"Quick, go!"
The hoarse, distorted cry exploded inside the carriage, carrying the terror of a dying trapped beast. The Black-Clad Elite Soldier driving the carriage did not even have time to think before the whip in his hand instinctively tore through the air with a piercing crack!
"Hyah!"
The four pure-black steeds suddenly reared! The heavy carriage shot forth like an arrow released from a bow, smashing through the thick darkness before dawn as it sped westward along the Bluestone Imperial Road outside Zhangtai Palace! The wheels thundered over the stone paved ground, their deep rumble echoing through the deathly silent palace city!
Just as the carriage curtain fell!
That pale golden streak, invisible to the naked eye and discernible only through the system's frenzied warnings in Cheng Xi's mind, descended like a spear of judgment from the heavens and struck the spot the carriage had just left with unerring precision!
"Bzzzz—!"
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soundless annihilation that froze the soul! The hard bluestone ground, tough as iron, was devoured by an invisible maw, vanishing instantly into a deep pit over a zhang wide, its edges smooth as a mirror! The remaining stone at the bottom bore an eerie glazed sheen. Before the wisps of smoke could rise, an invisible force flattened them away!
Terrifying! Absolute annihilating power! If Cheng Xi's shout had not made the driver instinctively accelerate, he, the carriage, and everything within several zhang would have been reduced to the most primitive dust particles!
"Protect the carriage!" Ying Zheng's shocked and angered roar came from outside! His dark-robed figure had already swept onto the carriage roof like a phantom, the sword at his waist emerging with a dragon's cry! Its icy blade drew a bleak streak of cold light through the dim dawn, directly pointing at the eastern horizon!
The dozens of Black-Clad Elite Soldiers reacted with astonishing speed, instantly formed ranks! Half drew their swords and guarded the carriage tightly at the center, their chilling weapons forming iron thorns; the other half swiftly took down the powerful crossbows from their backs, loaded the cold bolts, and filled the air with the creaking of taut mechanisms as their arrowheads all aimed at the empty east!
Killing intent soared into the sky!
Yet the eastern horizon held only the deepest indigo before dawn and the silent silhouette of Xianyang City's towering eastern gate—Zhidiao Pavilion. That golden streak of destruction had vanished without a trace, as though it had never appeared. Had it not been for the abrupt, mirror-smooth pit in the ground silently recounting the terror of moments ago, everything would have seemed like a dream.
Inside the carriage, Cheng Xi curled up on the brocade cushion, soaked through with cold sweat as if he had just been dragged from water. He gasped for breath, and every inhalation tugged at the agonizing backlash from the rune marks on his chest, making his vision darken in waves. The system's alarms had stopped, but their lingering sharp hum still trembled in the depths of his mind.
[High-Dimensional Order Attack evasion... Energy consumption: 0.01%... Passive scan activated... Attack source location: lock failed (high-dimensional concealment)... Attribute reassessment: Human Teaching · Law of Purity, Stillness, and Non-Action (Annihilation Level)... Linked mark: Host's spiritual fluctuations abnormal (Zhangtai Palace council, rune mark backlash)...]
The cold data stream washed over his consciousness. Law of Purity, Stillness, and Non-Action... Annihilation Level! Human Teaching! So it truly was Taishang Laojun's doing! Merely because he had displayed "abnormal" wisdom in Zhangtai Palace, merely because he had attempted to touch upon the path of rune marks, he had summoned such ruthless "purification"! That so-called "gaze," the Heavenly Dao's chaotic neutrality, and Human Teaching... the "order" it represented was so cold and cruel!
Ying Zheng's voice came from the carriage roof, suppressing towering fury, cold as ice. "Investigate! Within three li, kill every suspicious person without mercy!" He had not seen that flash of golden light. He had only seen the abrupt pit in the ground, something utterly beyond human ability! This had surpassed the realm of assassins. It was sorcery! An evil presence! And its target had been his Royal Brother!
"Royal Brother..." Cheng Xi forced himself to lift a corner of the carriage curtain. His complexion was pale as paper, and his weak voice carried the panic of someone who had narrowly escaped death. "Wh... what was that just now? Something... something was... following me..."
Ying Zheng lowered his head, his dark robes snapping in the morning wind. His deep-pool eyes stared at Cheng Xi's terrified face, as though he wished to pierce through his skin and see everything hidden in the depths of his soul. That pit, that utterly extraordinary attack... the secrets on this Royal Brother were more dangerous than he had imagined, and more... valuable!
"It is nothing." Ying Zheng's voice was resolute, carrying a cold strength that put people at ease. "Demons and monsters dare to shake the palace halls of Great Qin. Move!"
He sheathed his sword and stood firmly atop the carriage like a Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle. The convoy set out again, moving even faster, while the elite soldiers' vigilant gazes swept every shadow on both sides of the road like hawks.
Cheng Xi retreated into the carriage, his fingers tightly gripping the Spirit Gathering Talisman and the Witch Script Wood Fragment hidden close to his body. Wisps of cool aura seeped into his meridians, barely suppressing his roiling blood and qi and the fear deep in his soul. Human Teaching's killing intent... was like a sword hanging over his head! He had to move faster! He had to find a way to restore the system's energy faster, and master true power faster!
The convoy rushed out through Xianyang City's western gate, leaving the towering palace wall behind as it sped along the official road toward Zhongnan Mountain. The early spring wilderness spread beneath the morning light, carrying the scent of earth and green grass. Yet this temporary "safety" did not last long.
Just as the convoy entered a narrow stretch of road bordered by dense forest on both sides—
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Piercing sounds tore through the air from the woods on both sides! Dozens of crossbow bolts gleaming with ghostly blue light shot forth like a swarm of poisonous bees! Their target was not Ying Zheng atop the carriage, but the carriage compartment where Cheng Xi was! The arrowheads were poisoned, their angles vicious and deadly!
A true mortal killing trap launched brazenly in the wake of the transcendent annihilation!
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