“Now it’s time for us to cut off your head,” the tall figure ordered his men to move against Yang Hao.
“Wait! Calm down!!” Yang Hao felt a headache coming on just seeing that crescent blade. He wasn’t the kind of person to give up easily and let others butcher him. “Even if you are from the Celestial Race, you can’t just go around chopping people’s heads off. This isn’t a butcher shop selling pig or cow heads. Tell me first, what do you need my head for?”
“Uh… we just want to cut it open for a quick look, some research,” the tall figure replied bluntly.
“A quick look?” Yang Hao jumped up in fury. “With just a quick look, I have to give my life? Do you know how many women will become widows if I die? How many children will lose their father? How many mothers will mourn their sons…”
“Moms, you only have one,” Hunyuanzi hastily interrupted, reminding him.
“How many mothers will worry about their sons being kidnapped by you!” Yang Hao quickly adapted his argument. “As members of the Celestial Race, you should be role models for all cosmic beings. You absolutely cannot abuse your power and kill innocents just because you’re strong.”
“That makes sense,” the tall figure surprisingly agreed.
“Of course, it does,” Yang Hao thought he had convinced them with his nonsense. “Since it makes sense, then let me go. That way, all those women, children, and mothers can rest easy, right?”
The tall figure nodded thoughtfully and reasonably agreed, “As Celestials, we indeed shouldn’t kill innocents. So we’ll just dissect you alone. This will be your contribution to cosmic life. I’ll even erect a monument for you.”
Thud! Yang Hao fell over in shock. What kind of nonsense was this about cosmic life? He didn’t even know those beings—why should he contribute his life for them?
As the crescent blade drew closer, Yang Hao begged desperately, “Big Brother Celestial, Great Celestial, why don’t you go slaughter some cosmic beings instead? I promise I won’t tell anyone. Just spare my poor, pitiful life. There are plenty of other good creatures out there for you to kill. Why waste your time on me?”
“Pathetic apprentice, why are you begging them? A man must have courage. Even with a blade at your neck, you shouldn’t flinch,” Hunyuanzi was furious and scolded him.
Upon hearing his master’s advice, Yang Hao immediately changed tactics. He slapped his belly and blurted out, “Right! Big Brother Celestial, inside my belly hides a millennium-old ghost. He’s much more valuable for research. Why don’t you cut him open instead?”
This time, Yang Hao went all-in, generously offering even his rarely betrayed master. Ignoring Hunyuanzi’s furious curses from his dantian and threats to gnaw through Yang Hao’s heart, liver, and lungs, Yang Hao still tried hard to entice the Celestials to dig up his master.
Yet the tall figure remained unmoved. Despite Yang Hao’s extreme efforts, the figure persisted, “We want you, and only you. No one else can replace you.”
“Why me?” Yang Hao thought to himself, why was he always the unlucky one?
“Because we must confirm whether you are truly the Chosen One of Fate,” the tall figure flicked his fingernail again, producing a metallic sound that made Yang Hao’s heart race. “Legend says there’s a Chosen One in the universe destined to lead people in overthrowing the Galactic Empire. We want to open your head to see if you’re that genius swordsman.”
“Not me! Definitely not me!” Yang Hao frantically shook his head without even thinking. “I’ve never considered overthrowing the Galactic Empire. The Chosen One you’re talking about must be someone else—maybe even Cola next door. Some weirdo always claims he’s the Chosen One.”
“It might actually be you,” Hunyuanzi spitefully took revenge. “Didn’t Herd and that Saint Bear say so too? You’re the one destined by fate.”
Yang Hao turned pale with fear. If the Chosen One was to lose his head, it wouldn’t be a joke. He firmly denied again, “I absolutely am not the Chosen One of Fate, nor am I any genius swordsman. I’m just a seller of aphrodisiacs. Being a small vendor is the greatest ambition of my life. Why should I bother overthrowing the Empire? The Empire’s rule is great! Long live the Empire! Long live the Emperor!!”
Yang Hao’s declaration was excessively flattering. In his heart, he had already calculated: the Galactic Empire was powerful, and the Emperor had conquered the universe in a short time, surely backed by the Celestials. Therefore, these Celestials in front of him were probably just trying to identify the so-called Chosen One and eliminate him.
Since it was a gamble, Yang Hao naturally bet on the most promising side.
Hearing Yang Hao’s words, the Celestials indeed hesitated. The executioner stopped and looked back at the tall figure. The tall one furrowed his brow in thought and asked again, “You’re truly not against the Empire?”
“Definitely not,” Yang Hao expressed his loyalty. “My dream is to become a general of the Empire and serve the Emperor.”
“In that case, fine,” the tall figure was actually convinced by Yang Hao’s words. He waved his hand and ordered his subordinates, “Don’t cut off his head anymore.”
Hearing these words, Yang Hao finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart, secretly congratulating himself on his quick wit. Life was indeed a gamble, and as long as you placed your bet, there was a chance to win.
Just as Yang Hao was feeling happy, Hunyuanzi inside his belly began to laugh coldly, sending waves of chilling winds swirling around Yang Hao’s lower abdomen. Hunyuanzi, with his scheming and cunning, sinisterly said, “Dear apprentice, don’t get too excited too soon.”
Indeed, as the old saying goes, old ginger is spicier. Before Yang Hao could even ask why, the Celestials struck again. The tall figure took out a cleaver nearly as tall as a person and handed it to his subordinate: “Since he’s not the Chosen One, let’s chop his entire body into mincemeat and take it back to feed the Kadis Dragon Clan.”
Seeing the two-meter-long, half-meter-wide thick blade, Yang Hao nearly fainted from the chill it radiated. If he still didn’t understand now, he truly deserved to be dragon food.
Hunyuanzi laughed triumphantly, “Dear apprentice, even the best horse stumbles sometimes. Did you forget these Celestials just eliminated the Empire’s legion? How could they possibly support the Empire?”
It turned out that the old fox had known all along but stayed silent purely for revenge. Yang Hao was furious but had no time to settle accounts with Hunyuanzi at this critical moment.
The long blade was drawing closer to Yang Hao. He could almost see his reflection on its surface. Yang Hao suddenly shouted, “Wait! You can’t kill me.”
“Why not?”
Yang Hao cleared his throat and summoned his courage, “At this point, I can only reveal this secret. Yes, I am indeed the Chosen One of Fate, the hope for the future overthrow of the Empire. This was originally an unspoken secret, even my parents didn’t know. But seeing your appearances, you don’t seem like bad people. I’ll reluctantly tell you.”
The tall figure stared at Yang Hao with a half-smiling expression, making Yang Hao increasingly uneasy before finally speaking, “You really are?”
“Absolutely genuine!” Yang Hao puffed out his chest, lying without even blushing.
“The words you just spoke are enough to get your entire clan wiped out. Aren’t you afraid?” The Celestial changed tone, now threatening him.
“We’re all on the same boat. What secrets could there be?” Yang Hao grinned, though his hands were making secretive movements behind his back.
“Even on the same boat, it might capsize,” the tall figure slyly nodded. “Perhaps before you even disembark, your words will have spread across the entire universe, and your family and friends will be hunted down by the Empire.”
“You’re bluffing?” Yang Hao’s forehead dripped with sweat. This was far more painful than being killed.
“The entire scene of you declaring your intent to overthrow the Empire has already been recorded,” the tall figure finally revealed his trump card. “Now we have all the evidence against you. You’d better obey us from now on, doing exactly as we say. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Yang Hao’s voice changed slightly, but not with anger or anxiety—it was hard as steel. This was Yang Hao’s nature: even if he usually acted carefree and playful, when the decisive moment came, he was tougher than anyone.
“Otherwise, you’ll be doomed forever!”
The tall figure’s words were severe, but Yang Hao shook his head slightly, a smile even appearing on his face, “No, you won’t.”
“Why not?” Seeing Yang Hao so confident, even the three Celestials were puzzled. “What makes you so sure?”
“Because…” his voice repeated, trailing off until even he couldn’t hear the last few words clearly. “Because you won’t even have the chance to get off the ship!!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Hao sprang into action. As the saying goes, still as a maiden, swift as a hare. Yang Hao didn’t move unless necessary, but once he did, he gave it his all, unleashing his Feihua Mirage Technique. With the power of the Hehe Realm propelling him, his entire body became invisible, not even leaving a trace of afterimage.
But Yang Hao wasn’t merely trying to escape—he had no time for defense now and instead launched an even fiercer attack. Hunyuanzi naturally shared his apprentice’s thoughts. He had already released the swallowed internal elixir. Yang Hao had tasted the immense power within the elixir back on Saint Bear’s planet, and now he wielded it with practiced ease, desperately drawing strength from the elixir and releasing surging energy through his pores.
A major feature of the Dan and Cauldron Dual Cultivation Sect was that their disciples’ energy itself acted as a powerful aphrodisiac. The higher their cultivation level, the more potent the effect. Now that Yang Hao had already broken through the Hehe Realm, the energy he emitted was already an extremely potent aphrodisiac. Adding to that his disregard for concentration or quantity, just recklessly releasing energy outward, soon the entire cabin was filled with a pinkish aphrodisiac gas.
The three Celestials had never encountered such a move before. Careless for just a moment, they inhaled high concentrations of the gas. Within seconds, they had already lost autonomous control. Although not quite to the point of immediate surrender, they at least slowed down a little.
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