I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

She appeared very, very quickly.

But how could a Foundation Establishment demon be a match for a Golden Core cultivator? Xiao Lan's magic power shattered with a bang.

The man in black narrowed his eyes and thrust out his sword again. This time, the sword was incredibly fast and pierced through Xiaolan's abdomen, going right through her.

The moment he heard the noise, Xu Yuanqing opened his eyes and got out of bed.

Just as I came to my senses, I saw Xiaolan being pierced through the body by a sword.

Xu Yuanqing's pupils constricted, and he shouted, "Who are you!"

The noise attracted the attention of the soldiers outside, and two soldiers in black armor rushed in with weapons.

The Black Armor Army is already the elite of the elite.

But even the most elite soldiers are still just ordinary people.

The black-clad Golden Core cultivator swiftly beheaded the black-armored soldier with two sword strikes. Seeing the commotion outside growing louder and fearing his identity would be exposed, he unleashed a full-force sword strike without checking its effect, and quickly disappeared from the room.

If Xu Yuanqing had resisted this sword strike, he would have surely died.

Xiao Lan knew this, so she directly used her body to shield Xu Yuanqing.

As the sword light flashed, a severed arm flew into the air, and Xiao Lan let out a muffled groan.

The man in black left in a hurry, and his sword strike went slightly astray.

Fortunately, Xu Yuanqing rushed forward and hugged Xiaolan, checking her injuries.

If it were just a severed arm and a pierced body, Xiaolan wouldn't die. She would recover in a year or two from her serious injuries.

The problem is, the thief's sword was coated with poison!

The severed arm withered rapidly, turning into a pool of blood in just half a minute. Xiao Lan possessed demonic power to resist the poison, preventing it from spreading throughout her body, but her two wounds had already begun to fester. If this continued, she would surely die.

"Xiao Lan!"

Xu Yuanqing held her tightly, "Do you have any antidote on you?"

Xiao Lan's face turned pale as she took out a porcelain bottle from her storage ring.

Taking the porcelain bottle, Xu Yuanqing quickly fed it all to Xiaolan. After the medicine entered her stomach, the two wounds healed significantly; however, the poison was still not eliminated.

Xu Yuanqing's heart sank to the bottom. "Are there any more pills?"

Xiaolan shook her head and said with difficulty, "I, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a while. Don't worry about me. You should rest."

Xu Yuanqing had no time to rest at this point; he practically roared at his men to fetch the disciples of Tianyang Palace.

It was already an hour later when the disciples of Tianyang Palace arrived.

It was only a matter between two streets, yet it took an hour to arrive.

Xu Yuanqing remained silent, watching as the two Tianyang Palace disciples impatiently took out two porcelain bottles to give to Xiaolan as an antidote.

The good news is that Xiaolan's condition has stabilized.

Two disciples from Tianyang Palace yawned, waved, and left. Knowing that this was the work of a Golden Core cultivator, they did not intend to set off to search for him now.

Xu Yuanqing remained silent until the morning court session. Upon entering the main hall, he knelt down without saying a word and told the Emperor about the assassination attempt he had been carried out by a Golden Core cultivator that night.

It's one thing to say that someone at the Foundation Establishment stage is capable, but to reach the Golden Core stage is a bit much. It would be right for the Heavenly Sun Palace to intervene.

However, upon hearing this, the surrounding ministers began to advise the emperor not to act impulsively, as Tianyang Palace was not so easy to find.

Their purpose was obvious: to see Xu Yuanqing die.

Xu Yuanqing did not refute, but knelt on the ground without saying a word.

The emperor was in a dilemma. Under the influence of the crowd, he actually listened to the ministers' advice and asked Xu Yuanqing to be patient for a few days.

No one died, so we can investigate slowly. Why bother Lord Tianyang Palace?

They were also planning to deal with the last two major forces.

As soon as the morning court session ended, Xu Yuanqing immediately prepared a carriage to head to Tongzhou.

A few days later, the ministers who were waiting to see him make a fool of himself received a shocking piece of news.

Enraged, Xu Yuanqing turned against Tongzhou.

I went to complain to the Divine Phoenix Goddess...

Please vote for me, sob sob sob

Volume 1: Chapter 149 A Lament for the Divine Phoenix Abode

During the morning court session, Xu Yuanqing knelt from beginning to end.

Almost all the court officials were watching Xu Yuanqing make a fool of himself. Except for a few who hesitated to speak, everyone was advising the Emperor that Tianyang Palace should not be allowed to interfere excessively in matters of the capital.

Inviting those immortals comes at a price, and besides, look at this National Preceptor Xu, he's perfectly fine, so it's definitely not as serious as he's making it out to be.

Those who said these words actually understood that the fate of a Golden Core cultivator meant that someone had broken the rules. According to the rules, the people of Tianyang Palace would have to step in to resolve the issue.

Today you can bribe a Golden Core cultivator to kill someone, tomorrow I can bribe a Golden Core cultivator or even a Nascent Soul cultivator to kill you. With this constant killing, no one can live a peaceful life in fear. The world has its rules; court officials are not allowed to cultivate. Since we are all ordinary people, who isn't afraid of being assassinated by immortals?

Xu Yuanqing broke this rule.

It's not that Xu Yuanqing bribed Golden Core cultivators to kill people, but rather that the changes Xu Yuanqing has made over the past year have frightened them.

A glance at the current imperial court reveals far fewer familiar faces.

Where did these people go?

The answer is that Xu Yuanqing disposed of it.

Just last night, even the arrogant Empress was killed by Xu Yuanqing, and the entire Xu family was wiped out in one night.

If these people don't join forces and band together, they'll be picked off one by one by Xu Yuanqing.

It can be said that the Golden Core cultivator's intervention was deeply related to them.

To be honest, it was quite unexpected to see Xu Yuanqing arrive at the morning court unharmed this morning. In their plan, Xu Yuanqing should have been dead.

They knew that Xu Yuanqing had a girl named Xiao Lan by his side, which is why they spent a lot of money to hire Jin Dan.

Generally speaking, no cultivator would dare to take on this task. It might be possible to persuade a naive young man with low strength who doesn't know the power of the task, but it would be very difficult to persuade someone who has reached the Golden Core stage.

Golden Core cultivators aren't stupid. If they get involved in matters in the capital, they'll inevitably be investigated by the Tianyang Palace, which means they're almost certainly going to die. Besides, killing a court official incurs karmic retribution.

So unless you give enough.

The benefits are tempting enough that some cultivators can't resist the temptation, thinking that as long as they handle things cleanly and efficiently, there won't be any problems, and they take the risk.

However, the money was spent, and the golden elixir was brought in, but the person did not die.

Of course, the fact that Xu Yuanqing didn't die isn't the problem; the fact that the fox demon beside him died is the problem.

With this fox demon around, assassinating Xu Yuanqing would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Without the fox demon, wouldn't Xu Yuanqing be able to kill at will?

Just when they thought everything was going according to plan, no one expected that Xu Yuanqing would act unpredictably. Instead of going to Tianyang Palace, he went to Tongzhou in a fit of anger.

With their abilities, they naturally couldn't monitor Xu Yuanqing. They only received the news after Xu Yuanqing had already arrived in Tongzhou.

The message from the scouts in Tongzhou was very short, just one sentence.

Xu Yuanqing arrived in Tongzhou at dawn on the fourth day. He knelt before the Divine Phoenix Residence for a long time, weeping and recounting the changes in the capital.

That short sentence chilled the hearts of countless ministers.

If it were before, they would have laughed their heads off if Xu Yuanqing had sought out Shenhuang.

Ever since the Divine Phoenix entered the capital a year ago, they knew that this Divine Phoenix was not someone to be trifled with.

Many officials who had taken the initiative to get involved in the matter paced back and forth at home, their faces covered in cold sweat from anxiety.

He had long been cursing Xu Yuanqing to the heavens in his heart.

Does this bastard have absolutely no sense of shame?

How dare you, the dignified Grand Master of the Spirit Kingdom, go to the Divine Phoenix Residence to cry and complain?

No matter how famous the Divine Phoenix is, it is still a demon!

The human race's national advisor went to worship a demon, have you no shame? You have no sense of decency, do you?

They cursed Xu Yuanqing to the heavens, but forgot what they themselves had done.

An official went to the Tianyang Palace residence in person, only to be turned away.

The attitude of the Tianyang Palace disciples was also very clear. You yourselves sent someone yesterday to say that no matter what happens, you should not let Tianyang Palace get involved. Even if you must get involved, you should delay. You used both threats and inducements. How come you changed your mind in less than a day?

He shot himself in the foot.

It was too late to panic.

A minister approached the emperor, embellished the story, and demanded that the emperor issue an edict to remove Xu Yuanqing from his position as Grand Preceptor.

The usually muddle-headed and indecisive emperor surprisingly flew into a rage this time, berating Xu Yuanqing for being unworthy of the human race, and then... kicked out all the ministers who came to persuade him.

The ministers were momentarily stunned after being kicked out.

His Majesty is so angry, shouldn't we issue an imperial edict?

Are we supposed to go in and ask His Majesty for an imperial edict at this point?

However, doing so carries a huge risk; you might not get the Divine Phoenix, but instead get the executioner's blade.

Inside the hall, the emperor's face, which had previously shown no anger, instantly transformed into calm.

He truly lacks the ability and understanding to govern a country. He might be able to listen to music and watch plays, but as for governing, the current state of the nation speaks volumes. He can be quite muddle-headed at times, such as during the morning court session a few days ago. However, he understands one thing: under no circumstances should Xu Yuanqing be deposed.

As for Xu Yuanqing going to Shenhuang Residence to cry and complain...

Let him go. If it attracts the attention of the Divine Phoenix, it will make things easier for him. Otherwise, reading Xu Yuanqing's memorials every day is really a headache.

·

In Tongzhou, spies from all sides were keeping a close watch on Bai Qingyu's courtyard almost every day, constantly monitoring his movements. Although most of the time they couldn't see anything because the barrier blocked everything, they could still occasionally get some information, such as the kneeling of the Great Spirit National Preceptor Xu Yuanqing.

It's fair to say that Bai Qingyu was completely unaware of Xu Yuanqing's thoughts, yet the scandalous affair in the capital had already spread throughout the cultivation world.

Even Tianyang Palace received the news immediately, and was speechless.