Chapter 42

Back at the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor of the Azure Flame Kingdom, Qin Yu had ultimately relied on these Thirty-Six Needles of Heavenly Deficiency to defeat Lei Ao, the direct great-grandson of Lei Qianxing.

Any sharp words Madame Zhang uttered at this moment were merely due to the heat of her anger, so Madame Zhang naturally held no real grievance against Madame Liu, and Li Xin even less so—she had witnessed and listened closely to how her eldest aunt spoke back at her eldest uncle's household.

The old man stealthily drew a slender silver needle from his sleeve and secretly pierced it into Juedai’s Baihui acupoint. Instantly, Juedai's body began to tremble. Brimming with an excitement as if injected with adrenaline, he bolted away at full speed, carrying the old man on his back.

Li Yaohua halted her steps. "What did you say? Could something have happened at Yuhua Mountain?" she asked, turning back.

Aunt Cui looked thoroughly embarrassed, shaking her head repeatedly. "There's no need to trouble Qingya, girl. I'll go myself," she said as she stopped Qingya and headed toward the kitchen herself.

Guan Bing understood. At that time, the villagers had merely held a spectator's mentality; although the three thugs wielded guns, the atmosphere was not truly terrifying. After all, the guns in the thugs' hands were less intimidating than a butcher's machete.

After traveling a certain distance away from Yuhua Mountain, Li Yaohua summoned her giant bird, released Qinglan, and finally collapsed onto the bird's back, completely drained of strength.

Luo Chen chuckled heartily, then lightly flapped his wings. His figure instantly vanished from where he stood, and when he reappeared, he was already high in the sky dozens of meters away.

Having been away from the village for a long time, Li Xin was naturally out of touch with local affairs. Listening to Xing'er recount the events involving people she knew felt just like hearing a story.

"You are already dead!" This statement was redundant; the entity standing before her was nothing more than a ghost.

"Mother." Xiao Yue stepped out and called out to Madame Zheng, tears instantly streaming down her face. She had been frantic with worry over Yang Changfa's injury, but in order not to make him worry, she had not dared to show it too clearly. Hearing Madame Zheng's voice now, she could no longer hold it in.

Inside the building, it was exceptionally clean and filled with numerous furnishings, closely resembling a chieftain's council hall.

"Then we shall leave," Lord Jiaze said, casting a glance at Liu Ruxian before the two of them departed.

Shui Xianghan perceived the situation simultaneously. Her complexion, which had just begun to regain a trace of rudescence, turned pale once more, and with one hand, she pressed Chu Yuan down onto the battle-qi vessel.

"I am Vanilla Fairy Qingrou. Why are you trying to harm my silly big brother?" Qingrou was so used to addressing me informally that she dropped all formalities regardless of who was around.

Realizing instantly that I had encountered a demon today, I extended my right hand, intending to generate a wind blade for battle.

Liying tossed the ring into the arms of Wu Yu, whom Zhang Yang was cradling horizontally in his arms. In the chaotic and dim surroundings, almost no one noticed. The truth or falsehood of words lies not with the speaker, but entirely in whether the listener chooses to believe them.

"Welcome, Bodhisattva!" shouted the Black and White Impermanence loudly. A figure clad entirely in black materialized in the void; indeed, the newcomer was none other than Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

Tang Jian spoke again, his tone carrying a touch of emotional resonance this time, "Although Qixuan is a prince with supreme power, he has a fatal weakness, and that is his mother."

Both of them felt their skin crawl. Although they were accustomed to roasting and eating snake meat, seeing countless venomous snakes writhing within the massive pit, biting one another and spewing venom everywhere, accompanied by the blend of a foul, bloody stench and the harsh, hissing screeches, they still found the sight deeply unsettling.

Friar Sand was a taciturn person who only knew how to work diligently in silence, yet he understood things far better than anyone else; the White Dragon Horse was the leader's personal mount and an absolute confidant.

However, the most agonizing concern at the moment was not how to deal with Qin Hengtian, but how to explain to the various noble families upon returning home. So many venerables had perished in battle, the vast majority of whom were heirs and elite descendants of those very clans. If he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation to all parties involved, he feared great trouble awaited him.

The imperial examination system of the Great Ming Dynasty categorized all successful candidates who attained the rank of Jinshi into three lists, also known as the three tiers, based on their rankings.

Ace raised an eyebrow as he looked at the blue fish-man, who was trying hard to act nonchalant. Although he knew what the other was going to say and knew he would refuse, acting on a whim, he nodded in agreement—a decision that would ultimately alter the course of his future choices.

After making sure her younger brother was safe, An Ke looked for a secure room to use as her hiding spot. In this unfamiliar place, the safest refuge was invariably the room of someone she knew.

"No, it wasn't us," Franky said, looking toward the direction from which the voice had originated, only to find nothing there but a pile of scattered debris.

"Strange, that Sun Wu has always been extremely cautious, constantly concealing himself deep within the main army where we couldn't trace him at all. What has gotten into him today? He suddenly exposed his position, and so blatantly at that." Within the royal capital of Haiya, Emperor Xuanjin appeared thoroughly perplexed, hesitating to dispatch the formidable experts of the Xuanyin Imperial Court.

Later, upon hearing that Li Wangcai was Qin Fen's senior martial brother, and with well-informed individuals making inquiries, people discovered that Li Wangcai also enjoyed a towering reputation in Yangcheng, which naturally led them to inquire about Qin Fen as well. Who didn't have a few connections over there? It was merely a matter of a single phone call.

Later on, after the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di successfully launched his rebellion, he grew apprehensive that his brothers—who also held military commands—might follow his example and rebel against him. Consequently, he began plotting against these regional vassal princes.

Xue Hao frowned slightly, gazing puzzledly at the monk. The ring was surrounded by shimmering spatial ripples and entwined with wisps of spiritual energy; one could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary object.

Within mere minutes, the secret chamber returned to its habitual silence. The only difference was that the skeleton on the brick bed had unknowingly disintegrated into a heap of powder.

Wasn't Wang Huan quite the philanderer now? This breakthrough lay in utilizing the wind element to suppress the fires of lust. That way, he wouldn't drool the moment he laid eyes on a pretty girl, wouldn't harbor reckless impulses whenever someone fell unconscious, and wouldn't yearn to ravish every person who threw themselves into his arms.

Meanwhile, Qin Long and his companions had already hurried aboard the aircraft. 'Tank', who was covering the rear, closed the cabin door at the earliest moment. A pilot had already been arranged on board; seeing that Qin Long and the others had boarded, the pilot immediately started the engines.