Chapter 102: Entering the Emperor's Imperial Palace

Duan Fengyun, disguised as Juexin, led the disguised Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun as they swaggered toward the outside of the Imperial Palace.

Duan Fengyun knew Juexin's temperament, so he carried himself with an arrogant and domineering air.

The guards had suffered quite a bit at Juexin's hands, and seeing Juexin return, they greeted him one after another:

"Greetings, Your Highness."

The fake Juexin let out a hum, then strode away.

Watching Juexin's haughty demeanor, the guards cursed him under their breath; he was nothing more than a foster son adopted by the Emperor!

Once the Emperor passes away and a new Emperor ascends the throne, let's see if you can still be so cocky.

Juexin was usually mean-spirited toward others, and the people in the Imperial Palace had long since grown tired of him, but given Juexin's status, everyone dared to be angry but dared not speak out.

After entering the Imperial Palace, the spine behind Duan Fengyun's back began to burn faintly again, as if it had sensed something.

Meanwhile, the Eight-Headed Serpent, which had been sleeping in the Forbidden Land, suddenly woke up in shock; it felt the Dragon Vein approaching it.

It excitedly opened its scarlet eyes, its snake tongue flicking out repeatedly; it was clear that it was very excited.

After Duan Fengyun and the other two walked into the Imperial Palace, they found the terrain complex and filled with many palaces, leaving the three of them wandering about like headless flies.

Just as the three were at a loss, a young eunuch appeared before them at the right moment.

Duan Fengyun stopped the young eunuch and said:

"Where is the Emperor?

I have an urgent matter to discuss with him."

The young eunuch recognized Juexin and replied respectfully:

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Emperor has gone to the Iga Ninja Sect today to teach sword arts.

It is estimated that he will not return today."

Hearing this, Duan Fengyun and the other two could not help but feel a bit disappointed; they had gone to such lengths to sneak into the Imperial Palace, only to come up empty-handed.

Wuming's warnings to them echoed in their minds: the strongest expert in Dongying is the Emperor, and no outsider knows exactly what the strength of the Dongying Emperor is.

Judging by the situation, the fact that the Dongying Emperor dared to go out to teach sword arts at such a critical juncture showed that he indeed possessed proud self-confidence and peerless combat power.

"Oh, is that so?

Very well, you may leave now."

After Duan Fengyun dismissed the young eunuch, he said:

"Since we are already here, why don't we ransack the Imperial Palace and set a fire to burn it down before we leave?"

Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun gave a bitter smile; it seemed Duan Fengyun had become accustomed to killing and arson, and now he wanted to burn down someone's palace at the drop of a hat.

In truth, although Duan Fengyun said that, his primary goal was to figure out why his spine kept burning and what exactly in the Imperial Palace had attracted the attention of the Dragon Vein.

This time, for the sake of safety and thoroughness, the three of them would not split up.

The three first wandered around the Emperor's harem, seeing the unsightly concubines within, who even greeted the three of them like hungry wolves.

Seeing this, the three of them instantly lost the mood to continue wandering the harem.

After leaving the harem, the three continued to wander; Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun were wandering aimlessly.

Duan Fengyun appeared to be wandering aimlessly, but in reality, he was walking in the direction indicated by the heat in his spine.

Every time his spine approached the south of the Imperial Palace, it would burn intensely, while other places did not trigger this reaction.

It seemed that whatever had caught the attention of the Dragon Vein must be in the direct south of the Imperial Palace.

Duan Fengyun led the two of them as they wandered all the way to the south.

Duan Fengyun's first thought upon seeing the south was the Emperor's audience hall.

But when the three of them arrived at the audience hall, his spine was still burning, and Duan Fengyun knew this was not the place he was looking for.

He led the two of them to continue heading south.

Finally, the three reached the southern edge of the Imperial Palace, and they saw a cave in the distance at a single glance.

However, standing in their way were heavily armed guards.

The guards stopped them and said:

"This is the Forbidden Land of the Imperial Palace; no one is allowed to enter except for the Emperor."

With such tight security, if his guess was correct, the thing causing the anomaly in the Dragon Vein was inside.

Duan Fengyun thought to himself silently.

He had always assumed it was some treasure attracting the Dragon Vein's attention, but when he found this 'treasure,' he would surely be terrified out of his wits.

Since the Emperor was not in the Imperial Palace and time was becoming increasingly urgent, Duan Fengyun decided not to continue hiding.

He took the wrapped Jue Sword, shattered the wrapping with a burst of force, and then pointed the sword at the guards, saying:

"Move aside, or I will send you all to hell."

Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun had been prepared to turn back, never expecting Duan Fengyun to be so resolute this time.

But the two did not overthink it; they also shattered the wrappings on their own weapons and drew them, pointing them at the guards.

The guards shouted:

"Audacious thieves!"

With that, the group of guards charged at the three of them.

The Forbidden Land was far from the Imperial Palace, and the sounds of fighting here would not be heard outside.

After a flurry of blades and swords, Duan Fengyun and the other two dispatched the group of guards without even staining their blades with blood.

Although the number of guards was large, they were nothing in the face of the peerless combat power of the three.

The three continued toward the cave, and Duan Fengyun's spine grew increasingly scorching; he was nearing his target.

Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun looked at the countless cages outside the cave and the living creatures trapped within them.

Looking at the cages before them and smelling the overwhelming stench of blood in the cave, it felt as if an extremely terrifying existence resided within.

Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun reached out simultaneously to grab Duan Fengyun, who was about to walk into the cave.

Bu Jingyun spoke up:

"Junior Brother Duan, there are so many living creatures here, and such a heavy stench of blood is wafting from the cave.

There must be an extremely terrifying fierce beast inside; there is certainly nothing in there worth us investigating.

Junior Brother Duan, we should turn back and find an opportunity to kill the Emperor instead."

Seeing the living creatures before him and smelling the stench of blood coming from the cave, Duan Fengyun also knew that there must be an extremely terrifying existence inside.

However, his curiosity was truly too strong; he had to find the reason that triggered the changes in the Dragon Vein, and he would not give up until he found it.

He spoke up:

"Senior Brother Feng, Senior Brother Yun, I know there is something terrifying inside.

But I feel that something inside is attracting me to go; no matter how terrifying the things inside are, they cannot be more terrifying than the Fire Qilin, right?

You can just stay here and wait for me; there will be no problem if I go in alone."

Nie Feng replied:

"Junior Brother Duan, Senior Brother Yun's words were only to remind you that there is danger.

If it is truly as you say, and there is something in the cave that is attracting you, then Senior Brother Yun and I will certainly accompany you inside.

We share weal and woe!"

Bu Jingyun nodded and said:

"Correct, we share weal and woe."

Duan Fengyun opened his mouth, revealing his white teeth as he smiled:

"Thank you, my two senior brothers; we shall share weal and woe!"

Since they had made up their minds, the three of them walked into the cave without looking back.