Stealing The Heavens
chapter-838

The atmosphere in the great hall was extremely bizarre. Three women were suspended in the air. Countless black divine runes had formed dozens of light ribbons that tightly wound around them, trapping them midair. These powerful divine runes had the effects of paralyzing the body and freezing the soul, so not only the three of them could not move physically, but they could also not hear with their ears, see with their eyes, talk with their mouths, and think.

The emperors and courtiers of the six states had taken their seats. Those from Great Wei, Great Zhao, and Great Qi remained composed, but the people from Great Qi and Great Chu were all wearing unsightly faces. From time to time, they looked up at the three women confined in midair, and then secretly glanced at their own emperors, wondering how they were going to deal with this matter.

Yan Dan, Yan Qijun, and the courtiers of Great Yan had found their seats on both sides of the hall. Wu Qi was the only person sitting on a six-foot-high triple-layered wooden platform at the head of the hall, overlooking the crowd. The eyes of the emperors and courtiers from the other five states flickered, and they seemed to have learned something from Wu Qi's seat.

With a soft clap of his hands, Wu Qi gazed down at the crowd and said faintly, "You are invited here today is because I have a few things to tell you. First, the imperial throne of Great Yan has passed to Princess Zhang Le, Ji Zixuan. The former emperor, Yan Dan, and the former crown prince, Yan Qijun, will become Great Yan's Grand Imperial Sires together."

Yan Dan and Yan Qijun smiled and nodded to the emperors and courtiers of the other five states. Everyone was silent, for they knew that the real show was yet to come, and that the change of power in Great Yan was obviously just the prelude. With a complicated look on their faces, they focused all their attention on Wu Qi. They knew very well that he was the root cause that made Yan Dan passed the imperial throne to his granddaughter.

Wu Qi glanced at the crowd, who was listening attentively to him, and his gaze stopped for a moment on Xiang Yu before he went on in a deep voice, "Second, I have a question for you. Do you think that it's not easy to grow and expand your power on Pangu Continent? You all are cultivating the cultivation techniques of immortals. Because of the trouble caused by Myriad Immortal Alliance, Great Yu is getting heavy-handed in its crackdown on the immortals. I think you all have suffered a lot of setbacks in the past two years, haven't you?"

The remark immediately stirred up grief among the emperors and courtiers of the five states. They looked at each other, and it was evident from the haggard faces and the dim, absent-minded eyes of the others that the past few years had been a difficult one for everyone. Except for Yan Dan and Yan Qijun, whose faces were suffused with color, and the courtiers of Great Yan, who seemed to have gained some weight, those from the other five states looked like a group of pitiful refugees.

Especially Zhao Sheng and Wei Wuji. The smell of blood had not dissipated from both of them, nor had the wounds of their internal organs and immortal souls healed. The emperors and courtiers of the five states looked at each other for a moment, and then sighed at the same time.

"Pangu Continent truly deserves its reputation of the birthplace of the human race," Ying Zheng said faintly, toying with a delicate teacup in his hand. "Everything is fine here, but unfortunately there is no room for those of us who have already set foot in the path of immortality. To be totally honest, in the past two or three years, thirteen cities developed by Great Qin have been destroyed by Great Yu's army, and we have lost more than a million loyal soldiers."

With a wry smile, he put down the teacup and said, "I'm sure it's not just Great Qin, but all of you, except Great Yan, have had a hard time over the last two years, haven't you?"

There was a long silence in the great hall. Qu Ping looked around at the others, then sighed and said, "Now that Ying Zheng has spoken his mind, I'll speak frankly as well. When we first came here, Great Chu had opened up more than a hundred cities by virtue of our manpower superiority. But two years later, only twenty-five cities remain intact, and the rest have been completely wiped out by Great Yu. Had it not been for the long distance between these cities, and the fact that they are scattered across five provinces, it's likely that Great Chu's power on Pangu Continent would have been completely uprooted by now."

When even Ying Zheng and Qu Ping had spoken out their shameful experiences, Great Wei, Great Zhao, and Great Qi let go of their reserve and began to highlight the trouble they had encountered in the past two years. After Tian Wen told the harrowing story of Great Qi, everyone looked at each other with a mutual understanding. Sure enough, Pangu Continent was not a good place to mess around.

A few years ago, itinerant cultivators and itinerant immortals were still able to live a rather comfortable life on Pangu Continent. At that time, although Great Yu's attitude towards them was rigid, it did not kill them at the sight as it had done in the past two years. And now, Great Yu's armies were everywhere. Whenever they found a cultivator, even if that cultivator was just a small fish of Xiantian realm who had not even formed his Gold Core, he would be beaten to death by hundreds of soldiers whose overall strength equivalent to that of Gold Immortals and Heaven Immortals.

In this kind of environment, Wu Qi thought it was amazing that the five states could still maintain a certain size of foundation that had not been wiped out by Great Yu, and even managed to have a certain degree of development. These heroes from the warring states period were indeed worthy of their reputation. Their means were simply formidable.

After everyone vented their grievances, Wu Qi interrupted them with a little cough. He threw out his trump cards.

He rose to his feet and exercised the Dragon Kill. Gradually, his body pulled up in front of the crowd and swelled to a height of one hundred feet. Two rainbow-colored dragon horns stretched out of his forehead, while translucent, purple-and-gold dragon scales flipped out to cover his whole body. When the pearl light in the hall shone on his body, the glittering scales reflected the light of seven colors, making him looked as dazzling as if he had been cast in crystal.

A terrible pressure was spreading across the great hall. Apart from Yan Dan and those from Great Yan, the emperors and courtiers of the other five states were shocked at the same time, suffocated by the pressure Wu Qi had deliberately released. He purposely raised the strength of his aura from the level of thirty-sixth-tier Heaven Immortal to the level of Gold Immortal, then from the level of eighteenth-tier Gold Immortal to the peak-level of first-tier Gold Immortal, and finally to the level of ninth-tier Primordial Immortal.

Every change in pressure was so clear, the process of it getting stronger was so vivid. Ying Zheng and others knew exactly what Wu Qi was doing. They stared blankly at him, and felt the pressure being raised by him one tier at a time, from the level of thirty-sixth-tier Heaven Immortal to the level of Gold Immortal, and then raised again eighteen times in a row until it reached the level they had only heard of in legend.

Primordial!

Wu Qi, standing in front of everyone, was already a mighty figure of Primordial realm! In other words, if he had wanted to, he could have wiped out everyone in the hall with just a stroke of his finger right now. Ancient almighty experts had a common understanding—all existences under Dao Realm were mere ants! Now that he had stepped into the realm of Primordial, or, the realm of Dao Reasoning, in his eyes all the people present here were mere ants that could be wiped away effortlessly and thoroughly!

Ying Zheng's face was pale as he managed a cough. Led by him, the emperors and courtiers of the other five states all began to clear their throats at the same time, save Yan Dan and those from Great Yan. Wu Qi had told them a lot of information in the most direct way. Now, they did not have to ask Yan Dan to understand that the reason they were being invited here was not only because there was important information about Great Yu, but also for many other purposes.

With a wry smile, Ying Zheng looked at Wu Qi and asked, "Is the cultivation technique of the human race the reason for your incredible cultivating speed?"

Wu Qi nodded slowly. "Indeed," his voice rang out like a thunderclap, "people who practice the cultivation technique of the human race are all progressing at tremendous speed. As long as their aptitudes aren't too bad, and with sufficient resources and teaching, they could step into the realm of Gold Immortal within just sixty years, and obtain the power of Primordial in just hundreds of years."

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Ying Zheng's jaws dropped. It was a long time before he smiled bitterly and said, "No wonder... But, can immortality be obtained through practicing the cultivation technique of the human race?"

Wu Qi kept silence for a moment. "Those who practice the cultivation technique of the human race are still inseparable from the samsara of life and death," he said frankly. "By practicing it, you can achieve a significant result in a short period of time, but you will still have to face death one day. The cultivation techniques of the immortals, on the other hand, although difficult to cultivate, you will never have to worry about your longevity once you become a Heaven Immortal. Unless struck by a calamity, immortals can live eternally in leisure."

Smacking his lips, Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes and nodded. "In that case, I'd better stick to the cultivation techniques of immortals. However, among the members of Great Qin's imperial clan, I'll have a group of my direct descendants practices the cultivation technique of the human race. I wonder if Prince of Tianyun can help me nurture them with all your heart and soul?"

After pondering for a moment, Wu Qi nodded. "Of course. As long as they serve me wholeheartedly. Frankly speaking, I'm short of hands right now, a lot of them." He paused, then added, "I can assure you that the most qualified of them will have the overall strength of a Gold Immortal as quickly as possible, as for the realm of Primordial... well, you must know that not everyone can step through the threshold smoothly."

The eyes of Ying Zheng and the other four emperors lit up at the same time. Wu Qi's promise had exceeded the bottom line they had just calculated in their hearts!

All those present were wise men. By brazenly flaunting his Primordial power in front of them, plus the two points he had mentioned earlier, everyone knew what Wu Qi was up to. Therefore, they had quickly drawn up their demands and conditions in their minds, and were ready to discuss them with him. Instead, Wu Qi had taken the initiative and gave them what they were about to ask.

What's more, Wu Qi promised more than they expected.

"In order to live forever, Your Majesties are not, of course, willing to give up the cultivation techniques of the immortals. I can understand that. I have in my hand cultivation techniques of the immortals taken from the Primordial experts who I've slain, and I can give them to you for free. Also, I'll provide you as much immortal stones and material as you need for your cultivation... I just need you to give me advice and suggestions, and be the revered elders of my Dong Hai Province."

Ying Zheng, Qu Ping, and others all glanced at one another. It was a very generous offer. Their own cultivation techniques could only allow them to reach the realm of Heaven Immortals, and they were worried that they would not be able to continue their cultivation after that. The cultivation techniques of Primordial Immortals? The gift was so generous that they could not raise any objection.

Wu Qi made another offer that the crowd could no longer refuse.

"By my reasoning, Pangu Continent will be in turmoil within a few years. I have no intention of seizing the thrones of the six states. The six states will still exist, but they will need to exist as vassal states of Dong Hai Province, and the people of the six states will need to serve me. And I promise to do my best to produce one to three Primordial experts for each of the states. Of course, they will all be practicing the cultivation technique of the human race."

That was a very generous offer. The emperors and courtiers of the five states exchanged glances for a moment, and then Wei Wuji asked Wu Qi why Pangu Continent would be in turmoil.

Wu Qi recounted what had happened in Liangzhu during the past two months. Upon hearing that, the faces of the emperors and courtiers of the five states fell instantly. If such a mess in Liangzhu were to affect the whole Pangu Continent, would the turmoil it caused destroy the five states altogether? Perhaps for the moment, it was best for them to stay under Wu Qi, until they were strong enough...

With power and facts, Wu Qi convinced the emperors and courtiers of the five states in the simplest way.

When all seemed settled, Xiang Yu stood up. He looked at Yuji, who was confined in the air, and asked coolly, "Prince Tianyun of Great Yan, or should I call you King Dong Hai of Great Yu... there are some questions that I need the answers!"

Ying Zheng and Huang Xie rose to their feet, too. Indeed, there were some questions needed to be answered.