Chapter 1034: Exploding Hammer on the Shadow Emperor

Crown Prince Yu Ming, carrying a trigram mirror and with his snakeskin bag tucked away, walked out of Xuantian Palace.

Just as he was about to look back, the voice of Emperor Xuan rang out: "Do not look back until you have entered the Primordial Realm. Keep moving forward. Do not use the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge; that bridge requires entry into the Celestial Court. Travel from the Heavenly River to Yuandu. You are my son; although the waterway is slower than the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, it will only take a little over a year longer."

Crown Prince Yu Ming continued silently. When he reached the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, he coincidentally saw Qin Mu's Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage about to enter it.

Crown Prince Yu Ming hastily bowed in gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Celestial Venerable, for speaking kindly on my behalf to my parents, allowing me to escape my confinement."

Qin Mu stepped out of his carriage, helped him up, and chuckled, "It was merely a small favor; nothing worth mentioning. Crown Prince, where are you headed?"

Crown Prince Yu Ming replied, "My parents, the two gods, have sent me to the Primordial Realm to gain some experience." He then recounted Emperor Xuan's warning not to look back.

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then smiled. "I know why you're not allowed to look back, and I also know whom you'll encounter on your journey. Don't worry, I'll give you a divine ability that will allow you to escape, even if you meet that person."

Crown Prince Yu Ming was surprised. "My father is skilled in divine calculations. Is Celestial Venerable also proficient in this art?"

Qin Mu burst into laughter. "Emperor Xuan never taught me divine calculations. I merely deduced something from your words."

He activated a divine ability, his ten fingers transforming in countless ways. Suddenly, he gently tapped Crown Prince Yu Ming's glabella and smiled, "Crown Prince, look at the eye on my forehead."

Crown Prince Yu Ming looked at the vertical eye on his forehead and asked, "Celestial Venerable, what kind of divine ability is this?"

The vertical eye on Qin Mu's forehead shone brightly. He chuckled, "You will naturally know in the future. Now, Crown Prince, you may go."

He returned to his carriage, and the six heavenly dragons pulled the imperial carriage into the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge.

Crown Prince Yu Ming shook his head and continued forward. Before long, he reached the depths of the Heavenly River. He leaped in, transforming into a giant dragon-turtle, and with a flick of his tail, he vanished into the water.

As expected of the son of Xuanwu, his speed in the water was extraordinary. His massive body, as he swam, even caused the Heavenly River's water level to surge.

Before the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge existed, the Heavenly River waterway was bustling with merchant ships traveling between various heavens. However, after its creation, the number of ships drastically decreased.

Crown Prince Yu Ming swam joyfully, feeling a sense of ease he had never experienced before. After being suppressed for 600,000 years, he now felt incredibly light and free.

However, he was quite surprised that he hadn't seen many ships along the way.

After traveling for over two months, the journey became exceedingly dull, and his initial feeling of comfort had long since vanished.

There were indeed many aquatic gods, demons, and even Dragon Kings in the water, but they didn't recognize him as the Crown Prince of the Northern Heavens. Moreover, he was so fast that the aquatic creatures often disappeared before they could get a clear look at him.

One day, as Crown Prince Yu Ming swam underwater, he noticed several extremely luxurious pleasure boats on the surface. He felt a pang of curiosity but, remembering Emperor Xuan's instructions, he ignored them and continued forward.

On the boats, numerous divine generals and many graceful, beautiful goddesses were singing and dancing to melodious music. An emperor, enjoying the performance, suddenly noticed the Heavenly River waters surging. Looking down from the boat, he saw a gigantic dragon-turtle swimming beneath.

Upon seeing this, the emperor laughed heartily and called out, "Brother Yu Ming, hold on!"

Crown Prince Yu Ming's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the voice. *It sounds like Yin Chaojin, Emperor Yin. Why is he on the Heavenly River? Last time he came to the Northern Heavens, he boasted about becoming the Black Emperor of the Underworld. Then, when he couldn't get the Five Thunder Gourd, he released a bunch of insects to bite the gourd...*

Emperor Yin was an old acquaintance, and Crown Prince Yu Ming was tempted to stop. However, remembering Emperor Xuan's words, he pretended not to hear and continued swimming forward.

Emperor Yin's magic power surged, carrying his pleasure boat into the air as he pursued. He laughed, "Brother Yu Ming, do you not remember your little brother? For these 600,000 years, I've missed you so much!"

Crown Prince Yu Ming still feigned deafness, continuing on his way.

Emperor Yin, unable to match his speed, couldn't catch up and called out loudly, "Brother, do you no longer care about our old friendship? We used to play together, and I even called you elder brother!"

Crown Prince Yu Ming reminisced about the past and slowed down. *It's true we used to be close... Bah! Back then, Emperor Yin and Celestial Venerable Hao, when they associated with me, they were all plotting to get my family's treasures, knowing my parents had many valuable possessions. They often tried to trick me out of things from our home!*

He sped up again, and Emperor Yin shouted, "Chicken-hearted turtle!"

Crown Prince Yu Ming was enraged. He immediately stopped, flipped over, and the Heavenly River instantly ceased its flow. He roared furiously, "Yin brat, who are you calling that?"

The pleasure boat flew over and crashed onto the water with a loud bang. Emperor Yin plopped down onto the deck on his knees and chuckled, "Brother, if I didn't provoke you, how would you have turned back? I apologize to you. I've missed you terribly for all these years, which is why I resorted to such a desperate measure."

Seeing him kneel, Crown Prince Yu Ming immediately felt bad. His anger vanished, and he quickly transformed into human form, helping Emperor Yin up. "My father said that now that I'm free, I must not look back, or I'll be doomed forever. That's why I didn't acknowledge you; it wasn't intentional disrespect."

Emperor Yin took his arm and invited him onto the boat, smiling. "I've missed you terribly all these years, elder brother. I even suggested to our uncle and aunt that they release you, but alas, my words carried little weight. Now that you're out, you must truly enjoy yourself and make up for all the good things you missed during those 600,000 years!"

Crown Prince Yu Ming said, "I still need to travel..."

"There's no rush for such a short time!"

Emperor Yin burst into laughter, ordering music and dance to begin. A continuous stream of rare delicacies, so exquisite that even the Heavenly Emperor rarely enjoyed them, was served. Emperor Yin invited him to sit and said, "Worthy brother, you can see that I've prospered greatly over the years."

Crown Prince Yu Ming ate and drank, saying, "Last time you visited me, you said you became the Black Emperor of the Underworld and would eventually become another Earth Count. Have you become Earth Count now?"

Emperor Yin shook his head. "That was just me bragging to you."

He couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Back then, we had such a good time together, and our bond was deep. Only you, because of a minor issue, were suppressed by our uncle and aunt for 600,000 years. To be honest, in terms of ability, how could I compare to even a fraction of yours, worthy brother? I've managed to become the Black Emperor, sitting as an equal to our uncle and aunt. If you hadn't been suppressed, your achievements would certainly be far greater than mine, and you might even have a Celestial Venerable position! What a pity..."

He shook his head and chuckled, "Today, worthy brother, you're free. Let's not talk about those frustrating things. Drink!"

Crown Prince Yu Ming drank, feeling a little downhearted. Indeed, Emperor Yin's abilities were inferior to his back then. He had a good lineage, carrying the bloodlines of Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu, and he diligently cultivated, possessing profound cultivation and high comprehension. Yet, he was suppressed for 600,000 years, while his former playmate had now become a Great Emperor. It would be a lie to say he wasn't envious.

Emperor Yin observed his expression and said, "Now that you are free, worthy brother, you cannot continue living aimlessly as before. What are your plans?"

Crown Prince Yu Ming replied, "My father sent me to the Primordial Realm to try my luck."

Emperor Yin scoffed, "What's there to see in the Primordial Realm? It's a barren, remote place with no resources whatsoever. If you go there, you'll only end up running errands for Celestial Venerable Xiao, serving as his subordinate. Do you know Celestial Venerable Xiao? He's Celestial Venerable Yun's disciple, the one you met before, who always sneered at everyone and looked down on ancient gods and demigods."

Crown Prince Yu Ming, remembering Celestial Venerable Xiao, said in surprise, "Him? We once said we'd beat him up, but unfortunately, he always stayed close to Celestial Venerable Yun and the others, so we never had a chance."

"Precisely him, isn't it?"

Emperor Yin urged him to drink, saying, "Such a brat, and now he's prospered, becoming a Celestial Venerable! Back then, how could his abilities compare to yours? He wasn't even fit to carry your shoes, elder brother! And now, heh heh..."

Crown Prince Yu Ming raised his cup and drained it, feeling increasingly displeased.

Emperor Yin continuously urged him to drink, then called over the divine officials and generals on board to offer toasts. Singing girls and dancing girls also came forward, leaning into Crown Prince Yu Ming's arms and laps, repeatedly toasting him.

Unbeknownst to him, Crown Prince Yu Ming drank himself into a stupor. The wine was exceptionally delicious, and it could even intoxicate one's primordial spirit.

He drank more and more, laughing and crying. Emperor Yin watched him, and after a moment, Crown Prince Yu Ming collapsed in a drunken stupor, prostrate on the table.

"Worthy brother, worthy brother?"

Emperor Yin called twice. Crown Prince Yu Ming mumbled a confused response before falling into a deep sleep.

"This wine is indeed potent; even I feel a bit tipsy. It was worth gathering the souls of various gods and brewing it with ancient Qionghua flowers for so many years."

Emperor Yin swayed as he stood up, only to see that all the gods, singing girls, and dancing girls on the pleasure boat had fallen into a drunken stupor.

Emperor Yin clapped his hands. From the cabin, several divine generals with their faces obscured by masks emerged and stood respectfully.

"Eliminate everyone on the boat, leaving no one alive. Send their souls to the Underworld. Leave only him and take him to the Celestial Court's imperial harem; someone there will meet you."

Emperor Yin said calmly, "Place him on Celestial Consort Yu's bed, to sleep with her."

A divine general wearing a bronze tusked mask asked, "Then Celestial Consort Yu..."

"Of course, she is to be killed. Her death must be gruesome, and her lower body must be arranged appropriately. After all, Crown Prince Yu Ming will be perceived as having lost control due to alcohol and trespassed into the imperial harem."

Emperor Yin looked up at the sky and murmured, "For His Majesty to be enraged, execute Crown Prince Yu Ming, and launch an expedition against the Northern Emperor Xuanwu, this is all perfectly reasonable. The other ancient gods will have nothing to say when they see it."

He lowered his head and looked at the unconscious Crown Prince Yu Ming. He shook his head and sneered, "Do you think your parents were suppressing you? Fool, they were protecting you! If they hadn't suppressed you for 600,000 years, you would have died long ago, perhaps not even surviving the late Dragon Han era!"

"When I released those insects to gnaw at the gourd vine, it wasn't for the gourd, but for you. I've been monitoring you for so long, and now, finally, I can cast my net."

As Emperor Yin spoke, he suddenly felt something was amiss. The Heavenly River had cracked open, and beneath it appeared a colossal eye, thousands of times larger than the pleasure boat!

The eye blinked once and then vanished.

Emperor Yin frowned. Suddenly, the sky cracked open, and another gigantic eye appeared, even larger than the strange eye in the Heavenly River!

"No, no, this looks like my divine ability! But that shouldn't be my eye... The last time I used this ability was in Fengdu..."

Cold sweat broke out on Emperor Yin's forehead. He suddenly realized, "That's my eye!"

"My primordial spirit detected that my consciousness and divine sense were trapped, so it opened its eye to investigate!"

"Everything around me is fake! Someone created an illusion for me!"

"Break!"

His cultivation flared, instantly breaking through Qin Mu's divine sense ability. The anomalous vision immediately disappeared. He found himself still on the pleasure boat, with the music and dancing ongoing. He was raising his wine cup to toast Crown Prince Yu Ming, realizing that this was precisely when he must have fallen victim to Qin Mu's divine sense ability!

"Whose divine sense ability trapped my consciousness and created such an illusion for me? Could it be that scoundrel Yan Shaoqing?"

Just as he thought this, Crown Prince Yu Ming's face across from him was already contorted with rage. The wine cup in his hand shattered, and his hand, which had held the cup, transformed into a gigantic fist that smashed heavily into Emperor Yin's handsome face!

Emperor Yin was arguably one of the most handsome men in the world, no less so than the Apothecary. Now, struck by that punch, his entire face twisted and deformed, almost caving into his head!

Crown Prince Yu Ming, bearing the Xuanwu bloodline, possessed infinite strength. That single punch blasted Emperor Yin's primordial spirit out of his body, and the pleasure boat also exploded into fragments from the terrifying force of the blow!

Crown Prince Yu Ming raised another punch. Emperor Yin's primordial spirit had already returned to his physical body. Four Heavenly Palaces emerged behind him, forcefully blocking the punch. Immediately, a Heavenly Gate of the Underworld appeared behind him, diverting Crown Prince Yu Ming's terrifying punch force into the gate.

His figure flew backward, passed through the gate, and emerged from behind it completely restored, his physical body without the slightest injury!

"It shouldn't be Yan Shaoqing; he's still at the Numinous Sky Realm. He doesn't have the power to trap my consciousness without me realizing it! Could it be that Crimson Emperor has been resurrected?"

The panic on Emperor Yin's face vanished, replaced by certainty. Although Crown Prince Yu Ming was strong, he was, after all, an Emperor's Throne from 600,000 years ago, incomparable to him in the present day!

Just then, his expression changed dramatically as he saw Crown Prince Yu Ming summon a trigram mirror.

"Oh no!"

Emperor Yin hastily rushed into the Heavenly Gate of the Underworld. The divine weapon of Emperor Xuan erupted with power—Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Mountain, Fire, Water, Lake, Wind—all unleashed at once, surging into the Heavenly Gate of the Underworld!

The Heavenly Gate of the Underworld violently shook. The layers of reincarnation worlds within the gate were almost shattered, and even the gate itself was riddled with cracks from the shock!

Crown Prince Yu Ming activated Emperor Xuan's divine weapon again, but the Heavenly Gate of the Underworld had already sunk into the Underworld, vanishing from sight.

"Yin Chaojin, I treated you as a brother, but you treated me as a fool!"

Crown Prince Yu Ming cursed loudly, ranting for a while before departing resentfully.

In the Northern Heavens, Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu, rarely together, gazed distantly at the Heavenly River. After a long while, both sighed with relief and exchanged a smile.

"That foolish son still turned back. He was almost doomed eternally, but luckily, he encountered Celestial Venerable Mu."

Emperor Wu chuckled, "Celestial Venerable Mu's divine abilities are indeed myriad and unfathomable."

Emperor Xuan's face showed a worried expression. "His divine abilities remind me of that extinct race..."

The two exchanged another glance, their expressions grave.

The Creator Race.

The powerful race that enslaved the ancient gods.