Apprehended and Brought to Justice

Lu Qiancha rubbed her chin with her fingertips, thoughtfully weighing the small, black Doom-shroom in her palm.

‘It seems that besides the passive triggering landmine mode, this thing can also be used as an actively thrown grenade. Unfortunately, that snow rabbit’s cultivation realm was too low, so I really couldn’t test the upper limit of its true power.’

‘Next time, I need to find a powerful fierce beast as a target to truly test the combat value of this thing.’

She temporarily suppressed the thought of testing, and her figure turned into a stream of light, soaring into the air and speeding towards Shuixian Palace. She hadn’t forgotten that today was the day she had agreed to go shopping with Xun Xue, and she also had to remember to bring back some frozen pears, candied fruits, and snow lotus cakes, which were specialties of the Northern Region, for her master and junior sister…

On the other side, inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the atmosphere was heavy.

Ling Muxue stood straight in the hall, undisguised killing intent and violence churning in the depths of her eyes. She knelt on one knee, performing a hurried military salute: “Father Emperor! Please allocate a squad of elite forbidden guards to Child. Child wants to personally arrest Mufeng and bring him to justice!”

Ling Ze sat upright above, his calm gaze sweeping over his daughter’s nearly out-of-control expression, his voice betraying no ripples: “Arrest? With what will you arrest him? Do you know where that demon is now?”

“…Child does not know.”

Ling Muxue pursed her lips tightly.

“Then do you know what his current strength is?” Ling Ze continued to press, his tone heavier.

“Peak of the Integration realm… probably?” Ling Muxue’s voice revealed uncertainty.

“Probably?!” Ling Ze’s brows instantly locked tight, scolding with majesty, “In matters of intelligence, how can there be room for the word ‘probably’! If it is, it is; if it isn’t, it isn’t! Being vague will only harm others and yourself!”

Ling Muxue’s body trembled slightly, gritting her teeth: “It is the peak of the Integration realm! Child… Child investigated his aura before.”

“Heh…” Ling Ze let out a short, cold sneer, his gaze sharp as a knife. “Naive. That demon has already taken the Nirvana Syrup, his strength must have greatly increased! On what basis do you conclude he still remains at the peak of Integration?!”

“…” Ling Muxue was speechless, lowering her head in shame. “Child… indeed does not know the depth of his current strength.”

“Not knowing his strength, not knowing his whereabouts,”

Ling Ze’s voice rose abruptly, speaking to Ling Muxue with an educational tone, “Yet you want to go and arrest him with just empty words? Ling Muxue, how can you act so impulsively and recklessly? What you need to consider is not only your own safety but also everyone around you who cares for you and relies on you!”

He paused, his tone carrying heavy pressure: “Think carefully. If you lose your life at the hands of that demon due to misjudging his strength and underestimating the enemy… how heartbroken would I be? And your Sun Niang… having to bury a white-haired person sending off a black-haired person, having just suffered the pain of losing her sons, how could she bear the blow of losing you as well?!”

These words were like a heavy hammer, smashing ruthlessly onto Ling Muxue’s heart. Ling Ze gave her a deep look and said no more, but the profound disappointment in his eyes was more suffocating than any reprimand.

“Father Emperor! But, but Sun Niang can’t wait any longer!” Ling Muxue was extremely anxious, her voice thick with tears. “If we have to start investigating and searching from scratch, how… how can Sun Niang survive until then?!”

Listening to his daughter’s remarks, which only cared about time but lacked any strategy, the last shred of hope in Ling Ze’s heart completely sank.

Originally, he had planned to cultivate Ling Muxue as his successor, but now it seemed she was unfit for great responsibility. Her nature was impetuous, her handling of affairs lacked planning, and she acted on emotion… This position, ultimately, could not be handed over to her…

He sighed deeply in his heart, forcibly suppressing the churning disappointment and helplessness. He stood up, turning his back to Ling Muxue, his voice returning to its usual steadiness: “Never mind. The person, I have already found his tracks for you.”

He raised his hand and pointed at the table: “Take the Tiger Tally on the table and go to the East Pavilion to deploy a squad of shadow guards. Go.”

Ling Muxue raised her head abruptly, immense, unbelievable joy bursting from her eyes. Sun Niang could be saved! The blood debt of Zhuzi and Xiaoshan could be repaid!

“Thank you for Father Emperor’s grace!” She performed a heavy kowtow, her voice trembling with excitement. “Child will go capture and kill that villain right now!”

Before her voice had fallen, she grabbed the Tiger Tally like a whirlwind and rushed out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation without looking back.

Inside the grand hall, only Ling Ze remained.

He looked in the direction his daughter had disappeared, his upright figure appearing exceptionally lonely and desolate in the empty hall.

His eldest son had no heart for ruling, his second son loved pleasure and had also been flagged by him as unfit to rule, and his third son was still young, unable even to transform, let alone hold power.

The eldest had no heart, the second had no ability, the third was too young… and now even this most promising daughter, too…

Ling Ze shook his head slowly. The yellow and black dragon robe seemed to have lost its color, revealing an indescribable fatigue and desolation.

In a desolate, abandoned small courtyard, Mufeng stopped abruptly, a strong unease seizing him.

This place was adjacent to the bustling West Quarter of the Royal City, yet at this moment, it was as dead silent as a graveyard.

Even the sound of a wisp of wind brushing over gravel was clearly audible.

It was too quiet, eerily quiet.

Warning bells rang loudly in his heart. He drew the Meridian Mandarin Duck Blades, which shone with cold light, with a backhand, and his majestic spiritual sense instantly swept madly in all directions like an invisible tide.

Yet he found nothing.

Within a radius of a hundred zhang, not even a trace of a living creature’s aura could be sensed.

Cold sweat instantly soaked Mufeng’s back, a chill rushing from his spine straight to the top of his head. He made a prompt decision, his figure sliding toward the nearest shadow like a ghost, attempting to escape into the darkness.

Just as his figure was about to vanish—

A fatal chill exploded from his chest without warning.

Mufeng’s pupils contracted violently. Relying on the instinct honed from countless life-and-death struggles, he forcibly twisted his body into an impossible angle.

Squelch!

A spear light, pitch-black as ink and emitting a biting aura of death, shot past his ribs, instantly piercing through a giant rock behind him.

“Tsk, reaction isn’t slow.”

A cold voice sounded. From the shadows, a wolf clan man in black armor slowly walked out. His hair was black as ink, and a looming icy evil qi surrounded him. It was none other than the squad leader of the East Pavilion shadow guards.

“Mahayana stage cultivator?!”

Mufeng’s expression changed drastically, shock and anger in his heart. “Damn it, getting stuck at this final juncture!” The last of the Nirvana Syrup’s medicinal power had not yet been fully absorbed. Encountering a powerful enemy at this moment was undoubtedly adding frost to snow.

The violence in his eyes surged. Without hesitation, he swung the Mandarin Duck Blades, an unparalleled sharp blade light tearing the air to slash at the opponent, while his body retreated violently in the opposite direction like lightning.

However—

“Crack—crack, crack, crack—!”

Biting cold instantly spread up from his feet. A layer of thin ice, crystal clear yet harder than refined steel, froze his legs firmly in place with lightning speed.

He stiffly turned his head inch by inch. In the wind and snow, that figure he was incredibly familiar with—Ling Muxue—was holding a talisman emitting a serene blue cold air, staring at him with cold eyes.

“Muxue… why? I saved you… have you forgotten our…”

Mufeng’s eyes instantly switched to extreme tenderness and pain, his voice full of deep emotion, attempting to use the emotional card to continue attacking Ling Muxue, awakening her lust and thus reviving the dying love gu in her body.

“Form array! Seal!”

The shadow guard captain at the side shouted sternly. Several figures flashed to Mufeng’s surroundings like ghosts, quickly forming a profound seal, pouring majestic spiritual energy into Ling Muxue’s freezing power.

Ling Muxue’s knuckles gripping the talisman turned white from the force. She bit her lower lip hard, turning a deaf ear to Mufeng’s hypocritical, affectionate cries, pouring all the spiritual energy in her body into the talisman without reservation.

Mufeng’s pleas for mercy came to an abrupt halt, despair solidifying in his eyes like a tangible substance. Biting cold ice spread rapidly along his body, thickening—in the blink of an eye, he turned into a lifelike ice sculpture emitting cold air.

“Take him away, send him to Shuixian Palace, hand him over to Lu Qiancha.” Ling Muxue’s voice was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice, without a shred of emotion. She didn’t even look back at the ice sculpture, her figure turning into a stream of light, speeding toward the direction of Shuixian Palace.