Cold-Eyed Spectator

Inside the gilded main hall, the atmosphere was as deathly cold as ice.

Xiang Guang stood in the center of the hall, clad in a bright yellow dragon robe, his face ashen. The suppressed fury radiating from him seemed capable of incinerating the entire palace. Below him, the civil and military officials were as silent as cicadas in winter; no one dared to lift their heads, and even their breathing was kept extremely shallow.

A moment ago, an urgent secret report from the border had just been delivered to the palace—

The Tyrant Dragon Army, dispatched to the territory of the Eastern Suppressing Prince Qin De, had been completely wiped out.

The former commander Yi Qingyu, a Xiantian peak expert, had been killed in battle. None of the eight Xiantian elites survived, and along with Zhu San and his party who were responsible for the Heaven-Reaching Chart transaction, all were slaughtered within the ancient residence, leaving the ground soaked in blood.

Prior to this, the leader of the top-tier royal secret agents—Zhen Xu—whom he had planted in the shadows to monitor every move of the Qin Family, had also been killed. He had been executed by a gold-ranked assassin from the Heavenly Net, dying a gruesome death without leaving a single clue behind.

Having lost two trusted generals and an elite ace unit in quick succession, the fury in Xiang Guang's heart had long since broken its limits.

"Trash! You are all a bunch of trash!"

He kicked over the dragon desk in front of him with a violent force. Jade plates, delicacies, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones scattered across the floor, the crisp sound of shattering objects piercingly sharp.

"Yi Qingyu was at the Xiantian peak! Zhen Xu had been lurking for months, meticulous in his planning! And what was the result?! The Secret Agent Bureau's Zhen Xu is dead, and the Tyrant Dragon Army elites have been completely annihilated! You can't even handle a tiny Eastern Suppressing Prince Mansion!"

The officials prostrated themselves on the ground, none daring to respond.

Everyone knew that the Emperor's current rage was no longer something a mere mortal subject could appease.

The Tyrant Dragon Army and Zhen Xu were the lethal trump cards Xiang Guang used to keep the Eastern Suppressing Prince Qin De in check. Now that they had been uprooted one after another, it was equivalent to severing his own arms; trying to suppress the Qin Family further would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

"Qin Family... Qin De..."

Xiang Guang gritted his teeth, a surge of murderous intent flaring in his eyes.

He had long seen that the father and son of the Qin Family were ambitious and would never be content to live under another. Now, by slaughtering his men one after another, they were clearly and openly challenging the imperial power!

"I will never let you off!"

In a fit of rage, Xiang Guang turned abruptly and headed toward the deepest part of the imperial palace.

There lay the forbidden ground of the Xiang Clan of the Chu Dynasty—the place where the ancestor Xiang Yang was in seclusion.

The ancestor Xiang Yang was the anchor of the Chu Dynasty. His cultivation was unfathomable, having long since transcended the mortal Xiantian realm and stepped onto the true path of immortality. As long as the ancestor was there, no one would dare to easily shake the Chu Dynasty.

In the past, whenever he encountered a powerful enemy he could not resolve, Xiang Guang would think of waking the ancestor first.

Now that Yi Qingyu was dead, the Tyrant Dragon Army elites were wiped out, and Zhen Xu had been killed, Qin De's wings were growing stronger, already threatening the imperial power. Only by waking the ancestor and having him personally take action could he wipe out the Qin Family in one fell swoop and eliminate the future threat forever!

Passing through layers of restrictions and guards, Xiang Guang soon arrived before the secluded hall, which was shrouded in a faint spiritual light.

This place was chillingly cold all year round, and the spiritual energy was so dense it was almost solidified; ordinary people would be injured by the pressure just by approaching.

Xiang Guang suppressed his anger, stood respectfully outside the hall, and said in a deep voice:

"Your descendant Xiang Guang has an urgent matter to see the ancestor! I implore the ancestor to come out of seclusion!"

His voice entered the hall, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, receiving not the slightest response.

Xiang Guang frowned and bowed again: "Ancestor! Qin De's intent to rebel has surfaced; he has killed our dynasty's high officials and elites. If you do not act now, I fear a great disaster will follow! I beg the ancestor to appear!"

As his words fell.

A faint golden light screen suddenly appeared over the secluded hall. Runes flowed across the screen, emitting an inviolable power of isolation.

Xiang Guang's expression changed, and he reached out to touch the light screen tentatively.

Hum—

A violent, rebounding force suddenly erupted!

Xiang Guang was struck as if by a heavy blow. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground. His blood surged in his chest, and his face turned pale instantly.

He looked up with difficulty at the impenetrable restriction, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"The ancestor has set a death-seclusion restriction... allowing no one to disturb him..."

His heart sank, turning cold.

Once the ancestor set such a restriction, it meant he had entered a deep level of cultivation. Until the day he broke through, no matter how the outside world turned upside down, he would never wake up, and outsiders were forbidden from forcing their way in.

The path to waking the ancestor was now cut off.

"Damn it! Why at a time like this..."

Xiang Guang gritted his teeth and pushed himself up, his heart filled with anger and anxiety, yet he was helpless.

He knew the ancestor's temperament well; no one could defy his decisions.

With no other choice, he could only turn around in a disheveled state and leave the forbidden ground with heavy steps.

With the ancestor unable to be awakened and the Qin Family growing stronger by the day, Xiang Guang felt as if he were burning with anxiety.

After much thought, the only ones he could rely on were the two immortals serving the Chu Dynasty.

On the west side of the imperial palace, outside a quiet courtyard surrounded by immortal mist, which was completely different from the mundane palaces.

Xiang Guang straightened his messy dragon robe, suppressed his imperial majesty, and approached the courtyard gate with a posture bordering on pleading.

Here lived two true cultivators—Wu Xing and Wu De.

Wu Xing, at the Golden Core Mid Stage.

Wu De, at the Golden Core Late Stage.

In the eyes of commoners, a Golden Core cultivator is already a lofty immortal capable of flying through the heavens and burrowing into the earth, someone who could wipe out thousands of troops with a mere wave of their hand. These two men were the true foundation that allowed the Chu Dynasty to intimidate all directions.

However, these two immortals were always arrogant and rarely concerned themselves with the disputes of mortal dynasties.

Xiang Guang took a deep breath and said softly, "I... Xiang Guang, request an audience with the two immortals."

The courtyard gate opened without a gust of wind.

Inside the courtyard, two cultivators in green robes sat quietly by a stone table. One had his eyes closed in meditation, while the other sipped spiritual tea. They ignored Xiang Guang's arrival, not even lifting their eyelids.

Xiang Guang felt a surge of secret anger, but he dared not show the slightest hint of it. He hurried into the courtyard and bowed deeply, "Xiang Guang pays his respects to the two immortals."

Wu De set down his teacup and cast a faint glance at him, his tone indifferent, "Your Majesty has come today—could it be for mortal disputes again?"

Xiang Guang nodded hurriedly, recounting the death of Zhen Xu, the destruction of the Tyrant Dragon Army, and the rising power of the Qin Family in full detail, his tone earnest:

"That Qin De has the heart of a wolf and the ambition of a leopard; sooner or later, he will rebel and bring chaos to the lands of my Chu Dynasty. I implore the two immortals to take action and eliminate this threat! Xiang Guang would be eternally grateful!"

He fully believed that, given the generations of offerings from the Chu Dynasty, the two immortals should rightfully intervene.

But Wu Xing let out a scoff, his tone dismissive:

"The changing of mortal dynasties is, to us cultivators, no more than the rising and falling of dust. Whether your Chu Dynasty's throne is secure or not, what does that have to do with us?"

Xiang Guang was stunned and hurriedly said, "Immortals! My Chu Dynasty has served you for generations; spiritual herbs, spirit stones, and rare treasures have never been in short supply..."

"That was in the past, and we had an agreement with your ancestor to only intervene when your Xiang family faced a crisis," Wu De interrupted, his gaze cold. "Now, you want us to move against the Eastern Suppressing Prince Mansion, which is no small matter. The Qin Family's hidden forces are not weak; I have heard that besides that old fellow Feng Yuzi, there are traces of other cultivators."

Wu Xing followed up, his tone bluntly grating:

"If you want us to act, it is possible."

"Bring out benefits that are enough to move us. Spiritual herbs, cultivation techniques, spirit stones, or treasures that can help my brother and me break through our current realms."

"Otherwise—"

He looked up at Xiang Guang, a sneer curling the corner of his mouth:

"Mortal slaughter, we will not be accompanying you."

The single sentence left Xiang Guang speechless.

He looked at the cold expressions of the two immortals, his heart burning with raging fire, yet he dared to be angry but dared not speak.

Unable to find help, unable to wake his ancestors.

Standing in the elegant courtyard, Xiang Guang felt a deep sense of powerlessness completely swallow him.

The wrath of an emperor, in front of true cultivators, was actually so insignificant! How pathetic! How lamentable!