Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

The night was dark and the wind was high, as the never-ceasing gales of the Desolate Domain blew the thick scent of blood from the Cloud Boat, where figures in black robes busied themselves tirelessly, washing away the bloodstains on the deck and inside the cabins.

One after another, lifeless bodies with unseeing eyes were tossed from the boat onto the rocky shore. Soon, the corpses would be devoured by scavengers drawn by the smell.

At the bow of the Cloud Boat, Zhao Sheng, He Ying, Mo Wushuang, Bao Yu'er, and the effeminate man gathered together, all of them wearing smiles on their faces.

The recent ambush had been a resounding triumph, even though they had not rehearsed it beforehand.

The Zhou family had not expected a traitor among their ranks, let alone two at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and thus they were caught completely off guard. Suffering heavy casualties, two of the three Foundation Establishment Clansmen were seriously injured, and then the Five Elements Three Envoys descended from the sky, with Nameless sweeping the field.

It was only after achieving their great success that Zhao Sheng learned from He Ying that the effeminate man was actually the Wood Element Practitioner among the Five Elements Master, known as Eunuch Huai, a Foundation Establishment Realm Grand Eunuch, and also a confidant of the Crown Prince.

That proud Crown Prince could never have imagined that his trusted Grand Eunuch was actually a spy for the Black Ice Platform.

Not just the Crown Prince, even Zhao Sheng felt a chill down his spine after learning of Eunuch Huai's identity, and couldn't help but exclaim, "The Black Ice Platform of Da Yong is truly terrifying!"

An hour later, the Cloud Boat was washed clean both inside and out, and the figures in black robes changed into clothing of the Zhou family.
Enjoy new adventures at empire

At this moment, He Ying stepped forward with a fist salute toward the effeminate man and said, "Eunuch Huai, we part ways here! This old man wishes you a smooth journey. When you rise high in the ranks, do not forget us."

Eunuch Huai laughed and replied, "Fourth Master, you're being too formal! After all, I'm one of the Five Elements Master. How could I forget our centuries of acquaintance?"

Bao Yu'er also said with a smile, "Brother Huai, I wish you a journey of thousands of miles ahead."

"Thank you for your auspicious words, Sister Bao! Time is pressing, and some words will have to wait until after we have achieved great success. My colleagues, I shall take my leave first!"

A moment later, the Cloud Boat rose high into the sky again, speeding toward Yongjing.

Once the Cloud Boat had vanished in the distance, the smile on He Ying's face disappeared, and he turned to look at Zhao Sheng, Bao Yu, and Mo Wushuang, saying coldly, "Eunuch Huai has gone to secure his merit, and we cannot fall behind. Let's go!"

With those words, He Ying's long robe billowed out like a ball, and a surge of gray light emerged from beneath it, lifting him off the ground. Then, wrapped in the gray light, he turned into a hazy fog and sped toward Hongyang State at an alarming speed.

Bao Yu'er smiled Yanran and suddenly transformed into a trail of fire, quickly following behind.

Mo Wushuang didn't move,

Just as Zhao Sheng was about to set off, he felt a gaze from within his helmet piercing his face, carrying with it a thread of indiscernible emotion.

Zhao Sheng had a thought and instead of releasing the Invisible Sword he was about to throw, he summoned a Cloud Boat about seventy to eighty Zhang long.

After boarding the Cloud Boat, Zhao Sheng suddenly turned around and invited, "Mr. Mo, if you don't mind, how about I give you a ride?"

Mo Wushuang paused for a moment, his voice solid like metal as he uttered a single word: "Good."

…

Elsewhere, the Zhou Family each harbored their own thoughts, waiting anxiously and impatiently for news from Yongjing.

A day went by.

By now, the Crown Prince must absolutely have launched the coup.

However, there had been not a single piece of news from Yongjing.

The group sent earlier seemed to have vanished into thin air, with no news coming back.

By this time, the Zhou family already had an ominous premonition.

Of course, even at this point, they had not yet realized the ambition of the Mo Family, who intended to completely annihilate the Zhou family in one fell swoop.

As a Golden Core Family with a foundation of over a thousand years, the Zhou family had many channels of information and soon learned through other means that last night, indeed, there had been major turmoil in Yongjing.

At this time, Yongjing had already activated the Sealing Array, locking down the entire city, making it nearly impossible to send out any messages.

However, from some fragmented information that managed to leak out before the city was sealed off, it seemed that things were not going well for the Crown Prince's faction. They had managed to breach the Imperial City, but just an hour later, the shouts and killing noises inside had swiftly died down, leading to deafening silence.

Sensing that the situation was dire, the faces of the Zhou family members turned extremely ugly.

As a result, conflicts within the Zhou family erupted. Everyone spent a long day arguing, agonizing, and filled with regret.

Just one day later, one piece of bad news after another followed in quick succession!

The first was that the Crown Prince's coup at Ziwei Palace had failed. The Crown Prince was stripped of his title, imprisoned in the Imperial Mansion to be confined there until death.

Subsequently, there was news that the Holy Emperor had been assassinated during the coup at Ziwei Palace, and his fate was still unknown.

While this might have seemed like good news for the Zhou family, it was at that moment that an outrageous piece of bad news suddenly arrived, making everyone in the Zhou family shiver with dread,

"Among the assassins, one was Zhou Zhonglu, a Foundation Establishment Clan Member of the Zhou family — his identity is beyond doubt!"

Zhou Yingze had no doubts about the authenticity of this news, as it was sent at the risk of their lives by one of the family's dedicated agents deep within the Imperial City.

In the Zhou Mansion's council hall, the atmosphere was tense and almost boiling. The emotions of regret and frustration were like oil, and a single spark could set the hall ablaze.

"Impossible! Zhonglu would never be that stupid! There must be something fishy about this!"

"Master Seven is right! There is something very suspicious about this. The Crown Prince couldn't be foolish enough to involve Zhonglu in an assassination plot. He isn't qualified for such a highly confidential matter!"

"Hmph! Are you suggesting that the message is false then?"

Zhou Yingze said with a grave expression, "It can't be false! It came from our family's dedicated agent."

"Family Head, what should we do now?"

"Why hasn't our Ancestor left seclusion yet?"

"Family Head, does the Ancestor know about this?"

Seeing the anxious and restless elder, Zhou Yingze felt a surge of nameless anger. A bunch of useless old men! They're experts at holding things back when it's trivial matters, but they're utterly clueless when it comes to serious matters!

Yet, this wasn't the time to dwell on such things. Zhou Yingze forcefully suppressed his Fire Qi and said sternly, "The Ancestor is already aware of the situation and has issued a decree."

As soon as they heard the Ancestor had issued a decree, the hall immediately quieted down, and everyone looked hopefully at the Family Head.

Zhou Yingze didn't beat around the bush and directly communicated the Ancestor's intentions to everyone.

It all boiled down to sixteen words: "Sacrifice the pawn to save the chariot, cut flesh to admit defeat, retract forces, unite the four families against Mo!"

The first three were straightforward, but with the four major families—the lion, tiger, owl, and wolf—having had their fair share of squabbles, it was difficult for the Zhou family to seek help from the other three and to beg for assistance, appealing to their "brotherly righteousness" to lend a hand.

Seeing the misfortune of the Zhou family, the other three families might not be willing to help, and more likely than not, they would kick the Zhou family while they were down.

Looking at the difficult expressions of the elders, Zhou Yingze said angrily, "Fools! What are you waiting for at such a time, still worrying about face! If the Zhou family falls, do you think you'll have a good end?"

"Impossible! Our Zhou family, after all—"

"Idiots! The knife is already at your throat, can't you see that? At your age, have you really lived your lives in vain?"

After berating the foolish bunch, Zhou Yingze threatened, "The Ancestor's decree has been issued. Are you questioning it?"

At this remark, everyone was at a loss for words.