Chapter 372: Chapter 35: To the East Sea, Xuandu Breaks the Killing Precept

Imperial Palace.

"They fled?" Ying Zheng’s expression darkened. "Didn’t we already form an alliance? How could they just run off without a word?"

The Chief Eunuch, Zhao Gao, who had come to report, was terrified.

"Your Majesty, they’ve all fled! And those four took all the treasures with them... They only left this note!"

"Let me see it!" Ying Zheng took the note from Zhao Gao, and his expression darkened once more.

The note contained a short, scrawled message:

"Thank you for your hospitality, First Emperor. As for the alliance, let’s discuss it again in twelve thousand years. If the First Emperor wishes to retrieve his treasures, he may come to the Four Seas Dragon Palace to collect them. Hehe!"

The "Hehe!" was particularly grating.

"What happened?" Lu Xuan asked with a frown. At his side, a stunned Nezha snapped back to his senses and cast a curious glance over.

’The Dragon Crown Princes of the Four Seas Dragon Palace?’

At this, Ying Zheng took a deep breath and recounted the whole story. Beside them, Nezha’s expression grew strange. ’The Four Seas Dragon Race... They must have a death wish!!’

Then, Ying Zheng offered the note forward.

"Uncle Zhong..."

Lu Xuan glanced at the note and said coolly,

"So, the Crown Princes of the Four Seas Dragon Palace accepted the alliance, ate your food, drank your wine, took your gifts, and have now gone back on their word?"

Ying Zheng nodded, his face grim.

"Uncle Zhong, I was merely thinking that the Dragon Race has always been a totem of our Human Race, so..."

"You did nothing wrong."

Lu Xuan said coolly,

"On second thought, you can’t exactly say they’ve gone back on their word. Doesn’t the note say to discuss it again in twelve thousand years?"

He paused, then lifted his gaze and spoke nonchalantly,

"However, that is a bit too long to wait... Senior Brother, I’d like to take a trip to the Four Seas Dragon Palace."

"Fine." The Ancient Daoist was a man of few words.

Lu Xuan then glanced sideways at Nezha, who was gloating over the Dragon Palace’s misfortune.

"Hmm, why don’t you come along too, Nezha?"

Nezha, who had just been gloating about the impending disaster for the Four Seas Dragon Palace, suddenly looked miserable. He grew terrified again and forced a smile as he bowed.

"As the Emperor commands, I dare not disobey."

"I’m only an Emperor in the Human World for now."

"The Celestial Court will acknowledge it." Nezha bowed again, his face still etched with misery.

Lu Xuan smiled without speaking. After giving Ying Zheng a few more instructions, he led his senior brother and Little Nezha out of the Imperial Palace and departed on a cloud.

After he left, Ying Zheng came to his senses and turned to give Zhao Gao an order.

"I will give you a few names. Screen them carefully and dispatch men to watch their every move."

Zhao Gao froze for a moment, then hurriedly bowed, showing he was ready to listen.

Ying Zheng recalled the three matters Lu Xuan had conveyed to him via voice transmission and the names involved. He immediately said,

"Liu Bang, courtesy name Ji, from Peixian County; Xiang Ji, courtesy name Yu, a remnant of Chu; and Zhang Liang, courtesy name Zifang, son of the Han Prime Minister..."

"Keep these men under close watch. In addition, summon the Forbidden Guard, issue a secret decree, and search for the remnants of the Six Kingdoms."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhao Gao nodded respectfully, withdrew from the main hall, relayed the First Emperor’s secret decree to the Forbidden Guard, and then hurried back to his own residence.

"Lord Zhao." Inside the residence, a young man quickly bowed. "You’ve returned."

"Mm."

Zhao Gao said with a grave expression,

"Several major incidents occurred in the court today, which I won’t detail for now. But His Majesty ordered me to watch several people, and they are the very ones you said would one day overthrow the Great Qin..."

The young man looked astonished. Then he said,

"How can that be??"

"Most likely, His Majesty has found someone else like you." Zhao Gao paced back and forth, growing anxious.

"Are you certain that I will one day forge an imperial edict and do something like ’pointing at a deer and calling it a horse’?"

"History may be fragmented, but these events are recorded..." the young man answered honestly.

Zhao Gao’s expression turned even uglier. He took out several Immortal Pills and tossed them to the young man.

"Keep remembering! What else happens in the future!"

......

East Sea Dragon Palace.

"So that’s what happened?" The current East Sea Dragon King stared at Crown Prince Ao Guang, his brow tightly furrowed. "Even if you weren’t going to agree, why did you take the treasures Ying Zheng offered?"

Crown Prince Ao Guang shrank back.

"Father, these treasures are extraordinary! Many of them are even better than the ones in our own treasury!"

"You, you!" The East Sea Dragon King said, full of disappointment. "Do you have any idea what happened at the Taishan Investiture? An Ancient Buddha perished!"

"What?!" Ao Guang’s eyes went wide, and he gasped. "An Ancient Buddha perished?? How is that possible!!"

"It is the truth!"

The East Sea Dragon King’s brows were knitted.

"You acted too rashly. I was planning to pass the throne to you in a hundred years, but now it seems I’ll have to wait a while longer!"

Ao Guang shrank back again, not daring to speak.

The East Sea Dragon King paced for a long moment before saying with a focused gaze,

"During the incident at Taishan, the Human Dao Fortune surged to the heavens, and all sorts of calamities arose. Although I don’t know the specifics, the perishing of the Medicine King Buddha is certain... Guards!"

He summoned the Turtle Prime Minister and commanded,

"Send some Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals to the other three great Dragon Palaces. Summon the other three Kings. Tell them I have urgent matters to discuss."

He paused, then added,

"As for you, make a personal trip to the Celestial Court. Find Marshal Tianpeng, invite him here, and find out what exactly happened at Taishan!"

"As you command!" The Turtle Prime Minister hurried away.

Before long, Immortal Light surged outside the Dragon Palace. The West Sea, North Sea, and South Sea Dragon Kings arrived in person, each with their own Crown Prince.

"Come, let’s talk!" the East Sea Dragon King called out in a clear voice, arranging a banquet and inviting the three Dragon Kings and three Crown Princes to take their seats.

"You all should already know why I have invited you here."

"It’s about that First Emperor, isn’t it?" The aged West Sea Dragon King chuckled. "He’s just a Human Emperor. Why make such a fuss?"

The South Sea Dragon King also stroked his long beard.

"Indeed. We took some of his treasures, and that’s that. What’s he going to do? Send his mortal soldiers to attack the Four Seas Dragon Palace?"

The North Sea Dragon King spoke with a hearty laugh,

"Exactly, exactly. I was just about to make a trip to the Celestial Court to report this matter. That First Emperor wants to form an alliance with us—his intentions are impure..."

The three Old Dragon Kings chatted back and forth, each one dismissive.

The East Sea Dragon King gave a bitter smile.

"You’ve all heard about what happened at Taishan, haven’t you? The Medicine King Buddha was the number one expert below the [Daluo] realm, yet he perished there..."

The three Dragon Kings exchanged a look, and the West Sea Dragon King laughed.

"I heard about that too, but how could it possibly be related to the Human Race? Even that Ying Zheng is only at the Grand Grade. And Confucius, at best, is comparable to an [Immortal]..."

The South Sea Dragon King also said with a laugh,

"Just ignore it. That Ying Zheng can only suffer in silence. And he still wants to form an alliance with us... Heh!"

At the side, the North Sea Crown Prince, Ao Shun, nodded.

"That’s right. Ying Zheng’s attitude toward the four of us was perfectly fine. Besides, we only took a few treasures... And the note we left didn’t explicitly reject him!"

The East Sea Dragon King’s brow furrowed, and a worried look crossed his face.

"Be that as it may, I have a bad feeling about this!"

"You’re just overthinking things!" The West Sea Dragon King laughed heartily. "Alright, enough talk about that Ying Zheng. Let’s first..."

Before he could finish, a Crab General hurried in to report,

"Reporting to the Dragon King! The Three Altar Sea Assembly is here! And with him are a sour-faced Daoist and a guy wearing a mask!"

"Nezha??" The East Sea Dragon King’s expression hardened. "What is he doing here?"

The East Sea Crown Prince Ao Guang’s expression turned ugly.

"Is that the same Nezha who beat Granduncle Ao Bing to death?"

The other three Dragon Kings also showed a flicker of interest, their curiosity piqued. There was a long-standing grudge between Nezha and the East Sea Dragon Palace.

Back when the East Sea Dragon King was still Ao Guang, a feud of life and death, of a slain son, was born between them...

After a moment of thought, the East Sea Dragon King said coldly,

"Show our great Three Altar Sea Assembly in!"

The Crab General complied. Before long, three figures walked into the Dragon Palace side by side.

"Three Altar Sea Assembly, long time no see." The East Sea Dragon King spoke coolly. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

The other three Dragon Kings and the four Dragon Crown Princes also glanced over. After a quick look at the masked young man and the sour-faced Daoist, they turned their curious gazes to Nezha, showing no fear.

Although Nezha was a third-generation disciple of the Jade Void Lineage, the Dragon Palace was no pushover. Leaving aside their deep foundations, the four Dragon Kings themselves were all [Immortal]!

Nezha just spread his hands.

"Why are you looking at me? I’m just tagging along!"

The Dragon Kings and Crown Princes were all taken aback.

Just then, Lu Xuan took a step forward and said with a placid smile,

"I am Profound Yellow, here on behalf of the First Emperor."

The expressions of the Four Seas Dragon Kings tensed, and the Crown Princes narrowed their eyes.

After a moment of silence, the East Sea Dragon King let out a dry laugh.

"So, you are an envoy of the First Emperor. Are you here about the alliance?"

"Indeed."

Lu Xuan chuckled lightly.

"The four Dragon Crown Princes ate the Immortal Fruit, drank the Immortal Wine, and took the treasures His Majesty the First Emperor gifted for this alliance. I assume this means the alliance was accepted, correct?"

The East Sea Dragon King lifted his gaze, his smile not reaching his eyes.

"We can discuss the alliance later. What this King would like to know is, did the First Emperor invite the Three Altar Sea Assembly here as his negotiator?"

Nezha spread his hands, gloating.

"Take a guess."

"It seems so."

The East Sea Dragon King took a sip of wine.

"You are called Profound Yellow, correct? Go back and tell the First Emperor he hired the wrong negotiator. Everyone knows of the grudge between Nezha and my East Sea Dragon Palace. May I interpret this as a provocation?"

"Oh?" Lu Xuan said with interest. "I was truly unaware. What grudge is this?"

He glanced sideways at Nezha.

Nezha shrank back and chuckled sheepishly.

"It happened many millennia ago. The Dragon King at the time was named Ao Guang. I skinned his third son and pulled out his tendons. Hmm, his name was Ao Bing, wasn’t it? Old Dragon King, wasn’t that Ao Bing your uncle?"

The East Sea Dragon King’s eyelids twitched violently, and his expression sank.

"Show them out!"

Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals began to surround them, and the gloating look on Nezha’s face deepened.

Lu Xuan, however, simply raised his gaze.

"From the look of things, Dragon King, you’re refusing the alliance?"

"Naturally." The East Sea Dragon King replied, his face cold.

"And you three?" Lu Xuan looked at the other three Dragon Kings with a smile, only to receive a unanimous reply.

"Unnecessary!"

"Good."

Lu Xuan said with a smile,

"Then I must first ask the Dragon Kings to return the gifted treasures. We can continue our discussion after that."

BANG!

The East Sea Dragon King slammed his hand on the table, laughing instead of showing anger.

"Leave at once! Otherwise, the three of you can stay in my Dragon Palace for a good long while!"

He paused, then stared at Nezha.

"Three Altar Sea Assembly, you came here to provoke us. Even if we were to detain you, the Jade Cauldron Upper Immortal would have nothing to say!"

"How was I being provocative?" Nezha spread his hands innocently. "Honestly, I’d advise you to return what you should return, and listen to what you should listen to..."

ROAR!!

From the depths of the Dragon Palace came an enraged dragon’s roar. A moment later, an ancient azure dragon soared out, its terrifying aura shaking the entire East Sea Dragon Palace and stirring up monstrous waves on the sea’s surface!

"Grandfather." The East Sea Dragon King rose and bowed.

The azure dragon transformed into a man with dragon horns. This was Ao Guang, and he stared at Nezha.

"Li Nezha, long time no see!"

"Old Dragon King, long time no see." Nezha said with a grin. "I should even thank you. If you hadn’t forced me to kill myself back then, I never would have gotten this Innate Lotus Form!"

A vicious light flickered in the old azure dragon’s eyes. After a long moment, he said coldly,

"Escort the Three Altar Sea Assembly out of the Dragon Palace. As for you two, sever one of your own arms and go back and tell Ying Zheng..."

"Ahem."

Lu Xuan interrupted with a smile.

"It seems civility has failed."

He yawned.

"So we must resort to force."

The old azure dragon, the Dragon Kings, and the Crown Princes were all momentarily stunned. Nezha took a few steps back, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Old Dragon King, you’re screwed!"

Ao Guang froze, his expression sinking.

"To speak with such arrogance in my Dragon Palace? Insolent!"

A wave of draconic might surged, pressing down on the three of them. The Ancient Daoist glanced sideways and asked calmly,

"Junior Brother, should I kill him?"

"Senior Brother, let’s start with one." Lu Xuan pointed at the old azure dragon.

"Good."

In the next instant.

To the astonishment of the Dragon Kings, the Ancient Daoist took a step forward, extended a finger, and tapped it down with painstaking care.

POP!

Along with a crisp sound, a mist of blood erupted. The Immortal Golden Form dimmed instantly, and the massive corpse of an azure dragon fell from the air. Ao Guang’s remnant soul looked around in a daze.

"I..."

The remnant soul looked down at the dragon corpse and murmured,

"I’m... dead?"

A dead silence fell over the East Sea Dragon Palace.

"Let’s kill another." Lu Xuan said calmly. "The current East Sea Dragon King was disrespectful. Senior Brother, please cut him down as well."

"Good." Xuandu nodded calmly. He formed a sword with his fingers and slashed down.

SHRRIIIP!

As the two spoke, a beam of sword light flashed.

The entire East Sea was split in two.