Chapter 671 - 667: Devotion
Chu Honglin frowned and said, "It’s best if you don’t ask around about these matters."
Chu Zhiyuan asked in confusion, "Is this some sort of taboo?"
"This is the last thing our Elder Brother wants to mention. If you start asking around, you’ll surely anger him." Chu Honglin said.
He shook his head silently and sighed.
This Third Prince truly acts with malice.
Fortunately, Zhao’er was asking him. If he had asked someone else, and Elder Brother heard about it, it would certainly have led to punishment.
Chu Zhiyuan frowned.
What Chu Honglin was thinking, he naturally thought of too.
All you can say is, that’s just typical of Third Brother!
Chu Honglin said, "To my knowledge, the attackers were indeed from the Demon Clan, and one of them was a Great Sky Demon."
"That’s strange, why kill me? I am not the Eldest Brother or the Second Brother, if they wanted to kill someone, it should be them, right? ... Was it to kill my mother?"
"Hmm, that seems to be the case. To Elder Brother, your mother is a critical weakness."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "If she’s a critical weakness, she could also be a source of power."
The more he grasped the Great Brightness Fist, the more he understood the principles of light and dark.
Where there is light, there must be darkness; where there’s Yin, there’s Yang; and they can transform into each other.
Chu Honglin was stunned, as if having an epiphany.
Finally, he slowly nodded.
"The Demon Clan is targeting Father," Chu Zhiyuan quickly calculated the ins and outs of the entire affair. "They lack the strength to kill my mother and Father directly, so they use me to kill my mother, causing Father to lose control of his Mental State... Could it be that Father was in a crucial period of Cultivation at that time?"
Chu Honglin sighed and slowly nodded, "Elder Brother is exceptionally talented and had fortuitous encounters, originally about to break through to Spirit Venerable, but now it’s impossible."
Chu Zhiyuan frowned.
Chu Honglin said, "After your mother had an accident, Elder Brother almost suffered cultivation deviation, managing to stabilize only after paying a huge price, but now Spirit Venerable is out of reach."
Chu Zhiyuan stood solemnly.
Chu Honglin sighed and said, "The Demon Clan also paid a great price, but it seems now they still won, sacrificing three Great Sky Demons to heavily wound you, harm your mother, and thereby drag Elder Brother down."
Chu Zhiyuan said coldly, "Has someone tipped them off?"
His chest surged with anger, a primal rage from the original self.
The death of his mother and the reason for his neglect were the original self’s unresolved matters.
Now he finally understood.
Only anger remained.
Boundless fury and a desire for blood against the Demon Clan.
"I often say, our Jade Dynasty is just like a sieve; no information can be hidden."
"Father’s state of Cultivation should be the most closely guarded secret; how could it be known to the Demon Clan?"
"The Demon Clan, though able to shift endlessly, can be held outside the Imperial City with Evil Extinguishing Talismans. The Heavenly Demons are the most troublesome as they can Body Seize, making it impossible to guard against. As long as they don’t enter the Inner City, the Observatory can’t detect them."
"They can’t enter the Inner City and yet they learn of Father’s secret?"
Chu Honglin sighed, "Besides those who sell information, there are also ties of relatives and friends. Together, the palace is like a sieve, riddled with holes."
Chu Zhiyuan frowned in thought, finally shaking his head.
With so many people, managing it all becomes very troublesome, especially in such an ancient Imperial City with deeply rooted connections.
These tangled ties mean that a single leak can be traced back threefold into relationships.
Sealing off any news within the palace would be near impossible without a bloodbath.
Yet his Father isn’t one to kill freely; he’s very merciful.
Chu Honglin said, "During the Light Festival, you all left the palace to celebrate with the people, and that’s when the Great Sky Demon took advantage... Now, during the Light Festival, the younger princes no longer leave the palace together for this reason."
"Uncle," Chu Zhiyuan said, "how do we identify these Demons?"
"Those infiltrating our Imperial City are usually Heavenly Demons; ordinary Demons wouldn’t get in."
"Heavenly Demons..."
"Heavenly Demons often enter by Body Seizing, and only the Observatory can find them; ordinary people cannot see them."
"There’s no particular trait?"
"If you’re not familiar with them, it’s very hard to detect, but if your Cultivation reaches the Divinity Transformation Realm, you can sense anomalies as the aura of Heavenly Demons can’t hide from an expert at such a realm."
"The aura..." Chu Zhiyuan closed his eyes, reflecting on that pale handsome youth he encountered earlier.
"Why, are you looking for a Heavenly Demon?"
"I’m just afraid if I encounter one and remain ignorant, it would be quite humiliating."
"The aura of a Heavenly Demon..." Chu Honglin thought for a moment, "I’ll look into it when I return."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled.
He knew Chu Honglin would have a solution.
After all, Chu Honglin deeply despised the Demon Clan and would naturally find a way to deal with them.
Moreover, the Demon Clan is present not only in the Outer Realm Battlefield but within the Three Great Dynasties as well.
Though they couldn’t fight on the Outer Realm Battlefield, they would clean up the Demon Clan inside the Jade Dynasty.
——
Third Prince Mansion
As the sun set, the lingering glow spread throughout the richly adorned Prince Mansion.
Chu Liyang suddenly appeared in a small courtyard, where only he stood in silence.
He had previously ordered that no outsiders were allowed in or out of this courtyard, with guards stationed outside, not even birds could enter.
He glanced around. Seeing no one, he slowly entered the small pavilion and closed his eyes without moving.
He replayed today’s words, today’s actions.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, smiled, left the pavilion, and entered the main house.
This was a set of three connected studies.
In the main room, he went to the east wall’s display shelf, examined the scrolls in the Jade Bottle, and took one out.
Gently opening it revealed a cold yet striking young woman.
She stood above a broad, surging river, hovering in mid-air.
Amidst the rolling rivers, her white robe was like snow, her sleeves fluttered.
Her hair swayed, with only her phoenix eyes cold and firm, as if glaring at the one viewing the painting.
The icy and proud aura of her phoenix eyes was overwhelming, making one almost overlook her stunning beauty.
Chu Liyang stared blankly at the woman in the painting, his gaze slowly becoming intense.
He stared unblinkingly for a lasting moment, then carefully rolled up the scroll, and gently put it back inside the Jade Bottle.
Only then did he leave the study with a satisfied look, exiting the courtyard.
Once the courtyard fell silent again, a small knife floated up from the rafters of the pavilion, quietly drilling into a nearby flower patch.
Meanwhile, at Prince Nine’s Mansion, Chu Zhiyuan was seated at the dining table drinking wine.
He clutched the jade cup, appearing to be in thought.
He immediately recognized who was painted on that scroll — the Twelfth Princess of the Phoenix Dynasty.
Also his future wife.
No wonder, no wonder.
No wonder Third Brother wants him to resist; he initially intended to take his place!
If he messed things up, requiring someone else to step in, probably no one would volunteer.
Everyone knew that becoming the Prince Consort to the Phoenix Dynasty was a pit of fire; who would jump in?
At that moment, as long as he stood up, he could safely take his place.
It was truly unexpected that this Third Brother of his was actually a romantic.
Compared to Ruoling’s beauty, she was just on par, far less appealing than Ruoling in his heart.
Particularly her haughtiness and aggressiveness felt almost tangible.
Such a woman, no matter how beautiful, was a turn-off.
He shook his head.
He really didn’t know how Third Brother became infatuated with the Twelfth Princess; it was truly absurd.
If this were told, probably no one would believe it.
His mind stirred as the Flying Knife silently left the Third Prince Mansion at night, continuing to hover around the Imperial City, scouting every location, every house, every family.