Daddy's Threat!

Xuanbing Palace, Main Hall.

Donghuang Ziyou sat upright on the Ice Phoenix Divine Seat, looking down at the crowd of subjects below, their faces brimming with joy.

"Truly a cause for celebration—who would have thought that overnight, Zheng Song, the ruler of the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom, would actually die!"

"That's right, and his backer, the Bloodthirsty Devil Lord, has vanished without a trace. It seems more likely to be bad than good."

"This has been a huge help to our North Profound Heaven. I wonder which Great Power eliminated them!"

Seeing her subjects elated, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Donghuang Ziyou's mouth.

The death of Zheng Song and the disappearance of the Bloodthirsty Devil Lord were indeed a heavy blow to the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom.

And for North Profound Heaven, it was an immense stroke of luck.

But Donghuang Ziyou saw more than just that.

She put away her smile and spoke with a grave expression:

"Though Zheng Song is dead, the conflict between North Profound Heaven and the Tianmo Realm is far from over."

"I have decided to send troops once more, until the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom is taken!"

Song Yan and the other subjects were all puzzled.

"Your Majesty, since the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom has lost its backbone and no longer poses a threat to North Profound Heaven, why must we still send troops?"

"Your Majesty, repeatedly dispatching forces into the Tianmo Realm—I fear the world will think North Profound Heaven is too fond of war."

Even a few old officials who had never been loyal to Donghuang Ziyou openly and covertly mocked her as a warmonger.

Facing their doubts, Donghuang Ziyou said calmly:

"I have decided to send troops again for two reasons."

"First, the Tianmo Realm is restless. If we fail to take the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom now, the Devil Race will inevitably see us as weak."

"Second, my aim in taking the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom is not to slaughter the innocent. But if we let the Tianmo Realm fight over it, the entire kingdom will fall into utter ruin."

With that, she rose from the Ice Phoenix Divine Seat, one hand behind her back, and swept her gaze across the hall.

"North Profound Heaven cannot be bullied!"

"Taking the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom shows the world how we conduct ourselves!"

"Does anyone still object?"

The subjects were left speechless by her reasoned argument.

One by one, they knelt and bowed: "Your Majesty is sage and wise!"

Donghuang Ziyou slightly nodded.

With the campaign imminent, she planned to finish her government affairs quickly today and then go see her four daughters.

"Though I'm not a good mother, I'm trying to become better."

Thinking of her children, Donghuang Ziyou rarely revealed a hint of tenderness.

South Profound Heaven, Imperial Rear Garden.

Two men in golden imperial robes sat facing each other at a Glazed Crystal Table.

On the left, a man with red hair and green pupils was Qin Cang, the emperor of South Profound Heaven.

Across from him sat a man wearing a pair of Thousand Feather Earrings.

He was his ally, the Great Crown Prince of Dongyuan Heaven, Kong Qingyu.

They raised their cups, clinked them together, and drank a cup of fine nectar.

Kong Qingyu set down his cup and said, "Brother Qin, have you heard about the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom?"

"Of course." Qin Cang nodded without hesitation. "I wonder what kind of luck Donghuang Ziyou stumbled into to encounter such a blessing!"

"Indeed." A hint of malice flickered across Kong Qingyu's handsome face. "I thought that Bloodthirsty Devil Lord would stir up some trouble, but instead, he vanished into thin air!"

"Do you know what happened in the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom last night?" Qin Cang had long sent his Intelligence Personnel into the kingdom.

Yet even now, they had found no trace of any clues.

Aside from Zheng Song's severed corpse being put on public display, there was no evidence pointing to any suspicious person.

Kong Qingyu shook his head. "No one knows what happened last night!"

Qin Cang took a deep breath and sighed. "Forget it. If we want to deal with Donghuang Ziyou, we'll have to rely on ourselves."

Kong Qingyu nodded in agreement. "That's right. She managed to turn things around last time. This time, we must be fully prepared."

"If we don't strike, fine. But if we do, we must make sure Donghuang Ziyou is dead for good!"

Qin Cang nodded. He thought the same.

Four years ago, he and Kong Qingyu had sent twelve Quasi Emperor Realm death warriors to kill Donghuang Ziyou.

Unexpectedly, that woman had managed to turn the tables.

Not only had her power surged overnight, but she had also returned to North Profound Heaven and seized the imperial throne.

This matter had been lodged in Qin Cang's heart like a nail, making him gnash his teeth in hatred.

As for the grudge between him and Donghuang Ziyou, it traced back to their first meeting six years ago.

Back then, Qin Cang was captivated by Donghuang Ziyou's beauty and tried every means to propose to her father.

However, Donghuang Ziyou wasn't interested in him and repeatedly rejected him coldly.

Qin Cang's love went unrequited, and over time, a seed of hatred took root in his heart.

Of course, that was only one aspect.

The real reason he insisted on marrying Donghuang Ziyou was that South Profound Heaven and North Profound Heaven shared a similar environment—both were lands of ice and snow.

After inheriting the throne, Qin Cang had always wanted to expand his territory.

And his first ambition was set on North Profound Heaven, which closely resembled South Profound Heaven.

But things didn't go as planned.

Donghuang Ziyou's ruthlessness cost Qin Cang the chance to take North Profound Heaven at the smallest cost.

So he allied with the royal family of Dongyuan Heaven to deal with Donghuang Ziyou together and avenge his past humiliation.

To keep his scheme from being exposed, all his plans were carried out in secret.

"Recently, I've secretly contacted the Demon Race. They'll dispatch the Black Eagle War God to ambush Donghuang Ziyou halfway after she attacks the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom."

Qin Cang gave a cold smirk. "As long as we kill Donghuang Ziyou, our army can march straight in and take Xuanbing Palace!"

Kong Qingyu smirked smugly in response. "Excellent!"

The bright moon slanted westward.

After a lovely dinner with his daughters, Lin Xuan took the four little girls to bathe.

In a bathtub made of gentle Yunrou Jade, Xuan Zhu and the others soaked in a row.

When Lin Xuan washed their hair and bodies, the little girls weren't well-behaved.

Xuan Zhu kept scooping up water and splashing it onto her own face.

The droplets carried the scent of flower petals and various rare spices.

Xuan Xi and Xuan Han constantly kicked their little legs, sending the bathwater flying upward.

The most mischievous of all was Xuan You, of course.

That little girl actually imitated the Nine-Winged Frog's swimming posture in the water, splashing wildly everywhere.

Lin Xuan had to bathe them, so he couldn't avoid the flying water.

And when the little girls saw that Lin Xuan was getting wet too, they all grew excited.

"Haha, Daddy's hair is wet!"

"I just got water on Daddy's sleeve too!"

"This is so fun! So fun!"

"Daddy, look! I've turned into a Nine-Winged Frog!"

Seeing his daughters' antics, Lin Xuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"No more splashing water on Daddy, or I'll spank your little bottoms!"

Lin Xuan had no choice but to threaten them.

But it was useless.

Xuan Zhu and the others all knew that Daddy wouldn't really get mad at them—he was just bluffing.

"These little girls are such little imps!" Lin Xuan smiled helplessly. Dealing with them really couldn't be done with simple methods.

"You've had a hard time with the children being so rowdy."

Just as Lin Xuan was racking his brains to handle the little girls, Donghuang Ziyou's calm voice came from behind him.

But before Lin Xuan could turn around and speak, Xuan Xi, who was facing Donghuang Ziyou, shouted loudly:

"Mother, Daddy's giving us a bath and it's so fun! You should come down and let Daddy wash you too!"