Ascension Day

Xu Ying and Guo Xiaodie wandered through the Imperial Palace. It was nighttime, and the palace was already deathly quiet. Yuan Qi was running wild with Guo Xiaodie. They acted like Ghost Souls, running to one palace to scare a few young eunuchs and then to another to frighten some palace maids.

Yuan Qi would coil around the necks of eunuchs or palace maids and whisper in their ears. Guo Xiaodie would run over and pull off their blankets, scaring the person underneath into curling up into a ball.

Xu Ying didn't join their shenanigans. Instead, he searched everywhere, trying to find the Li Family's Dragon-Seeking Positioning Technique from the Jade Capital Secret Treasury, but he couldn't find it anywhere.

Da Zhong flew back and forth. Seeing another Bell hanging under the eaves of a hall, it flew over and bumped into it. That Bell let out a melodious chime, but the sound couldn't reach the Second Divine Capital.

That night, the Imperial Palace was haunted.

At Derong Palace, Guo Xiaodie peeked inside, then pulled back with a blush, blocking Yuan Qi who was about to enter. "Don't go in," she said. "The Emperor and a Consort are sleeping in there. It's so embarrassing."

Yuan Qi knew this was an embarrassing matter, so he didn't go in.

They entered the adjacent Dexin Palace. Yuan Qi wondered, 'Wait a minute, wasn't the Emperor seriously injured by the Guo Family Ancestor and recuperating in the Eastern Palace? Did his injuries heal so quickly?'

Just then, Guo Xiaodie spat in disgust, backed out of Dexin Palace, and said, "We can't go in this one either. The Emperor and a Consort are sleeping in there."

Yuan Qi caught up with her and asked, puzzled, "There was just one Emperor recuperating in the Eastern Palace, and now there are two more Emperors sleeping with Consorts. How many Emperors are there in the Imperial Palace?"

Guo Xiaodie seemed to have a realization. Her eyes widened as she stared at Dexin Palace, and she exclaimed, "Could it be that we've run into ghosts? Why else would we see three Emperors?"

Xu Ying found his way to Qinghua Hall and was startled. He saw Pei Du sitting motionlessly, the Nine Cave Heavens behind him faintly fluctuating.

And sitting across from him was a youth in yellow robes, also sitting motionless. Behind him, the Nine Cave Heavens also manifested. The massive body of a Cyan Dragon passed through the nine Grotto Heavens, looking ferocious and malevolent, its Dragon Claws gripping two of Pei Du's Grotto Heavens.

The two men were smiling as they looked at each other, their auras fluctuating unstably.

Suddenly, the two of them seemed to sense Xu Ying and turned their heads in unison to look. Although they were in different worlds, Xu Ying still felt their gazes land on him!

'These two have such high Cultivation!'

He didn't dare to linger and immediately retreated from Qinghua Hall. However, a dragon's roar shook the hall. The sound actually traveled from the Divine Capital to the Second Divine Capital, reaching his ears with perfect clarity!

A gigantic Dragon Claw suddenly tore through the sky of the Second Divine Capital and clawed at him!

Inside Qinghua Hall, Prime Minister Pei Du raised a hand and made a grasping motion in the air. He said softly, "Imperial Uncle Li, why must you be so ruthless?"

Before the Dragon Claw could fall, it was suddenly seized by an invisible force and stopped in mid-air.

Inside Qinghua Hall, Pei Du and Imperial Uncle Li clashed several times in a brief moment. Every move Pei Du made was casual and understated, yet Imperial Uncle Li was shaken until his Qi Blood roiled, and he was secretly alarmed.

Prince Li Zhaolou had died in the Pei Mansion, so Pei Du had come to the Imperial Palace to offer his apologies. Imperial Uncle Li knew there was something fishy about Li Zhaolou's death, but he also knew that Pei Du had certainly erased Pei Jing's memory, leaving no trace of evidence.

For this reason, he had forcefully detained Pei Du. The two sat facing each other, and Imperial Uncle Li had struck out, seizing two of Pei Du's Grotto Heavens as a punishment.

At the same time, by holding up Pei Du, the Prime Minister would be unable to return and protect Xu Ying, thus giving the Holy God Emperor a chance to strike.

He had originally thought he could easily suppress Pei Du. But he never expected that during this clash, even with the upper hand from seizing two of Pei Du's Grotto Heavens, Pei Du could still block his attack and even shake him until his Qi Blood fluctuated!

'This Prime Minister's Primordial Qi is as vast and powerful as the ocean!' he thought with secret admiration.

"There is an evil fiend hiding in the Second Divine Capital, spying on the Imperial Palace!"

Although Imperial Uncle Li admired Pei Du's Cultivation and Mastery, he still acted without mercy. He said coldly, "I am capturing an evil fiend. Does Prime Minister Pei intend to stop me?"

Pei Du hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his hand into his sleeve.

The pressure on Imperial Uncle Li vanished instantly. He immediately activated his Nuo Art, True Dragon's Claw, and reached for Xu Ying!

CLANG!

A violent tremor came from the Second Divine Capital. Da Zhong flew in from the side to meet the Dragon Claw, and with a vast, booming toll, it shattered that advancing claw of the Cyan Dragon!

Da Zhong was also knocked off balance by the impact and flew toward Xu Ying. Xu Ying hurriedly stretched out both hands to press against the Bell Wall, and was pushed backward by the tremendous force.

With a BANG, he crashed into Qinghua Hall, shooting past between Pei Du and Imperial Uncle Li. A sudden gale seemed to blow through Qinghua Hall, sending papers flying everywhere, but no one could be seen!

Imperial Uncle Li grunted, clutching his right hand. His palm was dripping with blood; his right hand had been injured by Da Zhong during his Cyan Dragon's Claw attack just now.

BAM!

A wall of Qinghua Hall collapsed from the impact, and only then was Xu Ying able to dissipate the force transmitted from Da Zhong.

Imperial Uncle Li was shocked and uncertain. 'That evil fiend is this powerful?'

He stopped suppressing Pei Du and stood up. He grabbed a stick of incense from the Incense Burner, smeared it with blood from his right hand, formed a Sword Pointing gesture below his lips, and began to chant in a low voice.

Xu Ying had just rushed out of Qinghua Hall with Da Zhong when he looked up and saw Incense Smoke Qi swirling in the sky. It formed into the face of Imperial Uncle Li, which peered into the Second Divine Capital and sneered, "I'd like to see just who you are!"

Xu Ying hurriedly grabbed a piece of cloth to cover his face. Da Zhong also tore off a piece of a canopy and draped it over itself, covering its face.

The man and the Bell hurriedly ran outside, just as Guo Xiaodie and Yuan Qi came running toward them. The girl and the snake were also running away. Guo Xiaodie had a scented kerchief covering her face, while the Big Snake had found a bed quilt somewhere and draped it over its face, though it wasn't even big enough to cover its forehead.

They fled the Imperial Palace in a panic, only to see Imperial Uncle Li's giant face, formed from Incense and Candlelight, still flying about in the sky, searching for them.