Qin Minghuang stood at the top of the stone steps of the Imperial Study, looking down at the lifeless corpse, her eyes as deep as the sea.
Cao Cheng'an was incredibly audacious.
It's one thing to eliminate dissidents and form cliques for personal gain, but to actually collude with the Shuofeng Dynasty and commit the heinous crime of intercepting and killing soldiers of the Daqian Border Army!
Perhaps he felt that his base in the North was solid and that his followers were spread throughout the Xuanwu Army;
Perhaps they felt that her as a woman ascending the throne was unstable, and dared not easily touch him, the pillar of the northern border.
But Qin Minghuang never tolerated any nonsense!
Under the pretext of returning to the capital to report his achievements, he lured her away from her old stronghold in the north.
Without hesitation, he dispatched the elite Xuanji Guard to swiftly eliminate his cronies and confidants in the Xuanwu Army.
He quickly dispatched a new general to take over, disbanded and reorganized the Xuanwu Army, and did everything in his power to erase the Cao family's influence.
With the Xuanji Guard taking action, they naturally uncovered Cao Cheng'an's crimes clearly, and also learned that Qu Heng had already left the Northern Territory and was secretly operating.
If we really wanted to arrest her, it wouldn't have been difficult; she simply let it go.
"He was buried."
Qin Minghuang spoke calmly, her voice devoid of any emotion.
Pan Yue accepted the order and dispelled the heavy mountain aura that had enveloped the entire area.
Just as the stagnant air inside the hall began to move, a sudden change occurred!
An extremely subtle fluctuation appeared directly in front of Qin Minghuang without any warning.
A pale sword tip appeared out of thin air and pierced straight into his heart!
All of this happened too fast. Almost at the same instant, an old hand silently reached out from behind Qin Minghuang.
With lightning speed, the palm strike was fierce and contained terrifying power capable of shattering mountains and splitting rocks, directly striking the fatal sword tip.
It was the old lady, Old Lady Xue, who was in charge of guarding the royal armory!
However, just before her palm, imbued with the power of thunder, was about to shatter the sword tip, it seemed to have crashed into an extremely viscous swamp, momentarily halting her movement.
The pale tip of the sword seized the barely perceptible gap and precisely pierced Qin Minghuang's chest.
"boom!"
The old woman's palm finally struck, slamming heavily onto the sword.
The longsword shattered into pieces in an instant, turning into a cloud of silvery-white dust that scattered in all directions.
Old Master Xue revealed himself completely, his face ashen, his eyes filled with disbelief and rage.
Even with his own personal guards on guard, His Majesty was ambushed at close range!
"How dare you!"
At the same time, the attackers, with their weapons destroyed and their aura fluctuating, could no longer completely conceal their tracks.
It was an old man who was almost unrecognizable, with sparse white hair and beard, and a thin, hunched figure, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.
The exposed skin resembled old tree bark, covered with deep wrinkles and gray spots.
He was wearing an extremely worn-out gray Taoist robe, the edges of which were frayed and torn.
Only then did Qin Minghuang feel a sudden, sharp pain in her chest, and her body trembled slightly.
"His Majesty!"
Su Quan, who had been standing by, let out a shrill scream.
Looking at the pale sword tip on His Majesty's chest, he felt as if he had been doused with ice water, his liver and gallbladder shattered, and his soul scattered.
"puff……"
Qin Minghuang's face turned pale instantly, and she staggered back several steps before suddenly spitting out a mouthful of blood.
An ominous bluish-purple hue rapidly appeared on his face at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It's poisonous! The tip of that sword is coated with a deadly poison!
Su Quan hurriedly stepped forward to help her, supporting her arm and taking large steps backward.
His Majesty's arm quickly lost its strength in his palm, becoming limp and heavy.
Pan Yue's eyes were bloodshot and almost bursting out.
He had always prided himself on being the best defender in the Xuanji Guard, but now he could only watch helplessly as His Majesty was injured so close by. A huge sense of humiliation overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.
However, the aftershocks of the collision between the two old men were still raging, and the dissipated true energy cut through the air like a blade, emitting a teeth-grinding hiss.
This is clearly a clash of the "domains" of second-grade realm experts!
Forcibly suppressing the urge to rush into the battle, he could only grit his teeth and stand guard like a mountain in front of the Imperial Study.
He shielded the seriously injured emperor behind him, his eyes sharp and alert, watching for any potential danger.
Qin Minghuang was no longer able to stand on her own, so Su Quan carefully laid His Majesty flat on the ground.
A surge of immense panic and rage welled up within him. He abruptly looked up and screamed hoarsely in the direction of Pan Yue.
"Where are the Xuanji Guards? Where are the rest of the Xuanji Guards? His Majesty has been assassinated, why has no one come to his aid yet!"
Pan Yue's face was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water.
Due to His Majesty's previous decrees, the elite troops of the Xuanji Guard had already been dispersed, and manpower was already stretched thin.
Even he, who was in charge of defense, had been sent out of the palace on official business, which shows how severe the shortage was.
Seeing his silence, Su Quan became increasingly agitated, almost hysterical.
"Where is Miss Ling? I'm asking you, where is Ling Muxue? Are you dead? Answer me!"
The majestic silhouette of Pan Yue, backlit by the sun, trembled almost imperceptibly.
Ling Muxue is another second-grade expert in the palace, but...
His Majesty had already given instructions to send her to secretly protect the imperial heirs.
He clenched his teeth, his jawline taut.
Perhaps the Crown Prince wasn't assassinated? Perhaps Miss Ling can arrive to provide support now?
The battle between Elder Xue and the strange old Taoist priest in the courtyard had reached a stalemate, and the dissipated power rippled outwards.
They appear to be evenly matched, with neither able to defeat the other in a short period of time.
Old Xue became increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed.
Despite both being at the second rank, she felt an unimaginable pressure from the other's withered and decaying body.
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