Stealing The Heavens

After years of not seeing each other, the cultivation bases of Yan Dan and others had become less than impressive in Wu Qi’s eyes. However, their ability to run the state affairs was certainly something not to be underestimated. In just a few years, they had built medium-sized super-long-distance teleportation formations between the territories of the six states, as well as small arrays capable of transporting small items.

Yan Dan’s invitations to the emperors and subjects of the five states were sent through these small arrays, on the pretext that Great Yan had obtained important information about Great Yu and hoped that all the emperors would come together to discuss countermeasures.

A quarter of an hour later, inside a secret chamber in the backyard of the City Lord Mansion, a teleportation formation began to flash with bright light. The emperors of the five states had arrived in An He City with groups of courtiers and guards. Everyone had a weariness on their faces that could not be concealed, while Zhao Sheng and Wei Wuji were simply wounded. Although they all carried perfume sachets, the strong scents could not hide the faint smell of blood that came wafting out of their bodies.

Yan Dan, greeting them by the teleportation formation, was stunned by their miserable looks. He greeted Zhao Sheng and asked in confusion, “Why are you two wounded? Have you been discovered by Great Yu’s army?”

Zhao Sheng and Wei Wuji exchanged a glance, then shook their heads grumpily at the same time. With a sigh, they began to tell their stories.

Zhao Sheng was wounded by a passing immortal from the Fiend League. Originally an itinerant immortal, the immortal was running for his life after his nest was destroyed by Great Yu’s army, and by accident he fled to the territory developed by Great Zhao and found an army was being trained there. The army cultivated a mystic art Great Zhao had acquired, which was used to train immortal soldiers by the Dao League and when mastered, could turn the cultivator into a being as powerful as those Yakshas. The fiend immortal, thrilled to see the excellent materials, killed the over thirty thousand soldiers of the army and used their flesh to craft a fiend artifact, forcing Zhao Sheng to fight him with all Great Zhao’s civil and military officials. Although the fiend immortal was annihilated at the end, Zhao Sheng and many of his courtiers were also wounded.

What happened to Wei Wuji was really unexpected trouble. A demon who looked somewhat like a descendant of Suan Ni ¹  had inexplicably intruded into the territory being developed by Great Wei to escape the pursuit of Great Yu’s army. Wei Wuji ordered his army to attack the unlucky demon, and as a result not only did the army suffer heavy casualties, but Wei Wuji and his courtiers were also seriously injured.

It would be better if he was also injured in a battle against some immortal from the Fiend League, but he was actually hurt by a demon who was fleeing in desperation. No wonder Wei Wuji’s face looked especially unsightly.

For a moment the emperors and courtiers of the six states were speechless, and everyone was glancing at each other. There was a sick or unhealthy look on every face save Yan Dan. In addition to Zhao Sheng and Wei Wuji, Ying Zheng, Qu Ping, and Tian Wen, though uninjured, looked a little weak, especially Qu Ping, who had mastered the mystic arts of the Ghost God. His facial complexion had turned dark and his eyes sunk deep, which made him looked almost like a ghost himself. Clearly, it was a sign of overuse of energy.

Compared with Yan Dan’s pretty fair face, rosy lips, and bright eyes, the emperors and courtiers of the other five states looked like refugees in exile.

In his mind, Yan Dan knew he was lucky. He had taken over An Le County and An Yi County directly from Wu Qi as the foundations of Great Yan and began to develop his power from there, while the emperors of the other five states had to start from scratch and establish new foundations on Pangu Continent by themselves. Judging from the faces of these emperors and their courtiers today, it was obvious that Pangu Continent was not a good place to mess around. Perhaps, Ying Zheng and others should count themselves lucky that they were not wiped out completely by Great Yu’s army as itinerant cultivators.

He cleared his throat and did not know what to say. Instead, he took the emperors and courtiers of the five states to a newly built underground hall beneath the City Lord Mansion. Inside the magnificently decorated hall, Wu Qi stood with his hands clasped behind his back at the side of a large dragon pillar, admiring the exquisite dragon scale patterns carved on the gilded pillar.

As soon as the emperors and their courtiers entered the hall, Xiang Yu’s face suddenly turned pale at the sigh of Wu Qi. Almost unconsciously, he grasped the hilt of his sword with the veins on the back of his hand bulged, and took some effort to restrain his impulse to draw the sword and hack Wu Qi in half. Everyone turned to look at Xiang Yu; the eyes of nine out of ten people were full of malice, while some had their facial muscles twitching, looking almost wanted to burst into laughter.

Xiang Yu’s hand slowly let go of the hilt as the crowd watched. He nodded to Wu Qi and said, “Long time no see, Prince of Tianyun. You seem very different from the last time we saw each other.”

Wu Qi turned to look at Xiang Yu, nodding and smiling softly. “Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, you’re very different, too. If you draw your sword and kill me in front of so many people, it will only make me despise you. Good, very good… you seem very different from the last time I saw you.”

After a moment’s silence, Xiang Yu said with a cold grin, “Last time when we parted, I’ve said that if you dare to show up in front of me again…”

Wu Qi waved and said coolly, “Cut the crap. You can’t kill me right now. If you’re going to put me on the spot for a woman, I don’t mind killing you and all your men.”

Upon hearing that, Qu Ping, who had stood silent for a long time, cleared his throat and said, “Prince of Tianyun, you’re going too far by saying that. In any case, Xiang Yu is a subject of Great Chu. With the six states as allies to each other now, don’t you think that your remark would cast a chill over us, the emperor and courtiers of Great Chu?”

Wu Qi just shook his head. He smiled apologetically at Qu Ping, and then pointed with a finger three times. “Yue Tan, Yuji, Yuyao, the three of you, stand forth. I’ll just ask you one question: which of King Yang Shan’s sons is behind you? Is it Ji Ao, Ji Yue, Ji Lan, or Ji Dai? Are you the pawns they use to control the six states?”

The three women named by Wu Qi turned pale and took a few steps back in horror. “How do you know all this?” cried Yuji. “Y-yo-you… don’t tell me that they are telling the truth that someone has found a way to get rid of the Black Celestial Forbidden Curse?!”

Meanwhile, Yue Tan, without saying a word, drew a long-handled machete and thrust it backhandedly at Wu Qi’s neck. The blade glittered like water as if reflected the pearl light in the hall. Before Huang Xie, who was standing beside her, could stop her, she had struck Wu Qi in the neck.

The emperors and courtiers of the five states cried out in shock at the same time, but Yan Dan and those from Great Yan did not even bat an eyelid.

A crisp crack rang out. Yue Tan’s machete broke into countless shreds and flew in all directions, but there was not even a trace on Wu Qi’s neck. Roaring furiously, she threw herself forward, with her right hand clenched into a fist and struck at Wu Qi’s throat like a venomous snake darted out of its den.

Wu Qi stood still and let Yue Tan’s fist smashed on his throat. A dull thud echoed out this time, followed by Yue Tan’s shriek as she covered her right fist with her left hand. She felt that she had struck an iron pillar, which was a thousand times harder than the real iron pillar. The bones in her wrist and arm were shattered, and the pain made her pretty face pale and her mind completely blank.

Wu Qi sighed softly and turned to look at Huang Xie with a strange smile, “Duke of Chun Shen, do you know that this woman who shared the same bed with you actually possessed the cultivation base of a Gold Immortal? I wonder how you can endure her all these years?”

Huang Xie’s expression changed abruptly. He looked up sharply at Yue Tan and growled, “Le Yan, is Prince of Tianyun telling the truth?”

Yue Tan just held her wrist and breathed rapidly without giving Huang Xie a glance.

Yuyao, who had been standing beside Ying Zheng, cried out and waved her right hand to unleash dozens of blue jade slips, which swooped down on Wu Qi in a formation. Each of the slips exuded a wisp of cloud, inside of which droplets of dews gradually appeared, and then, gusts of strong wind began to blow out of the dew, with numerous tiny yellow particles emerged inside. The energy of earth, water, fire, and wind brushed and slammed with one another, filling the hall with faint thunderclaps that shook everyone and made their ears pain.

Upon seeing Yuyao made the attack, Ying Zheng grabbed her by the shoulder, unconsciously. A mass of black vapor spouted from behind his back, inside of which the shadows of nine flood dragons quickly made their appearance. “What are you doing, my queen?” he snapped, “What is that we can’t talk about?”

Yuyao snorted coldly, ignoring Ying Zheng’s palm that was clasped to her shoulder. With just a twist of her body, and Ying Zheng felt that he was not holding to the delicate body he was so used to, but a tough, slippery, super-powerful python. A mighty force burst from the shoulder, knocking his five fingers several feet up. After that, Yuyao gave a soft cry, and the jade slips immediately formed a formation, trapping Wu Qi in it.

Then came a cold, dark laugh. Yuji whirled around, her little hand gripping the hilt of the sword hanging on Xiang Yu’s waist and drew it out. Like a ghost she drifted across the air, leaving dozens of shadows behind while stabbing the sword toward Wu Qi’s chest. The jade slips that had trapped Wu Qi parted to open a gap just big enough for her to rush into the formation, and the energy of earth, water, fire and wind wound around her sword, condensed into a dazzling halo at its top as the sword went toward Wu Qi’s chest like a shooting star.

Yuji chuckled and said, “Those who know too much are bound to be killed! Wu Qi, you little punk, the fact that you have taken so much advantage of me is already a capital crime!”

Yuyao and Yuji had teamed up to effortlessly create a deadly trap for Wu Qi. The two women smiled triumphantly, thinking that Wu Qi was going to die for sure. Only Yue Tan, who had just suffered so much from him, knew what was waiting for them. “Look out, my sisters! This man’s cultivation base is unfathomable!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

As she shouted, the sword in Yuji’s hand stabbed Wu Qi in the chest. However, even as she tried her best, it could not penetrate Wu Qi’s skin at all. Then, Wu Qi flicked his finger, and the sword instantly exploded into fine metal power, and with just a wave of his sleeve, Yuyao’s formation crumbled and torn to pieces like a castle made with paper by a child.

Yuyao, Yuji, and Yue Tan gasped at the same time, glancing at each other in horror. A jade glow burst out across their skins simultaneously, and together they transformed into three beams of light, getting ready to flee the scene.

But just as they reached a height of about ten feet in the air, Catfish had flown over their heads with a large hammer on her shoulder. She did not swing the hammer, but lightly placed it over them. The poor women had fled as quickly as possible in the form of light, only to crash into Catfish’s hammer. Three loud clangs rang out before the three rolled their eyes and fell back to the ground. The impact was so strong that it nearly broke their necks.

Wu Qi laughed coldly. He looked at Ying Zheng, Huang Xie, and Xiang Yu, whose faces were extremely unsightly, and said with a snort, “Now we can get down to business. There are some things I want your advice on!”

With a flick of his sleeve, the three women were brought up by a gust of strong wind, suspended in the air, and imprisoned by countless restrictive spells around them.

The emperors and courtiers of the six states exchanged glances for a moment, before taking their own seats in the great hall.