The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

“Make a copy of each of them for me,” Su Yu instructed without courtesy.

Lüzhu seemed to have a problem with that. “Erm…I’m afraid it’s quite difficult to do so unless the Mermaid Emperor gives me the green light.”

“The Mermaid Emperor is bedridden and in a coma. I’m afraid there is nothing I can do at the moment.”

So the Mermaid Emperor needed to give her the green light? Su Yu nodded lightly. “Fine, take me to the Mermaid Emperor, I will examine him.”

“There is no need,” Lüzhu said sorrowfully. “The Mermaid Emperor was wounded by the Yaksha Poison. The effects of this poison can only be alleviated with the Endless Spiritual Pearl of the Endless Origin.”

“Furthermore, the Endless Spiritual Pearl only blossoms and bears fruit once in a thousand years. To acquire it, one needs to have great luck.”

It follows that the sisters that went to collect the Spiritual Pearls in the past weren’t very lucky.

“Take me to him first, we’ll see,” Su Yu said.

“All right then.” Lüzhu’s eyes were dull, she dared not pin her hopes on Su Yu. Despite his magical abilities, she did not think that Su Yu would be able to nullify a poison that not even deities could manage.

As a princess, she could get in and out of the Mermaid Palace at will.

In the depths of the palace, surrounded by the wheel gears of several Sacred Sky Warships, was a strong presence of golden-yellow mermaids.

Not only were they fit and robust, but they were also very powerful.

They were the imperial guard under the control of the royal house.

Su Yu glanced at them and his eyes shone with a bright gleam.

Upon entering the Imperial apartments, Su Yu found the Mermaid Emperor lying on a bed carved from white jade.

He was a middle-aged man who bore a certain resemblance to Lüzhu and was uncommonly handsome.

However, the ghastly sight that greeted Su Yu was of pitch-black ulcerated sores all over the body of the Mermaid Emperor.

It was almost rotting and was emanating a nauseating stench. It struck a stark contrast to his handsome features.

“This rotten stench…” Su Yu frowned a little, he found it very familiar.

Lüzhu stood in front of the bed, tears welling in her eyes. “The mermaid tribe and the Yaksha tribe have been fighting over a spiritual land for many years, with no sign of resolution.”

“A year ago, the Yaksha tribe suggested that we develop it together, inviting us to sign a treaty on the spiritual land. Who would have known…”

“That the Yaksha tribe would collude with several sinful deities in our government and poison my father.”

Su Yu wasn’t concerned with the love and hate between them, nor was he planning to intervene.

After making a detailed observation, Su Yu said, “I can cure the Mermaid Emperor, but can you guarantee that he will give me the documents that I want?”

Lüzhu’s teary eyes went saucer wide, she could not believe her ears. She stuttered, “You’re saying that you can… you can save the Mermaid Emperor?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Su Yu said.

Lüzhu shed tears of joy. Amid her agitation, she did not bother to avoid intimacy. Clutching Su Yu’s shoulders, she shook him. “Are you serious?”

Su Yu nodded. “Can you promise me that the Mermaid Emperor would agree? If you can’t, I won’t feel the need to help him.”

“Erm…” Lüzhu hesitated. Those documents were held by the Mermaid Emperor personally, thus they must be confidential. It was impossible to say if the Mermaid Emperor would willingly hand them over to Su Yu, once he awoke.

After a moment of contemplation, Lüzhu took a bright red round pearl from her neck. It was the size of a thumb. She handed it to Su Yu. “Take this, when the Mermaid Emperor sees it, he will certainly agree.”

Su Yu shot a glance at the uncanny looking red pearl and muttered to himself… “This pearl will make him agree?”

But she did not appear to be making it up. Su Yu said, “Fine, I’ll start treating him. But before that, please order the imperial guards outside.”

“No way! What if in the process of treatment, the two traitors find that something is amiss and take the opportunity to start a riot?”

Su Yu heaved a soft sigh. “I’m only worried they might disturb me.”

“You mean them? Impossible. They were personally trained by my Father…” Lüzhu was taken aback.

Su Yu nodded slowly. “An astute enemy will offer a fatal blow where you least expect it.”

Lüzhu pondered for a moment. As she thought of Su Yu’s deeds, she gritted her teeth. “Fine then.”

She turned to leave, and before long had returned. The sound of armor rhythmically colliding outside gradually died down.

After giving a nod of acknowledgment, Su Yu used the Milky Way Star Sand to draw the Yaksha poison from the Mermaid Emperor’s body.

Under Lüzhu’s dumbfounded gaze, the acute poison, that even deities had no control over, was removed little by little, by Su Yu’s right palm.

“Amazing! The Mermaid Emperor is safe.” Lüzhu cried out in astonishment.

Su Yu shook his head lightly. “Is he? I think that this may be the most precarious time the Mermaid Emperor could face. Prepare some artifacts right now that will enable us to escape from the Sacred Sky Warship in time.”

“Escape you say?”

Su Yu said, “At a time when the three brave generals cannot be relied upon, once they get to know that the Mermaid Emperor is being treated, what do you think they are going to do?”

“Wait for the Mermaid Emperor to awake, and report all their plans and deeds? Or, in for a penny in for a pound, charge forward and take the Mermaid Emperor’s life?”

Lüzhu was stunned. “This…”

“Do as I said, right now!” Su Yu scowled.

As a princess of the mermaid tribe, Lüzhu would not have dreamt of being ordered around by an outsider. Hurriedly, she replied, “All right, I’ll get them prepared right away.”

Watching her leave, Su Yu shook his head. “Living in such comfort and luxury has made them slow to respond, unlike the cruel competition of the galaxy! Looks like I shouldn’t expect too much from her.”

Half a day later, Lüzhu returned, and said, “I have instructed my kin to prepare a Garuda and have it hidden outside the palace. It can be used at any time.”

Su Yu nodded, continuing the treatment for half a day more. The pitch-black, decayed surface of the Mermaid Emperor’s body slowly regained its normal hue.

The Mermaid Emperor’s divine energy was beginning to function once again, self-healing the rotten areas.

In another hour or so he could make a complete recovery and become fully conscious.

The Mermaid Emperor’s strength was nearly on par with the Sheng Deity and the Merchant God. On returning to normal health, the general prospect for the mermaid tribe was that it would once again become stable.

Then a muffled commotion sounded from outside the palace. Lüzhu noticed it as well. Despite her shock, she couldn’t help but admire Su Yu for his foresight.

The two of them exchanged a glance. Lüzhu yelled, “I’ll deal with this!”

With a gasp in the air, the water in the surroundings rapidly turned cold, solidifying into numerous icicles.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The icicles pierced through the door of the palace and out the other side.

A series of miserable wails and pained whimpers resonated. The icicles had found their mark on the soldiers lying in ambush there.

“Let’s go!” Lüzhu scurried out of the palace, with her hands clasping in front of her chest. The waves above the palace began fluctuating, and a metal artifact that was shaped like an eel suddenly appeared.

Su Yu leaped onto the boat with the comatose Mermaid Emperor in his arms.

Lüzhu raced to the control panel at the front, and instilled Mortal Fairy’s Strength into it.

But Lüzhu’s heart sank as the Garuda made no response.

“What’s the matter? It worked fine just now.” A cold sweat broke out on Lüzhu’s forehead. At the critical juncture, the artifact that was supposed to help them run for their lives had let them down.

Su Yu inspected with his Transparent Eye and shook his head. A particular mechanism at the bottom of the boat had been severed.

The Garuda had been sabotaged.