Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs

The moment his words fell, a surge of majestic energy erupted directly from the array of two hundred boys and girls. It sent the several generals suppressing Tang Ruowei, as well as the soldiers who had raised their blades, flying away. Following this, another gentle burst of energy shot out, casting the remaining children into a deep slumber.

"Hmph, child, during my reign, I expanded the territory of Shangxuan and increased the borders of the Shangxuan Kingdom by two-thirds. Yet, the more I campaigned, the more I felt that mortals have their limits."

"I am not like you!" Sima Yingbo also spoke up at this moment to persuade her: "Knowing when to retreat and being able to bend and stretch is the correct way to conduct oneself in the world. Besides, the fact that His Majesty the True Ancestor has improved his strength is a great thing for our Shangxuan."

With a long sword in hand, Tang Ruowei rose from the ground, stepped on the Mausoleum Guardian Beast of the Imperial Mausoleum, and landed in front of those two rows of soldiers.

Bai Qiuran tilted his head as he looked at him, saying nothing.

Tang Ruowei called out to stop them.

"You fool."

"Hmph, you certainly have quite the temper."

Tang Ruowei asked in astonishment: "How are you here?"

"You know him?"

At this moment, a loud roar suddenly echoed through the Imperial Mausoleum.

Tang Ruowei swung her sword downward, and a streak of sword qi shot out, cutting a row of soldiers to the ground.

"Where is there such a saying!" Tang Zhouxie said lazily: "I do not need people who do not listen. Furthermore, we are already transcendent cultivators, so there is no need to worry about mortal relationships. If you want beauties, there will be plenty in the future, whether they are from other countries or the Cultivation World. As long as you become strong, you can have them all. As for this rebellious daughter, just eat her. You have done well in finding me boys, girls, and Yao Mo; this is my reward to you."

"Qi Refining Stage?"

"I think you are the one who is being arrogant."

Tang Ruowei said angrily: "These are not the words of a human!"

Three feet of autumn water reflected a cold light, standing firm and unmoving.

He said loudly: "I have three thousand soldiers, sixteen Venerables, and a cultivation base that suppresses yours by three whole heads. I do not need to do it myself; I only need to give one order, and I can have you decapitated. What do you have to fight me with?"

That voice issued a shocking statement.

"Bullshit!"

"Hmm?"

"But in the hands of Bai Qiuran, there is still one sword."

A look of astonishment also appeared on Sima Yingbo's face.

Sima Yingbo took a command flag from his robes, then pointed to the two hundred boys and girls below the platform.

"Who goes there?"

Tang Zhouxie spread his arms.

After seeing that something was wrong, many of these children wanted to run, but the magic array beneath their feet bound them tightly. Seeing Tang Zhouxie look toward them, these children immediately began to cry, and some of the timid ones even wet their pants on the spot.

"You are still just a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, and I am only one step away from forming a Golden Core."

Tang Zhouxie chuckled lightly: "Do it."

"Master."

Tang Zhouxie laughed heartily.

Tang Zhouxie answered lazily: "I am the Emperor, and they are commoners. The people should naturally give their all for their sovereign, even unto death. Being able to become my blood food and helping me improve my cultivation is their honor."

Several generals in the army stepped out of the formation, drew their weapons, and leaped toward Tang Ruowei. These generals were also martial arts masters at the Qi Refining Stage. Fighting against many, Tang Ruowei was quickly overwhelmed and captured.

She ran to the side of the Shangxuan Emperor, who wore a dazed expression, and drew the long sword he wore for ceremonial purposes.

There was no shortage of Qi Refining Stage generals in the army, and those sixteen Venerables were all experts who had reached at least the middle stage of Qi Refining.

Tang Zhouxie asked.

Bai Qiuran's expression was gloomy.

"It was actually him?"

"The one being arrogant is you!" Tang Zhouxie's face fell.

Tang Zhouxie compared it secretly and found that, indeed, following what Bai Qiuran said would be much better.

"Sima Yingbo, you will always be a coward."

"Very good."

"Who is the one being arrogant?"

But that voice ignored him and continued: "Drinking the blood of the royal family to reach Foundation Establishment? How come I have never heard of this? You junior, practicing a crooked and incomplete technique, and now you are here arrogantly instructing others on how to reach Foundation Establishment? The Demonic Path is the Demonic Path. Without a foundation, relying on harming others to benefit oneself to improve cultivation, you dare to dream of Foundation Establishment? Do you know how difficult Foundation Establishment is? Don't you dare look down on Foundation Establishment!"

"Master..."

The blade reflected a bright, snowy luster, and golden True Qi coiled around it.

Tang Zhouxie nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand: "Begin. Bring me the blood."

Tang Zhouxie snorted coldly: "I am currently at the Foundation Establishment Stage, why can I not teach others to reach Foundation Establishment?"

Upholding the righteous path is the responsibility of every disciple of the Qingming Sect. The so-called righteous path is a value that does not change with the passage of time.

"They are all here."

Bai Qiuran sneered, then casually pointed out several flaws in Tang Zhouxie's cultivation, from his arrays to his moves, from his techniques to his blood food, and finally, he even critiqued his tomb.

Tang Ruowei glanced at him, her eyes filled with contempt.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Furthermore, look at your setup today. You are trying to rely on this blood food to break through to the Golden Core stage, right? But this setup is full of errors and omissions; even I, a righteous cultivator, cannot bear to look at it! Do you not understand how to fine-tune an array based on Heavenly Timing and Earthly Advantage? With just this, you claim to understand Foundation Establishment? You only reached Foundation Establishment because you got lucky!

Hearing what the voice said, Tang Zhouxie's face also fell, and he snorted coldly: "If you have the guts, come out and show yourself!"

Tang Ruowei leaned on her sword and stood up, smiling bitterly: "One must know their own strength when trying to eliminate demons and defend the path. There are thousands of Shangxuan troops and half of the kingdom's experts here."

"So what if you are at the Foundation Establishment Stage? You don't understand Foundation Establishment at all!"

A breeze brushed past his sleeves, causing a rustling sound. There was no fear on Bai Qiuran's face, just as it had been that day in the Mang Mountain cave when he stood in front of Tang Ruowei.

"I want to say... I stopped being human a long time ago."

He drew a circle with his feet, wrote a simple magic array to protect Tang Ruowei, then took two steps forward and looked up at Tang Zhouxie.

Tang Zhouxie snorted coldly, lifted his finger slightly, and beckoned.

She ran to the front of Tang Zhouxie, raised her eyebrows, and questioned: "True Ancestor, as the former Emperor of Shangxuan, why are you now harming the people of Shangxuan?"

Just like this sky, even if it is covered by dark clouds, with black and white blending together to form a shroud of gloom, no matter the era, black can never turn into white. Murdering the innocent and bullying the weak will never be praised.

"Pah!"

Two rows of soldiers continued to advance, their cold blades reflecting the terrified expressions of the trembling children.

"Your Highness—stop!"

"So what?"

"I originally came to eliminate demons and defend the path."

"I am not only a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, I am also the Emperor of this Shangxuan." Tang Zhouxie smiled: "Drinking her blood will be of great benefit to your Foundation Establishment."

He unbuckled the iron sword from his waist, drew it from its scabbard, and pointed it diagonally at the ground.

Sima Yingbo hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Highness the Princess is young and impulsive. After all, she is your descendant. Please hand her over to this disciple; I will certainly teach her to be obedient."

Bai Qiuran looked silently to the left and right. The thousands of Imperial Guards in this Imperial Mausoleum had all been manipulated by Tang Zhouxie on the platform and had surrounded them. Behind them, outside the Imperial Mausoleum, were the same armies guarding the mausoleum, blocking their path.

"Bai Qiuran?"

"Master, he is just a Qi Refining Stage cultivator."

"But I find this little Demonic Cultivator to be particularly arrogant."

Tang Zhouxie picked at his blood-red fingernails.

In front of him were the civil and military officials, the Imperial Advisor, the Emperor, and the soldiers of the three armies, all controlled by Tang Zhouxie. Behind him were the severely injured Tang Ruowei, whose True Qi was exhausted, and two hundred children who had fainted on the ground.

Tang Ruowei questioned.

"So what?"

"We met once at Mang Mountain."

Sima Yingbo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yingbo, have you forgotten how your master taught you?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?!"

"Wait a moment!"

Following his order, two rows of soldiers stood out from the army below the platform, drew the gleaming scimitars at their waists, and walked toward the boys and girls.

A boy with a face full of rage walked out from the array of boys and girls. With every step he took, his body grew an inch taller, and his hair gradually changed color. After a series of crackling sounds, he arrived in front of Tang Ruowei, having transformed into the white-haired, white-browed Bai Qiuran.

BOOM!

Even after being taken into custody, the Grand Princess refused to bow her head. She spat rudely, tilting her head to glare with hatred at her ancestor and the traitor.

"Even if I unified Guzhou, or even the mortal world of the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou, there is still a group of people high above me. No matter how many troops I have, how good my weapons are, or how thick my armor is, I cannot defeat the casual sword strike of those Immortals who come and go as they please. I do not want this. As the Human Emperor, I am more excellent and talented than others, so I should be the one stepping on others."

"Your Highness."

Tang Zhouxie did not pay any more attention to his descendant. He looked up at the sky, then turned his head and asked Sima Yingbo: "I am hungry. Where is the blood food I ordered you to find?"

Seeing his expression, Bai Qiuran asked: "How is it? You ignorant junior."

"Hiding your head and showing your tail."

"Indeed, unlike you, Bai Qiuran has no power, no people, and no backing, and his cultivation realm is only at the Qi Refining Stage."

Sima Yingbo struggled and hesitated for a few seconds, then bowed and said: "Yes, this disciple thanks you, Master."

"Hmm, you are also about to reach Foundation Establishment. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, you can officially begin practicing my Blood God Immortal Technique."

Bai Qiuran replied with a light laugh.