Chapter 768: Old Yin, Little Yin
Lu Li and the others stared at the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor, gnashing their teeth in fury, yet utterly powerless.
"Old Yin!"
They were merely regional governors stationed in the Nether Realm by the Heavenly Court, while the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor was a feudal lord of the Heavenly Court, the master of the Nether Capital, a being of the Throne.
In terms of strength, the four of them, as military governors, couldn't even catch up to his horse's dust; they couldn't afford to fall out with him.
They had painstakingly schemed, mobilizing countless Nether Realm overlords, only to capture Qin Mu, the Nether Realm's Divine Son, and place him in the Life-Exterminating Cauldron for refinement. Then the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor suddenly appeared, killed those Nether Realm overlords in two moves, and directly snatched the prize—almost effortlessly!
Those Nether Realm overlords could all be considered their direct subordinates, and now they had been uprooted by the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor.
Nether Realm overlords were often once forces of the Heavenly Court who, after death, fell into the Nether Realm and became the foundation of the four military governors.
Although they were at the Throne or Heavenly Court realm in life, after death they had many flaws and had to rely on the four military governors to survive. After all, the Nether Realm was still Tu Bo's territory, and besides them, there were other powerful beings from hostile factions who had fallen here after death.
If they didn't want to be killed by these stronger beings, they had to attach themselves to the four military governors, using the Heavenly Court's influence to survive in the Nether Realm.
Therefore, they were willing to be dispatched by the four military governors. It was a case of mutual benefit and mutual loss. So when Lu Li mobilized them twice to fight the Nether Realm's Divine Son, they came gladly.
By banding together, they could also resist the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor of the Nether Capital.
The Heavenly Court's forces in the Nether Realm and the Nether Capital were in competition, with significant interests at stake. Both the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor and Lu Li and his group wanted to gain the upper hand.
The reason the Heavenly Court had established both military governors and the Nether Capital in the Nether Realm, besides limiting Tu Bo, was also to prevent the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor from becoming too powerful. They needed Lu Li and the others to check him.
Thus, the Heavenly Court was happy to see the Nether Realm and the Nether Capital bickering.
But now, this situation of mutual restraint was likely to end. After this battle, the Heavenly Court's overlords in the Nether Realm were nearly wiped out, leaving only the four military governors. If the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor obtained the Nether Realm's Divine Son, he would become another Tu Bo!
To win him over and deal with Tu Bo, the Heavenly Court would inevitably give him even greater benefits. Lu Li and the others had suffered a complete defeat!
"As expected of an old Yin who has survived since the early Dragon Han era. Legend has it that the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor has never suffered a loss!"
Lu Li and the others felt their hearts bleed.
Just then, the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor finally opened the Life-Exterminating Cauldron. He lifted the Chaos Sky Net, and a sound of escaping air came from within, as black currents surged out of the cauldron.
Lu Li and the others were tense. The Life-Exterminating Cauldron was a heavy killing treasure given to them, the four military governors, by the Heavenly Court. The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor couldn't activate it yet. If they activated the great cauldron now, could they refine the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor to death?
But they also hesitated. Killing the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor was no small crime. If the Heavenly Court investigated, they might be forced to accompany the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor in death!
Suddenly, Lu Li noticed that the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's other hand was forming a strange hand seal, with the middle, ring, and index fingers clenched into a fist, and the thumb and little finger raised.
The four of them felt a chill. That eerie light that had killed Yan Qianchong and Gao Tianwang earlier reappeared, circling around them.
Clearly, the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor was prepared. If they dared to activate the Life-Exterminating Cauldron, they would surely die by this strange divine weapon of his before he perished!
The four of them stared at the eerie light, not daring to move.
The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor grabbed the Chaos Sky Net, leaned over to look into the cauldron, and laughed, "The power of the Nether Realm's Divine Son..."
A finger came out of nowhere. Just as the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor leaned in to look into the cauldron, it tapped him right between the eyebrows.
"Calamity Sword, First Form!"
The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor was startled, and Lu Li and the others were equally shocked. The Calamity Sword hidden within that finger erupted violently!
The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor felt a sword light howling through his mind. In an instant, the dazzling light pierced through his seven divine treasuries, rushing along the Divine Bridge into the Southern Heavenly Gate!
The sword light carved a path of destruction, charging across the ground in his heavenly palace, passing the Jade Terrace, crossing the Jade Pool—the pool's surface exploded, its waters turning into monstrous waves surging ten thousand feet high.
The sword light pierced the Execution Platform, crashed with a roar into the Jade Capital City, shattering its gates and towers, causing grand halls to collapse and crumble one after another!
The sword light headed straight for the Hall of Heavenly Might!
In an instant, the dazzling light expanded, becoming immensely thick, charging through the Hall of Heavenly Might's doorway, aiming directly at the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's primordial spirit on the Throne!
This sword strike, though slow to describe, was incredibly fast. By the time the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's primordial spirit reacted, the sword light was already upon it!!
A deafening boom echoed through his heavenly palace. The terrifying shockwave radiated from the Hall of Heavenly Might in all directions. The halls of the Jade Capital City trembled violently. One of the four city gates was already destroyed; the other three were blasted into the air, landing who knows where.
The shockwave overturned the Jade Pool, sending great waters flying. The four heavenly gates—North, South, East, West—roared as rolling waves of air, like a white ring centered on the heavenly palace, exploded outward. The seven divine treasuries below were also impacted, mountains and rivers shattered, the sun and moon blown away, and the stars and constellations thrown into chaos.
This was the scene within the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's mind. To Lu Li and the others watching from outside, after the finger tapped the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's brow, he seemed to freeze for a moment.
Then, with a *puff*, a jet of blood shot out from the back of his head.
The blood spurt wasn't long, only about two zhang.
The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor quickly retreated. From within the cauldron, a three-headed, six-armed deity leaped out, spinning wildly like a thousand-armed great Buddha. A rapid series of *bang bang bang* sounds followed as the spinning deity landed countless punches on the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor in an instant!
The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor was sent flying high, with the crackling sound of breaking bones coming from within his body.
The three-headed, six-armed deity continued spinning, rapidly closing in on the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor.
Every third of a rotation, his arms would rise high, his primal energy gathering into a long blade. As the rotation completed that third, the blade would slash down with the wind!
His spin speed was incredible, and his movement speed was equally fast. Lu Li and the others could only see streaks of blade light, like bolts of silk, illuminating the area outside the Nether Realm's Jade Lock Pass. The streaks of light were almost connected, merging into one!
The blade light seemed to strike the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's forehead simultaneously!
Lu Li and the others could only see the bloodstain on the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's forehead growing larger and longer, their hearts filled with terror. Xuan Ming cried out, "The Nether Realm's Divine Son isn't dead yet!"
"The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's head is about to be split open!" Han exclaimed.
Lu Li shouted, "Run!"
Huang said, "What about the Life-Exterminating Cauldron and the Chaos Sky Net?"
The four military governors hesitated, turning to look at the Life-Exterminating Cauldron. But as Qin Mu burst from the cauldron and charged at the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor, the cauldron followed him closely, ignoring the four governors entirely.
Since being appointed as the Heavenly Court's military governors in the Nether Realm, they had been refining this great cauldron day and night, even feeding it with their own blood, finally mastering it—making it shrink or grow, and capable of refining all beings.
But now, the Life-Exterminating Cauldron seemed to have betrayed them, abandoning them for the Nether Realm's Divine Son!
"Forget the cauldron!"
Lu Li shouted, "Flee this place immediately! If the Nether Realm's Divine Son kills the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor, we'll be next!"
The four of them fled in panic. Huang quickly said, "The Chaos Sky Net is still in the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's hands!"
"Forget it!"
Lu Li's serpentine tail slithered as she fumed, "Leave it as a burial gift for that Yin! Let's get out of here, far away!"
Xuan Ming caught up to her and said, "Senior Sister, can we still stay in the Nether Realm? Whether the Nether Realm's Divine Son kills the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor or not, he'll stay here and hunt us down. Shouldn't we escape the Nether Realm and return to the Heavenly Court for reinforcements?"
Huang and Han nodded repeatedly.
Lu Li was exasperated: "If we lose the Nether Realm, we'll be sent to the Execution Platform to die when we return to the Heavenly Court. Only a fool would go back!"
The three military governors shuddered.
Lu Li continued, "Tu Bo won't tolerate the Nether Realm's Divine Son causing chaos. He won't completely break with the Heavenly Court, so he'll definitely exile the Divine Son. Hiding in the Nether Realm can still save our lives. Going to the Heavenly Court is just asking for death. We can't report this to the Heavenly Court, or we'll all face the blade on the Execution Platform!"
The three governors nodded repeatedly.
Lu Li looked back and saw the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's eerie light chasing after the Nether Realm's Divine Son. Clearly, the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor had snapped out of his daze.
A Throne was, after all, a Throne. Anyone who could cultivate to the Throne realm was extraordinary and not so easily killed.
And the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor was an old monster who had lived for a million years, an old Yin. Although Qin Mu had caught him off guard, there was still a long way to go before taking his life.
At the same time, the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate was spewing forth the Nether Sea, surging mightily from the Nether Capital. It seemed the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor was truly enraged and intended to settle the score with the Nether Realm's Divine Son!
"Maybe we can pick up some scraps while they're both injured..."
Lu Li slowed down, about to stop and watch, when suddenly she saw the Life-Exterminating Cauldron flying forward from behind Qin Mu. Demonic energy surged from the great cauldron, sweeping across the Nether Sea and devouring nearly half of it!
Even the eerie light flying toward Qin Mu was dragged by the cauldron, involuntarily falling into it.
Lu Li's hair stood on end. She immediately sped up and fled in panic.
Behind them, violent fluctuations erupted, lifting the four military governors high into the air. They used this momentum to flee even faster.
Lu Li looked back again and saw countless fists, palms, fingers, and hooks, each as large as a mountain peak, appearing before the Jade Lock Pass. Suddenly, they merged into one move, striking the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor fiercely.
The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor crashed backward, slamming into the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate with a boom, escaping from the Nether Realm.
His eerie light, in a desperate move, severed half of itself. The other half broke free from the Life-Exterminating Cauldron and followed the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor into the Nether Capital.
The three-headed, six-armed deity grabbed the frame of the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate with six arms, struggling to squeeze into the Nether Capital, looking utterly ferocious.
"Little cutie!"
Lu Li and the others heard a child's clear voice: "Stop hiding, come out quickly."
*Boom!*
Another terrifying tremor came. The Nether Realm's Divine Son was sent tumbling backward.
The Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, torn and battered by his six arms, suddenly sank and vanished.
"The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's Nether Capital Heavenly Gate doesn't seem as powerful as legend says. It's not as strong as the tales make it out to be."
Lu Li was momentarily puzzled. The Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's Nether Capital Heavenly Gate contained the power of creation, extremely potent, allowing him to be reborn from death and even manipulate reincarnation, mysterious and unfathomable.
But this gate seemed like a mere imitation, lacking the power of a Throne-level treasure.
She didn't know that the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor's original Nether Capital Heavenly Gate had been taken by Di Yiyue. This gate was only a reforged version, not yet fully completed, far inferior to the former Throne-level treasure.
Just as she thought this, she saw the Nether Realm's Divine Son scramble to his feet, rush to where the gate had disappeared, and strike wildly, but he couldn't find the Netherworld Heavenly Emperor. His three heads looked around.
Lu Li shuddered. The four of them quickly pressed themselves against the continent on Tu Bo's body, hiding their forms, their hearts sinking.
Blazing beams of light, like pillars, swept toward where they had just been. The four military governors were terrified, using the Nether Realm's demonic energy to conceal themselves as they quietly fled.
*Boom!*
A towering, three-headed, six-armed deity landed, shaking the ground. Then nine beams of light swept in all directions, cutting through the murky demonic energy of the Nether Realm, searching for them.
"Blood must be drawn when killing; these four military governors cannot be spared!" Qin Mu's voice came.
The four governors fled in panic, not daring to make a sound.
"Great Luo Heavenly Star!"
Suddenly, Qin Mu's voice came again. The four governors looked up to see the sky filled with brilliant stars, their light shining in all directions, turning the ground white.
"Jump into Tu Bo's lava river!"
The four of them immediately leaped into the lava river. As they landed in the magma, they saw a massive shadow fly across the sky—a terrifying demon god using the starlight to search for them.
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