The Memory-River Spirit Jade's radiance faded, and Su Mo and Prince Ying's consciousness returned to reality.
Silence...
Silence blanketed the space before the hall...
No one knew what Prince Ying had seen within the Memory-River Spirit Jade.
They saw only that Prince Ying was trembling all over, tears already streaming down his face...
Oppression...
Even the red sun hanging high in the east could not dispel the unbearably oppressive atmosphere before the hall.
Prince Ying's hair hung loose and disheveled. His expression gradually shifted from grief to madness, his tangled locks swaying slightly with his trembling body.
"They... they only wanted to go home... they only wanted to go home... that was all..." Prince Ying slowly turned his head and looked expressionlessly at Liu Cheng and his son, Liu Feng, beside him.
Everyone's expression changed!
Liu Cheng's entire body tensed, but he said nothing!
There was no need. Prince Ying's family had only recently arrived in the Imperial City, and few people knew his daughter. As soon as news of her disappearance broke, he had known that his men must have mistakenly abducted her and taken her beneath the dense forest in West City.
But all he could do was conceal that fact!
And now, Liu Cheng did not know exactly what Prince Ying had seen within Su Mo's Memory-River Spirit Jade, making it difficult to offer an explanation.
He signaled to a trusted aide with his eyes, and the official stepped forward to address Prince Ying:
"Prince Ying, no conclusion has yet been reached. We must await His Majesty's investigation into the truth. You will certainly receive an explanation for what happened to Princess Tong."
Prince Ying turned toward the official who had spoken, his gaze chilling. In a low, hoarse voice, he asked, "So you knew all along?"
The man's expression changed drastically!
"Only I didn't know... only I didn't know..."
Had he known, he would have turned the Capital City upside down long ago!
"Hahahaha! You all knew! Only I didn't know..." Prince Ying lowered his head, his shoulders shaking and his long hair spilling loose. A savage aura rose relentlessly, like a ferocious beast slowly awakening.
The spiritual power before the hall instantly grew turbulent and restless!
That aura pressed down on everyone until they could barely breathe. The official's face turned deathly pale, and he forced himself to shout urgently, "Prince Ying, this is merely Su Mo's one-sided account! This man is deceiving the masses with malicious lies, intent on shaking our nation's foundations! He has no evidence proving that anyone present is involved. Please do not believe his lies!"
"Heh..." Su Mo slowly began to laugh, the sound grating on the ears.
At that moment, Su Mo and Prince Ying were like two raging flames upon a storm-tossed sea, seeking to overturn this filthy, murky dead sea and bring it to a boil.
"Deceiving the masses... no evidence..." Su Mo's laughter subsided. He lowered his head, his thoughts unreadable.
"I do indeed have no evidence... but..." Su Mo raised his hand and pointed at Liu Feng, who was still trying to calm his surging blood.
"He does!"
The official glared at Su Mo. "What do you mean by this? You pointed your accusations straight at Liu Feng, yet now you claim that he has evidence! Do you expect Liu Feng to admit his own involvement?"
Su Mo shook his head and said gravely, "There's no need for him to admit it."
"He still carries the aura of the blood pill refined from those thousands of lives. He hasn't fully assimilated it yet... he only needs to circulate his spiritual power... and Prince Ying will be able to sense it!"
At those words, everyone's expression changed drastically.
Liu Feng's face turned utterly pale in an instant, and at last, Liu Cheng's expression changed as well.
No further proof was needed. Everyone understood.
The Liu Household had actually relied on its own affairs to commit such deeds, provoking the wrath of heaven and men alike!
Unforgivable!
Upon his sacred throne, the emperor stared coldly at Liu Cheng and Liu Feng and spoke in a chilling voice. "Liu Cheng, do you have anything else to say? I... am giving you a chance!"
"Heh..." At that moment, Liu Cheng finally stopped concealing the truth. Instead, he laughed.
Utterly brazen!
"What happened to Princess Tong was indeed an accident, but the others were nothing more than lowborn vermin. To serve as stepping stones for my son's rise was the greatest honor of their lives!"
Lowborn vermin...
Lowborn vermin again...
As expected, in their eyes, mortal lives are worth no more than weeds... Su Mo closed his eyes, anger rising in his heart.
The officials' faces were livid!
Among them were men of integrity and resolve, and they stared at the rampant Liu Cheng in fury.
"As long as you admit it. As long as you admit it!" Prince Ying laughed like a man possessed, remembering his Tongtong, who had longed so desperately to return home even after death, remembering her pitiful, frightened face.
Golden light blazed, and spiritual energy surged violently. Prince Ying stood unmoved by the wind at the center of that raging tide. A long spear radiating piercing cold flew from a streak of golden light between his brows and took solid form in midair.
Clang!
The cold spear struck the ground, its tip plunging deep into the earth before Prince Ying.
The spear's radiance alone unleashed a wave of spiritual energy as it landed. Everyone retreated, instantly clearing a vast space before the hall.
For some unknown reason, black mist appeared of its own accord before Su Mo, dissolving the cold spear's spiritual wave.
Liu Cheng swept out his hand and blocked the wave, staring at Prince Ying with a livid face.
Only four men remained in the cleared space: Su Mo and Prince Ying, facing Liu Cheng and Liu Feng from afar!
The Holy King Spear!
"The Holy King Spear! It's actually Mount Sumeru's Holy King Spear!" someone exclaimed.
"Why is the Holy King Spear in Prince Ying's hands?"
"The Holy King Spear has appeared... chaos is coming..."
At the sight of the Holy King Spear, Liu Cheng finally lost his composure and shouted, "Prince Ying, what happened to Princess Tong was truly an accident. I will compensate you."
"My son, Liu Feng, is about to enter the Holy Sect and become a disciple of its Third Elder. I hope you will think carefully before you act!"
Everyone present was stunned by those words!
The Holy Sect!
Liu Feng was actually going to join the Holy Sect!
The Holy Sect, the Dao Sect, and the Demon Sect stood at the head of all sects beneath heaven.
These three sects possessed strength unrivaled in the world, towering above all people. The world could only worship them, never profane them.
The Dao Sect primarily cultivated the Mysterious Dao, pursuing the profound mysteries of Dao Arts.
The Demon Sect primarily cultivated the Heart Dao, seeking to let the Dao move with the heart!
The Holy Sect primarily cultivated the Celestial Person Path, seeking to ascend to heaven as human beings!
Thus, the shock of the Holy Sect emerging into the world was no less than that of a nation's destruction!
And Liu Feng was actually going to join the Holy Sect, becoming a disciple of its Third Elder...
The officials' faces turned pale. Before the lofty Holy Sect, helplessness flooded their entire bodies.
Silence instantly descended over the gathering once more...
Seeing everyone fall silent, Liu Cheng raised his head proudly.
This... was his trump card!
The Holy Sect! It was certainly not something a mere Great Hua could afford to provoke. Once Liu Feng reached entering the Dao, he would have nothing to fear, even if everything came to light!
Just then, Prince Ying began to laugh, wild and volatile!
"The Holy Sect!"
"Hahahaha..." Prince Ying's hand gently closed around the Holy King Spear before him. His palm rubbed along its shaft as he raised his head toward Liu Cheng, boundless killing intent filling his blood-red eyes. "So you used my beloved daughter to refine a blood pill and pave the way for your son?"
Seeing Prince Ying's strange expression, Liu Cheng frowned.
"What happened to Princess Tong was only an accident. Surely my Liu Household can compensate Prince Ying?"
"Compensate?"
"Hahahaha..." Prince Ying laughed wildly without stopping. "You speak of compensation?"
"Then... compensate me with the heads of your entire Liu Household!"
Liu Cheng's expression changed drastically, and he shouted, "My son will be a disciple of the Holy Sect! Prince Ying, don't bring ruin upon yourself!"
Prince Ying gave no further answer. He tightened his grip on the Holy King Spear and slowly pulled it from the ground!
The Holy King Spear trembled slightly, cold light flashing brilliantly. Two streaks of golden radiance rushed straight toward its tip, like a divine weapon that could pierce the heavens.
The wind rose...
The clouds stirred...
A long song began...
Holding up the Holy King Spear, Prince Ying looked at Liu Cheng and his son, two glistening tears falling from his grief-stricken eyes.
The rain fell...
The sea surged...
The Holy King wept...
Before you continue