Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1340 - 1340 0764 Onlookers_2

Chapter 1340: Chapter 0764 Onlookers_2 Chapter 1340: Chapter 0764 Onlookers_2 Qi Tian shook his head and said, “It was a very simple matter. I just wanted to search your Longqing Palace. If you had just nodded at the time, there wouldn’t be so many issues now. Look what it has come to, your Longqing Palace is destroyed. Why go through all this trouble?”

Emperor Longqing said, “The dignity of my Longqing Palace is not to be violated. What do you think you are to dare search my Longqing Palace?”

Qi Tian replied, “Since you’ve put it that way, let me ask you, what exactly is Emperor Longqing? To ally with other forces and quietly send people to the Eastern Capital City, taking over Chaoyang Palace—isn’t that like shitting and pissing over the heads of the princes of the Eastern Capital? Where did you put the dignity of the Eastern Capital’s princes then? My request was merely an echo of your initial actions, nothing to do with dignity—it’s utterly ridiculous. I won’t waste words with you any longer, I’ll ask you one last time, are you willing to contact Zhao Deyi?”

Emperor Longqing turned his head away, no longer paying attention to Qi Tian.

Qi Tian nodded and said, “Very well, very courageous. But unfortunately you’re being stubborn in the wrong place. You think Zhao Deyi can be the solid backing for your Longqing Palace lineage, but I will soon prove to you the truth of ‘relying on a mountain, the mountain collapses; relying on water, the water dries up’.”

As he spoke, Qi Tian pulled out a pill and, regardless of Emperor Longqing’s struggling, he forced the pill into Emperor Longqing’s mouth, making him swallow it. Afterward, he personally struck a few runes onto Emperor Longqing’s body before waving his hand, signaling Ghost Face to release Emperor Longqing.

Emperor Longqing’s face changed drastically. Qi Tian’s current actions were all too familiar. He had no idea how many people had been controlled with pills and runes before. He knew all too well the immense pain that would be inflicted when the pill and runes activated. He asked in horror, “What did you give me to eat?”

Qi Tian said, “Rest assured, it’s not poison but a tonic. It’s only beneficial for you, with no harm done. Didn’t I say I wanted you to witness the collapse of your support with your own eyes? Naturally, I won’t let you die that easily. For now, stay in your Longqing Palace and wait for my return, wait for me to come back with the head of your son, Zhao Deyi.”

A flicker of terror passed through the depths of Emperor Longqing’s eyes. If it had been anyone else who had said these words, he would never believe them, but since they came from Qi Tian’s mouth, even if he didn’t believe them, he harbored significant doubts, especially since Qi Tian had proven in front of many cultivators that he could indeed kill Zhao Deyi. However, Emperor Longqing didn’t soften his stance and said, “I’ll wait. Even if it’s poison you’ve given me, I’ll still wait, wait for you to go to my son’s place and get yourself killed. When that time comes, even if I am dead, my son will present your head at my tomb.”

Qi Tian smiled faintly, waved his hand, and said, “You can go now. I’m going after your son. Find a place to sit down, get some tea and sunflower seeds, and enjoy the show as an onlooker. It won’t be long before you see the outcome, and I hope by then you can still hold up and be as tough as you are now.”

After saying that, Qi Tian walked towards the gateway to Xidu’s core area with Liuli Sand and Ghost Face, just like the North Gate in the Eastern Capital City, guarded and generally inaccessible to non-local cultivators. But at that moment, as Qi Tian approached, not one person dared to stop him. Instead, the gateway stood wide open, with the guarding cultivators all watching Qi Tian with a mix of respect and fear, lest they inadvertently anger him, for nobody could save them then.

Although Emperor Longqing’s delay cost him some time, Qi Tian did not show any sign of impatience. Zhao Deyi had already mastered a method to increase his speed, which was significantly faster than Qi Tian’s maximum speed. No matter what Qi Tian tried, it was impossible for him to make a significant leap in speed in a short time. In other words, Zhao Deyi would have a much greater advantage in terms of speed. Pursuing Zhao Deyi under such circumstances meant that being a little early or a little late did not make a big difference; worrying was pointless.

Qi Tian wanted to come up with a comprehensive capture plan, but no matter how he envisioned it, there were always flaws. The core area was still vast, like looking for a needle in the ocean, and simply locating the target was incredibly difficult. With Zhao Deyi’s speed advantage and high cultivation level, finding him was even more challenging.

Not to mention other aspects, just the core area alone had three exits leading to Eastern Capital City, Xidu, and North Capital. Theoretically, these places needed to be manned to set up defenses and blockades, to prevent Zhao Deyi from leaving safely through an exit. With Zhao Deyi’s current condition, blocking him with just one ghost face at each exit was not enough; at least two were required, and to be safer, three. For three exits, that meant nine in total, using up all nine ghost faces.

Qi Tian was already short on manpower, and if he were to dispatch all nine ghost faces, digging Emperor Longqing out of the core area would become exceedingly difficult.

Qi Tian had to abandon this impractical approach and opted for a plan that suited his current capabilities instead. He summoned the Liuli Sand and took out a cup of Spirit Liquid he had obtained from the Saint’s Tomb, allowing the Liuli Sand to absorb it. Then he ordered the Liuli Sand to release fog, as much as it could, to cover as wide an area as possible. If it could cover the entire core area, that would be ideal.

The Liuli Sand did not immediately execute Qi Tian’s command. Through their unique way of communicating, it conveyed the difficulties it faced to Qi Tian. When Qi Tian first encountered the Liuli Sand, it had created a towering fog wall that spanned across the sky and was several miles thick, impenetrable to sight, which appeared very imposing. However, that was essentially the maximum coverage it could create. If it wanted to expand this coverage, it wasn’t impossible, but it would come at a great cost.

If Qi Tian truly needed it to cover the entire core area, it could try, but the consequences would be severe. Its strength could significantly diminish due to extreme depletion, and it might no longer control the surrounding yellow sand particles, especially the few with the strength of the Nascent Soul Stage. They could break free from its control and seize the chance to escape.

Qi Tian’s expression was grave. The Liuli Sand counted as a major asset, and unless absolutely necessary, he did not wish for it to suffer such depletion. He inquired whether the Liuli Sand had a way to break out of this predicament, such as releasing fog beyond its limits while compensating for its own depletion. If it could maintain a dynamic balance between depletion and replenishment, perhaps the plan could be executed perfectly without harming the Liuli Sand.

The Liuli Sand did not dare to make guarantees to Qi Tian, but it was willing to try.

Whether the Liuli Sand could envelop the entire core area with fog was key for Qi Tian to pinpoint Zhao Deyi. To ensure no mistakes occurred in this phase, Qi Tian decided to invest more resources. He brought out a large barrel and filled it with fuel from the Heavenly Dao Engine’s fuel chamber, then handed it to the Liuli Sand.