NOVEL NEXT Ch. 22
Chapter 22: Treasury Opened, Heaven Collapsed
The Second Prince had not slept the entire night, yet he was still full of spirit.
When the sun was about to set beyond the horizon, he finally saw Blood Smoke Rakshasa.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa still appeared like a woman of the dust, with crimson rouge on her lips and a gauze dress of green vines.
“Let’s go to the national treasury, Your Majesty.”
This Young Palace Master of the Blood Demon Palace had actually changed the form of address, which made the Second Prince feel extremely gratified.
“Of course.” The Second Prince propped himself up and slowly descended from the Dragon Throne: “Does the Young Palace Master know where the treasury of my dynasty lies?”
Blood Smoke Rakshasa shook her head: “I await Your Majesty’s instruction.”
“The so-called treasury is not a warehouse, nor is it a palace. The so-called treasury is actually hidden beneath the Jade-Clear Pond.”
Within the palace there was a man-made lotus pond, with a pavilion in the center and a rockery not far outside.
As long as the seal was undone, one could find the path into the treasury.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa and Elder Zhen were thus led by the Second Prince to the Jade-Clear Pond.
The Second Prince smiled: “The treasury lies below this place. According to our agreement, you two may take whatever lies within.”
The Second Prince had always kept his word.
He then took out the Imperial Seal, not knowing exactly where to press it.
A cracking sound rang out, and with mountains shifting and heaven-and-earth transforming, a transparent glass causeway appeared before them.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa’s expression did not change as she directly stepped onto the causeway.
Strangely, beneath this glass causeway was complete darkness, where nothing could be seen.
Only the causeway itself emitted a gentle brilliance.
Drip.
It seemed as if water had fallen, striking the surface with a crisp sound.
No one knew how long the three of them walked, until a wisp of candlelight floated ahead.
Once again, the three stepped upon solid ground—no, more accurately, it was a solitary island in the water.
Surrounding them was a water surface where no light could be seen, while before them stood a grand, indescribably immense gate, resplendent and luxurious, gilded with carved phoenixes and etched with the sun, moon, and stars.
Before this gate, the three appeared no bigger than ants.
On either side of the gate, there were stone-carved dragon heads, each opening a blood-filled maw as if to devour people.
The Second Prince placed the Imperial Seal within one dragon’s mouth, and the long-sealed gate slowly creaked open.
“Both of you, I have always kept my word.”
Unexpectedly, Blood Smoke Rakshasa did not move at all.
“Both of you?!”
The Second Prince cried out in shock, his body involuntarily lifted into the air.
It was Blood Smoke Rakshasa who had extended her hand, forcibly raising the Second Prince.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa said: “Years ago, my father accidentally learned that within the Glazed Dynasty’s treasury lay a divine sword. This sword is named ‘Severed Thought.’ It can sever the six realms of mortal dust, and rumors say that upon the sword is inscribed a cultivation technique, one that points the sword straight to Jade Radiance above.”
A sword capable of ascending to Jade Radiance—wherever it appeared, it would inevitably stir up a bloody storm.
Thus, the Blood Demon Palace intended to secretly take this sword.
Before the other nine sects and twelve palaces understood their true aim, they would decisively claim it.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa said: “Do not move recklessly, I will not take your life.”
A dagger slashed across the Second Prince’s arm, and crimson blood dripped onto the dragon head.
Very soon, the Second Prince’s face grew pale.
Strangely, the stone-carved dragon head, upon absorbing the blood, actually turned golden.
“With imperial blood dyeing the guardian dragon, the sword may be seen.”
Ripples spread across the calm lake surface, and indeed, a phantom shadow of a sword emerged within the water.
The Second Prince was suddenly flung aside, crashing against the gate.
Blood Smoke Rakshasa continued: “However, even so, this sword still cannot be taken. It is firmly bound to the dragon vein. If forcibly taken, it will certainly cause a huge commotion, drawing the attention of the other palaces. Thus, it must be done slowly, step by step.”
Elder Zhen smiled: “That is why the Palace Master recalled the Young Palace Master, using the methods of yin and yang, blending mortal blood and immortal blood to form yin-yang, to corrode the dragon vein. Then, by finding a prince who longs for the throne but has no hope of obtaining it, we can rightfully intervene in this matter.”
“With the old emperor dead and the new one not yet enthroned, the dragon vein is unstable, and only then will a fleeting opportunity arise.”
Blood Smoke Rakshasa frowned: “Those who died last night were still too few. The blood energy is not condensed enough.”
By using the Heaven-Mending Pill as bait, the cultivators who were drawn in would inevitably fight to the death, and those who died within the Glazed Dynasty would become the key to breaking open the dragon vein.
And with the Second Prince’s coup last night, many also died, staining the halls of the imperial palace scarlet.
But still, it was not enough.
“Hm? This seal seems not very stable to begin with. In that case, I can barely open a small crack. As for the rest, it depends on whether the thing underground cooperates.”
The Second Prince struggled to his feet in disbelief, crying out: “What are you talking about?”
Elder Zhen laughed: “Do you not know? Beneath your Glazed Dynasty lies a great demon, suppressed here. This sword was forged to suppress that demon. Using it as nourishment, it has sustained your dynasty for a thousand years, standing tall even through a hundred years of chaos.”
“What!?”
No one paid attention to the Second Prince’s shock.
With a faint murmur of: “Rise!”
Blood Smoke Rakshasa floated into the air, forming seals with his hands.
A yin-yang Eight Trigrams appeared behind him, and in a blur, he seemed split into two.
Scarlet blood manifested in midair—this was the blood of the dead within the city.
It flowed along the Eight Trigrams, one after another, pouring into the sword.
In that instant—
The earth quaked and mountains swayed!
The entirety of Upper Jade Capital seemed as if a terrestrial dragon had turned in its sleep.
“It’s raining, Ancestor.”
Su Luo Qiu helplessly ate his noodles.
He had stayed in the noodle shop all night.
In the morning, his dark guards told him that his second brother had sent people searching for him all night.
His good brother had ascended the throne, and the very first thing he did was to look for him.
Such brotherly affection truly touched the heart.
The Noodle Granny said flatly: “Come over and help me pack up the stall.”
This rain had come unnaturally.
It was as if it had suddenly started pouring down.
Su Luo Qiu abruptly clutched his chest, unable to breathe.
An aged hand patted his shoulder, and the suffocating pressure immediately dissipated.
The Noodle Granny said: “It is about to come out.”
“What thing?”
Su Luo Qiu asked in confusion.
He had only just taken one bite of his noodles.
The Noodle Granny lifted the stall’s canopy and gathered up the stools, saying: “Three years ago, I happened to meet the Blood Demon Master of the Blood Demon Palace.”
“What?”
Su Luo Qiu dropped his chopsticks in shock.
He had always known his Ancestor was formidable, but he had never imagined that she actually knew one of the Palace Masters of the Nine Sects and Twelve Palaces.
“I told him that in the Glazed Dynasty’s treasury lay a sword, one that could help a person ascend to Jade Radiance above. Yet, this very sword suppressed a great demon beneath the dynasty. Now, the sword has already loosened.”
Su Luo Qiu exclaimed in disbelief: “Then now… doesn’t that mean the great demon is about to emerge?”
The Noodle Granny nodded, and in her aged, clouded eyes flashed a trace of emotion called remembrance.
“Yes.”
Su Luo Qiu hurriedly said: “If the great demon emerges, wouldn’t Upper Jade Capital instantly be overturned?”
The Noodle Granny said: “Yes.”
“Then why… Ancestor, why?”
The Noodle Granny finally finished wiping the tables clean.
She said:
“When I was young, my sect was called the Iron Sword Sect. It was a very small sect, but it was warm.”
Lowering her gaze, her emotions were hidden from sight: “Of course, the Iron Sword Sect was destroyed many years ago. The one I loved most was also suppressed beneath this Upper Jade Capital. Now, only I remain of the Iron Sword Sect.”
The rain poured in torrents.
Very quickly, the rain blurred everything, so that nothing could be seen.
The Noodle Granny gazed into the darkness within the rainfall and gently said: “It has been a long time, junior brother.”