The old minister Zhong Yudai, leading over a hundred people, passed through various towns. Many approached to inquire but he ignored them all, speeding along the dirt road, filled with worry.
After ensuring that everything was in order with the Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators among his group, he left the army behind and soared through the air toward Mulu Town, the capital set by Mu Jiaoman.
It was still early morning when he had left. After flying for an hour, Mulu Town finally appeared on the horizon. The sun rose, gradually warming the earth and wetting him with dew.
"Mulu Town..."
Zhong Yudai shook the dew from his body and flew directly over the city below, ignoring the Mount Yue clans who looked up from beneath. After a while, the grand palace appeared before him.
He was about to land in the palace, but the palace's protective formation had been activated unexpectedly.
A transparent barrier enclosed the entire palace tightly. It was a secret construction commissioned by Mu Jiaoman to a rogue cultivator from the lake, costing a significant sum of money.
"Please open the formation! I am the minister, Zhong Yudai, sent by the king on urgent business!"
Zhong Yudai had to stop and call out twice. However, a person appeared on the palace wall—a woman who had the appearance of an Easterner. She looked to be a middle-aged woman with fine eyebrows and was dressed in rich, majestic attire, gazing down at him indifferently.
"The queen consort?!"
The woman was indeed a clan daughter from the Li Family, Mu Jiaoman's consort. Zhong Yudai was shocked after having served under Mu Jiaoman for many years, and he blurted this out without thinking.
"Zhong Yudai, you've returned alone... Qimu's reign of power is gone, huh?"
The clan daughter smiled faintly, her voice carrying softly outside through the formation.
Zhong Yudai trembled as he listened to her words, both shocked and angry. He then exclaimed desperately, "Li Feiruo... how could it be you?! Where is the high shaman?!"
"Here."
Li Feiruo smiled softly as she bent down, picked something up, and threw it out.
It was a bloody, decapitated head. It rolled twice on the palace wall before falling outside, where the formation disintegrated it into a puff of ash.
"Just open the formation!" Zhong Yudai called out in a pleading tone, unable to comprehend how a Qi Cultivator could be killed so easily by a mortal with no cultivation.
Despair filled his heart but Li Feiruo merely waved her hand. Behind her, people brought forward three children into his line of sight—two girls and a boy, the oldest no more than ten, and the youngest only six.
All of them were in tears as they looked at Zhong Yudai, their gazes wrenching his heart.
"Minister Zhong Yudai... are you looking for them?" Li Feiruo asked softly as she stared into his eyes, carefully gauging his emotions. She was like a predator watching her prey.
Zhong Yudai, as if anticipating what was to come, had tears streaming down his face as he cried out, "H-How could you...? You are their stepmother...!"
Li Feiruo pretended not to hear his comment, still smiling as she said, "Minister Zhong Yudai... if you agree to one condition, I might just spare their lives."
"Name your conditions!" Zhong Yudai exclaimed immediately without hesitation, moving closer to the formation, staring intently into Li Feiruo's eyes.
"Take your own life."
Her voice was calm.
Zhong Yudai was shocked, his excess qi bursting forth as he cried out in grief, "You wicked woman...!"
Li Feiruo had already drawn a sharp dagger, pressing it against the neck of the little girl, who immediately began to cry loudly.
Zhong Yudai grew hasty and moved forward, gesturing for her to stop.
"Wait a moment!"
Zhong Yudai paused for a few moments, his expression tormented. Finally, he lifted his sword and placed the blade against his neck, his voice defeated.
"The former king and I have underestimated you."
Li Feiruo simply nodded without a word. Zhong Yudai made a swift motion with the blade, and just like that, his head flew off, gray hair flailing in the wind.
The formidable fifth heavenly layer Qi Cultivator had taken his own life, and his headless body fell to the ground with a thud. Only then did a gaze from above the clouds slowly withdraw, glancing at Li Feiruo and murmuring in admiration.
As Li Feiruo watched Zhong Yudai fall, her eyes dimmed slightly, the air of control around her fading. One of her confidants, unable to bear it any longer, whispered, "My lady, isn't this a little too..."
"It was a choice of necessity, as was mine..." Li Feiruo sighed, the jade ornaments around her neck clinking as she continued softly, "Zhong Yudai was one of the few who remained utterly loyal to Qimu. With the family elders not here, if he were to escape and then covertly target me or our younger family members, wouldn't that be a great trouble? Even though our family elders are far stronger than him, they can't always be guarding the younger ones. If he succeeded in his actions, I would be beyond redemption."
Li Feiruo continued to justify her actions.
"I am merely a mortal... who, though I enlisted the power of the clans within the city to kill the high shaman, possess only the capability to protect myself with formations. How could I possibly contend with a fifth heavenly layer Qi Cultivator? This method may be dirty, but it is the only path available to me right now... The fight to the death between two families, I fear, may not rid us of future troubles completely."
Li Feiruo, supported by several of her confidants, descended from the palace walls. She quietly observed the Mount Yue ministers kneeling below with blood flowing from beneath the palace, staining the hem of her luxurious dress a faint red. Li Feiruo smiled softly and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Rise, all of you."
The ministers below obediently stood up, not daring to look up at her. Li Feiruo walked through the blood-stained steps and hall of the palace, step by step into the pitch-dark main hall.
The fallen candles burned quietly on the floor, while the injured continued to moan within the hall. She walked through the blood to the front and whispered, "Has the young master replied?"
"Yes, he has."
A confidant handed her a sealed letter. Li Feiruo read it carefully before placing the letter inside her chest pocket. Only then did the ministers dare to speak.
"My lady, how shall we deal with Qimu's heirs?"
"Death is but a simple matter... but let's imprison them first and wait for the head of the family to decide."
Li Feiruo sighed once more, then picked up a brush and ink from the table and wrote a few lines on a piece of fabric. She handed it to her confidant and said softly, "Send this to the young family head."
————
The four Mount Yue Qi Cultivators submitted to Shamoli, directly addressing him as "Great King," and landed on the ground together to meet the main family.
They cautiously made their way through the military formation and soon saw a dark metal chariot, decorated with several flags that fluttered proudly in the wind.
A young man stood on the chariot, clad in a white robe, looking dashing and approachable. He smiled warmly at them, raising his cup in the morning breeze cheerfully.
"Congratulations, Great King!"
"This credit is not mine to take," Shamoli said, still covered in blood.
He kneeled on the ground and bowed respectfully to the young man. The four Mount Yue Qi Cultivators who were unclear on the protocol, awkwardly attempted to mimic his bow.
Shamoli then stood up and cupped his fist, saying, "My position today is all thanks to you and the other esteemed lords; I dare not call myself king before you. However, I have already unified Qimu's troops. According to the generals who surrendered, Qimu had previously released a loyal confidant, a fifth heavenly layer Qi Cultivator who poses a significant threat... I hope you will take heed. I also suspect that Qimu still has offspring and confidants in Mulu Town. I wish to lead a group there to ascertain this and prevent them from escaping and causing further trouble."
Li Yuanxiu nodded and replied, "Our elders are already tracking down the Mount Yue Qi Cultivator, so he won't be able to escape. As for Mulu Town..."
Li Yuanxiu smiled softly, glanced down at the five Mount Yue tribesmen below, and raised the secret letter in his hand.
"Two hours after Qimu left Mulu Town, the entire palace had already fallen under the control of my clan aunt. Qimu's children have fallen into our hands, and his close associates have been slaughtered by her. If I am not mistaken, someone is already on their way to surrender."