Chapter 577 - 576: Behind the Scenes

Chapter 577: Chapter 576: Behind the Scenes

Although Zhuge Yun was filled with regret, it was too late. His enemy had already come knocking at his door, and he was even controlling two Spirit King Stage experts. Forget resisting; Zhuge Yun couldn’t even dream of escaping on his own.

"My friend, I, Zhuge Yun, swear that for the rest of my life, I will never again set foot in the Celestial Dragon Empire! As compensation, I can give you all of my Treasures. If that’s still not enough, just name it, and I will find it for you!"

Zhuge Yun didn’t want to die. Though he was no longer young, he still had many good years left. He knew things couldn’t just end here; compensation would surely be required. He was willing to part with all his Treasures if it meant survival.

’Who told us to provoke such a monster?’ His terrifying power was something they never should have challenged. Regret filled his heart. ’If only I hadn’t agreed to join the other three Empires in their assault, none of this would be happening.’

"Do you think saying such things has any meaning now?" Yi Tianyun said, looking at him indifferently. "Once I kill you, this entire Empire will be mine. What meaning does your compensation have then?"

Zhuge Yun’s expression changed. ’He’s right.’ He had long since lost any right to negotiate. His Empire would belong to Yi Tianyun from this day forward, so what was there to say about compensation?

Only those who ruled unconquerable empires, who could wage a protracted war, were qualified to negotiate. Zhuge Yun was not. Once he died, his Empire would be left without a leader. Having already suffered heavy losses, it would be utterly unable to withstand the people’s fury. Its fall was inevitable.

The next moment, Zhuge Yun turned and fled, bolting away at the fastest speed he could muster. He had only one thought now: escape! To hell with the Empire; he had to survive.

But Yi Tianyun wasn’t about to let him escape. With a casual wave of his hand, the two Spirit King Stage experts at his side shot after him. In the blink of an eye, they cut off Zhuge Yun’s path, surrounding him.

Their cultivation was the strongest of the three of them. How could Zhuge Yun possibly escape?

"Traitors!" Zhuge Yun’s expression was grim. He was injured and couldn’t use his full strength, making it impossible to break through their encirclement.

"We’re not traitors... I can speak? Damn it, that kid used some kind of Demon Technique on us! I can’t control my body!"

"Me too! I can’t control my body at all. It’s completely baffling..."

Their faces were pale. They had never encountered such a terrifying Demon Technique; they had lost control of their own bodies without even knowing how it happened.

Zhuge Yun’s expression changed. He whipped his head around to see Yi Tianyun standing in the same spot, watching them with his hands clasped behind his back.

"You all can catch up on old times while you fight," Yi Tianyun said with a smile and a wave. He had no intention of getting his own hands dirty; letting the two Spirit King Stage experts handle it was more than enough.

At his command, Late Emperor Yunlong and Late Emperor Xiao Tian began to attack furiously, their pained conversation carrying on the wind. Yi Tianyun watched leisurely from the sidelines. No amount of cursing from Zhuge Yun did any good. Ultimately, he could not escape his demise.

"DING! Successfully killed Zhuge Yun. Obtained 130,000,000 Experience, 8,000 Madness Value, 2,300 Sin Value. Obtained Martial Arts Heavenly Secret Technique, Inference Divine Technique. Obtained items: Celestial Secret Disc (Rare), Celestial Secret Talisman (Rare), Celestial Secret Fan (High-Grade Sacred Artifact)."

’Killing an enemy with a controlled puppet grants experience, just as I thought.’ If it didn’t, he wouldn’t have bothered having the two Late Emperors attack. Just killing Zhuge Yun himself without getting the rewards would have been a huge waste.

"Come back."

Yi Tianyun beckoned with his hand. The two of them quickly came to stand before him, their faces dark and their bodies bearing considerable injuries. They were furious, but utterly helpless. They couldn’t even self-destruct.

"Kill us or torture us, do as you please!"

"That’s right! If you’re going to kill us, then get on with it! Cut the chatter!"

They were enraged. For dignified Late Emperors to be controlled like puppets was the ultimate humiliation. They would rather die than remain under Yi Tianyun’s control.

The thought of being controlled until the very end of their lives was terrifying.

"Rest assured, you will die. But before that, I have some questions to ask." Yi Tianyun pointed at Late Emperor Xiao Tian and said calmly, "I asked your son and the others, but they couldn’t give me the details. Why, exactly, did you choose to invade the Celestial Dragon Empire and the Celestial Cloud Mansion?"

"It was the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom from the Netherworld. They instructed me to gather the other Imperial Influence and invade the Celestial Dragon Empire and the Celestial Cloud Mansion. The Celestial Cloud Mansion, in particular, was to be utterly annihilated! We learned that the Celestial Cloud Mansion and the Celestial Dragon Empire have a very close relationship, so we planned to eliminate the Celestial Dragon Empire first, and then the Celestial Cloud Mansion," Late Emperor Xiao Tian answered honestly, holding nothing back.

Late Emperor Yunlong, who was standing beside him, added, "It was the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom that told us to assemble. If we completed the mission, they promised to grant us their powerful protection, as well as many Sacred Artifacts. They even said they would give us the Celestial Dragon Empire’s Celestial Dragon Treasure!"

’So it was the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom after all...’ Yi Tianyun’s gaze turned cold. He hadn’t managed to get these details from the four Great Emperors he’d captured. Evidently, the Late Emperors hadn’t told their sons everything.

He figured that a fish must have slipped through the net last time—some Cultivator from the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom must have escaped, leading them to orchestrate this siege by the four Imperial Influences.

"Did they promise anything else?" Yi Tianyun asked, his voice low.

"No, nothing else. Just the promise of protection and many Treasures when we descend to the Netherworld," Late Emperor Xiao Tian replied honestly.

"And so you acted immediately?" Yi Tianyun sneered.

"Yes. They are a Divine Country Power, and with so many benefits on the table, of course we agreed. Besides, the Celestial Dragon Empire was so weak that eliminating it seemed effortless. Who would have guessed that the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom’s envoy would claim the Celestial Cloud Mansion was so formidable that it would take four Imperial Influences to conquer it."

"At first, we didn’t believe it. How strong could a mere third-grade faction be? Still, we decided to dispatch a grand army... We never imagined we would be the ones to fall."

They confessed one sentence after another, almost as if they were old friends catching up, but their hearts were in agony. They were powerless to resist as every single secret was effortlessly extracted from them.

Yi Tianyun nodded. He now had a general understanding of the situation. In the end, the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom was the root of it all!

’Revenge against me, is it...?’ Yi Tianyun’s eyes went cold. ’If they hadn’t been so ruthless in the first place, would I have ever done what I did to the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom?’

It was simply the law of the jungle—the strong devour the weak. They weren’t wrong, they had just provoked the wrong person!

"Alright, you can die now," Yi Tianyun said with an indifferent wave of his hand. "I’ll take over managing your Empires. Go on and join your sons in the afterlife. Soon enough, the people of the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom will be down there to join you."

He waved his hand. Endless regret filled the eyes of the two Late Emperors, but it was far too late.