Leaving Qin Ao's still-brightly-lit palace, the cold night wind outside made Ye Fan exhale softly.
Being alone with that deeply calculating, increasingly imposing "Imperial Father" required absolute vigilance every moment.
His seemingly composed responses were backed by countless days and nights of analyzing the situation and precisely gauging Qin Ao's psychology.
The strategy of transforming evil into righteousness being adopted was within his expectations, but it also meant he was bound ever deeper to this massive vessel called the "Holy Dynasty."
He turned to walk toward his quarters, his thoughts still immersed in the recent audience and his plans for the future.
However, just as he stepped down from the hall's entrance and turned into the shadows of a relatively secluded corridor, a bone-chilling, almost tangible killing intent locked onto his throat like a long-lurking viper!
Every hair on Ye Fan's body stood on end in an instant! Before he could even see his attacker, his body reacted instinctively. His feet shifted in a ghostly pattern, his figure drifting backward like a phantom, while mana surged within, layering defensive shields before him.
"Tss—!"
A point of cold light, faster than thought, grazed past his skin, tearing through the first three layers of his shields as easily as paper! Finally, the tip of a long spear wreathed in blood-red baleful aura stopped steadily half an inch from his throat, the icy spear point making his skin prickle with goosebumps.
Behind the spear shaft, Zhan Wuji's cold, menacing face slowly emerged from the shadows. His eyes regarded Ye Fan like a lamb to the slaughter, filled with undisguised disgust and murderous intent.
Ye Fan steadied himself, looking at the Heaven Splitting Spear's tip inches from his face. Rather than the panic Zhan Wuji had anticipated, a cold, somewhat mocking smile curved his lips:
"Saint Son Zhan, it's been a while. Waiting here in the dead of night—does Imperial Father have a new decree to convey?"
His composure only further enraged Zhan Wuji.
What Zhan Wuji hated most was Ye Fan's demeanor—seemingly respectful, yet fundamentally tinged with an ineffable detachment and calculation.
Especially just now, when he had faintly sensed Qin Ao's praise for Ye Fan and heard that call of "Fan'er," his anger had flared even hotter.
"A decree?" Zhan Wuji sneered, pushing the spear tip a fraction closer, nearly touching Ye Fan's throat. "There is one—my decree is that I find you increasingly displeasing to the eye. So I thought about it, and decided to just kill you now and clear my mind."
His reasoning was simple, brutal, and filled with unyielding dominance.
In Zhan Wuji's worldview, power was everything. If someone displeased him, killing them sufficed—what need was there for so many reasons?
Especially a "solitary minister" like Ye Fan who had risen through betrayal. Killing him was just killing him. He believed that even if Qin Ao was displeased, he wouldn't truly turn against him, a Saint Son, for the sake of a dead man.
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Zhan Wuji flicked his wrist. The Heaven Splitting Spear transformed into a blood-red lightning bolt, no longer pausing, aiming straight for Ye Fan's brow! This thrust was even more ruthless and decisive than in the Wangzhou City dungeon—clearly, he meant to take his life!
Ye Fan's pupils contracted sharply, knowing this was a life-or-death moment!
He dared not hold anything back, his mana, having just entered the Immortal Realm, erupted fully!
Knowing he was no match in a head-on confrontation, his figure moved like willow catkins in the wind. He employed exquisite footwork, evading at extreme speed within a confined space while forming seals with both hands. Various defensive spells—heavy and cunning—instantly took shape, attempting to block the blood-red spear aura that followed like a shadow.
"Clang!" "Boom!" "Tss—!"
The sounds of energy clashes echoed incessantly through the corridor. Ye Fan's defensive spells shattered repeatedly under the Heaven Splitting Spear's terrifying assault, and the scattered energy left the corridor's stone pillars and floor riddled with scars.
Though he fought desperately, the gap in their strength was ultimately impossible to bridge. Zhan Wuji's spear technique was overwhelmingly dominant, each strike containing mountain-shattering power and a killing will that eroded the mind, pushing Ye Fan into ever-greater peril. His sleeves were torn by spear aura, and several deep, bone-visible gashes appeared on his arms and shoulders, blood quickly staining his robes.
The cruel smile on Zhan Wuji's face grew ever wider, like a cat toying with a mouse.
He savored the sensation of driving his opponent step by step into a corner.
"An ant is still an ant. Do you think climbing onto a high branch changes your fate? Lowborn scum, thinking you deserve to stand alongside us?"
He spotted an opening and drove the Heaven Splitting Spear forward like a venomous dragon bursting from its lair. The blood baleful aura condensed to a single point, aiming straight for Ye Fan's heart!
This thrust was executed at extreme speed, the angle cunning and vicious. Ye Fan's old strength was spent and new strength had yet to arise—it seemed there was no way to dodge!
A flash of unwillingness and despair crossed Ye Fan's eyes. Was he truly going to fall here?
At this critical juncture—
"Stop."
A voice, cold and devoid of any earthly warmth, abruptly rang out in the corridor. The voice was not loud, yet it seemed to contain some strange law-like power, piercing clearly through the sounds of fierce combat and reaching both their ears.
As the voice sounded, a pure white sword aura arrived after yet reaching first. It did not attack Zhan Wuji but instead struck precisely against the side of the Heaven Splitting Spear's tip.
"Ching—!"
A crisp metallic ring.
Zhan Wuji's certain-kill thrust was deflected ever so slightly by this seemingly insubstantial sword aura, grazing past Ye Fan's ribs and blasting a large hole in the stone pillar behind him!
Zhan Wuji retracted his spear and stepped back, whipping his head around to look at the other end of the corridor.
His eyes were so dark with fury they seemed ready to drip water: "Zhu! Qing! Cheng!"
Bathed in moonlight, Zhu Qingcheng stood quietly in a white dress, like a moon palace fairy descended to the mortal realm, yet radiating an aura of lifeless detachment that kept all at bay. Her face was stunningly beautiful yet utterly expressionless. Those hollow eyes swept over the battered Ye Fan and the murderous Zhan Wuji as she said flatly: "It's me."
"You insist on helping him?" Zhan Wuji forced down his rage, the blood baleful aura on the Heaven Splitting Spear churning ceaselessly. "Foiling my plans time and again! Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
Zhu Qingcheng's gaze remained placid, her voice still without any fluctuation: "I simply don't want someone reckless and foolhardy, who knows only brute force, to ruin the bigger picture."
"Reckless? Foolhardy?" Zhan Wuji laughed from extreme anger.
He stared fixedly at Zhu Qingcheng, trying to find the slightest emotional fluctuation on her face, and said viciously: "Zhu Qingcheng, you've protected this boy three and five times. If I didn't know you cultivate that ridiculous Emotionless Path, severing all feelings and desires, I'd almost think... you've taken a fancy to this pretty boy!"
These words were deeply insulting, meant to provoke Zhu Qingcheng and force her to lose her composure.
However, Zhu Qingcheng's reaction remained a dead stillness of cold. She didn't even change her expression slightly, merely repeating flatly: "Since you know I cultivate the Emotionless Path, then you know I will only prioritize the greater picture."
Zhan Wuji's chest heaved violently. He knew that continuing this entanglement was pointless.
Zhu Qingcheng's strength was unfathomable, and he had no certainty of victory. Moreover, since she had invoked the reason of "ruining the bigger picture," pressing the attack would only put him in the wrong.
"Hmph! Fine! Very fine!" Zhan Wuji glared viciously at Ye Fan, the killing intent in his eyes almost solidifying.
"Kid, count yourself lucky this time! Next time, let's see who can protect you!"
With that, he didn't linger. With a cold snort, he slung the Heaven Splitting Spear over his shoulder and transformed into a streak of blood light, vanishing into the night.
The corridor was left with only the lingering scent of blood, the marks of destruction, and Ye Fan and Zhu Qingcheng standing in silence.
Ye Fan pressed his hand against his burning rib wound, enduring the searing pain as he bowed deeply to Zhu Qingcheng. His tone was sincere: "Thank you, Venerable One, for saving me once again."
His eyes held a complex mixture of emotions. This was not the first time Zhu Qingcheng had intervened when he clashed with Zhan Wuji.
Why would this cultivator of the Emotionless Path, who seemed indifferent to everything, repeatedly aid a "traitor" like himself?
Zhu Qingcheng merely nodded slightly in response to Ye Fan's gratitude. Her cold gaze lingered briefly on the ghastly wounds on his body, but that was all. She did not ask about his injuries, offered no comfort, and gave no explanation for why she had appeared at precisely that moment.
It was as if everything she had done was truly motivated only by the cold, utilitarian calculation of "not wanting the bigger picture ruined."
"Take care of yourself."
She left only these four words, her voice still flat and unvarying, and then with a flash of white, she disappeared as silently as she had come, as if she had never been there at all.
Ye Fan stood alone, the night wind carrying the piercing cold of his wounds.
He gazed in the direction Zhu Qingcheng had vanished, silent for a long time. His mind flashed through the events of recent times—Zhu Qingcheng's seemingly coincidental rescues, that cold and solitary figure...
Finally, he shook his head, banishing the chaotic thoughts from his mind, and muttered to himself as if trying to convince himself: "Never mind... She must be considering the bigger picture, unwilling to see uncontrollable strife erupt within the Holy Dynasty at this moment. After all, my 'transforming evil into righteousness' strategy might align with her intentions..."
He attributed this inexplicable "care" to cold, hard calculations of interest.
Only by thinking this way could he find a shred of peace of mind in this perilous, treacherous environment.
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