Chapter 358: It was I who asked him to come out

Gu Yuan did not answer him.

He stepped step by step, treading upon the blooming chaotic azure lotuses, ascending the ninety-nine level high platform, arriving before Yinzhen.

He did not look at Yinzhen, but raised his head and gazed toward the sky.

Those deep eyes seemed to pierce the endless void, directly locking gazes with the enormous fortune golden dragon above the Forbidden City.

Among the officials, only a tiny number of highly cultivated second-rank great scholars, such as Kong Qianqiu whom Gu Yuan had enlightened, could barely see this scene invisible to ordinary mortals.

The myriad-zhang golden dragon representing the Great Yin's national fortune was now violently trembling; upon its massive body, strands of grayish-black extinction source power, like bone‑eating maggots, frenziedly corroded its origin.

The golden dragon emitted a silent wail; its majestic dragon eyes were filled with pain and struggle.

Gu Yuan's voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly between heaven and earth, echoing deep in the souls of all living beings.

"The Great Yin's national fortune has sunk to this point; it is truly the sorrow of all the people."

"The essence of the Heavenly Way lies in shepherding the people, not in nurturing demons."

His voice carried the supreme authority of words becoming law.

"Now there is the traitor Yinzhen, who murdered his father and brother, seized the divine artifact, summoned the power of extraterritorial heavenly demons, seeking to defile the divine dynasty's mandate and cut off the people's vitality."

Gu Yuan extended his right hand, pointing far toward the sky.

"In the name of the Heaven‑Mandated Sage, I, this official, summon the fortune golden dragon to behead this dim ruler and purge this demonic haze!"

"Roar——!!!"

A roar shaking the nine heavens, filled with endless pain and liberation, suddenly burst forth!

The fortune golden dragon, withered to the brink of death by extinction source power, upon hearing Gu Yuan's edict, seemed to be infused with a creation‑level source power; its dim dragon eyes instantly burst forth with brilliant golden light.

It hesitated no longer, struggled no more!

Its massive dragon body swung violently, carrying heaven‑shattering, earth‑crushing might, and it surged down from the ninth heaven!

Its target was none other than the new emperor standing on the high platform—Yinzhen!

"No! No! I am the Son of Heaven! I am the Emperor of Great Yin! You cannot treat me like this!"

Yinzhen went completely mad; he stared wide‑eyed at the dragon's maw that blotted out the sky, drawing ever nearer, and the rejection and backlash from the very national fortune shattered his body and soul.

He wanted to flee, but his body was tightly bound by Gu Yuan's Law Power.

He tried to arouse the extinction source power within him to resist, but found that the once‑invincible gray‑black mist, now under the majestic heavenly might, was like encountering its nemesis—suppressed to the point of utter immobility.

"Gu Ziyuan! You shall die a horrible death! Even as a ghost I will not spare you!" Yinzhen uttered his final venomous curse.

Yet the fortune golden dragon gave him no chance to continue his roar.

It opened its maw, vast enough to swallow mountains, but it did not bite toward Yinzhen's flesh.

Instead, it fiercely clamped down upon the shattered yet not yet fully dissipated purple‑gold fortune canopy atop Yinzhen's head!

"Crack——!!!"

A crisp sound, millions of times louder than thunder, rang throughout the capital city.

Everyone saw that the last prop of Yinzhen's imperial authority—the canopy condensed from the national fortune—was brutally bitten apart by the fortune golden dragon.

Countless purple‑gold fragments of fortune, like shattered glazed tile, scattered down from the sky.

"Pfft——!"

Yinzhen, as if struck by lightning, spat out a large mouthful of black retrograde blood, his whole body instantly collapsing.

His final link to the Great Yin's national fortune was completely severed!

From this moment on, he was no longer emperor; not even a low‑rank official with a title, he became a lonely outcast utterly abandoned and despised by the Great Yin's Heavenly Way.

"How…… how could this be……"

Yinzhen collapsed on the high platform, his spirit lost, muttering to himself, unable to accept the tremendous fall from heaven to hell.

He could not understand why.

Why, though he had clearly taken the throne, would the national fortune turn against him?

Why could that mere official Gu Ziyuan actually command the fortune golden dragon?!

He lifted his head, staring fixedly at Gu Yuan, his eyes filled with bloodshot madness.

"Why?! Gu Ziyuan! Who exactly are you?! By what right do you command the Great Yin's national fortune?!"

He screamed hysterically, his voice ghastly like a ghost.

"Am I a subject? No, I am not."

Gu Yuan looked down at him from above, shook his head, and in a calm tone revealed the final mystery,

"From the moment I set foot in Great Yin, the master of this realm ought to have been changed."

"You……"

Yinzhen, his breath raging, spat another mouthful of fresh blood.

Just then.

"Thud——thud——thud——"

Heavy, uniform footsteps, like war drums, echoed from the palace gate outside Taihe Hall.

Immediately followed, a voice brimming with endless majesty and boundless hatred, like rolling thunder, exploded across the square.

"Because he stands at My side!"

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen's body stiffened; incredulous, he slowly turned his head toward the direction of the voice.

All that could be seen was the tightly shut palace gate being slowly pushed open from outside.

Blazing sunlight streamed through the crack, drawing out stern silhouettes.

Leading them was a figure clad in a set of crown prince's armor, soaked through with blood yet still shining with golden light.

His face bore wounds, but his eyes shone as bright as two cold stars, blazing with vengeful fire.

This was none other than the crown prince who ought to have been deposed and imprisoned in the heavenly prison—Yinze!

Traitor Yin Zhen!

The Crown Prince held a scroll radiating majestic heavenly might, a bright yellow imperial edict, and walked step by step from outside the palace gates inside.

And beside him, protecting him, was none other than the Chief Grand Secretary of the Wen Yuan Pavilion, the spiritual leader of the civil officials of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty, Kong Qiuqiu!

The two Grand Secretaries, Meng Changhe and Yan Daolin, closely followed behind.

At this moment, the entire Taihe Hall Square seemed to be overturned by a shocking, heaven‑shaking wave!

The…… Crown Prince?!

His Highness the Crown Prince wasn't imprisoned in the heavenly prison for plotting rebellion by forcing the palace?! How could he appear here?!

How could the three Grand Secretaries be together with the Crown Prince?!

The officials were completely dumbfounded.

What they knew was.

Didn't the three Grand Secretaries support the Second Prince?

What's with those standing behind the Crown Prince?

Do they think that by supporting the Second Prince, they are actually supporting the Crown Prince, and that the Crown Prince will forgive them?

However, no one would give them an answer.

Traitor Yin Zhen!

The Crown Prince roared again, this time his voice carrying to every corner of the square.

You murdered your father and killed your wife, usurped the throne—now, the late emperor's edict is here! I, personally, have come to take your head!

You…… you weren't deposed?! How could you possibly come out?!

Yin Zhen stared at that familiar figure, his brain completely crashed, letting out a ghost‑like scream.

Because, I invited him out.

Gu Yuan's voice sounded slowly.

He glanced at the ashen‑faced Yin Zhen, then at the radiant Yin Ze, and nodded in satisfaction.

Now this show is truly becoming interesting.