AGM 524 – Tense Situation
There were over ten people who stood upon their swords, soaring up the skies as they transformed into white beams of light, each shooting off in a certain direction.
This group of people were none other than those from the Battle Sword Sect escorting Ye Lingshuang.
Qin Wentian naturally was also among them. These members from the Battle Sword Sect all had cultivation bases at the Heavenly Dipper Realm. After all, the Ye Country was a country with over ten thousand years of history and was extremely powerful. It was impossible for the Battle Sword Sect to send their members over to forcefully settle the internal dispute, but because of the friendship between their disciples, these people were willing to escort Ye Lingshuang on this trip. At the very least, they could ensure her safety.
The leader of this group of people was a young man clad in black. His cultivation base was at the eighth level of Heavenly Dipper and he was actually another personal disciple under Sword Sovereign Ling Tian. The sect members usually referred to him as Ninth Senior Brother.
The personal disciples of Sovereign Ling Tian usually had a higher status in the sect. Duan Han, for example, was the ninth disciple under Sword Sovereign Ling Tian, and when he was placed among the normal pool of disciples they would still refer to him as Ninth Senior Brother as a form of respect, even though their masters weren’t the Sword Sovereign. This was the preferential treatment of a personal disciple.
Duan Han’s personality leaned to the colder side, a total contrast to Lin Shuai’s personality. He radiated a dense cold qi, as well as an unmasked sharpness. That, coupled with the fact that he was a man of few words, only served to add on to his prestige.
“Junior Sister, don’t be too worried. Since the Holy Maiden from the Medicine Sovereign Sect is there, she should be able to temporarily suppress the injuries of the Human Emperor,” a female disciple consoled Ye Lingshuang. The name of this female was Qiao Yu, and her relationship with Ye Lingshuang had been very good right from the start.
“Mhm.” Ye Lingshuang nodded her head, yet there was no way to hide the obvious signs of worry between her brows.
“I heard rumors that the Holy Maiden of the Medicine Sovereign Valley has a world-stunning countenance. Soon, we’ll be able to see her. I’m truly filled with anticipation.” Liu Yun’s eyes shone brightly, causing looks of disdain to appear on the faces of others when they looked at him. However, even though this fellow’s personality was more to the lecherous side, he always found a way to soften the atmosphere.
“You have no hope,” Qiao Yu stated with contempt.
“The Holy Maiden from the Medicine Sovereign Valley is a fifth-ranked alchemist. There are countless people from ancient clans and powerful sects who want to woo her, but have no chance at all. After all, the main point depends on who the Holy Maiden likes. Only characters like myself, who have been blessed with good looks since birth, will stand a chance.” Liu Yun was currently wrapped in a beautiful dream.
However, Qin Wentian actually felt a pang of sorrow in his heart when he heard their banter, as he was involuntarily reminded of Mo Qingcheng.
The Pill Emperor Hall from back then, wasn’t it similar to the Medicine Sovereign Valley he was hearing now? For powers like this that concentrated on herbs and alchemy, they were all prospective allies which the vast majority of the major powers would want to rope in.
But right now, he didn’t even know if Mo Qingcheng was dead or alive?
Whenever he thought of Mo Qingcheng being used as food for that disgusting skeleton, Qin Wentian would involuntarily tremble with rage. The Pill Emperor Hall? He would definitely go back there.
However, was Qingcheng still alive in this world? He had once launched an investigation back when he was still in Grand Xia, and there was completely no news of Mo Qingcheng. After he fell unconscious during that battle, Qingcheng had totally disappeared, as though she had never before appeared in Grand Xia. Those survivors from the Pill Emperor Hall also refused to say anything.
Only Qing`er gave him hope, telling him that Mo Qingcheng might still be alive.
“What are you thinking about for you to be so engrossed? Are you planning to woo the Holy Maiden from the Medicine Sovereign Valley as well?” Liu Yun turned his gaze onto Qin Wentian as he laughed.
Qin Wentian shook his head lightly. “The Holy Maiden is a fifth-ranked alchemist, after all. In any case, is the Medicine Sovereign Valley powerful?”
“Of course they’re strong, but I have no idea how strong they are exactly. The Medicine Sovereign Valley rarely interacts with others, and no one would willingly antagonize them either. The Medicine Sovereign himself is a peak fifth-ranked alchemist, and even if experts from the nine great sects went to beg him for his help, they might not succeed. In terms of medicinal herbs and cultivation pills, the Medicine Sovereign Valley is a power at the peak of the Royal Sacred Region, and no one around the area can match them in strength.”
Liu Yun explained, as Qin Wentian nodded silently.
Along the way, Qin Wentian chatted quite a bit with Liu Yun. Of course, Liu Yun was the one doing most of the talking, while Qin Wentian was the one listening. Other than hearing him talk about the various current happenings in the Royal Sacred Region, Liu Yun’s other topics naturally revolved around beautiful girls and ‘wonderful’ places. He even strongly hinted that he wanted to bring Qin Wentian to have some fun, causing Qin Wentian to be speechless.
After half a month, and passing by several territories, Qin Wentian and the others finally arrived at the capital of Ye Country.
In its inner city, the guards were all decked in strikingly magnificent armor. The towering city gates were built from molten gold, but had a simple and unadorned beauty to it. This place was a core location of the Ye Country, being home to the royal palace as well as numerous luxurious manors. The security there was extremely tight, and the number of experts were as common as the clouds.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!” A loud voice shouted as a golden beam of light shot up in the sky. A guard wielded a golden spear, pointing it at the members from the Battle Sword Sect.
“Let’s go down,” Ye Lingshuang stated. As the group of them started to descend, seven golden-armored guards soared up in the air to block their paths. That commander then icily stated, “This is a forbidden place in the Ye Country, only those from the royal clan can enter.”
“How dare you,” Ye Lingshuang coldly retorted. She radiated a dignified air as she spoke, “You actually still dare to block this princess’s path despite seeing who I am?”
That commander acted like he’d just noticed Ye Lingshuang’s presence. Cool amusement flickered in his eyes—now that the Qi King was already in a position of power, this young woman before him would soon become a prisoner. To think that she still wanted to flaunt her position as a princess here? However, this young woman was beautiful and had managed to join the Battle Sword Sect, so it wouldn’t be wise for him to push her too far.
“Oh, so it’s Princess Lingshuang. Your subordinate apologizes for not recognizing you right away, please pardon me.” That commander apologised, yet his expression was one of mockery. He then turned his gaze onto the others. “However, this place is still the royal clan’s forbidden grounds. Surely the princess can see the inappropriateness of bringing a bunch of strangers here?”
“Audacious. Who are you to question the decisions of this princess?” Ye Lingshuang’s voice turned colder and colder. “Not knowing your position and even offending your superior. Everyone, seize him for me.”
She was the princess of the Ye Country and yet a mere commander of the guards dared to be so rude towards her? He was obviously challenging her authority. Her father’s situation must be more terrible than previously imagined, and Ye Lingshuang grew more frantic upon thinking about this.
But as her command echoed out, the guards didn’t move a muscle. No one followed her orders.
Duan Han moved, his black robes like the wind as a cold beam of sword-light lashed out. The countenance of the commander instantly changed, but when he blasted his spear forward, everything was already too late.
“Puchi…” A black-colored sharp sword was embedded right in the center of his brows. The commander had already died. The other guards around them froze for a moment before recovering, as powerful auras gushed out. These guards all had a cultivation base at the Heavenly Dipper Realm.
However, Duan Han merely glanced at them, and that single glance was sufficient to make them cower in fear—his eyes were akin to incomparably sharp swords that threatened to end them if they made a wrong move now.
Ye Lingshuang took note of Duan Han’s methods and understood his intentions. She then stated in a glacial tone, “This man has forgotten his position and even dared to offend his superiors. Death is the only result for people like him. If there is anyone who still dares to block this princess’s path, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
As the sound of her voice faded, Ye Lingshuang and her group stepped out. This time around, nobody dared to block them. Those guards all turned ashen when they stared at the corpse of their previous commander. He’d died just like this? No matter what, the commander was an existence at the seventh level of Heavenly Dipper, yet he’d died just from a single sword strike.
“Are people from the Battle Sword Sect all like this?” Those guards felt a chill in their hearts. They didn’t expect that Duan Han would be so ruthless, directly killing the commander with no hesitation.
Those from the Battle Sword Sect continued on. This forbidden location of the royal clan was truly a magnificent sight to behold. Numerous luxurious manors could be seen dotting the landscape and occasionally, experts from some of the manors would turn their gaze upon the members of the Battle Sword Sect flying through the air. From his observations, Qin Wentian could tell that the power of just one of these manors would be sufficient to trample over the entire Grand Xia, let alone the whole of the Ye Country.
Finally, a majestic ancient palace appeared before them. Everything, from the palace walls to the gates were formed from pure gold. And as the palace gates swung open, a group of silhouettes walked out from within, smiles on all their faces.
“Princess Lingshuang, why didn’t you say anything before coming back? We would have organized a better welcome for you.” An expert laughed, yet Ye Lingshuang’s expression turned incredibly unsightly upon seeing them. This person was from the Han King Manor; one of the subordinates of her royal uncles. For them to actually appear in the royal palace now was undoubtedly an indication of how grim things had become. The Han King always had a good relationship with the Qi King.
“I want to see my father, the Emperor,” Ye Lingshuang spoke. That expert glanced at the members of the Battle Sword Sect around her before he smiled, “The arrival of the young heroes of the Battle Sword Sect to our Ye Clan brings light to our humble country. Please enter the royal palace for some rest.”
The people from the Battle Sword Sect didn’t react, despite knowing that their identities were already revealed. They had come here openly, so it wasn’t strange for the experts in the Ye Country to already know of it.
After which, they directly entered the palace, only to see every inch of it was being tightly protected by imposing guardians. This was a testament of how tense things had become.
Ye Lingshuang immediately ran in the direction of the Hall of the Human Emperor, her speed was like a gust of wind, revealing her worry for her father.
And currently, there were several powerful experts gathered outside the ancient hall.
Ye Lingshuang swept her gaze over at these experts and suddenly stiffened when she caught sight of someone in a certain direction—a young man in imperial robes, who projected an extraordinary bearing. His deep gaze seemed capable of seeing through everything.
In addition to that, there were several members of the younger generations surrounding this young man. Each of them was clearly not ordinary and exuded an overbearing aura. Everyone was an outstanding member of the younger generation, their radiance incomparably resplendent.
The instance their eyes locked gazes with the members from the Battle Sword Sect, a terrifying storm of sharpness could be felt engulfing the entire space.
“Experts from the Violet Thunder Sect,” Qin Wentian speculated, but there was no way he was wrong. That young man in the imperial robes was none other than the prince spoken of by Liu Yun, the son of Qi King, the cousin of Ye Lingshuang. He was a chosen of the Violet Thunder Sect and a demon-level genius. As for those beside him, they were his escorts from the Violet Thunder Sect. If the Violet Thunder Sect denied that they were secretly involved in the Qi King’s plan to control the Ye Country, nobody would even believe them.
Ye Lingshuang ignored them and proceeded forwards, wanting to enter the Human Emperor Hall. However, at that moment, a group of figures blocked her path. “Princess, the Human Emperor is currently seriously injured and the Holy Maiden from the Medicine Sovereign Sect is giving him treatment. Maybe it would be a better idea for Princess to wait a while longer before entering.”
“How can I not be at my father’s side when he’s in this state? Let me pass,” Ye Lingshuang replied. Upon seeing how resolute Ye Lingshuang was, the royal guards opened up a pathway allowing her to pass, yet they kept back the other members of the Battle Sword Sect from entering.
“Wait here for me.” Ye Lingshuang turned and spoke to her sect members. Since they had already entered the royal palace, there wouldn’t be any one daring to harm Ye Lingshuang in the presence of all these powerful guards. Hence, Duan Han and the others obliged her wishes, and waited for her outside the ancient hall.