Chapter 753: The Cauldron of Loss

Yu Fuli possessed incredible means. Before long, the Yin-Yang Cauldron stopped emanating loss chants. The entire cauldron turned bright red but looked otherwise ordinary.

"This cauldron will be able to trap the saint's main body. You'll just have to get him in here," Yu Fuli said.

"Can the cauldron suck the saint in directly?"

"It can't. You'll have to be careful not to use it carelessly. If the saint notices anything amiss, he won't fall for the trap," Yu Fuli warned.

"Your Majesty, you mean that this cauldron is only a cage, and if I want to trap the saint, I'll have to catch him myself and stuff him inside? How would I ever do so?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"I believe in your abilities," Yu Fuli said, smiling.

Xiao Nanfeng stiffened. What good was it that Yu Fuli believed in him when he didn't believe in himself? It was ludicrous to have a True Immortal catch a saint!

"Alright. If there's nothing else, you may go. The saint may come after you at any time. Don't let him leave empty-handed."

Xiao Nanfeng sighed. He couldn't just leave like this!

"Your Majesty, I can't take on a saint with just this cauldron! I'm ill-prepared for it, and I caught the saint's attention out of nowhere. Please, save me!"

Yu Fuli laughed. "Out of nowhere? More like he was deliberately going after you in the first place."

"Your Majesty, I'm a Martial Aspect of the Imperial Court. I ask for your protection after having been threatened by the saint," Xiao Nanfeng declared.

Yu Fuli scoffed. "You remember your position now, do you? And here I thought you had forgotten about it entirely. Lingjun maintains deep affection and strong feelings for you—have you had a good time philandering lately? Do you claim to reciprocate her feelings?"

Xiao Nanfeng grimaced. He was hardly a philanderer, but it would be unwise to argue with the Heavenly Emperor on this.

"Please calm down, Your Majesty. I'm aware of my misgivings," Xiao Nanfeng eventually said, sighing.

Yu Fuli didn't press the matter further. He was aware of Xiao Nanfeng's situation to some extent, and the Divine Emperor and Xia Yu'er's involvement couldn't be wholly blamed on Xiao Nanfeng. However, as Zhang Lingjun's grandfather, he had to criticize Xiao Nanfeng at least a little.

"I must be careful with heavenly affairs, so I cannot ordinarily intercede against the saint lest the heavens cause the era-ending calamity to descend early. My involvement before was a special exception. I suppose you've exhausted the heart sword by now; I can replenish that, at least. Two more strikes: use them carefully."

He handed Xiao Nanfeng another purple sword.

Xiao Nanfeng bowed gravely. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then, he presented the Heavenly Emperor with the other black coffin. "Your Majesty, this black coffin is imbued with countless black hands, possibly due to the saint's involvement. Will it be of any use in capturing him?"

Yu Fuli considered the shattered coffin. As he opened it up, black smoke gushed out, manifesting into grasping black hands.

"What a mediocre technique." Yu Fuli tsked.

He reached into the black coffin, causing purple light to glow around it.

A loud howl came from within the coffin. Then, as the purple light flooded the coffin, all the black hands dissipated and vanished entirely.

The black smoke outside the coffin retreated back inside. By then, there was no sign of any black hands remaining.

"Has the saint's influence been wiped away entirely?" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up.

Yu Fuli nodded. "Indeed. This coffin is safe for you to use."

He turned toward the other black coffin. "Both of these coffins were originally marked with traces of their original owner's aura. That owner is plotting something; he was the hegemon of a certain past era, and he too sought to resist the heavens. I will not help you against any who pursue the same quest I do, but the markers he left behind have been wiped away: in one case by Saint Chi Hai, and in the other by the Loss Diagram. In the short term, he won't be able to manipulate the two coffins, so I'll combine them on your behalf."

He reached out for the two coffins. Purple light from his hands surrounded the two coffins and sent them crashing into each other with such blinding light that Xiao Nanfeng was forced to turn away.

After some time, with a hum, the light receded to reveal a single black coffin.

The two black coffins had been combined into one. The new coffin looked roughly the same as before, but a character had appeared over its surface: longevity.

"Your Majesty, what use does this black coffin have?" Xiao Nanfeng asked expectantly.

"Nothing in particular. It's essentially the same as before, though the two black coffin hidden realms within have combined and grown larger."

Xiao Nanfeng was unimpressed.

"There are three such black coffins. If you can find the last one and merge them all together, it'll become quite strong."

"Oh? Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

He felt that trying to find the last coffin might very well be feasible. Perhaps whoever owned that final coffin would seek him out, in fact.

"You'll see for yourself once you find it and place it within this coffin. You'll know how to use it even without my assistance," Yu Fuli replied.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

"Go on, then," Yu Fuli said.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded, packed up, and left with his subordinates.

Outside Shenfeng's capital, Tu Jiuniang was growing extremely frustrated as she tried to batter down its defenses.

"How can this be? How can the defensive formation be so strong?!" Tu Jiuniang thundered.

She attacked it repeatedly, sending blazing flames surging across its exterior, but the formation remained strong and firm.

After some time, a voice called out from afar, "Your Majesty, the Immortal Emperor has retreated. He asks that you do so as well!"

Tu Jiuniang clenched her teeth. She had done nothing this entire battle! Despite her fury, she turned and left with her subordinates.

"Long live Shenfeng!" cheered the soldiers guarding the capital.

Though the defensive formation around Shenfeng's capital had managed to withstand Tu Jiuniang's attacks, the situation had been particularly stressful for the cultivators on guard, many of whom knew that the Divine Emperor had headed to rescue Haijiao, and that they would be done for if Tu Jiuniang had managed to break through the defenses.

Fortunately, the defenses had held.

Before long, a shadowy figure zipped back to Shenfeng's capital. The Divine Emperor had rushed back as quickly as she could.

"Her Majesty's back!"

"Her Majesty forced the zombie army to retreat!"

"My avatar was right there. Many of the zombies have been captured and subdued."

The people cheered as the Divine Emperor hovered in the air. She smiled upon seeing the people's excited expressions. "Citizens of Shenfeng, thank you for your support. Victory is ours!"

"Long live Your Majesty! Long live Shenfeng!" the people cheered.

By then, Blue Lantern had dispelled the defensive formation around Shenfeng's capital, and the Divine Emperor rushed toward the palace. A group of officials responsible for maintaining Shenfeng's information network met her there.

The Divine Emperor first looked toward a palace maiden, whose avatar was in Yongding, by Xiao Nanfeng's avatar.

"How's the situation there?" the Divine Emperor asked.

"Both my bodies are safe. I'm in the Imperial Court at the moment," the palace maiden replied, relaying Xiao Nanfeng's words.

"Thank goodness."

"And how did the fight at Haijiao go?"

"It was a huge success. Lou Yujing was hindered in his ancestral zombie body and was weaker than I am. What's more, I have my bell. His zombie army might have been strong, but my shadow cursed effigies aren't weak either. In the end, he only managed to escape with a portion of his forces by using a Boundless Immortal relic to hold me back."

"You won? You managed to suppress him completely?"

"Of course. My subordinates even managed to catch a third of the zombies. In order to escape, Lou Yujing was even willing to detonate a Boundless Immortal relic in a kamikaze attack. Fortunately, I was quick enough to enclose the relic within my bell and sever the connection between him and the relic," the Divine Emperor replied happily.

"How does he have so many relics?"

"Who knows? Come on over quickly. I'll hand you the relic. You might just be able to consume it." The Divine Emperor smiled, then suddenly second-guessed herself. Why was she suggesting consuming Boundless Immortal relics now, too?

"I'm already on my way. It'll take me a little time to get there."

"Good! Right, how's the situation with the three armies?" the Divine Emperor asked.

"Li Qianjun fled Bingxian and its defenses are crumbling. We'll be able to seize it quickly enough. We have an absolute advantage at Dunxian, and should be able to take it down shortly as well. However, we lost Danxian."

"Yang Chuan lost?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

"He did. Danxian was protected by Yuan Wudi and one of the saint's avatars. Yang Chuan initially had the upper hand even against the two foes, but the saint used some secret technique to strengthen himself and fight on equal footing with Yang Chuan. Then, he launched a kamikaze attack, badly wounding Yang Chuan. Yuan Wudi snuck up on him and beheaded him thereafter."

"Yang Chuan's been beheaded?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

"And Yuan Wudi allegedly caused his head to explode as well. The Demon Child is heading over to provide assistance."

"What a pitiful death," the Divine Emperor replied, sighing.

"Yang Chuan doesn't seem to be dead."

"What? Even with his head and soul destroyed?"

"I don't know about the details, but Yang Chuan's golden dragon within the Imperial Court's sea of fortune hasn't yet dissipated."

The Divine Emperor was taken by surprise.