409: Chapter 409 The Retired Emperor

"You and Qingxuan, stay behind me for now."

Leng Bingyan was stunned for a moment, then broke into a smile.

"Then, Husband, don't kill him; leave him for me."

Lin Xiao nodded and stepped toward the altar.

Xiao Qingxuan and Leng Bingyan followed behind the man, watching as the Moon Worship Cult members who tried to stop them were sent flying by a domineering force, as if he were entering an uninhabited territory.

At this time, General Leng Duo was locked in a fierce battle with the two Great Venerables, Wind and Earth. Although neither had reached the realm of a Grandmaster, both possessed unique skills.

Earth Venerable possessed infinite strength, while Wind Venerable's chain scimitar was unpredictable, preventing General Leng Duo from breaking the deadlock immediately.

As the battle reached its peak, several inconspicuous black lines suddenly slithered across the ground.

They were several poisonous snakes, controlled by someone, intending to launch a sneak attack on General Leng Duo!

General Leng Duo sensed the danger, retreated, and swung his sword downward, severing the three snakes that had lunged at him.

But at that very moment, Earth Venerable took advantage of the opening and smashed his twin hammers down in succession!

"Clang!"

General Leng Duo blocked the first hammer with his blade, his arm going numb from the shock, but the second hammer was already inches away!

Just as General Leng Duo was about to be heavily injured, a large hand suddenly intervened forcefully, catching the massive hammer with a single hand!

"Prince!?"

General Leng Duo looked at Lin Xiao beside him, still shaken.

He couldn't believe someone could so easily withstand several hundred catties of weight with one hand!?

Lin Xiao's physical strength and cultivation not only shocked General Leng Duo but also struck terror into Earth Venerable!

Was this man made of iron!?

A strong sense of crisis made Earth Venerable instinctively want to retreat.

But Lin Xiao gave him no chance. Taking advantage of his momentary daze, a bolt of sword qi descended from the sky, piercing through Earth Venerable's skull!

Seeing the giant Earth Venerable fall, the remaining Wind Venerable showed a look of terror.

Realizing he was no match, Wind Venerable immediately turned and fled.

"Puff!"

A bolt of sword qi directly pierced Wind Venerable's leg!

Wind Venerable screamed, falling to the ground. Driven by desperation, he threw his chain scimitar at Lin Xiao.

But before the scimitar could even get close to Lin Xiao, it was reflected back by a burst of true qi, stabbing deeply into Wind Venerable's abdomen!

"Aow!—"

Lin Xiao did not stop; three more bolts of sword qi followed, piercing Wind Venerable's body without taking his life.

Wind Venerable, in agonizing pain, spat blood and screamed, reaching out toward the golden mask on the platform for help:

"Cult Leader... Cult Leader... quickly bestow your divine grace..."

But the Golden-Masked Cult Leader just stood there, motionless and indifferent.

Leng Bingyan had long been impatient; she stepped forward and stomped on Wind Venerable's only remaining good hand.

"Speak! Was it you who killed General Tong Yu and the others!?"

A look of disdain filled Wind Venerable's hideous face: "What if it was? You're just a loser I defeated. If it weren't for someone helping you, you—"

Leng Bingyan didn't care to listen any further and decapitated Wind Venerable with a single sword strike.

Seeing both Great Venerables killed, the situation turned sharply for the worse, and the Moon Worship Cult members panicked.

"The two Venerables are dead! Run!!"

"The Moon God will send down divine punishment! Let's get out of here!"

A mob of rabble found excuses to flee, and their defeat spread like a collapsing mountain.

But General Leng Duo naturally wouldn't miss this chance to strike a falling dog. He shouted, "General Ma Chuang, General Zhang Tao, lead the men and kill all these scum!!"

"Yes, General!"

General Ma, General Zhang, and the Black Dragon Cavalry warriors had had enough. They immediately took the opportunity to pursue the enemy and avenge General Tong Yu and the others.

General Leng Duo himself strode onto the altar, his eyes full of rage as he pointed his sword at the Golden-Masked Cult Leader.

"Take off the mask!"

The Golden-Masked Cult Leader did not comply. Instead, he suddenly began to tremble violently, and a puddle of foul-smelling liquid dripped down from below.

General Leng Duo frowned and flicked the mask off with his sword, revealing a wretched, pale face.

It was actually a miserable old man, so terrified he couldn't move?

"You're not the Leader of the Moon Worship Cult?"

General Leng Duo realized that no wonder this guy had been so "calm" just now—he was scared witless!

Lin Xiao wasn't surprised at all. He had checked the old man's information while on the cliff and knew he was a fake.

So he hadn't planned on wasting time and had brought the Black Dragon Cavalry to sweep through quickly.

"I... I'm just the Cult Leader's body double. I was only following his orders."

The old man said tremblingly, "General, please spare me. I was forced into this..."

General Leng Duo gnashed his teeth: "Dammit... Then where is the real Leader of the Moon Worship Cult?! Where is he keeping His Majesty!?"

"His Majesty!?"

Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan's eyes showed surprise. "General, what did you say!?"

General Leng Duo turned back and sighed. "Your Majesty, to tell you the truth, I entered this trap because your father, the Retired Emperor, is in the hands of the Moon Worship Cult!"

Xiao Qingxuan looked incredulous. "That... how is that possible? I was with Father before he passed away, and I personally saw him buried in the Western Shu Imperial Tombs..."

"I didn't believe it at first either, but that Leader of the Moon Worship Cult has the Retired Emperor's handwritten letter, stamped with the Imperial Seal! It says the Retired Emperor is cooperating with the Moon Worship Cult and has provided supplies for our Black Dragon Cavalry."

"He also wanted me to lead the Black Dragon Cavalry to join the Moon Worship Cult first. When the Great Gan falls into internal chaos, we would choose the right time to reclaim the lands of Western Shu!"

Saying this, General Leng Duo took out a piece of paper and handed it to Xiao Qingxuan.

"Your Majesty, you will surely recognize the handwriting and the seal on this..."

Xiao Qingxuan hurriedly took it and looked. Her beautiful face was instantly filled with surprise, confusion, and worry...

"It really is Father's handwriting and the Imperial Seal... but Father clearly..."

"Qingxuan, I remember you saying the Heirloom Seal of the Realm was lost?"

Leng Bingyan asked in surprise, "Could it have been taken by the Moon Worship Cult?"

Xiao Qingxuan shook her head blankly. "I... I don't know... It was so chaotic then. I lost track of the seal in the blink of an eye."

"Whether it's the Retired Emperor or the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, I cannot sit idly by."

General Leng Duo said with a furrowed brow, "I didn't dare tell the brothers of the Black Dragon Cavalry because I was afraid any mishap might harm the Retired Emperor."

"No wonder. I was wondering why Father would submit to the Moon Worship Cult. To think such a thing happened," Leng Bingyan said, feeling a chill.

A thought flashed through Lin Xiao's mind: Could it be the Drug-Man Art?

Of course, given the various strange techniques and martial arts in this world, faking death wasn't difficult.

Especially since Xiao Qingxuan hadn't practiced martial arts before, it would have been easy to deceive her.

One possibility was that the former Emperor of Western Shu felt the situation was hopeless and simply faked his death to escape like a cicada shedding its skin.

After all, Xiao Qingxuan hadn't been in power for long before being overthrown, showing that Western Shu had already been thoroughly infiltrated at that time.

"Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind—the Four Great Venerables. There are only the two weaker ones here, Earth and Wind."

Lin Xiao mused, "From the looks of it, the Great Venerables of Water and Fire should be by the side of the real Leader of the Moon Worship Cult."

"Does Husband mean... to continue searching for the real Leader of the Moon Worship Cult?" Xiao Qingxuan asked, snapping back to reality.

"Of course. If we stop here, wouldn't that be exactly what the Leader of the Moon Worship Cult wants?"

Lin Xiao didn't want to leave mysteries for the future. Right now, nothing was more important than destroying the Moon Worship Cult.

That person behind the scenes was meticulous and treacherous. Such an enemy could not be left alive!

"Before, there were only three of us, and we still found this place. Now with General Leng's Black Dragon Cavalry, are we still afraid of not finding the true stronghold of the Moon Worship Cult?"

"Besides, there are so many Moon Worship Cult members here..."

General Leng Duo realized and shouted loudly, "Brothers! Leave some alive! Don't kill them all!!"