Chapter 1742 — Burned in Fire, Reborn Anew

In the main camp of the Heavenly Court, Emperor Hao sat within the great hall of his detached palace, his face grim.

He had sat there two days without stirring, doors sealed and windows shut, never once stepping outside; on the floor lay the corpses of several divine officials, their deaths exceedingly gruesome. These were the officials who had forced their way in to remonstrate with him; the moment they entered, he had struck them dead.

In the two days since, no one had dared come in again.

The Heavenly Court had already breached Wuyou Township; the Earth Division had suffered grievous losses, while the Divine Division and the Water Division pursued the remnants of Wuyou Township with abundant success.

The Xuandu army, with the Divine Strategy Left Guard leading the demon gods of the Youdu demon race, had invaded the Buddhist Realm, striking into Jingping through the Great Thunderclap Temple, preparing to march west and join forces with the Xuandu army. But Wei Suifeng, Qi Xiayu, the Southern Emperor, and the Wandering Sage of Longshan had come from different directions, and in the east Jiang Baigui led the Jingping army close on the heels of the Divine Strategy Left Guard. Now the tides of battle shifted by the moment.

The Heavenly Court held an excellent position, seemingly with wind and water at its back, yet at any instant it might turn to headwind and contrary current. At so critical a juncture, only Emperor Hao could command the whole board, issue orders, let the Heavenly Court's armies press their advantage and prepare their response.

Yet Emperor Hao had hidden himself in his detached palace for two days without emerging, and this truly left the men of ambition in the Heavenly Court sick with worry. "Lost.

. .

" On the imperial throne, Emperor Hao's face was sallow as wax.

Suddenly his throat filled with sweetness, and with a retch he spat out a mouthful of blood, his breath failing.

He murmured, "Lost. This battle, I have already lost.

. .

" The Heavenly Court had leveled Wuyou Township; the situation was excellent. To this day, the victories won by Jingping and Wuyou Township were but minor ones, while what the Heavenly Court had won was a great victory. To any clear-eyed observer, with Wuyou Township razed, the road east to pacify Jingping lay open and smooth; the Heavenly Court held certain victory.

However Jingping might resist, it could not withstand a force several times, even ten times, its own.

But what Emperor Hao saw was his own defeat.

The Heavenly Court had not lost; it had won a great victory.

Yet he had already lost.

Lost at the hands of Heavenly Venerable Yun.

"I have lost.

.

. " His body trembled, and the white hair on his head trembled with it, like snow upon a branch.

In but two short days, worry had turned his head white.

The Heavenly Court had won, but it was not Emperor Hao who had won.

Even if the Heavenly Court razed Wuyou Township and razed Jingping, the victors would be Taichu, Yuanmu, Taiji, the Ancestral God King, Heavenly Venerable Xu, and the rest, not Emperor Hao. For Heavenly Venerable Yun had struck him down from the realm of Dao Attainment.

Heavenly Venerable Yun had destroyed his Dao Tree, his Dao Flower, his Great Luotian. Not only had he been struck down from the realm of Dao Attainment; his other body, the body the Second Young Master had possessed, had been utterly destroyed by Heavenly Venerable Yun as well.

He might have become a Dao Attainer unique through all ages, even among the sixteen universes before history, a being who united attainment through force and attainment through Guixu, and who in time might even have attained the Dao through the Dao realm itself.

Yet now all of it was ruined. True, he remained one of the mightiest beings in the world today, but his strength no longer matched Taichu's.

Even if the Heavenly Court won, it would be Taichu who held power.

And if Taichu were gravely wounded by Lord Shang, the one to take up power might even be the Ancient God Taiji, while he would have no choice but to endure in silence. "In the battle between the Retired Emperor and Lord Shang, he holds back his strength. Lord Shang, like Emperor Kai Shen Ye, cultivates only a single Great Dao; his attack is powerful, but he knows little of the Five Great Daos.

So long as the Retired Emperor does not meet him head-on, Lord Shang cannot take his life.

" "The Ancient God Taiji is even more of a slippery, cunning sort, two of them in fact, with no thought but for themselves.

They will not stake their lives in battle. " "Heavenly Venerable Xu, the Ancestral God King, heh heh, they all stare at my seat with greedy eyes.

. .

" Emperor Hao's face was half a smile, half a sob: "Lost. I have lost. Brother Yun, you have won against me at last. . .

No!

This power, I cannot hand it over!

" Gnashing his teeth, he rose from the imperial throne and paced back and forth before the corpses of the divine officials, his feet slick with gore, leaving bloodstained footprints across the white jade floor of the hall. Emperor Hao's face grew darker and darker: "Even if I have been struck down from the realm of the Dao Attainer, I can still imprint the void once more and attain the Dao again. Only by then I will no longer be the Heavenly Emperor. The Retired Emperor will surely replace me, and then, no match for him, I will be made to kneel and bow to him. And yet the Retired Emperor is no match at all for Heavenly Venerable Mu. Yun, you have buried my splendid prospects.

" "But I still have a chance to turn the board.

" "That chance is the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court. The Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master of Miluo Palace. " He halted, and the expression on his face turned somewhat mad, for Heavenly Venerable Yun had driven him somewhat mad: "If I fall from the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, I will become the laughingstock of all.

Heavenly Venerable Mu will mock me, the Retired Emperor will mock me, the Ancestral God King, Heavenly Venerable Xu, the Ancient God Taiji, they will all mock me.

Every civil and military official of this court will mock me, mock me as nothing but a bastard of deluded ambition, mock me as a mongrel born of an ancient god and a human.

You are all driving me, all driving me. .

. " "But if I throw myself wholly behind the Third and Fourth Young Masters, then I remain the Heavenly Emperor.

" He laughed aloud, his face contorted: "With the backing of the Third and Fourth Young Masters, I am still your Heavenly Emperor, the one you kneel to, high above, and you will all submit to me.

Not one of you will dare mock me. " Behind his head, the phantom images of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and the Zixiao Treasure Hall of Miluo Palace emerged.

Emperor Hao turned to face the phantoms of these two halls. He hesitated a moment, but his greed for power shattered his pride, broke his backbone, and made his legs go weak beneath him; he knelt and bowed.

"From this day forth, I will serve you with all my heart, serve the Lingxiao Hall and Zixiao Hall of Miluo Palace. From this day forth, I will be a running dog beneath my masters' gate, arranging all matters for my masters' descent.

" "From this day forth, I shall have no second heart.

" The phantoms of the two ancient treasure halls brimmed with strange power, and from within the halls came voice after voice of obscure, incomprehensible Dao speech, greatly delighted, greatly gratified. To find a loyal slave in the Seventeenth Epoch was very hard, but they had managed it at last.

Emperor Hao was their ideal choice.

Emperor Hao, like a dog being patted on the head, wagged his tail and begged: "I implore my masters, strip the Jingping rebels of all power from the Jade Capital City and the Lingxiao Hall.

Your slave Hao is willing to sacrifice the Yuan Realm in blood to welcome my masters' coming. " "Hao.