Fire in Stone, Body in Dream; A Night of Killing (Please Keep Reading, Hitting the Highway

[Amid the crowd's dissatisfaction, this farce finally died out.]

[The empress said with no small meaning, "Junior Guardian, those words were rather severe."]

[The matter was lifted high, then set down lightly.]

[Some felt it was not worth it for Xie Lingxuan.]

[Others looked at you and said in low voices, "When heaven wants a man destroyed, it first drives him mad."]

[The sun quietly slipped past the zenith.]

[The blessing ceremony came to an end amid the simultaneous ringing of bells and beating of drums. For the next three days, the Son of Heaven would have to personally fast and pray within the Daoist temple on Mount Zhongnan.]

[Accompanied by several trusted ministers, the Son of Heaven continued on toward the Daoist temple at the summit.]

[The remaining officials would rest tonight in the traveling temples within the mountain and descend the next day.]

[The empress brought several favored concubines from the inner palace, preparing to climb the mountain together with Zhou Jinyu and meet up with the Son of Heaven, while those palace attendants who had not been chosen were escorted by the imperial guards back into that deep palace.]

[You raised your head and looked over, only to see the crowd part like flowing water, one stream going up the mountain in pursuit of the Son of Heaven, another going down.]

[Two streams of people, two kinds of fate.]

[The crowd surged, filled with the court's powerful and noble, and the matter of Xie Lingxuan spread without wings.]

[In particular, your line, "How could she be worthy of me, Lu Chen?" became the focus of everyone's heated discussion.]

[Since the matter involved Junior Guardian Lu, it became one of the amusing stories and topics of conversation from this trip to Mount Zhongnan.]

[A deeply devoted woman humiliated inevitably stirred a trace of pity in people's hearts.]

[In the blink of an eye, with someone deliberately embellishing the matter besides, Xie Lingxuan's name spread even farther and wider.]

[The crowd bustled, going up the mountain and down the mountain, their steps hurried.]

[Su Yue tugged at her cousin Xie Lingxuan and said, "Cousin, let's go. Someone like that doesn't deserve you treating him this way."]

["Arrogant and conceited, with no one in his eyes."]

["Just now, so many young masters and young ladies spoke up for you. Once we return to the capital, there will naturally be plenty of ways to make Lu Chen's name and reputation lie ruined."]

[Xie Lingxuan was slightly dazed.]

[She looked toward the person standing on the stone steps, hands tucked into his sleeves. The wind stirred your cuffs, and your expression was as light as the breeze and pale clouds.]

[You sensed Xie Lingxuan's gaze.]

[You smiled faintly at her, then continued raising your head to gaze at the leisurely blue sky.]

[For a moment.]

[She seemed to be of one mind with you.]

[Xie Lingxuan recalled the year General Wang Yang saw the Junior Guardian off in the capital, and the words you had spoken in the pavilion outside the city.]

["Floating fame and empty profit, vain suffering and wearying the spirit; a white colt flashing past a crack, fire in stone, a body in dream."]

[Xie Lingxuan said softly, "Those who know you say your heart is full of care; those who do not know you ask what it is you seek."]

Mount Zhongnan, night hung low.

At the summit, there were more than a dozen Daoist temples.

The starlight was quietly hidden by thick clouds, leaving behind a deep stretch of night.

A middle-aged scholar with slightly graying temples walked unhurriedly into this heavily guarded Daoist temple.

Behind the scholar followed a trembling young man.

These two were none other than the demon master Huang Dao and the noble clan young master Xie Mu.

Huang Dao smiled and said,

"They're all dead. What are you afraid of?"

The corners of Xie Mu's mouth twitched!

He turned back to look at the ground full of severed limbs and mangled flesh, and at the blood seeping out through the cracks of the door, flowing all over the ground.

The entire Daoist temple was dripping with blood.

In an instant, more than fifty people had died before his eyes, without a sound.

The stinking, fishy air burrowed into his lungs. He could no longer hold back; his stomach churned like rivers and seas overturning, rushing straight up to his throat.

"Blech!"

He vomited all over the ground.

Xie Mu was only a noble clan young master. He did not lack moments of swaggering violence, but he had never seen such a bloody scene.

Huang Dao was kind enough to bring him tea from the guest room of the Daoist temple, gently patting his back and smoothing his breath.

Huang Dao comforted him,

"Normal. The first time I saw a corpse, I was just as excited as you!"

Xie Mu asked in confusion, "You vomited too?"

Huang Dao smiled and said, "I was excited. Didn't sleep the whole night."

Xie Mu did not know how to answer. Looking at Huang Dao's concerned face, his heart was full of lingering fear.

He did not know what method Huang Dao had used, only that he had lightly tapped with a finger.

The tall guards who had just been wearing armor were, in the blink of an eye, sliced into several pieces and scattered across the ground.

Huang Dao saw the youth's curiosity and said,

"Do you want to learn? I can teach you."

"It's actually very simple. You just make spiritual energy into threads."

Xie Mu hurriedly shook his head.

"N-no... need."

After hearing this, Huang Dao was indifferent.

He looked outside the room, frowned, and said,

"This emperor is rather cautious. To think he isn't in the main hall. These people died for nothing... Forget it, they're already killed."

The people living in this room had all been the concubines of the inner palace. The current emperor was not there.

Huang Dao strolled as if wandering through a quiet courtyard, continuing toward another Daoist residence.

Xie Mu could only follow close behind, his heart trembling and his courage shaking.

Just then.

A burst of movement came over, as if someone had entered through the side door.

Xie Mu nervously hid behind Huang Dao.

Only to see!

A sinisterly charming monk in white slowly walked in.

His face was cold and stern, and his eyes revealed an indescribable evil air.

Huang Dao, however, smiled, seeming not the least bit surprised.

"I sensed a presence following behind me. So it was you, old monk."

"Why have you come from Great Snow Mountain to Great Qing?"

The white-robed monk was Chan Master Withered Wood of Great Snow Mountain, wearing a white kasaya.

Just now, outside the Daoist temple, he had sensed a thick reek of blood, and one of the auras within it was especially obscure and hard to discern. Curious, he had decided to come investigate.

He had not expected to encounter Great Qing's demon master, Huang Dao.

Chan Master Withered Wood pressed his palms together and chanted the Buddha's name.

"Amitabha!"

His voice was compassionate and solemn. "Demon master, your killing intent is still so heavy. These women were all innocent people. Why implicate them?"

Huang Dao smiled and said,

"Oh? What guidance does the old monk have?"

Xie Mu's eyes lit up. Could this be an eminent monk of the righteous path? Perhaps he was saved.

Chan Master Withered Wood shook his head and said,

"This old monk merely feels it a pity for their primordial yin."

When Xie Mu heard this, his vision went black. Jackals from the same lair.

Two devils had come to Mount Zhongnan tonight.

This was greatly not good!

Withered Wood stared at Huang Dao and said in a deep voice,

"Demon master, what realm has your cultivation reached now?"

The corners of Huang Dao's mouth lifted in a smile. He stood with his hands behind his back and said,

"Old monk, why not come test it yourself?"

Withered Wood pressed his palms together and fell silent for a moment before saying,

"This old monk does not dare."

"Demon master, you have already mastered the demonic sect's supreme mental art, Dao Heart Demon Seed."

He sighed and continued,

"This old monk is advanced in years and grows ever more cautious and careful."

"This old monk came for revenge. Originally, I intended to slaughter the entire Three Truths Sect. Since the demon master is here, I will only take the heads of the two Lu Chen brothers."

"Demon master, you will not take offense, I trust."

Huang Dao nodded faintly and said calmly,

"So long as it does not involve that emperor, the life and death of all others is as you please."

With that, the white-robed monk turned and left.

When Xie Mu heard these words, anxiety immediately surged in his heart.

This white-robed demon monk actually wanted to kill Junior Guardian Lu. What was to be done now?

The white-robed monk had just left.

Huang Dao seemed to sense something and waited calmly and leisurely.

Before long!

Seven figures appeared once more.

Led by two Great Qing martial grandmasters, among the seven was the seal-holding eunuch Ma Bao.

The seven of them had come to Mount Zhongnan on this journey to protect the current Son of Heaven.

The seven looked at the corpses strewn across the ground before them, their brows tightly furrowed, an ominous premonition rising in their hearts.

When they once again saw the middle-aged man's face clearly, all seven of their expressions changed drastically, and they cried out in alarm,

"Demon master!"

There will be another chapter tonight, my lords, you must take a look, please keep reading.

And thank you all for your support!

Tuesday is another day that decides life and death. Reading follow-up that day is very important.