Chapter 1833: You Have Arrived!

"Hmph, such petty tricks, expecting us to fall for them. That Emperor Palace Hunter must really think we’re all fools."

Having obtained the answer he wanted, Yu Baicang couldn’t help but let out a cold snort, feeling a subtle sense of pride in exposing the other’s scheme, and had already made a decision.

"Send out the order, everyone is to remain still, and no one is to investigate the destruction of the Empress Statue!"

Belonging to the order of the chief of the Emperor Palace, the scene of the previous moment unfolded, with the grand Empress Statue destroyed, yet no cultivator from the Emperor Palace went to investigate, which indeed was quite bizarre.

"But... will that Emperor Palace Hunter really come?"

Yu Baicang stared at the empty entrance of the hall, feeling somewhat conflicted. If that Emperor Palace Hunter didn’t come to Red Rock City but went to another city, all their plans would turn into a joke.

However, upon thinking of the destruction of the Empress Statue, Yu Baicang felt a bit more confident. After all, on this Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, there weren’t many who dared destroy the Empress Statue so openly.

......

Dark Night descends!

In the area where the Red Rock City Emperor Palace was located, a dense forest stood oppressively, incongruent with the red rocky buildings all around. And at this moment of transition between the hours of Hai and Zi, a figure eerily appeared outside the Emperor Palace.

This figure was none other than Situ Nan, the Emperor Palace Hunter, who, despite knowing the dangers, ventured into Tiger Mountain. The words he uttered to Yun Xiao days ago weren’t boastful, but truly part of his plan.

Yun Xiao guessed right; this Situ Nan was a direct descendant of the Situ family. Years of living under an alias led him to an accidental inheritance from the Situ family, propelling him to the level of Half-step Holy Rank.

Here, in the remote Northeast Territory of Dragon Cloud, a cultivation level of Half-step Holy Rank affords one the privilege to walk unchallenged, and the vengeance against those behind the Situ family massacre led Situ Nan, after mastering his skills, to target the Emperor Palace cultivators.

Initially, Situ Nan only attacked solitary Emperor Palace cultivators, but after several successes, he felt that doing this was hardly a sting to Canglong Emperor Palace, so he decided to undertake something bigger.

This led to the earlier incident of Emperor Palace branches in Thick Earth City and other three major cities being uprooted; in those cities, the chief with the highest cultivation was only at the level of Half-step Holy Rank, hence they inevitably met with disaster due to Situ Nan’s calculated moves.

However, such actions inevitably attracted the attention of the Canglong Emperor Palace Headquarters. Situ Nan wasn’t foolish; he knew that over time, a trap might be set for him somewhere.

But having tasted the benefits, Situ Nan couldn’t simply stop. With excellent skills and bravery, unless facing a master at the Holy Vein Three Realms, he believed he could easily escape.

It’s worth noting that Situ Nan targeted the Emperor Palace in Red Rock City because the location was quite special, and those dense forest trees became the medium through which he could enact his moves.

A hundred years ago, among the Four Great Families of Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, the Nangong Family in the west was of the metal attribute, the Murong Family in the north was of the water attribute, and the Situ Family always operated in the Dragon Cloud East Domain, naturally cultivating Wood Attribute Techniques.

These Wood Attribute Techniques or Meridian Techniques weren’t immensely powerful in attack, but they had extremely formidable resilience; as long as they weren’t killed on the spot, they could recover through that resilience.

This Emperor Palace in Red Rock City, differing from other parts of the city, was nestled amidst a dense forest with mountain rocks, granting Situ Nan more opportunities to act, allowing him to forge ahead unyieldingly.

Sweeping a glance at the range of the dense forest, under the cover of the Dark Night, one could see a faint cold smile emerge on Situ Nan’s face.

"Hmph, to use these things to restrain me, Situ Nan, is to think far too much."

When Situ Nan flipped over the wall, barely landing on a large tree, a cold smile naturally escaped his lips. As his voice faded, a slight green light flashed across the tree.

Obviously, due to the Emperor Palace’s vast area, it was impossible to station personnel in every spot. Heaven Rank Third Realm cultivators could fly, so naturally, a mere wall couldn’t stop them.

Of course, if Situ Nan were to fly in the air, the poison wouldn’t touch him. But the Emperor Palace experts knew he wouldn’t brazenly storm into the Emperor Palace; he would likely assassinate in secret.

Thus, after deliberation, the Emperor Palace experts sprinkled this toxic medicine powder over all the large trees, and if not closely examined, it would be unnoticed, likely catching one off guard.

Unfortunately, neither Yu Baicang nor Fan Yulin knew much about the Emperor Palace Hunter; they didn’t even know his name, let alone his techniques.

Situ Nan was certainly not a Meridian Refining Master, but he had thoroughly researched the Wood attribute. He noticed the peculiarity of the large trees instantly, naturally avoiding easy contact.

Situ Nan didn’t know that this was merely the first obstacle set by the Emperor Palace for him; the likes of Yu Baicang and Fan Yulin had expended considerable effort to await this Emperor Palace Hunter.

Since those large trees couldn’t be touched, Situ Nan could only descend. Fortunately, the ground was free of poison. Compared to flying in the air and quickly exposing his target, his purpose in coming during the Dark Night was indeed to assassinate a few secretly first.

"Supervisor Yu Baicang of Red Rock City Emperor Palace should also be a Half-step Holy Rank expert, it’s better to target other people first!"

In Situ Nan’s mind, he was processing the information about the cultivators of Red Rock City Emperor Palace he obtained outside, without intending to immediately seek out the Supervisor who was also Half-step Holy Rank.

Even though Situ Nan was not afraid to face those Half-step Holy Rank cultivators alone, this Red Rock City was clearly prepared. If Yu Baicang held him up, unexpected changes might occur.

The Emperor Palace of Canglong is vast and influential; losing one or two Supervisors doesn’t mean much. But Situ Nan’s life is critically important because if he dies, the revival of the Situ Family would be hopeless.

Whoosh!

Situ Nan stealthily moved deeper into the Emperor Palace, navigating past a large array of buildings within moments, noticing a glimmer of light in one particular courtyard.

"If I remember correctly, this should be the residence of Second Elder Cai Yong of the Emperor Palace!"

It seems that Situ Nan indeed inquired carefully about the experts in Red Rock City’s Emperor Palace and, upon seeing the courtyard’s appearance, he had a suspicion.

"It is said that Cai Yong is a cultivator at the peak of the Heavenly Realm, let’s try my hand at him first!"

Since he was already there, Situ Nan wasn’t one to be indecisive. As a Half-step Holy Rank expert, he believed that if he attacked Cai Yong, he had a good chance of achieving a decisive victory.

It must be said that the elders of Red Rock City Emperor Palace were somewhat stronger than those at Murong City Emperor Palace, at least the strength of this Second Elder Cai Yong was much superior to Yue Qizhai.

Situ Nan was courageous and confident, and acted immediately. With a gentle leap, he was already inside the courtyard, seeing a flickering flame from the main house, a flash of killing intent appeared in his eyes.

Situ Nan had no pity for these cultivators of the Emperor Palace. Back then, the Emperor Palace of Canglong exterminated the Situ family without sparing even a single cat or dog.

Now, Situ Nan returned the same approach to these cultivators, hunting them in the Northeast Territory, which was just his first step.

Whoosh!

Situ Nan moved with remarkable speed and in moments he emerged before the main house, finding the door was ajar, he gently pushed it open and entered cautiously.

At this moment, Situ Nan had no hesitation. As he pushed the door and entered, he was slightly taken aback.

Inside the room, an old figure sat by the table holding a scroll of ancient book, with an oil lamp emitting a faint yellow glow that seemed ready to flicker out at any moment.

"You’ve arrived!"

When the door opened, the reader finally turned back, placing the ancient book onto the table, his voice lightly questioned, which made Situ Nan suddenly have a peculiar feeling.

"Are you Cai Yong?"

Situ Nan naturally hadn’t met the cultivators of Red Rock City Emperor Palace, though feeling strange, he opened his mouth to ask, but didn’t take immediate action after questioning.

"Cai Yong?"

Upon hearing this, the man was slightly stunned, then shook his head, pointed at a specific spot, saying, "That one over there is the Second Elder Cai Yong of the Emperor Palace, my surname is Fan, named Fan Yulin, a Steward of the Inspection Hall of the Canglong Emperor Palace Headquarters!"

Following the direction of the man’s finger, Situ Nan discovered another figure in the corner, yet the expression on the person’s face was peculiar.

The old face mixed with shock and excitement, eyes fixed firmly on Situ Nan, seemed to hold some reverence for the speaker, keeping silent in the corner.

"Steward of the Inspection Hall of Emperor Palace Headquarters?!"

But Situ Nan’s gaze just flashed over Cai Yong briefly, then realized the extremely serious problem, knowing that he might truly have walked straight into a trap.

An Emperor Palace Headquarters Steward of the Inspection Hall lying in wait at midnight for him, it’s impossible there wasn’t prior preparation.

Having annihilated three major Emperor Palaces, Situ Nan naturally knows that a Steward from Emperor Palace Headquarters had strength likely surpassing that of the local Supervisors.

Confronting such an expert, whether his Half-step Holy Rank cultivation could escape and live, was still uncertain.