Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The Vice Leader pondered in silence for a while, and then, he said, “For sure, but could you answer two of my questions first, your highness?”
“Sure,” Zhang Ruochen answered.
The Vice Leader said, “First question, you’re going to Peakless Mountain to offer sacrifices to the heavens. Are you going there just for a woman?”
Zhang Ruochen knew why the Vice Leader asked this. He said, “I guess you are saying I’m being too immature and impulsive, aren’t you?”
“Just answer my question, your highness,” the Vice Leader said.
Zhang Ruochen walked around in the room with his hands behind his back. “I’m going to fulfill a promise.”
The Vice Leader didn’t respond to that question. Instead, he asked the second question. “Have you thought about protecting them before summoning the previous officials of Sacred Central Empire? Have you ever thought about how to lead them in the future?”
“I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t have the ability to protect them and to give them a brighter future.”
Zhang Ruochen became fierce. He reached out his hand and said, “Do you dare follow me somewhere, Vice Leader?”
“Why not?”
A space ripple emerged in the room, and the World Door to the Universe Map opened.
Zhang Ruochen entered the Universe World with the Vice Leader, looking down at the enormous world.
“An entire world… There’s an entire world inside your body…”
The Vice Leader was moved when he saw the Divine Sky-connecting Tree. He said, “Since you know what you’re going to do, I can rest assured.”
The Vice Leader took off his astral sky mask with his hand that was gleaming with saint light after getting back to the room in Phoenix Dance Palace.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes popped when he saw the face of that elder. He said, “Patriarch Taiyi… It’s… It’s you…”
The elder who was standing in front of Zhang Ruochen was Patriarch Taiyi from Yin and Yang Sect with white hair and a beard on his wrinkled face.
Zhang Ruochen saw Patriarch Taiyi once, and he had impressed him greatly.
Patriarch Taiyi said calmly, “I was admitted into Yin and Yang Sect with your father, and we followed Tao Master Yuanfa together. I’m a couple of years younger than your father, so I call your father ‘senior brother.’”
Zhang Ruochen immediately bowed. “Greetings, royal uncle.”
Zhang Ruochen saluted Patriarch Taiyi out of veneration. When he was still in Yin and Yang Sect, his real identity might’ve been exposed without the protection of Patriarch Taiyi.
Perhaps Patriarch Taiyi had already seen through him before.
Patriarch Taiyi was very frank. He waved his hand and said, “I owe my senior brother a huge favor, which is why I joined Guarding Dragon Pavilion as the Vice Leader of Tiangang Pavilion. There’re also some other reasons, but it’s not the time to tell you yet. You’ll understand it in the future.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Senior uncle, is my father still alive? Where did he go?”
Patriarch Taiyi shook his head, sighed and said, “Actually, I also want to know whether senior brother is still alive or not.”
Zhang Ruocen was a bit frustrated. He then asked, “I heard that when father went missing, he summoned all the members from Guarding Dragon Pavilion who took everything from the treasury of Sacred Central Empire. Is that true?”
“That’s right.”
“Where is the treasury of Sacred Central Empire now?” Zhang Ruochen kept asking.
Patriarch Taiyi said, “It’s been emptied.”
“How is that possible?”
Zhang Ruochen found it hard to believe.
Patriarch Taiyi said, “Senior brother asked us to build something, which exhausted all the resources in the treasury.”
“What thing could exhaust the treasury of a central empire?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Patriarch Taiyi said, “Senior brother forbade us from telling anyone before the time was right.”
“Including me?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Patriarch Taiyi said, “Including you.”
Zhang Ruochen knew that Patriarch Taiyi was unwilling to answer him, so it didn’t matter how he asked. “I want to destroy Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion before going to Peakless Mountain to worship the heavens. What do you think, senior uncle?”
Patriarch Taiyi put his astral mask back on, and his forces went away completely. He said, “You’re the crown prince. No matter what decision you make, we’ll support you with our greatest strength.”
The entire Sacred City was chaotic these days.
The crown prince edict kept floating in the air. All the officials from Sacred Central Empire flocked to Sacred City, which led to one battle after another.
The army from the imperial government rushed to Sacred City first, which strengthened the defense of Sacred City.
Unfortunately, Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion didn’t manage to find Zhang Ruochen after spending a couple of days looking for them. Lingxiao Heavenly King even asked the prime minister Wang Shiqi to look for Zhang Ruochen using the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, yet they still couldn’t find anything.
Seven days after Zhang Ruochen issued the crown prince edict, some disciples from Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion started to spread rumors in public. “That so-called Sacred Crown Prince is nothing but a coward. He only issued the crown prince edict to sacrifice the dregs of the Sacred.”
“Can’t believe that Zhang Ruochen tried to seize the fiancé of Lord Qiu Yu. He so overestimated himself. Those dregs are nothing but a mob. They can’t do anything.”
Obviously, someone was ordering them to trigger Zhang Ruochen.
A golden dragon carriage rushed out of Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion. The carriage was pulled by nine white dragons that had reached the state of saint, and the forces coming out of the carriage shook the entire Sacred City.
Tumbling emperor Qi spread everywhere like golden waves.
“That’s the Golden Dragon Carriage for Emperor Ming. It used to be a true treasure of Sacred Central Empire.” A saint recognized that ancient carriage, and he was amazed.
Emperor Ming used to ride that carriage to conquer the immortal vampires, which instilled horror among them. The Golden Dragon Carriage had very special meanings.
“He dares patrol the city on the Golden Dragon Carriage? He’s humiliating Emperor Ming and Zhang Ruochen. Isn’t he afraid the dregs from the Sacred will attack him?”
A young man in his twenties walked out of the Golden Dragon Carriage in a golden cape. The saint might he released changed the color of the heaven and earth.
He said, “He’s nothing but the crown prince of a fallen empire. If he shows up, I’ll cut off his head within ten moves.”
“Doesn’t he know that Zhang Ruochen has become a sword saint and that he managed to defeat Mu Qingtian?”
“Perhaps only one person from Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion is that bold, aside from Lingxiao Heavenly King.”
“Is that… Chi Dufeng?”
“Aside from Sword Saint Dufeng, no one would dare claim that he can chop off Zhang Ruochen’s head within ten moves.”
“Two hundred years ago, Chi Dufeng was an unrivaled talent in Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion. He managed to fight Luo Xu for a long time. God knows what level of power Chi Dufeng has attained now.”
Chi Dufeng caused a commotion by showing up.
He patrolled Sacred City in the Golden Dragon Carriage, and all the monks were intimidated by the might from the carriage.
He looked like an emperor going on a journey, followed by a large group of soldiers.
Eventually, a previous official from Sacred Central Empire couldn’t handle the arrogance of Chi Dufeng anymore. He led three thousand soldiers, formed a formation and dashed toward the Golden Dragon Carriage.
The leader had already become a saint. He yelled, “You’re nothing but a kid from the Chi family. How dare you ride the carriage of Emperor Ming?”
The great being at the state of saint mobilized the power of the formation, waved a battle flag and dashed toward the Golden Dragon Carriage.
Whoosh!
A trace of sword shot out of the carriage.
Boom!
All the soldiers, including that great being at the state of saint, were killed at the same time. The only thing left was rugged corpses lying on the ground.
The monks who witnessed this were horrified.
Chi Dufeng said in Golden Drago Carriage, “Indeed nothing but a mob. Are the dregs from the Sacred all this weak?”
And then he rode the Golden Dragon Carriage and crushed those corpses.
At the top of Phoenix Dance Palace, Yan Kaixuan, Wang Ji and the others were all furious. They all wanted to attack Chi Dufeng, but they were all stopped by Granny Bai Su.
“That Chi Dufeng wanted to instigate us to fight him, and then he’ll seize the chance to annihilate us,” Granny Bai Su said.
“This is so annoying! Didn’t that crown prince claim that he could annihilate Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion? Many previous officials and their descendants have gathered in Sacred City to fight him. Why is he hiding now? Is he scared?”
Yan Kaixuan couldn’t be angrier. He rushed to Zhang Ruochen’s refining room and yelled, “Your highness, Chi Dufeng is patrolling Sacred City in Emperor Ming’s Golden Dragon Carriage and slaughtering the previous officials of Sacred Central Empire. How long are you going to hide inside?”
Zhang Ruochen was sitting beside a brass desk. He looked so calm, as if he couldn’t hear Yan Kaixuan’s voice.
Qin Yutong was standing in the room and reporting to him. “We’ve been building in Sacred City for hundreds of years, and Granny Bai Su is already fully prepared. Once you give us an order, the guarding formation of Sacred City will be terminated, and it won’t be able to make attacks anymore.”
Qin Yutong was highly gifted. After getting the saint pills and saint sources from Zhang Ruochen, she became a saint in three days.
“Great job.” Zhang Ruochen nodded.
Qin Yutong smiled after being praised by his highness. She then said, “Your highness, the world is in a turmoil already. When are we going to attack Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion?”
“Tonight,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Editor’s Note:
“The Sacred” is often used to refer to the new order of the Sacred Central Empire and its members. These groups often include the same people, with one simply being a more recent iteration of the same empire. Because the Sacred Central Empire technically doesn’t exist anymore, the new term, “the Sacred,” is often used.