Buzz!
Underground, Ling Xiao opened his eyes, took a step, and instantly appeared beside Ning Tiance.
"Elder Brother!"
"Huh? Xiao Di, your injuries..." Ning Tiance's eyes narrowed, especially noticing that Ling Xiao's aura had weakened to an extreme.
That spear from Zhang Yu just now must have inflicted severe wounds upon him!
This scene felt all too familiar!
Back in the Northern Frontier, hadn't countless of his soldiers and brothers also followed him through life and death, unwavering and without regret?
"It's nothing! Elder Brother!! This woman..."
"Minruo, go quickly! I'll hold them for a moment!!" Shang Xiang gritted her teeth, stepping forward to block Zhou Minruo, her expression one of desperate resolve.
"Such a loyal old servant!!" Ling Xiao sighed softly, especially seeing Shang Xiang's vitality fading rapidly, feeling a pang of regret in his heart.
Dammit!
Such a good supplement, wasted just like that!
But with Ning Tiance present, he naturally didn't dare act too blatantly.
"Granny..." Tears glistened in Zhou Minruo's eyes. But just as she turned to leave, the two war puppets suddenly blocked her path.
"You overestimate yourself." Ning Tiance took a deep breath, stepped forward, and swung his war blade down, aiming directly for Shang Xiang's head.
Pfft!
There was no resistance, nor any surprise.
An already aged Divine Emperor expert, severely wounded and on the brink of death—how could she stop a War God favored by fate?
A bloody light shot skyward; the head rolled away.
But a trace of cold cunning flashed in Zhou Minruo's eyes, and then... she actually grabbed the young girl who had long been terrified out of her wits.
"Ning Tiance, do you know who she is?"
"Zhou Minruo, no more struggling. I told you, no one can save you today." Ning Tiance's expression was icy, his tone laden with endless killing intent.
Abandoning my daughter, causing the deaths of my Northern Frontier soldiers, and now wanting to dig out my Dao Heart!
If Zhou Minruo doesn't die, it will be hard to quell the hatred in my heart.
The deeper the love, the sharper the hatred. That saying held truth!
Ten years of sincerity, and in the end, it was just a complete and utter fraud?
Laughable! Absurd!
"Heh, Ning Tiance, her name is Huang Yi. She is Huang He's only daughter! Now, do you still want to kill me?" Zhou Minruo sneered, even a hint of triumph in her eyes.
She had also schemed for a long time for this situation, laying countless preparations.
Although she still didn't know exactly where she had lost...
As long as she lived, she still had a chance!
"What!!!" Ning Tiance's face changed, his body trembling slightly.
Meanwhile, Ling Xiao frowned and glanced meaningfully at Zhou Minruo.
This woman really is... something else.
Layer upon layer of schemes, keeping Ning Tiance firmly in her grasp.
Without even thinking, Ling Xiao could guess.
This young girl was most likely the daughter of a soldier who had followed Ning Tiance.
And that soldier had probably... died in battle!
Zhou Minruo had taken her in under the pretense of caring for her children, and no one would suspect her motives.
Marvelous!
This truly is... hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
From beginning to end, the opponents Ling Xiao encountered were mostly Sons of Fate who thought their trump cards were powerful. Usually, he was the one manipulating others. He never expected Zhou Minruo, a villainess, would give him a... small surprise.
Indeed, everywhere, it's the villains who use their brains.
Sons of Fate just need to follow destiny, shout a few lines about defying the heavens, and then mindlessly slap faces.
"Zhou Minruo!!! You are utterly vicious!!" Sure enough, Ning Tiance hesitated again.
A righteous War God like him valued loyalty and righteousness above all!
Huang He was once a general under his command, defending the nation, dying on the battlefield.
At that time, he was already trapped in the imperial capital, but he still heard of this general's heroic deeds.
Defending a city to the death, fighting until he fell!
But he never imagined Zhou Minruo would actually!!!
"Let me leave, and I won't kill her. Otherwise, if your old subordinate knows in the underworld..." Zhou Minruo sneered, spiritual light flickering on her delicate hand.
"You... go!" Finally, Ning Tiance looked up with a long sigh, slowly closing his eyes as if filled with sorrow.
Hearing this, joy flashed in Zhou Minruo's eyes. But before she could turn to leave, the girl in front of her suddenly struggled violently, actually biting off her own tongue.
At that moment, a flash of soul light passed through Ling Xiao's eyes, then quickly dimmed.
"Not good! She's trying to kill herself!!!" Ling Xiao exclaimed.
Ning Tiance also instinctively looked at Zhou Minruo. The next moment, spiritual light erupted from his body.
"Zhou Minruo!!!! Die!!!" His rationality was now completely overshadowed by rage.
The war blade in his hand gleamed brilliantly. Giving Zhou Minruo no chance to explain, his figure flashed, the blade thrust out, and it stabbed fiercely into the Great Zhou princess's chest.
Pfft!!
Zhou Minruo's beautiful eyes widened, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
But in the end, she only let out a bitter laugh, raising her hand to gently caress Ning Tiance's face.
Here it comes!! A smile curled on Ling Xiao's lips. He had just been wondering how to quietly control Zhou Minruo's consciousness.
He never expected the woman would start acting on her own.
As for why he didn't take the opportunity to use his soul power on Zhou Minruo but instead controlled the young girl...
A ten-year-old child without any cultivation naturally had a Sea of Consciousness with no defenses to speak of. Ling Xiao could shatter her soul with a single thought.
But Zhou Minruo was, after all, a Divine General and the Eldest Princess of Great Zhou. Who knew if she had treasures guarding her Sea of Consciousness?
If something went wrong, wouldn't all his scheming be for nothing?
Villains often die from overconfidence, talking too much, and recklessness!
We must be cautious and thorough in our actions!
Only when success is almost guaranteed can we afford to show off and enjoy ourselves.
Otherwise... the fate of the mindless is to become a stepping stone in a conventional plot!
"I'm sorry..." Tears suddenly fell from Zhou Minruo's eyes. Her originally gloomy, cold, and proud face gradually revealed a gentle weariness.
"You reap what you sow." Ning Tiance pulled out his blade, coldly watching the graceful figure slowly fall. Deep in his eyes, however, a trace of sorrow flickered.
"Hehehe... I reap what I sow... If I weren't born into the imperial family, why would I trouble my own husband, scheming against the War God I admire most in my heart?" Zhou Minruo shook her head blankly, an aura of death spreading around her.
In this life, perhaps only the time before I was ten did I live for myself?
After ten, living in constant fear, the identity of the Eldest Princess inevitably made me a threat in some people's eyes.
Later, I shouldered the Zhou family's mission, becoming a spy beside Ning Tiance.
If there is an afterlife, I truly wish to be an ordinary woman, at the very least... living for myself.
"Tiance... I've never asked you for anything. Now... can I ask one thing of you?" Zhou Minruo's face grew paler, her speech gradually weakening.
"What is it?" Ning Tiance knew full well who was truly scheming against him.
Zhou Minruo was ruthless and heartless, but at best, she was just a pawn.
The one who truly wanted the immortal method on him was certainly the one sitting on the Great Zhou throne.
"Ning'er... isn't dead. I asked an immortal to divine it; she's still alive. Promise me... find her... leave this place of right and wrong... And... don't tell her her mother was a cruel woman... alright? I... beg you..." Zhou Minruo's body trembled slightly. Facing death, she finally shed all her schemes, returning to the identity of a mother.
Immortal methods, military strategies, the Heavenly Formation Dao Heart—none of it mattered anymore.
If everything could start over, she would rather stay by Ning Tiance and her daughter's side, living a peaceful life.
But in the end, she didn't wait for Ning Tiance's answer. The last tear slid from the corner of her eye, and along with her life, quietly froze in place.