In the Qin Dynasty Imperial Palace.

In the back garden, Emperor Qin Zheng, dressed in a yellow robe, sat quietly by a fish pond, a fishing rod steady in his hand without a single tremor.

After a long while...

The fishing line tugged, and a slight smile appeared on Qin Zheng’s face. With a gentle pull, he lifted the entire line, and a large carp flew out of the water. With a single finger, he directed a stream of Innate True Qi to wrap around the carp, sending it flying into a bucket nearby.

The Innate True Qi circulated around the fishhook, which then flew out of the carp’s mouth. He baited the hook again and cast it back into the pond.

Qin Zheng’s personal eunuch stood far away, not daring to come closer for fear of disturbing His Majesty.

Suddenly—

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" A palace maid ran excitedly from afar.

Qin Zheng frowned, then set the fishing rod aside and stood up.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! The royal physician just visited Noble Consort Lian, and they say... they say that Noble Consort Lian is pregnant," said the maid, her whole being radiating excitement.

Qin Zheng, initially slightly displeased, immediately rejoiced upon hearing the news, "Noble Consort Lian is pregnant? Good, good."

Since the battle between Wu Kongxue and True Master Ming Liang, which greatly decimated the royal progeny, every new birth within the Qin Family was highly valued. In fact, many men in the Qin Family took several concubines. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Qin Zheng."

A serene voice rang out, stark and sudden, startling the guards present, though Qin Zheng remained composed as he turned to face the newcomer.

The man was dressed in a similar yellow brocade robe.

Yellow, the color exclusively used by royalty.

If Qin Yu were here, he would recognize the newcomer as the Dragon Clan Envoy—Ao Feng. As a Golden Dragon from the Dragon Clan, Ao Feng naturally favored the color gold.

"Who are you?" Qin Zheng furrowed his brows, sensing the extraordinary presence of the man before him.

"Who I am is not something you need to know, and... you, a mere mortal, do not have the authority to know. All you need to know is that resisting me... will lead to the death of everyone in this entire Imperial Palace," Ao Feng said with a casual smile.

A jolt went through Qin Zheng’s heart.

"Guards, we have an assassin, protect your Emperor, protec—" the eunuch beside Qin Zheng suddenly cried out, but was immediately followed by a loud "boom" as the eunuch exploded into countless fragments.

A layer of True Qi appeared around Qin Zheng, shielding him from the flying debris.

"Stop calling. No one outside can hear you," Ao Feng said calmly, having cut off the back garden from the outside when he arrived. He wasn’t worried in the least.

Qin Zheng’s pupils contracted; the person before him was very strong, exceptionally so.

"You should hope that your younger brother cooperates with me obediently," Ao Feng said, still smiling lightly as he waved his hand and a surge of energy merged into Qin Zheng’s body.

"What have you done inside my body?" Qin Zheng demanded.

Ao Feng chuckled, "Qin Zheng, understand this—do not resist, just listen obediently. As for what I’ve placed inside you, look, that young girl has also had energy oozed into her by me. See what happens to her and you’ll understand what will happen if you don’t cooperate."

The palace maid’s body trembled, then she stiffened immediately.

"Hiss hiss—" Yellow smoke rose from her body, and in just a moment, the young maiden turned to dust.

Seeing this, Qin Zheng shuddered inwardly.

"Don’t worry, you won’t feel any pain. Because when I use this technique, I will kill your soul first. Your body will disintegrate into dust, and you will feel no pain at all," Ao Feng declared.

"Come with me."

Ao Feng immediately soared into the sky, enveloping Qin Zheng in a force that made him fly involuntarily.

The surrounding guards and palace maids were stunned; they didn’t know what to do. But they understood one thing—the mysterious person was immensely powerful, at least an Upper Immortal.

However, they didn’t know that their so-called Upper Immortal was only at the Golden Core Stage, while Ao Feng was a First Level Demon King, a difference unimaginably vast.

×

Inside a courtyard of the Imperial Palace in the Capital.

Qin Zheng, Qin De, and Qin Feng were sitting together, accompanied by Ao Feng, Du Zhongjun, Hua Yan, and Yu Liang.

"Ao Feng, you don’t know, that kid named Qin Feng is really tough. Knowing that I was going to use him to threaten Qin Yu, he actually tried to self-destruct his Golden Core. But self-destructing a Golden Core in front of me? Isn’t that a joke?"

Laughed Du Zhongjun.

If a First Level Demon King doesn’t want him to self-destruct, how could Qin Feng possibly succeed?

"Alas, Qin De, that father of Qin Yu, tried to self-destruct too. It seems the Qin family members do indeed possess courage. No wonder that kid, Qin Yu, achieved so much in less than a century," Hua Yan exclaimed in admiration.

Yu Liang nodded in agreement.

Not many Cultivators can face death without fear.

"Hmph, you people, lacking the courage to face my third brother directly, resort to such methods. I am ashamed for you so-called experts," Qin Feng said coldly.

The Qin family members are known for their mettle; why would they fear death?

"Feng, be quiet," Qin De communicated through Spiritual Communication, chiding him.

Although the Nascent Soul inside him was locked, using ’Spiritual Communication’ was unrelated to the Nascent Soul and relied solely on Soul Power.

"Father, my apologies," Qin Feng suddenly realized his rashness. He also knew that he and his father and brother were now in the hands of their enemies. If he infuriated the enemies, they might just kill him.

Even if they killed only him, Qin De and Qin Zheng were still enough to blackmail Qin Yu.

"Brother Ao Feng, have you sent the message to Qin Yu?" Hua Yan asked.

Ao Feng then slowly took out the Communication Order, "Brother Hua Yan, no need to rush. Now that his relatives are in our hands, and we have placed Restrictions inside them, with just a thought, his relatives will die. Even if Lan Feng himself comes, he can’t do anything to us."

He took out the Communication Order and input the information via Demon Recognition.

"Qin Yu, come alone to the Qin Dynasty Palace. Brother Hua Yan, Brother Du Zhongjun, Yu Liang, and I are waiting here for you; your father and two brothers are also with us," Ao Feng directly conveyed the message to Qin Yu.

×

In midair, Qin Yu was flying on his Top-Grade Immortal Sword. As for the Divine Sword ’Sky-breaking’, Qin Yu didn’t want to use it unless it was absolutely necessary. At this moment, Qin Yu was in a good mood; his trip to the Ni Yang Realm had been a complete success.

"My father and others could have lived a peaceful life in the Mortal World. Now, I’m going back to enter seclusion and meditate until I make a breakthrough and then ascend. The Mortal World... I have no regrets left."

Qin Yu’s face bore a serene smile.

Suddenly—

"Hm?" Qin Yu took out the Communication Order, and upon seeing its message, his expression drastically changed, a killing intent blasting from his eyes.

"Ao Feng, Du Zhongjun, Hua Yan, Yu Liang."

A cold light burst from Qin Yu’s eyes.

Initially, in the Ni Yang Realm, Qin Yu had simply ignored Ao Feng and his cohorts, which is why he did not take their lives. However, he had never anticipated that these individuals would take his own family members hostage.

Possessing a Ninth-level Golden Immortal Puppet, killing Ao Feng and the others would be as simple as eating. Qin Yu had never cared about these insignificant clowns.

"Using my family as hostages, don’t blame me for being ruthless," Qin Yu’s intent to kill finally emerged.

During his passage through the Qingyun Road in the Ni Yang Realm, Ao Feng, Hua Yan, and the others had continuously sent him communications, urging him through Qingyun Road. That had annoyed Qin Yu back then, and now he was resolved to kill.

With a thought, Qin Yu suddenly understood everything.

"They want me to return alone? They must be afraid of Lan Feng, hmph, but... you probably don’t know that Sword Immortal Lan Feng doesn’t actually exist, he’s just my Sword Immortal Puppet. If I go back, it’s as good as having Sword Immortal Lan Feng return."

Qin Yu forcibly suppressed the murderous intent in his heart.

He was clear about one thing, under the present circumstances, his enemies must have placed restrictions inside the bodies of his family members. If he were careless and caused his family members’ deaths, even if he killed his enemies, Qin Yu would regret it for his whole life.

Qin Yu accelerated.

His whole being transformed into a flash of lightning, speeding towards the Hidden Dragon Continent.

×

Within the courtyard of the Imperial Palace of the Qin Dynasty.

The four, including Hua Yan, who had been quietly drinking tea, looked up simultaneously, only to see a streak of light descending rapidly from the sky, which then transformed into a person, none other than Qin Yu who had rushed over dust-covered and at high speed.

"Little Yu."

"Yu’er."

...

Seeing Qin Yu, Qin De and his two brothers couldn’t help but exclaim. With his capabilities, Qin Yu could naturally see that restrictions had been placed within his family members’ bodies.

At a mere thought from the enemies, his family members could die on the spot.

The murderous intent in Qin Yu’s heart uncontrollably surged. He so wished to kill all three men before his eyes outright.

"Endure, endure, endure!" Qin Yu forced himself, but even so, his face remained deathly pale.

"Ao Feng, what are you four trying to do?" Qin Yu’s eyes sparkled with icy light.

"Yu’er, don’t suffer on our account. As long as you’re alive, the Qin Family won’t be considered extinct. Don’t mind us, understand?" Qin De solemnly said.

"Shut up," Du Zhongjun shouted, a force of Qi burst forth from Du Zhongjun’s body towards Qin De.

Qin Yu instantly moved in front of Qin De, blocking the Qi force. At that moment, a deep purple set of combat clothes appeared on Qin Yu’s body, a top-grade Immortal Artifact-level combat armor.

He normally used top-grade Immortal Artifacts, and only in the most dangerous of moments would he use the Divine Sword "Sky-breaking" and the Divine Artifact Combat Clothes "Black Frost."

"Du Zhongjun, if you continue to act this way, I assure you, my master Uncle Lan Feng, and Uncle Lan, will make their immediate appearance here," Qin Yu said through gritted teeth.

Lan Feng, Uncle Lan?

Hua Yan and the others trembled internally; they remembered that not only was Lan Feng formidable, but behind him stood a far more fearsome Uncle Lan.

"Du Zhongjun, restrain yourself a bit," Ao Feng admonished, and Du Zhongjun immediately smiled and said, "Brother Qin Yu, I just lost control of myself earlier, I promise that won’t happen again."

In truth, not only was Qin Yu afraid they would kill his family members, but Hua Yan and the others also feared Qin Yu might destroy them all in desperation.

They needed to return to the Demon World to set up a formation, while people like Lan Feng only needed to use "Great Teleportation" and would probably arrive soon. They truly had no chance to escape.

"Brother Qin Yu, our demands are not high, as you know... What was the purpose of our descent from the Demon World, after spending countless efforts? Isn’t it for the Divine Artifacts?" sighed Ao Feng. "Yet, until now, we haven’t obtained a single one."

"Oh, you want Divine Artifacts?" Qin Yu’s eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, Brother Qin Yu, those Divine Artifacts you obtained in the Nine-layered Heaven at the end, could you tell us about them?" Hua Yan also asked.

At this moment, Qin De, Qin Feng, and Qin Zheng were shocked by the conversation between Qin Yu and the others.

Descending from the Demon World?

Divine Artifacts?

The Qin family members still knew about many things in the Cultivation World. They knew about Immortal Artifacts, which were already unattainable for them. These so-called ’Divine Artifacts’ were simply beyond what they dared to even dream of. Also, descending from the Demon World?

"These people are actually descendants," Qin De thought to himself as he looked at Ao Feng, Hua Yan, and the others, feeling secretly astonished.

"I obtained three Divine Artifacts," Qin Yu stated clearly. "The first one is the Divine Artifact ’Sky-breaking.’

"Sky-breaking, I know of it," Hua Yan’s eyes shone. "That’s the extremely powerful Divine Artifact once used by Immortal Emperor Ni Yang to dominate the Demon World. Its attacks are extremely fierce. It’s the perfect match for a Sword Immortal, especially when combined with the ’Sky-breaking Sword Technique.’

Qin Yu continued, "The second Divine Artifact is ’Black Frost,’ which is a set of Divine Artifact Battle Clothes."

A defensive Divine Artifact?

The eyes of Ao Feng and the others heated up.

"As for the last one you also know about, it’s called the top treasure of the Demon World, the ’Mysterious God Scroll,’" Qin Yu said indifferently.

Ao Feng and the others felt a shudder in their hearts.

"Brother Qin Yu, do you have any Divine Artifacts on you?" Hua Yan was the first to ask.

Qin Yu shook his head and said, "No, I’ve given all the Divine Artifacts to my master. After all, my ascension day isn’t far off, and owning Divine Artifacts in the Demon World would instead be a disaster for me."

"Liar," Du Zhongjun shouted sharply. "You obtained three Divine Artifacts, how could you be willing to give them all to your master?"

"If you don’t believe me, you can ask Man Qian and Zong Jue. They were there when I gave the items to my master. Oh, Man Qian has just passed through a formation connecting the Demon World and the Mortal World, and has already returned," Qin Yu explained nonchalantly.

"Man Qian has gone back?"

The eyes of Ao Feng, Hua Yan, and Du Zhongjun all flashed with envy. They too were envoys who descended, but Man Qian had already obtained a Divine Artifact and returned. They still had to walk a tightrope.

But they all understood that the strength of a First Level Golden Immortal was nothing in the Demon World; only with a Divine Artifact would their status leap to a new level.

Qin Yu looked at the few people before him, his heart trembling.

But now he could only endure.

When Hua Yan and the others released his family members and caught him, that would be the time for him to act. Qin Yu had already sentenced these people to death in his heart, now it was just a matter of delaying the execution.

(To be continued. For more information, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM, where the Chapters are more complete, support the author, support genuine reading!)