Chapter 835

Sui Dynasty, Sui Du.

Feng Rong, panting and drenched in blood and sweat, grim-faced, walked out from the secret hall beneath his own prince's mansion.

Being drawn back to Sui Du by the Qianyuan Divine Bell, the return coordinates set by Feng Rong are located in this secret hall.

A large group of palace eunuchs, maids, and guards from the Prince's mansion rushed over upon hearing the news; Feng Rong and Bai Su Xin were quickly surrounded by a bevy of flowery palace maids and taken to the rear hot springs for a thorough washing and soaking.

After being scrubbed clean, with three layers of old skin rubbed off and their hair combed to an oily sheen—so smooth a fly could slip a leg on it—they were coated with fragrant ointment, dressed in splendid ceremonial robes, and then presented with heap after heap of Grand Dao Treasure Pills.

Feng Rong and Bai Su Xin, their vital energy greatly boosted, gulped down the Grand Dao Treasure Pills in large mouthfuls while silently circulating their primary cultivation methods.

After more than an hour, at least in appearance the two had recovered their original looks.

Yet it was clearly visible that Bai Su Xin looked somewhat withered and empty, giving the impression of a paper effigy.

The cultured heart almost collapsed, the righteous aura was shattered on the spot, three inherited literary treasures left him, and were directly smelted away by Wu Tie's furnace. At this moment Bai Su Xin's strength had dropped to the level of just entering the Divine Realm, and his essence, energy, and spirit suffered severe damage.

Adding to this, Wu Tie used the Supreme Divine Artifact of the Dark Soul Divine Clan to give Bai Su Xin a few harsh blows.

Bai Su Xin's divine soul also suffered great damage; even after taking the Grand Dao Treasure Pill that nourishes the divine soul, he still felt waves of dizziness, as if his memory had some problems.

Seated in the main hall of the Xia King's Manor, Feng Rong listened with a grim face to the reports of several trusted senior eunuchs.

All were "good news" that almost made him hysterical with rage.

Ink Bamboo Fort was destroyed.

Pei Feng was rescued by someone.

The Sui Dynasty's Rongji Palace had planted spies and traitors in the Western Demon Country; they were almost wiped out in one sweep, and many high-level spies who had lain hidden for tens of thousands of years were personally slaughtered by the demon kings, their entire families exterminated.

According to the few surviving core spies' reports, the famous demon lord of Blood Prison Mountain in the Demon Country obtained not only the list of spies of the Rongji Palace in the Demon Country from Ink Bamboo Fort,

but also the spy lists of the Southern Ghost Country, Northern Monster Country, and Eastern Demon Country.

Several demon kings of the Western Demon Country are colluding with the ghost kings, monster kings, and demon kings of the other three realms, intending to trade this list for some good things from them.

If the deal is completed, the Rongji Palace's tens of thousands of years of hard work will almost come to nothing, and the Sui Dynasty's control over the four enemy states will drop to an unprecedented blank period.

All civil and military officials of the Sui Dynasty, except those tightly bound to Feng Rong and unable to detach, the other civil and military officials showed great dissatisfaction and indignation over Feng Rong's dereliction of duty.

Even many senior officials from the White Lotus Palace expressed their dissatisfaction in private over Feng Rong's dereliction of duty.

Many officials who originally favored Feng Rong inheriting the Divine Emperor's throne have now turned neutral.

And many officials who originally remained neutral and unwilling to involve themselves in the succession struggle have recently begun frequently colluding with Feng Shang's trusted aides, even reaching some secret agreements.

Feng Rong's face was extremely gloomy.

Bai Su Xin's face was even more gloomy.

"We've been schemed against." Bai Su Xin felt waves of stabbing pain in his head, but his train of thought remained relatively clear.

"Ink Bamboo Fort, how hidden could it be? Unless there is a traitor beside Your Highness... Of course, given Your Highness's art of governing people, it's impossible to have such a high-level traitor. So, someone must have been long monitoring Your Highness's every move."

"Someone who holds great power and wields strong influence both in court and among the populace has been monitoring Your Highness's every move, thereby discovering Ink Bamboo Fort."

Bai Su Xin coldly said: "Such a person, who also bears hostility toward Your Highness, could seize the opportunity so precisely, striking Your Highness with a vicious blow through Ink Bamboo Fort while you were away from Sui Du on campaign—only Feng Shang could do such a thing."

Feng Rong gripped the armrests of his chair tightly, digging deep fingerprints into the extremely hard jade armrest.

"Old Two... you, you have your own." Feng Rong trembled with anger, his complexion flushing red and white intermittently.

He also recalled how, above the ruins of Fu Xi Divine Capital, Feng Shang's fleet suddenly attacked his fleet, almost annihilating his warships, and causing heavy casualties among his imperial guards.

If Feng Shang's surprise attack had not severely weakened his forces, Feng Rong believed he would not lose when facing Xi Yao and Wu Tie.

Even if he lost, he wouldn't lose so embarrassingly, so miserably.

He was pinned to the ground by Xi Yao and pummeled, even his protective spirit treasure was...

At that moment, on the Three Nations Continent, Feng Rong's yellow pagoda protective ancient treasure transformed into a cluster of yellow spiritual mist within a lotus bud.

The divine soul imprint engraved in Feng Rong's pagoda was destroyed; his body shuddered, his eyes bulged half an inch, and thick scarlet blood continually oozed from his seven orifices.

"My... Haotian Pagoda..." Feng Rong hoarsely screamed: "How could someone destroy it? I, I..."

"Wah," Feng Rong spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Ding ding" the sound of pendants clinking came; two individuals in deep purple robes, with yin-like, profound auras, moving as silently as ghosts, with jade belts at their waists bearing several jade pendants that gleamed brightly, swaying and striking with their steps, the senior eunuchs hurried inside.

"Your Highness, the Empress orders you to enter the palace." One senior eunuch, expressionless, nodded slightly at Feng Rong, then turned to Bai Su Xin: "Chief, the Empress commands you to hurry back to the White Lotus Palace... If there is any matter in Sui Du, please act accordingly."

Feng Rong's body twitched slightly, and he gave a dry laugh: "Does Mother know I've returned? Hey, yes, these few old dogs were all sent by Mother for me."

Feng Rong glared fiercely at the few trusted senior eunuchs standing in the hall—since he was ennobled as a prince, left the capital, and established his own residence, these senior eunuchs have constantly followed him, personally attending to and protecting him.

However, Feng Rong knew that while these senior eunuchs were his trusted aides, their loyalty lay with his mother.

Thus, as he aged and his power and influence grew, a group of his own cultivated trusted aides gradually emerged around him, while these senior eunuchs remained stationed year-round at his manor, rarely taking him out.

This time, Feng Rong's entire army was annihilated on the Three Nations Continent, his trusted eunuchs beside him all died cleanly... these old fogeys... alas, they still passed word to the old master in the capital.

At this moment, Feng Rong was still thinking about these random things.

Bai Su Xin's face changed dramatically; he sprang to his feet and urgently said: "What does Elder Sister mean? Hmm? What does 'act accordingly' mean? What is she planning to do? She... simply..."

Another senior eunuch said gloomily: "The arrow is on the string, it must be released; the Empress has ninety percent confidence of success... Fortunately, Your Highness has returned; the urgent summons for Your Highness to return is probably still flying halfway? Luckily, Your Highness returned on his own."

"Delay invites change; please, Your Highness, quickly follow this old servant into the palace... Ah, the Empress wants the old servants to tell the Chief: if it weren't for this incident at Ink Bamboo Fort, the attitudes of the entire court's civil and military officials, as well as the Divine Emperor's Majesty, would have changed, and we wouldn't have acted so hastily."

Feng Rong and Bai Su Xin closed their mouths.

Regarding the Ink Bamboo Fort incident—the leak of the spy and traitor list planted by the Rongji Palace within the four enemy states—even though Feng Rong is the Sui Dynasty's crown prince, this is a grave crime; if the Sui Divine Emperor intends to pursue it, he could even strip Feng Rong of his princely rank.

Originally Feng Rong was inferior to Feng Shang... and now he has committed such a great mistake...

Um, let's not talk about Ink Bamboo Fort; just looking at Feng Rong's losses—only he and Bai Su Xin returned alone, while a million imperial guards and three hundred thousand White Lotus Palace disciples perished on the Three Nations Continent.

And Feng Shang? Feng Shang led a hundred thousand disciples of the Red Lotus Temple and a million imperial guards, now expanding territory on the Three Nations Continent...

Comparing these two records... tsk tsk, even a pig would know which of these two princes should be chosen as heir.

Two hours later, Feng Rong followed two senior eunuchs through a secret passage into the imperial capital.

All along the winding route, countless guards, palace maids, eunuchs, and laborers seemed not to notice them three, silently going about their own business, allowing Feng Rong and the two senior eunuchs to proceed straight into the depths of the Sui Dynasty's divine palace.

Logically, Feng Rong, having been ennobled as a prince and already an adult, entering the imperial capital without the Divine Emperor's summons is a grave crime.

But Feng Rong had come all this way without the slightest ripple, without anyone questioning or intercepting him.

Thus, it was quite strange; Feng Rong's heart rose on its own, feeling uncomfortable from head to toe.

Thus, Feng Rong followed the two elderly eunuchs and quickly arrived at the Qianyan Hall deep within the Divine Palace; among the countless halls of the Divine Palace, judging by its scale, it was a very inconspicuous building.

However, looking down from the sky over the entire Divine Palace of Suichao, this Qianyan Hall happened to be exactly at the very center of the palace.

If the Divine Palace of Suichao were likened to a great chessboard, the Qianyan Hall alone occupies the central point.

Outside the Qianyan Hall stood thirty-six generals clad in heavy armor, their auras stern and imposing; they are the 'Thirty-Six Divine Generals of Qianyan,' each possessing the cultivation of a King-Deity and having entered the Dao through a major path of over three hundred gates, their magic boundless and their battle prowess incomparably fierce.

The Thirty-Six Divine Generals of Qianyan are solely responsible for guarding the Qianyan Hall; not even the Divine Emperor of Suichao can mobilize them.

Within the Qianyan Hall is enshrined the strategic-level national divine artifact, the Qianyan Divine Bell; the Thirty-Six Divine Generals of Qianyan draw upon its power, and even the Second Prince Feng Shang, famed as the most extraordinarily talented of Suichao for countless years, can be subdued with a single hand.

Their duty is simply to guard the Qianyan Hall.

Aside from the current Divine Emperor, anyone who dares to approach the Qianyan Hall shall be killed without pardon.

Yet Feng Rong, followed by the two elderly eunuchs, marched straight in, ascending the lofty violet-gold steps step by step to the front gate of the Qianyan Hall, pushed the door open and entered, while the thirty-six Qianyan Divine Generals showed no reaction.

Feng Rong softly drew a cold breath: 'This is...'

The two elderly eunuchs simultaneously revealed a subtle smile: 'Your Highness, the Empress has already arranged everything! After tonight, no matter what the civil and military officials of the outer court think, you will be the supreme Divine Emperor of our Suichao!'

Feng Rong shivered violently, a wave of indescribable refreshment, like an electric shock, surged up from his marrow.

He hurriedly asked in a low voice: 'But what about the Second Brother...? The outer court has so many generals, and they are all his supporters.'

The elderly eunuch smiled ever more mysteriously: 'The Western Demon Kingdom is currently at war; a few days ago, those generals close to the Second Prince were all sent to fight to the death in the Western Demon Kingdom. Now they are likely deep inside it.'

Narrowing his eyes, the elderly eunuch said coldly: 'They will not come back.'

Feng Rong took a deep breath and instinctively straightened his back: 'They won't come back, good... not coming back would be great.'

Within the Qianyan Hall, spiritual mist swirled; the heavenly and earthly essence in the hall was thick as water, and anyone walking inside could feel tremendous resistance.

It stands a hundred zhang tall, its entire body releasing the immense solemnity of the Qianyan Divine Bell, which hovers in the hall; on the bell's surface, grand streams of light swirl and dance like enormous vortices, drawing one's gaze involuntarily, as if one's very soul were about to be sucked in.

Feng Rong knew the supernatural nature of the Qianyan Divine Bell; he dared not stare directly at it, instead turning his gaze to the few figures standing before the bell.

She, with loose flowing hair, wore a splendid azure robe embroidered on the back with a wildly dancing azure‑purple qingluan; this was Feng Rong's mother, the current Divine Empress of Suichao, Wa Qingluan.

Wa Qingluan's features were absolutely beautiful, though her face was slightly long, giving her an inexplicably harsh and spiteful aura. She was indeed a harsh and spiteful person; over the years, countless concubines and palace maids in the Suichao Divine Palace have mysteriously vanished, all inseparably linked to her.

Standing beside Wa Qingluan was Feng Rong's father, the current Divine Emperor of Suichao, Feng Zhen.

But the usually dignified and wise Feng Zhen now had a dull gaze, his facial skin stiff, his whole body like a walking corpse, standing blankly beside Wa Qingluan.

Besides Wa Qingluan, there was another person at her side.

He wore a scarlet eunuch's robe, tall and slender, with a beautiful, delicate appearance; even among the hundreds of thousands of palace maids in the Suichao Divine Palace, few could surpass his looks.

Feng Rong also knew him; this little eunuch was the most favored attendant of Wa Qingluan in recent millennia, Qing Wu.

With a strange name, vicious methods, and the most malicious and wicked scheming, Feng Rong knew that Wa Qingluan had many shameful secret dealings, all handled by this Qing Wu, including colluding with foreign officials and embezzling the national treasury, etc.

"Father... Mother?" Feng Rong bowed to Feng Zhen, who stood motionless without a twitch, and Feng Rong instinctively turned his gaze to Wa Qingluan: 'Father, what is this?'

Wa Qingluan let out a soft sigh: 'Don't waste words on nonsense. First, take care of the important matter... Rong'er, from now on you will be the Divine Emperor of Suichao; there are things you must handle beautifully... For example, will you still let the entire extended family of your second brother's mother survive to celebrate the New Year?'

Feng Rong laughed especially brightly: 'Of course not!'

Wa Qingluan smiled satisfactorily: 'Come, Your Majesty... just hand over the Qianyan Divine Bell to Rong'er... he is, after all, your most promising child.'

Qing Wu stood to the side, smiling gently and beautifully.

The next day, in the Suichao Imperial Audience Hall, Feng Zhen issued an edict, transferring the throne to Feng Rong.

Feng Rong, with the Qianyan Divine Bell suspended above his head and the spark of Suichao fire in his palm, followed by the thirty-six Qianyan Divine Generals and hundreds of imperial guards, took his seat steadily upon the Divine Emperor's throne amid the gazes of countless astonished civil and military officials.