One Man Holds the Imperial Palace in Check, Slays Its Lackeys, and Uncovers a Forbidden Name
The other person hurriedly echoed, their tone filled with despair:
"Yes, senior! Don't get involved in this mess! The terror of this power is beyond the imagination of outsiders!"
The remaining two kowtowed repeatedly, their foreheads hitting the stone bricks with a resounding thud. Their mental state had completely collapsed, leaving only pure fear.
Chen Du's eyes remained completely unmoved as he coldly surveyed the scene.
"This is your last chance. If you don't speak, your soul and spirit will be annihilated, and you will be condemned to eternal damnation."
The chilling killing intent crashed down, crushing the last shred of hope the four had.
One of them convulsed violently, as if he had touched the most terrifying taboo in the world. His lips trembled uncontrollably, his jaw chattered wildly, and he mustered all his courage to squeeze out four words from between his teeth.
The voice was extremely low and soft, carrying a deep-seated fear, as if uttering even a single extra word would immediately bring divine punishment and death upon the speaker.
"Mysterious Martial God Hall..."
As soon as those four words were uttered, the four men froze, their faces turning ashen, their eyes filled with the terror of impending death. They instinctively shut their mouths tightly, no longer daring to utter a single word.
This is an absolutely forbidden name within the inner palace.
Throughout the court and among the common people, including those in secret, no one dared to mention, discuss, or recount even the slightest detail about its origins.
Mentioning it is a capital offense, and speaking of it further will result in being silenced. No one, no force in the world, dares to discuss the origins, structure, cultivation, or background of the temple without permission.
They dared not, could not, and absolutely dared not reveal another single word.
No matter how much Chen Du pressured them, the four men simply trembled, bowed their heads, clenched their teeth like iron, and remained completely silent.
It was a fear etched into one's soul, a prohibition ingrained in one's very bones, a dark law that could never be touched.
Chen Du's eyes narrowed slightly.
Xuanwu Divine Hall.
An unfamiliar name, an unsolvable taboo.
He instantly understood: this was a top-secret force that had been completely sealed off; the world only knew of its terror, but not its form or its origin.
There was no extra information, no clues, only extreme terror that gripped people's hearts.
Since there's nothing more to ask, there's no need to ask anymore.
Chen Du slightly raised his palm, and the dark golden Tribulation Source Law quietly condensed, forming a ball of extinguished and lightless Dao power floating in his palm.
The four men in black turned ashen-faced instantly, kowtowing and begging for mercy like madmen, tears streaming down their faces, yet they still clung to the taboo, daring not to reveal a single secret.
Chen Du was cold-blooded and decisive in killing, without the slightest hesitation.
A light touch from fingertips.
The ball of light fell to the ground silently.
There was no roar, no wind, no strange phenomena.
The four Twelfth Realm assassins who had been kneeling in fear just moments before vanished in an instant. Their bodies, souls, auras, and traces were all reduced to nothingness and dust, completely annihilated between heaven and earth.
In an instant, the hall was devoid of any sign of life.
The night wind blew through the window, the candlelight flickered, and the entire side hall remained deathly silent, as if the assassination and interrogation that had just taken place had never happened.
Xuanwei stared at the empty ground, his expression complex and solemn.
The moment this name was revealed, it seemed as if the deepest, darkest part of the palace's secrets had finally been torn open.
The dust settled inside the hall, leaving it deathly silent.
Chen Du turned to look at Xuanwei beside him and asked softly, "Master, have you ever heard of the Xuanwu Divine Hall?"
Xuanwei slowly shook his head, his brows furrowed tightly, his eyes filled with solemnity and confusion.
"Never heard of it."
"I have cultivated the Dao for thousands of years and lived in seclusion on Qingfeng Mountain for half my life. I have heard about the sects' lineages, the secrets of the martial world, and the old history of the Ling Dynasty court within the territory of the Ling Dynasty, even the most obscure rumors. But tonight is the first time in my life that I have heard the four words 'Xuanwu Divine Hall'."
He recalled the appearance of the four assassins just now, and a chill lingered in his heart:
"Those four men were nothing more than henchmen ordered to commit murder, yet they trembled with fear and dared not utter another word after just uttering those four words."
"It was as if this wasn't just a name of a power, but the most terrifying taboo in the world. The mere mention of those four words would bring divine punishment and endanger one's life. It weighed heavily on one's heart, making one tremble with fear and dare not utter a single word."
Chen Du nodded silently and fell into a long silence.
Even his master, who had lived for hundreds of years and was accustomed to the secrets of the world, was completely unfamiliar with the Xuanwu Divine Hall, which was enough to prove how deeply hidden it was.
It lies hidden in the shadows of the Ling Dynasty, existing outside the understanding of all cultivators and court officials; ordinary people will never have the chance to hear its name in their entire lives.
Those black-clad assassins were its lowest-ranking henchmen, only knowing how to carry out orders to kill and carry out assassination missions.
But they don't know who's in charge, what their power is, where their roots are, or how much influence they have.
They only knew how to obey; they dared not spy, dared not question, dared not investigate further.
That's the most terrifying part.
The game of chess set up by the Heaven Slayer is layered with isolation and gradually divides the pieces, leaving the pieces unaware of the overall situation and the ants unable to see the heavens.
Now, he has finally gotten a glimpse of the hidden hand at work and has finally learned the name of a true enemy.
Although the situation is still shrouded in mystery, it is already better than the previous situation where we were completely in the dark and utterly passive.
Chen Du understood, slowly suppressing the unease in his heart, and raised his eyes to say, "Master, at dawn we will act according to the imperial decree. After the prayer ceremony, we will leave this place openly and honestly."
The night passed peacefully.
The next day at dawn.
Xuanwei entered the palace as ordered and went to the Empress Dowager's palace to chant scriptures and pray for blessings. He was courteous and composed, and there was nothing unusual about the whole process.
None of the court officials or the palace guards noticed the near-fatal assassination attempt that occurred deep within the palace last night.
The prayer ceremony concluded peacefully. Xuanwei, following the Emperor's decree, returned to the mountains after the ceremony, thus rightfully and dignifiedly bidding farewell to the palace.
Chen Du concealed himself and followed quietly, protecting his master as they left the Nine Palaces.
Only after leaving the Capital and far from the restrictions of the imperial city did the two find a roadside stone to stop and rest.
A cool mountain breeze dispelled the oppressive atmosphere of the deep palace.
Xuanwei sat on the rock, looking at the young man standing beside him in the breeze. He suddenly sighed softly, revealing a helpless and wry smile, and shook his head repeatedly.
"I witnessed you make your move last night in the side hall."
His gaze was complex, and every word he spoke was a heartfelt expression of emotion.
"Any one of those four men in black could easily crush any sect in the Eastern Wasteland. I would be utterly powerless against any one of them; my only fate would be death."
"Yet, in the blink of an eye, you immobilized all four of them on the spot. I didn't even see the trajectory of your attack, nor did I sense the slightest fluctuation of your Dao Resonance."
He looked up at the disciple before him, whose demeanor was profound and unfathomable, his eyes filled with melancholy.
"From a young age, I taught you to read Daoist scriptures, to understand breathing techniques, and to maintain a pure mind, nurturing your Daoist heart for over a decade. But now, in just a few short years, you've grown to this point; I can no longer even see through your back."
Chen Du sat down quietly next to his master, and did not respond to what was said.
Both master and disciple knew what was going on.
As the world changes and calamities urge him on, his path has long since transcended the confines of Qingfeng Temple and the comprehension of ordinary Daoist practitioners.
No need for further explanation; everything is understood without words.
After a short rest, the two set off again.
The journey home that followed was unexpectedly smooth and peaceful.
There were no pursuers, no spies, no ambushes, and no deliberately created unexpected disturbances.
It was as if the deadly trap in the palace last night, and the fall of four sixth-stage Transformation Realm experts, had never happened.
The mastermind lurking in the shadows, after failing in their attack, abruptly withdrew and fell completely silent.
But Chen Du's mind was exceptionally clear.
This stability is by no means a concession, much less an end.
The fact that the opponent suddenly withdrew all killing intent most likely means that they had sensed his hidden terrifying strength and were reassessing the situation, weighing the pros and cons, lying low Lie Dormant power, waiting for a more lethal and safer killing move.
Beneath the calm surface, deeper undercurrents surge.
The journey was uneventful, and the master and disciple returned safely to the mountain, smoothly entering the gate of Qingfeng Temple.
The moment his feet stepped into the temple and he returned to his homeland, Chen Du's sea of consciousness trembled violently!
An unprecedented warm torrent surged in from the depths of the Heavenly Dao, filling the entire realm of the divine soul.
It's Calamity Qi!
Rich, sharp, profound, and magnificent.
It was far more vast, more refined, and more profound than when Zhao Heng was killed.
Chen Du made a rough calculation, a slight unease creeping into his heart.
A full ten million years of Calamity Qi!
From the opening of a hypocritical imperial edict to the assassination plot set up in the deep palace, and then to the emergence of the forbidden Xuanwu Divine Hall, this entire series of deadly traps is filled with layers of danger, with each step leading to a desperate situation.
It is precisely because the level of calamity is extremely dangerous that the Heaven's Way's Gift are so generous and magnificent.
Millions of years of accumulated Calamity Qi have solidified his divine soul, causing his foundation to surge and his Dao base to be firmly established.
Chen Du suppressed the trembling in his heart and sealed this enormous Calamity Qi deep within his sea of consciousness, without rushing to activate the Heaven's Way's Gift to refine and break through.
Having weathered a complex palace intrigue and a series of tense confrontations, he needed a moment of peace and respite.
The storm has temporarily subsided, but he knows the truth.
The real game has only just begun to unfold.