Chapter 1079: Long Qilin's Scheme Against the Nether Emperor (First Update!)
"Hold on!"
Long Qilin's eyes flickered as he said, "Brother, Yin Chaojin is very close with Heavenly Emperor Hao. This man has never had good intentions. His arrival here is most likely to block your journey north. Perhaps he is even leading the Heavenly Court's army to stop you!"
Prince Youming hesitated for a moment, then walked to the palace gate to look out. He saw Yin Chaojin chasing toward the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace, with the Heavenly Court's army following closely behind. Warship after warship flew banners fluttering in the wind. It was clear that, as this Dragon brother had said, Yin Chaojin had indeed led the Heavenly Court's army to attack!
Prince Youming flew into a rage and shouted loudly, "Yin Chaojin, I treated you as a brother, but you treat me as a fool! If I let you in, won't the Heavenly Court's army of wolves and tigers trample my Xuanwu Heavenly Palace flat?"
The Nether Emperor looked back and laughed, saying, "So you thought I was in league with them, which is why you're so guarded. Brother, I came to tip you off, but I was discovered by the Heavenly River Navy and they've been chasing me ever since. If you don't let me in, I'll die out here!"
Prince Youming was at a loss, looking at Long Qilin and saying, "Brother, he says he came to tip me off. If I don't let him in, won't he die out there?"
Long Qilin's belly was full of schemes bubbling up. He said, "The Xuanwu Heavenly Palace is of great importance. If you don't handle this matter well and let the palace fall into enemy hands, even Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu will be implicated. We must be cautious. First, let the Nether Emperor kill some of the Heavenly Court's army to prove he's not in league with them."
Prince Youming praised, "Brother is indeed clever. Brother Yin, if you truly want to help me, then kill some of the Heavenly Court's gods and demons. Otherwise, you're just bringing them here to harm me!"
The Nether Emperor's expression froze: "This turtle... when did he become so clever?"
He glanced back and saw that the Heavenly River Navy had already arrived. The lead general stood at the bow of his ship, blade in hand, and called out loudly, "Prince Youming, the Heavenly Emperor has decreed that you return to Yujing City!"
Prince Youming saw that the Nether Emperor had not attacked the Heavenly River Navy, and the Heavenly River Navy had not attacked the Nether Emperor either. He flew into a rage and shouted, "Yin Chaojin, so you really were trying to trick me into opening the Liuli Qingtian Barrier to seize my Xuanwu Heavenly Palace!"
The Nether Emperor was both furious and anxious. He gritted his teeth and charged at the Heavenly River Navy, thinking to himself, "If it weren't for the sake of all those treasures in the Northern Emperor's household, would I risk my life like this?"
He struck without warning. Countless white funeral banners flew out, shaking violently toward a naval warship. The gods and demons on that ship found their primordial spirits wavering, and one by one they were dragged out of their bodies, flying into his white banners.
There were also a few powerful figures whose primordial spirits were too stable to fall victim to his scheme. But the next moment, the gourd behind the Nether Emperor opened, and countless mosquitoes buzzed out from the gourd's mouth, swarming onto the ship and draining those powerful figures dry!
Having succeeded in his strike, the Nether Emperor called out, "Brother Youming, now you can see my sincerity!"
Angry shouts rang out from the surrounding warships. The Heavenly River Navy's formation activated, and the Heavenly River nearly boiled over. Countless formation patterns flew up, sealing the entire area around the river.
Whoosh—
Countless divine weapons flew along the formation patterns. Within the formation, those divine weapons struck in a single blow and gravely wounded the Nether Emperor.
The Nether Emperor spat blood and tumbled backward, crashing against the barrier of the Liuli Qingtian Barrier.
Prince Youming was about to open the Liuli Qingtian Barrier to let him in when Long Qilin raised his hand and said, "Brother, shouldn't you wait a little longer? What if this is just a trick of self-injury to gain trust?"
Prince Youming hesitated for a moment, and in that moment of hesitation, the Heavenly River Navy's second strike came right on the heels of the first!
The navy's formation was incredibly powerful. Warship after warship rode the great waters, charging forward. All kinds of divine artifacts emerged in endless succession, and when combined with the formation, their power was even greater.
Even the Nether Emperor's ancient divine insects were wiped out in countless numbers by the formation. The Nether Emperor summoned his Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, but this gate was still incomplete. The moment he brought it out, it shattered into pieces under the terrifying might of the formation!
"Nether Sea, rise!"
The Nether Emperor shouted with blood in his mouth, his voice fierce: "I may not be a Heavenly Venerate, but I am no empty name either!"
Whoosh—
A vast Nether Sea came surging from the void, waves crashing violently. Bloodlight churned within the sea, and one after another, towering divine corpses and demonic corpses rose from the waters, roaring in fury, ready to do battle with the Heavenly River Navy.
Though the Nether Emperor's cultivation and Dao arts were not yet fully matured at this time, his divine powers and Dao arts already showed the shadow of his future self.
He was deeply versed in the Great Dao of the Nether Capital, with astonishing attainments in the arts of the soul. Whether it was the Nether Sea or the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, his knowledge of the Nether Capital was extremely broad, even touching upon the Dao of Reincarnation. One could say he had even broken through the traditional Great Dao of the Nether Capital, establishing profound achievements of his own.
On those naval warships, powerful demigod generals sneered coldly, raising their palms and slashing downward in unison: "Offer up the Divine Needle That Calms the Seas!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One massive iron pillar after another descended from the heavens, plunging into the Nether Sea. Instantly, the sea was pinned down. The divine corpses and demonic corpses that had just risen from the sea stopped ascending, each one pressed back down beneath the waves.
The Nether Sea became calm and still, not a single ripple stirring.
The Nether Emperor spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wa" sound and fell to his knees with a thud. He was about to beg for mercy from the Heavenly River Navy when suddenly the Liuli Qingtian Barrier opened a crack. Prince Youming reached out his great hand and pulled him inside.
Long Qilin said regretfully, "Brother, we should have waited a little longer..."
"If we waited any longer, Brother Yin would be dead!"
Prince Youming's face was full of apology. He blushed as he said to the Nether Emperor, "I wronged you, brother. I never expected you to be so loyal and righteous, willing to sacrifice yourself for my Xuanwu Heavenly Palace. I am utterly ashamed."
The Nether Emperor gave him a feeble glare, blood surging up his throat in waves. He nearly choked and passed out.
The Nether Sea he had painstakingly cultivated for over a hundred thousand years had been suppressed by the Heavenly River Navy, and his Nether Capital Heavenly Gate had also been smashed by them. He had lost most of his life's possessions.
"If I can't squeeze a hefty fortune out of Xuanwu's foolish son, won't I have taken a huge loss?"
He tried to pull himself together, but his injuries were too severe. His aura was withered and weak.
Prince Youming hastily supported him and introduced him to Long Qilin and the others, saying, "This is Brother Long. These few are descendants of the Eastern Emperor, and this one is my cousin, a princess of the Southern Emperor's household."
The Nether Emperor stared at Long Qilin and sneered, "Brother, these brothers of yours won't even reveal their true names. I suspect there's something fishy about this."
Yan'er felt nervous. In the future, when Qin Mu visited the Northern Emperor, Prince Youming had seen them before. But he had never seen Long Qilin's human form, and back then Yan'er had been neither fat nor thin, with a graceful figure—not as plump as she was now.
If they revealed their true names, wouldn't Prince Youming recognize them in the future?
Long Qilin, however, was very calm and said, "I've heard that the Nether Emperor is cunning and treacherous, with a divine power that lets him kill people just by knowing their names. In front of Brother Yin, I dare not reveal my name. We are all wanderers in this world—why must we know each other's names to be friends?"
"Well said!"
Prince Youming clapped in praise and laughed, "Brother Yin, since you do have such a divine power, it's no wonder Brother Long won't reveal his true name."
Yan'er was deeply impressed by Long Qilin, casting him an admiring gaze.
Long Qilin felt secretly pleased with himself: "At least I've read some poetry and books with the Sect Master... It's a pity I don't have a tail, or I'd give it a little wag..."
The Nether Emperor had suffered severe damage and could not recover in a short time.
Prince Youming gathered the descendants of Xuanwu in the palace and invited Long Qilin to direct the troops and deploy the formations.
Long Qilin said magnanimously, "Directing troops, deploying formations, arranging battle lines—I once studied these arts with a master. Let me set up the formation. Not even the Heavenly River Navy, let alone the Ten Guards of the Heavenly Court, will be able to breach the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace!"