Chapter 264: Ancient Secret

Xiang Sheng hated Su Wen.

He also hated Xiang Yan.

In the capital, everyone was spreading that Xiang Yan was born with the bearing and the domineeringness of an emperor.

If those people then compared Xiang Yan to himself, it was inevitable that everyone would evaluate him as a good-for-nothing and ordinary person.

This was something Xiang Sheng could not accept.

This was especially so because even he had to admit that compared to Xiang Yan, he really did not have any outstanding aspects.

At such a young age, Xiang Yan was already able to rely on his own talent to control wind and fire. As for him, even after cultivating to this point, he was still only a 4th Grade Common Rank martial artist. The Star Rank was still far away for him.

Although the Royal Lineage did not rely on martial arts to determine who would ascend the throne, whenever Xiang Yan was mentioned, Su Wen would inevitably also be brought up.

The Nanli King’s influence was enough to cover the sky with one hand!

In Great Chu, no one could defy his wishes.

If the commoners did not know, did he not know as well?

He was extremely certain that Xiang Yan was Su Wen’s child.

With Su Wen’s support, would he have any chance in the future?

Xiang Sheng indeed had high hopes for the throne.

When Su Wen first entered the princess’s residence, he had also used this reason to convince him.

He even tolerated Su Wen and Xiang Feiyan’s intimate relationship because of this.

However, Su Wen, who had promised not to have children, suddenly had a child with Xiang Feiyan.

What would Xiang Sheng think?

He felt that he had been deceived and despaired.

Not to mention that Xiang Feiyan’s attitude towards him had also changed.

Little Xiang Yan walked towards the pond, unawares of what Xiang Sheng was planning.

Seeing this, a hint of ruthlessness appeared on Xiang Sheng’s face.

He knew that he only had one chance. Once he failed, what awaited him would definitely be an extremely miserable outcome.

However, he wanted to take a gamble because after Su Wen returned, he would not have such an opportunity again.

But just as Xiang Yan was about to reach the edge of the pond, a woman suddenly appeared.

This woman had a cold and severe expression.

She appeared beside Xiang Sheng and said coldly, “Your Highness, Her Majesty has ordered that His Highness is still young and cannot go to the edge of the pool.”

Xiang Sheng’s grip on the knockout powder… loosened.

His back was covered in cold sweat.

There were people in the dark!

This woman was the current commander of the royal guards.

Yan Bingyue.

She reached out to pull Xiang Yan over and gently picked him up.

Xiang Sheng forced a smile. “I’m here, right? We’re just looking at the fish. It’s fine.”

Yan Bingyue shook her head and said, “Her Majesty’s orders cannot be disobeyed! Furthermore, it’s time for His Highness to go back and do his homework.”

When he heard this, his face fell and he struggled in her arms.

Yan Bingyue remained unmoved as she hugged Xiang Yan and left.

Because of Xiang Yan’s intelligence, he had already started learning how to read and write.

Xiang Feiyan had also found a knowledgeable person to teach him. It could be said that she had high hopes for him.

After sending Xiang Yan to study, Yan Bingyue went to Xiang Feiyan’s side.

“Today, when the Eldest Prince was playing with the Second Prince, he dismissed the palace maids and even wanted to bring the Second Prince to see the fish. However, he was stopped by this subject.”

Xiang Feiyan, who was reviewing the memorials, paused and looked up at Yan Bingyue.

After a while, she softly spoke out, “Got it.”

She had seen too many despicable things in her life. She could only sigh faintly.

Xiang Sheng…

Towards Xiang Yan’s safety, Xiang Feiyan did not dare to be careless, so she had Yan Bingyue secretly follow him.

Even if Xiang Sheng was said to be playful and incompetent now, it did not matter to the current Xiang Feiyan.

After all, she had a backup plan.

But what she could not accept was that Xiang Sheng actually seemed to have thoughts of attacking Xiang Yan.

Yan Bingyue’s words actually had no evidence.

But Xiang Feiyan did not need evidence either.

As long as he had such thoughts, it was enough.

“Pass down the order. From tomorrow onwards, Xiang Sheng doesn’t need to enter the palace to pay his respects!”

Xiang Feiyan spoke out.

She would not say that she would execute Xiang Sheng. To her, Xiang Sheng was her biological son after all. Furthermore, he had not really attacked.

However, she did not want Xiang Sheng and Xiang Yan to have too much interaction.

“In addition, remove all restrictions in Xiang Sheng’s residence. The monthly expenses will increase to 10,000 taels!”

A lifetime of wealth!

So long as Xiang Sheng was safe, Xiang Feiyan did not mind letting him live like this.

But if Xiang Sheng was still dishonest…

As Xiang Feiyan pondered, a vicious glint flashed across her eyes!

On the other side, in the capital of Yan Country.

Zhao Rui was currently in the main hall of the Jade Water Clear Skies Sauna.

Right now, he was akin to a rich tycoon.

He had already married a few concubines and had a good relationship with many influential officials in the city.

At the same time, there was no need to constantly gather information any longer.

The days passed happily.

However, after being away from home for so long, it was inevitable that he would miss his hometown.

However, he also knew that he was in an extremely awkward position.

Ever since the news of Su Wen’s betrayal spread to the Yan Country, he did not know what to do.

Listen to the Royal Court? Return now?

He could not bear to leave his carefree life here, but if he did not return, no one from the Royal Court would contact him. The information he gathered would also be useless.

At the same time, he was also worried that if he went to Zhou Country, Su Wen’s matter would implicate him.

However, Su Wen did not send him a letter after that incident as well.

It was as if he had become a person that no one cared about or asked. He remained in the city the entire time.

Suddenly, he saw a figure appear in front of the door.

A very familiar figure.

Zhao Rui stood up in surprise.

“Chu He?!”

That’s right, it was Chu He!

During this period of time, Chu He’s reputation in the martial world rose.

He fought against various experts and swordsmen, challenging them all the way. Be it the Yan Country, Chu Country, or Zhou Country, there were traces of him.

He had made quite a name for himself.

The Cold-Faced Divine Sword!

When Chu He saw Zhao Rui, his expression relaxed. He smiled and said, “Get me a ticket and arrange a few decent technicians.”

Zhao Rui laughed loudly. “You’re also the boss, what are you talking about! You can play however you want!”

Chu He didn’t stand on ceremony either!

Seeing Chu He return, Zhao Rui felt happy.

He would not be alone again.

Although Chu He was Su Wen’s man…

The two of them soaked and then washed, before undergoing a full massage package.

After they were done playing, the two of them prepared a huge table of dishes and started reminiscing.

While eating, Zhao Rui asked with a smile, “You don’t have to leave this time, right?”

Chu He said softly, “I’m not leaving anymore.”

He looked up at Zhao Rui and said, “Pack your money and leave the city tomorrow, okay?”

“Ah!?”

Zhao Rui looked confused.

He didn’t know why Chu He suddenly said that…

Three days later, in front of the Royal Palace of Yan Country.

Chu He had removed his luxurious clothes and was standing there half naked. His muscular body was covered in numerous wounds.

He was dressed in a pair of thin pants, with his feet bare and a sword hanging from his waist.

His gaze was no longer as friendly as when he was with Zhao Jin!

There was only endless sharpness!

He walked alone on the streets of Yan Country.

This attracted everyone’s attention.

With the prosperity gone, he was left alone with his sword.

The guards in front of the palace also saw him.

“Where did this lunatic come from? Scram!” The guard shouted without hesitation.

After all, Chu He looked like a beggar on the street.

However, the next second…

The silver light exploded and a sword light flashed past.

Chu He’s sword was still at his waist, as though it had never moved.

However, the heads of the two guards had already fallen off!

Hot blood spurted out from their throats!

The peak 9th Grade Earth Rank Chu He chose the purest, most direct, and most difficult path of revenge.

From his master, Chu He knew very well that the Heaven Rank experts had all gone to the extreme north of the continent, and would not be able to return.

Then, he had the courage to try and fight!

Chu He walked straight into the depths of the palace.

Anyone who tried to stop him would be killed by the sword light.

However, soon, Chu He was surrounded by a large number of Imperial Guards and couldn’t advance!

“Your Majesty, there’s an assassin with a 9th Grade Earth Rank cultivation. However, this person seems to have lost his mind and charged straight into the palace from the palace gate.”

“Oh?”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes and smiled.

This was quite the novel scenario.

If this wasn’t suicide, then what was?

He looked at Qin Wenchang and said, “Wenchang, accompany me to take a look?”

“Alright!” Qin Wenchang did not think much of it as well.

There were as many experts in the palace as there were clouds. A mere 9th Grade Earth Rank cultivator, even if his combat strength was formidable, could not cause any waves.

When Emperor Yan and Qin Wenchang arrived, Chu He was already in a sorry state.

He was surrounded by several 9th Grade Earth Rank experts, and many wounds had already appeared on his body.

Blood flowed continuously, but he also made the other party pay the price.

Three 9th Grade Earth Rank experts had died at his hands!

In the crowd, Chu He still retained his cold expression.

It was as if he was not the one who was injured.

As they exchanged blows, another sword stabbed into the enemy’s throat!

Another 9th Grade Earth Rank expert was slain!

He was also slashed twice in return!

“Stop!”

A loud shout was heard, and the Yan Country guards who wanted to move in for the kill stopped.

Everyone split up as Emperor Yan and Qin Wenchang appeared.

Beside him, there were also experts protecting him.

He came in front of Chu He and said coldly, “Who are you?”

The shout rang in his ears.

Chu He panted heavily as the corners of his mouth rose. Even at such a time, his first thought was of that man that he had followed.

What would he say if he were here?

Chu He tried his best to imitate Su Wen’s tone. “I’m your father!”

Emperor Yan’s jaw dropped.

His face was filled with astonishment!

Then, he sneered and said, “Don’t try to argue. Tell me why you came to kill me!”

“Why?”

For his deceased parents? For the sake of his country?

For his world that was taken?

There were too many reasons.

However, Chu He didn’t want to tell him.

“Because I don’t like you! My young master said that if you don’t like someone, you have to make it known. If you come down and let me slap you ten times, I’ll spare your life!”

Chu He was really led astray by Zhao Jin.

His words almost angered Emperor Yan to death!

“Kill him!”

Emperor Yan gave the order.

Chu He sighed inwardly.

He had failed in the end.

Originally, he had thought… that he could fight to the death and use this opportunity to break through to the Heaven Rank.

However, reality was far crueler than he had imagined.

In the battle, Chu He didn’t manage to break through.

Seeing Emperor Yan turn around, the surrounding people surrounded him again.

Chu He drew his sword and stood up!

“Young Master! Brother Jin! I’m sorry, I can’t go back!”

Splat!

Chu He’s heart was stabbed.

He fell to the ground…

He had yet to break through to the Heaven Rank in the end.

Not everyone would definitely break through when faced with life and death.

Although Chu He had displayed extremely powerful combat strength in this battle, killing a few 9th Grade Earth Ranks and many more unknown guards…

He was ultimately still defeated.

He could pose no threat to the Emperor.

Chu He fell to the ground, his cold corpse losing the last breath of life.

“Dammit! What a troublesome fellow!”

A 9th Grade Earth Rank expert cursed as he looked at Chu He’s corpse.

“Brother Wang and Brother Li were all killed by this b*stard!”

“Psycho, if you wanted to assassinate him, you should have snuck into His Majesty’s chambers. If you killed your way in through the palace gates, aren’t you courting death? You caused so many of our brothers to die.”

“Hehe, he’s probably trying to break through to the Heaven Rank by falling into a hopeless situation. If it’s that easy, then everyone can just kill themselves! Idiots!”

Chu He wasn’t the first to do so. Of course, he wouldn’t be the last to do so.

Many people would think of such ways to break through.

Some people changed their mentality, while others placed themselves in a hopeless situation.

After all, between life and death, it was the best time to stimulate one’s potential.

The night gradually darkened.

In Zhou Country, Zhizhen was sitting on Emperor Zhou’s dragon couch. He suddenly looked at Yan Country and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. His eyes flashed with hatred.

“Good! Very good! Are you coming back too? You traitor!”

In the Yan Country’s unmarked mass graves.

Chu He’s corpse was carelessly thrown there.

Some of the dead experts were properly buried, but for the others, their corpses were thrown out of the city by the guards.

A black aura gradually surrounded his body.

In fact, the moment Chu He’s heart was pierced and he died, a trace of black demon blood had flowed out of his heart! His consciousness also fell into a strange state from that moment on.

However, no one noticed this anomaly happening…

Meanwhile, Chu He arrived in a black world.

It was pitch-black like ink, surrounded by boundless black fog.

He walked in the black fog for an unknown period of time.

Finally, some changes occurred, and the black mist dissipated.

An old man stood there facing him.

The old man had a golden horn on his forehead.

His eyes were golden as well!

It was precisely the Demonic Tribe.

He looked at Chu He’s Spirit Body with loving eyes, before smiling and waving at Chu He.

For some reason, Chu He didn’t have any hostility towards him.

Chu He subconsciously walked over.

Their eyes met, yet neither spoke immediately.

The elder looked at Chu He and said softly, “The True Demon Blood has been activated. You are her chosen successor.”

Chu He was at a loss.

“What’s your name?”

“Chu He!”

The old man’s eyes lit up.

“Your surname is Chu? Not Ji?”

Chu He shook his head and said, “No!”

“Hahaha!” The old man laughed loudly.

He laughed so hard that tears almost flowed out of his eyes.

Chu He didn’t know that the True Demon Blood had long been in his body.

That was the Great Qi’s legacy treasure!

According to the ancestral teachings of the Qi Country’s royal family, only the direct descendants of the royal family could consume it when the country was destroyed!

Back then, before Chu He was sent away, he had also consumed the True Demon Blood.

However, the True Demon Blood was born from death.

Without death, there cannot be life.

The elder gently tapped his finger as the black light surged into Chu He’s body. Instantly, many things appeared in Chu He’s mind.

“Demon God Art!”

The Demonic Tribe’s royal family cultivation technique!

He looked at Chu He and said in a deep voice, “Your current cultivation technique isn’t suitable for you. It’s difficult for you to ascend to the Heaven Rank. Cultivate the Demon God Art. If you like swords, the sword techniques in the Demon God Art aren’t inferior to any Sword Dao in the world!”

Chu He was still in a state of shock.

He had no idea what was going on.

“Why are you helping me?”

The old man’s gaze was distant as he muttered, “Because you are her bloodline, because your surname is Chu, and also my bloodline.”

“She’s… not here anymore, is she? Otherwise… with her personality, she won’t let you use True Demon Blood.”

“Who?” Chu He was still at a loss.

This old fellow’s words were unclear.

The old man chuckled. “Naturally, the emperor who founded the Qi Country, Ji Cangqiong.”

Chu He shook his head and said, “Long dead!”

However, Chu He deduced something from the elder’s words.

This matter was difficult for him to accept. To think that the founding emperor of the Qi Country actually had the surname Ji, and it was a woman?

Ji Cangqiong!

What a grand name.

(TL Note: Cangqiong in Chinese means the vast heavens. So you can tell how domineering this name is.)

It was impossible to tell that it was a woman from just the name.

Then why did the royal family of Qi Country use Chu as their surname for the past tens of thousands of years?

This fellow in front of him who was clearly not human actually said that he had his bloodline?

When the old man heard the news of Ji Cangqiong’s death, grief flashed across his eyes…

These two people definitely had too much to say…

Meanwhile, in the outside world, the Demonic Qi lingered around Chu He’s corpse.

Or rather, he could no longer be considered a corpse.

There were too many secrets left during and after the ancient war of humans and demons.

A golden horn slowly appeared on Chu He’s forehead.

This golden horn represented the royal bloodline of the Demonic Tribe!

The injuries on his body also began to heal.

As for Su Wen, he still did not know what had transpired in the human world.

What he needed to do was continue to think of a way to stop the demon invasion.

After several months of peace, the humans had built up the array formation pass, and the humans had made a comeback.

This time, it was as Su Changqing had expected.

The Demon Tribe gathered all the Heaven Rank experts to make a full scale attack.

A large number of Heaven Rank experts headed straight for one of the human passes.

The alliance army of the human world that had built the sensing formation also quickly gathered in response.

This battle would definitely decide the direction of the two worlds.

The Demon Emperor flew over with a large number of demon experts.

Gongsun Shi also led the Heaven Rank experts from the human world into battle!

Facing a Heaven Rank expert, there was no point in turtling within the city.

Su Wen also specially brought Xue Qianxun along this time.

However, as the two armies drew closer, Gongsun Shi’s expression turned a little ugly.

Su Wen could tell that something was wrong and asked, “Senior Gongsun, what’s wrong?”

Gongsun Shi said in a low voice, “There are too many experts on the other side! This is beyond my expectations! That Demon Emperor is watching me, and we definitely won’t be able to affect the battle. However, there are six 9th Grade Heaven Rank experts on the other side, and at least 20 of the 8th Grade Earth Rank experts! It seems like we don’t have any chance of winning!”

Hiss! Su Wen gasped when he heard this.

From the looks of it, they really did not stand a chance!

How could they fight? The difference in strength was too great! They might not even be able to win if they fought with their lives, right?

Right now, if they were to count in the Heaven Rank experts in the Human Alliance…

There was only one 9th Grade Earth Rank expert, and that was the leader of those Heaven Rank vicious beasts, a devil dragon!

As for the others, the highest was only at 8th Grade Heaven Rank!

Gongsun Shi said with a bitter smile, “It’s over. At present, this Demon Realm seems to be much stronger than us.”

“Then what should we do?” The nearby Zhang Qian frowned as he asked.

He was only an 8th Grade Heaven Rank cultivator. Even though his battle prowess was at the peak of the 8th Grade, he knew very well…

If he were to face off against a 9th Grade Heaven Rank, he had no chance of winning!

Gongsun Shi sighed and said, “There is no other choice, we will fight to the death! Even if we don’t fight, the world will still be destroyed.”

At this moment, Su Wen interrupted, “If not, let’s ask if we can surrender…”

Gongsun Sh was furious. “What nonsense are you talking about!”

Su Wen was not afraid of him and immediately retorted, “In any case, we have to die if we can’t defeat them. What else can we do? We might still have a chance if we live. If we die, will the remaining people in the human world be able to defeat them? Won’t they still have to die?

If we surrender, we will leave behind seeds for the races in the human world. This is to promote the merging of the people of the two races. Perhaps in a few hundred thousand years, the living will still sing praises for us!”

“I… you…” Gongsun Shi almost died from anger upon hearing his words!