Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1402 - 1402 0795 Chaotic Capital_2

Chapter 1402: Chapter 0795: Chaotic Capital_2 Chapter 1402: Chapter 0795: Chaotic Capital_2 All these cultivators were merely at the Foundation Establishment Stage, but Gao Jinmei was in the Gold Core Realm. Moreover, during the time in the Imperial Family Secret Territory, Gao Jinmei had also gained considerable benefits, with both her realm and combat power significantly enhanced. Although there were many of these cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage, they were far from enough for Gao Jinmei to kill. After just one confrontation, these cultivators fell to the pair of daggers in Gao Jinmei’s hands.

As Gao Jinmei killed faster and faster, within a mere ten-odd seconds, the several dozen Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators who had charged over all fell into pools of blood. Either they had not managed to launch any attack at all, or their attacks were easily dodged by Gao Jinmei. Their deaths, aside from causing Gao Jinmei to breathe slightly heavier, did not inflict any injury on her at all.

The slaughter in front of the royal palace’s main hall quickly alarmed other cultivators. These people, whether from inside the main hall or other places, rushed out and surrounded Gao Jinmei and Qi Tian.

Among the Gold Core Stage cultivators presiding in the main hall, one of them also walked out. This person was dressed in the long robe of a scholar, exuding a refined and graceful temperament that was very easy to endear. However, Qi Tian felt a most unusual surge of Spirit Force from this man—a force filled with malevolence, unlike the upright and righteous aura typical of most scholars.

“Who goes there? Why have you come to the palace to kill?” The scholar who came out reprimanded Gao Jinmei with an authoritative and inviolable tone.

Qi Tian did not want to waste more time. Not willing to engage in idle chatter with the scholar, he waved his hand, and a black heart appeared in his palm. The moment it appeared, the black heart gave a fierce throb, and immediately an overwhelming spiritual oppression burst forth, sweeping across every direction.

The seemingly inconsequential throb of the black heart, however, was immensely powerful. All the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators who came into contact with this spiritual oppression had their hearts burst and bled from their seven orifices to death. The scholar and the other Gold Core Stage cultivators sitting in the main hall felt their sea of consciousness suffer a heavy blow, immediately becoming listless, with the most affected clutching their heads, wailing in agony.

Qi Tian gave Gao Jinmei a look, signaling her to take control of the few remaining Gold Core Stage cultivators who had not died. Then he calmly walked into the main hall and saw the child emanating the unique Spirit Qi fluctuation that was familiar to Qi Tian. The child was none other than Prince Zhao’s son, Zhao Song.

Upon seeing Zhao Song for the first time, Qi Tian could hardly believe his own eyes, for Zhao Song was dressed in yellow robes and wearing a purple-gold crown—clearly the attire of the Great Zhao Emperor. When had his nominally recognized disciple become the emperor of the Great Zhao Nation? How was he unaware of this? If Zhao Song was the emperor, where was Zhao Song’s father? Where was the prince?

Zhao Song’s gaze was dull, and his eyes were extremely abnormal—vacant, without any vivacity. Qi Tian’s heart dropped at that moment, a grave premonition arising, but he still held onto a sliver of hope and called out to Zhao Song, “Your Master is here, why don’t you come over to greet me?”

Zhao Song remained absently seated in place, not moving an inch; he did not even turn his head to glance at Qi Tian, just sitting motionless, as if he had lost his mind.

Qi Tian’s heart felt as if it had sunk into an abyss. He hurriedly stepped forward a few paces, grasped Zhao Song’s wrist, and began to examine his condition. To his dismay, Qi Tian discovered that Zhao Song was now a living dead person. Of course, this living dead person was not the same as the ones Qi Tian had encountered in the Imperial Family Secret Territory. Zhao Song’s state more closely resembled a controlled living puppet, maneuvered by someone else’s will, forced to do whatever he was bid, utterly devoid of his volition.

Qi Tian’s eyes immediately reddened with anger. Zhao Song’s condition left no doubt—Prince Zhao must have already been killed. Not only had Prince Zhao met his demise, but also, in an effort to ensure Prince Zhao’s safety, Qi Tian had successively sent several people to his side. Now, none of them remained; it was likely that they had all perished alongside Prince Zhao.

Fury raged within Qi Tian. As a member of the Great Zhao Nation, he held a certain sentiment toward the royal family of Great Zhao. In particular, his relationship with Prince Zhao and his son was inseparable. Yet, barely a year had passed since he had left them, and now, Prince Zhao and his son had met their tragic end—an event Qi Tian had never even dared to contemplate, but which had now occurred right before his eyes.

Without hesitation, Qi Tian dragged the Gold Core Realm cultivators who had just been captured before him. In front of these cultivators, he summoned the Ghost Face and appointed it as the chief interrogator. The cultivators were to be questioned by the Ghost Face, and if they cooperated and answered his queries willingly, well and good. If they resisted, then it would be their moment of trial—Qi Tian would order the Ghost Eye to pounce on them, gnawing at their flesh and blood, biting off their fingers and toes, or even directly devouring their souls.

Such torture was even more excruciating than death by a thousand cuts. Initially, the Gold Core Realm cultivators were defiant, but after experiencing Qi Tian’s methods, they wilted and were utterly terrified. None dared to talk back to Qi Tian. For the sake of a swift and painless death, they answered whatever Qi Tian asked, without the slightest deviation.

Afterwards, Qi Tian obtained all the intelligence he sought—exactly as he had surmised. Prince Zhao and his son had indeed been slain. Those cultivators assigned to protect Prince Zhao had all died in battle, without a single survivor. Although Zhao Song had narrowly escaped death, his soul had been wiped clean of all consciousness by an extremely clever method. He had been turned into a puppet bound to do as commanded and placed on the throne of the Great Zhao Nation. The conspirators controlled Zhao Song and exploited his position to usurp the authority of the entire nation, to bleed the people of Great Zhao dry and to plunder its resources.

The reason for all this havoc was indeed related to Qi Tian. Initially, when Qi Tian chose to support Prince Zhao and led the troops from the south to the north, storming into the Capital City, Emperor Tian Rui’s eldest prince, who was the emperor’s personally chosen successor, naturally refused to stand by as power slipped away from him. However, after failing to stop Qi Tian with various methods, the eldest prince, driven to desperation, placed a bounty within the Cultivation World. He advertised rewards for cultivators outside the Great Zhao Nation to come and kill Qi Tian.

As soon as the eldest prince’s announcement was issued, foreign cultivators continuously arrived in the Great Zhao Nation, including Gao Jinmei, Zhao Haiying, and Liao Chongru, all of whom were swayed by the eldest prince.

Gao Jinmei and Zhao Haiying had arrived earlier, and either were killed by Qi Tian or captured alive to become his Immortal Slaves. However, many other cultivators arrived later than Gao Jinmei and Zhao Haiying. By the time they reached the Great Zhao Nation, Qi Tian had already taken Gao Jinmei and the others to the Imperial Family Secret Territory. Unable to locate Qi Tian, and still eager to claim the rewards promised by the eldest prince, these cultivators turned their attention to the new emperor of Great Zhao Nation, Prince Zhao.

Although Qi Tian had considered the safety of Prince Zhao and appointed several cultivators to his side—including those from the Gold Core Realm—the overwhelming number of foreign cultivators eventually proved insurmountable. At first, these outsiders were wary, but as their numbers grew and they began to call upon friends to join, Prince Zhao’s position became exceedingly vulnerable. Unable to control the situation, Prince Zhao and his protectors were defeated and killed in a clash, plunging the Great Zhao Nation into utter chaos.