In the Military Court in the city of Liangzhu…

Liangzhu today was a far cry from what it used to be. Although the streets and alleys were as empty as ever, there was a faint murderous air that lingered in the surroundings, as if the entire city had become a death trap.

Several newly appointed high ministers were meeting in the great hall of the Military Court. They were discussing issues such as the deployment of the new army, how to deal with the battles and conflicts taking place throughout Great Yu, and especially how and when to attack the immortal sects and the mortal kingdoms that had invaded Pangu Continent from outer heavenly realms. Just as they were having a heated discussion, a general in soft armor hurried into the hall and handed the new Military Minister, Kuafu Gong, a jade slip that had been sent over the emergency teleportation formation.

Kuafu Gong took the jade slip. As soon as he studied the contents with his weak divine sense, his body trembled, and he ran out of the hall without the slightest hesitation.

As he ran, his body expanded to a height of hundreds of feet, and his speed was as astonishing as when his ancestor chased the sun. With just a few leaps, he had arrived in the imperial palace, and before long, he was inside You Xiong Palace. There, he solemnly handed the jade slip to Emperor Haozun, who was discussing with the kings of the council.

Just a few breaths slower than Kuafu Gong, the heads of Directorate of Celestials, Secret Palace, and several other ministries of Great Yu arrived to deliver Emperor Haozun the jade slips with identical contents which Dong Hai Army had sent over through various channels.

The contents of the jade slips were very simple. It was only a single sentence—The forbidden clans have reappeared, and King of Dong Hai narrowly escaped their deadly curse.

The simple sentence frightened everyone, including Emperor Haozun, freezing their blood. “Immediately distribute the jade scapegoat puppets the Secret Palace has prepared over the years to all the high ministers of the imperial court, and inform all the Oracles of the Secret Palace and Directorate of Celestials to watch out for the forbidden clans’ curses,” snapped the emperor. “Also, send three hundred puppets to Dong Hai Army, and order the Secret Palace to send the forbidden clans’ information to King Dong Hai immediately.”

The tension in the hall increased exponentially as Emperor Haozun gave his orders. The forbidden clans had left a very strong psychological shadow to Great Yu, and the glory of their success in killing thirty-seven Human Emperors with curses made everyone, including Emperor Haozun, extremely nervous. In addition to the puppets the Secret Palace distributed to them, all the high ministers of Great Yu, including King Yang Shan, immediately surrounded themselves with Oracles and told them to step up their guard.

While the imperial court of Great Yu was in chaos, the battle between Wu Qi and the three Celestial Lords was also in chaos.

Lord Xiansheng had injured Seven Killing with the Illusion-breaking Halberd, and he was about to take the opportunity to inflict more damage when the Celestial Lord suddenly disappeared without a trace. Then, the Seven Killing Star, hanging high in the sky, suddenly glowed with a silver-purple light that blanketed the world. Seven Killing’s aura fused into the starlight, and with that, even Wu Qi’s divine sense could not detect where he was right now.

Suddenly, a figure appeared next to Lord Xiansheng. He gave a start and swung the halberd, and in the next moment, he disappeared from where he was. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared and reappeared in the void by relying on the power of the halberd, leaving thousands of afterimages in the air. However, no matter how fast he moved, there was always a faint silver-purple figure at his side.

Suddenly, Celestial Lord Greed, flummoxed by the thunderbolts on one side, gave a loud howl. The mournful howl of the wolf shook Lord Xiansheng’s body, halting the circulation of the magic power in him and causing his figure to appear in the starlight. Meanwhile, a silver-purple figure emerged next to him and punched him in the back. He grunted as the muscles in his back burst, and a fist, almost entirely made up of starlight, pierced through his chest. Lord Xiansheng shrieked miserably while swinging the halberd in his hand; his figure vanished once again.

Princess Zhang Le reached out a hand and pulled Lord Xiansheng out of the starlight. An immeasurable amount of green gas billowed into the air from the surrounding woods, rapidly turning into tiny drops of green spirit liquid and pouring into him. His body, with a big hole in the chest, was squirming as new flesh grew out quickly and sealed the huge wound.

Upon seeing Lord Xiansheng, who was able to keep breaking through the void with the Illusion-breaking Halberd, being seriously wounded by Seven Killing with a punch, Wu Qi roared. One hundred and eight Kunwu Swords shot out in a beam of bright light and quickly formed the Fiend Slaying Sword Formation. The surrounding mountains and the earth began to tremble violently as a strange distortion occurred to the void within a hundred thousand miles. All the mountains and hills twisted and rolled up like illusions, wrapping this part of the void firmly within.

The natural energy of earth, water, fire, and wind, as well as the innate and acquired energy of five elements poured over from all directions, turning into a dense cloud. Controlled by the Kunwu Swords, it merged with the twisted mountains and hills. High in the sky, the three stars—Seven Killing, Vanquisher, and Greed—flickered with a dazzling starlight. They seemed to have pressed down upon Pangu Continent, and as far as the eye could see, only these three stars of indescribable size were left in the sky while all the others had disappeared without a trace.

A bright blue light flickered above the formation as the starlight of the three stars fell straight down in three massive pillars, smashing at the formation and causing it to rumble. However, no matter how hard they tried, they could not penetrate the barrier.

The thunder tribulations attracted by Lei Meng had stopped, following which, Vanquisher and Greed snorted at the same time and flew back to Seven Killing. He was stabbed in the back by Illusion-breaking Halberd, and a strip of muscle about three fingers wide and a foot long had vanished. Through the wound, silver-purple bones and wriggling organs were visible. But compared to the other two Celestial Lords, his injury was nothing.

The thunder tribulation of Divine Gold was insanely terrifying. Vanquisher and Greed were able to break free of it only by relying on the infinite and immense star power of their natal stars. Even so, their armor had been blown to pieces, and their exquisite and splendid war robes were burned into wisps of smoke. The fair skin of the two Celestial Lords, who were fully naked now, was burnt to coke, and their strong muscles were covered with gashes like toddler’s mouths. Some of the wounds were a foot long and bone-deep, and silver-purple blood was pouring out of them while carrying a faint fragrance.

The Fiend Slaying Sword Formation had sealed off the surrounding void. The sky and the earth were in chaos at the moment, and no starlight could be seen anywhere.

Wu Qi’s body trembled slightly. Outside, the three stars were frantically pumping out their natal star power to bombard the formation, trying to smash it so they could get in touch with the three Celestial Lords. Inside, the three Celestial Lords looked at Wu Qi cautiously. They were breathing heavily, but there was no air, no natural energy, and no starlight in the surroundings, only rich Pangu Sacred Energy.

For human warriors, Pangu Sacred Energy was the source of strength and life. With it, as long as they did not get their heads chopped off, they could fight almost forever like perpetual motion machines. But for immortals and Celestial Lords, it was a deadly poison which would erode and devour their immortal energy, and eventually dissolve their magic power and cultivation bases.

Seven Killing looked at Wu Qi sullenly and said, “I can’t believe a mere King of Dong Hai could push us this far!”

Vanquisher nodded in agreement. “We were certainly careless! We have not struck for at least a dozen periods, and we thought that this was just a very simple task. None of us expected that we would be seriously wounded by a bunch of lesser men. Is that the Fiend Slaying Sword Formation? Well, we’ve learned something today!”

Greed glanced around while frowning. After a while, he said gravely, “This formation can isolate the star power. Obviously, King of Dong Hai has discovered our weaknesses. Without the blessing of our natal stars, our cultivation bases are vulnerable. In those days, we were only eighteenth-tier Gold Immortals when the three of us were promoted to Celestial Lords. After serving seven Great Celestial Emperors, we are only third-tier Gold Immortals right now.”

With a deep sigh, Greed spread out his hands and smiled. “How about we call it a day? Without the blessing of our natal stars, we are no match for you,” he told Wu Qi. “And, do you really dare to kill us? Our destiny is connected to the stars, so we are already part of the Heavenly Dao. Killing us is equivalent to killing the Heavenly Dao. You’ll be punished by the Heavenly Dao if you kill us.”

Wu Qi looked at them coldly. He slowly took out many materials from his sleeve, then produced the Heaven Refining Cauldron and melted them one by one. Soon afterward, he crafted three palm-sized puppets. Then, he bit the tip of his finger and slowly drew ancient runes and spells on the puppets.

Looking at the puppets, the faces of the three Celestial Lords fell. “Are you really going to fight us?” sneered Greed.

Wu Qi said in a slow voice, “In the ancient times, before Pangu created this world, there were ancient stars that matched the destiny of Chaos Fiend Gods, who later became Celestial Lords. The ancient stars contained the Laws of Great Dao, and anyone who killed Celestial Lords would have to suffer the backlash of these Laws. It was a tough and fruitless job.”

He let out a strange laugh and squinted at the three pale-faced Celestial Lords. “You must have heard the name ‘Panjiu’, eh? He is the one who invented the way to kill a Celestial Lord without having to suffer the backlash. Well, it’s just a form of substitution, but it works!”

“Panjiu was long killed by the ancient Celestial Lords within an eon after Pangu created the world!” Vanquisher snapped.

Wu Qi nodded and said, “You are right, but his method has survived, and many people have learned it! Well, after all, even if you, the Celestial Lords, only have mortal bodies, you become almighty experts as long as you match the destiny of the stars. Who wouldn’t leave something in their hands to deal with you?”

The Heaven Refining Cauldron flew up slowly and went into the formation. Meanwhile, Wu Qi waved the puppets in his hand and said, “Today, I want to see what it feels like to kill Celestial Lords. According to the legend, there is a kind of spirit pill called ‘Obsidian Star Pills’, which has a magical effect of turning a mortal into an immortal instantly. With my limited talent, I wish to produce a cauldron of such pills with your fleshly bodies.”

Hidden in the formation, the Heaven Refining Cauldron’s mouth aimed at the three pillars of star power falling from the sky and swallowed them all.

Inside the formation, Wu Qi pointed out a finger. Suddenly, numerous mountains and great rivers appeared in the void, pilling up in a dense heap to cut off all eyes and divine senses. Immediately afterward, clouds of smoke filled the surroundings. The three Celestial Lords felt their bodies lighten, and in the next instant, they were teleported to three different places.

With a whistle, Wu Qi led Ao Buzun and the others toward Greed, who was the most seriously wounded.