Chapter 546: Ancient Emperor

Several hundred li outside Linghu Qingqing and Hu Lao Ye's fleet, a tiny flying boat almost the same color as the blue sky hid furtively within a wisp of cloud mist.

The flying boat, no longer than ten-odd zhang, was extremely slender; its cabin could hold only a few people.

On this tiny flying boat there were hardly any defensive measures; speed, speed, speed — everywhere could be seen exquisitely fine speed restrictions that pushed the boat's velocity to the extreme.

Besides speed, the boat's surface was inlaid with dozens of treasure mirrors of various functions, their hazy brilliance flashing; countless lights and shadows flickered within those mirrors, and within a radius of tens of thousands of li, every stir of wind and grass, even the movements of worms deep underground tens of thousands of zhang down, were easily caught by them.

Inside the cabin, several men clad in tight black soft armor, their faces covered with black masks and black crystals set where their eyes were, revealing not an inch of skin, their breaths flickering like ghosts, busied themselves nervously.

The scene of Linghu Qingqing battling that severed hand, Hu Tu and others locked in combat with the Great Direction Elder, gradually driving him to desperation, was recorded in full by the dozens of treasure mirrors inlaid on the flying boat.

As Linghu Qingqing was about to seize that severed hand, the Great Direction Elder, battered and bloodied, saw the light from his silver lantern dim further; a black-clad man raised his right hand and lightly tapped a heavy crystal mirror inside the cabin.

A flash of light on the crystal mirror's surface quickly connected it to a distant treasure mirror linked by aura.

In the Great Jin Divine Kingdom, in the imperial capital An'yang, deep within the imperial palace, in a majestic hall standing on a bronze pedestal, Sima Fa was changing his robes under the service of dozens of palace maids and eunuchs.

More than a dozen lovely palace maids held up large trays bearing a full set of luxurious regalia, standing neatly to the side waiting; yet Sima Fa, bare-chested, stood before a huge Nine Dragon Crystal Mirror, constantly shifting his poses to admire his perfect reflection within it.

"Ah, you say, we… no, am I handsome?"

"Ah, no need for you to say; I know, I understand — in An'yang city, if one speaks of the most handsome man, it is none but me."

"Ah, you say, is my build tall and straight? Is my skin fair? Is it perfect?"

"Ah, no need for you to say either; I understand, I am clear, I know it in my heart… I am destined to make all men under heaven feel ashamed of their appearance, to make them mortified to death."

"Ah, look, how did I end up this handsome?"

"Is there still heavenly principle? Is there still royal law? To be this handsome, this handsome, this handsome… and yet already the Divine Majesty of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom — such a perfect life, you say, how can other men in the world possibly go on living?"

"That old coot of Great Wei, that old coot of Great Wu… ah, I really ought to record my current physique and send it to them… tsk, tsk, it should make them die of shame."

"That old melon of Great Wei."

"That old iron lump of Great Wu!"

"Perfect, perfect, perfect as a sovereign like me… the Great Jin Divine Kingdom is fortunate to have such a perfect ruler… ah, the women of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom are fortunate to have such a handsome sovereign!"

"Poor the men of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom; with me, they are destined to live in darkness forever… why? Because all women's affection is given to me — where is there any livelihood left for them?"

"Heh heh, heh heh, heh heh heh heh!"

As he spoke, Sima Fa put his hands on his hips, widened his eyes, gazed at his nearly perfect reflection in the mirror, and began to laugh a little maniacally.

Several senior eunuchs from the Eastern Palace, who had served Sima Fa since childhood, smiled until their eyes narrowed to slits, bringing with them a dozen-odd junior eunuchs likewise from the Eastern Palace, who eagerly echoed and agreed with Sima Fa.

What sort of person is Sima Fa — how could these eunuchs not know?

Back when they were in the Eastern Palace, they relied on its influence to throw their weight around in An'yang, already enjoying boundless privileges.

Now Sima Fa has suddenly become the Divine Emperor of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom; frankly, these senior and junior eunuchs haven't yet come to their senses. The vast imperial palace has many overseer eunuch posts waiting for them to divide up.

But now, Sima Fa has just brought them into the imperial palace, and those overseer eunuchs still haven't been cleared out; if they want those lucrative posts, they still have to look to Sima Fa.

Seeking favor, these senior and junior eunuchs, already practiced in flattery, now went so far as to feed their integrity to the dogs, a flood of sycophancy pouring toward Sima Fa, leaving the palace maids in the hall dumbfounded.

Suddenly, Sima Fa's reflection vanished from the crystal mirror; a layer of cloud-light flickered, and a man dressed in black tight soft armor, his face completely concealed by a black visor, appeared in the mirror. The black-clad man respectfully said: "Your Majesty, you have ordered us…"

Sima Fa froze.

The black-clad man in the mirror froze.

Sima Fa suddenly exploded in anger: "Who are you? Why appear in my Nine Dragon Treasure Mirror?"

The black-clad man stared straight at Sima Fa; seeing Sima Fa bare-chested and striking a pose, with not a thread of clothing on him, seemed utterly bizarre to him.

Fortunately, as Sima Fa had once been the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom, his face was still quite recognizable.

The black-clad man lowered his voice and said solemnly: "Your Highness the Crown Prince? Why, why… how could this Nine Dragon Heavenly Secret Mirror…"

Sima Fa raised his eyebrows: "Now the Great Jin Divine Kingdom is under my rule. Father Emperor suffered an assassination and grave injury, unable to manage state affairs, so he entrusted the kingdom to me; now I am the Divine Emperor of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom."

He snorted coldly and said arrogantly: "You lot — are you Father Emperor's people? Hmm? What shady business did he send you to do?"

The black-clad man became flustered in the mirror; after a long silence he murmured: "Your Majesty, please clear out unrelated personnel."

Sima Fa lifted his chin: "I always conduct myself openly and uprightly; there is nothing I cannot do in public… especially, these eunuchs are my close confidants; there is nothing I cannot tell them."

Sima Fa pointed at the black-clad man in the mirror and said coldly: "I order you to state your identities and what you are doing. Good grief, seeing you all pitch-black and sneaking about, I know you're no good."

The senior and junior eunuchs beside Sima Fa all wore smiles, hunched over, practically wagging their tails as they looked at him.

Ah, after all, he's the master they've raised since childhood; these words warm the heart, lungs, and viscera.

Hee!

Such confidential dealings, not even kept from the servants — such imperial grace is truly comforting.

The black-clad persons in the mirror were flustered again… Who are they? What are they doing?

They are secret agents in Sima Xian's hands, tasked with monitoring Hu Lao Ye's private fleet; they discovered that Linghu Qingqing and company were besieging a terrifying being that has survived from the primordial mythic era to the present, seeking to seize his innate supreme treasure…

They discovered that Linghu Qingqing was not in An'yang; her true self had already fled to the barbaric wilderness of the northern borders to seize treasure!

Such matters, Sima Xian usually receives their reports alone… yet Sima Fa actually, actually lets so many eunuchs and palace maids stand by?

After a moment of silence, the light of the Nine Dragon Crystal Mirror suddenly dimmed, and the black-clad persons voluntarily ended the communication.

Sima Fa jumped up in fury: "Who is this? Who is he? How dare he be rude to me? How dare he, how dare he, defy my edicts? Find his name, find his kin — I will… I will…"

After a moment's hesitation, Sima Fa murmured: "Wiping out his nine clans would be too lenient, too cruel; if he has sisters, daughters, granddaughters, bring them all into the palace — I will punish them properly!"

The eunuchs promptly accepted the order, cracking their knuckles ready to act.

But once the excitement faded, this group of eunuchs was dumbfounded.

They had no idea where to begin; they didn't even know the Nine Dragon Crystal Mirror was also a great treasure for external communication, nor did they know what these black-clad persons did, who oversaw them, or how to investigate the other side's background.

"Your Majesty… this, this…" the former Overseer Chief Eunuch of the Eastern Palace, a senior eunuch over a hundred years old, gave an embarrassed dry laugh.

The hall echoed with Sima Fa's roar: "Come, prepare the carriage, whatever coronation ceremony and such, slowly, slowly… accompany me to find the Retired Emperor — ah, has that old coot woken up? Surely he won't just keep wheezing, spitting blood, and kick the bucket like that?"

"Father Emperor, you must not die… if you must die, at least settle affairs clearly before you go!"

"Ah, ah, what's going on with this mirror? Who are those people?"

"You've been secretly raising these people — surely it costs a lot of money? You must explain to us ministers where this money comes from."

Sima Xian fainted on the Nine Heavens Hall, leaving only an edict transferring the throne to Sima Fu.

Sima Fu hastily took over the imperial city, while Sima Xian had already been sent away to Anyang by his men.

Finding mysteriously that there seemed to be many secret dealings in the imperial city unknown to him, Sima Fu anxiously led a large force out of the imperial city, out of Anyang, straight to the outer palace where Sima Xian now resides.

Anyang city fell into chaos again.

The officials were preparing for the enthronement ceremony when they heard that Sima Fu was wearing only a pair of underpants, and they took countless imperial guards out of the city.

The officials fell into great disorder, especially the Master of the Ritual Hall in charge of the enthronement ceremony, who bellowed to the heavens: "Former emperor, please open your eyes… eh, eh!"

The Master of the Ritual Hall could no longer howl, after all Sima Xian was not yet dead.

Near Elder Hu's fleet, in several scout flying boats tasked with monitoring the fleet, dozens of scouts directly under Sima Xian were in disarray in the wind. Although they were all extremely elite officers, they now did not know what to do.

Sima Xian suddenly lost contact, and Sima Fu took his place… what should they do?

"Ha ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha!" A earth-shaking mad laughter rang out, and Linghu Qingqing finally suppressed that strange severed hand by force using the power of the great formation. At the same time, Hu Tu and the others finally beat the Great Master Fang into serious injury and unconsciousness, capturing him alive.

The Immortal Heart Lamp, its body flowing with silver light, was gently picked up by Hu Tu and respectfully presented to Elder Hu.

Before Elder Hu could take it, Linghu Qingqing snatched it away, gripping the Immortal Heart Lamp in her hand, stroking the lamp shade with both hands, unable to control herself as she burst into loud laughter.

"Only with such a supreme treasure in my hands can its full power be unleashed… elder brother, you, just wait for the next treasure."

Linghu Qingqing's gaze was like a blade, lightly sweeping over Elder Hu's round, plump body.

Elder Hu stared blankly, then answered with a smiling face.

Anyone could see that the Immortal Heart Lamp's grade far surpassed the Five Elements Secret Treasures held by the five Hu Tu brothers, and it is primarily a defensive treasure yet capable of erupting with tremendous offensive power.

For such a treasure, it would be fine if Linghu Qingqing had not seen it, but now that she is present, how could he possibly hand over such a weighty implement to his own son to control?

After all, the son is not oneself. Such a heavy treasure is better kept in one's own hands.

"What a pity that the Seven Treasures Ruyi was snatched away by that Daoist…" Linghu Qingqing played with the Immortal Heart Lamp, sighing softly: "Issue orders to secretly hunt down that Daoist across the world. But be careful, do not let outsiders discover the truth."

"On to the next point… if I am not mistaken, that Daoist may yet appear. When the time comes, if there is an opportunity, we must certainly capture him alive."

Linghu Qingqing is also envious.

The Yin-Yang Daoist now holds two great treasures, the Nine Dragon Coffin and the Seven Treasures Ruyi; the attack power of the Seven Treasures Ruyi needs no elaboration, and the strength of the corpse beast and drought demon inside the Nine Dragon Coffin is truly formidable. That drought demon can actually repel two Linghu clan Elders of the Divine Manifestation realm with a single strike—what terrifying cultivation is this?

Although the drought demon acted only once with external aid, drawing power from the great pill condensed by Venerable Fang, it is evident that since she can unleash such an attack, she truly possesses that level of cultivation.

Not to mention the even more formidable corpse beast.

With such a powerful, supernatural spirit, Linghu Qingqing truly wants to bring it under her control.

Elder Hu produced the geographic atlas bestowed by the gods.

The gods' bestowed treasure map is quite mysterious; they must clear a treasure point before the exact location of the next treasure point appears on the map.

After the Great Master Fang was captured alive, a line of fine text suddenly appeared on the geographic atlas.

Linghu Qingqing glanced at the geographic atlas and immediately laughed: "Do the gods want us to offer this Great Master Fang and this severed hand as sacrifices? Hehe, the gods are innately divine; our mortal deeds cannot be hidden from them."

Drooping her eyelids, a cold light flashed in her pupils, Linghu Qingqing said leisurely: "All right, when we return to Anyang we will set up an altar and offer them to the gods… well, the next point doesn't seem far from here, that is, a journey of about half a month."

"Full speed ahead, let the four Elders use their divine abilities to help the fleet accelerate." Linghu Qingqing narrowed her eyes and spoke coldly: "Sima Xian is actually seriously injured, and he actually passed the throne to Sima Fu… the wind and rain drifting through Anyang city present a great opportunity."

The four Linghu clan Elders acted, stirring up a ten-thousand-li gale that swept the fleet forward at breakneck speed.

The fleet's full-speed voyage, which would normally take half a month, took only two days under the four Elders' divine powers to reach the destination.

Following the geographic atlas's guidance, Linghu Qingqing and her companions quickly found a perilous peak a thousand li high.

After some effort, collapsing the mountain peak, a vast underground palace was revealed within, filled with countless metal puppets; inside a giant coffin several li long, a gaunt man three hundred and sixty zhang tall, clad in a black dragon crown and imperial robes, slowly rose.

"Who is this, could it be an ancient emperor?" Linghu Qingqing gazed at the emaciated man floating in midair and involuntarily cried out in shock.