Chapter 674 — The One from the Nether Capital

"How long ago did these demons arrive to challenge us?"

Pang Yu's expression changed drastically. He asked the deity behind him, "Why was I not informed sooner?"

"They arrived six or seven days ago. At the time I thought it a small matter, and so..."

True God Pang Yu drew a long breath and said angrily, "With Fu Riluo and Lu Li both present, how could it be a small matter? These demons who have come to challenge us are not the demons of Luofu Heaven. They come from the Heavenly Court!" With that he leaped down from the gate tower.

"The Heavenly Court?"

The deity's face went blank, and he murmured, "How could the Heavenly Court have demons?"

"The Black Emperor of the Northern Heaven rules the Nether Capital. Of course he has demon disciples! That Qi Jiuyi's other identity is as a disciple of the Black Emperor of the Northern Heaven!"

True God Pang Yu went straight to the battlefield and called out loudly, "Yu He, they only want to use your divine abilities to observe the progress of ours. Concede and come back!"

Yu He hastily drew back and broke away from the demon disciple. The black-robed demon disciple already had the upper hand; though he clearly had the strength to kill her, he had not struck the fatal blow, but instead seized the chance to observe the fruits of Jingping's Reform, and so gave her the opening to escape.

Fu Riluo laughed. "Daoist Pang Yu, your city is very noisy, thunder rolling on and on, dragon cries without end. What sort of business are you about that no demon may look upon?"

True God Pang Yu gave a cold snort and said indifferently, "Fu Riluo, you have grown more capable than ever. Now you have even invited the disciples of the Black Emperor of the Northern Heaven! Do not forget, you made the Earth Lord's Pact with the Heavenly Master. Break the pact, and the Earth Lord will take your soul!"

Fu Riluo gave a hearty laugh. "I did indeed make the Earth Lord's Pact with the Heavenly Master, and I will of course restrain the demons under my command. But I once told the Heavenly Master as well: it is not I who would destroy Taihuang Heaven. There is another who truly means to destroy you."

True God Pang Yu felt a chill in his heart. His gaze fell upon the several demon gods opposite, and he bowed in salute, probing, "Are all of you disciples of the Black Emperor of the Nether Capital?"

The demon gods returned the salute, and the foremost of them said courteously, "I am Lou Yunqu. These two are my junior brothers, Kui Qingpei and Fu Yanqi. That you, Senior Brother Pang Yu, could hold off the Revered King Fu Riluo for twenty thousand years is admirable."

The muscles at the corner of Pang Yu's eye twitched violently twice, and his voice came out hoarse. "How did you enter Taihuang Heaven? Fu Riluo, have you slaughtered your own clansmen again and summoned them here through blood sacrifice?"

Fu Riluo shook his head and said indifferently, "Nothing to do with me."

Lou Yunqu smiled mildly. "Senior Brother Pang Yu need not suspect the Revered King. The Revered King fears for his own position. Why would he contact us of his own accord? In truth, we came aboard the ship of the Red Emperor of the Southern Heaven. Indra King Buddha has fled the Buddhist realm, and it happened that the Red Emperor of the Southern Heaven descended to the mortal world to arrest him. He passed by Taihuang Heaven, and so set us down from his ship."

Fu Riluo smiled and said nothing; plainly he too was deeply displeased.

And Lu Li was plainly most wary of Lou Yunqu and the others, and seemed somewhat displeased as well, only she could not well give vent to it.

Fu Riluo feared his power would slip away and he would end up sewing a wedding dress for the Heavenly Court; she, for her part, regarded Shen Mu as meat already in her bowl, and now the Black Emperor had come to thrust in a foot, which naturally left her displeased.

Lou Yunqu introduced that young demon expert and said with a smile, "This is a disciple my master took, Lou Qianchong. He is the senior brother of Junior Brother Qi Jiuyi, and studied with Junior Brother Qi in my master's palace. My master is much concerned with the Wasteland; Taihuang Heaven he does not think much of. After all, the reason the Wasteland could become the Wasteland rests on my master's seal. This time we several senior and junior brothers have come to help the Revered King Fu Riluo swallow Taihuang Heaven and offer it in blood sacrifice. Then we will enter Jingping, awaken the stone statues of the gods, and destroy Jingping."

His face was mild and pleasant, as though he were an old friend of many years, and as though what he spoke of were not the bloody business of annihilating Taihuang Heaven and destroying Jingping, but idle chatter with Pang Yu. He smiled and said, "The other matter is this: my master wishes to meet the Divine Child of Youdu. That one is rather troublesome. It was originally entrusted to Junior Brother Qi, but alas, Junior Brother Qi failed to seal the Divine Child of Youdu, and instead lost the mirror that had captured him."

Qi Jiuyi's face reddened slightly, and he said nothing.

Lou Yunqu looked somewhat pained. He rubbed his temples and sighed. "My master said the Nether Capital needs a figure like the Divine Child of Youdu. This time we four senior and junior brothers had no choice but to descend to the mortal world, yet who would have thought Governor Lu Li would be here as well, and have ideas of her own about the Divine Child of Youdu."

Lu Li forced a smile. "Senior Brother Lou jests. How would I dare have ideas? And how would I dare set myself against the mightiest Nether Emperor of the Northern Heaven?"

"That is true enough."

Lou Yunqu smiled. "My master had a private motive in sending us down as well: he wished to see how far the Reform in the mortal world has gone, and have us record it and bring it back for his old eyes to review. So we thought: the Reform in a small mortal village may not amount to much, but after all it has changed the Great Way of heaven and earth, and to sort and record it all would surely be a great bother. We hear that Emperor Yanfeng of Jingping and the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping are the chief figures of the Reform. So, for the sake of convenience, if the two of them could be taken and brought before my master, it would save a great deal of trouble. Senior Brother Pang Yu, might you invite those two over and deliver them to us, bound up tight?"

True God Pang Yu laughed heartily, yet there was no smile at all on his face; the laugh was dry, false, and stiff. He said coldly, "You want to capture the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping and Emperor Yanfeng? Why do you not do it yourselves?"

Lou Yunqu's face was wreathed in smiles. "Very well. But before that, we had best destroy Taihuang Heaven first. Will the gods, demons, and divine ability users of Taihuang Heaven take their own lives, or shall I tie the nooses for you and knot them tight?"