Stealing The Heavens
chapter-551

Zhong Ning City, the administrative center where the Prefecture Overseer of Zhong Ning City carried out his duty…

At the moment, one thousand Long Bo men clad in thick, heavy armors made of rock, each standing one thousand feet tall, were approaching the city from the east, their feet stomping in unison. The color of their complexions was a mixture of black and green, and complicated runes were drawn on their skins, from faces to necks, chests to abdomens, thighs to ankles. Their few-feet thick rock armors emanated a pale green glow, the surfaces of which were polished into a high sheen and carved with countless runes as well. Green airwaves visible to naked eyes surrounded these fearsome giants, who were sending forth a vast aura that made one shudder.

They were the culprits who made the ground in Zhong Ning City tremble. It was not only because of their tall, heavy bodies, but also their rock armors, which weighed hundreds of thousands of kilograms at the very least. Each of their steps would take them hundreds of feet further toward the destination, leaving behind a deep footprint on the ground, with countless tiny cracks around it.

Behind these Long Bo men came an army of thirty thousand elite soldiers. They were all clad in bronze armors, and were riding creatures with a single horn, which looked like raptors. With their left hands holding the reins, and their right carrying strange-looking lances measuring sixty feet long, these soldiers were charging toward the city at the heels of the Long Bo men.

Wu Qi's divine sense swept across these people. The overall strength of each Long Bo man was not weaker than a Heaven Immortal, while the elite soldiers behind them each possessed an overall strength that could allow them to fight against any Nascent Divinity cultivators.

In the west, three hundred flood dragons were dragging one hundred heavy chariots made of bronze as they charged toward the city. Each of the chariots had six wheels, measuring thirty feet in width and one hundred feet in length, and having two levels. Soldiers clad in heavy armors and holding strong bows had packed the first level, while soldiers clad in soft leather armor and carrying sharp dirks in hands had occupied the second level. They were all prepared to launch a full assault on the city.

Behind the one hundred bronze chariots followed a massive column of slow-moving siege machines: tall siege ladders, huge moving shooting towers, heavy battering arms, and some other ancient weapons of siege. The most striking of these were three tall celestial fiend puppets carved out of obsidian. The puppets stood two thousand feet tall and were exuding a dazzling aura while marching slowly with long strides toward the wall, driven by the formations embedded inside them.

Wu Qi gave the wall a brief glance. 'I bet the wall will crumble with just one punch from these puppets,' he thought. Through his Chaotic Divine Eyes, he discovered that there was an energy core inside each puppet, which looked like a clump of scorching lava and glowing blindly like the sun. Judging from the fearsome power emanating from these energy cores, someone must have brought down three stars from the sky, compressed them with an incredible power, and made them into the power sources of the puppets.

Just the power possessed by these three energy cores was comparable to that of an Eighteenth Tier Gold Immortal. It was not tough to imagine how much destructive forces they could bring into the war.

In the north, there were sixty thousand Feathermen flying in the sky. Their wings were touching each other, forming into a massive dark cloud that blotted the sky as they came swarming toward the city. They were flying at a height of almost one hundred miles from the ground, holding exquisitely made longbows in hands and carrying large sacks filled with arrows on their back. Each of them carried at least three hundred arrows.

If the arrows were shot from the height of one hundred miles above the ground, without considering the initial kinetic energy of the arrow, just the height alone could allow these alloy-forged arrows to easily penetrate a stone wall measuring tens of feet in thickness. No ordinary cultivator could withstand the piercing of these arrows.

Below these Feathermen were twenty thousand men of various species: three-eyed men, double-faced men, men with a single arm and single leg, men with a large hole in the chest, and many others. Although there were only twenty thousand men, there were nearly one thousand different species. What baffled Wu Qi the most were the few carriages he saw among them. The carriages had carried a few large crystal water tanks into the battle, and inside the tanks were several mermen with beautiful features and slender figures!

How were these mermen going to fight the battle with them soaking in the water tanks, only the heavens knew. But, they were here. One of them was weeping. Drops of tears were trickling down his face, falling into the water tank and transforming into pearls the size of a thumb. Nearly half of the space in all water tanks was occupied by these pearls.

Shaking his head, Wu Qi looked over to the south.

What came from the south did look like a regular army. Three chariots dragged by True Dragons were leading an army of fifty thousand soldiers as they marched slowly toward Zhong Ning City. They formed a strict square formation, and were sending forth a mighty air blended with a subtle killing intent. They marched in an extremely rigid fashion, with no one taking even single a wrong step.

Above the army of fifty thousand soldiers, three dragon-shaped flying ships were gliding forward with the formation. They were surrounded by nearly ten thousand Oracles from the Directorate of Celestials, who hovered in the air and were shrouded in darting electric arcs, dancing flames, rolling waters, and billowing clouds. Some were even exuding plumes of dense dark smokes with ghost claws that stretched out from time to time. Just the energy waves emanating from these nearly ten thousand Oracles had caused the weather in the surroundings to change. Dark clouds followed them as they neared the Zhong Ning City.

The sight of three chariots dragged by True Dragons before the formation had made Wu Qi's pupils constricted.

They were dragged by real dragons, not some flood dragons that used to drag the one hundred chariots in the west. The chariot in the center was dragged by six Yellow Dragons, the one to the left was dragged by six Green Dragons, and the one to the right was dragged by six White Dragons. All eighteen dragons had shrunk their bodies to about three hundred feet in length, and were exuding an aura that made Wu Qi's scalp went numb. All of these dragons possessed a cultivation base nearing a higher tier Heaven Immortal.

Ao Buzun lazily stretched his head out of Wu Qi's lapel. After spending some while to stare blankly at those dragons, he suddenly shook his head and said with a sigh, "Damn it, these dragons of the younger generation are surely worse than their ancestors. Is it really worthwhile to serve the Human Emperor, just for the sake of some stinking monies and virtues?"

He stretched out his right hand and counted with five fingers, then sighed and said, "Well, I shall not condemn your parents. Tsk, I just recalled that back in those years, I had slept with many Yellow Dragons, Green Dragons and White Dragons, and a few of them were pregnant with my heirs. It might be that some of you are my descendants... It is risky to curse your parents!"

Wu Qi lowered his head and looked at Ao Buzun. "I can understand if they do it for the sake of money. But what of the virtue given by the Human Emperor? What is the use of it?"

"Tsk..." Ao Buzun lazily picked his teeth with one of his claws as he gave Wu Qi a gaze full of ridicule. "What of the virtue? Well, you can think of it as a fart. Yet this fart smells very nice. Therefore, those Buddhas, Immortals, demons who live in mountain and rivers, all sort of creatures like to wear this fart so they can smell better! Hehe!"

While frowning, Wu Qi gave his head a strong tap and asked, "What is its use?"

After a moment of pondering, Ao Buzun spread his front claws and said in a totally unconcerned manner, "Those who possess virtues, especially the virtues relating to the human race, can have the power of their Heavenly Tribulation reduced, or even avoid it completely. Although the Tribulation for Heaven Immortals is nothing worth mentioning, but the Heavenly Tribulations those Gold Immortals and Primordial Immortals have to face whenever they level up... Hehe!"

Ao Buzun shook his head and said, "The power is simply too strong. A long, long time ago, when I was still a virgin dragon, my father had brought me to witness how a Second Tier Primordial Immortal transcended his Tribulation. You must know that once a Second Tier Primordial Immortal transcends his Tribulation, he will be conferred as a Great Emperor by the Heaven. But too bad... just the first wave of the thunder tribulation had turned him and three Primordial Immortal items he had prepared asunder.

"Therefore, virtues are very attractive to those Gold Immortals and Primordial Immortals! The greater one's cultivation base is, the more value one puts on it." He finished it with a cold grin.

The virtues of the human race could help Immortals to reduce the power, or even avoid their Heavenly Tribulations completely? Wu Qi nodded thoughtfully. Although it seemed like something nice to have, it was of little use for him. With the forming of his innate Chaotic Spirit Body, he had already escaped from the watchful glances of the Heavenly Dao. As long as he did not perform anything that would attract the Heavenly Dao's attention, it was extremely tough for the Heavenly Tribulation to find him.

Yet, Wu Qi was surprised to learn that Ao Buzun's father had actually brought him to witness how a Second Tier Primordial Immortal transcended a Tribulation. It seemed this black dragon's background was extraordinary. As he gave Ao Buzun another glance, who was slowly retreating his head, Wu Qi had decided that he would find out the root of this fellow through interrogation one day.

Even as they were talking, three chariots had neared the city. Meanwhile, several tens of thousands of soldiers had already poured out from the camp situated outside of the south gate, constituting a formation.

Followed by a light shout that echoed through an area of one hundred miles, the army of fifty thousand soldiers following behind the three chariots halted. Only the eighteen dragons kept pressing forward, dragging three chariots behind them. Before long, the chariots had arrived at a spot less than one hundred feet away from the army at the south gate. The bead curtain hanging down from the chariot's door split from the center, and the dazzling glow of beads that had blocked off Wu Qi's Chaotic Divine Eyes was retracted, revealing the people sitting inside the chariots.

Wu Qi nearly burst into laughter at the sight of the people in the chariots.

Sitting inside the chariot to the left was Lao Ai. He was clad in a dragon robe, with Goddess Miao Xin sitting atop his lap, while Miao Yue and Miao Feng were to his left and right, were feeding him fine wines. Inside the chariot to the right sat King Zhang Qiu, and Lord Long Yang was sitting next to him, his face smiling. The way they sat in the chariot told everyone that they were of equal status.

And, in the chariot between the two sat an old man and an immortal officer from the Heaven. The old man was clad in a long dark robe, and a one-feet tall crown made of black jade was set upon his brows. Jade pendants and rings were hanging down from his waist, and he was wearing three black jade rings on his left index, middle, and ring fingers. An immense coldness was being emanated from his body. As for the immortal officer, he wore a starry crown on his head, and was dazzling with all sorts of jewelry on him. Both men were smiling as they talked to each other.

As the bead curtain split, the old man and the immortal officer were seen speaking humbly to each other. In the end, it was the old man who rose to his feet slowly with a black scroll held in his hand. He took a few steps forward and came before the edge of the chariot, then shouted at the top of his voice, "Feng Lingling, I've brought His Majesty's imperial decree here. Dismiss your armies immediately, open the city gate, and surrender now! You have served the dynasty for many years, and for the sake of it, His Majesty will pardon the members of your clan. If you refuse to surrender, do not blame us for besieging the city, and your entire clan will be annihilated!"

Wu Qi nodded silently. With the ultimatum, it seemed the argument over Feng Lingling in Great Yu Imperial Court had already come to a conclusion.

Feng Lingling's furious roar was heard coming out from the city,

"What crime have I committed?"