Chapter 768: Old Trickster, Little Trickster

Lu Li and the others glared at Yin Tianzi, grinding their teeth in frustration, though they were utterly helpless. They cursed the ancient trickster in their minds.

They were merely high-ranking officials stationed by the Heavenly Court in Youdu, whereas Yin Tianzi was a Heavenly Court overlord, overseeing the existence of Pluto and a powerful Emperor's Throne realm expert. In terms of strength, their four regional governors couldn't even compare; they stood no chance if they tried to turn against him.

They had painstakingly planned, mobilizing countless Youdu magnates to finally capture Qin Mu, the Son of Youdu, and were refining him in the Killing Cauldron. Yet, Yin Tianzi suddenly appeared, killed those Youdu magnates in two moves, and effortlessly seized their spoils! These Youdu magnates were effectively their direct subordinates, and now Yin Tianzi had almost completely wiped them out.

The Youdu magnates were often former Heavenly Court forces who, upon death, fell into Youdu and became the backbone of the four regional governors. Although they had been Emperor's Throne and Empyrean realm experts in life, they were vulnerable after death and had to rely on the four regional governors to survive. After all, Youdu was still Tubo's territory, and other rival Emperor's Throne and Empyrean realm experts also ended up there after death. If they didn't want to be eliminated by these other experts, they had to align themselves with the four regional governors and use the Heavenly Court's influence to survive in Youdu.

Consequently, they were willing to be commanded by the four regional governors. Their fates were intertwined; if one thrived, all thrived, and if one suffered, all suffered. That's why they readily came when Lu Li twice mobilized them to attack the Son of Youdu. United, they could also resist Yin Tianzi of Pluto.

The Heavenly Court's forces in Youdu and Pluto were in a competitive relationship, with significant interests at stake. Both Yin Tianzi and Lu Li's group wanted to gain the upper hand. The Heavenly Court established regional governors in Youdu and created a Pluto realm not only to restrict Tubo but also out of concern that Yin Tianzi might grow too powerful, thus requiring Lu Li and the others to contain him. Therefore, the Heavenly Court was content to see Youdu and Pluto constantly vying for control.

Now, however, this delicate balance of mutual restraint would likely end. After this battle, the Heavenly Court's magnates in Youdu were decimated, leaving only the four regional governors. If Yin Tianzi also obtained the Son of Youdu, he would become another Tubo! To win him over to deal with Tubo, the Heavenly Court would undoubtedly grant him greater benefits, meaning Lu Li and the others had suffered a complete defeat! It was just as rumored: Yin Tianzi, the ancient schemer who had lived since the early Dragon Han era, had never suffered a loss. Lu Li and the others felt their hearts bleed.

At that moment, Yin Tianzi finally opened the Killing Cauldron. He lifted the Primordial Chaos Net, which emitted a deflating sound as black currents of air gushed from within the cauldron. Lu Li and the others grew tense. The Killing Cauldron was a powerful weapon of war entrusted to them by the Heavenly Court, and Yin Tianzi could not yet control it. They wondered if they could refine Yin Tianzi to death if they activated the great cauldron now. However, they hesitated. Killing Yin Tianzi would be an immense offense; if the Heavenly Court investigated, it might demand their four lives as recompense for Yin Tianzi's death!

Suddenly, Lu Li saw Yin Tianzi’s other hand forming a strange mudra: the middle, index, and ring fingers clenched into a fist, while the thumb and little finger stood upright. The four felt a chill. The mysterious light that had just killed Yan Qianchong, Gao Tianwang, and others reappeared, circling around them. Clearly, Yin Tianzi had prepared. If they dared to activate the Killing Cauldron, they would surely die by his strange divine weapon before he himself perished! The four stared at the spectral light, frozen in place.

Yin Tianzi grasped the Primordial Chaos Net, peered into the cauldron, and chuckled, mentioning the power of the Son of Youdu. Suddenly, a single finger shot out, touching Yin Tianzi's glabella just as he peered into the cauldron. The first form of the Calamity Sword, concealed within that finger, violently exploded! Yin Tianzi was startled, and Lu Li and the others were equally shocked as the Calamity Opening Sword, contained within that finger, violently exploded!

Yin Tianzi felt a sword light whistle through his mind. The brilliant sword light instantly pierced through his seven divine treasures, surging along the Divine Bridge into the Southern Heavenly Gate! The sword light advanced destructively through his celestial palace, sweeping across the Jade Terrace, past the Jade Pool, causing its surface to explode and its waters to transform into towering, churning waves reaching thousands of feet high. The sword light pierced through the God-Slaying Platform, then violently struck into Jade Capital City. The city gates and towers of Jade Capital City shattered in the sword light, and its grand halls collapsed one after another! The sword light charged directly towards the Hall of High Heavens! The brilliant light expanded in an instant, becoming incredibly vast, surging through the Hall of High Heavens' entrance directly at Yin Tianzi's primordial spirit on his Emperor's Throne!

Although described slowly, this sword strike was incredibly fast. By the time Yin Tianzi's primordial spirit reacted, the sword light was upon him! In his celestial palace, an earth-shattering roar erupted. Terrifying fluctuations swept outwards from the Hall of High Heavens, shaking the palaces of Jade Capital City. One of the four city gates was already destroyed, and the other three were blasted into the sky, their whereabouts unknown. The shockwave overturned the Jade Pool, sending water soaring across the sky. The four Heavenly Gates—North, South, East, and West—roared with power. Rolling waves of energy burst outwards from the celestial palace like white rings, impacting the seven divine treasures below. Mountains and rivers fractured, the sun and moon were blown away, and the constellations fell into disarray.

This was the scene within Yin Tianzi's mind, in his celestial palace. From the perspective of Lu Li and the others outside, they saw Yin Tianzi freeze for a moment after the finger touched his glabella. Then, a spurt of blood erupted from the back of his head with a soft *thud*. The blood jet wasn't long, reaching about six to seven meters in distance.

Yin Tianzi hastily retreated, only to see a three-headed, six-armed divine demon leap from the cauldron. Its body spun wildly, resembling a Great Buddha with a thousand arms. A continuous series of thumping sounds filled the air as the furiously spinning divine demon struck Yin Tianzi with countless fists in a mere instant! Yin Tianzi was sent flying high, and the crackling sounds of breaking bones echoed from within his body.

The three-headed, six-armed divine demon continued to spin, rapidly approaching Yin Tianzi as it rotated. With every one-third rotation, its arms lifted high, gathering vital energy into long blades. As the rotation completed, the blades slashed downwards against the wind! Its rotation speed was incredibly fast, as was its movement. Lu Li and the others could only see streams of saber light, like bolts of silk, illuminating the area outside the Jade Lock Pass of Youdu. These streaks of light were almost continuous, merging into a single, blinding torrent! The saber lights struck Yin Tianzi's forehead almost simultaneously while he was still in mid-air! Lu Li and the others watched in horror as the gash on Yin Tianzi's forehead grew wider and longer. Xuanming exclaimed that the Son of Youdu was still alive! Han gasped that Yin Tianzi's head was about to be split open!

Lu Li shouted for them to run. Huang asked about the Killing Cauldron and the Primordial Chaos Net. The four regional governors hesitated, turning to look at the Killing Cauldron. To their dismay, as Qin Mu burst from the cauldron and charged at Yin Tianzi, the Killing Cauldron followed him closely, completely ignoring them, its former masters. Since becoming regional governors stationed in Youdu, the four of them had painstakingly refined this great cauldron day and night, even nourishing it with their own blood. They had finally refined the Killing Cauldron to their will, allowing it to grow or shrink and refine all beings. Yet now, the Killing Cauldron seemed to have betrayed them, abandoning them to follow the Son of Youdu!

Lu Li yelled that they should forget the cauldron. Lu Li yelled that they must flee the place immediately, as if the Son of Youdu killed Yin Tianzi, they would be next! The four fled in a panic. Huang quickly added that the Primordial Chaos Net was still in Yin Tianzi's hand. Lu Li declared that they should abandon it. Lu Li's serpent tail thrashed as she frantically said that they should let that Yin fellow have it as a burial item and depart quickly, putting distance between themselves and the area.

Xuanming caught up to her and asked if they could still stay in Youdu. He reasoned that whether the Son of Youdu killed Yin Tianzi or not, he would remain in Youdu and search for them, suggesting they should escape Youdu and return to the Heavenly Court for reinforcements. Huang and Han nodded repeatedly. Lu Li retorted, exasperated, that if they lost Youdu, they would be dragged onto the God-Slaying Platform to die upon returning to the Heavenly Court, adding that only a fool would go back there. The three regional governors were struck with fear. Lu Li continued that Tubo would not tolerate the Son of Youdu's antics and would not completely sever ties with the Heavenly Court, thus he would surely banish the Son of Youdu. She explained that they could save themselves by hiding in Youdu, whereas going to the Heavenly Court would be suicide. She stressed that the matter could not be reported to the Heavenly Court, or they would all face execution on the God-Slaying Platform. The three regional governors nodded in agreement.

Lu Li looked back and saw Yin Tianzi's spectral light chasing directly after the Son of Youdu. Clearly, Yin Tianzi had recovered from being stunned by the attack. An Emperor's Throne realm expert was, after all, an Emperor's Throne realm expert; anyone capable of cultivating to that realm was extraordinary and not easily killed. Furthermore, Yin Tianzi was an ancient monster, an old schemer who had lived for a million years. Although Qin Mu had tricked him with a surprise attack, it was still a long way from taking his life. Simultaneously, the Pluto Heavenly Gate began gushing forth the Netherworld Sea, which surged grandly from Pluto. This indicated that Yin Tianzi was truly enraged and intended to contend with the Son of Youdu.

Lu Li considered that perhaps they could take advantage of the situation while their opponents were both severely wounded. Lu Li slowed down, about to stop and observe the battle, when suddenly she saw the Killing Cauldron, which had been following Qin Mu, fly forward. Demonic energy spewed from the great cauldron, sweeping through the Netherworld Sea and instantly devouring nearly half of it! Even the spectral light that was flying towards Qin Mu was torn apart by the Killing Cauldron, irresistibly being pulled into the cauldron. Lu Li was horrified and immediately sped up, fleeing in a panic.

Behind them, violent fluctuations erupted, lifting the four regional governors high into the air. The four quickly used this surge to escape even faster.

Lu Li looked back again and saw countless fist, palm, and claw attacks, as large as mountains, appear before the Jade Lock Pass. They suddenly combined into a single move, fiercely striking Yin Tianzi. Yin Tianzi was sent hurtling backward, crashing with a loud *boom* into the Pluto Heavenly Gate, escaping Youdu. Yin Tianzi's spectral light, in a desperate attempt to survive, voluntarily severed itself in half. The remaining half broke free from the Killing Cauldron and followed Yin Tianzi, escaping into Youdu. The three-headed, six-armed divine demon's six arms gripped the frame of the Pluto Heavenly Gate, fiercely struggling to squeeze into Pluto, looking truly ferocious.

A clear, childish voice called out, urging them to stop hiding and come out quickly.

Another terrifying tremor struck, sending the Son of Youdu tumbling backward. The Pluto Heavenly Gate, already torn apart by his six arms, suddenly sank and vanished. Lu Li mused that Yin Tianzi's Pluto Heavenly Gate did not seem to possess the legendary power and appeared less formidable than rumored. Lu Li was momentarily stunned. Yin Tianzi's Pluto Heavenly Gate was said to contain the power of creation, making it incredibly potent, capable of allowing Yin Tianzi to revive from death, even manipulate reincarnation, and possess unfathomable mysteries. Yet, this particular Pluto Heavenly Gate seemed to be merely for show, utterly lacking the power of an Emperor's Throne supreme treasure.

She did not know that Yin Tianzi's original Pluto Heavenly Gate had been stolen by Emperor Yi Yue. This current gate was merely a reforged version, not yet fully refined, and thus incomparable to the previous Emperor's Throne supreme treasure. Just as this thought crossed her mind, she saw the Son of Youdu scramble up, pounce on the spot where the gate had vanished, and furiously strike all around. Unable to find Yin Tianzi, his three heads darted around, searching.

Lu Li felt a jolt of terror. The four quickly pressed themselves against the continents that formed Tubo's body, concealing their forms, silently cursing their misfortune. Brilliant gazes, like pillars of light, swept across the area where they had just been. The four regional governors were filled with extreme dread, and using the Youdu demonic energy to conceal themselves, they stealthily made their escape.

With a thunderous crash, a colossal three-headed, six-armed divine demon landed, making the ground tremble. Then, nine pillars of light swept out in all directions, cutting through the dim and indistinct Youdu demonic energy, searching for their whereabouts. Qin Mu's voice rang out, declaring that killing required blood and that these four regional governors could not be spared.

The four regional governors fled in a panic, not daring to make a sound. Suddenly, Qin Mu's voice sounded again, mentioning the Great Luo Heavenly Stars. The four regional governors looked up to see a sky full of dazzling stars. Their light shone brightly in all directions, bathing the ground in white. A command echoed, urging them to jump into Tubo's lava river. The four hastily leaped into the lava river. No sooner had they submerged than they saw a colossal shadow fly across the sky—the terrifying divine demon was using the starlight to search for them.