Chapter 122 The desolate old capital, its initial brilliance revealed.
Su Qingyuan stood on the other side of the boat's railing, gazing at the rolling mountains and rivers below. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the hilt of the crimson flame skyfall sword.
Her homeland, the State of Liang, lay directly on the path of this route. It had been a year since she left home to join the Sect and Cultivate. Now that she was passing through her former country, her heart was inevitably filled with concern.
"Thinking about the State of Liang?" Lin Yue's voice came from behind her.
Su Qingyuan turned around, a trace of melancholy flashing in her eyes. "A month ago, I received a letter from home. My cousin, Su Mingyu, conspired with foreign enemies and murdered the former emperor. He has placed his seven-year-old nephew, Su Chen, under house arrest and declared himself the Prince Regent. He even invited an evil Cultivator known as the 'Blood Spirit Protector' to reside in the palace. Now, the people throughout the country are living in misery." She spoke with a voice full of grief and indignation. "I originally planned to find a way to return alone and rescue them after completing the business at Huangmu Reef, but that Blood Spirit Protector's cultivation is unfathomable. I..."
"Since it's on the way, we'll go there," Lin Yue interrupted her, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "The direct lineage of the Su Family must not be extinguished. What use is there in keeping such scum who steal countries?"
Liu Qingyan walked over and said softly, "Qingyuan, we will go with you on this matter. Since that Blood Spirit Protector is treated as an honored guest by Su Mingyu, he must be skilled in evil arts. Take this Guyuan Pill first, just in case."
Half an hour later, the qinglan boat quietly landed in the mountain forest outside the capital of the State of Yunxi.
The group concealed their auras and turned into several streaks of light, flying toward the imperial palace.
The capital was indeed a scene of desolation. There were few pedestrians on the streets, and the commoners looked malnourished. The occasional patrolling soldiers were all fierce and malevolent, completely devoid of the peaceful atmosphere of the past.
Deep within the imperial palace, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was brightly lit.
Su Mingyu was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe. Although he had not officially ascended the throne, he was already enjoying the treatment of an emperor. He sat upright on the dragon throne, looking at the Blood Spirit Protector cultivating in the altar below, his eyes full of flattery.
The Blood Spirit Protector was dressed in a black robe, surrounded by a thick scent of blood. The birth dates of dozens of children were placed on the altar, and black blood mist continuously rose from the altar, being inhaled into his body.
"Lord Protector, once you master the Blood Spirit Great Art, we can completely control the State of Yunxi. By then, the whole world will be ours!" Su Mingyu said flatteringly.
The Blood Spirit Protector slowly opened his eyes, a trace of crimson flashing within. "Su Mingyu, you have done well. The essence and blood of these young boys and girls are very pure. In three more days, I will be able to break through the Bottleneck. At that time, even if people from the immortal cultivation Sects come, they won't be able to do anything to us."
Su Qingyuan wrapped herself in a plain cloth robe, hiding the crimson flame skyfall sword inside her large traveling bag. However, when those phoenix eyes swept over the dilapidated city walls, a layer of coldness still couldn't help but surface.
The capital in her memory should have had vermilion walls and glazed tiles, with bustling streets where children played and chased vendors selling sugar figurines. But now, the drawbridge at the city gate was rusty, and the banners on the gate tower had several holes, drooping in the evening breeze like a sickly man gasping for his last breath.
"Halt! Who goes there?" The guards at the city gate leveled their spears, the iron rust on the tips glinting coldly. The leader was a squad leader with a face full of flesh. His gaze swept back and forth across the group, finally landing on Su Qingyuan. Seeing her extraordinary beauty, a lewd light immediately flickered in his eyes. "This little lady is quite well-favored. Where are you from? Do you have your travel documents?"
Liu Qingyan stepped forward and handed over a common merchant guild waist token she had prepared beforehand. Her voice was gentle but carried an air of unquestionable authority. "We are medicinal herb merchants from the south. Passing through your esteemed land, we wish to enter the city to rest and buy some local specialties."
The squad leader pinched the waist token and flipped it over for a long time, then reached out toward Liu Qingyan's bundle, clearly intending to use the opportunity for extortion. Lin Yue's brows slightly furrowed, and a wisp of golden-red spiritual light quietly condensed at his fingertips. He was just waiting for the other party to make a move before teaching him a lesson.
Just then, Luo Ningshuang's fingertips moved slightly, and an imperceptible green light coiled around the squad leader's wrist. The squad leader felt a numbness in his palm as if he had been stung by something. He shrieked and pulled back his hand, and when he looked at his palm again, the entire thing had turned pitch black.
"Witchcraft!" The squad leader was both shocked and angry, but he didn't dare to step forward again. He just spat and waved them through. "Get in! If you can't find an inn before dark, go stay at the ruined temple in the west of the city. Don't go loitering under my nose!"
The group stepped through the city gate, and the sight before them was even more shocking.
The smooth bluestone road was cracked with several deep fissures, filled with blackened stagnant water. Eight or nine out of ten shops along the street were closed, the seals on the doorboards curling in the wind. Occasionally, a few pedestrians passed by, all of them sallow and thin, their eyes filled with numbness.
"When I left the palace, it wasn't like this," Su Qingyuan's voice was extremely low, her fingertips clenched until they turned white. "My cousin Su Mingyu has always been ambitious, but I never expected him to conspire with foreign enemies and not even spare his seven-year-old nephew."
Lin Yue patted her shoulder, and golden-red spiritual light seeped into her Meridians through his fingertips, soothing her surging hostility. "Since we are here, we won't let him commit any more evil. Let's find an inn to stay in first and get a clear picture of the palace's defenses."
The "Yuelai Inn" in the west of the city was one of the few remaining inns still in business. However, only a single dim oil lamp was lit in the lobby. The shopkeeper was slumped over the counter dozing. Seeing people enter, he barely raised his head and asked in a raspy voice, "Staying or eating? If staying, only two communal bunks are left. If eating, there's only coarse rice and pickles."
The group asked for two communal bunks and ordered several bowls of coarse rice. They had just sat down for a moment when a sudden rush of footsteps came from outside the inn, mixed with the crisp sound of clashing weapons and a woman's startled cry.
Immediately after, the inn door was kicked open, and a frail figure stumbled in. Her coarse blue cloth clothes were stained with blood, her hair was disheveled, and she was deathly protecting a brocade box in her arms. It was Yang Huaner, the daughter of the Great Liang's former official, Grand Tutor Yang.
Behind Yang Huaner, seven or eight figures followed closely. The two leaders were: one dressed in the black official uniform of the Liang State's Shendao Department with a steady aura, already at the Late Stage of Qi Refining; the other wore the dark green Daoist robe of the Xuanyue Sect, surrounded by a faint poisonous mist, clearly a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator.
"Yang Huaner, you can't escape!" The Shendao Department Cultivator shouted coldly, his long saber slashing out a sharp blade wind that bore down directly on Yang Huaner's back. "Hand over the late emperor's secret edict, and I'll leave you a whole corpse!"
The Xuanyue Sect Cultivator added sinisterly, "And the royal secret treasures you've hidden. Hand them over obediently, or I'll let you taste the flavor of the Xuantian Soul-Eroding Smoke!"
Yang Huaner's face was deathly pale, but she gritted her teeth and protected the brocade box even tighter. Seeing the blade wind about to reach her, a trace of despair flashed in her eyes.
At this critical moment, a cold shout suddenly rang out: "Stop!"
Su Qingyuan suddenly stood up, her cloth robe sliding off to reveal a section of snow-white wrist, her phoenix eyes filled with chilling intent.
She had intended to hide her tracks, but Yang Huaner was the daughter of her father's former subordinate and the last of the loyalists of Great Liang. She could never stand by and watch her die.
Before her voice had even faded, Su Qingyuan reached into her bag, and the crimson flame skyfall sword flew out of its scabbard, the Green Fire Sword Intent instantly sweeping through the lobby. Wherever the blade passed, the air was scorched and distorted. The blade wind slashing toward Yang Huaner was shattered by the Sword Intent before it even reached her.
"Who are you? How dare you interfere in the business of the Shendao Department!" The Shendao Department Cultivator was shocked and angry. He swung his saber at Su Qingyuan, the blade carrying the powerful spiritual power of the Late Stage of Qi Refining, its momentum intimidating.
Killing intent surged in Su Qingyuan's eyes as the sharp edge of her Innate Sword Bone was fully revealed. The crimson flame skyfall sword and the broken sword from the jiaowei sword casket unsheathed simultaneously. Two streaks of Azure Fire Sword Gang intertwined into a net, directly crushing the Cultivator's long saber.
Before the opponent could react, the Sword Gang had already pierced through his protective spiritual light. The Cultivator didn't even have time to scream before he fell into a pool of blood.