Chapter 1832: Stubborn Yet Adorable

"That’s right, my lifelong dream, Situ Nan, is to slaughter all the Emperor Palaces of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud and uproot the entire Canglong Emperor Palace!"

Thinking of his family’s old grudges, Situ Nan momentarily lost his composure. Seeing him in such a state, Yun Xiao became even more certain that this person was indeed a descendant of the Situ family.

"Have you decided to take action tonight?"

Yun Xiao glanced briefly at the surging crowd below and then turned back to ask softly. The next moment, he saw Situ Nan nod slightly; this was his original plan.

"Brother Situ, I advise you, whatever you do, don’t make a move tonight, or you’ll be in grave danger!"

Yun Xiao shifted his gaze outside the window. After giving his warning, without waiting for Situ Nan to reply, he pointed into the distance: "Look there, the Empress Statue has been destroyed for so long, yet no one from the Emperor Palace has shown up. What do you think is the reason?"

"Huh?"

Prompted by Yun Xiao, Situ Nan finally directed his gaze to the square. It was bustling with people, yet no one dared to touch the fragments of the Empress Statue, which was clearly out of the ordinary.

Having already destroyed the Emperor Palaces in three cities, Situ Nan naturally knew that the maintenance of Empress Statues was usually handled by the Emperor Palaces of each city, and ordinary people wouldn’t dare to touch them, though the cultivators from the Emperor Palaces wouldn’t have such concerns.

Now that such a significant event as the destruction of the Empress Statue had occurred, and the Emperor Palace hadn’t sent anyone to investigate for so long, it raised some intriguing questions.

"Brother Situ, you’ve already wiped out the Emperor Palaces in three major cities, and with the arrogance of the Canglong Emperor Palace, they certainly won’t allow you to continue this massacre without end. I guess there’s a Heaven and Earth Net waiting for you inside the Red Rock City Emperor Palace!"

At this moment, Yun Xiao finally revealed the reason for his warning. Given his understanding of the Canglong Emperor Palace, after suffering such a huge loss, they definitely wouldn’t just let it slide.

Even if it were some ordinary cultivators making a move against the Canglong Emperor Palace, Yun Xiao wouldn’t stand idly by, let alone this person could potentially be a descendant of the Situ family; even more so, he wouldn’t let it go.

"Thank you for your kind reminder, Brother Yun Xiao, I’ll be cautious!"

However, Yun Xiao’s well-reasoned analysis only elicited such a response from Situ Nan. Though the tone was polite, it seemed he hadn’t reconsidered the decision he had made long ago.

"Moreover... isn’t it even more interesting to break through the meticulously arranged Heaven and Earth Net?"

It was unclear where Situ Nan’s confidence came from, with merely a Half-step Holy Rank cultivation dared to make such bold claims, leaving Yun Xiao at a loss for how to persuade him.

As the saying goes, "shallow friendship, deep words," Yun Xiao had known Situ Nan for less than an hour, and he didn’t really understand this person’s disposition. Often, an extra word might have the opposite effect.

"Brother Yun Xiao, if you have no other pressing matters, find a place to stay in Red Rock City and wait for the good news of the Emperor Palace being wiped out!"

Situ Nan didn’t seem to want to discuss further with Yun Xiao, lest it dampen his enthusiasm. As he said this, he glanced at the body of Wu the Youngest, then left the pavilion without looking back.

"This guy really is so stubborn, it’s almost cute!"

Watching Situ Nan’s back disappearing through the staircase, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but shake his head with a wry smile. However, after his words faded, he had already made up his mind. He ultimately couldn’t just stand idly by.

In any case, Yun Xiao couldn’t just stand by and watch a descendant of the Situ family march to their death. If it were solely Situ Nan, there might be unexpected developments, but with Yun Xiao joining in, the likelihood of accidents undoubtedly dropped to the lowest point.

The reason Yun Xiao didn’t join Situ Nan outright was that he knew an ally in the shadows might make the enemy even more uncomfortable than open assistance.

......

Red Rock City, Emperor Palace!

The entire city of Red Rock was built from red stones, yet the location of the Emperor Palace was lush and verdant, with forests everywhere, as if one were in a small southern city.

It seems these influential figures of the Emperor Palace know how to enjoy themselves; creating such greenery in this place made the cultivators outside extremely envious every time they saw this area.

In a grand hall nestled among the shady forests, a dozen figures, standing or seated, were scattered throughout. At the head of them was none other than Yu Baicang, the Supervisor of the Red Rock City Emperor Palace.

Speaking of Yu Baicang, like Tan Qigong, the Chief of the Murong City Emperor Palace, both were Half-step Holy Rank experts. However, his mood hadn’t been good for some time until the arrival of a certain individual.

The reason, after all, was that the Emperor Palaces of the three major cities to the east of Red Rock City had all been wiped out by a mysterious enemy, one of which, the Supervisor of Thick Earth City’s Emperor Palace, was also a Half-step Holy Rank expert like him.

When the news arrived, everyone at the Red Rock City Emperor Palace was in a state of panic, fearful that the so-called Palace Slayer might suddenly come storming in, causing the Red Rock City Emperor Palace to follow the same tragic fate as the Emperor Palaces of those three cities.

Fortunately, the tragedy of the three major cities, including Thick Earth City, had already been reported back to the Canglong Emperor Palace Headquarters, which had drawn the headquarters’ attention. Just yesterday, a notable figure from the Inspection Hall from the headquarters finally arrived at this Red Rock City Emperor Palace.

Sitting where Yu Baicang originally belonged was a white-browed elder named Fan Yulin, a steward of the Inspection Hall at the Emperor Canglong Palace. His cultivation had reached the early stage of the Holy Vein Three Realms Transformation Realm.

It is noteworthy that, apart from his two eyebrows being as white as snow, Fan Yulin’s hair and beard were all jet black, earning him the nickname "Bai Meifan" in the Inspection Hall of the Emperor Canglong Palace.

In fact, a Hua Xuan Realm Early Stage Cultivator like Fan Yulin did not hold a very high position in the Headquarters of the Inspection Hall, but in this distant Northeast Territory’s Red Rock City, he was a dominant presence.

After all, Yu Baicang, once hailed as the strongest in Red Rock City, was only a Half-step Holy Rank. There was a clearly vast chasm between a Half-step Holy Rank and a true Holy Rank Expert.

The arrival of this Inspection Hall Steward made Supervisor Yu Baicang feel as if he had swallowed a reassurance pill.

The intimidation of a Holy Rank Expert is unrivaled. No matter how arrogant and powerful the so-called Emperor Palace Hunter is, he couldn’t be more formidable than Fan Yulin, could he?

Compared to the Emperor Palace Inspector Lou Liheng, who died at Yun Xiao’s hands, Fan Yulin’s strength was undoubtedly many times greater, with no comparison between the two.

"Deacon Fan, are we just going to wait like this?"

Due to Fan Yulin’s silence above, Yu Baicang was clearly anxious and couldn’t help but ask, because in his view, the Emperor Palace Hunter might not come on his own initiative.

Although the Canglong Emperor Palace anticipated that the Emperor Palace Hunter might come to Red Rock City, it was not a certainty. This Inspection Hall Steward couldn’t possibly stay in Red Rock City forever, could he?

If the Emperor Palace Hunter was always lurking in the shadows, waiting to act after Fan Yulin left, then the Red Rock City Emperor Palace would follow in the footsteps of those three major city palaces.

"Does Supervisor Yu have any good ideas? Instead of waiting here, should we go out to fish in the ocean?"

Fan Yulin slightly opened a slit in his eyes, asking a question that made Yu Baicang’s face turn blue and red, internally remarking that with the Emperor Palace Hunter’s strength, who would dare to go out alone and look for him?

Yu Baicang’s question was merely due to his anxiety, not because he had a better idea. In reality, waiting for the Emperor Palace Hunter to fall into the trap was the correct decision.

To await the Emperor Palace Hunter’s arrival, Yu Baicang relied not only on Fan Yulin, but had already set up a Heaven and Earth Net within the Emperor Palace’s range, ensuring the Emperor Palace Hunter couldn’t escape.

"Report..."

Just as Yu Baicang was rebutted by Fan Yulin and didn’t know what more to say, a voice filled with panic suddenly came from outside the hall, making the Elders inside involuntarily tremble.

"Has he come?"

These Emperor Palace Elders, including Yu Baicang and Fan Yulin, instinctively thought it was the Emperor Palace Hunter, with their eyes flashing a kind of excitement.

Even Supervisor Yu Baicang directly stood up, then saw a Steward of the Emperor Palace, full of dread, stumbling into the hall, whose frightened expression didn’t diminish upon seeing these people of authority.

"Report to Lord Inspector, Supervisor, the Empress Statue of Red Rock City has been... destroyed!"

The Emperor Palace Steward didn’t completely lose composure, paying respects to Fan Yulin and Yu Baicang before reporting the news, leaving everyone in the hall momentarily dumbfounded.

"The Empress Statue has been destroyed?"

Especially Fan Yulin, whose old eyes shot a fierce glow. In his heart, Emperor Canglong was a faith, and now the Empress Statue was destroyed, truly a slap in the face to Canglong Emperor Palace.

"Did anyone see the perpetrator clearly?"

Yu Baicang regained composure, hurriedly asked. Factually, when he asked this question, he already had some guesses, just wanting a definite answer.

"I don’t... know who destroyed it!"

The Emperor Palace Steward hid in the shadows, naturally impossible to find the "culprit" from a few miles away on the pavilion, and this remark made everyone in the hall thoughtful.

"Deacon Fan, what’s your view?"

Yu Baicang, after all, was Supervisor and soon steadied his mind, his eyes shining brightly, turning to ask. Now Red Rock City wasn’t in his dominating grasp anymore.

"Create a diversion, lure the tiger from its mountain!"

Fan Yulin, sent here to handle this matter, was certainly not a fool. With a brief pondering, he replied tersely, making the Elders in the hall nod slowly in deep agreement.

"Humph, such petty tricks trying to make us fall for it. Does that Emperor Palace Hunter really think we’re all fools?"