The Prince Can Do Divination

Chapter 369 - 235: Terrible News of Father-in-law, Farewell Mr. Qi, The Holy Emperor Returns to Court, Laughing It Off?

Beneath the "Chongwen" plaque.

The staff of the Prince Mansion had already departed, while the members of the Crown Prince’s faction watched the noble man who had just emerged from seclusion.

Lu Mingyuan had become everyone’s backbone.

An entire faction, built with him as its core, had already taken shape.

Lu Mingyuan sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. It was utterly silent, and everyone was tight-lipped.

Qi Muxue, in particular, was haggard and grief-stricken.

"Why is no one talking?"

Lu Mingyuan frowned, shattering the silence as he demanded.

Sui Yuqing was the first to step forward. She said in a low voice, "Seven days ago, Elder Mr. Qi... He has fallen on the Celestial Profound Continent. His coffin is on its way back."

After a moment of shock, Lu Mingyuan’s gaze sharpened. He stared at Fairy Ci Hang and said in a heavy voice, "Be careful what you say. Without confirmation, a rumor about the fall of a Saint is enough to shake the world."

’Those words sounded so unreal to him.’

Qi Xingyan had cultivated for nearly a century, reaching the level of an Eleventh Realm Great Scholar sixty years ago to become the Mountain Master of Shengjing Academy. His foundation was incredibly profound.

When the Learning of the Mind emerged, Qi Xingyan broke through in one fell swoop to become a Twelfth Realm Saint. After that, he grew ever stronger, becoming one of the supreme experts of the Confucian Dao.

Moreover, Qi Xingyan was the direct heir of the Literary Saint Lineage and bore an extraordinary Confucian Dao Fortune. He should have been able to protect himself, even against an unbeatable foe.

’How could a Saint die so easily? The cultivators of the Three Religions are garrisoned at the Celestial Profound border, guarding the pass together. Are they all just for show?’

Qi Muxue lowered her head, her voice low and her expression numb as she said,

"Father died in battle on the front lines of the Celestial Profound Continent. To cover the retreat of a city’s people, he gave his life for the nation..."

After speaking, she still hadn’t seemed to process the shocking news, her eyes vacant.

Sui Yuqing witnessed with her own eyes how the Crown Prince before her turned into a statue.

She watched him closely, knowing that beneath his visible calm, a tremendous amount of anger was hidden.

"When did this happen?" Lu Mingyuan asked immediately, his gaze heavy.

Qi Muxue’s eyes dimmed. "Just three days ago," she said.

"With my father-in-law’s... with Mr. Qi’s strategic mind and power, who could possibly kill him?" Lu Mingyuan pressed.

Qi Muxue’s head lowered even further, her eyes beginning to well with tears. "It was one of the Great Nether Divine Venerables, Middle Saint Liu Venerable."

Lu Mingyuan’s brow furrowed slightly. He hadn’t expected Liu Venerable to be responsible. After all, he had experienced the Scroll World and knew Liu Venerable’s Divine Temple was in the Central Domain. His power ranked in the top three among the five Divine Venerables and was not to be underestimated.

’He also ambushed me in my first life.’

’This is a debt I must not forget.’

In the Holy Netherworld, one with cultivation Above the Tenth Realm could be titled a Demon Venerable. Above them were the even more revered Upper Three Grade Divine Venerables.

’In my estimation, Liu Venerable’s power should be at the Fourteenth Realm.’

’Anyone who reached the Upper Three Grades, even just the Thirteenth Realm, would typically have an illustrious reputation across the many worlds.’

’But even if he encountered Liu Venerable of the Blood Race, Qi Xingyan should have been able to escape by relying on the Heroic Pass. He died just to cover the retreat of the people?’

’It seems too reckless.’

"It’s not just Father. The Origin Lady Monarch and the Five-Thunder Upper Immortal have also clashed with the Great Nether Divine Venerables, and they suffered injuries of varying degrees. The tide of battle was in our favor. At the Border Pass, Father and his men had already received reinforcements from the Dao Alliance, but just as they were retreating, an accident happened..." Qi Muxue broke down into quiet sobs.

Qi Xingyan was her birth father, and she had few other close relatives. After not seeing him for the several months he was on campaign, she had now lost him. How could she not be filled with sorrow?

A jolt went through Lu Mingyuan. He understood now. It wasn’t that Qi Xingyan had provoked the Holy Nether Army; someone had led a force to annihilate the army whose retreat Qi Xingyan was covering.

Lu Mingyuan asked in a heavy voice, "What kind of ’accident’ could possibly cause the fall of a Saint?"

"It’s because an army of the Underworld’s Blood Race broke through the Border Pass, invaded Great Yan from another section of the Great Wall, and used the people of a city as a bargaining chip to force the Court’s army to retreat. And Father... for the sake of the bigger picture, went to face it all alone, to negotiate by himself," Qi Muxue said, her eyes filled with sorrow.

The relationship between the Confucian Dao and the Court was simply too deep. They prospered as one and suffered as one.

As a Saint, Qi Xingyan could not just stand by and watch innocent civilians be slaughtered.

The Blood Race Demon Fiends had exploited this very weakness.

A large Blood Race army had secretly infiltrated the Central Plains World and launched an attack on the retreating border forces. This was something neither Qi Xingyan nor the Court could have possibly anticipated. By the time they could react to help, it was already too late.

After all, the Blood Race are masters of disguise. As long as they consume a person’s blood, they can take on their appearance, completely undetected. Without the special techniques of the Taoist Sect, even a Middle Fifth Grade Cultivator would have a hard time seeing through their deception.

’Now that even Qi Xingyan is dead, most of the Celestial Profound Continent’s territory has undoubtedly fallen into the hands of the Holy Netherworld.’

"The Blood Race, led by Liu Venerable, mobilized several thousand Blood Race cultivators and a hundred Middle Fifth Grade experts. Although Great Yan had an army tens of thousands strong, they were mostly low in strength. Even fighting to the death, how could they possibly hold them off?

"Elder Mr. Qi had a chance to retreat, but he chose to share the fate of the city’s people, using his life to protect the righteous path in this world. This represents the spirit of the Confucian Dao: no matter what, he could never allow hundreds of thousands of lives to fall into the hands of the Underworld."