He just didn’t expect that Yuqing, who usually had a bad reputation, would actually have a heroine’s spirit at a critical moment.
Yan Zhonghua responded, “Okay. Thank you for telling us about this matter. I will protect your safety at all costs.”
Yuqing said, “I just hope that you let my elder sister live when she is tried in the future.”
Yan Zhonghua replied, “This matter is for the future.”
Yuqing sighed with a little disappointment but didn’t say anything else. She secretly left again.
Yan Zhonghua’s eyes darkened, and he gazed up at the clouds in the air. He held a tiger tally in his hand and made a hand seal. This tiger tally gradually rose into the air, with streaks of golden light moving around it.
“Demon Generals, obey my command. In the name of You Ming, I order you to attack Northern Liang immediately. Kill Tu Feng and trap him inside Northern Liang City, so that he cannot take a single step outside!”
When he finished the last word, the tiger tally immediately combusted, burning into ashes.
In the darkness, simultaneous replies of, “Yes!” could be heard.
……
Click.
The door was opened from the outside.
A ray of light came from the outside, hitting Yan Tianhen’s face and blinding him.
Yan Tianhen opened his eyes and looked towards the door. He was a little disappointed when he saw that the visitor was Sword Saint Tianshu. However, there were several unfamiliar people following Sword Saint Tianshu.
Yan Tianhen’s heart skipped a beat when he saw those people’s clothes. They were dressed in the uniforms of the Black and White Crow Guards.
And it was the outfits worn only by the leaders.
The leader of the Black Crow Guard sized up Yan Tianhen. “Long time no see, Prince Ye. How are you?”
Yan Tianhen asked, “What are you doing here?”
The Black Crow Guard’s leader smiled. “We’re on imperial orders to give Your Highness some food.”
The leader of the White Crow Guard interrupted coldly, “Why are you wasting your time? Hurry up and have him take the pill, so that we can report back as soon as possible.”
Yan Tianhen frowned. “What pill?”
The Black Crow Guard leader answered with a smile, “The Venerated Emperor has sent down an imperial decree and has voided your status as the second successor of the Qianyuan Dynasty. After crippling your cultivation, we’ll escort you back to the Royal Heavenly Capital for trial.”
Yan Tianhen looked at the two of them coldly. “Why, lost your patience so quickly?”
Faced with the Black Crow Guard’s arrogant laughter, Yan TIanhen simply said calmly, “Aren’t you afraid that you won’t be able to leave this room alive?”
The Black Crow Guard responded, “Are you still waiting for Lin Xuanzhi to save you? To tell you the truth, he won’t have time to worry about you today. The entire Ethereal City will be plunged into chaos soon. He’s too busy saving people right now.”
Yan Tianhen furrowed his brows. “What have you done?”
“My only mission is to kill you. As for other matters, naturally, there are other people taking care of those.”
The Black Crow Guard curled his lips. Just as he was ready to stuff that pill into Yan Tianhen’s mouth, he heard Sword Saint Tianshu speak up.
“Wait, didn’t you say before that it’s enough to just cripple his cultivation?” Sword Saint Tianshu frowned as he came forward. “If he dies here, our Myriad Dao Academy won’t be able to give an explanation.”
The Black Crow Guard glanced at Sword Saint Tianshu. “You still care about Myriad Dao Academy? The Lord is about to control the entire Nine Lands. In a few days, Myriad Dao Academy will cease to exist. When that happens, who will have the time to investigate your dereliction of duty?”
Yan Tianhen suddenly looked up at Sword Saint Tianshu.
Sword Saint Tianshu avoided Yan Tianhen’s gaze. “This is different from what we agreed upon at the beginning.”
The Black Crow Guard said, “You work for the Lord. Your everything should belong to the Lord. Why are you still trying to negotiate terms? You lack awareness about such a simple thing. No wonder you can’t handle major missions!”
Sword Saint Tianshu looked at the Black Crow Guard icily. “Lin Xuanzhi and the East Empress — neither of them can be easily provoked. Demon Venerable You Ming and King Ye Yan Zhonghua also have both power and status. They have countless capable subordinates. You are harming me with this!”
The Black Crow Guard sneered. “Rong Chaoxi, don’t tell me you’ve had a change of mind? It’s too late to regret it right now. Don’t forget that the survival of your sweetheart depends entirely on the Lord.”
Sword Saint Tianshu’s expression suddenly changed a few times. He clenched his fist harshly. After a moment, he said, “Do whatever you want.”
“You do it.” The White Crow Guard narrowed his eyes and told the Black Crow Guard, “Give Rong Chaoxi the pill. Since he isn’t willing, this is the time to prove his loyalty to the Lord.”
The Black Crow Guard gave a hearty laugh, then walked towards Sword Saint Tianshu and threw the pill to him. “That really is a good idea. You have a soft spot for him and don’t want to kill him yourself, so I’ll do precisely the opposite and make you dirty your hands.”
Sword Saint Tianshu glared at him coldly. “Are you crazy?”
The Black Crow Guard warned, “If you don’t do it… Hehe.”
Sword Saint Tianshu picked up the pill.
Yan Tianhen suddenly spoke up, “Sword Saint Tianshu, Rong Zhishui once told me what happened between you and that elder brother of yours.”
Sword Saint Tianshu’s hand suddenly shook.
“If he could save the past you, who was helpless, weak, and bullied, then you should know what kind of person he is.” Yan Tianhen looked at Sword Saint Tianshu, who was approaching him step by step, and raised his voice, “He won’t want to see you become what you are now! Besides, the dead cannot come back to life. Even if you use a secret technique to resurrect him, he definitely won’t be the beloved whom you missed so dearly! Don’t be deceived by scheming people!”
From the moment that Sword Saint Tianshu insisted that Yan Tianhen was the murderer, Yan Tianhen realized that there was definitely something wrong with Sword Saint Tianshu.
He was already mentally prepared, but he never could’ve guessed that Sword Saint Tianshu would actually collude with evil Qi cultivators and harm him. This was not the Sword Saint Tianshu he knew.
He never even suspected Sword Saint Tianshu before this.
While Yan TIanhen was thinking, Tianshu was already standing in front of him.
Yan Tianhen lost all his cultivation while inside this secret chamber. He wouldn’t be a match for anyone who walked into this room. So he simply showed his attitude and didn’t put up violent resistance.
Tianshu stared at Yan Tianhen. “You are not him. Don’t guess what he will think. There’s one thing that I’m afraid Rong Zhishui didn’t tell you, because not even he knows this — to me, Rong Chi wasn’t merely a benefactor and an elder brother.”
That pill could kill someone as soon as they swallowed it, even the person with the highest Dao attainments in the world.
Tianshu held the pitch-black pill in front of him and smiled. His other hand pinched Yan TIanhen’s chin as he leaned over and whispered, “Rong Chi was my husband, my lover, my Dao companion. If Lin Xuanzhi died one day, won’t you also try any means to revive him?”
The pill was firmly stuffed into Yan Tianhen’s mouth.
Yan Tianhen had already swallowed it before he could even struggle.
Instantly, he felt pain throughout his entire stomach, but this kind of pain didn’t last too long. His entire body became numb, his thoughts suddenly slowed, and he couldn’t even focus his sight anymore. His breathing also gradually slowed.
Death was approaching.
In the time it took to drink one cup of tea, Yan Tianhen’s head tilted, and he fell to the ground, dead.
The White Crow Guard’s leader came up and felt Yan Tianhen’s pulse, then scanned the vitality of the spiritual Qi inside his Dantian Qi Sea. After a moment, he said expressionlessly, “He’s dead.”
The Black Crow Guard said happily, “We’ve finally resolved major trouble. Let’s return quickly and report.”
The White Crow Guard nodded. Before he left, he said to Sword Saint Tianshu, “I will report your accomplishment to the Lord.”
Sword Saint Tianshu replied, “Okay.”
After the Black and White Crow Guards left, they immediately sent a message to the Royal Heavenly Capital.
……
Inside the Royal Heavenly Capital’s palace.
A talisman that was moving too fast for the naked eye to catch flew into the hands of Imperial Consort Jing Shui, who was sitting in the hall while hugging her child with one hand. At this time, she should be called Empress Jing Shui.
Empress Jing Shui crushed that talisman, and the secret message traveled into her ears: ‘Yan Tianhen has already been killed, and the plan can advance to the next phase.’
“Yan Tianhen died easily and smoothly.” Empress Jing Shui revealed a confident smile and puffed out her chest. Her fingers gently pinched the face of the baby who was fast asleep in her arms.
“Servants.”
The chief steward who had originally been serving the emperor walked over. “What instructions does Your Majesty have?”
Empress Jing Shui ordered, “Ring the funeral bell and announce to the Nine Lands that the second-ranked successor has died. The Venerable Emperor has issued an imperial edict: from now on, my son Yan Mingde will take his place as the Chosen Son of Heaven and become the Qianyuan Dynasty’s second successor.”
The chief steward glanced at the emperor who was sitting behind Empress Jing Shui. The emperor’s eyes were dull, and his face was expressionless.
The chief steward lowered his head. “Yes.”
Empress Jing Shui curled her lips. “Tell the deputy leaders of the Black and White Crow Guards to come.”
Not long after, all the deputy leaders of the Black and White Crow Guards arrived one after another.
Empress Jing Shui looked at the row of subordinates kneeling below and ordered, “From now on, you will lead troops and guard King Ye’s Palace. If he dares to make a move, immediately arrest him for conspiracy. If he resists, kill him on the spot!”
“Yes!”
After arranging everything, Empress Jing Shui looked at the emperor sitting beside her, who had completely become a puppet. She couldn’t help breaking into laughter and saying, “In the end, your Yan family’s empire still must be handed over to outsiders. But don’t worry, I will take care of your empire for you from now on! Old bastard, you should smile as you make your way to the afterlife!”
…….
In Ethereal City.
The purple evil Qi seeping out from Heaven’s Wail gradually turned into evil spirits and spread wantonly throughout the city.
Myriad Dao Academy’s elders and visitors from all parts of the Nine Lands rushed out to fight with the swarms of evil spirits that covered the sky and ground. They tried to form arrays to mend the cracks in the sky and earth.
For a while, all kinds of Daoist techniques flew together, miserable howls were everywhere, and the earth shook from the attacks. The scene became a chaotic battle.
Because the visitors who came here were all-powerful people who ruled their respective sects or families, they were more skilled at destroying evil spirits than the people inside the Dragon Tomb Holy Land. However, there were too many evil spirits, and there was no end to them.
The Black and White Crow Guards’ leaders flew over Ethereal City, overlooking the chaotic fighting below. They couldn’t help feeling very satisfied.
“Master is truly skilled.” The leader of the Black Crow Guard looked down in admiration. “He predicted everything. I thought it would take much more to kill Yan Tianhen, but who would’ve thought that a simple move like luring the enemy away would allow me to reach an unprotected Yan Tianhen and kill him.”
“Really?” A light chuckle sounded from beside his ear.
Before the Black Crow Guard’s leader could react, a cold and fierce sword light flashed, and he was stabbed through the chest from behind.
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