8: Chapter 8 Wei Yong's Conspiracy, Urgent Border Report

The celestial phenomena came quickly and vanished just as fast.

The sky returned to its clear, pristine state.

The majestic phantoms of the Dragon and Phoenix, along with the purple Qi that filled the sky, dissipated without a trace.

Yet, the Capital of Great Xia remained plunged in a state of frenzy.

An auspicious sign.

This shot of adrenaline was injected into the listless Divine Dynasty.

Countless citizens rushed to spread the news, their morale soaring.

But this joy did not belong to everyone.

The Prime Ministers Estate.

Inside the study, a blue and white porcelain vase smashed against the floor, shattering into pieces.

Wei Yong's chest heaved violently; his features were twisted with rage and alarm.

“The Dragon and Phoenix harmonize, and purple Qi comes from the east.”

He muttered these eight words through gritted teeth.

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

He had held the reins of power in Great Xia for decades; he knew the state of Great Xia's Luck better than anyone.

Internal strife, external threats, an empty treasury, and withering loyal officials.

It was clearly a sign of decline.

Where could such a world-shaking auspicious sign have come from?

When things are abnormal, there must be a demon at work.

“Consort Xiao Yu, it must be that woman.”

Wei Yong's eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

He recalled that absurd imperial edict from yesterday.

The humiliation at the morning court, the Emperor's transformation, and then this morning's celestial phenomena.

Everything had happened after that bitch Consort Xiao Yu was brought into Dragon Imperial Hall.

Did that woman hide secrets he didn't know about?

He had originally thought that sending Consort Xiao Yu into Dragon Imperial Hall was a desperate, foolish move by the young Emperor Li Zhan.

A move intended to humiliate and disgust him.

Now it seemed it was a poisonous move.

A sense of alarm suddenly rose in his heart.

The Foundation of the edifice he had managed for years was being eaten away.

No.

This variable could not be allowed to remain.

This flame had to be completely snuffed out before it spun out of control.

“Someone, come here.”

Wei Yong growled toward the door.

In the shadows of the study, a dark figure quietly appeared and knelt on one knee, the gaze beneath the hood devoid of Life Qi.

“Go to Dragon Imperial Hall.”

Wei Yong said through gritted teeth.

“No matter the method, kill that woman, Consort Xiao Yu.”

“Bring her head back to me.”

The dark figure said nothing.

He nodded.

His form melted into the shadows and vanished.

Wei Yong watched the direction where the shadow had disappeared, his Killing Intent growing even stronger.

The ones he had sent out were the sharpest blades in his possession, the 'Shadow Guards'.

These top-tier assassins were battle-hardened, masters of stealth and assassination, and had claimed countless lives.

To ensure absolute success, he had sent three at once.

A woman in the deep palace, even if she had something strange about her, could never possibly survive.

Even after doing this, Wei Yong was still uneasy.

He walked to the desk, spread out a sheet of stationery, and wrote hurriedly.

A line of coded message.

The paper was rolled up, stuffed into a tiny bamboo tube, and tied to the leg of a pitch-black carrier pigeon.

“Go.”

He walked to the window and released the pigeon.

The black pigeon soared into the sky, not flying toward any part of the capital, but straight toward the northern horizon.

There lay the border between the Great Xia Divine Dynasty and the neighboring Black Wolf Dynasty.

Watching the pigeon disappear, a cold look crossed Wei Yong's face.

Killing just one woman was not enough.

He wanted to add more fuel to the fire for that arrogant little Emperor.

He wanted to make the borders of Great Xia erupt in war, and plunge the entire court of civil and military officials into panic.

He wanted to see.

When that time came, would his suddenly emboldened Majesty choose the empire and its altars, or a woman who had already been eliminated by him?

“To fight me, you're still too green.”

...

Dragon Imperial Hall.

Li Xuan opened his eyes.

Once one entered the Transcendent realm, the difference was like heaven and earth.

With a single thought, he could mobilize the power of heaven and earth.

Within a ten-mile radius, not even the rustling of grass could escape him.

The entire world became clear and transparent.

He turned his head and glanced at the sleeping Consort Xiao Yu.

The woman was sleeping peacefully; the sorrow between her brows had vanished, and her face carried a layer of soft radiance.

This was the Luck brought by the Ancient Desolate Saint Body.

Li Xuan smiled slightly, his gaze penetrating the palace walls to look toward the Prime Ministers Estate.

Above the massive Prime Ministers Estate, a vast and murky dark-purple Luck was coiled.

In the center of that Luck, a phantom of a venomous scorpion loomed indistinctly, emitting an ominous aura.

“Oh? Driven to desperation?”

Li Xuan gave a light chuckle.

He saw three faint black lines, filled with dead silence and slaughter, split off from that mass of dark-purple Luck.

The three black lines moved with extreme speed, avoiding all patrolling Imperial Guards as they quietly crept toward Dragon Imperial Hall.

The target was self-evident.

Li Xuan's eyes turned cold.

Things that don't know whether they're dead or alive.

I was just worrying about how to deal with you, and you actually stretched your neck out.

Then I won't be polite.

He didn't even bother to move.

He swept out with his Divine Thought.

The three Shadow Guards had already lurked onto the roof of Dragon Imperial Hall.

They spread out in a triangular formation and lifted three glazed tiles without making a single sound.

Through the gaps, they saw the scene inside the hall.

The Retired Emperor was lying on the dragon bed, fast asleep.

Their target, that damn woman, was snuggled beside the Retired Emperor, sleeping soundly.

The three Shadow Guards exchanged a look, their Killing Intent resolved.

A perfect opportunity.

They pulled out three blowguns, their tips gleaming with an eerie blue poisonous light.

Just as they held their breath, preparing to blow the poison needles.

They suddenly felt their hair stand on end.

It wasn't pressure, and it wasn't Killing Intent.

It was a suppression of power from a much higher level.

“Puff!”

“Puff!”

“Puff!”

Before the three Shadow Guards could even scream, their bodies exploded into three clouds of blood mist.

Not a single drop of blood or piece of flesh remained.

They simply vanished without a trace.

A light breeze brushed over the roof, scattering the blood mist as if nothing had ever happened.

Inside Dragon Imperial Hall, Li Xuan's expression remained unchanged.

He reached into the hall of offspring to check on the Ancient Desolate Saint Body that was being nurtured.

A vigorous vitality, connected by Bloodline, emanated from the sphere of light.

Li Xuan felt joyful.

Siring children was the right path.

What was the point of all that fighting and killing himself?

Being a stay-at-home dad in the background, watching his children grow into eternal giants one by one—now that would be satisfying.

He was currently calculating what kind of newbie gift pack to prepare for his eldest.

“Dong—! Dong—! Dong—!”

Urgent and high-pitched bell tolls rang out from the palace's Xuanzheng Gate, echoing throughout the entire imperial palace.

The highest-level alarm bell.

A eunuch's shrill scream echoed over the capital.

“Urgent report from the North—! Eight-hundred-li express—!”

Li Xuan frowned.

The North?

With a thought, he operated the Emperors Qi Observation Technique to its limit.

His gaze seemed to penetrate through space, casting toward the distant northern borders of Great Xia.

The border pass Luck that originally belonged to Great Xia was now shrouded in thick, black wolf-smoke.

An alien race's Luck, filled with aggression and slaughter, was frantically eroding Great Xia's border.

His gaze shifted again, falling back onto the Prime Ministers Estate in the capital.

Wei Yong's dark-purple Luck had a faint connection with the black wolf-smoke in the North.

A thread of Karma representing collusion, betrayal, and inviting wolves into the house was growing and strengthening within Wei Yong's Luck.

Li Xuan instantly connected everything.

The assassination was merely a distraction.

The real killer move was colluding with the arch-enemy, the Black Wolf Dynasty, to create chaos at the border.

The intention was to seize power amidst the chaos.

Perhaps even to force a palace coup and usurp the throne.

Well played, Wei Yong.

What a move, coordinating from both inside and out.

Li Xuan felt a surge of Killing Intent.

Colluding with external enemies and selling out the nation's gates.

This had already crossed his bottom line.

Such a person was not a powerful official.

He was a traitor to the state.

Without killing him, the people's indignation would not be quelled.

Without killing him, the souls of the loyal would not be comforted.

Li Xuan slowly sat up.

He looked at the brightly lit and bustling palace outside the hall, then at the soundly sleeping Consort Xiao Yu beside him.

A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

“Very well.”

“Since you want to play big, I will play along with you.”

“Wei Yong, wash your neck and wait.”