138: Chapter 138 The Empire as a Daughter-in-Law

The rain had just stopped in the capital of Yankang Kingdom.

A night of blood and slaughter had washed the entire imperial palace, leaving behind a chilling, deathly pallor.

The ruins of Taiji Palace had not yet been cleared; on the broken murals and the snapped Dragon pillars, the terrifying pressure from the White-Clad Sword Immortal who descended last night seemed to still linger, a force that towered above all living beings.

Inside the Imperial Study, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.

The Old Emperor had changed into a brand-new Dragon robe. Although his face remained pale, nourished by that Taiyi Vitality pill from Ye Xiu, the fatal wound on his chest had already scabbed over. In his previously clouded eyes, a kind of near-insane determination now flickered.

Kneeling before him were the last remaining cabinet ministers and royal clansmen of Yankang Kingdom.

These people were trembling, their heads pressed tightly against the cold gold bricks, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"Draft the decree."

The Old Emperor's voice was hoarse, yet it carried an unquestionable imperial majesty that echoed through the empty Imperial Study.

"First decree: Proclaim to the world that the Crown Prince committed treason, murdered the monarch, and attempted usurpation; he has already been executed on the spot. All nine generations of his party are to be exterminated as a warning to others!"

The officials lay on the ground, cold sweat streaming down.

Last night, the Crown Prince had been killed by the living Yama of the Heavenly Demon Sect, his neck crushed with one hand.

The Old Emperor's decree was a clean break from the Crown Prince's faction, and it was also a display of loyalty to that God of Slaughter far away in The Great Ruins.

"Second decree..."

The Old Emperor took a deep breath, his hands gripping the armrests of the Dragon throne so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The next sentence he was about to speak was destined to completely rewrite the history of Yankang Kingdom for the past several hundred years.

"From this day forth, Yankang Kingdom shall abolish the title of Emperor and be demoted to a vassal state of the Heavenly Demon Sect!

Throughout the entire nation, Heavenly Demon Sect Leader Ye Xiu shall be revered as the Supreme!

Any subject of Yankang who sees the Heavenly Demon Holy Banner shall see it as the might of heaven; anyone who dares to defy this shall be executed along with their ten generations!"

"Your Majesty!!!"

At these words, a Chief Cabinet Minister suddenly raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and scrambled toward the imperial desk:

"Your Majesty, you cannot! Yankang Kingdom has been established for six hundred years, built by the blood and sweat of our ancestors. How can you hand over the ancestral foundation to the Demonic Path?

This... this is an act of national destruction!"

"National destruction?"

The Old Emperor suddenly grabbed the inkstone from the table and smashed it fiercely against the Chief Minister's head, causing blood to flow instantly.

"What do you fools know?! Even the Great Leiyin Sect has sealed its mountains to protect itself; what do you have to block Ye Xiu's sword?

If I hadn't thrown away this old face and knelt to beg for mercy last night, you would all be headless corpses right now!"

The Old Emperor stood up like an enraged old lion, pointing at the civil and military officials and cursing them:

"Do you think I want to be the monarch of a fallen kingdom?! That Devil Head Ye Xiu doesn't even look at my throne!

He disdains sitting on this Dragon throne, but with a single word, he could wipe Yankang Kingdom from existence!

Since we cannot fight him, and we cannot afford to offend him, I can only make a massive gamble!"

The Old Emperor calmed his violently heaving chest, a trace of extremely ruthless calculation and hope flashing in his eyes:

"Issue my third decree! My seventh daughter is deeply beloved by me and possesses peerless beauty.

I hereby offer the vast lands of Yankang Kingdom, its seventy-two prefectures, and three million elite troops as a dowry!

I beg Heavenly Demon Sect Leader Ye Xiu to take the Seventh Princess as his legal wife!

As long as Cult Leader Ye is willing to marry the Seventh Princess, this Yankang world shall be the back garden of the Heavenly Demon Sect!"

"A single letter of surrender enters the Heavenly Demon Sect, a vast kingdom serves as a red dowry!"

"Send people immediately to deliver these three imperial decrees, along with the Imperial Jade Seal of Yankang Kingdom, via eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch to Canlao Village in The Great Ruins!

The Minister of Rites shall personally carry the decree, kowtowing three times and knocking nine times, and invite Cult Leader Ye to... graciously accept!"

The Imperial Study fell into a deathly silence.

All the ministers were stunned by the Old Emperor's desperate, insane courage.

Using the entire territory of the country as a dowry just to exchange for the title of wife of the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader for his daughter!

This was no longer a marriage alliance; it was clearly the Old Emperor having seen through Ye Xiu's extremely protective nature.

He was shamelessly forcing the entire Yankang Kingdom to be tied to the war chariot of this invincible God of Slaughter, Ye Xiu!

As long as Ye Xiu drank this wedding wine, Yankang Kingdom would be his "wife's family"! Who would dare touch a single hair of Yankang Kingdom then?!

This level of forbearance and courage was truly the pinnacle of imperial strategy.

"We... obey the decree! Long live Your Majesty... Long live the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader!"

... Three days later. The Great Ruins, Canlao Village.

Before the morning mist had dispersed, a heaven-shaking roar broke the tranquility of Forget-Worry Valley.

On the outskirts of The Great Ruins, the black, oppressive army of the Heavenly Demon Sect was arrayed like a steel torrent.

At the very front of the army, the current Minister of Rites of Yankang Kingdom, dressed in plain hemp clothes representing submission, held high the bright yellow imperial decree and the sandalwood box containing the Imperial Jade Seal.

On the rugged mountain road, he kowtowed every step of the way, kneeling all the way to the entrance of Canlao Village.

In the courtyard of Canlao Village, Ye Xiu was wearing a loose white robe, lying lazily on a rattan chair.

He held a purple-red wine gourd in one hand, while his other hand teased the True Dragon cub with golden Dragon patterns on its forehead, which was giggling in his arms.

Si Youyou, Yan Jingjing, Long Jiaonan, Qiu Dieyi, and the Seventh Princess—whom the Old Emperor had used as his "ultimate bargaining chip"—were sitting around the stone table in the courtyard.

While tasting the beauty-preserving spirit meal just prepared by the Apothecary, they were chatting chirpily, the backyard filled with the beautiful sights of lovely ladies.

"Cult Leader!"

Right Protector Xue Biane stepped into the courtyard, riding on a wave of fragrant wind.

Her face carried unconcealable shock and ecstasy as she knelt on one knee before Ye Xiu, presenting a golden scroll with both hands.

"Reporting to the Cult Leader! The Minister of Rites of Yankang Kingdom is kowtowing three times and knocking nine times outside The Great Ruins, delivering the letter of surrender and the decree of marriage from the Emperor of Yankang!

The Old Emperor has proclaimed to the world that he is willing to offer the vast lands of Yankang as a dowry to beg you to take the Seventh Princess as his wife!

As long as you nod, Yankang Kingdom shall be a vassal state of our Heavenly Demon Sect from this day forth!"

At these words, the entire courtyard of Canlao Village instantly fell silent.

The hammer in the hand of The Mute, who was forging iron, slammed directly onto his foot; the bamboo staff in the Blind Man's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter"; the Old Village Chief almost pulled out his beard.

"What the heck?"

Ye Xiu's hand, which was teasing his son, paused slightly. A flash of surprise passed through his gold and silver eyes, and then he couldn't help but burst into a burst of extremely arrogant laughter.

"Hahahaha! What a good Old Emperor of Yankang!

This old fox, I crushed his son with one hand just a moment ago, and he turns around and packs up the entire country as a dowry?

If he can't beat me, he admits defeat, and even after admitting defeat, he wants to cling to my thigh. This thickness of face is something even I find myself inferior to!"

The Seventh Princess, sitting to the side, heard the content of the decree, and her peerless, beautiful face instantly flushed bright red, the redness spreading all the way to her crystal-clear earlobes.

"Father... how could he do this! This is clearly using the kingdom of Yankang to kidnap you!"

The Seventh Princess was both ashamed and anxious. She stood up abruptly, stomping her jade feet and saying:

"Ye Xiu, don't listen to him! I came to The Great Ruins because I wanted to follow you voluntarily; I don't want him to use some kingdom as a trade!

At worst... at worst, I will never return to the capital in this life!"

Watching the Seventh Princess looking like she was about to cry from anxiety, the smile on Ye Xiu's lips deepened.

He handed the child in his arms to Si Youyou, stood up, and walked slowly to the Seventh Princess.

He stretched out his slender fingers and domineeringly lifted her smooth chin.

"Silly girl, your father isn't kidnapping me; he is begging me to protect your Yankang royal family."

Ye Xiu looked down at the Seventh Princess's watery, beautiful eyes, his voice filled with an arrogance that looked down upon the world:

"However, the old guy did get one thing right. My woman, since she has followed me, must be married in with grandeur!"

After saying this, Ye Xiu turned around, waved his large sleeve, and sucked the letter of surrender and the decree of marriage in Xue Biane's hand directly into his palm.

"Swish!"

Ye Xiu didn't even glance at it, throwing the decree that represented the Supreme power of Yankang Kingdom directly onto the bluestone slab of Canlao Village.

"Go back and tell that Minister who is kowtowing at the village entrance."

Ye Xiu tilted his head, drank a large gulp of Western Region strong wine, his arrogant voice like rolling thunder, not only shaking the entire The Great Ruins but, through the Heavenly Demon Sect's secret sound transmission technique, spreading instantly to every corner of Yankang Kingdom:

"The kingdom of Yankang, this Sect Leader accepts!"

"The Seventh Princess, this Sect Leader also marries!"