Azure Heaven Saber
Chapter 984 - 984 8 The Emperors Heart_3

Chapter 984: Chapter 8: The Emperor’s Heart_3 Chapter 984: Chapter 8: The Emperor’s Heart_3 Feng Yin quickly stowed away the imperial jade pendant.

“Truly worthy of being an object that represents the sovereign of a nation, this aura…”

Jiang Changhai also wiped away his sweat.

During the recent audience with the Qin Emperor, the emperor had been approachable and amiable from beginning to end, never once displaying the imposing aura of a superior, always kind and in high spirits.

Yet at this moment, with the help of the jade pendant, everyone had truly witnessed the emperor’s breathtaking authority, akin to swallowing mountains and rivers with his spirit.

“This must be the Dragon Pendant of Qin country’s national fortune!”

Dong Tiesong said with some envy, “With this jade pendant in hand, no matter where you go, just by showing it, you’ll receive treatment akin to that of the king himself. The civil and military officials of Qin, regardless of their royal kinship, and the Great Marshals who command armies, will have to bow and obey upon your presenting this jade pendant!”

“It is as if the emperor himself were present, and that’s no mere saying!”

“In other words, with this jade pendant in hand, in a certain sense, you are the Qin Emperor!”

“The magnanimity of His Majesty the Qin Emperor… Isn’t this akin to creating another sovereign out in the world!”

“And this thing doesn’t have a limited number of uses or an expiration time, which is much more powerful than any ceremonial sword or the like.”

The more Dong Tiesong thought about it, the more puzzled he became, “As an emperor of great talent and grand strategy, why would he give away such an object? Doesn’t he fear it would bring trouble to himself?”

But Feng Yin could only offer a wry smile.

You don’t understand, but I understand all too well.

The reason the Qin Emperor could be so magnanimous was because he had personally experienced the effectiveness of Feng Yin’s help in cultivating his meridians. As the emperor with deep ambitions and aspirations for the world, it was only natural to give away the jade pendant. This intention, Feng Yin understood clearly.

Contrary to what Dong Tiesong thought.

The Qin Emperor dared to give away the jade pendant because he was genuinely full of grandeur and strategy!

To use a jade pendant that represents the pinnacle of power to offset his own debt of gratitude was prudent.

In doing so, should there ever be a need for my help again… even based on my self-interest, I would still lend a hand; secondly, it more firmly locks me into Great Qin, eliminating any chance of withdrawal.

And the third, perhaps most important point, is that if my technique could be repeatedly used, it would surely considerably increase his lifespan, promising longevity. Regardless of how sincerely and elegantly the Qin Emperor spoke before, if there was an opportunity for enduring life, naturally, one would choose to live long and prosper!

As for allowing Feng Yin to use the jade pendant to supervise the whole world…

For the Qin Emperor, this was a minor issue, even something he would be pleased to see happen. With only benefits and no drawbacks, why wouldn’t he choose this path?

Even if I misused it for evil deeds, the Qin Emperor would merely need to retrieve the imperial authority within the pendant with the Jade Seal, immediately reverting it to its original form, and it would become impossible to use again.

If it’s legitimate, just add a decree stating that someone stole a treasure of Qin, and it’s natural that I would once again become Qin’s most wanted criminal.

“Worthy of the Qin Emperor, making swift decisions to seize all the advantages!”

Feng Yin truly felt admiration, his actions merely a parting token of enlightenment, a moment of fate, a modest homage to the Dragon Ancestor, an attempt to compensate for the regret of the Dragon Ancestor’s inability to live long.

And in that brief encounter, the Qin Emperor immediately decided to gift the jade pendant, guiding the situation to a more advantageous direction for himself.

This decisiveness, this boldness.

In Feng Yin’s eyes, was indeed peerless throughout the ages, a one-of-a-kind emperor!

After all, this was only their first meeting!

“How I wish you were just a character with the ‘reverse’ radical added to it,” Feng Yin muttered to himself.

Perhaps the Qin Emperor himself did not know what effects his jade pendant would have in the hands of a Heavenly Judgment assassin.

This was truly an act of patrolling the world in place of Heaven, a veritable Dark Night King!

…

Afterward, the group continued on their journey. They neither deliberately slowed down nor sped up, racing along the road leading out of the capital, heading straight toward Black Rock Mountain.

And just after turning a bend, the terrain ahead became clear, and our formation changed accordingly—

Dong Tiesong led the way, with Jiang Changhai covering the rear, accompanied by over a dozen masters from the Heavenly Sword Cloud Palace. Feng Yin and Dong Xiaoyan were in the middle, proceeding cautiously into the canyon with a heightened alertness at 120 percent.

Suddenly, a streak of light and shadow from above the canyon, bathed in sunlight, approached with incredible speed, as if invisible and silent throughout its flight, reaching the group in a mere flash.

Almost at the same time—

Feng Yin felt an alarm go off in his mind, grabbed Dong Xiaoyan, and the two instantly switched positions. As they exchanged places, as if by telepathy, they both exerted force to generate a floating energy that, while borrowing strength from one another, formed a protective barrier.

Then Dong Tiesong’s roar thundered: “Enemy attack!!”

A muffled grunt followed as one of the Heavenly Sword Cloud Palace’s Cloud Top masters behind Feng Yin and Dong Xiaoyan was sprayed with blood.

Although Feng Yin and Dong Xiaoyan had activated their protective shield in the nick of time, which then expanded to weave a defensive net, the assailant who had launched the hidden weapon was so profoundly skilled that he pierced right through the shield, striking the Cloud Palace master’s left shoulder at a slightly skewed angle.

Blood splattered instantly!

But what was even more shocking was that the bright red blood turned purple-black the moment it splattered!

“It’s extremely poisonous! Be careful!”

The Cloud Palace master shouted as he yanked the hidden weapon from his wound, then immediately sealed his meridians and swallowed an antidote pill. However, upon tearing open his clothing and looking down, he saw his entire chest was already black.

Despair showed on his face.

The Cloud Palace’s antidotes were not the best in the world, but they were considered exceptional and far superior to ordinary antidotes available on the market.

But even after immediately removing the hidden weapon, sealing his meridians, and taking the antidote, to still be poisoned to such an extent indicated that the toxin was not only extremely potent and acted with incredible speed, but also that it might be a special poison targeted at cultivators.

It was already spreading to his heart.

He couldn’t help but feel utterly hopeless.

He had never thought that after a lifetime of roaming the martial world, he would meet an inexplicable death here…

“I’m done for… Protect the young ones of the Palace…”

Before he could finish speaking, the man froze as he saw Feng Yin flick his hand, and a small snake quietly lay on his wound.

Uncertain of its purpose, he nearly instinctively wanted to swat it away when the small snake opened its mouth and sucked…

The purple-black toxin that had darkened the wound visibly diminished; in the blink of an eye, the blackness had completely disappeared.

The snake then vanished in a flash.

Blood still flowed from the wound, but it had returned to a normal deep red.

“Holy shit…”

The eyes of the Cloud Palace master nearly popped out.

What was that?

As he pondered this, he heard a whisper in his ear: “Pretend to be poisoned, fall down, don’t move, and wait for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.”

This Cloud Palace master was an old hand in the jianghu; he understood the hint immediately and collapsed straight onto the ground, crying out one last time, “Avenge… me…”

After twitching a few times, he lay still.

Man, what an actor…

Feng Yin internally exclaimed in amazement.

He was utterly impressed.

……

[A few hundred words are missing, not because there are none, but because adding those feels disjointed with what follows… Will add a thousand tomorrow.]