Chapter 399 - Sea Problem, Bluff
Carried in?
Li Nianfan and the Jade Emperor were taken aback. Then, they walked out together.
Li Nianfan first thought of the internal fights. Maybe the Southern Sea Dragons used that Dragon Soul Pearl and fought them?
It was highly possible. Ao Cheng was most likely the side that was defeated.
He arrived at the Lingxiao Palace with the Jade Emperor.
A lot of Immortals were there to watch and gossip. Black and White Impermanence stood at the center of the palace. Ao Cheng stood at their side. He was fine, but Ao Yun silently laid on a stretcher. He looked terrible and he was drooling blood. He looked terribly injured.
‘Ao Yun’s hurt again? ‘Huh? Why did I say ‘again’?’ “Brother Ao Cheng, Brother Ao Cheng…” Ao Yun laid there struggling to speak. He was using his last breath to talk.
Ao Cheng looked serious. He said, “Brother Yun, say it. I’m listening, I’m here with you.”
“Help me get…get…” Ao Yun panted and pointed at Black and White Impermanence. “Help me get away from them. They’re waiting for me to die.”
Black and White Impermanence alarmingly moved away. “You and your bloody mouth. How dare you accuse us?”
Suddenly, Taibai Jinxing shouted to remind everyone, “Cough. Greetings from Taibai Jinxing to the Emperor and Empress.”
Black and White Impermanence and Ao Cheng all snapped out of it. They bowed and said, “Greetings to the Emperor and Empress.”
Then, they saw Li Nianfan. They smiled and saluted, “Mr. Li.”
Juling Shen glared and scolded them, “What’s with that attitude? This is our Deluxe Merit Saint. How impolite! Greet the Saint properly!’
Li Nianfan was pleased with Juling Shen. It was no fun hyping himself up on his own. He needed a hype man. Juling Shen created the perfect setup for his appearance. He smiled and casually said, “Hey, We’re old friends here. Nevermind. The Deluxe Merit Saint is just a title.”
He casually waved while he said that. A golden Deluxe Merit light immediately covered Black and White Impermanence and the others. They were soaked in the golden streams of Deluxe Merit.
Black and White Impermanence, Ao Cheng, and Ao Yun were taken aback. They were irrecoverably shocked. The pleasant surprise came out of nowhere. Then, they were overjoyed. They hurriedly accepted it. They were also kind of confused. “Deluxe Merit Saint… Saint?”
Li Nianfan casually replied, “I became the Deluxe Merit Saint. It appears that I can sense and give out Deluxe Merit. It’s quite an interesting trick.”
‘Interesting trick?’
Black and White Impermanence and Ao Cheng felt their hearts thump. They were shocked, fearful, respectful, and confused. They placed all their emotions aside. ‘Just bootlick! We know how it goes!’
They went serious and bowed at Li Nianfan with respect. They said in a genuine tone, “Thank you for the reward, Saint. We were ignorant just now. Please, forgive us, Saint.”
“Quick, help me up.”
Ao Yun struggled to the floor. “So I can bow to the Saint.”
“Relax. We’re old friends. We don’t need to do all the courtesy stuff,” laughed Li Nianfan. Then, he said, “You guys deserve the credits for helping to rebuild the Heavenly Palace. Plus, I can sense your usual Deluxe Merit. You deserved it, I just helped you get it.”
“The generous Saint.”
“Ol’ wise Saint.”
Black and White Impermanence and Ao Cheng inhaled, they looked like they were about to kiss up to Li Nianfan. Li Nianfan hurriedly stopped them, “Let’s get back to business.”
They stopped being bootlickers.
“Emperor, please, help us!”
Ao Cheng quickly stepped forward. He became totally different. He instantly teared up and cried, “My brother, Ao Yun, was the ruler of the Western Sea. He barely survived when the Western Sea was destroyed. He recently just started to heal from his wound. He felt better so he planned to go back and check out the Western Sea. Who knew that… The Western Sea had been colonized by an Evil Dragon. It also injured him. If my Brother Yun was bad at escaping, he would’ve been killed!”
“Boohoo—” Ao Yun sobbed hard at the side. He seemed to be hinting at something.
“Yeah, I know.” Ao Cheng understood his hint. He said, outraged, “Once…once again, the Dragon Killer Poison Bug is planted in my Brother Yun’s body. This is the second time my Brother Yun got poisoned. Poor him…”
“Evil Dragon dares to be so reckless?” The Jade Emperor frowned. He asked, “Ao Cheng, have you gone to settle such a problem?”
Ao Cheng looked awkward. He said, “According to Brother Yun, the Evil Dragon’s hiding in the deep sea. The Evil Dragon has been there for who-knows-how-many years, it also has Spiritual Treasures and several Demon minions. I’m afraid Daluo Golden Immortals can’t defeat it. So, I came here to the Heavenly Palace to request for help, Emperor. Please, help the Sea kind.”
“Of course. We can’t let this be!” The Jade Emperor looked calm but serious. He sounded sure but he was not feeling confident.
There were no generals in the Heavenly Palace that were Daluo Golden Immortals. Apart from the Jade Emperor and the Empress, the other Immortals were mostly civil servants. They could not handle it.
He looked at Black and White Impermanence and said, “The Underworld should be fine, right?”
Black Impermanence replied, “Emperor, there’s havoc at the Styx. The Asura kind are constantly causing troubles. Also, there are a lot of evil spirits being born in the Immortal Realm. The Underworld…is understaffed!”
White Impermanence requested, “Emperor, we were hoping that you could lend us some staff resources.”
“Borrow our staff?” said the Jade Emperor in a high-pitched voice. He did not expect that at all.
‘What? I was planning to bo Dragons and the Underworld. I haven’t asked yet and they’ve already requested for backup.’ Li Nianfan showed an expectant smile at the side.
“You saw it, too. The Western Sea’s in trouble, the Heavenly Palace is in urgent need of staff. Please, don’t mention this request anymore.”
The Jade Emperor waved it off. Then, he said, “The Underworld’s the home for the dead. There are tons of talented people there. Use that time wisely to train some ghost staff.”
Ao Cheng asked at the side, “I wonder, Emperor. When are you going to help us?”
“It’s just defeating an Evil Dragon. We only need three days to deal with this problem!” The Jade Emperor said with confidence. “Ao Cheng, return and be ready with an army. My guards will meet with the Sea Race. We’ll kill the Evil Dragon once and for all!”
Li Nianfan silently watched the Jade Emperor bluff. He did not say anything.
“Three days? You won’t even be ready in thirty days.’
He was clear on the situation of the Heavenly Palace. They lacked generals and guards. They were going to lose the battle.
If the Heavenly Palace pulled up with a small army of people, it would be too funny. However… He could understand what the Jade Emperor was thinking.
The Heavenly Palace ran into a problem like that when it first started. He could not look too helpless, especially in front of the Dragons and the workers of the Underworld. He had to keep the Heavenly Palace’s image up.
Ao Cheng did not doubt him. He immediately said, “Alright, I’ll go back and get ready. We must avenge my Brother Yun!”
Then, he carried Ao Yun and was ready to leave.
“Ow!” Ao Yun struggled in agony. He wanted to live. He panted, “Brother Ao Cheng, me. Save me!”
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”
Ao Cheng put the stretcher down. He saluted at Li Nianfan and said, “Saint, please save Brother Yun…like last time.”
“Barbeque again?”
Li Nianfan looked at the severed arm and felt bad for him. It was too pitiful, what a tragic fate.
“What body part do you choose?”
Ao Yun thought about it on the way here. He was flushed like he was pushing something out. Then, with a ‘spurt’, out came a tail from his butt. He lied there lifelessly because he was injured.
Ao Yun looked like he was in agony. He said with a tragic voice, “I can’t lose another limb, take my tail…”
“Okay,” nodded Li Nianfan. He was about to take out the seasoning.
“Wait.” Ao Yun struggled to speak. He alarmingly looked at the surrounding crowd, “Take me somewhere with no one around. I don’t want anyone to smell my tail. I don’t want it to get eaten…”
The next day.
Li Nianfan stood at the attic of the palace. He did not look at the view. Instead, he was looking at the busy Immortals.
They were busy because they were preparing for battle. They were all sent out to distribute flyers no matter what their positions were. They tried their best to recruit people into the Heavenly Palace.
Juling Shen was training the guards. They were hardworking. Suddenly, Li Nianfan saw that the Jade Emperor was heading his way. So, he went downstairs. Li Nianfan smiled and asked, “Emperor, how are the preparations?”
“Don’t even mention it.” The Jade Emperor waved it off and sighed. “So far, we only have one general in the entire Heavenly Palace, Juling Shen. He’s only a Taiyi Golden Immortal. We have seven Golden Immortals. The Tian Immortals and Real Immortals come up to less than five hundred in total.”
He could not say the statistics out loud. How poor. Li Nianfan comforted him, “The Absolute Era made this incredibly hard. Times are different now, it’s not that bad.”
The Jade Emperor said, “Saint, you don’t need to comfort me. Too few people responded to my Heavenly Palace. Now that it’s the Absolute Era, powerful forces will only increase. I have to show them the power of the Heavenly Palace with this battle!”
He paused. Then, he said, “To be honest, Saint, I already thought of a strategy for this.”
Li Nianfan was startled.
The Jade Emperor cast a spell and out came some of his conscience. Then, an intense power started to flow into the conscience. It gradually grew into a Human form under the light.
The Jade Emperor groaned and went pale. The Human figure transformed into a stranger, a middle-aged man who was sitting crossed-legged in front of Li Nianfan.