Chapter 398: Chapter 49: 100 Years, the Plan Is Almost Complete, the Return Is Imminent

In the end, the Celestial Strategy True Saint was no match for Yang Jian. Two of his heads and three of his arms were severed by the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade, and he was captured, bound by the astonishing divine radiance that shot from the Celestial Eye.

The Golden Boy, Jade Maiden, and the others all scattered and fled.

When Yang Jian returned to the summit with the captured Celestial Strategy True Saint, he found the entire mountain silent. The Profound Yellow Emperor was standing stunned in place, a stunning young girl beside him, tightly hugging the Emperor’s arm.

As for everyone else, they were all in a daze.

’What... happened here?’

Yang Jian was rather surprised.

At this moment, the composed Xuandu suddenly looked up. A flash of confusion crossed his face, quickly replaced by understanding.

In contrast, Yan Huang, the Old Celestial Master, Nezha, and the others were dumbfounded.

’Junior Brother... Profound Yellow??’

They all turned to look at Zhang Liang, their expressions a mixture of shock, terror, and utter bewilderment.

Lu Xuan had also come back to his senses by now. He sighed, a joyful look on his face.

"Senior Brother Zhang..."

"It is I," Zhang Liang chuckled. Although he didn’t know why his junior brother was wearing a mask and going by the name Profound Yellow, he didn’t expose him and said directly, 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"It’s only been ten thousand years, but I never imagined... Junior Brother Profound Yellow, that you would have already come this far."

The mask concealed Lu Xuan’s complex expression. Amidst his joy, he also felt inexplicably sheepish.

He restrained himself, maintaining his current persona, but still performed a solemn bow.

"Senior Brother!"

Then, Lu Xuan made an introduction.

"This is the First Senior Brother of our lineage... Luo Hou!"

Zhang Liang was startled to hear this. ’Luo Hou?’

’No, it should be...’

He quickly performed a respectful bow.

"Registered Disciple Zhang Liang greets the First Senior Brother."

Xuandu smiled and said meaningfully,

"I know of you. This is your third life’s tribulation, is it not? After your fourth, you too shall truly enter the Master’s tutelage."

As the three of them conversed and reminisced, the crowd around them watched in utter astonishment.

Yan Huang, Zhang Jifeng, and the others swallowed hard, their minds reeling. A cold sweat broke out on their backs. The Zhang Liang, Zhang Zifang, they had known for thirty years was actually the reincarnation of some great figure—the Profound Yellow Emperor’s senior brother!

Nezha and his companions were also terrified. Their gazes shifted between Zhang Liang and ’Luo Hou’, but a sense of confusion began to grow.

’Isn’t the First Senior Brother of Biyou Palace the former Daoist Monarch Duobao, now known as Duobao Buddha?’

’So what’s going on with this Luo Hou?’

Only Yang Jian seemed to understand, though he was just as astonished. ’This is probably not the First Senior Brother of Biyou Palace,’ he thought.

’He’s either an avatar of Master Guangcheng or an avatar of Emperor Xuandu!’

After a long time exchanging pleasantries, Lu Xuan felt overwhelmed by emotion. Memories of the past flashed through his mind, and he was filled with a thousand feelings.

From stoking fires and cooking meals in the Guardian Storage Room to making a living by collecting scraps in the shantytowns...

...to becoming the current Emperor of the Celestial Court, the First Emperor’s Uncle, the Human Saint of our time, and the one holding power in the Current World.

He focused his mind, remaining perfectly still. There was so much he wanted to tell Senior Brother Zhang, but he suppressed it all, lest a Dao Fruit be spying on them at this very moment.

After reminiscing, Lu Xuan let out a slow breath. He glanced at Yan Huang and the others, and as if remembering something, he waved his sleeve.

Two souls tumbled to the ground. Yan Huang was taken aback.

"Daoist Qing He?"

Chen Shu, who had remained silent and listened respectfully the entire time, suddenly cried out, his eyes wide.

"Sis?!"

Qing He and Chen Ye, now just souls, were bewildered at first. But as they looked around, they saw only familiar faces, and their confusion turned to surprise and joy.

With Lu Xuan’s permission, they all began to catch up, recounting the major events of the past thirty years and asking Qing He and Chen Ye how they had lost their bodies and become souls.

Floating in mid-air, Qing He gave a bitter smile and sighed.

"When young Chen Ye and I arrived in this world, we weren’t far apart, so we started traveling together. We met many Cultivators along the way and joined them to hunt Demons in the North Sea."

As he spoke, his expression grew distant.

"We ended up finding a massive cave entrance on the seabed. As we got closer, we realized it was a slumbering Divine Fish. With a single breath, the fish sucked us all in. When we opened our eyes again, we were in the Underworld. Later, we were rescued by this... this Emperor..."

As he told the story, both Qing He and Chen Ye still looked astonished. Even now, they couldn’t understand why this mysterious Emperor of the Celestial Court would save them, let alone claim to be an old acquaintance.

At this, Xuandu, who was standing to the side, looked thoughtful.

"The Divine Fish of the North Sea? That must be the Kunpeng, right?"

’Kunpeng?’

Lu Xuan asked curiously,

"Is it a Great Saint of the Demon Race?"

"Not quite," Xuandu chuckled. "It’s more than a Great Saint. It’s a Demon at the [Daluo] Level that has long resided in the North Sea. Its conflict with the North Pole Celestial Court seems to be quite significant, as it frequently battles Emperor Ziwei."

After a pause, he pointed to the bound Celestial Strategy True Saint and added with a smile,

"This one here should be quite familiar with the situation."

The Celestial Strategy True Saint sullenly raised his eyes, his head held high.

"Kunpeng? Merely a foe defeated by our Emperor... Hmph! If the Emperor knew what you’ve done, he would be enraged! The very heavens would fill with killing intent!"

The Little Peach Spirit, still hugging Lu Xuan’s arm tightly, poked her head out and glared.

"You’re a bad guy! Causing a ruckus at my home for no reason! If that Emperor of yours dares to show up, I’ll have my uncle beat him up!"

The nearby Old Peach Immortal trembled. ’Hmm, the North Pole Emperor... I can’t beat him, I definitely can’t beat him!’

An idea sparked in Lu Xuan’s mind. ’A Daluo-level Demon with a major conflict with the Northern Celestial Court...’

He signaled for the Old Peach Immortal to block the six senses of the True Saint of the North Pole, then turned to the now-quiet crowd.

"There are people in the imperial court secretly colluding with Immortal Gods, with the North Pole Celestial Court, correct? Here’s the plan: all of you will return to Xianyang first and inform Zheng’Er of this. But tell him not to make any big moves. He shouldn’t even investigate. Just pretend to know nothing. This Emperor has a plan."

With that, Lu Xuan turned and bowed to Xuandu.

"First Senior Brother, may I trouble you to escort this Upper Celestial Venerable to Xianyang? I intend to take a trip to the Nine Nether. I will return shortly."