The gilded palace hall was as silent and cold as ice.
Xiang Guang stood in the center of the hall, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, his face livid. The suppressed fury radiating from him seemed ready to reduce the entire palace to ashes. Below him, the officials stood as silent as cicadas in winter, none daring to raise their heads. Even their breathing was barely audible.
Moments earlier, an urgent report from the border had just arrived at the palace—
The Tyrant Dragon Army sent to Prince of Eastern Suppression Qin De's territory had been wiped out.
Yi Qingyu, its former commander at the Xiantian peak, had died in battle. Not one of the eight elite Xiantian fighters had survived. Zhu San and the others in charge of the Heaven-Reaching Chart exchange had also been slaughtered in the old mansion, leaving blood flowing like a river.
Before that, Zhen Xu—the head of the royal family's top spies, whom Xiang Guang had planted in the shadows to monitor the Qin Family's every move—had also died. A Gold-Rank Assassin of the Heavenly Net had killed him brutally, leaving not a single clue behind.
Losing two trusted generals and an elite force in quick succession had pushed Xiang Guang's fury past its limits.
"Useless! Every last one of you is useless!"
He kicked over the imperial desk in front of him. Jade plates of delicacies, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones scattered across the floor, their sharp clatter piercing the silence.
"Yi Qingyu was at the Xiantian peak! Zhen Xu had been lying low for months, careful in every detail! And what happened?! Zhen Xu of the Secret Agent Bureau is dead, and the elite Tyrant Dragon Army has been wiped out! You couldn't even deal with the tiny Eastern Suppressing Prince Mansion!"
The officials prostrated themselves on the ground, not one daring to answer.
Everyone knew that no ordinary minister could appease the emperor's fury now.
The Tyrant Dragon Army and Zhen Xu had both been deadly weapons Xiang Guang used to keep Qin De in check. Now that they had both been eliminated, it was as if his left and right arms had been severed. Suppressing the Qin Family now would be harder than reaching the heavens.
"The Qin Family... Qin De..."
Xiang Guang ground his teeth, killing intent surging in his eyes.
He had long seen that Qin De and his son were ambitious, unwilling to remain beneath anyone. Now they had killed his people one after another—it was clearly an open challenge to imperial authority!
"I will never spare you!"
In a fit of rage, Xiang Guang spun around and strode toward the deepest part of the imperial palace.
There stood the forbidden grounds of the Chu Dynasty's Xiang Clan—the place where their ancestor, Xiang Yang, secluded himself.
Ancestor Xiang Yang was the bedrock of the Chu Dynasty. His cultivation was unfathomable; he had long surpassed the ordinary Xiantian realm and entered the true path of cultivation. As long as he remained, no one would dare threaten the Chu Dynasty lightly.
Whenever an enemy proved too much to handle, Xiang Guang had always thought first of awakening his ancestor.
Now Yi Qingyu was dead, the Tyrant Dragon Army's elite force had been destroyed, and Zhen Xu had been killed. Qin De's influence had grown stronger by the day, threatening the imperial throne. Only by awakening his ancestor and having him act personally could the Qin Family be wiped out once and for all!
After passing through layer upon layer of wards and guards, Xiang Guang soon reached the secluded palace, shrouded in a faint spiritual glow.
A bitter chill hung over the place all year round, and the spiritual energy was so dense it seemed almost solid. Ordinary people would be injured by the pressure just by approaching.
Suppressing his anger, Xiang Guang stood respectfully outside the hall and called out in a deep voice:
"Your grandson, Xiang Guang, has an urgent matter and requests an audience with you, Ancestor! I beg you to emerge from seclusion!"
His voice carried into the hall, yet sank without a trace, like a stone into the sea. No answer came.
Xiang Guang frowned and cupped his hands again. "Ancestor! Qin De's intent to rebel is clear. He has killed the elite forces and ministers of our dynasty. If we don't act now, disaster may follow! I beg you to come out and see me!"
As his words fell,
a faint golden barrier suddenly appeared over the secluded palace. Runes flowed across it, and it radiated an impenetrable force that repelled all intrusion.
Xiang Guang's expression changed. He reached out, tentatively touching the barrier.
Buzz—
A violent force suddenly rebounded!
Xiang Guang took a heavy blow and was hurled backward, crashing hard to the ground. His chest churned with blood and qi, and his face turned deathly pale.
He lifted his head with difficulty, staring at the unbreakable ward in disbelief.
"Ancestor has set up a death-seclusion ward... No one is allowed to disturb him..."
His heart sank. His hopes had been cut in half.
Once his ancestor set up this kind of ward, it meant he had entered deep cultivation. Until the day he emerged, he would not wake, no matter how much the outside world changed. No outsider could force their way in, either.
The path to awakening his ancestor was now closed.
"Damn it! At a time like this..."
Xiang Guang gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet. He was furious and anxious, but there was nothing he could do.
He knew his ancestor's temperament well. No one could go against his decision.
With no other choice, he could only turn around and leave the forbidden grounds in a sorry state, his steps heavy.
His ancestor could not be awakened, while the Qin Family grew stronger by the day. Xiang Guang was burning with anxiety.
After turning it over in his mind, he realized the only people he could count on were the two Immortals serving the Chu Dynasty.
Outside an elegant courtyard on the western side of the imperial palace, immortal energy swirled. It was utterly unlike the worldly palace buildings around it.
Xiang Guang straightened his rumpled dragon robe and suppressed his imperial bearing. Then, almost pleading, he approached the courtyard gate.
Two genuine cultivators lived here: Wu Xing and Wu De.
Wu Xing was at the Golden Core Mid Stage.
Wu De was at the Golden Core Late Stage.
In the eyes of ordinary people, Golden Core cultivators were exalted Immortals who could soar through the skies and traverse the earth, and wipe out armies with a casual wave of their hands. These two were also the true source of the Chu Dynasty's power to intimidate its neighbors.
However, the two Immortals were always proud and rarely involved themselves in the affairs 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 on its own.
Inside, two cultivators in blue robes sat quietly beside a stone table. One rested with his eyes closed; the other sipped spiritual tea. They paid no attention to Xiang Guang's arrival, not even lifting their eyelids.
Xiang Guang was inwardly furious, but he dared not show it. He hurried into the courtyard and bowed. "Xiang Guang pays his respects to the two Immortals."
Wu De set down his teacup and glanced at him, his voice indifferent. "Has Your Majesty come today to discuss mortal affairs again?"
Xiang Guang hurriedly nodded and explained everything, from Zhen Xu's death and the Tyrant Dragon Army's destruction to the Qin Family's growing power. His tone was earnest.
"That Qin De is a treacherous wolf. Sooner or later, he'll rebel and bring chaos to the Chu Dynasty. I beg the two Immortals to act and eliminate this threat! Xiang Guang would be eternally grateful!"
He had fully expected that, given the Chu Dynasty's generations of service to them, the two Immortals would agree to help.
But Wu Xing scoffed, his tone contemptuous.
"To cultivators like us, the rise and fall of mortal dynasties is no more than dust settling and rising. What does it matter to us whether your Chu Dynasty remains stable?"
Xiang Guang froze, then hurriedly said, "Immortal! Our Chu Dynasty has served you both for generations. We have never failed to provide spirit medicines, spirit stones, rare treasures..."
"That was in the past. And we had an agreement with your ancestor: we would act only when your Xiang Family faced a crisis." Wu De cut him off, his gaze cool. "Now you want us to attack the Eastern Suppressing Prince Mansion. That's no small matter. The Qin Family has considerable power in secret. I hear that besides that old Feng Yuzi, there are traces of other cultivators among them."
Wu Xing chimed in, his blunt words painfully sharp.
"If you want us to act, we can."
"Offer us something good enough to tempt us. Spirit medicines, cultivation techniques, spirit stones, or a treasure that can help my brother and me break through to the next realm."
"Otherwise—"
He raised his eyes to Xiang Guang, the corner of his mouth curling in disdain.
"We won't involve ourselves in mortal conflicts."
Those words left Xiang Guang speechless.
He looked at the two Immortals' cold expressions. Fury burned inside him, but he dared not let it show.
He could not get help from the Immortals, and his ancestor would not wake.
Standing in the elegant courtyard, Xiang Guang felt a profound sense of helplessness swallow him whole.
In the face of true cultivators, the wrath of an emperor was so insignificant! How tragic! How lamentable!