Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

"Dare not! Absolutely dare not!"

"We had just failed to think it through, only now do we realize Ancestor had our best interests at heart!"

"Exactly! The four great families are branches of the same tree; if the Zhou family were to decline, the other three would not fare well either. The Mo Clan is already predominant, and if the balance that is barely maintained now were to be broken, it would only be a matter of time before the other three families would suffer!"

When Zhou Yingze saw that there were still "understanding people" among the elders, the fiery anger in his heart subsided a bit.

He hadn't told everyone something; the Ancestor had already begun planning an exit strategy for the family.

While it seemed that the situation hadn't yet reached that extreme, those who plan for the worst often survive, and everything had to be prepared for the worst scenario.

As members of the Zhou family were dispersing to carry out their tasks, suddenly a streak of red light pierced through the roof and shot into Zhou Yingze's hand, transforming into a jade pearl the size of a thumb.

When Zhou Yingze probed it with his Divine Sense, his face drastically changed, and he exclaimed, "Disaster! This is terrible!"

...

On that day, an earth-shattering event occurred within just one day and rapidly spread throughout Zhou City.

"The Crown Prince of Da Yong instigated a rebellion at Ziwei Palace, and after its failure, he was thrown into the Imperial Mansion!"

At the same time, numerous astonishing pieces of news and various rumors were also spread wildly!

"All the Crown Prince's trusted officials and confidants were thrown into the Heavenly Prison, and countless palace servants and soldiers were killed or wounded, with Yongjing's streets running with blood that night. Many Cultivation Families were implicated by the Crown Prince and were raided overnight."

"The Holy Emperor has been assassinated; his life hangs in the balance!"

"It is said that when the Crown Prince was captured, he roared in madness, proclaiming 'How can there be a Crown Prince of two hundred years', and then he uttered the delirious words, 'A thousand-year Holy Emperor yet alone, proclaiming solitude and rarity for tens of thousands of years'."

Among the numerous rumors in Yongjing, one particularly made the hearts of the Zhou Family tremble, feeling as if they had fallen into an inescapable trap.

"The Zhou Family harbored malicious intentions, firstly bewitching the Crown Prince to lead the charge, then stabbing the King and killing the driver; such unforgivable treachery, the crime is unpardonable!"

Faced with the onslaught of rumors and news, Zhou City was thrown into panic; everyone knew the Crown Princess Consort was a woman from the Zhou Family. Having committed such a monstrous treachery, the Zhou family would inevitably be implicated.

However, as the Holy Emperor's fate still remained unknown, the Zhou family was unaware of the extent of the grave accusations that could fall upon them.

The day after the Crown Prince's failed coup, two days remained until Operation Slaughterwolf.

As dawn broke, another thunderbolt struck the Zhou family, shaking them to the core!

"The Holy Emperor, gravely injured, did not survive his wounds and passed away last night! The Second Prince has succeeded to the throne and been crowned as the new Emperor!"

When Zhou Yingze heard this news, he was so distressed and furious that he spurted blood two yards away,

The title of having assassinated the Holy Emperor, resulting in his death, was now firmly pinned on his family, and there was no removing it.

"Quick... go ask the Three Great Families for aid! Whatever the cost, we must get them to help our family through this tribulation. Hurry! There's no time to lose!"

Zhou Yingze, too agitated to even wipe his own blood, ordered frantically.

The situation was extremely severe. It was already too late to send someone; therefore, the Zhou family had to continuously send out several Ten Thousand Miles One Line Talismans to the other three great families, making many promises and offering countless benefits within the talismans.

Within less than four hours, both the Raging Tiger Wu Family and the Eagle Hawk Yan Family sent back messages, explicitly promising to support them with all their might.

Seeing this, Zhou Yingze felt slightly relieved.

However, as he waited and waited, he never received any response from the Sleeping Lion Hua Family.

This made his heart slowly sink to rock bottom.

The Sleeping Lion Hua Family, being the leader among Da Yong's numerous families and second only to the Royal Mo Family in strength, was also backed by the powerful Demon Sect, Six Desires Demon Sect. Discover hidden content at empire

Only with the Hua Family taking the lead and rallying the families could they oppose the Royal Family.

Now the Hua family... had an ambiguous attitude.

For the Zhou family, who were in desperate need of strong support, this was news that couldn't get any worse.

As dusk fell, Zhou Yingze felt a surge of anger and thought to himself, "No! I must report this to Ancestor Zhou as soon as possible."

With that thought, he couldn't contain his anxious emotions and hastily wrote a talisman, sending it to Boiling Spring Valley.

However, Zhou Yingze was completely unaware that, while he was eagerly waiting for a reply from the Hua Family.

Someone from the Hua Family had already arrived at Hongyang State, and it was a heavyweight figure.

Above Boiling Spring Valley, high above the clouds spanning ten thousand miles, two Golden Core Masters hovered in the air, braving the fierce Gang Winds, standing a mile apart facing each other.

Old Zhou, seeing that a great disaster is about to descend upon us, what's the use in hiding and concealing? Hand over the Dragon Ball, and my Hua Family will definitely help your Zhou family get through this tribulation!"

The speaker was tall and imposing, with thick brows slanting upwards, eyes as wide as copper bells, and the corners of his mouth drooping down, displaying a naturally furious demeanor. What was even more terrifying was the golden flame burning atop his head.

The billowing flames spread out and from a distance looked just like a mane of golden lion hair fluttering in the wind.

This person was named Hua Xin Yan, one of the three Golden Core Ancestors of the Hua Family, and a formidable figure at the late-stage Golden Core.

Zhou Xilai asked with a puzzled tone, "Brother Hua, what do you mean by this? Since when do I have a Dragon Ball?"

Ancestor Zhou was now over seven hundred years old, his body decayed and as thin as kindling, with a wide red robe hanging loosely on his frame, looking utterly ridiculous as if a monkey had put on a sack.

However, looking at his face, his features resembled that of a young man, his skin pale and rosy, soft as a baby's.

Hua Xin Yan suddenly smiled. "Heh heh! Take a look at this."

As he spoke, a True Shadow Ball shot out from his hand, swiftly landing in Zhou Xilai's hand.

As Divine Sense penetrated the True Shadow Ball, Zhou Xilai's heart tightened; inside was clearly stored the image of Zhou Zhongyu picking up the Dragon Ball.

After watching, Zhou Xilai laughed, "You can't possibly believe this! You should know these images can be forged."

Hua Xin Yan sneered, "I didn't quite believe it either, but seeing how the Mo Family went to such lengths to deal with your Zhou family, I can't help but believe it now."

As he said this, the golden flame on Hua Xin Yan's head expanded a hundredfold instantly, forming a vast sea of fire. Within the depths of the fire sea, a three-meter-tall, six-armed, three-headed, angry Ming Wang figure loomed faintly.

"Stop fucking around, hand over the Dragon Ball, and I'll spare your life!"

Zhou Xilai was startled and quickly shouted, "Brother Hua, calm your anger! If we fight now, we are likely to end up mutually destroyed. In the end, others might just pick up the scraps."

As he spoke, Zhou Xilai swiped his right hand, and a thick child-forearm-sized fiery red light burst out from his palm, shooting a hundred meters away and striking an ordinary-looking cloud.

Suddenly,

the cloud erupted into a vast expanse of red flames, and a figure rapidly appeared within the red flames.

In an instant, a figure wearing a Dragon Robe and adorned with a Twelve-tassel Five-color Crown, radiating an imposing aura, waved his hands to clear the red flames, stepping out of the fire light and walking step by step until he stood opposite the two Golden Core Masters and then stopped.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Hua Xin Yan's face dramatically changed, and he exclaimed in shock, "Mo Wen Dao! Weren't you supposed to be dead?"

The rumors had said that the critically injured Holy Emperor Mo Wen Dao had not survived his injuries, yet here he was, miraculously appearing before them.

This not only greatly startled Hua Xin Yan but also made Zhou Xilai turn pale with fear.

Zhou Xilai was not shocked because Mo Wen Dao had faked his death, but he was terrified by the overwhelming powerful aura emanating from him.

Previously, Mo Wen Dao's cultivation had only achieved Foundation Establishment, yet the person who appeared here now possessed an aura not inferior to either of theirs.

Zhou Xilai even faintly sensed an even stronger presence hidden within Mo Wen Dao, appearing to be... Nascent Soul Mana!