"Your Highness."
Tang Yun'er said coldly, "Even if little brother misunderstood me, I promised to protect him. So I cannot let you in."
Yang Cheng turned to Tang Yuan with a smile. "Senior, your cultivation here should be heavily suppressed, yes?"
Tang Yuan nodded. "Indeed."
Yang Cheng said, "Then even if I force my way in, you can't really stop me. At most, you could stall me a little. To avoid unnecessary conflict, how about this—I'll give Sixth Brother half an incense stick of time. After half an incense stick, I'll enter. How about it?"
Tang Yun'er hesitated.
According to Aunt Yuan, Yang Cheng was the Heaven's Mandate of the Wasteland Realm. She didn't want to create a life-and-death grudge with him.
"Miss, half an incense stick is enough. If Yang Xiu truly has the fortune, he'll get the Azure Emperor's inheritance. If not, then he's useless and can't blame you. And the fact His Highness is even willing to make this concession already gives you great face," Tang Yuan advised.
Tang Yun'er found it reasonable and nodded. "Alright."
Yang Cheng sat down cross-legged, unhurried.
He knew that Yang Xiu wasn't the only one fated with the Azure Emperor's inheritance—Chu Chen was another.
So Yang Cheng didn't believe Yang Xiu could seize it so easily.
Most importantly, through the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron, he could monitor Yang Xiu's every move.
If Chu Chen never appeared, he could always surprise Tang Yun'er later and storm the tomb in an instant.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiu was sprinting wildly inside the Azure Emperor's Tomb.
The tomb resembled a vast palace.
After running several li, he reached an ancient stone door.
"This is it."
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
He pushed the door open.
Inside, piles of white bones towered like mountains.
"Xiu'er, something is wrong here. You must be careful," Lin Xinglan warned quietly.
"Master, I understand," Yang Xiu said.
But his pace didn't slow at all.
With Yang Cheng behind him, how could he waste time?
He even suspected that Master's warning was just to buy Yang Cheng more time.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Yang Xiu's hair stood on end.
A flash of sword-light, without warning, slashed at his back.
Yang Xiu spun and drew his sword to block.
Clang! The strike sent him staggering back, his arm going numb.
"Who's there?"
He turned, enraged, and saw a blood-soaked man.
Even heavily wounded, this man radiated a deadly threat.
"A Martial Saint!"
Yang Xiu's pupils shrank. He dared not act rashly.
He clasped his hands. "I am Yang Xiu, Sixth Prince of Great Zhou. May I ask who you are? Perhaps we can work together…"
Before he finished, the man's eyes filled with deeper hatred. He attacked in a frenzy.
"Damn it, you think I'm easy to bully?"
Yang Xiu's face twisted with rage.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two clashed instantly.
"Yang Cheng, you go too far! I'm already this wretched, yet you still won't let me go, sending your brother to kill me?"
The man roared as he fought.
Yang Xiu froze at the words. "Wait—we're mistaken. I may be Yang Cheng's brother, but he and I are enemies!"
That man was none other than Chu Chen.
Hearing this, Chu Chen faltered.
But just then, waves of murderous intent flooded in from all directions.
Chu Chen, almost regaining clarity, was overwhelmed again.
"Kill!"
He rushed at Yang Xiu once more.
"Shit."
Yang Xiu had no choice but to fight back.
As they traded blows, Yang Xiu too was infected by the killing will. His eyes turned red.
Both lost reason, hacking at each other, every strike drawing blood.
One was Heaven's Mandate, the other a genius of the Azure Jade Realm—their vitality was fierce and unyielding.
They fought like mad for nearly half an incense stick before finally exhausting themselves. Their minds cleared slightly.
Yang Xiu's mood sank.
The man before him looked young, yet his strength was terrifying.
He felt crushed again.
Losing to Yang Cheng was one thing. But now, after Liu Wuji, here was another stranger he couldn't beat.
It seemed anyone could defeat him.
On the other side, Chu Chen felt even more shattered.
He had consoled himself that Yang Cheng was a freak, Heaven's Mandate of this world, which explained his defeat.
But now, even Yang Cheng's younger brother—though weaker—had nearly crippled him.
Were Wasteland Realm warriors truly this monstrous?
Was the Wasteland Realm the mayfly world—or was the Azure Jade Realm the mayfly world? He now doubted everything.
"You say Yang Cheng is your enemy?" Chu Chen asked. "If so, then we can work together."
"No, you must die," Yang Xiu growled.
Buzz!
A bronze cauldron flew from his body, smashing toward Chu Chen.
The Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron.
He hadn't wanted to use it.
Because he had promised Lin Xinglan to discard it.
But he had never thrown it away.
Using it now meant Lin Xinglan would know he had lied to her.
But Yang Xiu didn't care anymore.
He had to kill Chu Chen.
Hatred was one reason, but more importantly, he was too weak now. If Yang Cheng arrived, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Only by killing Chu Chen and devouring his life essence could he recover his strength.
The Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron's power was terrifying.
As it fell, the already frail Chu Chen couldn't possibly withstand it.
Boom!
Chu Chen's head burst like a watermelon, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
"Xiu'er, you still kept this demonic thing."
As expected, Lin Xinglan roared, "And now, what are you trying to do?"
"Master," Yang Xiu growled through clenched teeth, "Yang Cheng could arrive any moment. I must restore my strength. Unless you kill him for me, then I'll agree to give up the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron—even the Heaven-Devouring Art."
"Yang Cheng has never wronged me," Lin Xinglan said calmly. "He has always treated me with respect. How could I kill him without reason?"
"Master, he may not have wronged you, but he is my mortal enemy!" Yang Xiu retorted.
Lin Xinglan fell silent for a while before saying, "I can promise that when Yang Cheng comes, I won't let him take your life."
Yang Xiu burst out in rage. "Master, you and I are one body. Isn't my enemy your enemy too?"
"In my eyes, Yang Cheng is not your mortal enemy. You are simply too narrow-minded."
Lin Xinglan said, "If he were guilty of terrible crimes or truly meant you harm, I would never show mercy. But think carefully—Yang Cheng has never deliberately targeted you. It was you and the Zhuang family who coveted his Crown Prince position, again and again offending him, plotting against him."
"Even then, he never struck to kill. In this situation, if I still helped you murder him, wouldn't I also be blind to right and wrong, and worse—become your accomplice in evil?"
Yang Xiu nearly despaired of Lin Xinglan entirely.
Ignoring her, he bent down by Chu Chen's corpse and began devouring the man's life essence.
Just then, footsteps echoed.
Yang Xiu's body stiffened.
And sure enough, that figure he hated most appeared before him.
"Yang Cheng!"
Yang Xiu gnashed his teeth.
What shattered him further was that Yang Cheng had no wounds at all, not even a tear in his clothes.
With Tang Yun'er and so many Tang family experts outside, how could Yang Cheng walk in unscathed?
The only possibility was that Tang Yun'er and the Tang family had never attacked him at all.
She had sworn to guard the tomb entrance for him, yet she let Yang Cheng walk in safe and sound.
Yang Xiu felt his heart breaking completely.
"Don't misunderstand—it truly wasn't Miss Tang who revealed your whereabouts to me," Yang Cheng sighed. "At this point, I have no reason to deceive you."
Ding!
[Host has once again encountered the Absolute Slaughter Demon Ancestor Lin Xinglan and the Heaven's Mandate Emperor. This is misfortune indeed.]
[Last time, the host barely escaped alive from Lin Xinglan. This time, she may not allow another chance to survive.]
[And now Lin Xinglan is earnestly instructing the Heaven's Mandate Emperor. This proves she has regained her clarity.]
[This is even more dangerous for the host. With their bond as master and disciple, once she is clear-headed, she will be swayed by the Heaven's Mandate Emperor's words.]
[If the Heaven's Mandate Emperor asks her to kill the host, then almost all hope of survival will be cut off.]
[In response to this deadly crisis, a Legendary Mission has been issued: survive.]
[Legendary Mission Reward: a strand of Primordial Chaos Purple Qi.]
Yang Cheng's heart jumped.
Above Epic was Legendary.
This was the first time he had ever received a mission of this level.
What exactly was this "Primordial Chaos Purple Qi"?
No one else could see the system's words.
Yang Xiu sneered coldly. "Not her? Then how did you get in here?"
"I agreed with Miss Tang to give you half an incense stick of time," Yang Cheng said. "If you were truly fated with the Azure Emperor's inheritance, half an incense stick was more than enough. But half an incense stick has already passed, and Sixth Brother, you still haven't gained it."
"And besides…"
He looked at the dried-up corpse of Chu Chen. "Sixth Brother, how could you practice such a demonic art?"
At that, Yang Xiu truly believed him.
It seemed Tang Yun'er really hadn't betrayed him.
Relief washed through him for a moment, but then he sank deeper into despair.
If not Tang Yun'er, then who?
His chest tightened, his face dark as water.
"Senior, I never expected my Sixth Brother would walk this crooked path," Yang Cheng said. "Clearly, he is unworthy of being your disciple."
Lin Xinglan stayed silent.
But Yang Xiu thought he had seen the truth.
With a roar of pain, he shouted, "Master, so it was you who revealed my whereabouts! This Azure Emperor's inheritance was clearly mine."
"Yet you told Yang Cheng? Hahaha, no wonder! No wonder when I begged you to kill him, you refused. You had already abandoned me, already chosen him!"