Beiming Fenghua wanted to be an empress like Wu Zetian. Now, while Yin Fengxue was unguarded, she struck with the speed of lightning!

BOOM!

Taken completely by surprise, Yin Fengxue was sent flying backward. He slammed hard onto the ground, vomiting blood.

"You... why..." After so many years together, it would be a lie to say Yin Fengxue felt nothing for Beiming Fenghua—a lie he couldn’t even tell himself.

"Why? You don’t understand me," she said. "I do love you, that’s true. But compared to the pursuit of an empire, you carry far too little weight."

A chilling smile touched Beiming Fenghua’s beautiful lips as she recalled something. "When I was very young, my parents hoped for a son, so they dressed me as a boy. At that time, a master from the Ghost Valley School said of me, ’What a pity he is a boy. If he were not, he would become the ruler of the world!’ Isn’t that exactly the same as Yuan Tiangang’s prediction for Wu Zetian?

"I never thought I would become your wife. Gradually, I began to believe the words of that Ghost Valley master. Under my leadership, the Heavenly Demon Palace can reach its absolute zenith!"

Ambition burned in Beiming Fenghua’s eyes. Her heart ached for treating Yin Fengxue this way, but when faced with a choice between love and a career, many people give different answers. Beiming Fenghua chose her career.

She looked at Yin Fengxue’s devastated state, a pang of pain in her heart, but she felt no regret. This is the burden a queen must bear. Wu Zetian must have felt this same pain. Perhaps this is a sorrow that only male consorts can soothe.

"Dad!" Lin Fa had never been willing to call Yin Fengxue "dad," but seeing this tragic and desolate scene, he finally cried out the word.

"Go! Get out of here!" Yin Fengxue shouted at Lin Fa.

"No one is leaving today!" Beiming Fenghua said coldly. "Seize this bastard! I am the ruler of the Heavenly Demon Palace now. Are you all going to disobey my orders?"

At that moment, everyone snapped to their senses. They shuddered at the realization that the Queen, for the sake of her so-called ambitions, was willing to harm her own husband. Regaining their composure, they charged toward Lin Fa. How could he possibly escape from a group of Immortal Seekers? He was captured in an instant.

"You... all of you will meet a terrible end!" Lin Fa roared in anger. "Wu Tian is my boss, and once he learns of this, you are all dead!"

"Oh? You have such a close relationship with Wu Tian?" Beiming Fenghua mused, realizing she could gain some advantage from this. "Don’t kill him. Capture him. We can use him to threaten Wu Tian. If we play our cards right, the Righteous Alliance might even let us become an affiliate."

Beiming Fenghua stood with her hands clasped behind her back, exuding a truly queenly aura. Her ambition was boundless. How could she be content as a mere affiliate of the Righteous Alliance? If given the chance, she would devour the Alliance step by step, even if it cost her body. To her, the pursuit of an empire was the highest priority!

Coming back to her senses, she waved a hand. "Take the father and son away. Don’t torture them to death; they are still of some use to me."

"Yes!"

Her subordinates nodded and immediately escorted Yin Fengxue and Lin Fa away. The twenty percent of members who were still loyal to Yin Fengxue wanted to intervene, but as he was being taken away, Yin Fengxue gave them a subtle look, signaling them to endure and wait for the right moment.

「High noon.」

Wu Tian, the little one, and Qin Yuhan were making their leisurely way back to Peach Blossom Spring. Their journey was slow because Wu Tian had taken several detours to absorb Spiritual Energy, with the little one gleefully imitating him. This, of course, caused great distress among the local powers. Without Spiritual Energy, how could they cultivate Yuan Energy? How could they extend their lives? How could they ever achieve immortality?

Wu Tian held the little one, who was giggling happily. Her cultivation was progressing rapidly. In terms of power, she was already comparable to the Foundation Establishment realm of Cultivation. The little one’s innate talent was one reason, but the power of the Wind and Cloud Overbearing Scripture was another.

Immortal Seekers came and went on the streets. Some people with poor Spirit Roots, or none at all, had set up businesses in the Underground World, so the streets were still lined with small stalls. The chatter of nearby Immortal Seekers soon caught the attention of Wu Tian and his companions.

"Did you know? The people from the Eastern Taizhong Palace have surrounded Peach Blossom Spring."

"How could that happen?"

"Because that Wu Tian guy apparently lives in Peach Blossom Spring."

"Right, that’s it! That’s why the Eastern Taizhong Palace has surrounded the place. They’ve even declared that if Wu Tian doesn’t show up, they’ll kill one resident of Peach Blossom Spring every day."

What? This declaration left everyone in the vicinity completely stunned.

"How can they do that? Isn’t the Eastern Taizhong Palace a righteous sect? After they obtained the Mount Shu relics, they promised to emulate Mount Shu’s righteousness."

The onlookers couldn’t believe that the Eastern Taizhong Palace would commit such a horrifying act. Those who knew more of the story, however, didn’t dare to speak up. In this region, the Eastern Taizhong Palace was a formidable power.

But these words reached Wu Tian’s ears, and his eyes became as cold as ice. The people of Peach Blossom Spring were kind and simple. What had they done to deserve such a disaster? Was it simply because they knew him? The mighty Eastern Taizhong Palace! Inheritors of Mount Shu’s legacy, yet they possessed none of its virtue!

"A fine Eastern Taizhong Palace! Fine righteous Immortal Seekers! A fine Heavenly King Zhufu!" he seethed. "They must be stopped, they must be destroyed, they must be killed!"

Holding the little one, Wu Tian wrapped his other arm around Qin Yuhan’s tender waist. With a surge of Spiritual Power, he seemingly transformed into a gale of wind and vanished. His speed was so immense that it whipped up a fierce gust, sending the Immortal Seekers on the street tumbling.

"What just happened?"

"I don’t know, I couldn’t see a thing."

"I didn’t see anything either."

After a moment of confusion, once things had settled, they went back to discussing the Eastern Taizhong Palace and Wu Tian. In their eyes, anyone who dared to kill Zhao Tianxia was already walking a path to their own doom.

「Before Peach Blossom Spring.」

The simple, kind-hearted people of the village stood with resolute expressions. They were bound by ropes that had talismans affixed to them, rendering their struggles completely useless. Facing them were Beiming Fenghua of the Heavenly Demon Palace and Heavenly King Zhufu of the Eastern Taizhong Palace. One party was hoping to curry favor with the Righteous Alliance, while the other hoped the Alliance wouldn’t vent its anger on his own people.

"This is the first one!" Heavenly King Zhufu declared with a wave of his hand. The Eastern Taizhong Palace’s Great Elder personally took action, opening his mouth wide and spitting out a Flying Sword.

"Ah!" It instantly pierced an old man’s throat. The old man collapsed limply to the ground.

"Grandpa Ren!"

"Father-in-law!"

"Dad!"

Seeing this, the people of Peach Blossom Spring erupted in a tumult of angry and horrified shouts, unable to believe that the Eastern Taizhong Palace, which prided itself on being righteous, would actually dare to slaughter the innocent.

"This is the first one!" Heavenly King Zhufu gazed upon the villagers as if they were ants and stated indifferently, "If Wu Tian doesn’t appear, I will kill one of you each day! And if I grow annoyed, I might just kill several! You are all guilty of harboring a demonic practitioner, a crime for which even death is too light a punishment."