Chapter 619: Killed

Danger incoming!

The fact that this fish demon even dared to launch an attack in the imperial palace was truly beyond Chu Liang's expectations.

Even if it had the cultivation level of the seventh realm, with the palace's defenses being far tighter than usual and with the surrounding area sealed, could it even escape after revealing its aura?

The fish demon lunged, unleashing a multicolored spiritual energy that condensed into a formation resembling fish scales, instantly engulfing Chu Liang.

Even though Chu Liang had just gotten the gift of the Dragon Soul Protection, he was still a cultivator at the realm in the Heavenly Gate. When facing a cultivator at the realm above the Heavenly Gate, there was no chance he could win.

In this life-or-death moment, Chu Liang wasted no time. He flipped his hand, pulling out the jade bowl. "Come out, my best friend!"

Crack.

When facing an opponent of levels higher and much more powerful, any attempt to fight back would be futile. The best course of action was to call for reinforcements—only someone of equal strength could even the odds.

Fortunately, Chu Liang happened to have just such an ally on hand.

Whoosh—

The jade bowl shattered, releasing a burst of radiant light. A magnificent golden-scaled dragon soared into the sky! Its dazzling brilliance illuminated the night as a thunderous dragon roar shook the air.

"

RAWRRRR!!!

"

Had the fish demon not preemptively set up a restrictive barrier to block sound and aura from going out, this dragon roar alone would have shaken the imperial city to its core.

The fish demon unleashed a divine light of five colors, striking the massive Golden Dragon. With a resounding clash, the light was deflected by the dragon’s sturdy golden scales. Though the force pushed the dragon back, it remained unharmed.

The golden-scaled dragon’s greatest strength was its defense. Even though the fish demon was of a higher cultivation level, there was no way it could win with one attack.

"Take this!" Chu Liang tossed the Golden Dragon’s Orb, and the Little Golden Dragon caught it in one swift gulp.

He had intended to release the dragon and return the orb after leaving the palace. But in this moment of crisis, there was no time for such considerations.

"My barrier can’t hold back the Golden Dragon. Let’s strike together and finish this quickly! If we don’t kill him, you’ll never become the emperor!" the fish demon shouted, turning to the Thirteenth Prince.

The Thirteenth Prince clenched his teeth, seething with frustration.

The Thirteenth Prince’s affair with the imperial consort was real. He couldn’t explain why he had been so captivated by her, but with just a little seduction, he had fallen completely under her spell, unable to break free.

Not long ago, the imperial consort introduced him to the fish demon, claiming it could help enhance his cultivation.

He was well aware of their dubious origins, suspecting they were connected to the infamous Celestial Charm Sect. Yet the improvements to his cultivation were undeniable, and their promise to aid him in seizing the throne was too tempting to refuse.

If he refused to cooperate, his affair with the imperial consort might be exposed.

With the Second Prince, the eldest son, backed by Empress Wu, the Thirteenth Prince had no choice but to align himself with these dubious allies if he wanted a chance at the throne.

His visit to the Dragon-Keeping Eunuch was no coincidence. After receiving a signal from the imperial consort, he went there and released the Golden Dragon.

What he hadn’t expected, however, was that the Golden Dragon would wander about and end up in Chu Liang’s hands!

The Thirteenth Prince was among the first to hear of Empress Wu’s true identity being exposed. Though he felt some sorrow over the imperial consort’s death, the event brought him far more relief than grief.

With the imperial consort gone, he no longer had to worry about their affair being exposed. Furthermore, Empress Wu turned out to be a spy of the Celestial Charm Sect. This meant that the Second Prince’s status, as her son, was bound to plummet.

With only two candidates for the throne and the Second Prince losing his chance at becoming the crown prince, the Thirteenth Prince was confident that he was the only choice left.

But his excitement didn’t last long. The fish demon returned, demanding that he use the Qinghong Banquet as a chance to lure Chu Liang out so it could kill him.

Why would the Thirteenth Prince agree to help at this point? As long as he behaved himself, he would surely become the crown prince.

Unexpectedly, the fish demon revealed that the imperial consort had left evidence of their affair—a dudou. If this were brought to the emperor’s attention, the Thirteenth Prince's near-certain claim to the throne could crumble in an instant.

Thus, the Thirteenth Prince reluctantly agreed.

All he had to do was lure Chu Liang out. As a seventh-realm existence, the fish demon could kill Chu Liang in an instant and flee. No one would suspect him.

But to his utter surprise, Chu Liang had brought along the little Golden Dragon!

With the fish demon entangled by the Golden Dragon, the effect of the restriction that the fish demon had set up began to falter, and the demon's aura would leak within moments. If that happened, the powerful cultivators in the palace would arrive, and all would be lost.

These thoughts raced through the Thirteenth Prince’s mind, culminating in a shouted command: "Hand over your life!"

...

Seeing the Little Golden Dragon block the fish demon, the Thirteenth Prince lunged at him, but Chu Liang remained calm.

He had seen the Thirteenth Prince make a move in the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams before. Although he was among the best of the younger generation, he was still far from being a top-tier prodigy. Moreover, with the fortification of the Blue Dragon's Orb, Chu Liang—though not yet at the sixth realm—already possessed combat strength that was considered exceptional even within that level.

But as soon as they exchanged blows, he noticed something was wrong.

Boom!

A thunderous roar erupted as the Thirteenth Prince unleashed a sweeping wave of purple-gold flames.

It was the Samadhi True Fire!

The most outstanding among the younger generation of the imperial family was the Sixth Princess. Even then, she could only control sparks of the Samadhi True Fire, which she had to use carefully to achieve results.

During that time, the Thirteenth Prince had been weaker than his elder sister. But he had made such incredible progress since then!

Obviously, it had to be the work of the evil people from the Celestial Charm Sect.

Faced with the overwhelming divine fire, Chu Liang's expression turned grave. As a disciple of Di Nufeng, he had a deep understanding of the power of Samadhi True Fire.

His esteemed teacher often used this fire to dominate; those who came into contact with it died, and those who touched it perished. There was no escape!

Facing such a fierce attack, Chu Liang could only risk everything. He gathered all his foundational qi, transforming it into a Severing the Void slash and struck with all his might!

At the same time, the Blue Dragon's Orb operated at full power. A roaring hurricane descended, sweeping the Samadhi True Fire away to prevent it from touching him. However, faced with such a massive amount of divine fire, the fierce winds dissolved on contact, barely delaying its approach.

Meanwhile, the Sword Strike of Severing the Void had already reached the Thirteenth Prince.

If this strike could bring him down, the threat of the divine fire would be resolved. If not, Chu Liang, enveloped by the Samadhi True Fire, would be in grave danger.

At the critical moment, the sword qi descended first.

The Thirteenth Prince clearly hadn’t expected that, while the cultivation of the divine fire had greatly increased with the Celestial Charm Sect's help, Chu Liang’s power had also grown so much stronger in just one day compared to the Assembly of Immortal Sects!

This makes no sense...Even if he has the gift of the Dragon Soul Protection, how can he be this powerful?

The Little Golden Dragon's gift to Chu Liang had been within the expectations of the Celestial Charm Sect and the Thirteenth Prince. However, the Blue Dragon's Orb was something they had no knowledge of.

Swish—

The Sword Strike of Severing the Void finally landed on the Thirteenth Prince!

The infused sword qi instantly extinguished the divine light.

Although his divine fire cultivation had been significantly boosted, he remained at the same cultivation realm, which meant that the improvement was lacking. Against the Sword Strike of Severing the Void, he was nearly powerless.

"Ugh..."

As the Thirteenth Prince fell, his eyes were filled with unwillingness.

I am just one step away from the position of crown prince, only a hair’s breadth from the throne—how could it all end here?

I paid such a hefty price to obtain the power of Samadhi True Fire, yet why am I still no match for Chu Liang?

Isn’t this... unfair?

...

As the sword strike landed, Chu Liang was still feeling tense.

It wasn’t that he intended to kill the Thirteenth Prince, but the prince had struck with the intent to kill him in a single blow, unleashing his full cultivation power without holding back. This was, in fact, a highly unrefined technique, revealing that the Thirteenth Prince was inexperienced in life-and-death combat.

At that moment, Chu Liang had only one choice—clash head-on with the prince.

Either he would die in an instant, or the Thirteenth Prince would.

In such a situation, no matter how much he considered the prince's imperial status, Chu Liang had no way to hold back.

Thud.

As he watched the Thirteenth Prince fall lifelessly to the ground, Chu Liang felt a heavy weight in his heart. Looking up, he realized that the fish demon had already vanished.

It turned out that after being blocked by the Little Golden Dragon’s attack, the fish demon had called for the Thirteenth Prince to strike before turning and escaping into the pool!

The Little Golden Dragon had given chase, but it too had disappeared without a trace.

The Celestial Charm Sect clearly had more than one waterway within the palace!

In fact, ever since they discovered the waterways in the imperial consorts' courtyards, everyone had speculated that there might be others within the palace. However, due to the tight schedule, there was no time to inspect all of them thoroughly. The investigation had primarily focused on the areas extending outward from the imperial consort's and Empress Wu’s palaces. No one had expected a waterway to exist so close to the Golden Throne Hall.

The Celestial Charm Sect’s demons had spent decades laying their plans, and their infiltration of the imperial palace was far deeper than anyone had imagined.

Suddenly, Chu Liang was the only one left in the area. Before he could make any move, the sound of rushing wind heralded someone's arrival. After the fish demon fled, the effect of the restrictions on this location had dissipated, allowing the aura to leak out. It was no surprise that experts from the palace had arrived.

The first person to land was dressed in brocade robes, his expression fierce. Chu Liang turned his head and frowned.

It was Cheng Hu.

He had always been Empress Wu's close confidant, but he knew nothing about the Celestial Charm Sect’s schemes and had not done anything to aid in rebellion over the years. As such, he was released after a brief interrogation.

This leniency was also due to Empress Wu’s repentance, as she had voluntarily exposed all the Celestial Charm Sect spies she had planted. Consequently, others associated with her were not heavily implicated.

However, with his support gone, Cheng Hu’s status was certainly not what it once was, and at this moment, he was filled with resentment.

Seeing Chu Liang and the scene before him, Cheng Hu acted without thinking and shouted, "Audacious traitor! You dare assassinate a prince in the depths of the palace!"

As he spoke, he launched a fierce palm strike without hesitation!