Tang Hao: No!!!

He straightened his posture, his tone shifting from casual to serious.

"Have Duke Spirit Cat lead one hundred thousand troops to stockpile at the border."

As Dai Mobai spoke, he tapped his finger lightly against the tabletop, as if placing a piece on a chessboard.

"The goal is not to start a war, but to create momentum. We must pin the Heaven Dou Empire's attention firmly on the front lines, making them believe we intend to launch a frontal assault."

"In this way, Heaven Dou's troops, provisions, and focus will all be nailed down to the area around Nuoding City."

He paused, tilting his head to look at Zhu Song.

"As for whether we follow up with an attack, Duke Spirit Cat only needs to wait for my signal."

"A signal?"

Curiosity flickered across Zhu Song's face as he leaned forward slightly.

"Your Highness, may I ask what the signal will be?"

The corners of Dai Mobai's mouth curled upward, his handsome face practically shouting that he was up to no good.

"Duke Spirit Cat will know what the signal is when the time comes."

Zhu Song was taken aback, then let out a dry chuckle.

His Crown Prince was perfect in every way, except for his love of keeping people in suspense.

Still, he never failed to deliver.

Thinking of this, he shook his head and stopped pressing for answers.

"Do as Mobai says."

Star Luo Emperor looked at Zhu Song, his voice steady and calm.

"As you command."

Zhu Song rose and bowed, his back straight and his expression solemn.

He took three steps back, then turned and pushed open the doors of the Imperial Study, striding out with long, purposeful steps.

In the corridor outside, golden sunlight flooded the bluestone floor, stretching his shadow long and thin.

Zhu Song's figure vanished at the end of the corridor, his footsteps fading until they could no longer be heard.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away.

After an entire night of relentless travel without rest, Tang Hao finally stood within that familiar valley.

His eyes were bloodshot and sunken, his unshaven face etched with the weariness of the journey.

He had galloped all the way from Suotuo City to Nuoding City, then exited the south gate and crossed countless mountain peaks, barely stopping to catch his breath.

The muscles in his legs trembled faintly, and the Soul Power surging through his meridians was more than half depleted, but he dared not stop—not for a single second.

He stood at the entrance of the valley, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.

His gaze swept over the scene; the surroundings had not changed much since he had first left.

The heart that had been lodged in Tang Hao's throat finally settled back down.

Thank goodness.

He let out a silent sigh of relief.

Although he had encountered many Soul Masters on the road—some lone cultivators, others mercenary groups in small squads—all of them were swarming toward Nuoding City.

But at the very least, they had not yet set foot here.

This valley was hidden deep within the mountains, shielded by layers of dense forest; it would not be discovered for some time.

There was still time; it was enough for him to relocate Ah Yin and the Soul Bone she had left behind.

He calculated this in his mind, yet his feet did not dare to pause for even a moment.

He took a deep breath and moved, launching himself toward the waterfall like a cannonball.

The water exploded outward, drenching him in icy spring water, but he didn't even notice. He passed through the curtain of water and landed steadily on the wet stone platform before the cliff face.

The moss underfoot was slick, and there were faint traces of someone having stepped there.

But Tang Hao was burning with anxiety and failed to notice these details.

He raised his eyes to look at the cliff face, at the stone door he had crafted with his own hands—

It was gone.

Only a pitch-black hole remained in the cliff, its edges jagged and broken stone scattered across the ground.

The stone door had been smashed open by brute force, with cracks radiating through the rock around the frame.

The opening stood wide, like a gaping mouth, mocking him in silence.

The blood in Tang Hao's veins turned cold in an instant.

He froze in place, his eyes locked onto that dark, hollow void.

A chill surged from the soles of his feet, crawling up his spine to the back of his head.

He could hear the sound of his own heartbeat—thump, thump, thump—each beat heavier and faster than the last.

The next second, he moved.

With a stiff body, he mechanically crawled into the cave entrance.

His footsteps were heavy, each one feeling as though he were trampling upon his own heart, yet they were also frantic, as he practically stumbled forward through the stone passage.

His heavy, ragged breathing echoed in the narrow, cramped stone tunnel. He covered the dozen-step distance in just two or three strides, and after rounding a corner, the passage suddenly opened up.

The stone chamber he had carved with his own hands appeared before his eyes.

Then, he saw the scene within the chamber clearly.

The Blue Silver Emperor seed, with its azure body and golden veins, was gone from the mound of earth.

In the center of the mound remained only a shallow depression with smooth edges; it had been gently lifted and taken away, root and all, not even a single root hair left behind.

The remaining half of the blood in Tang Hao's body turned ice-cold.

He stood frozen in place for a long time, like a stone statue, his very breathing brought to a standstill.

The stone chamber was terrifyingly quiet, save for a few tiny dust motes dancing silently within the pillar of light cast down from the skylight in the dome.

Then, his entire body suddenly shuddered, as if he had been violently yanked awake from a nightmare.

He spun around abruptly and strode to the stone wall.

His palm landed precisely on an inconspicuous protrusion on the wall, and he pressed down with force.

"Click—"

A crisp sound of a mechanism echoed through the stone chamber.

Tang Hao jerked his head up, looking toward the ceiling with bated breath.

That was where he kept the true hidden compartment for his spirit bones; the location was concealed and the mechanism ingenious. Even if an ordinary person turned the stone chamber upside down, they might not find it.

However, nothing happened.

The stone wall above remained motionless; no compartment popped out, and there was no change whatsoever.

Tang Hao refused to believe it.

He released his hand and pressed down heavily once more.

"Click—"

Still, nothing happened.

After that single sound of the mechanism, there was no follow-up.

Tang Hao's eyes began to turn bloodshot.

His large palms pressed against the protrusion again and again, his movements becoming increasingly rough and his force heavier.

"Click!"

"Click!"

Crumbled stone began to fall in a flurry from the cracks in the wall, the veins on his hands bulging, his knuckles turning white.

Then—

"Bang!"

In his carelessness, Tang Hao's broad palm smashed the protrusion on the stone wall directly into pieces.

Stone fragments flew, sharp shards slicing across the back of his hand as blood dripped down between his fingers.

The mechanism was completely destroyed, its remains clattering to the ground from between his fingers.

Gone! Everything was gone!

The seed that Ah Yin had transformed into after her sacrifice was missing, and even the most important spirit bones were gone.

"Hoo—hoo—"

Tang Hao's breathing grew heavier, his chest heaving violently, each breath he exhaled carrying a scorching heat.

In an instant, his entire body was shrouded in a layer of blood-red light—a light so thick and violent that it distorted the air for ten feet around him.

"No!!!"

His voice, wrapped in Soul Power, transformed into a tangible shockwave that spread madly in every direction.