History's Number 1 Founder
chapter-760

A wave of purple energy that resembled a tsunami poured forth into the sky above the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain and expanded in all directions as the sky turned purple in an instant.

The dome of purple energy was immense and stretched out for thousands of miles. In the middle of it all, a gargantuan mountain that was ten thousand feet high shimmered into vision. An ocean of black water supported it from beneath and the entire spectacle sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

"Mount Yujing!"

From the moment the sea of purple energy burst into existence, the Imperial Palace and the Immortal Dragon City stopped resisting each other and withdrew into their respective corners and the three entities eventually formed a triangle in the void.

Lin Feng was sitting with his legs crossed on the tip of the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree at the summit of Mount Yujing. There was also a girl with black and white hair quietly standing behind him with a giant sword sheath behind her back.

Lin Feng laughed and said, "Thank you, friends, for letting me watch a spectacular show."

Even though Zhu Yi, the Vivant Joy Holy Man and did not dare to speak like Lin Feng, they shared the same thoughts.

The battle between the two emperors of the two remaining royal empires of the Divine Lands and the violent clash between the Imperial Palace and the Immortal Dragon City above the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain was truly a breathtaking sight.

One magic treasure was reborn after sustaining serious injuries after the ending of the Antiquity Age and suffered another round of heavy damage after destroying the Great Thunderclap Temple, before it was eventually repaired and it regained the majestic powers of the very same treasure that dominated the Divine Lands all those years ago.

The other magic treasure begun its journey from the Primordial Age, and was the product of the visions and ambitions of the very first human emperor. However, it was never truly completed, and it was only refined to perfection in recent years and returned to the world with a bang.

The offensive capabilities of the Immortal Dragon City were only comparatively weaker than its defensive powers – that was not to say that the Immortal Dragon City’s offensive powers were actually weak.

These two magic treasures were far stronger than their initial showing at the battle of Xiling City when they had just been completed.

One could say that the giants were still in a daze as if they had just been awoken from their deep slumber – and now, the giants were wide awake.

The great willpower of the humans during their first uprising against the dark rule of the demons during the Primordial Age was imparted to this magic treasure and had since been at its core despite the eternal passage of time.

This was an unshakeable resolve that humans possessed and would remain so for all time.

"However, the Imperial Palace is touted as the most powerful treasure ever made by the age of the human emperors," Lin Feng smiled faintly from the audience. "It’s not too far away from its original splendor and glory, and it’s still able to fight against the Immortal Dragon City. However, that’s also due to the special characteristics of the Immortal Dragon City."

"Even if the Imperial Palace was back in its peak condition, it may still not be able to break the defenses of the Immortal Dragon City. Still, relatively weaker offensive powers of the Immortal Dragon City is no match for the Imperial Palace in its peak condition."

Shi Yu responded to his remarks from the top of the Immortal Dragon City. "Are you here for the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain as well, Lin Feng?"

Even though the relationship between the Great Qin Empire and the Celestial Sect of Wonders was a lot better than the relationship between the Great Zhou Empire and the latter, something like wresting the control of the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain was not something that could be compromised. The two parties were competitors after all.

However, the possibility of their alliance to chase the Great Zhou Empire out of the picture before settling their differences afterwards was still hanging in the air.

Liang Pan knew what was coming for him. The Imperial Palace was still hovering in the air with the continuous flashing of purple-golden light, but the entire body of the palace was becoming translucent as it prepared for withdrawal in the event that it was necessary to do so – if Mount Yujing and the Immortal Dragon City decided to gang up against Liang Pan.

The moment the Great Qin Empire and the Celestial Sect of Wonders displayed any intentions of form a temporary alliance against him, Liang Pan would retreat immediately without hesitation. However, that did not mean that he was giving up on the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain; he was going to watch from the outside in and wait patiently for his opportunity.

If this happened, then the Great Qin Empire and the Celestial Sect of Wonders would not dare to give their all to wrest control of the mountain from each other in order to avoid profiting the Great Zhou Empire for nothing. They had to consider the possibility of the Great Zhou Empire stepping back in the fray and ‘plucking the fruit’ from under their noses.

Lin Feng glanced at the Imperial Palace from his position at the top of the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree and thought to himself, "He is quite intelligent after all. He stopped assaulting the Immortal Dragon City from the moment I appeared. He’s afraid that I will channel the Power-Destroying Catastrophe, after which he will be trapped with only a slim chance of escaping."

During the battle of Xiling City, Lin Feng used the very same technique during his epic fight against the Saintly Celestial Sword and the Great Void Holy Pavilion. He channeled the power of the black chess piece of the Viralopa Chess Game (Translator’s Note: This is the edited name of the Power-Destroying Game to remain faithful to the Buddhist nature of the terms. Refer to chapter 595.) and swept Xin Longsheng and the others off their feet with his surprise move. They became ensnared within the array and were forced to resist the destructive and apocalyptic forces of the Power-Destroying Catastrophe.

Liang Pan was aware of this trump- card killer move, and raised his guard from the very start as he was not about to give Lin Feng the same chance.

This was a characteristic of the Imperial Palace that the Immortal Dragon City could not match. Even though the offensive Imperial Palace was unable to break through the Immortal Dragon City, it could retreat whenever it wanted to.

If the magic treasures were switched around, then the outcome would have been very different. Shi Yu would have continued his onslaught against Liang Pan so that he would be unable to withdraw from the battle and Lin Feng would have entered the fray happily so that the two of them could completely remove the Great Zhou Empire from the game before anything else.

"However, you don’t have to be so wary," Lin Feng felt slightly amused.

The blemish on the Sky-Shielding Umbrella was never completely removed, and five forms of the Power-Destroying Catastrophe was channeled during the battle of Xiling City as well. This caused the Sky-Shielding Umbrella to weaken even more. According to his own calculations, the Sky-Shielding Umbrella was still able to resist two more black chess pieces before it would crumble completely.

Lin Feng turned back towards Shi Yu and smiled as he spoke, "Greetings, my friend. Of course I am interested in the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain as well."

As long as Liang Pan’s Imperial Palace had mobility and freedom of movement, Lin Feng and Shi Yu would never give everything they had to battle each other for control of the mountain.

The Imperial Palace, the Immortal Dragon City and Mount Yujing entered a tense stand-off in the void above the mountain.

Shi Yu was the first to break the silence. "Master Lin, why don’t we work together? We will split the Yingzhou and Penglai Celestial Mountains. What do you think?"

"Standing off like we are now will benefit Liang Pan in the long run. Zhu Hongwu, along with the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain, are already heading south of the Ying Sea to search for the Penglai Celestial Mountain."

Lin Feng smiled in response but said nothing. Liang Pan’s arrangements and Shi Yu’s proposal were both within his predictions.

In truth, Shi Yu’s suggestion was extremely alluring. Even though there was still wriggle room in the details of splitting the loot afterwards, it was a beneficial outcome and a win-win situation for both parties at the end of everything.

If the Great Qin Empire and the Celestial Sect of Wonders controlled one mountain each, then there was a further possibility of the two parties working together to wrest control of the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain from the Great Zhou Empire.

However, there were too many uncertainties in this proposition. For instance, the Penglai Celestial Mountain was still nowhere to be seen, and who should be the first to control the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain?

It was possible that the Great Zhou Empire would gain control of the Penglai Celestial Mountain during their efforts to win the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain. If that happened, then the Great Zhou Empire would have the last laugh and they would be in control of the Ying Sea.

This was the worst-case scenario. Under more optimistic circumstances, the Penglai Celestial Mountain could be discovered and controlled by another party. It would not be easy for the Celestial Sect of Wonders and the Great Qin Empire to take it back, and the Great Zhou Empire would not sit by idly as well.

If the three mountains returned into the sea before anybody found the Penglai Celestial Mountain, then one of the two parties in the alliance would have to return home empty-handed.

The party that had already cultivated the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain, whether it was Lin Feng or Shi Yu, would never give back their control of the mountain.

This was not a simple problem of worrying about splitting the prize before they even obtained it. There were actually two prizes – the first one presented the problem of who gets to cultivate the mountain first, and the second one represented another host of uncertainties.

The relationship between the Great Qin Empire and the Celestial Sect of Wonders had always been quite friendly. It was therefore unlikely that one party would try to scam and slander the other and burn bridges after obtaining control of the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain. However, cooperation still had too much ambivalence and too many unpredictable factors remained.

This was the reason why the Celestial Sect of Wonders and the Great Qin Empire did not set up this alliance before their entry into the Ying Sea – the circumstances were simply too unpredictable and uncertain. Nobody was a hundred percent confident about even finding the mountains in the first place.

Now that they had discovered one, the possibility of an alliance was no longer a complete impossibility.

If there was not a better option, then Lin Feng would have probably agreed with Shi Yu’s proposal in the end.

"However…" Lin Feng fiddled with the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl as his mouth curled into a smile. "I have a better idea."

With regards to Shi Yu’s proposal, Liang Pan was not too eager to respond. They had their respective decision-making processes and rationality at this level, and they were all not people that were easily swayed by words.

If Lin Feng agreed to Shi Yu’s plan, then Liang Pan would have tucked tail and ran right away to focus all his efforts in obtaining the Penglai Celestial Mountain.

"Your proposal is pretty good, but from my perspective, natural occurrences like the Three Mountains of the Ying Sea embody the spiritual energy of the world, and where they will end up is up to fate and a little bit of luck," Lin Feng chuckled as he continued, "Why don’t we let our disciples determine the fate of the three mountains?"

Once his proposal was put forth, the expressions on the faces of the Vivant Joy Holy Man and the others became a little strange.

On top of the Immortal Dragon City, even Shi Yu glanced at Lin Feng with a slightly astonished look. He thought to himself, "Is he that confident, or does he have other plans? If that’s the case, what can it be?"

Liang Pan started to frown from his seat on the throne inside the Imperial Palace as well. "This man has a big appetite. He wants to swallow both Penglai and Yingzhou for himself – what is he relying on? What plans does he have for the Penglai Celestial Mountain?"

Lin Feng was crystal clear about everyone’s discussions and confusion. He wasted no time as he laughed again, "I will sit here with the two of you to hold down the forts and we shall see where fate and luck takes us."

Liang Pan was the first to respond. "Your breadth of mind and mannerism is truly impressive. You treat the Yingzhou Mountain so casually as well. However, the time that we have is limited and the Three Mountains can return into the sea at any time. Sitting around and doing nothing may ruin the opportunity for everyone."

Lin Feng grinned and said, "That just means it’s meant to be. If you can’t wait, then you can head south to join Zhu Hongwu and the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain and focus all your efforts to find the Penglai Celestial Mountain."

With that, he turned towards Zhu Yi and the others and said, "It’s your turn."

Zhu Yi, Li Yuanfang exchanged glances before bowing at Lin Feng and descended onto the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain.

The Imperial Palace and the Immortal Dragon City shook and trembled but they were not able to do anything as long as Lin Feng was still on top of Mount Yujing.

After a moment of contemplation, Liang Pan and Shi Yu communicated with their respective disciples and subordinates and instructed them forth into the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain as well.

The Tidal Sword Elder and the Sun-Swallowing Grand Sage flew closer to the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain and waited for Lin Feng’s response. When they realized that Lin Feng could not care less, they entered the ancient mountain defense formation as well.

A group of cultivators flew out of the Imperial Palace. They were the cultivators under the command of the emperor, and even Shao Huayang and the other East Heaven’s Gate cultivators were among their ranks.

What turned heads was the fact that the leader of this group of cultivators was not a renowned immortal soul stage cultivator from the Great Zhou Empire and neither was it a powerful East Heaven’s Gate cultivator – it was a middle-aged man that was radiating with Buddhist light.