"Divine Marquis realm!"
The vast sea of tribulation thunder slowly dissipated, and the sky cleared once more.
Ling Xiao gazed calmly at the shattered mountains and earth before him. There was not a trace of joy in his eyes; instead, a faint, inexplicable gloom lingered.
If his guess was correct, the aura that had followed Jiang Yu and the others out of the city, hiding at the foot of the mountains, likely belonged to that Qiu Qinghan.
However, while this woman carried an air of destiny about her, she lacked any sense of vitality—truly bizarre.
The Divine Envoys of the Holy Church had already arrived in the Four Frontiers. Could it be that Qiu Qinghan was a member of the Holy Church?
But her cultivation level was rather low, wasn't it?
Still, now that Jiang Yu was dead, and the news of him being a demon would soon spread throughout the Western Frontier, it should keep the Holy Church busy for a while.
Yet, the time left for Ling Xiao wasn't exactly ample.
Divine Envoys were appearing, searching for traces of demons. The next step would likely involve the Holy Church dispatching powerful experts to exterminate the true demon.
As for Jiang Yu's identity…
Ling Xiao had already learned it from his memories.
This legitimate crown prince of Great Qin was born with immortal radiance protecting his body and was regarded by the Qin Emperor as the next ruler of Great Qin.
However, at that time, Great Qin was unstable, its court in turmoil.
Thus, for safety's sake, the Qin Emperor secretly sent him away from the palace. Only a handful of trusted aides knew his whereabouts.
The Alchemy Emperor was a renowned Divine Emperor expert in Great Qin, his alchemy skills reaching heaven and earth, equivalent to the status of Ling Xiao's mother in the Eastern Frontier.
And Jiang Yu was his personal disciple.
But heaven seldom fulfills all wishes. When Jiang Yu reached adulthood, he was supposed to return to Great Qin to inherit the position of Crown Prince.
Who could have anticipated that traitors within the court learned of this and laid a shocking conspiracy?
Not only did they kill the Qin Emperor, but they also exposed the Alchemy Emperor's most deeply hidden secret—
A Heaven Earth Spirit Flame!
The Alchemy Emperor had no sect and often lived in seclusion, which naturally meant he lacked a certain deterrent power.
Pursued by enemies and surrounded by powerful experts, Jiang Yu's master was resolute. He actually used his lifelong cultivation to form a seal, imprisoning that Heaven Earth Spirit Flame within Jiang Yu's body, and handed the ancient ring symbolizing his identity to Jiang Yu.
Xiao Beifa, the sworn brother of the Qin Emperor, was also a Great Qin guardian war general.
He would be Jiang Yu's only chance to make a comeback.
And three years were ample time for Jiang Yu to escape his enemies' notice and for Xiao Beifa to lead his army back to eliminate the traitors.
Everything was flawless.
But what the Alchemy Emperor never dreamed of was that in this world, there existed a transmigrator.
Now, Jiang Yu was dead, and both the spirit flame and the identity symbol, the ancient ring, had fallen into Ling Xiao's hands.
His identity was unknown to anyone else.
Even the current ruler of Great Qin, that Peerless Female Emperor, had probably only heard of having such a cousin but had never seen his true face.
Thus, Ling Xiao's opportunity had arrived.
The only thing Ling Xiao wasn't entirely sure about was… whether that Female Emperor was willing to relinquish imperial power?
After all, it was difficult for anyone in this world to truly step down and yield to another.
In the lands of the Western Frontier, eight dynasties stood tall.
Among them, they were divided into the Upper Four Dynasties and the Lower Four Dynasties.
And Great Qin, as far as Ling Xiao knew, was ranked second among the Upper Four Dynasties.
In other words, the internal turmoil in Great Qin back then had not weakened its national power.
It was even said that when the Qin Female Emperor suppressed the internal rebellion, she was decisive in slaughter, proficient in demonic arts, often turning grass into soldiers to slaughter the enemy.
Of course, such claims were mostly folk legends. Cultivators naturally knew this wasn't demonic art but probably some peculiar esoteric or illusion techniques.
But from this, it was clear that Qin Wushuang was no ordinary figure.
Would such a woman, who led armies to conquer the world, obediently return the dynasty to another?
Ling Xiao didn't believe it. But… I might not necessarily want the throne, but how could a cousin or the like be left to others?
So, who sat on the throne—what difference did it make?
Heh heh heh.
"It seems I need to quickly clean up the mess in Great Xia and go meet that Peerless Female Emperor."
A cold smile curled on Ling Xiao's lips, his eyes filled with ruthlessness.
Ning Tiance was still in Yunfang City, waiting for his command. When war broke out in the Northern Frontier, the Zhou Emperor would certainly not allow him to remain confined to the capital.
At that time… he could take the opportunity to conquer Great Zhou. With Great Xia and Great Zhou in hand, which of the other six dynasties would dare to resist?
However, the dragon vein of Great Xia…
Now, the Nine Dragons Heaven-Locking Grand Formation had two dragons as its eyes. While it couldn't kill a Divine Emperor, it could withstand a single strike from one.
The Holy Church's Divine Envoys must have already noticed the demonic traces in the Western Frontier. Ling Xiao was waiting for an opportunity to lure them out, so he could… probe the Holy Church's depths and glimpse the secrets it hid.
Northern Frontier, the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
The land of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan. A black-clad figure descended from the sky, landing in front of Qing Qiu.
Behind her followed a burly man covered in patterns, his aura actually having reached the ninth grade of the Divine King realm.
"King You, this is the location of the Nine-Tailed Clan."
"So, the eldest princess of the Heavenly Fox Clan was once a maid of the Holy Church's God Lord. She was demoted back to her clan two hundred years ago and has never appeared since?"
The black-clad figure frowned slightly, her narrow, beautiful eyes seeming to flicker with demonic flames.
"Correct! This matter is no secret; all the demon races of the Northern Frontier know it! However, the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan has always avoided the world. Not only has this eldest princess never appeared, but her clansmen also rarely show themselves."
"Is that so? Station people here. Once any fox clansmen appear, capture them immediately."
"Yes!"
…
Great Xia Imperial Palace.
The Xia Emperor looked gloomily at the many officials in the hall, his expression grim.
The fact that the Great Xia Imperial Son-in-Law, Jiang Yu, was a demon simply couldn't be concealed.
Although Jiang Yu had escaped severely wounded, the fact that he had killed the second prince of Great Qi was undeniable.
Now, forget forming an alliance with Great Qi; it was likely that conflict would erupt between the two dynasties in a few days.
"Speak up! What should we do about this?" the Xia Emperor coldly shouted.
The officials in the hall remained silent.
Speak? Speak what?
The man was dead. Either cede territory or fight, damn it.
"Buzz."
Just as the atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly oppressive, the void suddenly shattered, and Ling Xiao's figure flashed into the hall, standing before them.
"My Lord!!"
The Xia Emperor trembled all over, quickly rising and offering the throne.
"My Lord… how did it go? Was the demon eliminated?"
If Jiang Yu had been killed, the matter would be simpler.
But if… the demon had escaped… Great Qi would certainly use this as a pretext to cause trouble.
"That demon has come into his own. He has numerous powerful experts by his side, his methods are extremely terrifying. He even developed his own Demonic Flame. He escaped," Ling Xiao said through gritted teeth, his face full of killing intent.
"What!!"
The Xia Emperor shuddered. He suddenly realized that, compared to the trouble from Great Qi, his own dog's life seemed… more important.
If even this Heavenly Venerate couldn't kill that demon and his followers, once he made a comeback…
Hisss!
"My Lord!! What should we do?"
"Panic? Is the Dragon Talisman I left you still there? In a few days, I will leave Great Xia to conquer the world and pursue the demon. But before that, I will set up measures here. If he dares to come, he will surely meet his end, his Dao destroyed!"
Ling Xiao coldly snorted, and the panic on the Xia Emperor's face faded slightly.
Fortunately!!
Fortunately, the Lord is here! Otherwise, our Great Xia would likely face a calamity of annihilation!!