Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1053 - 1053 0621 The Old House Is On Fire_1

Chapter 1053: Chapter 0621 The Old House Is On Fire_1 Chapter 1053: Chapter 0621 The Old House Is On Fire_1 Chapter 0622: The Old House Is On Fire

Emperor Jianwu and the Huoyang Emperor nodded repeatedly, they were well aware of their respective resources, and it was indeed as Qi Tian had analyzed: relying solely on their own powers, they could not possibly construct defenses and formations exceeding the Half-step Nascent Soul level. To face the impending crisis, they truly needed to set aside prejudices, lower their guards, and truly integrate as one, pooling their resources for joint use.

With time being of the essence, Emperor Jianwu and the Huoyang Emperor didn’t waste any on fruitless arguments, and quickly reached a consensus. They unanimously decided to base their operations at Jianwu Palace and construct a new set of Defensive Restrictions and formations sufficient to cover the whole palace. At the same time, Jianwu Palace would have to allocate half its area for the Huoyang Emperor’s use, and he would lead his subordinates to station within this half of the palace.

Once the two princes came to an agreement, they immediately called Zhao Shibo and Li Mijia over to inform them of their decision, instructing them to implement the orders without delay.

Neither Zhao Shibo nor Li Mijia knew why the princes had made such a decision, but they didn’t dare to ask questions. Whatever the princes commanded, they would do.

After Zhao Shibo and Li Mijia left, the two princes once again looked towards Qi Tian. The Huoyang Emperor was eager to inquire about what Qi Tian had experienced during his Gold Core Tribulation, as well as to ask about what Emperor Jianwu had gone through.

Emperor Jianwu had previously hidden away in his small space, unwilling to emerge—an affair the Huoyang Emperor was aware of, including its reasons. Now that Emperor Jianwu had emerged from the small space, vigorous and full of life, exhibiting no signs of the Heavenly Decline that was rumored to afflict him, the disparity with the hearsay was just too great, and the Huoyang Emperor was very eager to understand the real situation.

However, Qi Tian did not allow the Huoyang Emperor the chance to speak; he said, “Your Highnesses, combining the force of both palaces is merely a passive defense. Even if we can construct the Defensive Restrictions and formations in a short time, it doesn’t prove anything.

To put it less pleasantly, we’ve only managed to build a sturdy turtle shell for ourselves. When Chaoyang Palace attacks, we can only shrink inside our shell, not daring to come out.

This turtle shell, even if it is as strong as we imagine and achieves the defense level we hope for, what then? We can only hide, watching as others attack us from outside. Even if we can fight back, the force of our counter-attacks will be very limited.

Over time, our turtle shell is very likely to be broken by others, and by then, we will still be in a passive position, taking hits. We must find a way to completely change this passivity.”

After hearing Qi Tian’s analysis, the Huoyang Emperor immediately set aside the question he had in mind. The urgent matter at hand was to resolve the problem of survival, which was of utmost importance. If even the issue of survival couldn’t be solved, knowing more secrets would be of no use. He hurriedly asked with urgency, “Master Qi, do you have any good solutions?”

Qi Tian said, “To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Chaoyang Palace can bully Jianwu Palace and Huoyang Palace because, besides their own stronger foundations, the major reason is that their might is greater than ours. If we cannot resolve this issue, we will constantly remain in a position of passive defense, never able to change the outcome. The only way to reverse this is to strengthen ourselves.”

Strengthen ourselves? The Huoyang Emperor shook his head. He fully agreed with Qi Tian’s analysis, but the idea of resolving the issue by becoming stronger seemed very difficult to him.

The Huoyang Emperor had been cultivating for several hundred years, and he was well aware that there were only two ways for a cultivator to improve their own strength: one is to elevate their own cultivation realm, and the other is to acquire better equipment. Neither method was easily attainable for him and Emperor Jianwu at the moment.

The Huoyang Emperor said, “Master Qi, what you say sounds easy, but actually doing it is extremely difficult. As you mentioned earlier, even combined, the foundations of Jianwu Palace and Huoyang Palace are not as strong as that of Chaoyang Palace alone. This is no exaggeration.

As for Jianwu Palace, I am not too sure, but in my Huoyang Palace, let alone artifacts above the Half-step Nascent Soul level, even artifacts at the Half-step Nascent Soul level are in very limited supply. Fantasizing about trying to strengthen myself through equipment is simply impossible. And as for relying on elevating my cultivation realm to enhance myself, that’s even more far-fetched.

Don’t laugh at me, but I have been stuck at my current cultivation realm for over a hundred years. My potential has essentially been exhausted, basically leaving no chance for progress. To think of strengthening myself in this way, there’s hardly any possibility at all.”

The Huoyang Emperor’s words resonated deeply with Emperor Jianwu; his past situation was much like that of the Huoyang Emperor. His own potential had also been exhausted due to various reasons, and he had no choice but to rely on life-extending medicinal potions to cling to a fragile existence. Hence, he had to hide away like a beaten dog within the small space.