Yong Province, Wuyang Commandery.
Lin Changqing had just wiped out the last Demon Cult stronghold in Yong Province.
He sat atop Golden Radiance, holding a document that had just been rushed from the Capital City.
After reading it,
he casually handed the document to Su Wanqing beside him.
"As expected, he wasn't killed."
His tone was calm, without the slightest surprise.
The Crown Prince had colluded with the Demon Cult. By law, his entire clan should have been executed.
But that was someone else's clan—not the emperor's own.
No matter how iron-handed Su Gan was, he couldn't possibly send his own son to the execution grounds.
Besides, the Crown Prince had been heir for over a hundred years. The affection between father and son was real.
If Su Gan had truly wanted to depose him, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until now?
It was just that His Highness the Crown Prince had been too impatient, impatient enough to make the stupidest move possible.
Plotting a rebellion with the Holy Demon God Sect?
Was he trying to get himself killed?
If he'd waited patiently a few more years, that throne would have been his sooner or later.
Now there was no doubt he'd lost his position as Crown Prince. Being able to keep his life was already a blessing.
As for who would become Crown Prince next... Lin Changqing didn't care.
What he cared about was quickly wiping out every Demon Cult stronghold in the Fourteen Provinces of Great Yu, then happily collecting those ten Limit-Breaking Pills.
Su Wanqing took the document and read it, then fell silent for a long time.
Her expression was complicated, and her eyes reddened slightly. "How did my older brother... end up like this?"
Her voice was soft, tinged with sadness and confusion.
In her memory, her older brother, Su Mingyuan, had always been a gentle and courteous man.
When she was little, she often pestered him to take her to the Imperial Garden to fly kites.
Though he would say, "A young lady shouldn't be running around outside all the time," he always gave in to her in the end.
Whenever Father Emperor tested their studies and she couldn't answer, her older brother would secretly give her a hint with his eyes.
Yet this older brother, whom she had always thought so highly of, had secretly colluded with the Holy Demon God Sect.
He had betrayed the court's secrets and acted as an inside man for the demons.
He had even tried to join forces with the Demon Cult to rebel and take Father Emperor's place.
Lin Changqing said nothing. He only patted her shoulder gently.
He understood how she felt.
When the older brother you'd looked up to since childhood suddenly became a traitor who had colluded with the Demon Cult, anyone would feel awful.
"Let's go. On to the next place."
Lin Changqing patted Golden Radiance's neck.
Golden Radiance raised its head and let out a low growl, then soared into the sky on hooves wreathed in Golden Thunder.
Jing Province, Jiangling County.
Deep in an unremarkable alley in the western part of the city stood an ordinary-looking dye works.
The back courtyard was piled high with dye vats and bolts of cloth, and the pungent smell of dye hung in the air.
Several craftsmen in coarse, short jackets were busy in the yard. It looked no different from any other dye works in the city.
But no one knew that thirty zhang beneath this dye works lay a vast Underground Palace.
It was several times larger than the Underground Palace beneath the Capital Branch Sect, and its walls were covered in densely packed Demon Runes.
Dozens of cultists in dark red robes hurried back and forth, each wearing a grave and uneasy expression.
In a secret chamber deep within the Underground Palace,
an old man in a Dark Gold Robe sat on a stone chair, clutching an urgent intelligence report that had just arrived.
His face was gaunt, his eye sockets sunken, and a sinister glint flickered in his murky old eyes.
A coiling demon snake was embroidered on his Dark Gold Robe, its head pointed toward his chest.
He was the Great Yu Main Altar's High Archbishop of the Holy Demon God Sect, codenamed Black Dragon.
He was responsible for overseeing every Branch Sect within the Great Yu Dynasty, and ranked below only the sect's leader and several vice leaders.
Black Dragon's cultivation had reached the Late Martial Saint Stage. Across the entire Great Yu Dynasty, only a handful of people could face him head-on.
Yet now, this Late Martial Saint Stage powerhouse's face was livid, the veins on his forehead bulging.
The report in his hand contained only a few lines, but they were enough to make his whole body tremble.
"Crown Prince Su Mingyuan deposed, stripped of his title and reduced to commoner status, exiled to Jiao Province. All members of the Eastern Palace implicated in the Demon Cult have been executed..."
Black Dragon crumpled the report and slammed it to the ground.
A terrifying Saintly Might erupted from him.
Dark red demonic energy swept outward like a tangible force, crushing everything around it.
The stone table and chairs in the secret chamber cracked inch by inch, and the Demon Runes on the walls flashed wildly!
"The Crown Prince! That was the Crown Prince! The deepest-buried nail we had in the Imperial City, and the only piece we had left on the board!"
His voice was hoarse with rage, like a trapped beast driven into a corner.
"And just like that, he was pulled out! That damned Prince Wu'an removed him with ease!"
In a corner of the secret chamber,
a trusted subordinate in black robes knelt on the ground, trembling.
This subordinate was a guardian of the Great Yu Main Altar, with cultivation at the Eighth-Rank Grandmaster Peak.
He had followed Black Dragon for many years and had never seen the High Archbishop so furious.
Black Dragon abruptly rose and paced back and forth around the secret chamber.
"That old emperor is dead set on wiping us out. The Nationwide Purge is sweeping across the land."
"The Branch Sect strongholds in the provinces are being uprooted one after another, and countless cultists have been killed or wounded."
"Even the strongholds that haven't been discovered are now cowering underground, not daring to show their faces!"
"Before they were destroyed, the Branch Sects did cause the Great Yu's lackeys a little trouble here and there, but what good did it do? If this continues, there won't be a place left for our Holy Sect to stand anywhere in Great Yu!"
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He punched the stone wall.
His fist left a deep hollow in the wall, and crushed stone pattered down.
"This is all thanks to that Prince Wu'an!"
"If he hadn't appeared out of nowhere, how would the Capital Branch Sect have been destroyed? How would Red Python Sect Leader have fallen? How would the Flower Deity Festival plan have failed?"
"If he hadn't led those four Martial Saints around to wipe out our strongholds, how would the Branch Sects in every province have suffered such heavy losses?"
He ground out the name through clenched teeth.
"Lin Changqing... Prince Wu'an... Evergreen Saint Venerable..."
The guardian kneeling on the floor cautiously spoke up.
"Please calm your anger, High Archbishop. What matters now is deciding what we should do next."
He chose his words carefully, keeping his voice very low.
"This subordinate dares to suggest that we have three options."
"First, we continue lying low and scale back all our activities until the storm passes. Great Yu can't keep up this purge forever. As long as we hide deep enough, we'll eventually outlast them until they let their guard down."
"Second, we gather all our remaining strength and fight the Great Yu Dynasty. Let them know we're not to be trifled with, then withdraw from Great Yu amid the chaos. We'd suffer heavy losses, but at least we'd save some face."
"Third, we avoid their full force and withdraw all our remaining people and resources from Great Yu. Once things have quieted down, we can find a way to infiltrate again."
Black Dragon stopped pacing and fell silent.
The sinister light in his eyes flickered as he weighed the pros and cons.
The first option—continue lying low.
The entire realm was under strict scrutiny now, with the Demon Suppressing Division and garrisons searching every province and commandery.
The strongholds that hadn't been discovered were safe for the moment, but who knew when they might be found?
Besides, Prince Wu'an's spiritual sense was frighteningly sharp. Even the seals deep inside an Underground Palace couldn't block his perception.
The risk of lying low was too great.
The second option—gather their forces and fight head-on.
He let out a cold laugh. The idea had barely crossed his mind before he dismissed it.
Even if the strength of all the remaining Branch Sects were combined, it might look substantial, but compared to the behemoth that was the Great Yu Dynasty, it was still far too weak.
Besides, the other side had Prince Wu'an Lin Changqing—the Ninth-Rank Martial Saint Peak who had killed Red Python Martial Saint with a single sword strike.
He also had four guards at the Early Martial Saint Stage, as well as that Pureblood Qilin.
Taking the initiative would be no different from courting death.
Black Dragon was in the Late Martial Saint Stage, but Red Python had been a Martial Saint too, and he hadn't even withstood a single sword strike from Prince Wu'an. Black Dragon doubted he'd fare much better.
Black Dragon sat back down on the stone chair and lightly tapped the armrest with his fingers.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Notify the undiscovered strongholds in every province to destroy all documents at once, relocate their people, and withdraw from Great Yu in separate groups."
"Be quick and discreet. Don't alert Great Yu's lackeys. As long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood."
The guardian breathed a sigh of relief and bowed quickly.
"The High Archbishop is wise. I'll make the arrangements at once!"
"Wait."
Black Dragon suddenly raised a hand, a fierce gleam of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
The guardian immediately stopped and knelt again.
Black Dragon slowly rose to his feet, his Dark Gold Robe stirring without a breeze.
He walked to the other side of the secret chamber and removed a hidden panel from the wall. From inside, he took out a palm-sized Black Jade Talisman.
The talisman was covered in twisted Demon Runes and gave off a faintly chilling aura.
"High Archbishop, what are you...?"
Black Dragon gripped the Black Jade Talisman so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Our withdrawal has cost us men and left us badly weakened. If we slink away just like this, I won't be able to swallow my anger, and the Demon Saint will surely punish us."
"That Prince Wu'an Lin Changqing killed Red Python Sect Leader, destroyed the Capital Branch Sect, and ruined the Flower Deity Festival plan."
"Now he's forced us to withdraw from Great Yu and severed the roots of our Holy Sect... If I don't avenge this, I'll no longer deserve to call myself a man."
The guardian's expression changed at his words.
"You mean... you want revenge on Prince Wu'an?"
He hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
"High Archbishop, please think this through! Prince Wu'an is a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint Peak. Red Python Sect Leader couldn't withstand a single sword strike from him. Your cultivation is profound, but acting rashly would be far too dangerous!"
Black Dragon gave a cold laugh.
"Who said I was going after him personally?"
He lowered his eyes to the Black Jade Talisman in his hand, and his killing intent grew even stronger.
"Doesn't he have four guards at the Early Martial Saint Stage?"
"Those four are each stationed in a different province, scattered across Great Yu. That makes them the perfect targets."
"Since Prince Wu'an killed one of our Holy Sect's Martial Saints, I'll give him a taste of his own medicine!"
"Let him feel what it's like to have an arm severed right off!"
The guardian sucked in a sharp breath.
"High Archbishop, you intend to target those four Early Martial Saints?"
"But those four Martial Saints are each stationed in a different province, with Demon Suppressing Division agents and local garrisons around them. If we attack, it's bound to cause a major stir."
"Besides, they're all at the Early Martial Saint Stage. Although you're two minor realms above them, killing four Martial Saints in quick succession... won't be easy."
Black Dragon tossed the Black Jade Talisman into the air and caught it, his voice icy.
"I don't need to face all four at once."
He walked over to the enormous map hanging on one side of the main hall.
"Among the Four Symbols Holy Guards, Azure Dragon Guard Lin Long is stationed in Yu Province, White Tiger Guard Lin Hu in Xu Province, Vermilion Bird Guard Lin Que in Yan Province, and Black Tortoise Guard Lin Wu in Green Province."
"Each is stationed in a different region, far from the others."
"As a Late Martial Saint Stage expert, if I launch a sudden ambush on one of them, my chances of victory are quite good."
"If I can kill just one, I'll deal Prince Wu'an a heavy blow and show him that our Holy Sect isn't meat for anyone to carve up!"
The guardian hesitated, then asked, "Who do you plan to target first, High Archbishop?"
Black Dragon returned to the map and swept his gaze between the locations of Yu Province, Xu Province, Yan Province, and Green Province.
He was considering which of the Four Symbols Holy Guards was most likely to be isolated, and whose defenses were weakest.
A moment later, the corner of his mouth curled into a sinister smile.
"White Tiger Guard Lin Hu, in Xu Province."
"Of the Four Symbols Holy Guards, he has the most straightforward disposition. He's decisive and never drags his feet. But for that very reason, he's also the most likely to break away from the main force and act alone."
"Xu Province Governor Sun Tai has just been arrested, and the provincial government in Xu Province is in chaos. Lin Hu has to wipe out the strongholds and hold down Xu Province to stabilize the situation. He'll be stretched too thin."
"This is the moment when Xu Province's defenses are at their weakest."
The guardian asked cautiously, "When do you plan to make your move, High Archbishop?"
Black Dragon clenched the Black Jade Talisman in his palm.
"After all our people have withdrawn from Great Yu. If we act now, we'll alert them."
"Once everything had settled, I would personally make a trip to Xu Province."
His voice was so cold it sent a chill down the spine.
"I'll use that White Tiger Guard's life to put a full stop to our withdrawal from the Great Yu Dynasty."
"It will also give the main sect an answer, and let them know that Red Python Martial Saint's death won't go unavenged!"
The Protector fell silent for a moment, then bowed deeply.
"Understood. I'll make arrangements for the Branch Sects in each province to withdraw at once."
Black Dragon nodded, then turned to look at the enormous map of the Great Yu Dynasty hanging on the wall.
His gaze settled on Xu Province, and a chilling smile curled his lips.
Lin Hu, White Tiger Guard, early Ninth-tier Martial Saint.
Your life... I've already claimed it!
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