Chapter 440: Su Mu: Debut!

Changancheng.

Yang An left the imperial palace, rode through the streets on horseback, elated and triumphant; for slaying Yang Pan, the Emperor had granted him the top merit, enfeoffed him as Marquis Guanjun, and showed no concern whatsoever for the Panhuang Shengling Sword, allowing Yang An to use it freely.

“The Emperor even said the Panhuang Shengling Sword embodies courage, benevolence, wisdom, and uprightness—only by possessing such qualities can one unlock its true power.”

Yang An held the Panhuang Shengling Sword and said to those around him: “Worse still, the Emperor instructed me to leverage the merchant guilds to recruit soldiers and gather weapons, and launch an attack on the Jingyuan Shenmiao.”

To give someone the Panhuang Shengling Sword and permit them to raise troops—that for Yang An was practically fostering rebellion.

How the world has changed!

“My Lord, there is something I must report to you…”

The man spoke softly only after Yang An’s excitement had subsided.

Yang An nodded and turned to look at him.

“Your stone embryo has been stolen!”

At that moment, Yang An recalled the strange disturbance in his spirit—originally, it had been a sudden intuition warning him that the immortal stone embryo was lost.

His face darkened instantly; earlier, he had laughed at Hong Xuanji for weeping over “losing half his life and his love,” but now Yang An’s heart went cold, and he felt like crying too.

To Yang An, this too was half his life.

If cultivated, such a stone embryo could become an ancient sage-emperor; to lose something like this, Yang An could never remain calm…

Question Hong Xuanji. Understand Hong Xuanji.

Heavenly Prison.

“Yang An!”

Hong Xuanji sat cross-legged on one leg, his voice thick with hatred.

Yang Pan’s death had struck Hong Xuanji too hard; now, whenever he recalled the scene of Yang Pan’s body torn apart, blood still surged to his head.

“Your Majesty, rest assured…”

Hong Xuanji swore an oath in his heart, speaking coldly: “As long as I shatter the void, I will reassemble your thoughts and bring you back to life.”

In Hong Xuanji’s eyes, only Yang Pan deserved to be his Emperor.

But for Hong Xuanji now, there remained one problem: he lacked resources. Martial cultivation consumed immense blood qi, and while imprisoned here, eating prison rations, he could not sustain his next stage of cultivation—he could only temper his spirit.

“Hong Xuanji!”

Across the prison cell, Yan Zhenzong stared at him with hatred in his eyes and said coldly: “My sentence is far shorter than yours. When I walk free, I will repay every humiliation you inflicted on me a hundredfold!”

Yan Zhenzong had once been Hong Xuanji’s closest friend and knew his weaknesses better than anyone; hearing these words, Hong Xuanji lifted his head, glaring furiously at Yan Zhenzong—but at this moment, he had absolutely no way to respond.

“Do as you please!”

Hong Xuanji snarled.

When I shatter the void, I’ll just absorb their thoughts too.

Tianzhu Mountain.

Meng Shenji returned here, gazing at the ruins of the Tai Shang Dao, seeing nothing had changed—yet this only deepened his confusion. Carrying this doubt, he went to the Sanhua Pavilion in Changancheng, found Su Mu, and asked about recent developments in the capital.

“The situation in the capital? The Lord of the Future has been silent for a while.”

Su Mu shook his head and said: “Everything else remains unchanged.”