Come Die by My Hand, the Emperor Dies at Zhongnan?

[Tonight's matter has ended. You do not need to appear for the purification fast three days from now. After that, you can begin devoting yourself to cultivation.]

[Your will is firm. The path of Dao cultivation is not the work of a single day; it requires perseverance.]

[Just as you were preparing to return to your cultivation site, you made a decision...]

1. Return to the Tomb of the Living Dead.

2. Stay where you are.

3. Go up the mountain.

As the light screen above the cauldron flowed out, it reflected three choices.

Yu Ke was stunned. Returning to cultivate had actually triggered a choice.

Every choice had always concerned something important. Each time he looked back, it had been about matters of vital importance.

This time, going back to cultivate had actually triggered a choice.

Could there be danger?

Yu Ke recalled Tuoba Hongyan's warning back then: "Walk down Mount Zhongnan alive!"

Could it really be that a grandmaster was hidden on Mount Zhongnan?

In this world, grandmasters were transcendent existences!

"Shit, they've come to kill me at home."

Yu Ke looked at the three choices and silently thought them over.

1. Return to the Tomb of the Living Dead.

If this really had something to do with him, the Tomb of the Living Dead was where he often stayed. It was very likely to have become the "scene of the crime."

No way!

The first choice was ruled out.

2. Stay where you are.

It seemed like a good choice, but there was still potential risk.

After all, he was alone right now.

3. Go up the mountain.

The summit of Mount Zhongnan was currently the safest place. It was heavily guarded, with several masters protecting it, and his master Liu Jinchan was there as well.

Yet it was also rather dangerous.

"The safest place is also the most dangerous place."

If a grandmaster had gone up the mountain, and it was not for him, Lu Chen, then it was probably for the emperor of Great Qing.

The risk was fifty-fifty.

The second and third choices left him somewhat torn.

Yu Ke ultimately decided to choose 3. Go up the mountain.

The risks of the two choices were about the same, but the third at least left him a way out.

If he stayed where he was, with Lu Chen's current abilities, facing an unknown "grandmaster"...

There was only one road: death.

Following your choice.

[You began climbing the mountain, enjoying the rare moonlight along the way.]

In the Daoist temple at the mountaintop.

Huang Dao struggled to rise with difficulty. His Confucian robe had already been soaked through with mottled bloodstains, a shocking sight.

He looked toward Xie Mu!

The corners of his mouth barely squeezed out a trace of a smile, but as soon as he opened his mouth, fresh red blood spilled out, looking especially terrifying.

"You saved me again!"

After Xie Mu heard this, he felt his whole body go numb.

He wailed inwardly. A ghost that refused to scatter!

Ma Bao's face was full of resentment and unwillingness.

He had clearly been only one step away from getting rid of Huang Dao, this great thorn in his heart.

Now, all his efforts had fallen short at the last moment.

Huang Dao's eyes were sharp as he stared straight at Ma Bao. He extended one finger, wisps of spiritual energy coiling around the fingertip like tiny silver snakes dancing.

He slowly spoke, his voice weak yet carrying an unquestionable force: "The emperor. Where is he?"

"I will ask only once."

The spiritual energy in Huang Dao's hand gathered more and more densely.

Ma Bao did not answer. With a cold laugh, he simply closed his eyes.

Seeing this, Xie Mu hurriedly said, "Spare him this once. He... can be considered a man of feeling and loyalty."

Huang Dao's gaze turned to Xie Mu.

Xie Mu's heart tightened. He was so afraid he did not dare look again.

"Fine. I'll spare his life. Help me over. I'll find him myself."

Ma Bao's eyes filled with urgency. Without Lu Yu, there was probably no one on all of Mount Zhongnan who could restrain Huang Dao.

Xie Mu sighed and helplessly supported the already extremely weak Huang Dao.

In his heart, he was rather curious.

Why was this demon so obsessed with killing the emperor?

However, right now Xie Mu had no attention to spare for anything else!

He had already been dragged into a towering, heaven-surging wave and could no longer get out.

Damn it!

That night at the tavern, he should have found a few sweet-smelling young ladies and chatted about romance under the moonlight, ideals of home and nation, and the eighteen martial arts, then matched lengths under the quilt.

Then this young master would never have run into Huang Dao.

A white-robed monk with an evil air between his brows.

He stepped through the moonlight and slowly arrived at the Tomb of the Living Dead on Mount Zhongnan.

Withered Wood had asked around in many places and had long known that Lu Chen often lived here in seclusion.

"Hmph, it is a good place to live."

His gaze was obscure, hiding endless anger and hatred.

Treasure Tree had been his only disciple, his only blood relative in this world.

Treasure Tree had represented Great Snow Mountain in aiding North Wind, yet he had died for reasons unknown.

Back then!

If he had not sensed the revival of spiritual energy and been eager to break through his realm, he would not have failed to descend the mountain to avenge his disciple.

He had allowed Lu Chen to roam free in the world for ten extra years.

That had truly been far too easy on him.

What a pity!

Great Qing and North Wind were far apart, and Lu Chen's reputation was quite great.

Otherwise, Withered Wood would have brought him back to Great Snow Mountain and kept him penned up, letting disciples who favored the male wind humiliate him as they pleased, leaving him unable to live, unable to die, like a pig or a dog.

Withered Wood only found it somewhat strange!

Back then, his disciple had also been in the master realm, yet he had died for reasons unknown.

However!

Though martial masters were strong, they could not withstand thousands of troops and horses.

A master was only worth three hundred armored soldiers.

On the battlefield of two nations at war, even a grandmaster would find it difficult to change the course of battle.

If two armies drew up their formations, even a grandmaster would be worn down alive until death.

Unless one stood above grandmaster and knocked open the gate of the innate.

Withered Wood could not help thinking of the Demon Master Huang Dao, whose realm had been unclear when he had just encountered him.

This Demon Master was mysterious and unpredictable, his actions strange and difficult to fathom.

He always felt that Huang Dao's arrival here to slay the dragon must be hiding some unspeakable purpose behind it.

It seemed he had to deal with Lu Chen quickly, then go to the mountaintop to take a look.

Just then!

A whistling sound of wind tearing through the air came from behind him, interrupting his thoughts.

Withered Wood turned to look.

He saw!

Not far away, a figure was rushing over at a speed beyond common understanding.

Seeing this, Withered Wood's eyes narrowed.

The newcomer wore a Daoist robe, clearly a Daoist of the Three Truths Sect.

And this aura!

"The grandmaster realm."

Since when had grandmasters become so common? Tonight on Mount Zhongnan, he had already seen two.

This person had clearly come with ill intent.

"No, how is this possible!"

Withered Wood cried in shock. How could he be so fast!

That figure seemed to have discovered him, and his speed abruptly increased once more.

He had already drawn out a straight streak of white light.

In three or four breaths, that figure was already close at hand.

Withered Wood felt a wild gale hit him in the face. He saw the Daoist robe billowing in the wind, the Daoist's beard and hair flying.

A pair of fists grew larger and larger in his eyes.

A furious roar rang by his ear: "Come die by my hand!"

[You were walking toward the mountaintop when you encountered your master, Liu Jinchan.]

[His face was brimming with joy, clearly because the Son of Heaven had personally come to Zhongnan this time, and he was the one in full charge of accompanying him.]

[The Son of Heaven praised him greatly and even promised to build a Three Truths Sect Daoist temple in the capital, with all required expenses to be borne by the national treasury.]

[Promoting the Three-in-One Sect was his lifelong wish.]

[The emperor needed to rest at this moment and had the beauties of the harem to accompany him, so Liu Jinchan descended from the mountaintop.]

[In these past few years, the development of the Three Truths Sect had made him constantly wonder whether the patriarch had manifested his spirit. Every day, he smiled so broadly he could not close his mouth.]

[When Liu Jinchan looked at you, a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes. With your personality, you should have returned to the Tomb of the Living Dead long ago to continue cultivating.]

[So you told Liu Jinchan the deduction you had just made: there might be a grandmaster on Mount Zhongnan, and tonight would not be peaceful.]

[After Liu Jinchan heard this, his expression immediately turned solemn.]

[If the emperor died on Zhongnan, there would likely be trouble!]

[Considering that there was currently only one grandmaster on Mount Zhongnan, Lu Yu, we master and disciple decided to go look for Lu Yu at once.]

[You deduced that Lu Yu might be in the Tomb of the Living Dead.]

[Sometimes, when the mountain was lively, Lu Yu would go hide in the tomb for some peace and quiet.]

[Today's Mount Zhongnan was indeed extraordinarily lively.]