Chapter 1082: Xuanwu Emperor Deceives the World and Steals Fame

Yan'er let out another soft cheer, trembling slightly with excitement: "We'll become legends of the Dragon Han era! Revered master thieves for all time, our stories will be told even six hundred thousand years from now!"

Dragon Qilin gave her a sidelong glance. "Look at you. If you act like that, you'll be thrown into the Heavenly Prison before we even reach the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace. When doing something like this, composure is key."

Yan'er nudged his shoulder, giggling. "I've never done anything this exciting following Celestial Venerable Yue. Dragon Fatty, you know so much, even about these things."

"Of course!"

Dragon Qilin wanted to wag his tail, but then remembered he was in human form and had no tail to wag, which annoyed him greatly.

"The Cult Master always took me with him when he went back to the village. There's a crippled old man in the village, the world's greatest master thief. When he was teaching the Cult Master..."

His gaze seemed distant as he slowly added, "I took the opportunity to learn a few things myself."

Yan'er was utterly impressed, stars twinkling in her eyes as she looked at him.

Dragon Qilin felt deeply satisfied, though still a little miffed: "It's a pity I don't have a tail; otherwise, wagging it a couple of times would look incredibly impressive."

Throughout the Heavenly Court, numerous Howling Celestial Hounds sniffed around, searching for Divine King Gongyun and her accomplices. The voice of Great Sun Star Lord occasionally echoed: "That female thief is a prehistoric divine king, skilled in divine consciousness. She won't die as long as her divine consciousness remains. We must find her!"

Yan'er and Dragon Qilin continued their journey with the palace maid. Divine King Gongyun, who had taken refuge in the maid's body, had severely injured divine consciousness and had to rely on the two of them.

However, Divine King Gongyun found Dragon Qilin and Yan'er somewhat unreliable.

Fortunately, Dragon Qilin and Yan'er were accompanied by six celestial dragons. These six dragons possessed the bloodline of the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon, causing the Howling Celestial Hounds to retreat whenever they sensed the Eastern Emperor's aura.

Although Howling Celestial Hounds were unusual creatures, they paled significantly in comparison to the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon. The six celestial dragons, transformed into human bodies with dragon heads, exuded a powerful aura as they walked together, enough to deter the Howling Celestial Hounds.

Taking advantage of the chaos, their group traversed most of the Heavenly Court and finally arrived at the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace of the Northern Emperor. Dragon Qilin stepped forward and woke the Black Tortoise divine beings guarding the palace gates.

The pair of Black Tortoise divine beings, having turned to stone due to laziness, were displeased at being woken up. They lazily asked, "What business do you have?"

"We are descendants of the Eastern Emperor and Southern Emperor, here to visit Crown Prince Youming," Dragon Qilin replied.

The Black Tortoise divine beings observed their extraordinary physiques—some were celestial dragons, some dragon-sparrows, and one a Dragon Qilin—truly resembling descendants of the Eastern Emperor. Not daring to be disrespectful, they promptly said, "So you are indeed descendants of the two Imperial Emperors! Please wait a moment while we go and report your arrival."

With that, one of the Black Tortoise divine beings turned and entered the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace.

Upon hearing the news, Crown Prince Youming said, surprised, "The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon is licentious and unprincipled; he has millions of descendants. Even the Chicken-Granny Dragon is rumored to have his bloodline, though I don't know which chicken she was born from. It wouldn't matter if I didn't see his descendants. However, the Southern Emperor is virtuous and self-disciplined; I've never heard of her having any offspring. It's rare for a princess from her line to visit, so I must see her."

The Black Tortoise divine being said, "Crown Prince, over the years, everyone who has come to befriend you has just been trying to trick you and steal our family's treasures. This group is probably also trying to get our treasures under the guise of friendship."

Crown Prince Youming laughed. "Nonsense! There are indeed people who try to trick me out of our treasures, mainly Celestial Venerable Hao, God Emperor Lang Xuan, and Heavenly Son Yin. I've already listened to my parents and don't associate closely with them anymore. But a princess from the Southern Emperor's family would never stoop so low."

The Black Tortoise divine being hesitated. "Shouldn't we inform the two masters first?"

"I'm not a child. Why would I tell them about making friends?"

Crown Prince Youming said nonchalantly, "Besides, the Northern Emperor isn't home; he's gone to find the Western, Southern, and Eastern Emperors and I don't know when he'll return. Should we make honored guests wait outside the gate? Wouldn't people laugh at me for my lack of etiquette? Go, invite them in."

The Black Tortoise divine being, helpless, returned outside the palace and said to Dragon Qilin and Yan'er, "The Crown Prince invites you in."

Dragon Qilin, Yan'er, and the others entered the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace. It was indeed resplendent with jewels and magnificent luxury, filled with all kinds of treasures.

"The Northern Emperor's family is truly luxurious," Dragon Qilin couldn't help but exclaim.

The Black Tortoise, leading the way, chuckled, "My master is a divine being born from the Heavenly River, worshipped and revered by countless people. This entire Heavenly River belongs to my master, and all the treasures within it are also his, so naturally, he is quite wealthy."

Gongyun scoffed, "Deceiving the world for fame!"

The Black Tortoise glanced at her, noticed the maid seemed a bit dazed, but didn't pay it much mind, simply assuming she was a palace maid from the Southern Emperor's palace.

The world believed that the Four Imperial Ancient Gods were born of heaven and earth, and the Four Imperial Gods themselves propagated this idea. However, Gongyun knew their true origins inside out.

The Western Emperor White Tiger was an ancient god born from the sacrifices of Gongyun's own Nüxin clan, gathering the power of all its members.

The other three Imperial Emperors also had their own origins. Among them, the Northern Emperor Black Tortoise was an ancient god born from the sacrifices of the Juyu clan, a pair of husband and wife, and the Martial Emperor among them even had a slight connection to Gongyun.

The character 'Yu' in 'Juyu clan' means 'water of Shuofang,' implying that the Juyu clan were a Creator race residing by the waters of Shuofang.

Shuofang means 'the north.'

The Juyu clan originally resided by the Heavenly River in the north, performing sacrifices to the Black Tortoise Ancient God within the river.

The Black Tortoise Ancient God split into two, becoming Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu. This was because Gongyun was the wife of the Grand Emperor and also the clan leader of the Nüxin clan.

In the Nüxin clan, women held respected positions. After Gongyun married the Grand Emperor, her status within the Juyu clan was also very high, equal to the Grand Emperor's. This is why the Juyu clan sacrificed to two ancient gods, resulting in Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu.

The Juyu clan's sacrifice to Black Tortoise also carried a hopeful wish: that the Grand Emperor and Gongyun would enjoy a harmonious and fulfilling marital life, like the ancient gods they envisioned, becoming one.

However, despite the good intentions, reality was often cruel.

As for why the Northern Emperor was so wealthy, wasn't it because he plundered the Juyu clan when the Creators' great tribulation arrived?

Suddenly, a loud laugh echoed, and a burly man walked towards them—it was Crown Prince Youming.

At this time, Crown Prince Youming was not yet as dejected as he would be in the future. He appeared majestic and robust, with dragon whiskers growing horizontally across his face, exuding immense presence. His attire was overly luxurious: a dazzling black robe embroidered with gold threads, depicting intricate patterns and coiling flying serpents.

Most striking were the scattered treasures adorning his body. First, twenty-four luminous pearls were wrapped around his waist—revealed to be twenty-four Heavens!

On his wrists were bracelets made of finger-sized pearls, four or five on each. Three or four jade pendants hung from his waist, and around his neck was a thumb-thick chain, bearing an unknown treasure.

His boots were inlaid with wisps of cloud, some on the shoes, some beneath, so that when he walked, the clouds lifted him, keeping his feet off the ground.

Dragon Qilin exclaimed, "This Crown Prince Youming would be an excellent peddler, wandering the streets and selling goods!"

Yan'er bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother."

Dragon Qilin and the six celestial dragons also bowed, saying, "Senior Brother!"

Crown Prince Youming hastily returned the bow, smiling. "Our three families don't interact often, so I'm quite unfamiliar with you, my virtuous younger brother and cousin. Please forgive me."

Divine King Gongyun used her divine consciousness to obscure his perception, preventing him from seeing Qin Mu in the halo behind Yan'er's head. Thus, he failed to notice Celestial Venerable Mu beneath the dragon blood treasure tree.

Dragon Qilin's words were startling: "Senior Brother, do you know that the Heavenly Court is about to split?"

Crown Prince Youming jumped in surprise. He quickly covered Dragon Qilin's mouth, looked around, and whispered, "Speaking such words is a death sentence! Don't talk nonsense!"

Just as he was speaking, a divine being suddenly came to report, "Your Majesties have returned."

Crown Prince Youming hurried to greet them, saying, "Please stay here for now; I'll be right back."

Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu took their seats. Crown Prince Youming paid his respects. Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu exchanged a glance and said, "My son, don't go out these days. The Heavenly Court is about to split."

Crown Prince Youming, enlightened, recalled Dragon Qilin's words and said, "I already knew."

Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu were greatly relieved: "It seems our foolish son has finally understood the situation in the Heavenly Court."