Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Lord Mingjiang obviously guessed something. He had an expression of disbelief. “Is it your corpse in the coffin?”
Zhang Ruochen was clearly standing across from him. Saying those words felt a bit strange.
Zhang Ruochen’s five fingers grasped the coffin lid tightly. Thinking of how Chi Yao had killed him back then, his heart still hurt.
“Twelfth Uncle,” he asked. “Where was I buried when I died?”
Lord Mingjiang sighed. “It is quite regretful. After you died, the imperial court was all fighting for the throne. Endless battles erupted. It was truly bloody and everyone was in danger. When I went to check your corpse three days later…it was already gone.”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes hardened. He looked back at the coffin. Pushing strongly, the lid flew off instantly. It landed on the ground with a thud.
The two looked over at the same time.
Empty.
1
“How is this possible?”
Zhang Ruochen reached a hand into the coffin. He didn’t discover any spells or formations. It was indeed empty.
Lord Mingjiang was also confused. “It is already strange for a coffin to appear in the royal shrine. It is even odder that it has words left behind by my brother. But why is it empty?”
There were too many suspicious points.
Each point was hard to understand.
First, it was impossible for a coffin to appear in the royal shrine.
Second, Emperor Ming’s words shouldn’t appear on the coffin.
Third, if Emperor Ming had gone through the trouble to place it here, it shouldn’t be empty.
These three things were impossible, but they had all happened.
“There’s blood.”
Zhang Ruochen discovered some bloodstains on the bottom of the coffin. It was evident that there had once been a corpse here. However, the corpse was moved later.
Zhang Ruochen and Lord Mingjiang both fell silent, thinking carefully.
“What happened back then is getting more and more confusing,” Lord Mingjiang said. “I cannot understand it.”
“Whatever. Let’s do the task at hand first!”
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they’d become extremely sharp. “We must move the royal shrine and cemetery into the Universe World. We cannot keep them in the Royal Capital. Twelfth Uncle, I will hand this to you. I’ll have the Guarding Dragon Pavilion help you.”
A vast migration was happening secretly. Millions of cultivators were hurrying to the Royal Capital from all over, streaming into the Universe World.
What was the most important thing to a world?
Without a doubt, civilians were the most important.
Neither martial artists, Saints, nor gods were born out of thin air. They were born among billions of civilians.
Civilians were the soil. Without them, the Universe World would never become a strong world—a world that could counter Kunlun’s Field.
Right now, the thing Zhang Ruochen lacked the most was people.
When the next morning came, the 12 Buddha pearls hovering around the Royal Capital had disappeared. At the same time, all the old followers of the Sacred had vanished as if having evaporated from the world.
News of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion being conquered and Heavenly King Lingxiao getting killed spread out with the fastest speed. It shocked the world.
“It must be fake! How can this happen?”
“Heavenly King Lingxiao was killed? Haha, that’s so funny. Who spread that rumor?”
“With the Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion’s abilities and the imperial court, they can sweep through the entire southeast of the central region. Who can fight them?”
In the beginning, no one believed the news. But as more information came, the details of the shocking battle were also exposed. All the forces sank into dead silence.
They had to admit the truth. Last night, Zhang Ruochen had led the old followers of the Sacred to conquer the Royal Capital. They defeated the Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion and were horribly powerful.
Demonic Sect Headquarters
The Saints of the Mu Family all turned pale from fear after receiving news from their branch in the Royal Capital.
The Saint Leader gasped. “Heavenly King Lingxiao and Blue Moon Ancestor actually both died… Who of the Sacred could kill them?”
“I heard it’s the legendary Guarding Dragon Pavilion.”
Mu Lingxi’s father, Yun Zheng, was a bit pale. “Zhang Ruochen is completely fearless when acting. He doesn’t care about the consequences. Now, he has such a powerful force under him. On the seventh of next month, there will probably be a cruel battle at Peakless Mountain too.”
“Why should we fear him? If Zhang Ruochen truly dares to come to Peakless Mountain, we won’t have to act at all. Naturally, the Fire Tribe will fight him. The Fire Tribe might be able to repress the Sacred.”
…
In the Saintess Palace, Qi Feiyu also told Lin Suxian this news.
Lin Suxian’s eyes narrowed slightly as she laughed. “Powerful. As expected of the Crown Prince. Powerful and courageous, haha. Now, Shi Qianjue will definitely pay greatly on the seventh of the next month. Good, good.”
“Will Zhang Ruochen really dare to come to Peakless Mountain?” Qi Feiyu asked.
“Zhang Ruochen even dares to destroy the Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion,” Lin Suxian said coldly. “What in the world does he not dare to do? With this battle, he can sit firmly on the throne as the Crown Prince!
“Plus, with the prestige from this battle, there will definitely be even more old followers of the Sacred on the coming seventh.
“Now, I’m curious what Shi Qianjue’s expression will be like after he learns of this. Will he regret giving Mu Lingxi to Qiu Yu? Zhang Ruochen isn’t like Luo Xu, stupid enough to go to Peakless Mountain alone on a suicide mission. Zhang Ruochen controls millions of soldiers. With one command, he can summon the entire world. The people in the sect must be feeling pressured now!”
…
The cultivators in Central Emperor City were also shocked. Every official in all six departments of the imperial court was shocked.
One lord of the royal family was incredibly furious. “What is this? How did we not receive any news when something so major happened? Is someone secretly helping that Crown Prince, suppressing the news to destroy the Chi Family?”
“Right now, the person sitting on the throne is the Crown Prince’s ex-wife,” someone said deliberately. “Even if she helps the Crown Prince secretly, it’s still logical.”
“She’s only a Saint, but she actually holds all the authority in Kunlun’s Field. If the Empress hadn’t issued the divine law to listen to her, I would’ve cut her down long ago.”
…
In the Yuanchu Saint Palace, Huang Yanchen saw the communication rune from the Saint Lady. She also heard the voices of the royal lords and Heavenly Kings outside the palace. Involuntarily biting her lips, she said, “He… Does he want to overturn the world? Doesn’t he know that going against the imperial court will only end in death?”
The Saint Lady could understand Huang Yanchen’s current emotions. She was actually frightened when she had just received the news too.
After destroying the Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion, he’d undeniably angered the imperial court. With the abilities and heritage accumulated through the centuries, no matter how many strong cultivators the Sacred had, they still couldn’t fend off the imperial court.
Plus, he’d killed so many elders and lords of the royal family. How could the Empress let him go free when she returned?
“I just received news that Zhang Ruochen didn’t reestablish the empire in the Royal Capital,” the Saint Lady said. “Instead, he brought the old followers into a place called the Universe World. There are even rumors that the Divine Sky-connecting Tree is there. Of course, we still can’t verify this.”
Huang Yanchen worked to straighten her back. She didn’t break down from this news. “Such a major event happened, but the Heaven and Earth Chessboard didn’t give any warning,” she said seriously. “If we’d discovered it beforehand, we might have been able to stop him. He wouldn’t have gone completely to the other side, becoming enemies with the entire Kunlun’s Field.”
“Someone used unparalleled techniques to conceal it,” the Saint Lady said. “That is why the Heaven and Earth Chessboard didn’t sense anything. This person has very strong Spiritual Power, even surpassing that of the Immortal Pavilion’s lord. Even I cannot guess how such a terrifying figure appeared in Kunlun’s Field.”
“Then what should we do?” Huang Yanchen asked. “Even if Zhang Ruochen goes into hiding, he’ll still appear on the seventh of next month. The royal family, the Heavenly Kings of the Ministry of War, the officials of the Confucius Way… How could the imperial court let him go? Do I really have to lead the imperial court’s army to personally kill him?”
The Saint Lady sighed deeply. “Before the Empress left, her first order was for the entire imperial court to listen to you. The other orders were all after that. Thus, the decision lies in your hands. Perhaps, the Empress already understood some things and guessed this day would come. She’s purposely testing you.”
The Saint Lady left the Yuanchu Palace, leaving Huang Yanchen alone in the empty palace.
Walking out of Ziwei Palace, the Saint Lady wore a Confucian robe. She looked like a handsome and beautiful scholar. She walked toward the Qinghong Pavilion.
The Saint Lady had met Zhang Ruochen here one year before.
The environment here was quiet and clean. Many green bamboo shoots were planted here. Compared to the loud outside world, it was like a different world here.
She didn’t stop until she came to a peach tree deep within the pavilion.
Whoosh!
The Saint Lady took another step. Ripples of water appeared at her foot. Then she passed through the water ripples and entered a strange world.
Right now, there was also a peach tree before her.
However, this tree was huge. The trunk was miles wide and it reached into the clouds. One couldn’t even see how tall it was. It might even reach outer space.
“Grandpa, the outside world is completely upended. The Empress isn’t here. Won’t you go out and do something?” The Saint Lady put her hands together and bowed deeply to the tree before her eyes.
An ancient voice sounded, traveling throughout the space. “It’s just a group of juniors play fighting. I have lived for thousands of years. Wouldn’t it be laughable if I went to care about these small matters? Plus, my responsibility is to guard the new World Spiritual Root of Kunlun’s Field, the peach tree. Everything else is up to you all. Eight hundred years. It has been 800 years. It is time for some figures to be born from you juniors to hold up the sky independently.”
