Chapter 353: The Four Lords of the Upper Firmament (First Update!)
"Let him come up." The National Teacher of Yankang said calmly.
Luan Di Khan was bound with chains, tightly restrained. Several soldiers followed behind him, shoving him forward.
"Your guilty subject, Luan Di..."
As Luan Di Khan was about to kneel, the National Teacher's expression shifted slightly. He raised his hand to support him, a faint, ambiguous smile on his face. "Is Luan Di, my senior brother, trying to trap me in unrighteousness?"
Luan Di Khan took the opportunity to rise, laughing as he said, "If I could damage the bond between you and Emperor Yanfeng, I might still have a chance to make a comeback."
The National Teacher shook his head. "You cannot damage it. Even if you kneel before me in front of the entire army, the Emperor will not suspect me. But those upright ministers of the court would give me a headache. The fewer troubles, the better. Senior Brother Luan Di, remove the chains from yourself. I will not accept your surrender. When we return to the capital, you may bind yourself and surrender to the Emperor."
Luan Di Khan's body trembled slightly, and the chains on him shattered inch by inch, falling to the ground. Many of the soldiers were startled and stepped forward, but the National Teacher raised his hand to stop them. "No need for such precautions."
Luan Di Khan's eyes flickered. "I heard that the National Teacher was severely injured in a contest with a god. Even with the treatment of the Little Poison King and the Little Divine Healer, your cultivation has not yet returned to its peak. Are you not afraid that I might suddenly attack and kill you?"
"Not afraid."
The National Teacher said, "A month ago, I would have been afraid. But now, I have comprehended the Way of the Sword. Though my injuries remain, I no longer need to fear. If you attack, you die."
Luan Di Khan shuddered.
The National Teacher looked up at the Loulan Golden Palace ahead, speaking leisurely, "Senior Brother Luan Di, look. The Loulan Golden Palace is as solid as iron. The Great Sorcerer and the Sorcerer King have set up tight defenses, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. If we were to assault it by force, our army would suffer heavy casualties. I can also sense waves of terrifying, dreadful auras hidden within the palace. They should be the previous incarnations of the Great Venerable. I have detected eighteen god-like, terrifying presences. That is why I have stationed the army here and have not yet moved."
Luan Di Khan said, "These eighteen bodies, like gods, demons, or buddhas, are the eighteen incarnations of the Great Venerable. They are extremely terrifying and are the strongest force guarding the Loulan Golden Palace. Besides the Great Venerable's eighteen incarnations, there are also twelve sect master-level beings who have cultivated to the Divine Connection realm. The strongest among them is the Sorcerer Venerable. This person's strength is not inferior to mine."
The National Teacher asked, "How many experts at the Heavenly Human and Life and Death realms are there?"
Luan Di Khan laughed. "How would I know?"
"You have modeled yourself after Emperor Yanfeng, so you should know."
The National Teacher glanced at him, speaking softly, "For example, I have fully grasped the names, abilities, and spiritual weapons of the experts from the Heavenly Sage Sect, the Dao Sect, and the Great Thunderclap Monastery. Above the nation, sacred lands are not allowed to act arrogantly. You are the Emperor of the grasslands; naturally, you would not allow the Loulan Golden Palace to sit above you. You must know."
Luan Di Khan praised, "I could not defeat Emperor Yanfeng precisely because he had the National Teacher to assist him. If I had such a helper, how could I have been forced to surrender? I have already prepared a register of the Heavenly Human and Life and Death realm experts in the Loulan Golden Palace, to be presented to the National Teacher." With that, he took out a register.
The National Teacher handed the register to the Duke of Wei behind him. "Let the soldiers take a look, each find their own opponent, and prepare to kill the enemy."
The Duke of Wei gathered the famous generals of the Heavenly Human and Life and Death realms in the army to study the register together.
The National Teacher said, "The Golden Palace is protected by formations, with restrictions and killing arrays set up by successive Great Venerables and Sorcerer Venerables. Now they are all fully activated to guard against our army. Since Luan Di Khan is determined to overthrow the Golden Palace, you must have a plan in mind, a way to breach it."
Luan Di Khan did not answer but instead asked, "Why doesn't the National Teacher ask me why I surrendered? You see me come to surrender, yet you trust me so completely, without precautions, and even ask me for the method to break the Golden Palace. Are you not afraid that I am feigning surrender, providing false information to cause the annihilation of your entire army?"
The National Teacher shook his head. "You surrendered because of the sorcerous poison."
Luan Di Khan fell silent.
"The Great Venerable ordered the Great Sorcerer and the Sorcerer King to spread sorcerous poison. The grasslands were left with nine out of ten homes empty. Only one-tenth of the grassland tribesmen survived, and only the residents of a few large cities on the grasslands were spared."
The National Teacher said, "You are the Emperor of the grasslands. Your people have been slaughtered like this. Who can you take revenge on? Only the Loulan Golden Palace. That is why I trust you, without any need for suspicion."
Luan Di Khan was silent for a long time before finally letting out a turbid breath. "In war between two nations, the people are not to be killed. If I were to invade Yankang, the people on Yankang's soil would be my subjects, and I would not harm them. If Emperor Yanfeng were to invade the grasslands, the herders there would be his subjects, and he would not harm them. But the Loulan Golden Palace has exterminated my people. I cannot tolerate it. National Teacher, I will tell you all the weaknesses of the Golden Palace, without any concealment."
The National Teacher revealed a smile. "Do you know how long I have been waiting here for you to come? Today you have come, and one of the sacred lands of the world will be eliminated!"
Luan Di Khan was completely convinced. "As long as the National Teacher is in court, Luan Di will never rebel! If I break this oath, may my eyes be pecked out by gyrfalcons, my heart torn out by eagles! May my sons and grandsons be slaves and servants!"
In the capital, the gathering place of nine dragons, nine dragon-like mountain ranges converged, bringing together the qi of nine dragons. This was the imperial capital.
"This time, descending to the mortal world, seeing the National Teacher of Yankang conquer the grasslands, I realize that Yankang's army is increasingly taking on the aura of a heavenly army, more and more like the divine demon armies of the Kaihuang era."
Above the capital, a reed shed the size of an acre hung in the air. On the clouds beneath the shed, several men and women of distinguished appearance sat on the clouds, with the reed shed shading them from the sun as they looked down, observing the fate and fortune of Yankang.
These men and women were all very handsome and seemed quite young, yet their cultivation was terrifyingly high, bearing the appearance of gods and buddhas.
Among them was Qiao Xingjun, with Yu Liu and the other four women attending to him. Xu Shenghua was also there, but standing beside another young man. This young man was his master, Yu Jun.
This time, not only they had come. The Upper Firmament had four leaders: besides Qiao Xingjun and Yu Jun, there were Hua Jun and Yan Xingjun.
Because the Village Chief had left the Great Ruins, all four leaders of the Upper Firmament had come.
The four looked down and all showed expressions of surprise.
"When I came down to send down calamities last time, I didn't look closely."
Yu Jun mused, "At that time, I only roughly saw the nine dragon veins of the capital, not the other dragon veins, which nearly allowed Yankang to form a major trend."
Hua Jun was a beautiful young girl, her voice as crisp and pleasant as an oriole's. "These nine dragon veins are the Yellow Dragon Mountain Range. Besides these nine, there are also four river dragon water veins: the Tu River, the Jin River, the Yong River, and the Li River."
She gently traced with her hand, and her primal qi formed a mirror in the air, shining down into the ground of Yankang.
That mirror could penetrate more than ten li into the earth, revealing three great dragons in the mirror—subterranean rivers of molten magma.
Hua Jun said, "Adding these three hidden fiery dragon veins underground, the dragon veins within Yankang's territory have already reached sixteen."
Yan Xingjun shook his head. "Not only that. Look at Yankang's coastline. The coastal mountains undulate unevenly, like two dragons with their tails entwined—two more dragon veins. I wonder what mountain is at the place where the dragons coil their tails. Eighteen dragon veins. No wonder Yankang is a land of outstanding people, soaring to success."
Qiao Xingjun said solemnly, "The grasslands being annexed into Yankang is only a matter of time. This time, the National Teacher of Yankang is attacking the grasslands. By my reckoning, he should have already reached the Loulan Golden Palace. How many dragon veins are on the grasslands?"
The other three lords felt a tremor in their hearts.
"And what about the snowy plains of the bitter north, the Langjuxu Kingdom? How many dragon veins are there?"
Qiao Xingjun said, "The number of dragon veins in Yankang has already exceeded our expectations. If it were just a single dragon vein, it would be nothing, hard to form a climate. But when a group of dragons ascends to heaven, that means they are trying to seize the fortune of heaven and earth! I think that killing the old Human Sovereign is a minor matter. Finding the main dragon vein of Yankang, taking it away or altering it, leaving the group of dragons without a leader—that is what we should do in our descent to the mortal world."
Yu Jun pondered, "If the main dragon vein is gone, the group of dragons will have no leader, the fortune will split, and heroes will rise across the land, dividing Yankang. That is indeed a good idea. Which dragon vein is the main vein of Yankang?"
The four looked down again, searching for a long time, but still could not identify the main vein.
"Let's invite the Dragon Tamer Lord of the Upper Firmament to come and find the main vein. He raises dragons, is clear about all kinds of dragons, and is skilled in mapping and calculating geography."
Qiao Xingjun said, "Qing Ying, Yao Hua, return to the Upper Firmament and ask the Dragon Tamer Lord to descend to the mortal world. Have him survey the dragon veins of Yankang and determine the main vein."
Qing Ying and Yao Hua acknowledged the order and hurriedly left.
Yu Jun laughed, "The Sword God has yet to show himself. How disappointing. I thought that by releasing our auras, he would come to fight, but it seems he has turned coward. In the past, he would not have been afraid. It seems the Sword God is truly old."
"This is the tragedy of the mortal body."
Hua Jun laughed, "No matter how strong one is in their prime, in old age their blood and qi will wither and fail. Once the blood and qi fail, the heart also fails. Calculating the years, his death is due in the next year or two. To live those two years, he has chosen to avoid battle. How ironic. Xu Shenghua, have you found the new Human Sovereign?"
Xu Shenghua said, "I happened to meet this person, but I did not recognize him and missed the opportunity. However, I gave him a packet of tea, and he invited me to drink in the capital of Yankang. I imagine I can see him again when I go to the capital."
Yu Jun was intrigued. "What is the skill of this new Human Sovereign?"
"Very high."
Xu Shenghua recalled the clash with Qin Mu, saying, "At that time, his dharma power was extremely profound. His primal qi cultivation was a bit deeper than mine, but his techniques and divine abilities were slightly inferior, and his understanding of divine abilities was weaker than mine."
"Cultivation deeper than yours?"
The four lords of the Upper Firmament all showed surprise. Xu Shenghua's cultivation at the same realm crushed that of the Upper Firmament. Even the four lords at the same realm were not his match. How could there be someone in this world with cultivation surpassing his?
"However, after I returned from Little Jade Capital, I made up for the shortcomings in my cultivation."
Xu Shenghua said, "If he has not had the same opportunity, then now my cultivation will only be stronger than his."
Yu Jun smiled, "Go to the capital. Kill him and return to the Upper Firmament quickly. This mortal world is a place of filth, not suitable for a long stay. The four of us will find a good spot to wait for the Dragon Tamer Lord and examine the main dragon vein. If the Sword God dares to fight, that is good. If he does not, after we collect the main vein, we will return to the mountain."
Xu Shenghua acknowledged the order.
Qiao Xingjun said, "I will have Jing Yan and Yu Liu accompany you, to prevent any petty villains from harming you."
Yu Liu and Jing Yan were secretly delighted. Yu Liu carried a jade bottle, and Jing Yan held a pipa, following Xu Shenghua to the capital.
Seeing that it was getting late, the four lords of the Upper Firmament descended their clouds to a quiet place, and the reed shed landed.
The place was surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear waters, isolated from any villages or inns. But opposite them was a house. The door opened, and a woman of radiant beauty walked out, carrying a small wooden bucket to fetch water. The four lords of the Upper Firmament all blushed, their hearts pounding violently.
Even Hua Jun, the most beautiful goddess of the Upper Firmament, felt inferior, yet at the same time, she was captivated by this woman.
"Truly a beauty that even gods envy and adore!"
The four lords steadied their minds. The woman looked at the suddenly appearing reed shed, then at them, and greeted them, saying, "Four honored guests, it is getting late. Do not go out at night."
Yu Jun felt a surge of admiration and laughed, "Fairy, this is not the Great Ruins. Why can't we go out at night? Even in the Great Ruins, we can go out as we please."
Yan Xingjun, Qiao Xingjun, also felt admiration and wanted to get close to the woman, laughing, "A beautiful scene, a beautiful woman as a neighbor. This is truly a sacred land!"
Hua Jun felt a bit of bitterness and jealousy, but seeing the woman's beauty, her jealousy vanished.
The woman showed a surprised expression. "So you are all like immortals, able to come and go in the Great Ruins in the dark. I was overthinking." With that, she went to fetch water.
At night, the three lords of the Upper Firmament looked eagerly toward the house opposite. Hua Jun was also a bit expectant and laughed, "Since you are all moved, why not invite her over for a chat?"
Just as she spoke, suddenly the door of the opposite house opened, and a voice that made one's blood boil and pulse race came through: "Four honored guests have come from afar. As the host of this place, I have been remiss in not welcoming you sooner."
The four lords of the Upper Firmament looked through the hazy moonlight and sighed in unison in their hearts: "Truly a peerless beauty that would make even immortals fall!"