209: Chapter 209 Like a comet streaking across the sky

This round of investment was a great success.

Di Xin was so tired.

A boundless fatigue wrapped around his body, threatening to pull him into an eternal slumber.

His vision blurred completely.

Amidst the flames, it seemed as if something was calling his name.

Oh.

It was... that increasingly faint purple silhouette.

The starry sky above the Star-Plucking Tower, the grateful tears of the disaster victims in Zheng Territory, the face of Su Daji breaking into a smile through her tears, and Jiang Li's silent and gentle gaze flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

Aside from completing the investment mission, other things...

It seemed...

Were not entirely in vain.

At least...

He was like a comet.

In this world where gods and immortals treated human lives like grass.

He had left a unique mark that belonged to him alone.

A trace.

It was worth it...

Di Xin smiled slightly.

Slowly and contentedly, he closed his eyes.

[Host's death has been detected.]

[The third round of investment has ended.]

...

Inside Zhaoge City, in front of the Star-Plucking Tower.

The raging flames rising within the tower had reached their peak.

Naturally, the next step would be for them to burn out.

After all, without anything left to burn, the fire would not continue to exist.

It seemed to know this as well.

At this moment, like a trapped beast making its final struggle, it licked at the gloomy sky of Zhaoge.

Rolling heat waves distorted the air.

They also reflected that purple figure in the distance, making her appear thin and swaying.

The torch Su Daji had been holding had long since slipped from her hand and fallen.

The flame only rolled a few times on the charred ground before being submerged by the pervasive heat and dust.

Su Daji just stood there blankly.

Her fox-like eyes stared intently at the tower door, of which only a distorted frame remained.

The building groaned under the unbearable weight of the fire,

Half a stick of incense...

A full stick of incense...

Time was quietly slipping away.

But every second in her eyes.

Felt as long as a year.

Because.

No figure rushed out from the sea of fire.

No familiar...

Voice, always carrying a hint of playful mockery, rang out.

"Great King..."

"Please come out quickly."

"We agreed to meet at the designated location."

"You promised Demon Concubine Su Daji..."

"It's not snowing today, you can't deceive this concubine."

"Otherwise... you will be punished by the gods."

The hundreds of soldiers and civilians of Zhaoge behind her had also fallen into silence.

They knew of Su Chen's plan.

Seeing that the burning of the Star-Plucking Tower was reaching its end.

Most of them already understood.

The monarch they had always been loyal to should have already left them.

They had completed the mission.

But...

Thinking of this, many people's faces showed sadness and solemnity.

These men, accustomed to fighting on the battlefield, had always known how to restrain their emotions.

They knew.

They couldn't let the Consort notice anything amiss.

At least.

Not now.

Slowly.

The flames became even more rampant, spreading to where everyone was standing.

The heat forced people to stop approaching.

Su Daji suddenly snapped back to her senses, as if grasping at the last straw.

"Right... the secret passage."

"I remember now, the Star-Plucking Tower has a secret passage, a small door leading outside Zhaoge City."

"Ah, I was so worried I became confused."

"This gate is burned like this, and there might be Ji Dynasty defenders here in the city. How could the Great King possibly come this way and walk into a trap?"

"Perhaps he has already left through the secret passage and met up with Sister Jiang!"

Thinking of this, she turned and spoke urgently to the people behind her.

"Quick, follow me to the exit of the secret passage."

"The Great King must be waiting for us there!"

Without waiting for their response, she took the lead and ran toward a remote courtyard outside the palace city, in the opposite direction of the Star-Plucking Tower.

That was the location of the "evacuation secret passage" entrance that Su Chen had once quietly pointed out to her.

Her purple silhouette constantly wove through the smoke and ruins, moving so fast she was but a blur.

At this moment, only one thought remained in her mind.

Faster, even faster!

Maybe the Great King had already arrived and was waiting for her there.

If she was any slower, he might even smile and tease her for being too slow...

Finally, she rushed into that long-abandoned side courtyard.

The plants in the yard were withered, and a dry well stood quietly in the corner, its mouth covered by a heavy bluestone slab.

She remembered that according to what Su Chen said, the secret passage entrance was beneath the stone slab.

"It's here!"

A light of hope erupted in Su Daji's eyes.

She pounced to the edge of the well and pressed her hands against the massive bluestone slab.

She didn't even stop to wonder why she, unable to use spiritual power, possessed such great strength.

She pushed hard.

The stone slab didn't budge.

"What's going on?"

Anxious and confused, Su Daji was terrified that this secret passage had been discovered by the Ji Dynasty people, affecting the Great King's escape.

She casually threw out a palm strike.

Surprisingly... it sent the well cover flying.

However.

The sight beneath the well cover made her heart tighten instantly.

She saw with her own eyes.

The gap between the stone slab and the edge of the well had been firmly cast and sealed with a certain hard material, a mixture of metal and rock.

It was seamless.

This was definitely not something done hastily by the Ji Dynasty people after discovering the passage.

Where the gap was fused,

There was even a faint lingering aura.

Moreover, she happened to recognize that material.

It was something Queen Jiang had brought from her home in Jiang State.

Spirit-Sealing Glue.

A special material specifically used to lock away spiritual energy and solidify objects.

But it was extremely expensive.

It was almost impossible for anyone other than Jiang Luoli and Su Chen to have a way to obtain such a thing.

Thinking of this.

Su Daji's delicate body stiffened.

As if ice water had been poured over her from head to toe.

"How can this be..."

"Who? Who sealed it?!"

Su Daji turned her head sharply, her gaze meeting the soldiers and civilians of Zhaoge who had just arrived behind her.

She demanded sternly.

"Who touched this place?!"

"Was it you?!"

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads one after another.

Knowing all of Su Chen's plans, they could guess who had done this.

It was most likely either Su Chen himself or Queen Jiang.

But they didn't dare to say it directly.

They had to pretend to know nothing.

Their faces, like Su Daji's, were filled with astonishment and unease.

Su Daji was taken aback.

She realized they had participated in today's "ignition" operation with her.

Not a single person had left her sight throughout the process, let alone been able to come here to seal the passage.

Just then.

A cold and calm female voice echoed faintly from behind Su Daji.

"I was the one who sealed it."

Su Daji turned around abruptly.

She saw Queen Jiang standing quietly in the shadows of the courtyard gate.

At some point, she had changed into an elegant, pure white palace dress, her hair combed meticulously.

From head to toe, not a speck of any other color could be seen.

Although her clothing was extremely simple, her peerless beauty combined with her aura as a ruler,

That noble and glamorous queenly air still couldn't be suppressed.

Only this time.

Within that matchless elegance, something else had unknowingly been added.