Chapter 1742 — Burned in Fire, Reborn Anew
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 5
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.