Chapter 775: When One Play Ends, Another Begins

The moment Tian Feng touched the Xuanyuan Heaven Cauldron, the golden radiance that had been flowing from the cauldron instantly retracted back into it, losing its brilliant glow. The cauldron returned to its original form—a bronze vessel with ancient, mysterious carvings, now fully revealed before Tian Feng.

As the Heaven Cauldron settled in front of Tian Feng, he remained in a daze. Similarly, Guan Yu was the first to touch the Xuanyuan Human Cauldron and also fell into a trance. After a long while, both men simultaneously opened their eyes. Tian Feng, still somewhat dazed, reached out to lift the Heaven Cauldron.

On the other side, Guan Yu also tried to lift the Human Cauldron. However, while Guan Yu effortlessly hefted the multi-ton cauldron, Tian Feng strained until his face turned red, but the Heaven Cauldron didn't budge.

"Yan Liang, give me a hand!" Tian Feng, his face flushed, called out to Yan Liang, who had barely caught up. When Yan Liang touched the Heaven Cauldron, he too entered a brief daze, but quickly snapped out of it, lifted the cauldron without hesitation, and began retreating.

As for the cauldron that Guan Yu had already taken, there was nothing Tian Feng could do about it. His soldiers were too weakened to help, and even if they recovered, they were still surrounded.

Guo Jia bit his finger, hesitating. His own troops wouldn't recover in time, and blocking Yan Liang and Tian Feng was nearly impossible. However, allowing them to take away the Xuanyuan Heaven Cauldron was something he could not permit.

"Tian Yuanhao!" Guo Jia suddenly shouted at Tian Feng across the battlefield.

"Guo Fengxiao! Next time, I won't be so careless," Tian Feng replied, his expression serious as he stared in Guo Jia’s direction. "If I ever capture you, I will present you to my lord. It was a mistake for Guo Gongze to let you go all those years ago!"

"Hmph, empty words! If not for the appearance of the Heaven and Human Cauldrons today, this would have been your death day!" Guo Jia coldly retorted. "I, Guo Jia, swear today: because of my failure to secure the cauldrons, I will ensure that the Heaven and Human Cauldrons return to Liu Bei's hands one day!"

At that moment, a sharp gleam flashed in Guo Jia's eyes. Though the loss of the cauldron pained him deeply, there was no way to prevent it for now. At the very least, he couldn't allow both cauldrons to fall into Yuan Shao's hands.

"We're leaving!" Tian Feng scoffed, instructing Yan Liang to carry away the Heaven Cauldron. Such a divine artifact, representing three hundred years of imperial fate, could never be allowed to slip away!

"General Guan, we need to go as well. Zhou Cang, Sima Ju, Jiang Gong, prepare the troops. Once they recover, lead them south to Jiyin," Guo Jia quickly gave his orders, directing Guan Yu to carry the Human Cauldron and make their escape. Though the cauldrons' oppressive force was beginning to dissipate, the cauldrons were still too heavy for ordinary horses to pull—only divine steeds could manage it.

Just as the overwhelming pressure from the Heaven and Human Cauldrons was about to subside, and those kneeling across the land were beginning to rise, a phoenix cry suddenly echoed throughout the entire Han Empire.

"The Imperial Seal..." Li You's face turned as dark as coal. On the other side, the jade Imperial Seal, which Chen Xi had always considered a mere decoration, had been activated as well.

"Legend has it that Bian He presented the Heshi Bi after seeing a phoenix descend upon the Chu mountains. Could this be the manifestation of the Chu state's fate?" Chen Xi mused aloud, looking at Li You.

"...," Li You said nothing, his face still dark. After studying the Imperial Seal for so long and finding nothing unusual about it, he'd assumed it was merely an ornament, and had even used it as bait. Who could have predicted that it truly carried the empire’s fate?

As the phoenix cry rang out, the attention of those attuned to such phenomena shifted once more—this time toward Shouchun. The Imperial Seal had been casually left in Sun Ce’s residence, unguarded and unvalued by him, dismissed as nothing more than a trinket.

"Phoenix cry?" Yuan Shu murmured to Ji Ling.

"Congratulations, my lord!" Ji Ling immediately knelt before Yuan Shu.

"It is useless to me," Yuan Shu said, casting a greedy glance at the golden phoenix now manifesting over Shouchun. However, he quickly regained his composure. "I said I don’t want it, and I won’t change my mind. Regardless of whether it’s real or fake, ensure Bofu's family is protected. Anyone who dares covet the divine artifact will be executed!"

In Sun Quan's room, the thirteen-year-old stood quietly beside the bookshelf where the Imperial Seal lay. Unlike others, he did not kneel. Instead, he tilted his head, gazing at the seal with curiosity—and a touch of desire.

"Yu Ji..." Zixu's eyes were cold as he looked at Yu Ji. "Is this your doing? The Imperial Seal’s three hundred years of fate should have been used up long ago. How is it possible for it to release its power again?"

"If I had that kind of ability, do you think I would still be gathering fate?" Yu Ji scoffed, clutching his whisk. If he had known the Imperial Seal still held such power, he would have stolen it long ago—but fate had not been in his favor.

Zixu stared at Yu Ji, realizing his question had been pointless. He then spoke again, "Nevertheless, I cannot allow you to live."

"You think you can kill me?" Yu Ji sneered. "Do you even have the strength?"

Back on the borders of Jiujiang, Fa Zheng's eyes gleamed with excitement after hearing the phoenix cry, while Gan Ning showed a strong interest. Despite the intense pressure from the seal, they had already learned that the Imperial Seal in Shouchun held just as much fate as one of the Heaven and Human Cauldrons.

"Shall we attack Shouchun?" Gan Ning asked, though his tone made it clear he had already made up his mind.

"No. Our current target is clear. Changing plans now would only lead to chaos, and we might end up with nothing," Fa Zheng replied calmly, suppressing his own desires.

"The Imperial Seal, huh?" Zhou Yu smiled. Earlier, he had been distressed over whether Yuan Shao or Liu Bei would claim the six hundred years of fate. He hadn't expected that the true imperial fate had been in their hands all along.

"Father..." Sun Ce muttered to himself, looking back toward Shouchun. His resolve grew even stronger.

"The Imperial Seal?" Pang Tong stroked his small beard, murmuring to himself.

In Yongliang, Cao Cao felt a deep bitterness. First the Heaven and Human Cauldrons, now the Imperial Seal—yet none of these divine artifacts had anything to do with him.

Liu Xie knelt in humiliation, his hands clenched tight, nails digging into his palms. Rage consumed him—why hadn’t the Imperial Seal revealed its true power when it was in his possession? Was he not the emperor of the Han Dynasty?

Yuan Shao looked back toward Shouchun with a smile. In his mind, whatever Yuan Shu held would eventually belong to him. Truly, the world was aligning in his favor.

"Zichuan, you made a mistake this time," Liu Bei thought as he looked back at Shouchun, his resolve unwavering. "But when you advised me against it, was it because you didn't want me to be burned by this dangerous object? The Han Dynasty's treasure should not fall into the hands of another."

"This never ends, does it?" Jia Xu sneered, gazing in the direction of Shouchun. So what if his plans had crumbled again? Facing both Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu simultaneously—he was confident in the strength they had amassed!

"Does this artifact hide itself because it deems the current ruler unworthy?" Wang Yue muttered to himself before casting a glance at Liu Xie within the grand hall. "Perhaps it’s because he does not deserve it. Cao Mengde, I’m waiting for you—let me see what you can do!"

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