Chapter 961: Shi Sheng Lin (1/2)

Feeling the space contract, Lord Han gripped his sword tightly and gathered all his strength to push through the last of the medicine's potency!

Instantly, the black blood oozing from his body, as if responding to his command, reversed its flow and converged onto his blade.

As he brought his sword down!

Hum!!!

The branch hanging Jing Yan and the others was severed on the spot and fell downward!

Though it had already fallen outside the space, it remained visible to all, as if, once severed, it had been utterly severed from the Spirit Tree.

At this moment, the space Lord Han had barely managed to hold open was about to close completely.

You Sisi, who had been barely holding back her drowsiness, now offered a grim smile.

"Lord… Lord Han… the night… I leave it to you."

Lord Han instinctively reached out to grab her, but the space had already fully collapsed—he grasped only air.

With the space's closure, the Spirit Tree had fully retreated into another dimension.

Power rapidly drained from his body; Lord Han's eyes slowly closed as his body plummeted straight down through the air!

"Lord Han!"

Qian Kun, who had just caught the falling branch, saw this and rushed over to intercept the falling Lord Han.

Fortunately, his own strength was considerable; he quickly matched Lord Han's falling speed and caught him securely.

But when he looked up, he found himself surrounded—by none other than…

"... Xing Chen."

Qian Kun let out a bitter smile; he knew he had explanations to give…

…

Hidden in the shadows, Ku Xun and Xi Dao stared in stunned silence at the now-empty sky.

Events had unfolded too swiftly—they had no time to react; everything was already settled.

In fact, the moment An Dong'er'er appeared, they, already concealed in the inn's shadows, had felt their hearts tighten and prepared to act.

For as Yun-level experts, they had been utterly unable to sense An Dong'er'er's presence, unable to gauge the depths of this person at all.

A sense of crisis drove them to move—to rescue You Sisi first, then flee the inn.

But the next instant, Lord Han's explosion shattered the inn; the terrifying shockwave flung both of them away.

By the time they tried to save her, You Sisi was already pierced through the chest by a branch.

Their elite subordinates, whom they had stationed outside as backup, seemed to react in time to rescue her.

But they, too, were pierced through by the Spirit Tree's branches and hung high above.

As the thunder faded, all of them vanished without a trace.

They panicked, scattering to search desperately for You Sisi's whereabouts—but not even a shadow could be found; how could they possibly search? They were merely flailing like headless flies.

By the time the rooster crowed, they had all scattered so far from Yuansuan Kezhan that they were well beyond it.

They rushed back as fast as they could—but when they arrived, the space Lord Han had fought to hold open had already closed; everything was over.

Yet they had all seen the scene of Lord Han severing the branch.

If even a master of that caliber could not cut the branch, then their arrival would change nothing.

Of course, if Lord Han had held a divine weapon at that moment, perhaps the outcome would not have been this way.

They saw clearly: the sword in Lord Han's hand was nothing more than a standard-issue sword taken from some Qingsi squad member—its integrity held only by Lord Han's inner force wrapped tightly around it.

These insights might elude low-level cultivators, but could two Yun-level experts possibly fail to understand?

Now that the situation had turned this way, the two exchanged helpless glances.

"I'll stay behind to monitor You Sisi's whereabouts and the thunder's condition—you return to report to Seventh Prince and request reinforcements."

After a moment's thought, Ku Xun said to Xi Dao.

Xi Dao's face darkened, but he nodded.

They had been sent by Seventh Prince to protect You Sisi—yet now she had been taken by the Spirit Tree, her fate unknown; returning empty-handed meant facing only Seventh Prince's fury.

But there was no choice—they had failed the mission; all they could do now was try to mitigate the damage.

Xi Dao departed quickly; meanwhile, far away, You Xingchen, after learning the situation, reluctantly complied with Qian Kun's request and led everyone back to You Fu to settle in.

…

Imperial Palace, Shi Sheng Lin.

Bamboo and wood crafted from emerald jade stood densely packed throughout Shi Sheng Lin.

Only around the massive stone lion at the center was it utterly bare—a vast, open square.

On the square, the First Prince sat cross-legged, eyes closed, facing the stone lion.

Suddenly, silence on the square was broken by a sound.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

That was… footsteps.

Clear footsteps echoed across Shishi Guangchang.

As the footsteps drew nearer, the First Prince, still facing away, slowly opened his eyes.

"Seventh Brother, you should not have set foot here."

Seventh Prince grinned and tossed two severed heads onto the ground.

The heads rolled, splattering blood across the stone.

They were two grotesque, contorted heads—those of the Second Prince and the Third Prince!

The First Prince finally rose slowly, turning to face the Seventh Prince directly.

The Seventh Prince's body bore bloodstains and several wounds; it seemed eliminating two princes at once had been a heavy burden for him.

Judging by the dryness of the bloodstains, the Seventh Prince had just finished killing them and immediately brought the bodies into Shi Sheng Lin.

"Are you in such a hurry?"

"The longer you stay in Shi Sheng Lin, the greater the risk to me."

"... The Stone Lion has never responded to me."

"Who knows?"

The Seventh Prince slowly drew his sword.

"All I know is, once I kill you, there will be no more obstacles ahead of me."

As the Seventh Prince's words fell, a large number of Zidian Huowei surged in from outside, surrounding the First Prince completely.

Those who had originally guarded the entrance to Shi Sheng Lin in place of the Zidian Huowei were now the newly arrived senior officials of the Red Division.

Those tasked with fighting the other imperial guards were the recently incorporated forces of Juan Niao Lou.

After eliminating the Second Prince and the Third Prince, the Seventh Prince's power had reached an unprecedented height — this was the very foundation of his confidence to come to Shi Sheng Lin now.

One strike for momentum, a second weakens it, a third exhausts it.

The Seventh Prince, who had prepared for years, now possessed overwhelming momentum and accumulated strength — it was time to launch his final assault!

Yet...

Facing the surrounded First Prince, he merely lowered his eyes slightly and asked softly.

"Did you find any 【Strange Fortune Straw】 on your second and third brothers?"

Strange Fortune Straw?

The Seventh Prince froze in surprise.

What... was that?

He had never even heard of it!

"It seems you didn't. That means your preparations are not as thorough as those of my two brothers — or perhaps... you understand me far less than you think!"

(End of Chapter)