Consort Qi kept babbling on relentlessly. “Empress Dowager sister, why aren’t you crying out loud or begging me now? Could it be that if you cried a few tears and knelt before me to plead, I’d let you go? Cry, scream all you want—hee hee—maybe I’d soften a bit, huh?”
“Oh, and don’t forget your good little brother, General Le Wu.”
“You Le family have been powerful for over ten years. But if today you all die here, guess what fate awaits the Le family?”
“So then, General Le Wu, do you want to kneel before me and beg for mercy?”
Le Wu’s round, chubby face drooped.
His expression darkened as he glared fiercely at Consort Qi.
The dog-slaying blade in his hand trembled slightly, emitting a faint low buzzing sound.
Lu Qian looked at Le Wu in shock.
This supposed ‘useless big general’ who looked like a fat bumpkin actually had impressive martial cultivation?
He wasn’t even exerting much effort—just nervous, and his Yuan Gang energy naturally leaked out, causing that subtle vibration and buzz from the blade.
His cultivation must be at least at the Tenth Layer of Meridian Opening, maybe higher.
For someone of Le Wu’s background and age to have such cultivation, it showed he had been training hard in martial arts all this time.
This general had a streak of perseverance deep in his bones!
Lu Qian lightly shook his arm.
Yin Yuan and Yin Xing, on either side, tightened their grips on his arm even more.
Gritting his teeth, Lu Qian muttered, “Your Majesty, Prince, how can I protect you if you hold me so tightly?”
Yin Yuan and Yin Xing hesitated for a moment, then loosened their grip slightly.
Lu Qian glanced at the lotus-shaped secret treasure in Yin Xing’s hand. “Prince, is this the Buddhist treasure you mentioned? The one Liu Wu used to severely wound Green Sparrow? Can you still activate it?”
Yin Xing shuddered and instinctively shook his head, touching his cheek—the same cheek that had been drained and shriveled by Consort Qi days ago, now a mere skin and bones despite taking tonics for nourishment.
When Liu Wu activated that treasure, his body was almost sucked dry like a mummy.
Though Yin Xing’s cultivation was much stronger than Liu Wu’s, and he had a sturdier constitution from years of tonic use, he still didn’t have the courage to use it himself!
Lu Qian reached out his hand to Yin Xing.
He wasn’t after the secret treasure for himself.
Every time he saw that treasure, his spiritual light would tremble in his mind.
His intuition told him this treasure would be useful to him.
Moreover, Lu Qian sensed that if he used this treasure, unlike Liu Wu, he wouldn’t have to sacrifice his own essence just to barely manage it.
Yin Xing hastily pushed the treasure into Lu Qian’s hand and lowered his voice, “Lu Qian, as long as you can protect me unharmed tonight, from now on you’ll be like my own nephew. Wreak havoc in Haojing City—I'll back you up.”
“I’ll also grant you three grand estates in Wuyin District, southwest corner of the Imperial City—the best location there. I’ll give you a magnificent mansion.”
Yin Xing’s face went pale, lips white; clearly, fear muddled his words, so he promised everything.
Lu Qian gripped the lotus treasure tightly, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
Yin Yuan and Yin Xing moved instinctively in sync, each stepping inward so they were squeezing closely together behind Lu Qian.
Around them, a group of red-robed generals from the Imperial Palace Guard surrounded the two princes tightly.
Their expressions improved slightly, and Yin Yuan somehow got hold of a small wine flask, taking a quick sip of aged liquor.
Meanwhile, Consort Qi continued her endless nagging.
The blood mist slowly advanced toward the curtain.
Green Sparrow moved forward along with the blood mist, step by step.
Imperial Guards, Yulin Guards, palace maids, eunuchs, high monks, and old Taoist priests gathered near the curtain, trapped with nowhere to run or hide.
They could only watch helplessly as the blood mist roiled closer, inch by inch swallowing and drowning them.
Some of the palace guards and Yulin soldiers, terrified to their bones, suddenly went berserk and charged wildly at Green Sparrow.
Countless blood-colored sword lights rained down like silk ribbons.
Any soldier bold enough to charge was instantly sliced down by Green Sparrow’s blade, their essence and soul completely devoured.
At the northwest corner of the Imperial City, the few hundred elite disciples of the Ghost Mother Cult that remained in Haojing fought desperately, slaughtering everything.
Blazing fire consumed a large swath of homes.
Inside, trapped civilians wailed in agonizing terror—their screams faintly carried by the northwest wind all the way to the Imperial City.
The blood of these slaughtered folk continuously rose into the air, pouring into a dozen or more floating red lanterns, transforming into blood light that forever melted into Green Sparrow’s body.
Her aura grew ever more magnificent and immense.
With each step forward by Green Sparrow, the earth trembled slightly beneath her.
Vast and surging dark energy filled the void.
The icy surface of a nearby lake cracked loudly as the ice broke and collided, revealing the eerie, mysterious water beneath.
Consort Qi continued jabbering relentlessly.
She kept taunting Empress Dowager and others with harsh words, stoking their negative emotions.
The bigger their inner despair grew, the more benefit Consort Qi seemed to harvest from it.
So clearly, the blood mist could already engulf the entire pavilion and kill everyone inside, but Consort Qi still wasted time yammering on, dredging up long-past conflicts and battles between herself and the Empress Dowager, mocking and scoring every slight, including the Empress Dowager’s Le family background.
Yu Sandou, nearby the Empress Dowager, lightly waved his hand.
A dozen or so young eunuchs tiptoed behind the pavilion and quietly removed several large objects covered with brocade silk.
Lu Qian looked over—those large objects were, astonishingly, aged and weathered military implements.
A giant blood-red banner.
A war chariot’s guard plate etched with giant Kun and Peng patterns.
A deep-colored crocodile skin war drum about twelve feet in diameter.
A dragon-engraved cleaver resting on a blade stand, wreathed with killing intent.
Yin Yuan and Yin Xing stared at the eunuchs’ movements and sucked in cold breaths.
“These are ancestral weapons used by the Great Ancestor of the Dayin during the rites in the ancestral temple…”
What? To fight these vengeful female ghosts of Consort Qi’s lot, the Empress Dowager was even pulling out the ritual weapons from the ancestral temple?
How to say this… in the hands of civilians, this would be no different than grave robbing.
The eunuchs silently lifted that huge war drum behind the Empress Dowager.
She gritted her teeth and suddenly burst out laughing. “Sister Consort Qi, I heard from Prince Lan Cang that you once tried to break into my bedchamber to assassinate me. But you couldn’t even get close.”
“Who knows what treasures lie in my bedchamber, capable of suppressing a sinister creature like you?”
“But since you can’t even approach my chamber, it means there must be something in this world that can restrain you. Why don’t you give the ancestral weapons left by the Great Ancestor of Dayin a taste?”
The Empress Dowager raised her snow-white, delicate palm and slammed it heavily down onto the war drum.
The moment she struck, a mighty roar echoed out.
A palace guard captain standing behind Le Wu suddenly slashed with his blade.
A flash like a silk ribbon of light swept forward, cleaving the crocodile skin war drum neatly in two.
The captain roared loudly, his blade flashing like snow.
Dozens of eunuchs carrying the objects didn't even scream—before they could, they were all cut clean in half.
The banner and the guard plate also shattered into powder in the blade’s wake.
The guard captain laughed loudly, tossing aside his long sword and reaching out for the twelve-foot dragon-engraved cleaver.
“Ghost Mother descends to save my broken soul… Ha ha! Today I perform a great deed — Ghost Mother, I shall gain true demon power!”
Consort Qi’s laughter rang out, piercing the sky.
“Good, good, good! You truly are a loyal disciple of our sect. Besides the nine elders, the immortal demon form, you deserve a spot too!”
“Empress Dowager sister, how about it? The surprise you prepared for me has turned into a fright, hasn’t it?”
“Without those few killing weapons, how will you fight me tonight?”
“Your last shred of hope is utterly shattered. Are you scared yet? Desperate? Regretful? Want to kneel down and cling to my legs, begging me for mercy?”
Consort Qi’s laughter grew sharper and more piercing.
Her figure radiated fierce crimson light as she gradually solidified, turning into a flesh-and-blood form.
Lu Qian and the others felt a chill run down their spines.
Among the palace guards was indeed a cult disciple of the Ghost Mother Sect.
Worse yet, this follower had hidden quietly until just now—until the Empress Dowager brought out these great killing weapons.
He suddenly struck, crushing the Empress Dowager’s final hope for a comeback.
To kill a person, you must first destroy their heart.
Consort Qi aimed to give the Empress Dowager a flicker of hope, only to then completely crush it!
That way, the Empress Dowager’s despair, regret, and fear would only grow, and Consort Qi seemed to gain even greater advantage from it.
Sure enough, watching the mighty weapons she had prepared destroyed before her eyes, the Empress Dowager let out a hysterical scream and slapped Le Wu with a deafening ear-shattering smack.
“Ah Wu, you useless wretch! There’s a cult disciple hiding under your command!”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes turned red with rage as she fixed her glare like a fierce ghost on her own brother.
Le Wu, along with Le Shan, Le Shui, and other members of the Le family, were all furious and swearing curse after curse.
Le Shan let out a roar and punched toward the palace guard captain wielding the dragon-engraved cleaver.
“Traitor, die!”
The captain knew he was no match for Le Shan.
He howled hoarsely, “Ghost Mother, save me!”
A cold wind swept in as Green Sparrow suddenly appeared right before Le Shan.
She pointed her right hand, and a dozen blood-colored flying swords screamed through the air at Le Shan.
Le Shan yelped and dared not resist, somersaulting and retreating dozens of yards.
Consort Qi’s laughter tore through the void.
She suddenly appeared at the pavilion entrance, smiling at the Empress Dowager.
“Empress Dowager sister, let’s have a warm little reunion…”
“Green Sparrow, be careful! The Empress Dowager is delicate meat—I want to slice her a thousand and eighty times before she dies. Don’t go killing her by accident with only a thousand and seventy-nine cuts!”
The Empress Dowager’s face instantly turned ghastly pale.
Looking at Consort Qi smiling at her with that cruel grin at the pavilion’s gate, she finally let out a terrified roar.
“Who among you noble ones can exorcise this demon? I promise heavy rewards! Generous rewards! I will not forget my loyalists!”
Yin Yuan shouted in a panic, “Me too! Me too! Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!”
Yin Yuan’s face was deathly pale—he almost blurted that classic phrase in fright: 'Every grievance has its cause, every debt has its owner!'
Lu Qian took a deep breath.
Having watched everything unfold, he knew the time had come.
He stepped forward, clutching the lotus-shaped secret treasure and shouted sternly:
“You mere demon, how dare you cause trouble and bully the loyal ministers of Great Dayin?”
His mind flooded with spiritual light flashes.
A profound and mysterious spiritual power surged into the lotus secret treasure in his hand.
A powerful Buddhist chant resounded to the heavens.
A broad, gentle gold light blossomed around Lu Qian, calming and soothing the heart.
A small golden sun appeared on the ground, instantly radiating golden light that shrouded a wide area.
Green Sparrow, Consort Qi, and countless figures in the advancing blood mist all screamed miserably as the blood mist rapidly evaporated and was driven back ten miles in an instant.
Green Sparrow and Consort Qi were trapped in the golden light; their forms flickered like they were soaked in concentrated sulfuric acid, continuously emitting white cold air, their shapes becoming vague and hazy.
Lu Qian raised his right hand even higher, and the golden light blazed brighter.
Yin Xing exclaimed, “That day Liu Wu was almost drained dry... How is Lu Qian unharmed? Could it be because he’s... the only unique eccentric in Haojing City?”
(End of chapter)