Yan Ruyu

Blood battle on the long street; the smoke and dust had yet to settle.

Illusion Zenith Sovereign's Shadow Doppelganger was steadily forced back under the pincer attack of two fourth-rank masters.

Jin San's Embroidered Spring Blade suddenly erupted with a dragon-like cry. Its blade light tore through the sky like a bolt of silk, severing Illusion Zenith Sovereign's left arm cleanly at the shoulder!

Blood gushed forth like a fountain, staining half the street's bluestone slabs red.

"Urgh—!"

Illusion Zenith Sovereign gave a muffled groan, his face turning pale as paper in an instant, yet he forcibly swallowed back his cry of pain.

His right hand curled into a claw, black qi coiling around his fingers as he shot toward Flying Eagle's throat with lightning speed!

Flying Eagle gave a sinister smile. His Judge's Brush traced several afterimages through the air, striking precisely at the vital point on his wrist.

With a crack, bone splintered, and Illusion Zenith Sovereign's wrist twisted grotesquely out of shape like a withered branch.

"Illusion Zenith Sovereign, the overall situation has been decided." Jin San sheathed his blade, the scabbard and guard striking together with a clear chime.

This towering figure of the demonic path knelt on one knee. Blood still gurgled from his severed arm, yet he stubbornly raised his head, monstrous fury blazing in his eyes. "Today's humiliation... I will repay it a hundredfold someday..."

Flying Eagle gently stroked the blood staining his Judge's Brush and shrieked, "Take him away! I shall personally attend to this Heavenly Sovereign!"

The instant Illusion Zenith Sovereign was escorted into the heavenly prison, a cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out in Li Chen Zhou's mind—

"Ding! Mission complete! Reward issued: Heaven-rank martial skill—Wind God Kick (Three Absolutes Old Man's secret transmission)!"

In an instant, countless profound truths of martial arts surged into his sea of consciousness like a tidal wave. Li Chen Zhou felt as though hurricanes were howling through the meridians in his legs, every acupoint madly drawing in and expelling the world's primordial qi!

With a slight shift of thought, his figure actually left streak after streak of afterimages where he stood.

"Boom!"

A footprint three inches deep suddenly appeared on a bluestone screen wall thirty yards away. Spiderweb-like cracks spread outward from it.

"This speed..." Li Chen Zhou stared at his own legs, a sharp gleam flaring in his eyes. "It's more than three times faster than before! If I were to fight Illusion Zenith Sovereign again..."

Before he could finish, another system prompt sounded:

"Ding—Time-limited mission issued: Purge Heavenly Desire Palace's hidden operatives!

For every leader captured, reward: one year of pure cultivation!"

Within the void, a three-dimensional map of the Capital City slowly unfolded. Dozens of scarlet points flickered like the eyes of venomous serpents—the various hidden strongholds where Heavenly Desire Palace lurked!

Li Chen Zhou slowly tightened his five fingers around the hilt of the Blood Demon Blade. A faint hum came from within its scabbard. "In this hunt... it is time to switch hunters."

Third watch, West Market Gambling House.

"Bang!"

The nanmu doors shattered at the sound. Li Chen Zhou slipped inside like a ghost. Before the Heavenly Desire Palace leaders holding a secret discussion could see who had come, a streak of blood-red blade light had already pierced their throats!

"The first."

First watch of the Chou hour, rouge shop in the southern city.

The still-charming proprietress swayed forward with a water-snake waist. "Young master, we have just received some rouge from Jiangnan..."

A cold gleam flashed. The icy edge of the Blood Demon Blade was already pressed against her snow-white chin. "Save Heavenly Desire Palace's 'Alluring Bone Fragrance' for use on the road to the Yellow Springs."

Beginning of the noon hour, teahouse in the northern city.

The storyteller's gavel had just fallen when the lattice window of a private room silently shattered. Three Heavenly Desire Palace spies disguised as traveling merchants froze at the same time, a cinnabar-like point of blood slowly seeping from each of their brows.

In a single day, six hidden strongholds in the Capital City were uprooted, and more than twenty leaders were all put to death!

When the last leader was escorted into the Imperial Prison, Li Chen Zhou's true qi was already surging endlessly like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.

The infusion of twenty years of pure cultivation made every acupoint across his body shimmer with a faint radiance.

Heavenly Desire Palace, Cold Jade Secret Chamber.

The heavy black iron stone doors slowly opened, and a snow-white figure stepped out through the frigid mist.

Her gauze skirts moved without wind, her jade-like face capable of toppling kingdoms yet cold as frost—it was none other than Heavenly Desire Palace's master, Yan Ruyu, who had been in secluded cultivation for years!

"Welcome the Palace Master out of seclusion!"

Yan Ruyu's gaze swept over the kneeling crowd, and her delicate brows drew together slightly. "Where are the Left and Right Protectors?"

The chief elder of affairs tremblingly presented a secret letter.

At the touch of her slender jade fingers, the letter instantly turned into ice crystals and fell with a soft rustle.

"Fools!" As her wide sleeves flew, the entire hall's floor froze beneath an inch-thick layer of frost. "Who gave them the nerve to rashly move against the court's hawks and hounds?!"

After a long silence, her crimson lips parted. "Prepare the sedan chair. We are going to the Nangong residence."

Nangong residence, Listening Fragrance Waterside Pavilion.

Nangong Yue bowed gracefully. "This disciple pays respects to Master."

Yan Ruyu gave a slight nod. "Introduce me to your father. I have important matters to discuss with him."

A short while later, inside the study.

Nangong Wentian, clad in a purple robe and jade belt, was splashing ink and wielding his brush. Seeing Yan Ruyu enter, his brushstrokes remained as fluid as drifting clouds and flowing water. "Palace Master Yan, I trust you have been well."

Yan Ruyu looked straight into his deep eyes. "Prime Minister, Heavenly Desire Palace is willing to cede three spiritual mines beyond the frontier in exchange for the court showing us mercy."

Nangong Wentian set down his wolf-hair brush. On the xuan paper, the ink-dripping character for "game" pressed through to the back.

He shook his head with a light laugh. "Not enough."

"...Add the upper volume of the Heavenly Desire Sutra."

"Still not enough."

Yan Ruyu's jade face turned abruptly cold. "The court should not push people too far."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Nangong Wentian looked out the window. "Palace Master Yan, why ask when you already know... His Majesty has been waiting for you in the Hall of Purple Radiance for quite some time."

A withered leaf drifted onto the inkstone. In the ripples spreading through the ink, a sky full of dark clouds was reflected.

The midnight watch drum had just sounded when Yan Ruyu's eight-bearer sedan chair silently stopped outside the West Flower Gate.

Moonlight flowed like water, making her plain white gauze dress gleam with an icy luster.

When the Golden Guards at the gate saw the cold plum blossom pattern embroidered upon the sedan curtain, they immediately bowed and stepped aside, as though they had long received secret orders.

"Palace Master, we have arrived," the elderly maid accompanying her said softly.

Yan Ruyu lightly stroked her temple, her fingertips lingering briefly over the crystal hairpin amid her hair.

Three drops of Mortal World Intoxication were hidden within that hairpin, a strange poison secretly passed down by Heavenly Desire Palace—and also a priceless treasure.

She took a deep breath. As her lotus steps shifted lightly, a thin frost actually formed across the bluestone slabs beneath her skirts.

Before the Hall of Purple Radiance, the eunuch in charge of the lamps had long since dismissed everyone else.

When the vermilion-lacquered palace doors slowly opened, they stirred a draft that made the candles within flicker uncertainly.

The figure on the dragon throne was concealed in shadow. Only a jade thumb ring on his finger could be seen, giving off a faint glow.

"This concubine pays respects to Your Majesty." As Yan Ruyu bowed, she deliberately added a touch more softness and seduction to her voice.

She knew well that this "young" emperor despised being called "Long Live."

"Rise, my beloved official." The emperor's voice carried a trace of teasing amusement. "I recall that at the martial arts assembly three years ago, Palace Master Yan had not even been willing to spare this 'yellow-mouthed child' a proper glance."

Yan Ruyu walked forward slowly, yet the pendants at her waist did not make the faintest sound. "Your Majesty jests. Back then, this concubine had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. I did not know a true dragon stood before me."

As she spoke, a gilded sachet slipped from her sleeve.

With a flick of her slender finger, a wisp of pink smoke rose in curling strands, taking the shape of twin lotus blossoms in the hall.

The emperor's gaze shifted slightly, only to see the lotus blossoms suddenly scatter into sparks that filled the sky, making Yan Ruyu's brows and eyes appear even more alluring.

"What a splendid move, 'Prairie Fire.'" The emperor clapped and laughed softly. "It seems Palace Master Yan has come with sincerity tonight."

"Your Majesty sees clearly." Yan Ruyu suddenly dropped to her knees, presenting a scroll of sheepskin with her pale hands. "The defense map of the three northern desert provinces, along with..." She bit her lip. "The complete incantation of the Heavenly Desire Sutra."

The emperor did not take it. Instead, he bent down and pinched her chin. Yan Ruyu's entire body stiffened at the gesture—over the past twenty years, no one had ever dared treat her with such disrespect.

"These..." The emperor's thumb brushed across her lips. "Hold no interest for me."