Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 719 - 649 Giant Spirit

This arrow was merely a test. Ren Xin and his companions had just barely arrived at Zichen Palace. They had exhausted much of their strength slaughtering demons en route and had not yet had a chance to recover.

Yan Lin knew he had to buy time for Ren Xin and the others. He immediately stepped forward, looked Ji Xuezhen directly in the eye, and declared loudly, "Master Ji, you are a respected elder, known for your loyalty and integrity. You usually preach benevolence and morality. Why then are you now colluding with these traitors to wreak havoc in Chang’an and slaughter your own kin?"

"The lad from the Yan Family, Yan... Lin, right?" Ji Xuezhen stroked his long beard and chuckled. "Heh, I even held you when you were little. Back when Great Ancestor Yu fought for supremacy in those troubled times, did he not also slaughter the inhabitants of the City of Refusal to deter the various warlords? He even said that temporary sacrifices were worthwhile if they could bring about greater peace. The Academic Palace and the Garrison are also enacting this philosophy, are they not? Everyone knows that once the Mountain and River Guardian Talisman fades, only the children of commoners will be sent to die on the battlefield. Rather than wait a few years for war to ravage the Central Plains, isn’t it better to make a decisive move now? Hand over the Crown Prince and save the people of Chang’an."

"If I didn’t know how extravagant your daily life is, I might actually believe you cared about the common people," He Siping, standing beside the Crown Prince, said coldly. "What benefits has Taihao Mountain promised you? Greater power? Or wealth and honor for your descendants for generations to come?"

Ji Xuezhen shook his head. "Why do you always see the speck in others’ eyes, but not the log in your own..."

"Enough pointless talk! He’s stalling for time," Gong Jinghao rudely interrupted their conversation, raising his palm and clenching his fist.

HUM—

The dull, unassuming metal ring on his index finger trembled slightly, extracting a vast amount of Light Dust from the Haotian believers behind him. The Light Dust swirled, rapidly congealing into a vague, fluctuating, gigantic figure with Gong Jinghao’s face. Clad in Bright Armor and possessing cold, star-like eyes, it gazed down upon Zicheng Hall from on high.

This ring, just like the Telekinesis Control Device called ’Iron Heart’ utilized by Bian Chenpei, was also one of Taihao Mountain’s Starfall Secret Treasures. With the aid of the ring, Gong Jinghao could perform a Haotian Divine Technique far beyond his current realm: Giant Spirit.

Gong Jinghao smashed his fist towards the palace. The Light Dust Giant Spirit swung its fist in unison. Its sweeping actions whipped up a howling wind, causing everyone’s clothes to flutter violently.

Crown Prince Li Si looked up at the giant’s rapidly descending fist, which resembled a meteorite. He showed no fear, not even shifting his stance.

BOOM!

As expected, the immense fist halted abruptly in mid-air as if it had struck an invisible wall. Following the wall’s curve, it smashed onto the ground outside the palace, shattering large swathes of solid stone bricks and revealing the faintly glowing Array hidden beneath.

The Array was circular, encompassing Zichen Palace. Through its intricate and esoteric patterns, it connected to every fence, step, beam, and roof-ridge beast, forming a single, cohesive entity.

The Light Dust Giant’s fist, its momentum unchecked, plunged into the soil after demolishing the bricks, leaving a large crater. The splattered mud and sand were also blocked by the invisible barrier, sliding down its surface.

Gong Jinghao’s gaze darkened. He controlled the Giant Spirit to punch repeatedly. Its fists, heavy as mountains, smashed into the invisible barrier time and again, stirring up waves and ripples.

Shaking his aching palm, Gong Jinghao then attempted to bypass the Array by uprooting the entire palace from below. This attempt also failed. The protective Array covered not only the surface of Zichen Palace but also its foundations. It permitted egress but not ingress—or rather, only Li Si, the direct controller of the Array Map, could regulate it.

"..."

Yan Lin quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The Prohibitions around Zichen Palace were indeed stronger than elsewhere, which was precisely why the Crown Prince had his people guard this location.

WHIMPER, WHIMPER—

The cry of a child came from inside the hall. For the young princes and princesses, the cataclysmic scene unfolding before them was too overwhelming.

"No crying!" A hand clapped over the little princess’s mouth. Li Leqing, her face pale, picked up her younger sister. Her resolute gaze swept across the hall, gradually silencing her younger siblings’ sobs. "It’ll be okay," she said firmly.

Beside Li Leqing, Chai Cuiqiao, also looking a little pale, nodded. "Mm," she agreed. "Li Ang will come to save us."

Hearing this, everyone could only smile bitterly in their hearts. Demons roamed freely throughout the city. They didn’t believe Li Ang capable of fighting through the siege to reach the Imperial Palace. On the contrary, they hoped he would remain safely within Golden City Square.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—

The Light Dust Giant, seemingly tireless, stubbornly pounded the Prohibition barrier.

CRACK! The barrier finally split open, but the next instant, the fissure sealed itself.

Not only in Zicheng Hall, but stone lamps throughout Great Ming Palace also began to light up one by one, intermittently emitting Prohibition fluctuations.

What’s going on?

After a brief moment of stunned silence, everyone quickly realized that events elsewhere had taken a favorable turn: someone had re-established the Spiritual Energy conduit between Great Ming Palace and the Imperial City.

Ji Xuezhen’s expression turned solemn as he quickly took out a square package from his bosom. The package was wrapped in a layer of pristine white cloth, the type used for Haotian Taoist Temple’s ceremonial offerings. Ji Xuezhen unwrapped the white cloth, revealing a rhomboidal clay tile inscribed with twisted, serpent-like script.

As the tile was exposed to the air, an indescribable aura permeated the surroundings. It was salty, foul, oppressive, and viscous, an essence born of dark, deep waters.

Ji Xuezhen placed his fingers on the tile and, in a bizarre, inhuman drone, recited the serpent-like script word by word. He uttered a string of guttural, archaic sounds...

"Kill him!" Ren Xin’s expression changed drastically. With a low roar, he burst out of the barrier.

He wasn’t sure what the clay tile in Ji Xuezhen’s hands was, but a primal instinct screamed within him—whatever it took, Ji Xuezhen must not be allowed to finish reciting that script.

Given the current attack on Chang’an, and Ji Xuezhen and his cohorts’ claim that they intended to take the Crown Prince, it was highly probable that Emperor Yu’s entourage, thousands of miles away, had also been assaulted. Only by simultaneously controlling both the Emperor and the Crown Prince could this political assassination be deemed a success.

However, unease and doubt continued to sprout and grow. According to the prognostications of the Academic Palace’s hierarchy and Ren Xin’s own assessment, Taihao Mountain should have prioritized the Mountain and River Guardian Talisman stored within the Academic Palace...

His thoughts were fleeting. In the blink of an eye, Ren Xin had charged before Ji Xuezhen, unleashing a punch with all his might.

A dozen or so fanatical Haotian believers, fearless in their devotion, rushed forward. Even with shattered ribs and broken limbs, they drew upon the potential unleashed by the Azure Spring Water to stubbornly impede Ren Xin, preventing him from reaching Ji Xuezhen.

CLANG—

The Canghai Sword flashed with brilliance. Pei Jing, arriving swiftly, unleashed several rapid sword strikes, severing the fingers of the Haotian believers clinging to Ren Xin. This allowed him to break free from their grasp and continue his charge towards Ji Xuezhen, fist ready.

The wind of the incoming fist buffeted his face. Ji Xuezhen, a ferocious expression etched on his features, stood his ground, still reciting the serpent-like script, merely tilting his upper body slightly. The fist missed his head but slammed into his shoulder, sending him flying heavily into the red wall.

Blood streamed from the back of Ji Xuezhen’s head. His entire left shoulder had exploded open, revealing gleaming white bone.

"Jiya... Zeng Shan..." Weakly, Ji Xuezhen spat out the final four serpent-like characters. In the next instant, the wind howled, thunder boomed, and lightning flashed.

A tempestuous wind swept over Great Ming Palace City, even clearing away the persistent blood-red fog. By the flickering lightning, everyone clearly saw a colossal, dark-green scaled claw emerge from the swirling dark clouds.

A claw from a Dragon.