Chapter 994: Emperor

Emperor’s Divine Weapon

“Hua Lü, look—your situation was exactly as I predicted. Your concubine has already remarried and had a child with someone else; the child has now grown to the rank of Heavenly Soldier. As for your wife? She took away ninety imperial palaces and vanished somewhere unknown.”

After leaving the Azure Gold Ascension Tower, Li Yi couldn’t help but start talking.

“Impossible, absolutely impossible! My wife has always loved me deeply—she would never do such a thing. She must have lacked the strength to protect the imperial city, sensed the danger early, and took the ninety palaces to preserve our legacy, planning to rise again someday.”

Hua Qing flatly denied it, swearing solemnly.

“The Heavenly Realm is vast. Your wife took ninety imperial palaces—how could you possibly find her? Even if she meant to preserve the legacy, it wasn’t for you—it was for herself.” Li Yi said: “You’re dead. Your wife now holds your lifetime’s resources—of course she’s going to splurge. But don’t be too heartbroken; this kind of thing happens all the time on our Earth.”

“I remember watching a news report once—some man worked away from home for a while, came back, and found his wife had stolen all the money and fled overseas. He never found her again.”

“Hua Lü, your current situation is just like those news stories.”

As Li Yi spoke further, he couldn’t help laughing.

“Enough! You evil Earthling—don’t call me Hua Lü, and don’t you dare try to corrupt me! My wife is nothing like the woman you imagine!” Hua Qing roared.

“Besides, I refuse to believe none of my subordinates still remain loyal to me. My death was not long ago—there must still be faithful ministers. Let that wretched Qing Lan betray me—when I return as an Emperor, I will settle all accounts with them.”

Li Yi nodded: “Then good luck. I believe you can do it—but hurry, or your concubine’s second child will be born soon.”

“Shut up.” Hua Qing barked.

But after venting, Hua Qing quickly calmed down. He knew he could do nothing now—and this imperial city had no reason to return.

In his current state, those traitors would gladly tear him apart limb from limb. No one wanted to see the former Emperor Hua Qing return.

“Li Yi, do you know why my empress took only ninety imperial palaces and left the final nine?” Hua Qing suddenly drew a deep breath and grew serious.

“Go on—I want to know too. What secret does the last imperial palace hold?” Li Yi asked.

Hua Qing said: “Because the remaining nine palaces were my private sanctum. No one but me ever entered them. I used to cultivate elixirs, forge artifacts, and study divine arts and spells within those nine palaces.”

“Now eight of those nine palaces are gone. The last one remaining must be the Ziwei Palace. I surrounded it with countless great arrays. Inside, I stored my personal collection from my time as Emperor—each item is priceless.”

“If you can enter the Ziwei Palace and take its contents, you’ll have acquired sixty percent of a Heavenly Emperor’s wealth—enough to break through to Heavenly General and enter the Heavenly King realm.”

“The most precious item inside is a unique Heavenly Emperor’s Weapon: the Emperor Furnace of Ages. Infused with temporal power, it aids your cultivation as time flows. It also contains Yin and Yang energies, capable of refining your body, primordial spirit, magic power, and bloodline—immense aid for any cultivator.”

“You’ve cultivated the Zhou Tian Divine Demon Marvelous Method—you know the value of Yin and Yang energies. And you’ve experienced the benefits of time’s blessing in strange places on Earth.”

Hearing this, Li Yi’s expression shifted slightly: “A Heavenly Emperor’s Weapon? Sounds tempting. Why leave something so valuable at home instead of carrying it with you?”

“That Heavenly Emperor’s Weapon has flaws—it can’t attack or defend. By the time I reached Heavenly Emperor rank, it was useless to me, so I left it hidden in the Ziwei Palace,” Hua Qing said.

“I see. That furnace is useless to a Heavenly Emperor, but immensely valuable to anyone below,” Li Yi chuckled. “It’s a bit of a liability. Besides that, what other treasures are there?”

Hua Qing said: “There should be one vial of Nine Heavens Divine Water—ten thousand jin in total. Some imperial weapon materials, a few Heavenly King puppets... Wait—I remember now. The most precious item is a Heaven Lord’s Token.”

“I risked my life to seize it. Whoever holds the Heaven Lord’s Token may enter the Heaven Lord’s Secret Realm—a place formed at the dawn of the Heavenly Realm, where chaos converged. There lies the most inconceivable blessings of heaven and earth. A Heavenly Emperor entering may gain the chance to break through to Heaven Lord.”

Hua Qing hadn’t intended to reveal so many secrets—but his Ziwei Palace would open in twenty days. Without Li Yi’s help, all these treasures would fall into strangers’ hands.

Better to give them to Li Yi than to others.

After all, when Li Yi rose to power in the future, Hua Qing himself would gain a rich reward.

Having spent years together, Hua Qing trusted Li Yi’s character.

“A Heaven Lord’s Token? If this gets out, it’ll spark a fight among Heavenly Emperors,” Li Yi muttered, stunned. He immediately realized this was the most valuable item in the Ziwei Palace.

Heaven Lord opportunity.

Who could resist? “Perhaps because the previous eight palaces held nothing too valuable, no other Heavenly Emperors took notice,” Hua Qing said. “They might have taken a few Heavenly King Weapons—but those aren’t enough to draw a Heavenly Emperor’s attention.”

“But if the contents of the final Ziwei Palace are revealed, that’s another matter. Once word spreads, the entire imperial city will face annihilation—everyone here will die.”

Here, Hua Qing changed tone: “Now, only you can control the Ziwei Palace’s treasures. Use your Heavenly God Clan status—in this backwater, even Heavenly Kings won’t dare touch you. With my secret guidance, you can take everything there effortlessly.”

Li Yi thought for a moment, then said: “Even brothers must settle accounts clearly. Once we get the treasures, how do we split them? If I take it all, you won’t be happy—it’s your lifetime’s collection. But if I get nothing, I won’t risk competing with Heavenly Kings.”

Hua Qing said: “After success, I only ask for fifty thousand jin of Nine Heavens Divine Water, and temporary use of the Emperor Furnace of Ages. Once I reach Heavenly General, I’ll leave. How?”

He knew he had no bargaining power, so he only demanded fifty thousand jin of Nine Heavens Divine Water. With that, he could quickly rebuild his power and restore his strength—though he might never reclaim his imperial throne, returning to Heavenly King rank was no problem.

As for the Emperor Furnace of Ages and the Heaven Lord’s Token, giving them to Li Yi was fine.

He had little need for these two items. Once he regained some strength, he could search for his wife—she took ninety imperial palaces, a fortune in itself.

So there was no point quarreling with Li Yi now.

“Very generous. No wonder you’re an Emperor—great vision, great heart,” Li Yi said. “Alright, it’s settled. I’ll begin preparing.”

He reached an agreement with Hua Qing.

But this matter was too critical for Li Yi to handle alone.

“Heavenly King Hanshan, I have an important matter to discuss with you,” Li Yi said.

“What is it?” Heavenly King Hanshan stepped forward, eyeing Li Yi with curiosity.

Li Yi pointed toward the imperial palace: “You heard what Heavenly King Qing Lan said. There, in the last remaining imperial palace left by the former Emperor Hua Qing—the Ziwei Palace—there are treasures, including the Emperor Furnace of Ages.”

“A Heavenly Emperor’s Weapon?” Heavenly King Hanshan trembled, her eyes wide with shock. “Taiyi—is this reliable?”

She didn’t ask where he got the information. In the Heavenly Realm, everyone had secrets—keeping them private was normal.

All Heavenly King Hanshan needed to know was whether the information was true.

“No mistake. Besides the Heavenly Emperor’s Weapon, there are many other priceless treasures—even a Heavenly Emperor would be tempted. But within this imperial city, there are likely many Heavenly Kings. The news of the palace’s opening has already spread—within twenty days, all forces within a million li will come.”

“Heavenly King Hanshan, can we seize this palace with our current strength?”

Though he secretly had Hua Qing’s guidance, without overwhelming power, retrieving the treasures without trouble wouldn’t be easy.

His Heavenly God Clan status was impressive—but only in peacetime.

Once great treasures were in hand, even Heavenly Kings would go mad. At that point, no one would care about status—they’d strike first.

Heavenly King Hanshan’s gaze shifted as she considered. She gazed at the imperial city; streaks of starlight shimmered along her tall frame as she used divine arts to sense the heavens, estimating the number of Heavenly Kings in the city.

Quickly,

Hanshan said: “Taiyi, with our strength, seizing the palace outright is too risky—but taking a share is no problem. Many Heavenly Kings have already gathered in this imperial city.”

“If we try to monopolize it, we’ll be surrounded and killed—we’ll be in grave danger.”

Li Yi narrowed his eyes: “What if we use Heavenly Emperor power to obliterate this place?”

His Heavenly God armlet still held one sealed Heavenly Emperor power—should he be pushed to the brink, he’d use his trump card.

“Using a trump card for a Heavenly Emperor’s Weapon is worth it—but once Heavenly Emperor power appears, it may draw the attention of other Heavenly Emperors. If one arrives personally—or even sends a trace of power to investigate—it could bring complications,” Hanshan said.

Li Yi’s heart tightened instantly.

If another Heavenly Emperor detected the Heaven Lord’s Token, they’d kill him to silence him. Hanshan added: “Still, a single Heavenly Emperor’s Weapon probably won’t draw a Heavenly Emperor personally. But in this backwater, if you encounter a poor one, it’s not impossible.”

“Taiyi, the safest way is to request aid from the Heavenly God Clan. Within twenty days, a Heavenly King will arrive. The Realm Ship hasn’t gone far—Shenwei Heavenly King will definitely come.”

(End of Chapter)