A Vicious Scheme: Summoning Master to the Palace
Before Chen Du could speak, Xuanwei spoke first, his voice gentle yet carrying an undeniable firmness:
"Xuan'er, don't go."
Chen Du looked up at his master's lean and serene face, a slight stirring in his heart.
His master, seemingly gentle and carefree, indifferent to worldly affairs, was actually as clear-sighted as a mirror, having long seen through the murderous intent hidden beneath the court's facade.
Xuanwei slowly raised his eyes, carefully analyzing the flaws within:
"Emperors, residing deep within the palace, never inquired about Daoist temples in the mountains, much less suddenly summon a reclusive Daoist to the palace to preach and pray for blessings."
"Our Qingfeng Temple been practicing pure cultivation for generations, never getting involved in court intrigues, a fact His Majesty is well aware of. Yet, at this critical juncture when undercurrents are surging in the court and hidden forces are stirring, summoning me to the palace is by no means a benevolent act."
He sighed softly, his eyes revealing deep concern and tenderness:
"I have to go."
"If I defy the imperial decree and retreat from the world, I will be giving the enemy a handle to use against me. The imperial court will immediately use this as a pretext to send troops to surround the mountain, and the entire Qingfeng Temple, along with all my fellow disciples and followers, will be doomed."
"I'll go; at most, I'll be the only one in danger."
But you can't go.
Xuanwei looked at him, her gaze earnest and heavy:
"You stay in the temple. If I were to meet with misfortune in the palace, Qingfeng Mountain, my fellow disciples, and everything else I cannot protect will need you to hold them up."
Chen Du listened quietly to his master's carefully considered words, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
My master spent his entire life cultivating the Tao with a pure heart, never fighting with the world. In any situation, he would always protect the sect and his disciples first, never caring about his own safety.
He knew that his master's mind was made up, and any further argument would be futile.
A direct confrontation at this moment would only make Master more worried and wary of the dangers lurking in the imperial court.
So he didn't refute or argue, but simply nodded slightly and calmly replied:
"Master, I understand."
After saying that, he got up and left silently.
Watching the boy's silent departure, Xuanwei sat alone by the candlelight, gently shaking his head and sighing, his eyes filled with helplessness and longing.
He knew his apprentice was resolute and deep-thinking, but he only thought he was obediently staying behind. Little did he know that the young man had already secretly made up his mind that he would never let him go into danger alone.
Chen Du stepped out of the alchemy room and stood in the moonlight under the corridor. All the tenderness in his eyes vanished, leaving only a cold and resolute look.
His master wanted to protect the temple, so he protected his master.
His master didn't want him to take any risks, so he secretly followed along.
He wanted to see for himself just how many demons and monsters were hidden in this Heaven Slayer web laid out by the Heavenly Killer.
A few days later.
Daylight broke.
Xuanwei changed into a neat and simple Daoist robe, tied his hair up and put on his shoes, and with a calm expression, he went down the mountain alone to attend the summons.
Outside the mountain gate, the imperial carriages and ceremonial guards had been waiting for a long time, solemn and orderly, quietly awaiting the Daoist priest to board the carriage.
The wheels rolled, the horses' hooves set off, and they galloped towards the imperial city a thousand miles away.
Inside the carriage, Xuanwei sat with his eyes closed, his mind clear and calm as he silently and composedly faced the challenge.
He thought he was risking his life alone to ensure the peace of the entire Daoist temple.
Unbeknownst to them, hundreds of feet above the carriage, a figure so faint as to be almost invisible was silently hovering in the clouds, following along.
Chen Du suppressed his aura to zero, locking his immense cultivation of the Stellar Sixth Transformation and his Threefold Calamity Source Dao Domain within his soul.
No spiritual energy leaked out of him, and no sound escaped; he was like a gentle breeze or a fleeting shadow, trailing far behind the carriages and horses.
He promised his master to stay at the temple, but never did, leaving him to face a deadly situation alone.
We traveled all the way, a three-day journey.
The carriages and horses finally entered the magnificent Capital city, passed through the imperial city and the palace road, and finally settled Xuanwei in a quiet side hall on the west side of the palace. He was given an imperial edict to rest and recuperate, and to attend the morning court the next day to preach to the emperor.
Night fell over the imperial city, and thousands of lights shone brightly. The palace was heavily fortified, with layers of guards and hidden dangers lurking beneath the surface.
The world beheld the magnificent and imposing imperial city.
What Chen Du saw was a trap everywhere, a deadly trap at every turn.
That night, the night was deep and all was quiet.
A nearly transparent figure silently scaled the nine layers of palace walls and infiltrated the heavily guarded heart of the palace.
With his current level of cultivation, his technique of concealing his aura and hiding his form has already reached a state of perfection.
The imperial city's layers of arrays, hidden sentries everywhere, imperial guards, and Divine Sense patrols were all rendered useless; no one could detect his presence.
He gently landed on the roof ridge of the side hall, lay down quietly, and peered down into the hall through the gaps in the bricks and tiles.
The candlelight in the hall was dim. Xuanwei sat upright on a futon, meditating with a calm and composed expression. There was no sign of anything unusual about him.
But Chen Du remained completely unfazed.
Calamity Warnings are never wrong.
The murderous intent was already in place, waiting for the dead of night to strike silently.
He Lie Dormant in wait on the rooftop, his mind clear, patiently waiting for his prey to fall into his trap.
He wasn't in a hurry to make a move.
Today, it's not just about protecting our master.
He wanted to wait, to observe, and to thoroughly investigate all the backup plans, informants, and related forces behind this assassination attempt, and to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
Time passed slowly, and the night grew deeper.
Deep within the palace, four extremely subtle auras slowly drifted out.
The four men were dressed entirely in black, their faces covered by masks. Their auras were suppressed to the extreme, and their footsteps were as light as ghosts. They were all top-level cultivators at the Middle Stage of the Twelfth Realm, and were top-tier assassins capable of roaming freely in the court.
The four worked in perfect unison, bypassing the main gate patrol, and quietly slipped to the side of the hall's window, vaulting inside. Their movements were swift and skillful, clearly those of seasoned assassins.
Upon entering the hall, the four did not rush to attack. Instead, they immediately raised their hands to form a hand seal, setting up a thick soundproof barrier.
Isolate all internal and external sounds, conceal the fighting, and eliminate any possibility of leakage.
After laying all the groundwork, the four black-clad assassins slowly moved forward, closing in from all sides and completely sealing off all of Xuanwei's escape routes.
On the rooftop, Chen Du silently looked down, his lips slightly cold, his eyes utterly calm.
It's finally here.
One of the men in black lowered his voice and uttered a cold, ruthless command:
"A swift and decisive victory, leaving no trace."
The moment when death was imminent.
The air in the side hall suddenly became still.
A figure in a light blue robe, almost transparent in color, fell silently from the rooftop, passed through the window, and stood steadily in the center of the hall.
Time seemed to have been forcibly paused.
The four short blades that were about to pierce Xuanwei's body remained frozen in mid-air, completely immobile.
The four black-clad assassins, all at the Middle Stage of the Twelfth Realm, had their flesh, meridians, and souls completely imprisoned by the invisible Great Dao.
They maintained their attack stance, their pupils suddenly shrinking to pinpoints, their bodies icy cold, every inch of their bones trembling wildly.
An overwhelming pressure, capable of crushing one's soul, enveloped the entire side hall.
Terrifying, cold, profound.
Faced with this power, they were like four ants whose lifelines were being held captive, completely stripped of even the slightest right to struggle, resist, or operate the laws of nature.
Xuanwei, who was sitting upright on the futon, suddenly opened his eyes. The moment he saw the young man in the hall, his expression changed drastically, filled with both anxiety and anger:
"Xuan'er! How dare you come here on your own? I clearly told you to stay behind at the temple—"
Chen Du did not turn around, but simply raised one hand slightly, calmly signaling his master to be quiet. His demeanor was composed and indifferent, exuding supreme authority.
He lowered his gaze to look down at the four kneeling, stiff assassins, his voice icy cold and devoid of any warmth:
Who sent you?
The four men in black trembled, their throats seemingly sealed by an invisible spell, all their words stuck deep inside, unable to escape.
Some people exhausted their remaining spiritual strength, trying to activate the laws and crush the communication jade talisman, but as soon as their Dao power was generated, it was completely swallowed up by the vast Calamity Source Dao Domain, without even causing the slightest ripple.
Chen Du slowly took a step forward.
With just this one step, the oppressive aura surged several levels higher.
The four men's knees throbbed with excruciating pain, and they could no longer hold on. With a thud, they all collapsed to their knees, the stone bricks trembling. The piercing pain, mixed with extreme fear, instantly permeated their entire bodies.
The leader's face was ashen, his black clothes soaked with cold sweat, and his voice trembled unrecognizable, filled with fear and pleading for mercy.
"Sir, please spare us! We were merely following orders! The person behind this is far beyond our comprehension; you cannot afford to offend them! Let this matter rest; please let us leave, and we will never dare to repeat this mistake again!"