Chapter 489

Thirty-six Four Spirit warships' blazing light soared to the heavens, forming a great formation desperately resisting the black luminous streams falling from the sky.

Amid black light falling like meteors, the blades condensed from the power of the Great Black Heaven Cauldron rang out; each strike shook the Four Spirit warships violently, making the Eastern Palace personnel aboard bleed from the corners of their mouths.

Above the traveling palace, the Myriad Dragon Palace had already revealed a small portion of its body.

The bronze-colored divine light merged with the Four Spirit warships; the four Dragon-Slaying Platforms, eight bronze divine pillars, four pairs of bronze ornamental columns, and the eight bronze dragons coiled around those columns erupted with tsunami-like blinding brilliance, stubbornly contending with the black luminous streams filling the sky.

On the ground, the spirit of the Myriad Dragon Palace—the lazy yellow dragon—stood like a ruler, upright and straight in the air.

His two forelimbs were incredibly agile, rapidly tracing complex runes like human hands; his mouth incessantly chanted grand ancient incantations, exerting all his strength to squeeze out every ounce of power he could muster, desperately resisting Wu Kuang's fierce assault.

It had already reached the extreme.

The former crown prince of Great Jin left a bloodline seal in the Myriad Dragon Palace; unless someone's cultivation far surpasses his, or unless they are his direct bloodline descendants, no one can make the Myriad Dragon Palace acknowledge them as master.

This bloodline seal further imprisoned the Myriad Dragon Palace—unless a new master appears, the Myriad Dragon Palace can exert at most one-tenth of its power.

All means were for the safety of the twin sisters he left behind.

But at this moment, the Yellow Dragon Palace spirit very much wanted to greet its old master.

He wanted to greet him with the coarsest, most vulgar words he knew.

"Damn the dragon!" the Yellow Dragon let out a tearful 'meow', glaring ferociously at the Great Black Heaven Cauldron: 'If it weren't for me, Grandfather Dragon, being trapped in shallow waters… Grandfather would surely have ripped that old black face of yours!'

Suspended high in the void, on the body of the Great Black Heaven Cauldron—tens of thousands of zhang tall—a stern, icy, ferocious face silently appeared, likewise glaring ferociously at the Yellow Dragon: 'The grudges of the past, one by one, today we settle them all!'

Both being national treasures, the Great Black Heaven Cauldron is still slightly inferior to the Myriad Dragon Palace; Great Jin and Great Wu have fought countless bloody battles, with many occasions where the divine sovereigns of both nations personally took the field.

The Myriad Dragon Palace and the Great Black Heaven Cauldron are also age-old enemies.

At this moment the Myriad Dragon Palace has no master, so over ninety percent of its marvelous power cannot be unleashed; the Great Black Heaven Cauldron, however, is firmly under Wu Kuang's strong control, able to exert sixty to seventy percent of its might. If it weren't for the thirty-six Four Spirit warships stalemating alongside, the Great Black Heaven Cauldron would have already stormed into the traveling palace.

"Old coot, I'll little by little pull out all your dragon scales." The Great Black Heaven Cauldron's hard, icy, ferocious laugh turned into rolling thunder that shook the vast traveling palace violently; countless pandas running wildly in the bamboo forest all rolled on the ground, many immature pandas shaken to vomit blood, and many pandas of considerable cultivation roared angrily to the sky, frantically waving the copper sticks in their hands.

Inside the traveling palace, Su He and Tie Chi stared at each other, eyes wide.

Inside the hall, nearly a hundred officials of the Eastern Palace split into three clearly distinct factions, likewise staring at each other with wide eyes.

One faction supports Bai He, another supports Zhu Yi, and a third is absolutely neutral; they are loyal to the Eastern Palace, and no matter which prince takes charge of the Myriad Dragon Palace, they have no objections.

Bai He sat calmly on the central throne, while Zhu Yi stood anxiously to the side, occasionally stamping her feet and throwing punches.

Zhu Yi still didn't quite understand what Su He and Tie Chi were actually contending for.

Bai He, however, had already made up his mind.

Su He and Tie Chi, in their struggle for speaking authority within the Eastern Palace—and even for the future conduct of the Eastern Palace—would have this matter settle it.

Bai He's style is steady and dignified, acting only after careful planning.

Zhu Yi's style is radical and violent, taking the initiative to attack.

Su He supports Bai He.

Tie Chi supports Zhu Yi.

Whichever of the two gains the Eastern Palace's speaking authority and directs its future policy……this contains enormous interests.

Bai He does not doubt the two elders' loyalty to the Eastern Palace.

But she understands even more clearly that, beyond their loyalty to the Eastern Palace, the two have greater demands.

Zhu Yi still anxiously gazed at the two elders, at the suddenly unfamiliar Eastern Palace personnel, unable to comprehend how, after all being one family and living harmoniously for so many years, they could turn to face each other in confrontation at this critical moment when a powerful enemy invades.

Zhu Yi was very annoyed; she really wanted to find someone to beat up badly to vent her anger and unease.

She furrowed her brows, glanced at the side where Yanlong was casually holding a wine jar and drinking; Zhu Yi's eyes reddened slightly with anger, she clenched her fists, as if about to rush over and give that savage girl a sound thrashing.

Bai He sat calmly on the throne, hands on the armrests, merely her ten fingers lightly tapping the armrests in an orderly, staggered rhythm.

If someone versed in music were present, they could see that Bai He's tapping was exactly the ancient famous piece 'Storm Battle'. A vigorous, heroic spirit subtly unfolded, further accentuating Bai He as like a rare orchid with iron bones—gentle outside, strong within, stunningly extraordinary.

Wu Tie wore a set of the Eastern Palace's Zhou Tian Star Armor that hadn't been retrieved in time, turning into a stream of light that rushed straight toward the traveling palace.

Along the way, Wu Tie saw the Great Wu fleets of various sizes withdrawing southward.

Stationed high in the air, Wu Kuang, who was commanding the Great Black Heaven Cauldron and attacking the traveling palace, likewise saw the withdrawing fleets.

But Wu Kuang paid no heed to it.

Wu Duyao is dead—what does that have to do with him? Besides, he isn't Wu Kuang's son.

In Wu Kuang's mind, he wished Wu Ba's sons would die off, preferably all of them; hey, with no direct heirs, he Wu Kuang could easily go before those old monsters of the imperial clan and say his piece.

Even the defeat of the Great Wu army—what does that have to do with Wu Kuang?

Originally he wasn't part of the anti-Jin army; he merely received secret intelligence from Wu Duzun, rushed to deal with the former crown prince's Eastern Palace of Great Jin for personal gain. So let the defeat be a defeat; the embarrassment is only that of Wu Ba and his sons, which has hardly any connection to Wu Kuang.

Thus he let fleet after fleet, big and small, sneak past his vicinity without a word; Wu Kuang merely went mad attacking the traveling palace.

Wu Tie suddenly revealed his form in midair, gazing at Wu Kuang from afar.

On the Great Black Heaven Cauldron, that stiff, icy face suddenly opened its eyes; two beams of black light shot from its eyes, casually sweeping over Wu Tie, then dismissively retracted.

Such a mere Life Pool realm cultivation could pose no threat to him or his master.

Behind Wu Tie, suddenly patches of white cloud appeared, and then one after another, figures clad in tight-fitting dark-light leather armor, with not an inch of skin exposed, walked out from the clouds.

"Duke Huo Xiong of Yu Prefecture?" a tall man silently approached Wu Tie from behind: "You, have you received the emperor's secret edict?"

Wu Tie regarded these people solemnly.

These people held no official rank, no grade, not even a formal title; nominally they belonged to the Great Jin Royal Academy of Offerings' constraints, but in fact they were the Great Jin emperor's private enforcers and hounds, specially handling some of the royal family's shady dealings.

Because they lack official rank, grade, and proper governmental oversight—being merely the Great Jin emperor's lackeys—their power is virtually limitless! Their conduct is also unrestrained, with no bottom line.

The news of the Eastern Palace remnants surfacing was transmitted to AnYang; the Great Jin court had not yet had time to respond appropriately, but these lackeys of Sima Xian had already exhausted every means and arrived here before Wu Tie could slay Wu Duyao.

These past few days, they have been monitoring the Eastern Palace's movements nearby, as well as Wu Kuang's movements.

Wu Tie also didn't know how many of them there were, nor what level of experts they contained; anyway he knew these people were extremely troublesome, and his current self could not afford to provoke them, nor did he wish to.

"I was once captured alive by the Second Prince of the Eastern Palace, Zhu Yi, and forced to fight for them." Wu Tie pointed at his Zhou Tian Star Armor on his person: "Your Majesty is sagacious; none of my affairs can be hidden from Your Majesty. I have received the secret edict… but I dare not guarantee the outcome."

The tall figure's shadow gave a low chuckle: "Duke of Yu Prefecture, just act freely; if you succeed, it's naturally a great merit; if not… then it's up to us to intervene. Your Majesty still cherishes the brotherly bond of years past, unwilling to deal a heavy hand to those two orphan girls… hehe!"

Wu Tie nodded at the other party, clasped his hands in salute, then turned into a clear breeze and flew toward the traveling palace.

Wu Kuang noticed Wu Tie's movements; how could he possibly let outsiders enter the Traveling Palace?

He regarded the entire East Palace as his spoils; whether it was every blade of grass and tree inside, or the people within, they were all his spoils. For outsiders to want to enter, even if they merely took a single grain of sand from the East Palace, that would be his loss.

"Get out!" Wu Kuang roared, and a stream of black qi burst from within the Great Black Heaven Cauldron, forming a black heavy fist a hundred zhang wide that came crashing down on Wu Tie.

The man who had just been speaking with Wu Tie gave a low grunt: "Get ready…… If the Duke of Yu cannot convince those of the East Palace, we will risk our lives and not let the East Palace's treasure fall into the hands of Great Wu."

Someone nearby softly scoffed: "This Duke of Yu is probably useless."

The man lightly laughed: "What if? The East Palace's treasure is too important; it is the foundation of Great Jin…… Even if it's a slim chance, doing it is better than not doing it."

In the high sky, fish‑scale‑like white clouds drifted into view silently; silhouettes flickered within the clouds, and no one knew how many lackeys Sima Xian had urgently dispatched.

While a few people were whispering, the black heavy fist had already reached Wu Tie's front.

"Bang!" The heavy fist fell, and the clear wind that Wu Tie had transformed into was blown apart into fragments; a silhouette could be seen exploding into myriad points of light.

Wu Kuang stared, then burst out laughing "hahaha": "Great Jin, you have no one left?"

Several of Sima Xian's personal lackeys stood frozen in place, each at a loss as they watched the points of light that were Wu Tie's shattered silhouette. The freshly minted Duke of Yu of Great Jin, who had been out of the oven for less than two hours, was blown to pieces right before their eyes?

This, this, this is too absurd, isn't it?

The next moment, a gust of clear wind swirled outside the north gate of the Traveling Palace, and Wu Tie's figure emerged from within.

He raised his head, looking at the wildly laughing Wu Kuang in the high sky, and lightly cursed "stupid bird"!

Wu Kuang's laughter cut off abruptly.

The several dumbstruck men grew more and more dumbstruck; after a long while, once the Yellow Dragon Palace Spirit had already activated the Traveling Palace's great defensive formation and opened the north gate, Wu Tie had already strolled into the Traveling Palace, and the leading man finally sighed: "Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill…… indeed a primordial forbidden technique…… Do you see how the Duke of Yu managed to escape?"

Everyone remained silent.

As lackeys specially employed by Sima Xian to settle all kinds of shady matters, these titular members of the Great Jin Imperial Offerings Academy are versed in all sorts of evasion techniques and have mastered various Qimen Dunjia arts.

Even so, they still couldn't see clearly how Wu Tie separated a clone to toy with Wu Kuang!

Wu Kuang, that is the Great Black Heaven King of Great Wu, a figure standing above ten thousand and below one, who wields a nation‑protecting divine artifact.

Wu Tie not only played Wu Kuang, he played these people as well, and even toyed with the Great Black Heaven Cauldron.

The Great Black Heaven Cauldron emitted dazzling black light from its entire body, black light filling the sky and completely blotting out the sun's light. The human face on the cauldron vanished, and only a lofty, exalted thunderous roar came from within; the frequency of the black flowing light attacks in the air surged by more than threefold out of nowhere.

The thirty‑six Four Spirit Warships were shaken and swayed; many of the East Palace's personnel aboard the warships spat blood, yet they stubbornly held their ground.

The Yellow Dragon Palace Spirit lowered its head, glanced at Wu Tie walking into the Traveling Palace, and said: "Kid, you escaped with difficulty—why have you come back?"

Wu Tie raised his head, looked at the Yellow Dragon Palace Spirit, and said: "I have business with Your Highness."

Yellow Dragon fell silent for a moment, then with a wave of its left claw, Wu Tie suddenly appeared outside the hall where Bai Ying, Zhu Gui, and others were holding council; he also heard the voices of Su He and Tie Chi arguing inside, citing classics.

The two spoke incessantly, each desperately trying to convince the other.

The atmosphere inside the hall was…… extremely…… strange.

Tense, oppressive, even with a hint of distortion.

Wu Kuang had already battered the Traveling Palace's defenses to the brink of collapse, but Su He and Tie Chi were still here chattering on endlessly.

Wu Tie pushed open the heavy hall doors and strode inside.

Zhu Gui jerked her head up to look at Wu Tie, she swung her fist and lunged at him: "Hey, Huo Xiong, you escaped, yet you dare come back? Hahaha, you've walked right into my net—take one punch from me!"

Bai Ying likewise sprang to her feet, looking at Wu Tie with both surprise and joy.

Then, a hurried voice suddenly reached Wu Tie's ear from Bai Ying. Wu Tie stared, glanced at Bai Ying, and then nodded firmly: "The Twelve Star‑Constellation Armor, the thirty‑six Four Spirit Warships…… and, treasures sufficient for me to report back!"

The two were of extremely high cultivation; in merely a fraction of a finger‑snap, they swiftly exchanged vast amounts of information.

At this moment, Zhu Gui had just lunged out more than three feet.

Bai Ying raised her right hand, lightly placed a palm on Zhu Gui's nape, and with ease knocked her unconscious with a single strike.

Wu Tie let out a long whistle, and five‑element divine light suddenly burst forth from behind him, sweeping violently toward Tie Chi.

Tie Chi was shocked and enraged; he let out a roar, and an iron‑blood military banner atop his head shot up, trailing wolf smoke to the heavens. Countless golden‑clad, semi‑transparent armored soldiers poured out of the smoke, forming a battle formation ready to charge at Wu Tie.

At the same time, Tie Chi gained a round shield whose rim was studded with wolf‑tooth serrations, and his right hand gained a strangely shaped three‑pronged thrusting sword!

These three treasures exuded a tremendous aura; they were indeed innate spirit‑treasure‑grade supreme treasures!

But a sweep of Wu Tie's five‑element divine light made Tie Chi utter a strange cry; whether it was the iron‑blood banner, the shield, or the sword, they were all swept away in an instant by the five‑element light.

Continuing his fine habit, Wu Tie's sweep stripped Tie Chi's clothing and armor completely clean, not even leaving a scrap of his underpants.

Bai Ying's form flickered, and she instantly appeared before Tie Chi; her fair, slender, delicate, crystal‑clear hand, like a jade‑carved scallion, lightly patted toward Tie Chi.

Tie Chi let out a great roar and threw a punch at Bai Ying's palm: "Your Highness…… you!"

With a tremendous bang, Bai Ying's punch shattered Tie Chi's right arm into fragments; Tie Chi spat a mouthful of blood, his face filled with disbelief as he flew far, far away……