Chapter 467: The Truth (Third Update)

Emperor Jiawen had intended to dodge, but the speed of that sword qi was simply too fast!

*Ssh!*

A cold sensation grazed his neck!

*Crack!*

The object hanging from his neck suddenly snapped! It flew toward Rong Xiu!

Emperor Jiawen was greatly alarmed and immediately reached out to grab it, but he still narrowly missed it!

Just as he was about to give chase, the Red-Tailed Flood Dragon charged up once more, swinging its dragon tail to strike heavily toward Emperor Jiawen!

Caught off guard, Emperor Jiawen was struck hard in the back!

His body flew out uncontrollably!

By this time, the object had already landed in Rong Xiu's hand.

Chu Liuyue narrowed her eyes to look, only to see that it was actually a black bone chain, with a... ring hanging from it?

The ring was bronze in color, and it seemed to be engraved with mysterious black patterns, looking extremely enigmatic.

Rong Xiu lowered his gaze to look at the ring, his long black eyelashes obscuring the expression in his eyes.

His thin lips pressed together slightly, and his jade-carved chin seemed to tense for a moment.

No emotion was visible on his face, but Chu Liuyue's heart suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain.

"Rong Xiu! Return that item to me!"

Emperor Jiawen managed to stabilize his posture and hurriedly looked toward Rong Xiu.

Rong Xiu's expression shifted slightly; with a flip of his wrist, he stowed the ring away.

"If Imperial Mother were still here, she certainly would not agree to your son returning this to you."

"You!"

Emperor Jiawen wanted to argue, but upon meeting Rong Xiu's deep, piercing eyes, he found himself unable to say anything.

It felt as though every additional word he spoke would only earn him deeper mockery!

Just as he was caught in a state of extreme agitation, the Red-Tailed Flood Dragon charged up again!

One man and one beast fought in a chaotic melee!

Emperor Jiawen's current strength was at the peak of the sixth rank, while the Red-Tailed Flood Dragon was a seventh-grade magical beast; logically, they should have been able to fight to a draw.

But soon, Emperor Jiawen fell into a disadvantage, retreating step by step.

More importantly, the Origin Power within his body seemed to be continuously diffusing into the surroundings, and his aura was gradually weakening!

Before long, his level actually dropped by a significant margin!

But this was only the beginning.

As time passed bit by bit, the wounds left on him by the Red-Tailed Flood Dragon grew more numerous.

By the end, Emperor Jiawen had almost no strength left to fight back! His realm had even fallen below that of a fourth-rank martial artist!

*Bang!*

Emperor Jiawen finally could not endure it any longer and crashed heavily to the ground!

In an instant, dust flew everywhere!

He clutched his chest and coughed violently, his mouth full of blood, his breath faint.

Rong Xiu seemed to have little interest in this and turned to walk toward Chu Liuyue.

Chu Liuyue finally could not help but ask in a low voice

"That Red-Tailed Flood Dragon... seems to have a grudge against... against His Majesty?"

Rong Xiu gave a faint smile and said nonchalantly

"It once received a favor from Imperial Mother."

So that was it.

Chu Liuyue nodded in understanding, then took another careful look at Rong Xiu, sighing inwardly.

She had never asked why Rong Xiu had intentionally feigned illness; she had always thought it was for the throne, but she hadn't expected... it was for the person sitting upon that throne.

All those years of meticulous planning were actually to deal with Emperor Jiawen!

Just as she wanted to say something, she suddenly sensed a gaze coming from the side.

She turned her head to look.

Rong Jiu was looking at Rong Xiu with a complex expression.

He was not stupid; with so many things happening back and forth, he had already guessed quite a bit.

"Seventh Brother, I have some words I wish to discuss with you in private. I wonder if you have time right now."

Rong Xiu chuckled and nodded.

"Very well."

Outside the Taihe Hall, Chu Liuyue and Elder Ye were speaking.

"...Master, please rest assured, these are just minor injuries. They will heal after a while..."

Chu Liuyue looked at Elder Ye before her, caught between laughter and tears.

Ever since Rong Xiu and Rong Jiu had entered the Taihe Hall to confer, Elder Ye had been pulling at her and asking incessantly, fearing there might be something wrong with her body.

"Did you not already check my pulse? Do you not even trust yourself?"

Elder Ye coughed. "This teacher is merely worried about you!"

Thinking back to everything that had happened, he still felt a lingering fear.

If it weren't for his disciple being outstanding and strong enough, it truly would have been dangerous!

Chu Liuyue simply changed the subject

"Has Elder Zongye left?"

Elder Ye sneered coldly

"Situ Xingchen is dead; why would he stay here? If he stays any longer, he'll be the next one to die!"

Chu Liuyue pondered for a moment

"Elder Zongye seems to be a person who holds grudges. Today's events..."

"Haha, that fellow has always been like that! However, he wouldn't dare leak this news to the Mingyue Heavenly Mountain! Otherwise, even he would face severe consequences! Although Zongye is a sixth-rank martial artist, he wouldn't dare act recklessly."

Chu Liuyue said nothing.

Elder Zongye and Situ Xingchen had a very good relationship; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to personally come and save her.

Now, having seen Situ Xingchen die before his very eyes, she felt that he would not let this matter rest easily...

"And regarding the Xingluo Kingdom, Situ Xingchen was, after all, the Eldest Princess..."

Situ Yan doted on this daughter very much.

In his anger, one could not predict what he might do.

Elder Ye waved his hand

"Don't worry, Situ Yan won't dare to act recklessly. Situ Xingchen swallowed the power within that bronze vat to increase her own strength and even attempted to kill you; she was in the wrong from the start. Furthermore, she was later possessed; in that instant, she was already dead. In the end, she brought it upon herself! Everyone saw it clearly! How could Situ Yan have the face to bring this up?"

No matter how much he liked Situ Xingchen, he could not jeopardize the entire Xingluo Kingdom for her.

So in the end, everything could only be minimized or smoothed over.

Chu Liuyue nodded slightly and looked at the tightly closed doors.

"I wonder how their discussion is going."

Emperor Jiawen had already been detained, and the Red-Tailed Flood Dragon had been suppressed once again within the Xuanming Array.

The previous mess had also been mostly cleaned up.

On the surface, everything seemed to be gradually returning to calm.

But...

Everyone knew that the outcome of this matter was still controlled by those two!

Following her gaze, Elder Ye let out a long sigh.

"...To think that after so many years, it is still..."

Chu Liuyue suddenly asked

"Master, did you know long ago that His Majesty—"

Elder Ye hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and then shook his head.

"This teacher only knows that when His Majesty fell out with Ruyue back then, it was because he did something that wronged her, but I do not know what that matter was."

Having ended up like this, who could one blame?

Chu Liuyue thought for a moment and asked again

"Concubine Wan... came from within the Sky Curtain Realm?"

Elder Ye paused for a moment and gave a bitter smile.

"As for that, this teacher cannot be certain. He encountered her by chance while traveling outside; he only said she was an orphan of a fallen noble family, but the specifics are unknown to anyone. She was greatly favored back then, and many people had secretly investigated her background, but none were able to find anything."

Chu Liuyue nodded in understanding.

In that case, it made sense.

*Creeeeak—*

The doors of the Taihe Hall suddenly opened!

(End of Chapter)