Chapter 146 Intercepting the Heavenly Heart Dew of Destiny, the Cold Emperor's Heart Stirred in the Mortal World

Baihua City had been besieged for three days, and the people inside were in a state of panic.

The Xuan Armor Army maintained strict discipline; they besieged without attacking, neither looting nor shouting challenges to battle. They simply camped quietly outside the city, sealing the entire city off completely.

Yet, the more they acted this way, the more terrified the civil and military officials inside the city became. Every day, they ran to the palace gates, weeping and begging the Empress to surrender, which gave Baihua Yilan such a headache that her head felt like it was going to explode.

Inside the Imperial Study, Baihua Yilan wore plain clothes, sitting by the window and looking at the endless expanse of the Xuan Armor Army's camps outside the city, her gaze complex.

Over these three days, she had thought a lot. Emperor Cao Xukun was right; the Baihua Dynasty was already rotten to the core. Her Imperial Father was muddled and incompetent, knowing only how to rely on the Son of Destiny to act arrogant and hold up appearances; her Imperial Brother was indulgent and debauched, capable of nothing but molesting palace maids; that newborn Holy Son was even more of an empty shell, capable of nothing but blooming wild flowers. The civil and military officials of the entire court were either sycophants or cowardly opportunists.

If not for her struggling to hold it together, the Baihua Dynasty would have long since been swallowed up by other dynasties.

But no matter how strong she was, she was only one person. Her cultivation at the Half-Step Daluo stage was vulnerable before Emperor Cao Xukun. That palm strike that effortlessly shattered the ancient Baihua Barrier still lingered in her mind, impossible to shake off.

"Your Majesty, you haven't closed your eyes for three days." Her personal maid walked over with a cup of clear tea and said softly, "The Great Elder and the others are kneeling outside again, begging you to quickly find a way to repel the enemy."

Baihua Yilan rubbed her temples, her tone weary: "Let them get lost. A bunch of crybaby trash, capable of nothing but adding to the chaos."

The maid sighed and said again: "By the way, Your Majesty, the heaven heart flower in the forbidden area at the back of the mountain will mature in another hour. That is your only hope for breaking through to the Daluo Golden Immortal stage; you absolutely must not miss it."

Upon hearing the words "heaven heart flower," Baihua Yilan's gaze instantly became sharp.

That's right, she still had one final trump card.

The heaven heart flower was a peerless, exotic flower unique to the Eastern Region, blooming once every ten thousand years and bearing fruit once every ten thousand years. The heaven heart flower dew it produced was a supreme treasure for breaking through to the Daluo Golden Immortal stage. This heaven heart flower was her life-bound opportunity, which she had watered with her own essence blood since she was young, connecting it to her heart and spirit. As long as she absorbed the heaven heart flower dew, she could immediately break through to the Daluo Golden Immortal stage; by then, even Emperor Cao Xukun would definitely not be her match.

"Pass down the order: seal off the entire forbidden area at the back of the mountain. No one is allowed to approach; those who violate this order will be executed!"

Baihua Yilan stood up abruptly, a Half-Step Daluo aura erupting from her body: "I will personally go to guard the heaven heart flower. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be killed without mercy!"

Half an hour later, at the forbidden area behind the mountain.

Clouds and mist swirled here, and the spiritual energy was so dense it was nearly liquefied. On a stone platform in the center of the valley grew a snow-white exotic flower, its petals layered upon layers, emitting a faint white light. At the heart of the flower, a crystal-clear dewdrop was slowly condensing; it was the heaven heart flower dew.

Baihua Yilan had set up eighty-one flower path restrictions, sealing the entire valley airtight. These restrictions were the culmination of her life's learning; even if a Daluo Golden Immortal were to break in, they would lose a layer of skin.

"It's finally about to mature." Baihua Yilan looked at the heaven heart flower on the stone platform, her eyes full of anticipation: "As long as I absorb this drop of flower dew, I can break through to the Daluo Golden Immortal stage. By then, Emperor Cao Xukun, I will make you pay the price for your arrogance!"

She sat cross-legged beside the stone platform, closing her eyes to rest and quietly waiting for the heaven heart flower dew to fully mature.

However, what she did not know was that at the very moment she set up the restrictions, a dark-clad figure had already silently infiltrated the valley.

Emperor Cao Xukun hovered in mid-air, looking down at the battle-ready Baihua Yilan, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.

[Ding! Detected a top-tier life-bound opportunity!]

[heaven heart flower dew: Baihua Yilan's exclusive life-bound supreme treasure, can assist her in breaking through to the Daluo Golden Immortal stage!]

[Intercepting it can plunder a large amount of Golden Luck, or it can be improved and gifted to significantly increase favorability!]

[Reminder: The heaven heart flower dew contains a trace of innate turbid qi; absorbing it directly will leave behind the hidden danger of heart demons, making it impossible to break through to the late Daluo stage for life!]

The system prompt sounded in his mind, and Emperor Cao Xukun raised an eyebrow slightly. So this so-called life-bound supreme treasure had such a huge hidden danger. No wonder Baihua Yilan had such high talent but had been stuck at the Half-Step Daluo stage for so many years.

He did not alert Baihua Yilan; his figure flickered, turning into a stream of light, and he landed silently on the stone platform.

All the restrictions were merely decorative in front of him, not even causing a single ripple.

At this moment, the heaven heart flower dew had just fully matured, emitting a dazzling white light. Baihua Yilan opened her eyes abruptly and reached out to pluck the flower dew.

But just at this moment, she suddenly discovered that the heaven heart flower dew on the stone platform had vanished into thin air!

"Who?!"

Baihua Yilan's expression changed drastically; she stood up abruptly, her spiritual power surging: "Who dares to steal my heaven heart flower dew! Come out!"

She looked around, but didn't even see a shadow. Just as she was panicking, a calm voice sounded behind her: "Don't look anymore, it's with me."

Baihua Yilan turned around abruptly and saw Emperor Cao Xukun standing behind her, holding that crystal-clear heaven heart flower dew in his hand, looking at her with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"Emperor Cao Xukun!" Baihua Yilan trembled with rage, drawing her long sword and pointing it at Emperor Cao Xukun: "You thief! How dare you steal my life-bound opportunity! I'll fight you to the death!"

She lunged at Emperor Cao Xukun like a madwoman, her Half-Step Daluo cultivation exploding with full force, sword qi crisscrossing and shattering the surrounding mountain rocks into powder.

Emperor Cao Xukun simply dodged sideways with ease, his tone calm: "Don't be agitated. I didn't come to snatch your flower dew."

"You didn't come to snatch it? Then what are you holding it for!" Baihua Yilan roared with red eyes: "Give it back to me! Otherwise, I'll perish together with you today!"

"I can give it back to you." Emperor Cao Xukun smiled: "However, this flower dew has problems. If you absorb it directly, it will leave behind the hidden danger of heart demons, and you will never be able to break through to the late Daluo stage for life. Even if you absorb it, you won't become a true Daluo Golden Immortal."

"You're lying!" Baihua Yilan said angrily: "The heaven heart flower dew is my life-bound opportunity; how could there be a problem! You just want to trick me!"

"Believe it or not, it's up to you." Emperor Cao Xukun wasn't angry; faint golden chaos energy bloomed at his fingertip, and he tapped it gently onto the heaven heart flower dew.

Seeing that, a trace of black turbid qi, barely visible to the naked eye, was slowly drawn out from the crystal-clear flower dew and dissipated into the air. The originally somewhat piercing white light became much softer, emitting an even richer aura of life.

After finishing all this, Emperor Cao Xukun casually threw the heaven heart flower dew to Baihua Yilan: "It's fine now. After absorbing it, not only will you be able to successfully break through to the Daluo Golden Immortal stage, but you also won't leave behind any hidden dangers."

Baihua Yilan caught the flower dew subconsciously, and feeling the purer power within the flower dew, she was completely stunned.

She could clearly feel that the trace of aura in the flower dew that had always made her vaguely uneasy had truly disappeared. Replacing it was a kind of incomparably gentle and pure power that perfectly resonated with her heart and spirit.

"You... why did you do this?" Baihua Yilan raised her head, looking at Emperor Cao Xukun, her eyes filled with confusion and shock: "You clearly could have snatched it away, making me forever unable to break through. Why did you help me improve it?"

"The things I, Emperor Cao Xukun, want, I never obtain by stealing." Emperor Cao Xukun said calmly: "Whether it is the ten thousand flowers thousand threads spiritual root or the Baihua Immortal Canon, they belong to those with the virtue to hold them. As for this heaven heart flower dew, it was originally your life-bound opportunity; it would be useless for me to snatch it."

He paused, looked into Baihua Yilan's eyes, and said earnestly: "Moreover, I admire you. You are a capable and responsible woman, a hundred times stronger than that bunch of trash, Emperor Baihua Gan. I don't want to see you ruin your future because of a trace of turbid qi."

Baihua Yilan was shaken, and the heaven heart flower dew in her hand trembled slightly.

Growing up, no one had ever said such things to her. Everyone only treated her as the Empress of the Baihua Dynasty, a tool to protect the dynasty. Her Imperial Father used her, the officials relied on her; no one had ever truly cared about her future, and no one had cared whether she would be left with the hidden danger of heart demons.

Yet, the man before her eyes, who was clearly her enemy and could have easily taken everything from her, not only did not harm her but instead helped her improve her life-bound opportunity and eliminated the hidden danger of heart demons.

Compared to that Imperial Father who only made her take the blame and only knew how to act arrogant and court death, compared to that Imperial Brother who only dragged her down, and compared to that Holy Son who could do nothing but cry, Emperor Cao Xukun's figure instantly became incomparably tall in her heart.

Her heartbeat, she didn't know when, had actually skipped a beat. Her cheeks also felt slightly hot, and she dared not look directly into Emperor Cao Xukun's eyes anymore.

Emperor Cao Xukun looked at her shy appearance, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful smile: "What? Touched? If you are touched, then consider my previous proposal. Submit to Great Xuan, and I will let you continue to govern the Eastern Region, and I can even help you carry forward the flower path inheritance."

Baihua Yilan bit her lip and said nothing. Within her heart, a fierce struggle was taking place.

On one side was the Baihua Dynasty that gave birth to and raised her, the foundation she had protected her entire life; on the other side was this man who made her heart flutter and whom she admired, a brighter and more vast future.

Emperor Cao Xukun didn't pressure her either, simply saying: "I'm not in a hurry. Take your time to consider. However, I'll remind you, your Imperial Father won't give you too much time. He is definitely plotting right now how to use your life to trade for his own wealth and glory."

After saying this, his figure flickered, and he silently left the forbidden area.

Leaving Baihua Yilan standing alone on the stone platform, holding the improved heaven heart flower dew in her hand, looking in the direction where Emperor Cao Xukun had departed, her gaze complex.

She knew that Emperor Cao Xukun was telling the truth.

That man, her Imperial Father, would do anything to hold onto his throne.

Sure enough, just at this moment, rapid footsteps came from the distance.

The Great Elder's voice came from afar: "Your Majesty! It's bad! The old Emperor has secretly sent people to contact Crown Prince Ling Chen of the Central Dynasty, saying he wants to offer you to Crown Prince Ling Chen in exchange for the protection of the Central Dynasty!"

Baihua Yilan raised her head abruptly, her eyes instantly turning icy cold.

The last shred of hesitation completely vanished into thin air.