NOVEL NEXT Chapter 420: Signs of Rebellion
Qian Cauldron absorbed nearly a thousand Evil Souls, Ye Lingyue gazed at the Chaos Primordial Elixir within her body, which had become more replete with Primordial Power.
She firmly believed that as long as she broke through the twenty-fourth layer of Earth Evil Prison and overcame the first Heaven and Earth Tribulation, she would undoubtedly reach the Reincarnation Realm.
On the first layer of Earth Evil Prison, Ye Lingyue only took four hours.
The second layer, twelve hours.
The third layer, one day... In the following days, a storm of bloodshed erupted in the Earth Evil Prison that had been tranquil for hundreds of years.
The day of the Daxia Imperial Competition was also drawing nearer.
In the Hong Residence at Xia Capital, these past few days were filled with festivity and decoration.
The people of Xia Capital had all heard that Hong Residence's young miss, Daxia's Princess Ming Yue, and Three-Life Valley's Young Valley Master were joyfully united in marriage.
With a grand bridal procession stretching ten miles, Luo Song brought the betrothal gifts from Three-Life Valley to propose marriage at Hong Residence.
Since the Valley Master Luo Sansheng was still in seclusion, it was an elder from Three-Life Valley, standing in for Ancient Master Luo, who came this time.
"Marquis Hong, the Valley Master has heard of the affection and agreement between the Young Valley Master and Princess Ming Yue and is very pleased. He specifically ordered me to bring the marriage agreement and betrothal gifts. As for the wedding date, we still need to wait till the Valley Master exits seclusion, and then both families can sit down and discuss further," the elder spoke while delivering carts of betrothal gifts into Hong Residence like flowing water.
This showed how much Three-Life Valley valued this marriage; aside from Hong Mingyue, everyone in Hong Residence was overjoyed and accepted Luo Song's betrothal gifts. However, what worried Marquis Hong was that there was still no sign of the Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Elixir.
Left with no choice, Marquis Hong could only personally inquire Luo Song.
Only then did Luo Song reveal a sudden look of realization and handed over the Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Elixir to Hong Qingyun.
"Congratulations, Marquis, with this elixir, you will surely breakthrough to the Reincarnation Realm and become the first among Daxia's Martial Artists."
While Luo Song felt a bit pained handing over the elixir, thinking of the beautiful bride soon to be his brought a smile back to his face.
"This time, it was all thanks to the Young Valley Master that we could so smoothly obtain the Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Elixir," Hong Qingyun said as he opened the box to find an impeccable Spirit Pill.
Just by looking it with the naked eye, one could feel the terrifying Power of Reincarnation contained within the elixir.
"Haha, Marquis, Young Valley Master, you both have forgotten to change your addresses. From now on, Three-Life Valley and Hong Residence are one family," the elder from Three-Life Valley laughed heartily.
The three were harmonious and joyful.
After seeing off Luo Song and the people from Three-Life Valley, Hong Fang came in and was somewhat dazzled by the sight of the Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Elixir.
"Father, regarding Ming Yue's marriage, perhaps you should reconsider," Hong Fang truly cared for Hong Mingyue, and he had not overlooked his daughter's forced smiles during the daytime.
He could tell that his daughter did not want to marry Luo Song at all.
Feeling partly guilty over Hong Yuying's death, Hong Fang did not want his only daughter to suffer any further.
"What's there to reconsider? The marriage was agreed upon by Ming Yue herself. Ultimately, every woman must marry. Ming Yue is an obedient child. Although Luo Song is not the best candidate, he truly loves Ming Yue. Moreover, as you've also seen, Luo Song is a brave but tactless fool. With Ming Yue's talents, after marrying him, she will definitely replace him and truly take control of Three-Life Valley. By then, both Three-Life Valley and Daxia will be under Hong Residence's control," Hong Qingyun said irritably.
Hong Fang's face changed slightly upon hearing this.
"Father, are you suggesting…"
Despite having already sensed that Hong Qingyun was an ambitious man, Hong Fang had not expected that his father had already harbored thoughts of "usurping the throne."
"Indeed, as the saying goes, 'Among princes and generals, isn't there a man of courage?' Emperor Xia is incompetent, and Daxia's political power has remained stable for over a thousand years. We from the Hong Residence have always served the Daxia Imperial Family diligently, yet what have we received in return? All these years, I have been avoiding Gu Cangtian, remaining a subordinate, but now I possess the Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Elixir and breaking into the Divine Power Realm is only a matter of time." Hong Qingyun snorted coldly.
Emperor Xia has explicitly disrespected the Hong Residence over the matter concerning Ye Huangyu, and Hong Qingyun has harbored this grudge ever since.
"Father, we must consider this matter cautiously," Hong Fang couldn't help but show his concern.
"I've thought it over very clearly. Starting tomorrow, I will go into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough into the Divine Power Realm. The day I achieve success will be the day our Hong Residence rises. I have already ordered your older brother to mobilize the forces of the Sha Sect, and there are also numerous assassins who will take the opportunity during the Imperial Examination to assassinate both Emperor Xia and his son. Third one, I know you always have long-term plans; it's just that in dealing with Ye Huangyu and her daughter, one mistake led to another, resulting in today's situation. This time, I hope you won't disappoint me." Hong Qingyun's palm landed heavily on Hong Fang's shoulder, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
As he walked out of Hong Qingyun's courtyard, Hong Fang's steps were heavy.
The words of Hong Qingyun lingered in his ears.
Towards his father Hong Qingyun, Hong Fang had always been respectful. Over the years, the Hong Residence was able to stand firmly in Daxia's royal court, all thanks to Hong Qingyun.
If he truly breaks through to the Divine Power Realm, Daxia might change rulers in a day.
The imperial throne undoubtedly held tremendous temptation for Hong Fang.
The conversation just now with Hong Qingyun seemed like encouragement, but in reality, it was also a threat. Hong Fang knew very well that his father was still hesitating between him and his older brother.
If they were really going to force a coup against Emperor Xia, the Princely Heir who had command over the Sha Sect was undoubtedly more advantageous.
Originally, Hong Fang also had the backing of the Heavenly Armor Sect, but what does he have left now?
Three-Life Valley, temporarily unreliable.
Suddenly remembering something, Hong Fang quickly walked into his study, pulled out a book that had always been on his desk, and flipped it open.
Inside the book, there was a letter, a letter that had been sent from Beiqing a month ago.
The letter from the Beiqing Pill Palace... Ever since Noble Princess Consort Luo gave him the Reincarnation Elixir, Hong Fang had suspected that behind Noble Princess Consort Luo was the Pill Palace.
But no matter what, he never expected that Noble Princess Consort Luo's patron would be Chen Hongru from Beiqing.
In the letter, Chen Hongru expressed that he could help Hong Fang.
Holding the letter, Hong Fang read it over many times, until his eyes became blurry, and finally, he made a decision, wrote a reply that very night, and commanded his confidant to send the letter to Beiqing.
However, what Hong Fang never expected was that his "confidant", under the cover of night, sneaked out of the Hong Residence, but instead of heading to Beiqing, he turned into an inconspicuous mansion within Xia Capital.
That mansion was precisely the secret base of the Ghost Sect in Xia Capital.
After "Ye Lingyue" died, the Ghost Sect seemed to have vanished, allowing the Heir Hong to use this opportunity to greatly expand the power of the Sha Sect, seizing much of Ghost Sect's business, and Heir Hong was quite proud of this.
Little did he know, all of this had been arranged by Yan Che and others, and what Heir Hong seized were merely some illegal businesses that could not be openly conducted.
"Reporting to the Vice Sect Leader, this is the letter Hong Fang wrote to 'Chen Hongru'." That "confidant" handed over Hong Fang's letter to Yan Che.
"You've worked hard," Yan Che took the letter.