Night.

Somewhere within the Imperial Palace.

A graceful, enchanting figure stood silently atop a high terrace, gazing out at the distant night.

Even that solemn, golden dress symbolizing supreme nobility could not hide her fiery, alluring curves.

The restless night wind whipped her long hair into a wild dance, but those deep, star-bright eyes remained forever calm, without a single ripple.

She looked off into the far night sky, her dark brows suddenly knitting together.

That was the direction of the Ye Family!

Silent and still.

An elderly woman with snowy white hair appeared behind her like a ghost, gazing in the same direction, and spoke slowly: "It looks prosperous and tranquil on the surface, but in the shadows, it is a stormy sea. I imagine tonight, all the noble families of the Capital City have their eyes on the Ye Family."

"Your Majesty, since you've already dispatched masters from the palace to the Ye Family, why not prevent the tragedy there?"

"The Ye Family, after all, has made great contributions to Hua Country."

The graceful figure withdrew her gaze and shook her head gently.

"Empress Sister, Dou Dou is so bored, I want to go out and play!"

Just then, a young girl of about eight or nine, with twin pigtails and dressed in a Lolita-style white dress, came running joyfully over.

In her hands, she hugged a massive black umbrella, longer than her whole body.

The elderly woman shook her head helplessly and said to the girl, "Elder Sister, it's already so late, you should go to bed sooner."

The graceful figure turned around, her gaze soft as she looked at the elderly woman and the little girl, and a smile gradually blossomed on that breathtakingly beautiful face.

Though she was the Empress, the most honorable being beneath the heavens, and always surrounded by all types of people, she still felt terribly lonely.

Only these two sisters who'd always stayed with her could give her a shred of warmth.

The elderly woman said, "It seems Chen Xuanbao is making a move as well."

The Empress's vermilion lips parted lightly: "Keeping him under house arrest over and over doesn't get us anything useful."

The elderly woman said, "His crimes have long since been proven—he can be killed at any time, so why keep him under guard?"

The little girl called Dou Dou suddenly raised her plump, pale hand, waving that big black umbrella as she said, "Empress Sister, Dou Dou loves killing the bad guys best! Let Dou Dou go, pretty please?"

"Dou Dou really is so bored."

The Empress smiled faintly, her long, beautiful legs moving elegantly as she descended from the terrace.

As her skirt billowed, those exquisite feet shod in crystal high heels appeared and disappeared with her steps.

"Killing Chen Xuanbao is easy, but it means nothing. There's still someone behind the Holy Boi Religion."

"Rather than wasting time interrogating him, we might as well let him go, and wait for him to reveal himself."

At these words, the elderly woman wore a look of sudden understanding. "So, Your Majesty, the reason you sent all the palace experts to the Ye Family tonight, was just to let the Holy Boi Religion see it?"

The Empress nodded lightly.

The elderly woman added, "But Luo Xiu made a scene at the Ye Family—why have you never taken a stand? Is it just because he's the Martial Champion?"

The Empress replied blandly, "If he truly has the strength to wipe out the Ye Family by himself, then that means he's of more value than they are."

"These so-called ancient martial families in the Capital City are pigs being fattened. We can slaughter them whenever we wish—so what does it matter who does the killing?"

"Besides, the national treasury is a bit empty lately."

"..."

...

Luo Xiu no longer knew how long he'd been struggling in that vortex; it was as if he'd completely lost all sense of time.

When Lin Tong and Chi Sha forcibly roused him and dragged him out of that swirl, they found themselves surrounded by corpses.

At this moment, the Ye Family had already become a Shura Hell!

Bodies strewn everywhere, rivers of blood!

Though his body had been controlled by the Sword Spirit and he didn't know exactly what had happened, Luo Xiu could easily imagine what that slaughter-obsessed being had done.

He reached out with trembling hands and slid the sword back into its scabbard.

At that instant, the bloody killing aura that had suffused heaven and earth vanished utterly—everything fell into stillness and calm!

"Thank goodness… Big Brother, you're finally back!"

"That Sword Spirit's really terrifying—Little Queen and I almost couldn't wake you up just now!"

Seeing his brother change from an Asura back into Luo Xiu, Lin Tong breathed a long sigh of relief. He couldn't help but grumble—though in truth it was more like complaining—because he never wanted to face that fearsome Sword Spirit again.

Luo Xiu put his sword into the Holy Lotus Jade Pendant and, forcing himself to ignore the overwhelming exhaustion, walked forward across the field of corpses and fresh blood.

After the slaughter of "Dream and Asura," only two people remained alive in the Ye Family compound.

Ye Piaoling and Ye Xingzhou.

The elders and all the Ye Family disciples had been mercilessly massacred!

"Luo… Luo Luo Xiu, here's your… elixir… I'm giving it back… spare me, please…"

Watching Luo Xiu walking over at a measured, unhurried pace, Ye Xingzhou, propped on his cane, held up a wooden box with trembling hands, bowing his head, unable to speak a complete sentence.

After personally witnessing those horrifying scenes, Ye Xingzhou had utterly broken down.

Luo Xiu reached out to accept the wooden box, smiling faintly: "If you'd just returned it sooner, none of this would have happened. Did I really have to become the villain and slaughter your whole clan?"

With that, he stashed the box in the Holy Lotus Jade Pendant, then reached out, seizing Ye Xingzhou's throat and lifting him with effortless ease.

"A mere speck of dust, not even one ten-thousandth of my strength."

"Crack!"

With a chilling, brittle snap, Luo Xiu granted Ye Xingzhou a swift release.

He had said he'd kill Ye Xingzhou, and so he would!

He'd already killed so many of the Ye Family; what's one more?

After that.

Luo Xiu turned to look at Ye Piaoling, who sat on the ground.

But Ye Piaoling seemed lost, unlike Ye Xingzhou—he felt neither fear nor begged for mercy. He just sat there, quiet as a puppet.

The mighty Ye Family empire had been destroyed by his own hands!

And all because of a single, insignificant elixir!

Now that everyone was dead, the Ye Family was finished…

That blow shattered him more completely than Ye Xingzhou.

"Luo Xiu, hand over the elixir!"

Just as Luo Xiu was about to send Ye Piaoling off, a deep, masculine voice rang out from behind him.

Luo Xiu frowned slightly, turning slowly to look, his gaze darkening.

He didn't recognize the middle-aged man who'd suddenly appeared.

But he did recognize the woman the man held hostage, his blade at her throat—Xia Chan!

For a moment, his mind spun—Xia Chan should have been hiding at the hotel, and his plan had been to fetch her after everything was settled.

So why had Xia Chan fallen into their hands?

The middle-aged man glanced at the corpses spread all around, cold sweat soaking his body—he couldn't even fathom what horrors had unfolded here.

For a moment, he bitterly regretted coming.

But he was acting under orders, and with no way out, he could only steel himself and face Luo Xiu.

"Luo Xiu, I only want the elixir. Hand it over and I'll release your woman!"

"..."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.