Chapter 95 - 90: You Can Only Be the Mistress
But the path of death was beneath the Royal Palace. And Xiao Qingfeng stood upon the throne, his gaze fixed on that very palace. The residual magic of the Nether Monarch left within was an invaluable boon to him.
They couldn’t just walk up to the Royal Palace right in front of Xiao Qingfeng, open the gate to the path of death, and waltz inside.
Besides, was the path of death really that easy to traverse?
Now, without the Supreme Pure Spirit Forget Immortal Technique and lacking the power of the Sixth Realm Kai Yang, Lu Changyuan felt he might not be able to make it through.
The screams of people echoed from the streets.
The black Spirits were killing people.
No.
It wasn’t just Cultivators. The original Spirits of the Netherworld were also dying.
Because the Ghost Sect opened, the Spirits that had temporarily regained their color seemed to have recovered their living appearances. But before they could celebrate, they died under the axe blades of the black Spirits.
What was even more terrifying was that the dead Spirits melted into the ground, only to rise again moments later, transformed into black Spirits.
Lu Changyuan said coldly, "Let’s go."
"Where to?"
"My house."
Mei Zhaozhao asked, bewildered, "Your house?!"
Lu Changyuan couldn’t be bothered to explain. ’Since she’s the descendant of an old acquaintance,’ he thought, and simply picked up Mei Zhaozhao. He sped all the way from West City, through the dense fog, until he reached East City.
~~~~~~~~
Before long, the house in East City appeared before them.
Lu Changyuan opened the door directly and brought Mei Zhaozhao inside.
He was greeted by a voice. "Young Master Lu, bringing another woman home?"
The Silver-haired Maiden was leaning against the courtyard wall, the corner of her mouth stained with blood as she watched him.
Lu Changyuan frowned. "What happened?"
"A Spirit disguised itself as you and tried to trick me. I fought it for a few rounds, then suffered a backlash from that person in the sky."
Su Youwan asked again, "What’s happening outside?"
"Xiao Qingfeng wants to seize the Netherworld to achieve the Dao of Yao Guang," Mei Zhaozhao added. "He wants to kill everyone. Not a single Cultivator who entered the Netherworld this time will escape."
From the moment Xiao Qingfeng used the Sun and Moon Gnomon to enact his grand deception, everyone in the Netherworld has been branded with one of two marks.
One mark is for the people of the old dynasty—the subjects of the Nether Monarch. When a new dynasty is established, the people of the old must die.
The other is for his subjects, the people of the new dynasty.
But to become his subjects, one must first die and then be given a Transformed Life by him as a new Spirit.
So.
No one can truly remain alive.
Su Youwan ignored Mei Zhaozhao and looked at Lu Changyuan instead.
"What do you think?"
Lu Changyuan shook his head. "Whether he succeeds or not, he has already reached the threshold of Yao Guang. He has the Yao Guang Technique, just not the Dao Foundation of Yao Guang. He’s very difficult to deal with."
He turned his head again. "But before he seizes control of the Nether Monarch’s city, he most likely can’t violate the Nether Monarch’s edicts."
Su Youwan took two steps forward, held out her small, fair hand, and said, "My silk scarf."
It took Lu Changyuan a moment to react. He took her silk scarf from his robes and returned it. The young woman took it and wiped the corner of her mouth, cleaning away the bright red blood. "What Nether Monarch’s edicts?"
Su Youwan was already exquisitely beautiful, and now, injured, she possessed a poignant beauty. A trace of blood seemed to have stained her silver hair, giving the maiden a somewhat broken appearance.
Lu Changyuan touched Broken Thought and said, "Without an invitation, one cannot trespass into an occupied residence."
This was another rule of the Netherworld.
That’s why the Cultivator named Li Lang, who barged into a residence occupied by a Spirit, was swallowed whole and died as dead can be.
Whereas that Fourth Realm Cultivator was clever enough to knock and offer his own blood, which allowed him to borrow the house temporarily.
Su Youwan tied her hair back up. ’That false Lu Changyuan did knock on the door,’ she thought, ’and only entered after I said, "Come in."’
Perhaps that was also why the Golden Skull, after knocking her back into the house, didn’t pursue her further.
For now, Xiao Qingfeng could not change the rules of the Netherworld.
Seeing Lu Changyuan and Su Youwan both as calm as if Mount Tai were collapsing before them, Mei Zhaozhao couldn’t help but wonder, ’Do these two have a way out?’
So she asked, "So, Xiao Qingfeng can’t seize the Nether Monarch’s authority?"
Lu Changyuan looked back and said in a certain tone, "No, it’s highly likely he will succeed."
Once Xiao Qingfeng successfully takes over the entire Netherworld, he will naturally be able to rewrite its edicts and abolish those of the Nether Monarch. At that point, not even this house will be safe.
The question now is.
How long will it take for Xiao Qingfeng to master the Netherworld?
Mei Zhaozhao could only say, "Then what do we do now? Just wait here to die?"
Su Youwan looked at Lu Changyuan. Mei Zhaozhao also looked at Lu Changyuan.
One was blindfolded, the other was completely covered by a black robe; you couldn’t see either of their eyes.
Lu Changyuan had to wonder, ’Is there something wrong with all these women in Cultivation?’
Mei Zhaozhao’s voice was coquettish. "Physician Lu, hurry up and think of something! Say something!"
’Mei Zhaozhao is so noisy,’ Su Youwan thought.
’Chirping away.’
’Like a little bird.’
Lu Changyuan sighed. "There are two options. First, while Xiao Qingfeng hasn’t fully mastered the Netherworld, I can lead you out through the path of death. But to be honest, that’s highly unlikely. Xiao Qingfeng is right at the gates of the Royal Palace absorbing the remnants of the Nether Monarch’s Dao. We can’t just stroll over there."
Mei Zhaozhao extended her hand, two slender, fair fingers held aloft. Though unadorned by any polish, they seemed to possess a magical power that could make one’s heart itch with desire. "And the second option?"
"Find the Nether Monarch."
If the Nether Monarch were to return, Xiao Qingfeng would certainly not be able to seize the Netherworld.
How can a thief beat the master of the house?
Lu Changyuan sighed again. "The Nether Monarch certainly isn’t dead. But I don’t know what state she’s in."
The talk of reincarnation is ethereal and uncertain. At least, Lu Changyuan had never met a truly reincarnated person.
At most, there was rebirth through Possession, or a wisp of a Thought returning to walk the Red Dust.
Those people never truly died. It was like with Xia Lianxue; she had even turned into a baby, but was she reincarnated?
Of course not.
Lu Changyuan added, "We have to find a way to call out to her."
Mei Zhaozhao was completely lost.
But she did understand one thing: they were most likely going to die here today.
She said miserably, "The Netherworld has existed for three thousand years, and the Nether Monarch has never returned. Doesn’t that mean we’re all going to die here today?"
The Silver-haired Maiden said softly, "To live and sleep as one, to share a grave in death... that’s not so bad. Young Master Lu, would you like to marry Youwan first?"
’What was that?’
Lu Changyuan was just pondering the Nether Monarch’s whereabouts when he was blindsided by her words. He couldn’t help but look up at Su Youwan.
The Silver-haired Maiden was blindfolded, but her tone was completely serious.
"Youwan is not joking with you."
"Let’s talk about it after we get out of here alive."
"Okay."
Mei Zhaozhao didn’t understand. She felt she couldn’t keep up. Even the most unrestrained Hehuan Demoness wouldn’t talk about getting married and consummating it at a time like this.
’Am I the Hehuan Demoness, or is that little Daoist nun with the silver hair the Hehuan Demoness?’
Mei Zhaozhao couldn’t help but stammer, "You... you two?!"
Su Youwan was nonchalant, her voice ethereal. "You want to marry him too? To die a virgin must be quite shameful for your Hehuan Sect, right? Hmm, you came after me, so you can only be the junior wife."
’That was actually true.’
’Even for a branch that focused on harmonizing yin and yang through Desire Destruction, dying a virgin was still very shameful.’
Mei Zhaozhao gritted her teeth. "I have no intention of fighting the Little Ancestor of the Compassionate Palace for a man."
The Silver-haired Maiden was expressionless, but her words were startling. "He’s not my man, either."
"Then whose man is he?"
"Xia Lianxue’s."
Only then did Mei Zhaozhao remember Xia Lianxue. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. The Fairy from the Compassionate Palace is more of a demon than I am."
Lu Changyuan said helplessly, "Third Prince, stop joking around. And you," he glanced at Mei Zhaozhao, "you too. Tease me again and I’ll throw you out."
Su Youwan tilted her little head blankly.
It was quite cute.
But she didn’t say anything.
Mei Zhaozhao took a deep breath, confused. "Why on earth can you two be so calm? Isn’t this a life-or-death moment?"
Su Youwan and Lu Changyuan spoke at almost the same time.
Lu Changyuan said, "The bigger the crisis, the calmer you must be. Otherwise, you’ll just die faster."
The Silver-haired Maiden said, "My master told me that one must be composed in the face of great events. Even if you’re about to die, you must die calmly. Only then might you find an opportunity in the final moment."
Mei Zhaozhao thought the two of them were very similar, while Lu Changyuan found Su Youwan’s words very familiar.
Su Youwan said faintly, "If you must die, would you rather die a calm and dignified death, or panic uncontrollably and die a miserable one?"
Thrown off by this exchange, Mei Zhaozhao strangely felt that she wasn’t panicking anymore.
She even started to feel that things would work themselves out in the end.