52: Heavenly Killing Order

A crisp cracking sound exploded within the deathly silent, blood-colored great hall.

The thirtieth bronze soul lamp floating in mid-air shattered into powder without any warning.

The white-haired youth responsible for guarding the Soul Hall snapped his eyes open.

He wore pure white clothes without a speck of color, and even his eyelashes were snow-white; he looked like an ice sculpture.

Heavenly Kingdom Assassin, code name 'Three'.

A genuine Saint King.

"Number Thirty, extinguished."

The youth extended a pale finger and lightly pinched the swirling soul smoke.

A blurry image flickered at his fingertip.

Zichen Imperial Palace, a scene of blood and gore.

The man wearing star-patterned robes, who had just crushed a Saint's head underfoot, was flashing a cruel smile at the camera.

"In your next life, keep your eyes open."

The image came to an abrupt end.

"Su Xuanchen."

The youth spat out the name expressionlessly, his voice as cold as crushed ice.

"True Saint Continent, Su Family."

"Suspected remnant of the Taishi Sect, a hidden Saint King."

From the shadows deep within the hall came an ancient and majestic voice.

"Number Thirty's death is not worth pitying."

"But he held crucial intelligence for hunting the Ninth Princess."

"The Emperor is about to abdicate; everyone wants to sit in that chair."

The shadows surged as if an ancient behemoth were waking up.

"The 'protection period' for the various Imperial Princes and Princesses has passed."

"From today, the hunt begins."

"Negotiations with the Fentian Demon Palace are settled; they are determined to obtain that Saintess with the Heavenly Desire Divine Body."

"We shall join forces with them."

A jet-black dharma decree flew out from the shadows and landed in the white-haired youth's hand.

"Issue the order."

"Send 'Number Seven' to the True Saint Continent."

"The mission is twofold."

"One, cooperate with the Demon Palace to kill Su Xuanchen and destroy the Su Family."

"Two, take Ninth Princess Ji Lanxi's head and bring it back to the Imperial Court."

The white-haired youth gripped the decree, a bloodthirsty red light flashing in his eyes.

"If a Great Saint doesn't appear, who can stop a Saint King?"

"Number Seven is a lunatic."

...True Saint Continent, Su Family.

Inside Purple Heaven Palace, the Spiritual Qi was so dense it was almost impossible to disperse.

Su Xuanchen sat cross-legged on a warm jade bed, fiddling with the great yin ancient ring he had 'swiped' from An Wanrou.

It was rusty and appeared completely unremarkable.

But in his Divine Thought perception, the interior of the ring was a world of its own.

On a deathly silent ice field, a beautiful woman in a moon-white palace dress was sleeping inside an ice coffin.

Even if it was just a wisp of a remnant soul, the Imperial Might radiating with the vicissitudes of ages still made Su Xuanchen feel a pang of trepidation.

Ancient Heavenly Emperor's Imperial Consort, Chang Xiyue.

"Tsk, this is a hot potato."

Su Xuanchen rubbed his chin and turned to look beside him.

Gu Lingshuang was reclining on a soft couch, holding a plate of spirit fruits and eating with great relish.

Her belly was already frighteningly large.

It had been three years.

This Nezha in her belly... oh no, Qilin Son, had been carried for a full three years.

"Wife."

Su Xuanchen leaned over and handed a peeled grape to her lips.

"Help me out?"

"The remnant soul in this ring is quite interesting."

Gu Lingshuang glanced at the ring and curled her lips into a faint smile.

"great yin ancient ring?"

"Su Xuanchen, you have quite an appetite."

"Are the ones at home not enough for you to mess with?"

"Cough, cough!"

Su Xuanchen almost choked on his own saliva.

"What are you saying!"

"Am I that kind of person?"

"I'm doing this for the Family's foundation! To add another Female Emperor to the Su Family!"

"And..."

He rubbed his hands with a righteous expression.

"Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."

"Hypocrite."

Gu Lingshuang rolled her eyes but still extended a finger and lightly tapped the ring.

"Buzz!"

A complex and obscure golden rune instantly sank into Su Xuanchen's forehead.

«Emperor Soul Scripture».

"This is a secret technique of the Ancient Heavenly Court, specifically used to nourish and control Divine Souls."

"To wake her, your Spiritual Qi alone isn't enough."

Gu Lingshuang said nonchalantly while eating grapes:

"You still need a few things."

"Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass to reshape the three souls."

"Ten-thousand-year Soul-Nourishing Wood to stabilize the seven spirits."

"A drop of Major Achievement Sacred Body essence blood as a catalyst."

"And..."

She pointed to Su Xuanchen's chest.

"reincarnation divine water."

Su Xuanchen's mouth twitched.

The first two were manageable; although precious, they could be bought with enough money.

Major Achievement Sacred Body essence blood?

reincarnation divine water?

Where was he supposed to find those?

"Don't look at me."

Gu Lingshuang protected her belly with a wary look.

"My blood is too overbearing; this remnant soul can't take it."

"However..."

A sharp light flashed in her eyes.

"Next month, the Myriad Dao Immortal Alliance is holding a top-tier auction."

"I heard that among the finale items is the... corpse of a recently fallen Major Achievement Ancient Desolate Sacred Body."

Su Xuanchen's eyes lit up.

A corpse is perfect!

A corpse won't resist; it's just right for drawing blood!

"It seems I must go to the Myriad Dao Immortal Alliance."

...Time flows like water, and years pass silently.

In the blink of an eye, another two years passed.

During these two years, the True Saint Continent had not been peaceful.

In the direction of the Demon Suppressing Abyss, strange phenomena frequently occurred.

That legendary 'Great Sage Secret Realm' was like a beauty playing hard to get, occasionally revealing a corner of her skirt, making countless experts itch with anticipation.

The Secret Realm had opened twice.

Although it was only the periphery, many lucky people had already brought out Saint Weapons and Saint Medicines; someone even obtained a fragment of a Quasi-Emperor Scripture and soared from the Tongxuan Realm to the Yutian Realm overnight.

This caused the name 'Demon Suppressing Abyss' to completely ignite the entire Sacred Ruins Continent.

There were even rumors that the Imperial Court's Ninth Princess Ji Lanxi had been waiting outside the Demon Suppressing Abyss for two whole years.

She was waiting.

Waiting for the moment the Secret Realm opened for the third time—the opening of the core area.

Meanwhile, the Su Family had gone eerily silent amidst this wave of frenzy.

Tianyan City, Su Family back mountain.

The originally clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds.

"Rumble!"

Purple lightning shuttled through the clouds like wild dragons, and an atmosphere of extreme oppression enveloped a radius of a million miles.

This was not a Heavenly Tribulation.

This was a Phenomenon!

Outside Purple Heaven Palace, Su Xuanchen paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Even though he wouldn't flinch when facing a Saint King, a layer of fine sweat now covered his forehead.

"Not born yet?"

He turned to look at the tightly closed hall doors, his brow furrowed.

"Isn't this taking too long?"

"Old Ancestor, please stop pacing; you're making me dizzy."

Su Jingyuan squatted in the corner, holding a pot of tea; his hands were shaking so much that tea spilled everywhere.

"This is a Nezha... oh no, a Divine Son who has been carried for five years!"

"A bit of commotion is normal."

Before the voice could finish.

"Wah—!"

A loud cry suddenly rang out from inside the hall.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a great bell, instantly penetrating layers of Formations and echoing through the world!

"Boom!"

The sky exploded.

The dark clouds were instantly torn to shreds.

Ten thousand rays of rosy light fell from the sky, illuminating the entire Su Family like a divine kingdom.

Within the Void Realm, various phenomena appeared.

True Dragons circled, and Phoenixes sang in harmony.

Even Dao Laws condensed into golden petals, fluttering down from the sky.

Purple Qi comes from the east for thirty thousand miles!

Qilin presents auspiciousness to the Nine Provinces!

"It's born!"

"It's born!"

Su Xuanchen was overjoyed; with a flash, he teleported directly into the hall.

Inside the hall, a fragrance filled the air.

Gu Lingshuang's face was pale, and her hair was messily plastered to her forehead, but her black-gold Phoenix eyes were full of maternal love and exhaustion.

And beside her.

A baby girl, as delicate as carved jade, was waving her small lotus-root-like hands, wailing with her eyes closed.