Chapter 107 Loyalty to the King and Usurpation

"This technique is not 100% accurate, and the Wise King has been with us the whole time. How could he have had the opportunity to do such a thing?"

Prince An immediately rebuked, "If it's not 100% accurate, why did you still do it? Do you know that this is a crime of deceiving the emperor?!"

"Besides, who knows if you're all in cahoots?" Prince An sneered, his expression contemptuous. "First, you helped Prince Xian get rid of his elder brother, the Crown Prince, and then you also harmed the other princes and princesses, spreading rumors and trying to help Prince Xian seize the throne!"

"I'm afraid even that scandal that's been making headlines these past few days was orchestrated by you! How could it be such a coincidence that the moment Prince Xian and you arrived in the capital, such a scandal broke out in our royal family, and so many princes and princesses died!?"

Prince An poured out his heart in rapid succession.

The emperor already knew that this magic was not entirely effective, but after hearing what Prince An said, his suspicions were aroused, and his mind was in turmoil, making it impossible for him to think rationally.

When it came to his glorious empire and his bloodline, the old emperor's bloodshot eyes turned cold and sharp. Even if he had some disbelief and doubt in his heart, his gaze towards them now turned into nine parts suspicion.

"Guards! Bring them here—" The old emperor swept his gaze over the five men. Seeing this, Prince An thought he was about to back out and hurriedly said, "Father! Every time I think of my brothers and sisters who died unjustly, I can't sleep day or night. Every time I think of them, my heart aches. What cruel people they were! They didn't even leave us a complete skeleton..."

Prince An's snot and tears came without warning; he cried with heartfelt emotion, as if his heart was breaking.

Even Consort Xian, who had just been revived by a palace maid, began to cry out upon hearing this: "My poor child! My poor child! It's all your fault, your mother! It's all your fault, your mother! I can't catch the person who harmed you!"

"..."

The old emperor's originally pale face was now ashen, and he felt a surge of irritation as he listened to the mournful cries around him.

"My son, I will definitely seek justice for you! I will tear the person who harmed you to pieces!" As she said this, her beautiful eyes were fixed on Li Tiankuo. She was convinced that the man in front of her was the murderer and wished she could skin him alive and tear him apart to satisfy her hatred.

"Your Majesty—" Consort Xian threw herself into the Emperor's arms.

"Take them all away! Lock them in the dungeon!"

The old emperor shouted angrily, and in his fury, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The hall was in chaos, with people falling and horses stumbling. The guards with swords looked at them coldly.

"Your Highness, please come with me."

Bai Yuheng wanted to say something more, but even Cui Mingcan could see the suspicion in the emperor's eyes. One was pulled back by Pei Yuan, and the other was tugged at by Cen Ying's sleeve. He shook his head, telling him not to add fuel to the fire.

The old emperor himself had doubts, and the seeds of doubt had already been sown; no matter what they said, it would be useless.

Bai Yuheng pursed her lips, speechless with anger at the senile old emperor.

I've never seen such a biased and gullible person!

On the way to the imperial prison, Cui Mingcan was indignant, feeling that his good intentions had been taken for granted: "How could His Majesty do this, how could he..."

Seeing Li Tiankuo's pale and bluish face, Cui Mingcan didn't utter the word "muddle-headed" aloud, naturally out of consideration for the fact that they were still on the territory of the person he wanted to criticize, and swallowed his anger.

"I guess the emperor will invite us out in a few days."

Bai Yuheng calmed down and realized that the old emperor had only intended to use the murderer as a demonstration, whether the murderer was real or fake. That's why he agreed to their not-so-accurate tracking method. But once this involved someone he hadn't anticipated—Li Tiankuo—he would soon come to his senses. Of his few remaining bloodlines, only Prince An and Li Tiankuo were capable of succeeding him. He couldn't possibly hand over the position he had worked so hard to achieve to those princes who were trying to depose him.

Moreover, Prince An doesn't seem to be shrewd or capable. The old emperor probably knows Prince An's temperament and abilities. Now, the only one who can shoulder the responsibility is Li Tiankuo, who has entered the world of cultivation.

Presumably, this throne...

Bai Yuheng glanced subtly at the sullen Li Tiankuo.

If the old emperor hadn't survived this period, it would probably have been a foregone conclusion.

He will likely release them as early as tomorrow, or at the latest the day after.

He needs Li Tiankuo now, and he also needs these capable cultivators like them.

None of the five were fools. After calming down, they naturally realized this as well. Their original anger subsided, and they began to observe the prison with a bit of interest.

Cui Mingcan's emotions came and went quickly: "Hey, I never thought I, Cui Mingcan, would end up in the Heavenly Prison one day! This trip to the capital was quite worthwhile; I not only saw the Imperial Palace, but I also stayed in the Heavenly Prison! When I return to my sect, I'll have plenty to brag about!"

Cen Ying rolled her eyes at him, both amused and annoyed: "You really have a good attitude. I wonder who was so angry just now that they wanted to beat up that Prince An and make him grow wings and fly away!"

Even Pei Yuan, who usually doesn't participate in their jokes, chuckled in good spirits: "You have a very good attitude."

When Cui Mingcan heard Pei Yuan, who was practically his mentor, praise him, he chuckled and scratched his head sheepishly.

Compared to their good mood, Li Tiankuo's mood was absolutely terrible!

Bai Yuheng was now able to sense the emotions of those around her. While she was happy, she was also affected by Li Tiankuo's frustrated and annoyed mood. Her smile faded, and she patted his shoulder. Although she didn't know how to comfort him, she still said softly, "Don't overthink it."

Li Tiankuo felt a lump in his throat, and his eyes reddened: "I...I was actually used..."

Bai Yuheng moved closer to him, and his intense emotions seeped into her, making her once joyful heart feel heavy. Suddenly, she was pulled away, shielding her from the negative emotions.

"This is a good opportunity to get to know people's true colors again." Pei Yuan leaned down slightly to look at him, his voice still extremely cold.

But both Bai Yuheng and Li Tiankuo knew that he was trying to comfort him.

Li Tiankuo's eyes reddened, his vision suddenly blurred, and he choked out, "I... I just never imagined it would be her..."

"I can't understand it, why, why would she do that?"

From the uncontrollable attack of that blood mist on people, they guessed that someone had tampered with it, but Li Tiankuo just couldn't believe it was her!

Princess Jing'an!

His only trusted and relied-upon elder sister!

The only royal sister who would love and protect him!

He actually killed his own blood relative with his own hands!!!

None of the four were good at comforting people, and they knew that no one else could truly comfort him about this kind of inner turmoil. All they could do was stay by his side and offer their companionship as a form of comfort.

"Time to eat! Time to eat!" The jailer banged on the cell door, shouting at the prisoners who smelled the aroma of food.

Cui Mingcan's face darkened when he saw the food. His original interest in visiting the prison vanished instantly. This food was no different from swill!

He doesn't want to stay here for even a second longer!

"Yu'er, when can we get out of here?!" Cui Mingcan held the broken bowl, staring at the swill in it with a look of utter despair, and wailed loudly.

"Silence! Silence!" The jailer knocked on the cell door, menacingly warning them to be quiet.

Cui Mingcan pursed his lips.

He pushed the bowl away, not even wanting to look at it.

Bai Yuheng and the others were no different.

This treatment is simply...

I was originally thinking I would have to wait at least one night before I could go out, but now I can't wait to go out right now!

Cen Ying took out a few refreshing pills from her bag and gave one to each person: "Eat this. This will keep you full for a while and should last until we get out."

Bai Yuheng took the pills and comforted Cui Mingcan, who looked utterly dejected: "Don't worry, don't worry, maybe we'll be able to get out tonight?"

That's what they say, but plans never keep up with changes.

At midnight, a secret report delivered by express courier was presented to the old emperor's bedside, which angered the already weak emperor to the point of almost dying, causing him to vomit a large mouthful of blood.

The old emperor, still trembling, issued an edict ordering the release of Li Tiankuo and the others imprisoned in the imperial jail and their immediate transfer to him.

Before Bai Yuheng and the others could even change into clean clothes, the chief eunuch hurriedly led them to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. As soon as they stepped into the bedroom, a strong smell of medicine hit their noses.

There was also a faint smell of blood.

“Father!” Li Tiankuo walked over quickly, knelt by the bedside, his phoenix eyes slightly red and moist.

"Tian'er..." The emperor was even weaker than he appeared today.

The chief eunuch hurriedly helped the emperor up and placed a lumbar support pillow behind his back.

"Father..."

Li Tiankuo had initially harbored some resentment, but upon seeing the emperor's seemingly impending departure, all his resentment and hatred vanished, and all he wanted to do now was care about the emperor's health.

The old emperor waved his hand weakly and said, "It's nothing. This illness has been going on for a long time, and there's no cure. It's nothing serious..."

"Doctor, doctor, that's right, Xiaoying, Xiaoying!" Li Tiankuo turned around and pulled Cen Ying, pleading with her, "Xiaoying, could you please take a look at Father Emperor?"

“Alright.” Cen Ying sat down on the chair that the chief eunuch had moved over and began to examine him.

"I'm so sorry, esteemed immortal masters." The old emperor apologized to Bai Yuheng and the others, startling everyone in the hall. The old emperor, however, seemed oblivious, his expression one of remorse. "Today, I acted rashly and imprisoned you all in the Heavenly Prison. I hope you immortal masters will understand my love for my son..."

As he spoke, tears welled up in the corners of his aged eyes.

Bai Yuheng and the others couldn't blame him, so they could only say a few words to change the subject.

"What brings His Majesty to summon us so late at night?"

At the mention of this, the old emperor's anger flared up again, burning his internal organs.

"Don't get angry," Cen Ying said, frowning as she inserted the needle into his acupoint.

Li Tiankuo got up and patted his back.

"How could I not be angry!"

The old emperor's burning anger couldn't be suppressed even by Cen Ying's needles.

For such an unruly patient, Cen Ying naturally had ways to calm him down.

"Your body has been completely eroded by toxins. If you don't swallow this last breath, you will surely die tonight."

"!!!"

"Poison!?" Li Tiankuo jumped to his feet, shocked. "What kind of poison is it? Is there any way to cure it?"

Cen Ying washed her hands, her expression grave: "It's already seeped into the bone marrow; there's no cure."

She frowned: "This poison belongs to our cultivation world and has been lost for hundreds of years. How could Your Majesty have such a poison in your body?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tiankuo glared at the head eunuch, who immediately knelt and kowtowed: "This servant doesn't know, this servant doesn't know! His Majesty's daily food, incense... are all inspected by special personnel, and this servant also strictly controls the process. How could he possibly be poisoned by such a vicious poison!?"

Cen Ying: "This poison wouldn't penetrate this deeply without ten or eight years of exposure. It's not like ordinary poison powder or ash, nor is it colorless or odorless... This poison comes from what appears to be a very ordinary poisonous insect, consisting of a mother insect and offspring. The mother insect controls the poison, while the offspring deliver it. However, the appearance of the offspring always produces a foul, pungent odor. If the poison isn't expelled immediately after being stung, it will remain dormant in the body for decades. Once the person who released the poison kills the mother insect or the offspring's toxin has been dormant for long enough, the offspring within the host's body will activate the toxin, resulting in a fatal blow!"

The chief eunuch turned pale.

Li Tiankuo staggered a few steps.

"Remember that His Majesty was stung by a poisonous insect ten years ago!" Li Tiankuo immediately instructed the palace maids, eunuchs, and guards who had cared for the emperor to recall the incident carefully.

While others struggled to recall, the old emperor took a few moments to process the news of his impending death, and his emotions calmed down. But beneath the calm lay a simmering, thunderous rage.

"My child, my child, your father's health is predetermined. What I'm about to tell you concerns the fate of our Great Zhou Dynasty..."

Li Tiankuo was startled again. After a moment of stunned silence, he stammered, "Father, what happened?"

The old emperor took a deep breath, exhaled, and said in a deep voice, "Prince Gong, under the pretext of serving the emperor and destroying Qin, led tens of thousands of ghost soldiers to approach the capital. The journey that took several months was completed in the blink of an eye, and he has already annihilated the Prince of Qin and his entourage of vassal kings!"

"He's plotting to seize power!!!"

The old emperor looked up to the sky and cried out in anguish, his voice filled with sorrow.