Chapter 107
"Thank you, Uncle-Master!"
Luo Rong and Cheng Wen, eager to get started, bid farewell to Elder Xuanjian, intending to hone their cultivation before the secret realm opened, striving to perform exceptionally well and impress the Sect Master.
126. Mysterious and Evil Cultivation; <The Star Transformation Scripture>
The capital of the Great Xia Dynasty.
After much hesitation, the Second Prince finally returned to the Wu'an King's Residence the day before the grand competition.
In the main hall, King Wu'an was handling miscellaneous tasks.
The butler approached and bowed, saying:
"Your Highness, the Second Prince has arrived and says he wishes to see you."
Upon hearing this, King Wu'an grinned, "This lad is quite composed; he only came to pay his respects to me when the competition was about to begin."
"But no matter which day he comes, it will be too late!"
Since he sent his only granddaughter, Xu Xiuer, to Princess Ziwei's residence, it meant that he had completely sided with the princess and openly broken with the Second Prince.
The Second Prince clearly understood this as well.
But almost a week has passed since that day.
The fact that the Second Prince only came to see him at this time makes his purpose quite difficult to guess.
"Surely it's not to persuade me to support him again?"
King Wu'an originally intended not to see him, but after pondering for a moment, he slowly spoke:
"Go and invite him over. Keep a close eye on him on the way, don't let him do anything underhanded."
"Yes!"
Upon hearing this, the steward respectfully withdrew.
A short while later, the steward brought the Second Prince into the hall.
The Second Prince was still dressed in a magnificent golden robe, looking elegant and refined, but his face showed a hint of dejection, clearly indicating that these days had not been easy for him.
Upon seeing the Second Prince enter, King Wu'an remained seated behind his desk, not even glancing at him.
Seeing this, the Second Prince clenched his fist in his sleeve, filled with resentment.
How could he, the dignified Second Prince, have fallen to such a state? How could he possibly swallow this insult!
And all of this was caused by Princess Ziwei!
King Wu'an, since you disregard familial ties, don't blame him for being heartless!
Thinking of this, the Second Prince took a deep breath, suppressing the hatred in his heart, and forced a smile, saying respectfully:
"Grandson greets Grand-uncle! It's been many days since we last met, grandson pays his respects to Grand-uncle!"
Upon hearing this, King Wu'an finally raised his eyes, glanced at the respectful Second Prince, sneered inwardly, and said indifferently:
"Stop pretending. Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?"
"You simply want me to help you win the competition."
"However, I tell you, Princess Ziwei's talent is unparalleled, far surpassing your mediocre abilities. Out of consideration for our grandfather-granddaughter relationship, I advise you to surrender to the princess and submit to her as soon as possible, lest you die an unjust death!"
The Second Prince's expression changed slightly. He knew that this trip was destined to be fruitless, but he did not expect that the King Wu'an would state his position so directly.
This left him almost no [$]
Seeing the change in the Second Prince's expression, King Wu'an continued:
"If you are willing to surrender, I can speak to the princess and spare your life, allowing you to leave the Great Xia."
After saying this, the Second Prince's expression did not change in the slightest.
King Wu'an frowned slightly.
"What? This is the best result you can get. If you are unwilling to leave Great Xia, your existence will be like a thorn stuck in the flesh, never putting the princess at ease."
"You should think carefully about what I have to say, and give me an answer before sunset today."
The words had barely left his mouth.
The Second Prince remained unresponsive.
King Wu'an originally thought that, given the Second Prince's personality, upon hearing such conditions, he would either endure the humiliation and agree, or storm off in anger.
But to his surprise, the Second Prince remained extremely calm, even with a hint of eerie smile in his expression, which sent chills down his spine.
Upon seeing this scene, King Wu'an suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
He remained calm and composed, circulating his spiritual energy, ready to deal with any unexpected events that might occur.
At that very moment.
The Second Prince suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with melancholy and eeriness.
This laughter sent a sudden chill down King Wu'an's spine.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
"Why are you laughing?"
King Wu'an's expression changed drastically. He wasn't foolish enough to think that the Second Prince had gone mad because he saw no hope for the future.
The Second Prince's sudden strange behavior must mean something terrible is about to happen.
It was at this time that...
Suddenly, dark veins bulged on the Second Prince's handsome face, like venomous snakes seeping into his skin and wriggling around, which was extremely terrifying.
Upon seeing this, King Wu'an felt a chill run down his spine, his hair stood on end, and his spiritual energy suddenly faltered. He instinctively struck out with his palm, and a powerful force surged from his hand, instantly condensing into a giant azure palm, which slammed down fiercely towards the Second Prince.
The giant cyan palm contained overwhelming power, revealing the might of the Divine Sea Ninth Level Realm. With this palm strike, King Wu'an directly used all his strength, intending to kill the strange entity within the Second Prince's body in one blow!
Upon seeing this, the Second Prince's eyes flashed with a ferocious glint. His eyes turned bloodshot, and a sinister smile appeared on his lips. His gaze towards the King Wu'an was filled with cruel and bloodthirsty light as he said viciously:
"King Wu'an, do you still think I'm that little child you can summon and dismiss at will?!"
"Over the years, I have had enough of you. Today, I will use your blood to forge my path to becoming emperor!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
The Second Prince suddenly spread his arms wide, as if his flesh and blood were being torn apart. His arms exploded, and countless pieces of flesh and bone flew out, transforming into a pair of blood wings that attached themselves to his shoulders.
With a flap of its fleshy wings, a bloody wind blade appeared out of thin air and slammed into the giant blue palm.
With a loud bang, the giant azure hand collapsed, shattering into countless fragments that scattered across the ground.
The Second Prince's blood-red wings continued to spin and hover in mid-air, dripping with blood, a terrifying and horrifying sight.
Upon seeing this, King Wu'an's pupils contracted, and a look of shock and horror flashed in his eyes.
"You are... an evil cultivator!"
At this moment, the Second Prince's entire body seemed to be rotting, oozing terrifying pus and blood that dripped continuously onto the ground.
Every drop of filthy blood could carve a small crater in the bluestone floor.
"Your cultivation is inadequate, yet you can serve as my remote avatar."
The Second Prince spoke again, but the voice that came out was not his own.
The sound was shrill and hoarse, as if it came from the depths of hell, utterly terrifying.
Upon hearing this, King Wu'an's pupils constricted sharply, his face filled with disbelief.
"This is..."
Before he could react...
The Second Prince suddenly opened his mouth wide, and the upper half of his head split open like a flipper, from which a cloud of black mist shot out like lightning and instantly entered the body of the King Wu'an.
The dark mist entered the body of King Wu'an face contorted in agony. He let out a scream, and his body instantly became shriveled, skin and bones. His muscles rapidly atrophied, and fine lines appeared on his skin, making him look like a pile of rotting flesh.
The commotion inside the room caught the butler's attention. He walked to the door and asked in a low voice:
"Your Highness, is there anything you need?"
A calm yet authoritative voice emanated from inside the room.
"It's nothing, don't disturb me."
Upon hearing the familiar voice, the steward looked puzzled. He had clearly sensed a powerful surge of spiritual energy suddenly erupting from the prince's study.
Thinking that the Second Prince was inside, the steward couldn't help but remind him:
"Your Highness, the Second Prince is, after all, His Majesty's own son, and his status is extremely noble. You must be mindful of this!"
Inside the room, King Wu'an remained silent.
The Second Prince's voice came through, calm and composed.
"My uncle and I are discussing important matters. If the steward has anything else to attend to, please feel free to do so."
Upon hearing this, the steward's expression faltered slightly, and he immediately retreated respectfully outside the courtyard, not daring to say anything more.
He stepped out of the courtyard gate, a look of doubt in his eyes.
"Didn't Your Highness already send Miss to the Princess Mansion? Why is he having such a long talk with the Second Prince? Could it be that you're trying to put your eggs in two baskets?"
The butler pondered for a moment, but had no clue, so he went to attend to his own business.
Inside the study.
The Second Prince sat upright behind the desk, his face full of smugness.
On the guest seat next to him, King Wu'an had his eyes tightly closed, and the veins on his skin were bulging, as if countless small snakes were crawling all over him, making him look extremely ferocious and terrifying.
However, the Second Prince showed no fear whatsoever in the face of this scene; he didn't even blink, and even seemed slightly excited.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"King Wu'an, when you threw me aside, did you ever imagine this would be your fate?"
King Wu'an sat upright in his chair, his entire body devoid of any spiritual energy fluctuations, completely ignoring the Second Prince's words.
After a while...
The King Wu'an suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils flashing with a bloody and eerie light, as if reflecting a sea of blood with white bones piled up like mountains.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura burst forth from his body, even surpassing the limit of the Divine Sea Peak Realm, and rapidly advancing into the Spirit Seed Realm.
The Second Prince could even see a seed, only the size of a mung bean, shimmering with an eerie red light in the abdomen of the King Wu'an, yet radiating an extremely terrifying pressure.
Spirit Seed Realm!
The Second Prince's eyes gleamed with fervor and envy. He was willing to betray the Great Xia and join the evil cultivators not only because he wanted to defeat Princess Ziwei, but also because the evil cultivators promised him that they could help him quickly advance to the Spirit Seed Realm.
Such temptation was irresistible to him.
A moment later.
"King Wu'an... or rather, the evil cultivator who possessed King Wu'an spoke calmly, his voice exactly the same as the original. If one were not extremely familiar with him, one would certainly not be able to tell the difference at all."
"You have helped me seize this physical body; you have rendered meritorious service!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
With a flick of his sleeve, the evil cultivator sent a bloody chunk of flesh flying straight to the Second Prince.
"Eat it, and you will receive one of my cultivation techniques and some insights, which will help you win first place in tomorrow's competition."
Upon hearing this, the Second Prince looked at the piece of flesh oozing pus in front of him, and without hesitation stuffed it into his mouth, a satisfied expression on his face.
Ah! This is delicious!
During the time he was possessed by the evil cultivator, he was constantly influenced by the evil cultivator's power, to the point that his body was undergoing some subtle changes, which he himself could hardly perceive.
After swallowing the piece of meat, a long string of memories and insights suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Without hesitation, the Second Prince immediately sat down cross-legged and began to absorb the insights gained from the cultivation technique.