NOVEL WEB Chapter 387: The Ambush
Chapter 387: The Ambush
Xu Lian departed from the thirty-third stage and arrived at the thirty-first stage, where the palace of the “Imperial Concubine” Goddess of Nine Heavens was located.
In his heart, there were two ” Empresses”. The first was Sister Xiya, of course, and the second was undoubtedly O. As for the “Imperial Concubines”, there were quite a few-about fifty-six in total, including the Goddess of Nine Heavens, Tantai Youxuan, Jiang Xianyu, Pei Zhaoxi, and others. Beyond them were consorts, concubines, noble ladies, beauties, attendants, talented women, and so on. Although he tried to treat everyone equally, absolute fairness was impossible in this world. Everything had already been carefully arranged.
As he entered the palace of the Goddess of Nine Heavens, he saw her dressed in the attire of an Imperial Concubine. Xu Lian’s heart immediately warmed up. “My beloved concubine, I have arrived.”
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
The Goddess of Nine Heavens rolled her beautiful eyes at him and then burst into laughter. Her already exquisite beauty became even more enchanting with that smile, making all other beauties pale in comparison. Truly, the phrase “the six palaces lose their luster” was coined for someone like her.
Who could resist such a charm? Xu Lian immediately spent some intimate time with her.
A few days later.
As usual, Xu Lian returned to the ancestral grounds of the Divine Race to visit the other consorts.
Once his “vacation” ended, he sighed in frustration. “What kind of situation is this? I, the mighty emperor, still have to work for the Qian Dynasty.”
Xu Lian crossed through space, transformed into Qin Feng, and arrived at the Qian Dynasty’s Imperial Preceptor Mansion in the royal capital. Along with Ning Meixue and Huangpu Shuyi, he returned to the super-large exclusive cultivation resource zone, preparing to continue refining Metamorphosis Elixirs for the Qian Dynasty.
Chi Sui, Zhao Ming, and other alchemists had also arrived, accompanied by thousands of apprentice pharmacists and Huangpu Yan, one of the dynasty’s Supremes who was stationed here. As for the two hundred thousand gardeners, they weren’t needed this time because Xu Lian had already taken everything. The raw materials looted from the Liang Dynasty by the dynasty’s two supreme emperors can be directly refined, and there is no need for gardeners.
“For now, let’s not rush into refining Metamorphosis Elixirs. Let’s refine some ultra-high-grade healing pills first.”
Huangpu Yan took out several rare medicinal herbs needed to refine ultra-high-grade healing pills. “The most valuable herbs will be handled by Qin Feng.”
Everyone was startled. The first time ultra-high-grade healing pills were refined, the dynasty’s two Supremes ambushed the neighboring Liang Dynasty. The second time, it was to fend off retaliation from the Liang Dynasty’s two Supremes. Now, this third round of refining-what were they planning this time?
Although they were curious, no one dared to ask. They silently accepted their assigned herbs and began to refine.
Xu Lian, on the other hand, took charge of the most valuable herbs. Huangpu Yan entrusted him with this task not only to conserve these precious resources, but also to produce twice the amount of pills.
It was Huangpu Shuyi, bold as ever, who finally couldn’t contain her curiosity. She asked, “Grandpa Supreme, what are we preparing these ultra-high-grade healing pills for?”
Huangpu Yan treated his direct descendants with warmth and kindness. Smiling gently, he replied, “Of course, there’s going to be a battle. As for what kind of battle, I can’t tell you. It’s best not to let the news leak out.”
Huangpu Shuyi didn’t push any further. “Grandpa Supreme, please stay safe.”
Huangpu Yan chuckled warmly. “Don’t worry. This old man knows what he’s doing. I won’t fight a battle without confidence.”
A few days later.
The ultra-high-grade healing pills were successfully refined.
Huangpu Yan said, “While I’m gone, no one will be guarding this place. To prevent powerful cultivators from other factions from raiding this area, and to ensure your safety, you should temporarily stop refining Metamorphosis Elixirs here. Return to the Imperial Capital-the protective barrier there is much stronger, and it’s safer than here.”
Huangpu Shuyi asked, “Can’t we have the five Quasi-Supreme Grandpas guard this place?”
Huangpu Yan shook his head. “Their suspicion of embezzlement hasn’t been cleared yet. How can I trust them to guard this place? What if they steal again? You’d better go back to the capital. Refining Metamorphosis Elixirs isn’t urgent right now.”
With that, Xu Lian left with Ning Meixue and Huangpu Shuyi. The others quickly followed suit and returned to the imperial capital.
Soon after, shocking news spread throughout the royal capital: the two Supremes of the Qian Dynasty and the two Supremes of the Liang Dynasty had joined forces to ambush the Vast Domain’s exclusive cultivation resource zone, sparking a fierce battle with the Supreme of the Vast Domain!
The entire dynasty was thrown into turmoil.
However, the dynasty’s higher-ups felt a mixture of excitement and joy.
“Our Qian Dynasty’s Metamorphosis Elixir resources were completely plundered, leaving us with no hope for the future. We had no choice but to raid the neighboring Liang Dynasty, seizing nearly half of their resources, which left them struggling as well. Now, both dynasties teaming up to ambush the Vast Domain makes perfect sense!”
“There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. Our Qian Dynasty and Liang Dynasty are in the same boat now – it is only natural for us to join forces!”
“We hope our two Supremes succeed in this battle, plunder more cultivation resources, and return victorious!”
Meanwhile, Xu Lian, who was living a seemingly “simple and humble” life in the Imperial Preceptor Mansion, heard the news and was completely speechless. His plundering of the Qian Dynasty’s Metamorphosis Elixir resources had set off a chain reaction, like the first domino falling and triggering the rest.
The two Supremes of the Qian Dynasty were truly shameless – “Old Sixes,” as they were mockingly called. Had they become addicted to ambush tactics?
Moreover, before every ambush, they made sure to stockpile ultra-high-grade healing pills. They were practically “drug-fueled war gods.”
However, the dynasty’s higher-ups didn’t rejoice for long. Soon, chilling news arrived: although the four Supremes of the Qian Dynasty and the Liang Dynasty had ambushed the Vast Domain’s exclusive cultivation resource zone, the Vast Domain seemed to have anticipated the attack. They had formed an alliance with the Silver Blood Family, the Wen Dao Sect, and the Violet Cloud Sacred Land, totaling seven Supremes. Together, they surrounded and trapped the four Supremes of the Qian and Liang Dynasties!
The dynasty’s supremes turned pale as ghosts, their faces devoid of color. Like ants on a hot pan, they were desperate but powerless.
The First Prince, the new emperor issued an urgent decree to convene a court meeting.
Xu Lian, who had been living a comfortable and leisurely life at the Imperial Preceptor Mansion, reluctantly donned his robes as the Imperial Preceptor and made his way to the palace. He arrived at the Great Qian Hall to attend the emergency meeting.
The nobles and officials all rushed to the meeting, their faces etched with worry. Even the five Quasi-Supremes and some high-ranking sages were present.
Except for Xu Lian, everyone was weighed down by the gravity of the situation, their expressions grim and silent.
The First Prince, visibly anxious, exclaimed, “Our two Supreme Elder Ancestors are trapped! What should we do? Somebody, please speak up!”
The crowd erupted into a fierce discussion, each person voicing his or her opinion.
“If our two Supreme Elder Ancestors fall, it’s the end for our Qian Dynasty! Without Supreme-level experts, our dynasty will be like a woman whose household has lost its husband-utterly defenseless and at the mercy of others. All our cultivation resources will be taken away! At all costs, we must ensure that our two Supreme Elder Ancestors survive!”
“Then what are we waiting for? We must use our hidden reserves to rescue them!”
“But none of us even know what our dynasty’s hidden reserves are. Only the Supreme Elder Ancestors have access to them, and only they can activate them. But now they’re trapped, how can we possibly use those reserves?”
“If we can’t rely on our hidden reserves, what other options do we have?”
“There are no other options, unless… we seek outside help!”
“External help? Almost every major power around us has been offended by our Qian Dynasty. It’s unlikely that they will help us. If they don’t take this opportunity to kick us while we’re down, that would be a blessing in disguise.”
Xu Lian listened in silence and fought back a smile. It seemed that the Qian Dynasty hadn’t exactly played nice with the neighboring major powers. Their reputation as shameless opportunists-“Old Sixes”-had clearly alienated them from potential allies.
The First Prince spoke in a deep, commanding tone, “Since the nearby major powers won’t help us, we must look further afield. Does anyone here have any suggestions?”