Chapter 417 Find Gongsun Qi
Grandmother Nangong got up, pulled on her coat, and stared coldly at the doorway.
Just as she was about to call for help, the doors and windows were cleaved open by the wind of the sword, and the red sword shadow pierced the darkness, heading straight for her vital points.
Grandmother Nangong formed hand seals, and the black incantation seals in front of her spread out, shattering the fierce sword shadows like a kaleidoscope. Both sides ignited their protective auras, and the two streams of five elements clashed fiercely. With a loud boom, the house was set ablaze, and the solid, heavy roof beams collapsed and crashed down, scattering countless sparks that engulfed Grandmother Nangong.
Unable to withstand the power, the Myriad Flower Curse Seal shattered one after another, and the two sides exploded into a soaring fire dragon. Grandmother Nangong rushed out of the sea of fire, used the Wind Riding Technique to leap into the air, and after breaking through the starfire, the old woman saw that her old house had turned into a sea of fire. Everywhere was ignited by the falling fire, and the maids had already been killed by the powerful sword energy, lying in the sea of fire covered in blood.
The house collapsed with a loud bang, and Nangong's grandmother, whose face was usually indifferent and calm, suddenly showed a look of rage.
"Gongsun Qi!" she roared, staring at the sword-wielding man amidst the flames. "You dare to launch a sneak attack in the dead of night, committing such a despicable act!"
"You didn't say that when you and the He family attacked me at night back then." Gongsun Qi looked up at the furious old woman. "So the shameless behavior of the Nangong family was learned from you."
“You…” Grandmother Nangong opened her mouth to rebuke, but her soul trembled. She raised her hand to cover her chest and saw the sword wound on her wrist. Her eyes trembled.
Sword Shadow and Fire Poison?
It's that trick again! When she was hit by this trick back then, the five elements of energy in her light core were frozen, and the skin at the wound site ulcerated repeatedly for more than three months!
Grandmother Nangong took a deep breath and hurriedly used her internal energy to resist the invasion of the fire poison into her soul. Unbeknownst to her, the sword spirit Jinghong, who had appeared behind her at some point, was already slashing down with her sword.
"Ghostly Eyes!" Grandmother Nangong did not turn around. A thin black slit appeared between her eyebrows. She suddenly opened one black vertical pupil, and her eyes also turned into extremely black and bright vertical pupils, absorbing all the five elements reflected in them.
The sword spirit Jinghong vanished behind her in an instant.
The sea of fire covering the entire old house surged towards Grandmother Nangong's three-eyed demonic gaze, and Gongsun Qi's Heavenly Fire Flow was being dismantled by her.
The two dodged at the same time, their interaction too fast for the naked eye to follow. Only a few red sword qi afterimages and bursts of the five elements qi rising up in white smoke could be seen.
Standing at the center of the barrier array, Ah Quan listened to the explosions coming from inside, and his heart began to beat rapidly.
"Is your teleportation barrier stable? Don't let anything go wrong, or all three of us will be doomed." A-Quan looked at Situ Jin. "You know, if our teleportation barrier malfunctions and we get caught by the Qingyang Saint, I'll haunt you even as a ghost."
He said this with immense sadness.
Situ Jin was speechless after hearing this, and pointed to his trembling hands forming a hand seal: "Stabilize the blast barrier first. If your blast barrier breaks down first, you'll be finished before you even need my teleportation barrier."
Ah Quan: "You can tell I'm under a lot of pressure, right? Then why don't you help me calm down!"
"Nobody said the old lady of the Nangong family was a Saint!" A-Quan clenched his fists tightly, sweating profusely as he stabilized the barrier, and began to curse. "He said he was helping to distract people, but I think he just took the opportunity to settle a personal score with the Nangong family! He finally found a chance to kill someone!"
Situ Jin opened the mechanism box and rummaged inside: "He came to Qingyang for revenge."
As he spoke, he took out three long boxes covered with purple talisman seals from the mechanism box and placed them on the ground. A-Quan asked, "What are these?"
“Specifically designed to counter the Wind and Thunder Pillars of the Ghost Daoist School.” Situ Jin said, tearing open the purple talisman on the box, a hint of pride in his voice. “An improved and upgraded version, comparable to the Saint Realm.”
"The Situ family secretly modified the Wind and Thunder Pillar? Wow!" A-Quan made an exaggerated expression. "You really do hate the Ghost Daoist family deeply!"
Situ Jin extended a hand to Aquan, striking an elegant and polite pose: "Don't talk nonsense. We respect all schools of thought and techniques equally, without any preference. We're doing all this just for one sentence."
"What did you say?"
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."
Situ Jin activated the three Wind and Thunder Pillars, revealing the appearance of evil spirits on the black pillars. As the Wind and Thunder Pillar Array was activated, the pillars transformed and flew into the sky. Countless black Wind and Thunder Pillars rose from the ground, taller than the roof beams, suppressing Grandmother Nangong's narrow-minded ghostly eyes and cutting off the continuous flow of Five Elements Qi towards Grandmother Nangong.
Within the Wind and Thunder Pillar Formation, Grandmother Nangong was unable to use any of the Nine Stream Techniques of the Ghost Daoist School, which also restricted the Ghost Daoist School's simplest and most core techniques of soul control and spirit fixation.
The improvement made by the Situ family to the Wind and Thunder Pillar has an additional fatal effect on the Ghost Daoist: preventing the Ghost Daoist from transforming into a Divine Realm.
Within this Wind and Thunder Pillar Formation, one cannot ascend to the Ghost Path and become a Deity, nor can one use it.
Grandmother Nangong's ability to see through things suddenly failed, catching her off guard. Before she could even see the rising array of wind and thunder pillars, Gongsun Qi's long sword pierced through her chest, sending her flying and crashing into one of the wind and thunder pillars.
Grandmother Nangong coughed up blood, her life force vanished in an instant, leaving her on the verge of death. Her gaze pierced through the sea of fire as she stared in disbelief at the person wielding the sword.
She was already seriously injured and unable to exert her full strength, but if it weren't for the Wind and Thunder Pillar Formation of the Mechanical Family, Grandmother Nangong would not have been defeated so quickly.
Gongsun Qi's expression was indifferent, his sword pointing towards Grandmother Nangong. Grandmother Nangong struggled, saying, "If you... want to know anything about the He family from me... then you're... dreaming!"
"A lackey of the He family." Gongsun Qi smiled faintly for a moment, then his sword flashed.
The moment the blood-spurting head separated from the torso, several figures appeared in the sky above the old Nangong residence. Qin Shan arrived the fastest, and he happened to see Gongsun Qi wielding his sword to behead someone below.
"Go!" A-Quan shouted, and Situ Jin activated the teleportation array the instant Qin Shan swooped down.
Qin Shan then followed the direction of the teleportation array, his figure disappearing into the sea of fire.
After the Wind and Thunder Pillars disappeared, the old Nangong residence was engulfed in flames.
Wang Jingshu landed instantly before the decapitated corpse of her grandmother, Nangong, her expression grave. When did Gongsun Qi arrive in the capital of Qingyang? He was wanted by the six kingdoms; he would be discovered as soon as he entered the capital. Who helped him conceal his identity in the capital?
“Your Excellency! There are traces of a Wind and Thunder Pillar Array here!” Gao Cang, the deputy director of the Punishment and Water Division who had come with her, shouted.
As soon as Gao Cang finished speaking, a large fire suddenly rushed towards him from the side. Wang Jingshu waved her hand to cut off the spark, turning it into ashes. She then saw the red sword shadow within and said in a deep voice, "It's the sword shadow fire poison left behind by Gongsun Qi. Be careful, he still has a backup plan here. If you get entangled by this fire poison, it will freeze the five elements of your light core, causing your wounds to fester repeatedly and cause you unbearable pain."
Gao Cang patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "That was close!"
Wang Jingshu turned to look at the woman in white who was kneeling in front of Nangong's grandmother to examine her: "Qianxia, how is she?"
“It seems that Grandmother Nangong was also poisoned by fire. The sword wounds on her body were clean and neat. Before she was beheaded, her light core had already been shattered by the fire poison freezing her.” Wang Qianxia stood up and said, “But I see that Grandmother Nangong’s divine soul light core… has reached the realm of controlling qi without turning, which means that she has already reached the realm of Ghost Dao Saint.”
"The Saint Realm?" Gao Cang asked in surprise, "Why didn't you mention it before?"
Wang Jingshu remained calm, seemingly having already anticipated this, and said, "The old man was injured and has been recuperating for years. He was unfortunately ambushed today, which is why..."
"Madam!" The Nangong family members arrived at that moment, their shouts filled with fear and apprehension.
Wang Jingshu turned around and saw Nangong Ming leading his men out of the sea of fire. The man's usually gentle expression turned cold and stern at this moment. In the flickering firelight, his hard-featured face looked even more sinister.
Just as Nangong Ming was about to approach, the surrounding fire suddenly erupted, sweeping up like a fire dragon and lunging at him.
"Your Highness!"
"Master!"
Shouts rose from all sides. Nangong Ming paused, turned to the side, and made a hand seal. Golden spirit words scattered from behind him, transforming into countless black birds that tore apart the fire dragon and bit off the red sword shadows hidden within it.
Nangong Ming looked up, his dark pupils reflecting the shattered sword shadows. The blinding red light was like blood exploding in his eyes, igniting his anger.
He slowly lowered his head and saw his grandmother, Nangong, lying on the ground, her body dismembered.
Qin Shan returned at this moment, looking grim.
Wang Jingshu asked, "Have you found them?"
Qin Shan shook his head: "They disappeared outside the South Gate."
“It’s definitely Gongsun Qi,” Wang Jingshu said. “This is his stunning swordplay.”
"I saw it." After Qin Shan finished speaking, he looked up and glanced at Nangong Ming, who was silent. "His actions this time were coordinated with the anti-explosion barrier of the Mechanical Family, which prevented us from noticing it immediately. Gongsun Qi's military divination skills seem to have improved a lot, which is why no one noticed this operation."
Nangong Ming glanced at him expressionlessly, his tone flat and revealing no emotion: "Is it because his military strategy has improved, or because your abilities have declined, that Gongsun Qi was able to enter the capital so quietly?"
Cao Yan and the others stood behind with their heads down. The prince had humiliated the two saints in front of everyone, but no one dared to say anything.
Wang Jingshu merely frowned; though displeased, she couldn't deny it.
Qin Shan didn't say anything. He had been focusing on Zhongli Que these past few days and hadn't paid attention to the stars, which was indeed a bit of a lapse.
"Place the old lady into the coffin." Nangong Ming turned to the group behind him and said, "Find Gongsun Qi."
"yes!"
Nangong Ming then looked at the two sages: "The failure of the Criminal Investigation Department to discover this wanted criminal in time is a major mistake. Did they not take any action at all?"
Wang Jingshu suppressed her temper and said, "I have already sent people to investigate. Whether it is inside the palace or outside the city, anyone related to Gongsun Qi will be brought to the Criminal Investigation Department for me to interrogate personally."
Nangong Ming's gaze swept over Qin Shan, who wore a regretful expression that seemed to say, "Please accept my condolences."
He knew that the person who broke into the Star Gazing Hall tonight was related to Gongsun Qi, but he could not expose this clue, otherwise it would expose Zhongli Que, bringing a crisis to the Zhongli clan and putting himself in a dilemma.
Nangong Ming might have some doubts about Qin Shan, but Qin Shan believed that he didn't have time to think about these doubts at the moment.
The fire at the Nangong old mansion was quickly extinguished thanks to the intervention of the two sages, but the embers spread throughout the entire capital in a short period of time.
In the dead of night, Emperor Qingyang was awakened and enraged to learn that his grandmother, Nangong, had been murdered by Gongsun Qi in a night attack. He then woke up many people who had already gone to sleep.
After Nangong's grandmother's body was placed in the coffin, it was carried back to the Prince's Mansion. Nangong Ming stood in front of the coffin, silently watching his mother's gradually stiffening body. The remaining sword shadows and fire poison were festering from her wounds, ensuring that even after death, there would be no intact skin on her body.
But Nangong Ming just watched without making any move.
Everyone in the Prince's mansion was on tenterhooks, not daring to disturb him. Even Cao Yan retreated to the door to wait, leaving only Nangong Ming in the main hall.
Madam Han and Han Bing arrived first, both with anxious expressions, but Cao Yan stopped them at the door. Seeing Nangong Ming's current appearance, the two dared not go in rashly.
Han Bing turned around and looked back, while Madam Han looked at the man beside the coffin with worry in her eyes.
"Where is Su Feng?" Han Bing asked. "Second Aunt is also at the old house with Grandmother. Where is she now?"
Cao Yan said, "No trace of the Second Madam was found in the old house. The Second Young Master is still searching in the old house."
Han Bing's heart sank upon hearing this. The old house was severely damaged by fire, and the people inside were not burned to death, but killed by sword energy.
If the second concubine has not been found yet, she is likely in grave danger.
Not long after, Madam Sheng and Sheng Fei arrived. Sheng Fei still couldn't believe the terrible news he had received that night, until he smelled the blood in the hall and saw his father's silent figure.
Although the grandmother never showed favoritism towards anyone, she never gave the children a cold shoulder or a harsh look.
Sheng Fei tried to go inside, but Cao Yan blocked him again, saying coldly, "Get out of the way!"
At this moment, Madam Sheng shook her head at him and silently pulled Sheng Fei away.
Even Madam Su came tonight. Chu Jin walked in front, while Madam Su, supported by the mute woman, walked slowly. She felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at the coffin placed in the main hall.
When did Gongsun Qi arrive in Qingyang?
Was he here for revenge?
First, kill Grandmother Nangong, then who's next?
Me?
Madam Su dared not think too deeply about it, but she felt death was approaching and feared that time was running out.
People were stopped at the entrance of the lobby and dared not go in before Nangong Ming spoke.
Chu Jin stood outside the door and said, "Father, I have sent people to find Gongsun Qi's whereabouts. I have also found out that he first appeared in Qingyang outside the city and stopped the Golden Armor Army from arresting Taiyi's wanted criminals."
Nangong Ming then reacted, coldly looking outside.
Chu Jin said in a deep voice, "He didn't use the Sword Shadow Fire Poison that day, probably because he was afraid of exposing his identity prematurely, but this 'Surprising Sword Shadow' is exactly the same."
In the past, Sheng Fei would have retorted with a question like, "Where did you get this information?" But now he just remains silent.
He even thought of someone else.
Gongsun Qi is Mei Liangyu's uncle. He came to the capital of Qingyang to seek revenge against the Nangong family. Does Nangong Sui really not know this?
"Did Yu Lansi overlook such important information?" Nangong Ming looked back at his mother, his eyes reflecting the gradually rotting, maggot-infested corpse, and his words were filled with obvious killing intent.
Han Bing replied, "I'll go to Yulan Division immediately."
Nangong Ming said, "Let the Sixth Prince come here to see me."
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