Chapter 151: The Massacre of the Estate by the Demons (Part 2)

Li Xiuran was still embracing his concubine, lying in bed and indulging in sweet dreams, when he was startled awake by the sound of his trusted aide pounding on the door. "Milord, a major disaster has occurred!"

Having some lingering sleep inertia and feeling even more irritated at being woken up, Li Xiuran roared toward the outside, "What kind of major disaster could possibly have happened?"

"The Sixth Prince's mansion has been slaughtered by the Demons!"

A shock ran through Li Xiuran's heart. He got out of bed, slipped into his shoes, casually grabbed an outer robe to throw over himself, and stepped out the door in a few strides.

"Milord, the Sixth Prince's mansion has been slaughtered by the Demons!"

Li Xiuran roared in anger, "In broad daylight, how can you spout such nonsense!"

Seeing that Li Xiuran did not believe him, the aide was on the verge of taking an oath. "It is the absolute truth! Lieutenant Liu has already taken men to inspect it, and not a single living soul is left."

Li Xiuran's legs went weak, and he slumped to the floor. "It's over, it's all over. Had I known things would come to this, I should have listened to my wife and resigned from my post to return to my hometown!"

The aide hurriedly reached out to support him. "Milord, you cannot fall now! You must hurry to the palace and report this to the Celestial Emperor!"

Li Xiuran tried several times but failed to stand up. The concubine, however, had already dressed herself neatly. She walked over to his side, and together with the aide, helped him up and moved him to a chair.

The concubine called a maidservant in to help Li Xiuran wash up and change into a fresh set of clothes, then spoke in a gentle, soothing tone, "Milord, the Demons come and go like shadows; how could you have anticipated this? The Celestial Emperor will not blame you."

At this moment, Li Xiuran found the concubine unpleasing to the eye as well. "What do you know? When nothing happens, everything is fine for everyone; when disaster strikes, all the blame falls entirely on me!"

Hearing Li Xiuran's harsh tone, the concubine's temper flared up too. "Milord, you have to go to the palace anyway. Saying all this now accomplishes nothing!"

Right then, Li Xiuran felt an extreme yearning for his legal wife. If she were here, she would surely be anxious to help him think of a solution instead of uttering useless, empty words.

After trying once more, Li Xiuran stood up, trembling all over as he walked outside, thinking to himself: My life is truly finished!

The Celestial Emperor sat cross-legged on the daybed in the Imperial Study, closing his eyes to rest his mind.

Ever since a secret chamber was excavated beneath the Imperial Study, the Celestial Emperor had never returned to his sleeping quarters to rest, fearing that the secret underground would be discovered.

The trip to the Holy Shrine had yielded nothing, and he had even had to hand over the land deed of the Holy Mountain to appease the Qin family, yet the Celestial Emperor had not taken it too much to heart. Having lived for a long time, he naturally knew what was heavy and what was light.

It was just that Kongqing, who had always been so obedient, had been behaving rather unfathomably lately. Not returning to report back was one thing, but he had even dared to stay overnight at the Qin family estate, using the excuse of feeling unwell and inconvenient to move about.

From the Qin family estate to the Seventh Prince's mansion was merely a quarter-hour ride in a carriage.

Outside the door came the voice of Long Linyi, "Your Majesty, Li Xiuran requests an audience."

Li Xiuran? Day had barely broken, yet this slippery fellow had already entered the palace?

"Let him enter."

Li Xiuran walked into the Imperial Study and knelt directly before the Celestial Emperor. "Your Majesty, this subject is guilty."

The Celestial Emperor still kept his eyes closed. "Of what crime are you guilty?"

Li Xiuran trembled in terror, shaking like a sieve in the wind. "Last night, the Demons slaughtered the entire household of the Sixth Prince, leaving not a single living soul behind."

Not knowing what crossed his mind, the Celestial Emperor spoke, "The Demons have always acted ruthlessly; it is hardly surprising that they left no survivors."

With a grieving voice, Li Xiuran said, "The Sixth Prince died a miserable death!"

The Celestial Emperor thought to himself that the victim was merely a prince—more than a few princes had died at his own hands, so one more or less made little difference. However, when had the Demons forged a grudge against Kongjin? He said in a deep voice, "Long Linyi, go and investigate thoroughly."

Receiving the command, Long Linyi proceeded to the Sixth Prince's mansion and conducted a meticulous inspection, even rummaging through every single pile of black ash, and the shock in his heart grew increasingly profound.

According to the results of his investigation, nearly two thousand people, high and low within the Sixth Prince's mansion, had all died at the hands of a single Demon, utterly devoid of any ability to resist.

A Demon capable of slaughtering the entire Sixth Prince's mansion overnight likely possessed a realm of cultivation far surpassing even the Celestial Emperor, perhaps having already crossed that threshold.

What on earth had the Sixth Prince been doing behind the scenes to provoke such a monstrous demon?

"City Governor Li, have your men clear the place out cleanly. Matters have reached a point where it is no longer something the two of us can get involved in."

Li Xiuran was more than eager for someone to tell him precisely that, and he nodded repeatedly, personally supervising his subordinates as they cleared out the Sixth Prince's mansion.

Upon leaving the Sixth Prince's mansion, Long Linyi deliberately avoided everyone, walked into a secluded alley, and removed a brick from the wall. Inside was a small, disposable teleportation array.

Long Linyi placed the strip of cloth in his hand onto the teleportation array and activated it. Once the cloth vanished, the array flickered a few times and likewise disappeared without a trace.

Soving the brick back into its original place, Long Linyi dusted off his hands and returned to the imperial palace.

The Celestial Emperor was still sitting cross-legged on the daybed, his eyes half-closed.

Long Linyi reported respectfully, "Your Majesty, this subordinate has returned."

"Enter."

Long Linyi pushed the door open just enough for a person to pass, stepped sideways inside, closed the door behind him, and stood before the Celestial Emperor to speak: "Your Majesty, this subordinate inspected the place carefully. Nearly two thousand people in the Sixth Prince's mansion all perished at the hands of the very same Demon."

The Celestial Emperor opened his eyes. "To possess such formidable strength!"

Long Linyi's expression remained calm. "Shall this subordinate lead men to investigate further?"

"No need. Let the matter end here. You may withdraw."

"As you command."

The Celestial Emperor harbored numerous suspicions yet had no way to verify them. After a moment of hesitation, he got down from the daybed, walked over to the antique shelf, and turned the mechanism. Once the secret chamber opened, he descended the stairs, came to a halt, and spoke softly, "Exalted Immortal, this disciple has a request."

"What is it?"

"Exalted Immortal, the Demons have slaughtered the Sixth Prince's mansion."

"Come closer."

The Celestial Emperor knelt respectfully before the stone platform. "Exalted Immortal, this disciple now has only Kongqing left as a son."

"Do you not trust your master?" The Exalted Immortal's voice carried no discernible emotion.

The Celestial Emperor remained respectful. "This disciple would not dare."

The Exalted Immortal reached out and placed a hand on the crown of the Celestial Emperor's head, speaking a moment later, "I shall help you break through. You need no longer abstain from female company; you can simply father more sons."

Though the Celestial Emperor maintained a respectful expression on his face, his heart was filled with boundless joy. He had stood before this threshold for far too long, unable to cross it; he had never expected that the death of a Kongjin could actually be exchanged for an opportunity to achieve a breakthrough.

Floating in mid-air before the Exalted Immortal was a crimson medicinal pill. "My injuries have not yet fully healed, so I was only able to refine this single pellet."

Holding the pill with both hands, the Celestial Emperor pressed his head deep into a bow before the Exalted Immortal. "This disciple offers his deepest thanks to the Exalted Immortal for bestowing the medicine."

He then produced a small white jade vial and reverently placed the pill inside it.

Seeing that the Celestial Emperor was still kneeling on the ground, the Exalted Immortal asked, "Is there anything else?"

Thinking that he might possibly secure even more assistance today, the Celestial Emperor lowered his voice further, making it all the more respectful. "Exalted Immortal, the Holy Maiden hides herself within the Qin residence day in and day out. This disciple is incompetent and unable to bring her out."

The Exalted Immortal produced yet another item and handed it to the Celestial Emperor. "Burn this object at the hour of noon, and someone will naturally bring the Holy Maiden to you."

Receiving it into his hands, the Celestial Emperor put it away without examining it closely. "This disciple takes his leave."

"Go."

Only after emerging from the secret chamber did the Celestial Emperor take out the object to examine it closely.

He saw that it was thin, long, and entirely blood-red, looking rather like a type of aromatic incense.

Noticing the time, he saw that noon was rapidly approaching. He therefore found an incense burner, inserted the stick of incense into it, and quietly waited for noon to arrive.

The waiting time was both agonizingly long and fleeting. The very moment the time-keeping indicator reached noon, a spark of lightning flickered at the tip of the Celestial Emperor's finger, effortlessly igniting the incense.

The incense flickered with a reddish light, yet not a single wisp of smoke rose from it.

Concentrating his gaze, the Celestial Emperor noticed that the intervals between the flashes of red light varied in length with strict regularity. A quiet shock stirred within his heart: could this be the legendary Mother-and-Child Incense mentioned in rumors?

It was said that with this Mother-and-Child Incense, a message could be stored within the child incense. When the child incense was ignited, through the telepathic link between mother and child, the mother incense would ignite simultaneously, thereby transmitting the message.

Yet the Mother-and-Child Incense had been lost for ages; from where had the Exalted Immortal acquired it?

For a fleeting moment, a trace of regret arose in the Celestial Emperor: was the choice he had made back then truly right, or was it wrong?

Right or wrong, there was no longer any turning back.