Chapter 557 - 367: Xuan, That Man in the Palace Is Not Your Father! (Part 2)

Chapter 557: Chapter 367: Xuan, That Man in the Palace Is Not Your Father! (Part 2)

The obsequious voices of the jailers rose and fell in stark contrast to the screams and wails usually heard in the imperial prison.

Peng Lie knew clearly in his heart—the reason these usually fierce and sinister prison heads were now so attentive was no more than their fear of his grandson, the Crown Prince of the Wenjing Dynasty.

"Hmm..."

The old general let out a soft snort, his gaze piercing through the narrow window of the cell, as if he could see in the direction of the imperial palace.

He knew these people’s thoughts too well: as long as the Crown Prince remained standing, they dared not eradicate the Peng Family.

After all, who could tell who would be the one sitting on the dragon throne tomorrow...

Just then, clear footsteps echoed from outside the prison passage, causing all the jailers to suddenly stiffen.

In terror, they turned to see a figure dressed in dark purple standing at the end of the corridor, who had somehow appeared without notice.

The five-clawed golden dragon on the hem of the robe coldly observed them under the torchlight.

"Cro...Crown Prince?"

The leading jailer went weak at the knees, and the food box in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

The aroma of beef and fine wine spilled across the eerie ground, steaming in the cold air.

Upon hearing this, Peng Lie suddenly raised his head, causing the chains to clatter. When he recognized the visitor through the bars.

The iron-willed Martial Arts Grandmaster’s eyes suddenly reddened: "Xuan...Xuan?"

This call caused Lu Xuan’s cold gaze to instantly soften.

He stepped forward slowly, and with each step, the jailers trembled, retreating until they all collapsed to the ground.

"Grandfather..."

Lu Xuan’s voice was light, yet it made Peng Lie tremble all over.

His bloodshot eyes stared intently at his grandson, suddenly laughing heartily: "Good! Good! I knew...you would definitely come!"

Memories surged like tides, causing the wrinkles at the corners of Peng Lie’s eyes to twitch slightly.

That day had been ordinary until an urgent imperial decree suddenly arrived from the palace.

Peng Lie, proud of his pinnacle cultivation as a Martial Arts Grandmaster, and bearing the status of royal father-in-law, strode without concern into the palace gates.

Could that ruthless emperor devour me, his old father-in-law?

But just as Peng Lie stepped onto the jade stairs of the Purple Gold Hall, an unprecedented coldness surged from the soles of his feet to his spirit!

Inside the hall, Emperor Zhenwu sat, his once familiar face now twisted beyond recognition.

Dark blue veins writhed beneath pale skin, his eyes perpetually flickering with eerie green light.

"Your...Majesty?"

Peng Lie’s grand qi instantly stagnated, his peak cultivation as a Martial Arts Grandmaster melting like ice and snow before this chilling aura.

He tried to lift his hand, but found his fingers as rigid as iron, tried to channel his intense inner qi, but his meridians felt frozen by millennia of ice.

"Peng Lie, you old scoundrel..."

The Emperor Zhenwu, seated on the dragon throne, emitted a scream not like that of humans, his dried-claw-like hand grasping through the air.

Peng Lie felt sharp pain in his chest, his lifelong supreme qi forcibly frozen.

In an instant, he fell from his high position as a Martial Arts Grandmaster to being less than a common person.

"Boom!"

When Peng Lie fell heavily outside the hall, the last thing he saw was the inhuman sneer at the corner of Emperor Zhenwu’s mouth...

Peng Lie’s pupils suddenly contracted, the memory of those words, like poisoned ice picks, once again stabbed into his heart!

"Peng Lie, remember this."

Emperor Zhenwu slowly rose from the dragon throne, each step caused the temperature inside the hall to plummet.

His pale fingers clamped around Peng Lie’s throat, his voice seemed to come from the Nine Nether Hell.

"As long as I live even a single day, this world will obey the will of only one man..."

"And that man is me!"

"This is the true supreme ruler, the lord of the world!"

The last four words exploded like thunder, causing Peng Lie’s eardrums to bleed.

Emperor Zhenwu’s grip tightened further, his nails already embedding into Peng Lie’s flesh: "Peng Lie, you and the Peng Family have crossed the line."

Those eerie green eyes were inches away, and Peng Lie could even see the non-human vertical lines within the pupils: "Confess, and I may spare the Peng Family from extinction..."

"Otherwise..."

The unfinished words carried a threat more terrifying than death.

Peng Lie still remembers, at the time, as Emperor Zhenwu spoke, his mouth split into an inhuman arc.

That was not a mouth that a human should be able to open!

Recalling this, Peng Lie smashed his iron fist against the cell wall, his eyes filled with towering rage.

That was not his son-in-law! Definitely not the Emperor of the Wenjing Dynasty!

In the cell, Peng Lie suddenly began to cough violently, the chains clattering.

He stared intently at his visiting grandson, a mix of shock and fear in his eyes: "Xuan... that is not your father, absolutely not!"

"You must not enter the palace!!!"

Peng Lie’s loss of composure startled everyone present.

Chen Denglou and the first-rank soldiers were so frightened they immediately knelt, their foreheads pressed firmly against the icy ground.

If such treacherous words reached His Majesty’s ears... They dared not imagine what the consequences would be!

"Your Highness! We heard nothing!"

Chen Denglou’s voice trembled, his face beneath the golden mask pale as paper.

But Lu Xuan remained calm, merely waving his sleeve lightly!

With a "roar," the sound of a dragon’s cry, a golden dragon illusion appeared at his command, its claws passing through and shattering the steel prison door as if it were paper.

The shackles on Peng Lie disintegrated instantly, not leaving a trace.

"Grandfather..."

Lu Xuan stepped forward to support the tottering old man, golden light whirling in his eyes: "Do you really think now that I... would fear anything?"

These words, though lightly spoken, caused the entire dungeon’s temperature to plummet suddenly.

The soldiers kneeling on the ground suddenly realized.

This Crown Prince before them seemed to have... transcended the realm of mortals!

With golden light flowing in Lu Xuan’s eyes, he had already seen through everything the moment he stepped into the Imperial City.

The shadowy black clouds hovering above the palace, unseen by ordinary people, could not escape his eyes.

That "Emperor Zhenwu," emitting a stench of decay from his body, appeared to Lu Xuan’s senses as conspicuous as a beacon in the night.

It was clearly a shell already corroded by a sinister entity!

"A ghostly thing nearing the level of a Land Immortal? Ha..." Lu Xuan’s lips curled into a cold smile.

If it were half a month ago, he might have feared it somewhat, but now...

Lu Xuan lightly clenched his fist, golden dragon patterns appearing in his palm, exuding a power capable of annihilating everything.

Those sinister energies that seemed terrifying to ordinary people were nothing but nutrition waiting to be harvested in his eyes.

"Grandson..."

Peng Lie keenly sensed Lu Xuan’s transformation, his withered hand suddenly grasping his sleeve, "Have you really reached this stage?"

"How is this possible!"

Lu Xuan did not answer, instead channeling a pure golden dragon energy into Peng Lie’s body.

Peng Lie immediately felt a warm current flowing through him, and the frozen vigor instantly returned to its prime.

Suddenly, a fiery red aura erupted from his body, its ferocious heatwave sweeping through the entire dungeon, illuminating the cold cell like a furnace.

Involuntarily, Peng Lie raised his head and let out a long howl, a roar like a tiger, causing the surrounding stone walls to quiver and shed dust.

"Hahaha——!"

Peng Lie laughed heartily, his gray hair and beard swirling wildly in the crimson aura.

His murky old eyes shone brightly, and the wrinkles on his face regained their color visibly.

His emaciated body, like dry wood meeting spring, bulged with muscle, tightly stretching the tattered prison clothes.

"Good! Good! Good!"

He exclaimed "Good" thrice, each time causing the ground to tremble. He clenched his fist fiercely, and the red aura burst from between his fingers, turning into blazing lotus flowers.

This venerable old general, who once dominated the borders, had finally regained his unrivaled martial prowess at the peak of a Grandmaster!

Chen Denglou and others were already stunned.

They witnessed with their own eyes as the old royal father-in-law transformed from an almost dead prisoner back to the martial peak’s authoritative presence!

"Rest assured, grandfather."

Lu Xuan slowly turned his gaze towards the direction of the palace: "I have my own plan!"

"Xuan..."

Peng Lie suddenly stopped smiling, his fiery aura transforming into a red tiger coiled around him.

He solemnly looked towards the palace, his eyes filled with overwhelming battle intent: "This time, grandfather will fight alongside you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bluestone beneath Peng Lie’s feet exploded with a roar, and he shot towards the dungeon’s exit like an arrow from a bow.

Everywhere he passed, the iron bars of the prison doors melted into molten iron!