Even without her warning, Zu An had already sensed the fatal threat of danger. All his fine hairs were standing on end.
He saw a streak of cold light flash towards him.He could almost see the reaper’s scythe descending upon him, mere millimeters from his neck.
Terrified, he immediately used Grandgale to blink away. Only then did he realize that the streak of light was a small and exquisite sword.
A flying sword?
He had always been dazzled when he saw or read about sword cultivators fighting in movies and novels, but right now, he loathed these flying swords that he had never faced before, because it was out to kill him.
He intentionally chose not to blink backwards, but chose a direction perpendicular to the sword’s path. He was afraid that the sword would merely continue its forward trajectory and hit him anyway. There was no way he could have known that the sword could turn in midair.
Damn it! Does it have some sort of homing system? Is it a damned missile? This is bullshit!
Without hesitation, he used his Sunflower Phantasm. On the brink of death, he split into four clones that took off in four different directions.
The flying sword somehow continued to pursue his true self, ignoring the three other clones.
Zu An could scarcely believe what he was seeing.
He quickly summoned Snow Phoenix to try and slow down the flying sword.
The instant Snow Phoenix was summoned, everything within several zhang turned into a frozen wonderland. The flying sword was instantly covered in a layer of frost.
However, it only seemed to halt for an instant before flying straight through the frozen domain and right towards him.
Zu An used Grandgale three times in succession. He was sweating buckets. Somehow, this flying sword was moving as quickly as his instantaneous movement skill. The flying sword would reach him nearly the instant he landed, forcing him to use Grandgale again.
He knew that there was no way he could use Grandgale endlessly. He had only been able to use it so often because he had absorbed Mosquito Daoist’s cultivation, which greatly increased his strength.
Even after dodging a few times, though, the sword still continued to pursue him relentlessly.
His mind quickly sprung into action, seeking a solution. Even the guided missiles of his past had to rely on infrared or radar. What is this flying sword using to lock onto me?
Wait a minute. Guided missiles require data about their target in order to track it down, whether it be heat signatures or other information. Could I confuse this flying sword by changing my own data?
When it came to cultivators, what made each one stand out from the rest? Their auras, of course!
Once a cultivator reached a certain level of cultivation, they did not need to rely on their sight. They could tell who their opponent was purely through their aura. Everyone’s aura was different. No matter how similar they were, there would still be minor differences. Of course, one could change one’s aura through certain methods. For example, the tokens carried by the Embroidered Envoy could hide and change one’s aura, so that no one would be able to tell their true identities.
He immediately used his Mirror Mirage skill, which Qiu Honglei had taught him. His aura completely vanished, turning himself into any ordinary mortal.
“Hm?”
A surprised exclamation came from somewhere in the air, seemingly belonging to a woman. With his life hanging by a thread, however, Zu An was in no mood to appreciate the beauty of this voice.
His entire body was plastered against a wall, his back covered in sweat. The flying sword had stabbed itself into the wall as well, missing his neck by an inch.
The entire imperial palace was fortified using formations, especially this eastern palace, which was a place of utmost importance. The formations were strong enough to absorb the full-powered strikes of high-level cultivators without suffering damage, by distributing the force throughout the entire palace.
Yet somehow, this sword had managed to penetrate straight through this fortified wall, all the way up to the hilt. It would have been horrific if this sword had made contact with his flesh.
This sequence of events happened almost within a blink of an eye.
Qiu Honglei did not even have time to plead for her master to show leniency.
Everyone in the eastern palace witnessed this scene. The assassins grew inspired, and their attacks became even more ferocious.
Those defending the crown prince cursed, mightily confused. Why hadn’t His Majesty made an appearance, considering all the chaos that was going on? They saw no sign of Zhuxie Chixin either!
At this moment, Zu An saw a graceful figure dash towards the crown prince. Even though she wore a black veil, with her black hair flowing behind her like a waterfall, he could tell, even from behind her, that she was an exceptional beauty.
Was she the one that had attacked him earlier?
Zu An shivered. Hmph, I’ll definitely return the favor one day.
A strange thought popped into his head when he noticed that her hair reached almost past her buttocks. Does she have to roll up her hair first every time she uses the bathroom?
The woman had already reached the crown prince. The crown princess’ maid, Rong Mo, rushed forward to meet her, a thin needle in hand, leaving behind a strange afterimage.
The assassin stretched out a single finger, and Rong Mo was blown backwards like a bag of sand before anyone could tell what had happened. No one knew if she was still alive.
The crown princess’ charming face lost its color. However, she still raised her sword to confront the woman in front of her.
From off to the side came a furious roar. “Scoundrel! You dare?!”
A figure flew forward like an artillery shell, interposing himself between the crown princess and her opponent and exchanging a blow with the latter.
The woman flipped through the air gracefully, landing on the branch of a willow tree nearby. These soft willow branches would have been set into violent motion by the slightest breeze, yet this woman stood on one of them as if it was level ground.
The figure who had rushed in staggered, his face unnaturally red. However, he quickly suppressed it.
Zu An finally got a good glimpse of him. It was a white haired elder with sharp brows and a straight back, with a hint of unruliness to his bearing. He had surely been wooed by countless women when he was younger.
Huh? Why does this elder seem slightly familiar?
The crown princess’ greeting resolved his confusion. “Thank you, great Minister of War, for your assistance.”
Zu An was immediately enlightened. This was Shi Kun’s father, one of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s Eight Dukes and Minister of War, Shi Miao! He was a master rank expert!
The father and son were both rather sinister.
His son had just lost his life because of the crown princess, and yet, Shi Miao was here, saving her life. Did he truly not feel anything?
Shi Miao was disgusted by this situation. He felt so awful that he wanted to throw up blood.
He had only just heard that something had happened to his son, and rushed to the palace for more information, only to learn that Shi Kun had died due to massive blood loss.
He consulted the hospital’s personnel about the details, and found out that his son had been playing with knives behind a door when the crown princess slammed it open, causing one of the blades to embed itself in his crotch.
He had flown into an absolute rage. If it had been anyone else, he would have beaten them to death in order to avenge his son. However, there was nothing he could do when it came to the crown princess.
He was a man of high status, and the Shi clan was an outstanding clan, so there was no way he would submit to this humiliation. He had decided to storm the eastern palace and demand an explanation. At the very least, he wanted them to hand over Zu An, who had been competing with his son.
He never expected that he would run straight into an attack on the eastern palace.
He stepped in instinctively to stop the assassin, but regretted his decision almost immediately. What the hell is wrong with me? Couldn’t I have stepped in a second later, and let this assassin take care of the crown prince and princess first? I just had to come in and save the one who killed my son! His inner turmoil really made him want to vomit blood.
“You are too kind, crown princess. This subject is merely doing his duty,” Shi Miao said expressionlessly. He turned towards the woman standing on the willow branch. “All masters are renowned figures. May I ask who you are? Do you know that publicly attacking the crown prince is an offense punishable by the eradication of your clan up to the ninth generation?”
Even though he looked calm on the surface, his thoughts were a mess. The previous exchange showed that he was at a massive disadvantage. This person’s cultivation was above his own. Furthermore, this person was a woman. Who exactly is she?
