of the Heavenly Court possessed the Divine Artifact Yu Heavenly Lord, which first restricted the three ancient god emperors, preventing them from leaving their respective territories.
Thus, those who could actually fight would probably be the Kai Emperor, Lang Wan, and the Moon Heavenly Lord.
"Or perhaps, we could open another battlefield and launch a surprise attack on the Heavenly Court! Use this opportunity to eliminate the other Heavenly Lords left in the Heavenly Court, or at least kill the Hao Heavenly Lord! But that would mean abandoning the Heavenly Duke, and killing the Xu Heavenly Lord would anger the Earth Lord..."
A Mu's heart sank. Abandoning the Heavenly Duke in exchange for the deaths of the Hao Heavenly Lord and the Xu Heavenly Lord, while losing the Earth Lord as an ally, was something he could not bear.
"In the battle at the Xuan Capital, even the Kai Emperor, Lang Wan, and the Moon Heavenly Lord together would struggle to defend themselves! So whether the Heavenly Duke can be saved depends on the Netherworld Heavenly Lord!"
A Mu's eyelids twitched. The Netherworld Heavenly Lord was also proficient in the Netherworld Dao. Sending him to the Xuan Capital would severely suppress his Dao practice, and he would face immense danger there.
This was why A Mu judged that the Xu Heavenly Lord would not go to the Xuan Capital, and also why the Netherworld Heavenly Lord should not go.
"I cannot let the Netherworld Heavenly Lord take that risk."
The sky over the Ancestral Land gradually darkened. A Mu steadied himself and walked toward the Ten Thousand Black Mountains, thinking, "If he goes to the Xuan Capital, he might lose his life."
Suddenly, ghost fire flickered ahead. A paper boat emerged faintly, floating in front of A Mu.
A Mu stopped. On the paper boat, an old man carried a horse lantern, its light shining toward him.
The old man disembarked, moored the boat, and sat down beside it in the lamplight, quietly folding paper figures and paper horses.
A Mu walked forward, passing by the paper boat, ignoring him.
"Mu."
The old yama servant's fingers were very nimble. A paper horse quickly took shape in his hands. He said calmly, "You're short on people now, aren't you? Tian Shu, Luo Wushuang, Zhe Huali, and the Heavenly Blade—I've captured them. The Earth Lord is entertaining them. Tian Shu is shouting to leave, saying that the four of them, working with you, can unleash the power of the Thirty Heavens of the Blade Dao. Though they can't defeat a Heavenly Lord, they can protect themselves."
A Mu stopped behind the boat, his expression complicated. "I have cultivated the combined blade technique with them, and it does have tremendous power."
"The weakest among them is at the God-Slaying Platform realm, which is nothing before a Heavenly Lord. Even a Di Zuo-level expert like Tian Shu was captured with just a flash of my lantern light."
The old yama servant didn't look up, focusing on the paper figure he was nearly finished folding. "You invited them, but why didn't you invite me? Do you look down on me?"
A Mu shook his head. "Your strength is very great, and I wanted to invite you. But you cultivate the Netherworld Dao, and in the Xuan Capital, you can't exert much of your power."
"You invited the Kai Emperor, the Moon Heavenly Lord, and the Lang Wan Divine King."
The old yama servant blew a gentle breath, and the paper figures and paper horses came to life. "Among the Nine Heavenly Lords of the Long Han Era, the one I admire most is Big Brother Yu. The one I have the best relationship with is the Moon Heavenly Lord. But do you know who I've spoken to the most?"
He lifted his head and looked at A Mu on the other side of the paper boat. "It's you."
"I have known the Moon Heavenly Lord for a million years, and the words I've spoken to her total no more than ten. She always talks, and I listen."
His wrinkled face broke into a smile. "But every time I see you, I have a lot to say. Do you know why?"
A Mu turned around.
"The Moon Heavenly Lord is a woman. I can't speak in front of women. Yu Heavenly Lord is like an older brother—I respect him in my heart and never say it out loud. As for the other Heavenly Lords, I can't be bothered with them."
The old yama servant stood up. "Only you are different. I see you as a friend to whom I can entrust my life, a fellow Daoist! You had no connection to Yu Heavenly Lord, yet you were willing to risk your life for him, to offend the Hao Heavenly Lord, Yuan Mu, the Heavenly Emperor, and the entire Heavenly Court!"
"From that moment on, with just one word from you, I could wait for you in the Netherworld for a million years, just to see you return and resurrect Yu Heavenly Lord! And you did it!"
"Now, with just one word from you, I can accompany you to storm the Xuan Capital!"
—Fourth update arrives! Wishing everyone a happy Lantern Festival. As the new year begins, the moonlight fills the sky. On the first full moon night of the Year of the Pig, silver light spreads across heaven and earth. May all your writings bring fortune and prosperity!