Chapter 633

Gongyang's Three Considerations (glossary)

When entering the door, Gongyang Sanlü still spat three mouthfuls of blood in public; the blood was bright red and lustrous, and an experienced person could tell at a glance that it was fresh plasma just spurted from the heart vessels.

Gongyang Manor

For a top-tier powerhouse who has reached the extreme of the half-step Divine Sovereign realm and can step into the true Divine Sovereign at any moment, this is an extremely serious injury.

Crescent Moon Gate

dragon-skin iron pine

The sedan chair was changed at the gate of the Gongyang mansion; a group of Gongyang servants rushed out, took the sedan from the hands of the sturdy women of the imperial city, and carried the blood‑vomiting Gongyang Sanlü through the first, second, and third gates, then stopped at the entrance to the inner quarters.

A group of sturdy women emerged from the inner quarters, carefully lifted the sedan, carried Gongyang Sanlü into the inner quarters, walked briskly along the winding corridors, passing through more than ten layers of doors and countless luxurious pavilions.

Finally, amidst a splendid sea of flowers, the sturdy women halted before a small crescent‑shaped gate.

More than ten lovely‑faced girls emerged silently from the crescent gate, gently took the sedan, and quietly carried Gongyang Sanlü inside.

Inside the crescent gate lay a vast garden filled with dragon‑skin iron pines; black pines so thick that several people could encircle them stood tall, and in the center only a narrow path led to a small palace entirely cast of iron stone.

Five Elements Divine Light

Five Elements Small World

His pallid complexion instantly flushed with color, his weary spirit and energy snapped back to peak condition; he shook his sleeves, a surge of magical power pulsed, and his whole body felt refreshed, free of any dust.

formation masters

In the center of the hall lay a square pool a hundred zhang on each side and a dozen zhang deep; now it was filled with boiling, viscous plasma, the stench of blood in the air so intense it condensed into visible blood mist drifting in the air.

After Gongyang Sanlü entered the palace, the heavy doors behind him closed silently; the pearls inlaid in the four walls and ceiling blazed with dazzling light, illuminating the entire hall as bright as daylight.

Plasma churned in the blood pool, accompanied by a gurgling boil, and countless fist‑sized blood bubbles surged within.

A huge head slowly rose from the blood pool, and soon a Black Head over ten zhang tall emerged from the pool. Earlier, in Ju Prefecture, he had been severely wounded by Wu Tie's God‑Beating Whip and almost had his five‑element divine light sweep him into the Five Elements Small World to be imprisoned.

Although he escaped, the Black Head's flesh and blood exploded away, leaving only a skeletal frame that fled in a sorry state.

With the aid of this blood pool, while Gongyang Sanlü was making a brief trip into the imperial city, the Black Head had already restored its flesh and blood, absorbed the pool's immense energy, and its newly formed flesh was slightly tougher than before.

"It hurts, it really hurts… but this feeling of growing power isn't bad." The Black Head stepped out of the blood pool and sat cross‑legged on the ground; sitting there, it stood over five zhang tall, noticeably taller than Gongyang Sanlü.

"I love this feeling of constantly increasing strength; it's wonderful, far more enjoyable than messing around with those little girls."

Flexing his arms, the muscles on the Black Head's arms bulged, emitting a booming roar. Although this is merely a essence‑blood clone, the clone is also powerful to the extreme, worthy of being called a non‑human existence.

"However, the consumption is too great. Just the resources spent to restore my flesh this time make me ache a little." The Black Head lowered its head slightly, its huge eyes fixed on Gongyang Sanlü: "Massive resource consumption… when will I be able to squander and waste these precious resources as freely as they do?"

Gongyang Sanlü smiled at the Black Head: "When I succeed, you may squander and waste as you please."

The Black Head nodded slowly, extended a finger and poked Gongyang Sanlü's chest: "Yes, when you succeed… we are, partners. Although you are merely a lowly human, I, the Black Head, regard you as my partner."

Gongyang Sanlü bowed deeply to the Black Head: "This is my honor, Lord Black Head… well, speaking seriously…"

Straightening his body, Gongyang Sanlü also sat cross‑legged on the ground, gazed seriously at the Black Head, and said in a low voice: "After clashing with Prince An, what have you discovered?"

The Black Head scratched its scalp hard, narrowed its eyes, and a fierce, heart‑pounding glare flashed in its pupils.

"The disappearance of those formation masters wasn't his doing… the purple‑gold twenty‑four‑section striking general whip he holds is extraordinarily powerful, but its main functions are sealing and suppression, with extremely strong blunt killing force, making it an extremely strong divine weapon; however, its aura is completely different from that of the innate spiritual treasure present at the scene where those formation masters were attacked."

With a cold snort, the Black Head gritted its teeth and said: "Bing Fire Mirror… the aura left at the scene is almost identical to that of the Bing Fire Mirror now held by Linghu Wuyou… only, the Bing Fire Mirror in Linghu Wuyou's hand is slightly deeper in power, while the aura left at the scene is more lively and swift."

Shaking its head, the Black Head muttered to itself: "However, the way of fire is endlessly changeable; activating an innate spiritual treasure like the Bing Fire Mirror to trigger various kinds of heavenly and earthly strange fires is not difficult… I am not skilled in the way of fire, so I cannot give clear proof, but the aura at the scene is virtually identical to that of the Bing Fire Mirror, and I can guarantee that."

Gongyang Sanlü let out a heavy sigh: "If that's the case, does the current emperor already harbor suspicions against me?"

Wu Tou nodded firmly: "Although we operate in the shadows, don't underestimate that old fox…… Why did he become the founding god-emperor of the Green Hill Divine Kingdom, while you didn't become the founding god-emperor of a new divine kingdom? Because the Linghu clan is stronger than your Gongyang clan!"

Wu Tou said wisely: "Because they are strong, it is Linghu Qingqing who sits in that position…… So, his awareness is only natural; if not, heh…… wouldn't that show we are too useless?"

Gongyang Sanlü likewise narrowed his eyes: "Putting it that way, one could even say that Prince An Huo Xiong's request for sixty thousand formation masters from me to help build the city is very likely also instigated by our Majesty behind the scenes?"

Lowering his head, Gongyang Sanlü murmured: "Those formation masters are an extremely important force under my command…… but now…… one-third of them have just gone…… heh, truly worthy of the present Majesty."

Wu Tou nodded slowly: "So, that Black Heaven Cauldron is something I even find a bit eye‑catching; Linghu Qingqing so generously left it to Prince An Huo Xiong…… Clearly, he is preparing to support Huo Xiong, specifically to oppose you."

Gongyang Sanlü raised his head and laughed: "Indeed, regardless of length or height, there is no one more suitable than Prince An Huo Xiong. Using Huo Xiong to deal with me, as long as he keeps muddling through a few more rounds like today, he can keep me in check…… tsk, when it comes to imperial tactics and the art of balance, our Majesty truly…… truly is self‑taught."

Wu Tou stared intently at Gongyang Sanlü: "So, what are you planning to do?"

Gongyang Sanlü closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

After a full half‑hour, Gongyang Sanlü finally murmured: "Huo Xiong can now be confirmed as the piece our Majesty is using against me…… already exposed, so not dangerous. What worries me are those who sold the Linghu clan's Tushan Hall lineage to Great Wei."

The enemies lurking in the shadows are the most frightening. If someone is also scheming against our Majesty, could they be scheming against me as well?

Gongyang Sanlü suddenly opened his eyes and fixed his stare on Wu Tou: "Lord Wu Tou, could you not tell us the situation among the gods over there?"

Wu Tou firmly shut his mouth and vigorously shook his head.

Gongyang Sanlü sighed: "Information unclear, intelligence unequal…… I, too, can only proceed cautiously, test the waters. Hmm, on the other hand, the tactic our Majesty once used in the southwest, if turned against himself, would also be quite worth anticipating."

Standing up, Gongyang Sanlü shook his head as he walked out.

Lord Wu Tou, please rest well these days…… I still have to go discuss terms with Prince An…… alas…… poor little grandson Gongyang Si, who knows what suffering he endures. Moreover, the trusted guards I brought to Aquatic Plant Prefecture…… I have truly lost face this time.

Gongyang Sanlü sighed all the way out of the palace.

Just as he had said, this time he rushed in a panic to Aquatic Plant Prefecture to cause trouble for Wu Tie, never expecting that Wu Tie would be so recklessly bold as to actually strike him heavily.

Gongyang Sanlü himself relied on a life‑saving treasure he kept at the bottom of his chest to escape Aquatic Plant Prefecture; fortunately, Aquatic Plant Prefecture is not far from Green Hill City, so he returned to Green Hill City in little time and ran to the Imperial City to lodge a complaint against Linghu Qingqing.

The result? Linghu Qingqing just muddled through……

And the people Gongyang Sanlü had brought to Aquatic Plant Prefecture—including his most beloved gray‑haired grandson Gongyang Si and tens of thousands of Gongyang clan guards—were all trapped in Aquatic Plant Prefecture City.

Gongyang Sanlü truly never expected that, on the territory of the Green Hill Divine Kingdom, a noble would dare to use a great army to besiege the current Grand Preceptor's guard detail in his own fief, detain the Grand Preceptor's close kin, and even beat the Grand Preceptor into serious injury.

Lawless and heaven‑defying—truly lawless and heaven‑defying.

That very night, a certain elder of the Gongyang family sneaked off to Aquatic Plant Prefecture, spent a quarter‑hour in a secret talk with Wu Tie, and afterward the Gongyang clan paid a considerable price to ransom Gongyang Si and the tens of thousands of guards back.

Afterward, for a full half‑year, the Green Hill Divine Kingdom could be described as calm and tranquil.

The southwest and the west were both engulfed in great wars, and the Green Hill Divine Kingdom, relying solely on its own strength, opposed the two great divine kingdoms, formally mired in a two‑front war quagmire.

But since it is a quagmire, while it trapped the Green Hill Divine Kingdom, it also trapped Great Wei and Great Wu on the battlefield.

The Three Kingdoms continuously poured large armies into the battlefield, and the troops stockpiled on the three fronts kept growing, with casualties increasing each day.

That day, frontline war reports suddenly spread wildly, bad news arrived, and on the Three Kingdoms battlefield, Qingqiu Divine State suffered another crushing defeat—the main army commanded by numerous Xiang family generals was actually surrounded and annihilated by the combined forces of Great Wei and Great Wu.

What countless civil and military officials of Qingqiu Divine State knew all too well was that the large army commanded by the Xiang family generals was completely wiped out, yet every one of those Xiang family generals escaped unharmed.

As always, the Xiang family commanders who broke out of the encirclement were all seriously wounded, many critically injured, yet not a single one was lost—not even those Xiang family youths making their first battlefield appearance, who had only Life Pool Realm cultivation.

Thousands of Fetal Storage Realm generals and tens of thousands of Life Pool Realm officers, with even their personal guards completely wiped out, yet all these Xiang family descendants returned safely.

What was most speechless was that, besides the reckless, battle‑loving Xiang Tuo who only knew how to charge and kill, the Xiang family's highest‑ranking military official, the current family head Xiang Chan serving in the Ministry of War, also led the troops.

Unlike those brutish Xiang family members, Xiang Chan in the Ministry of War had stratagems that were not top‑tier but still remarkable; he could be considered a "wise general" who fought with his mind.

Yet in this crushing defeat, even Xiang Chan lost in a completely inexplicable way.

In short, it seemed that every move of the main army commanded by the Xiang family was known to the enemy, every move was met with targeted preparations, and ultimately their forces were encircled by the allied armies of the two states, after which the entire army inexplicably collapsed.

Their hastily erected camp's city‑defense grand formation was as good as nonexistent.

The giant god‑beasts deployed in their army also turned into soft persimmons when facing the enemy.

Much of the weaponry they had stockpiled turned out to be far less lethal than expected.

Even, it is said, when the Xiang family commanders tried to flee with their troops, the flight speed of their warships inexplicably slowed considerably.

In short, they lost in a total rout, losing so badly that the Xiang family generals could only save their own lives.

When the bad news arrived, the entire Qingqiu Divine State was shaken.

Because the Xiang family's main army failed, the support troops commanded by the other several major general houses also failed to escape and were likewise encircled by the allied armies of the two states on the Three Kingdoms battlefield.

What nearly broke the Qingqiu Divine State's populace was that, after the encirclement, Great Wei and Great Wu each dispatched a highly mobile guerrilla fleet that surged straight through the Three Kingdoms battlefield, stabbing deep into the heart of Qingqiu Divine State from the west.

These two guerrilla fleets could at any time turn south, thrust into the rear of the southwest battlefield's defenses, coordinate with the main force of Great Wu's army that destroyed Jin, and utterly annihilate Qingqiu Divine State's main army in the southwest theater.

If things really developed this way, it would mean the total collapse of Qingqiu Divine State's entire western territory.

Before the frontline war report had even reached Qingqiu City after a little more than an hour, countless rumors and gossip were brewing and spreading through every channel when an urgent military order arrived in Wu Tie's hands.

Wu Tie was in Anyi City when he received the order; he immediately took a large retinue of guards, passed through the spatial gate, and arrived at Qingqiu City.