Chapter 568: Chapter 438: Strike to Win—The Cooperation of Prince Feng and Xiahou Qi
Seeing the energetic old alchemists appear, Hong Shisan was quite surprised. He almost called out "Master" but then remembered he was still disguised as Hong Shisan.
Master Long Yu quickly glanced at Hong Shisan, his old eyes slightly squinting, and said in a resonant voice.
"Our Alchemist Tower cannot afford to lose to the combat alchemists from Moon City. Three-Life Valley, is it? I want to see just how capable you are."
It was clear that he had already seen through Ye Lingyue’s identity as Hong Shisan.
It was no wonder though, even though Ye Lingyue had changed her appearance, on the entire mainland, the only ones who could instantly summon hundreds of well-trained Combat Alchemists were Beiqing and one other person—Ye Cauldron Master of Moon City, his beloved disciple.
Master Long Yu looked at Ye Lingyue unhappily, feeling both love and hate for his precious disciple.
He hated that this girl was full of cunning plans, even hiding her own "death" from him, her master.
It made him, an old man, weep tears and snot at the funeral in the Lan Residence, losing all his dignity.
What he loved was that his disciple was still alive, had developed the Five-Colored Reincarnation Elixir, ventured alone into Beiqing’s Xingxiu Cave, and came back safely.
The master and the disciple exchanged a look, instantly understanding each other’s feelings.
"Old bastard, you want to die, don’t you? Today, I’ll send you to meet King Yan." Luo Song’s gaze darkened as he stepped on the Wind Riding Treasure Bottle and charged towards Master Long Yu.
The latter swiftly drew several talisman papers, and in an instant, they transformed into multiple Alchemy Beasts.
The elder from Three-Life Valley also quickly summoned a Spiritual Artifact, confronting Lan Yingwu and Ye Huangyu head-on.
For a moment, only Hong Mingyue was left holding Xiahou Qi hostage.
"Hong Mingyue, release the Crown Prince, and I still stand by my promise to spare Zhuge Rou and Hong Yulang," Hong Shisan and Hong Ming confronted each other.
The two had just fought earlier, and who could have expected they would clash again so soon.
"Hong Shisan, do you think I’m a fool? My grandfather has already broken through to the Divine Power Realm. The current situation is extremely favorable for me. Besides, having killed Emperor Xia, killing another Xiahou Qi wouldn’t make any difference." Remembering her previous tragic defeat, hatred gleamed in Hong Mingyue’s eyes.
Her eyes flickered red.
It was Hong Shisan who destroyed everything for her.
Her reputation, her status in her family’s eyes, if she had known about today, she should have killed him back in the Taiyi Secret Realm!
With that thought, Hong Mingyue didn’t say another word. The Canghai Three-Life Flute in her hand emitted a wailing sound, and a cold light was about to pierce Xiahou Qi’s throat.
Ye Lingyue’s heart chilled, but it was too late to react.
"Qi’er!" Empress Liu and the Empress Dowager cried out in grief.
A sense of exhilarating revenge surged in Hong Mingyue’s heart.
But at that moment, she noticed something wrong with Hong Shisan’s expression.
There was no blood spattering from the Canghai Three-Life Flute, and Xiahou Qi’s body suddenly emitted a loud booming sound. The bright light exploded, and Hong Mingyue, caught off guard by the powerful blast, fell to the ground.
The Canghai Three-Life Flute in her hand broke into two pieces.
The "corpse" of Xiahou Qi split apart, revealing it was roughly the size of a human, but just a puppet.
"How could this be?" Covered in wounds, Hong Mingyue murmured, staring at the puppet.
Even Hong Shisan was taken aback.
"Hong Mingyue, you didn’t expect this, did you? The person you held captive is not me, but a spiritual puppet that I have recently refined. It only needs a strand of spiritual power to become my substitute."
Beside the Empress Dowager and Feng Xun, a man dressed in the Imperial Army’s attire took off his helmet and revealed his true face.
Aside from Feng Xun, everyone including the Empress and Empress Dowager was completely clueless, not knowing when Xiahou Qi had hidden behind them.
"Crown Prince, I have long suspected Hong Residence’s malicious ambitions, so days ago, I secretly discussed with Prince Feng on how to lay a trap for Hong Residence," Feng Xun said calmly.
Xiahou Qi’s expression changed slightly, and he seemed about to say something but then stopped.
Feng Xun said it was a joint effort, but actually, it was he who took the initiative to approach.
The letter from Ghost Sect had been bothering Xiahou Qi for a long time.
After hearing Feng Xun’s words, Xiahou Qi became certain that Hong Residence had developed traitorous intentions.
It was also Feng Xun who reminded him to find a substitute on the day of the Imperial Examination.
Just recently, Xiahou Qi had refined a spiritual puppet, and after consulting with each other, they set up today’s plot.
Hong Shisan raised an eyebrow and gave Feng Xun and Xiahou Qi a thoughtful look.
Strange, these two men have always been at odds, when did they start...er, collaborating together.
But that’s not surprising, both Feng Xun and Xiahou Qi are far-sighted. Normally though not getting along, when it came to their common interests, they would temporarily set aside their differences and cooperate.
She didn’t know that the only reason Feng Xun and Xiahou Qi disliked each other was because of her; otherwise, with their personalities, the chances of them becoming close confidants were high.
However, Feng Xun gave her a glance, and his mischievousness was self-evident in his eyes.
Seeing Hong Mingyue injured, Luo Song and others quickly retreated.
By this time, Hong Mingyue was on the verge of collapse. Her Spiritual Artifact was destroyed, and she was injured in several places.
In contrast, Hong Shisan and others appeared relaxed and comfortable.
Hong Mingyue couldn’t stand being continuously outmaneuvered. Having lost Xiahou Qi as her trump card, her only remaining option was a fight to the death.
Luo Song gave a cold smile.
With a bang, the figures of Nie Fengxing and Hong Fang suddenly separated.
Hong Fang ended up next to Hong Mingyue, while Nie Fengxing returned to his side.
In that brief moment, Zhuge Rou and Hong Yulang had also been rescued by Duke An and others.
In the sky, Hong Qingyun and Gu Cangtian were still fiercely battling, but it was evident that Gu Cangtian was losing ground and could be defeated at any moment.
Hong Fang looked troubled as he watched Ye Huangyu and Nie Fengxing standing together, feeling extremely irritated.
"Huanyu, we were husband and wife, why must it come to this? If you are willing to surrender, when father’s great cause succeeds, I can still acknowledge you as my wife."
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Rou’s expression changed dramatically, but at this moment, she dared not make a scene. She had nothing left to rely on, and Hong Fang was everything to her.
Moreover, as long as Hong Qingyun wins, Hong Fang, as the only heir of Hong Residence, would eventually become the ruler of the country. Zhuge Rou, thinking of her future position as Empress, could only suppress her fury.
"Hong Fang, give up that thought. From the moment you forced Ling Yue and me to leave Hong Residence, there was no turning back. Today, it’s either your death or mine," said Ye Huangyu, holding hands with Nie Fengxing, decisively.