The blood-red sword light was like the rising sun or a rainbow piercing the sun. For a moment, it seemed as if the dark night sky was brightened.
This is the soul-refining sword technique that made Jian Zexian famous. Only by having the belief that you are invincible and can you display the most dazzling edge.
"Come on!" Yan Shenji shouted, his eyes wide open:
"For a person like you, I should use the same skills that made me unrivaled in the world to send you off with great fanfare."
"Four Extremes Sky-Opening Sword!"
Of course, there are more than just the Changsheng Fist in the world of transcendent martial arts. Yan Shenji only practiced the ripple wave force to the third level, but he also has his own Huangji Zhengong.
Yan Shenji stepped forward with both feet, and the sword was suddenly lifted up. The surging dark yellow energy coiled on the sword like a dragon and broke through the air.
With a loud bang, the roof of the Golden Throne Hall collapsed and shattered, and the torrent of air blew the glazed tiles up into the sky.
Above the clouds.
Taoist Qingyi, who had been watching the battle calmly, suddenly frowned. He stretched out his hand, and a paper man floated out from his sleeve, turning into his appearance and standing in the sky.
The next moment, Elder Qingyi turned into a rainbow of light and flew away into the sky.
The fight between these two mortal warriors really surprised him. Although the distance of the internal energy was very short and the affected area was not wide, it was impossible to threaten him who was far away in the sky.
But he did not forget that Yan Shenji still had a sword called the Human King in his hand that could consume the country's fortune and forcibly deprive the immortal monks of their ability to fly in the air.
In other words... Elder Qingyi already felt threatened by Yan Shen Ji holding the Human King Sword. How could he still sit on the other side of the river and watch the fire from the other side as he did before
Elder Qingyi, as a Nascent Soul elder, ran away. Although the other Jindan and Foundation Establishment cultivators were not quite sure what happened, they followed suit and flew away.
There were only a few paper Taoists left in the sky above the imperial palace, and the place seemed a bit deserted for a moment.
.
In the Golden Palace.
Yan Shenji looked down and saw that the knuckles of his hands were cracked and bloody.
He slowly put away the Human King Sword, raised his head through the hole in the roof of the temple, and looked at the night sky.
At this time, the rolling gray clouds in the night sky had dispersed a lot, and the faint moonlight broke through the clouds and fell right on the tattered body of Qiao Shuangzhai in the Golden Palace.
The corpse was still standing upright, but there was no sound at all.
"The second immortal person in the world was eventually killed by me." Yan Shenji's eyes were dim.
When people get old, they always become sentimental and easily have various distracting thoughts.
He had lived too long, and had watched his former comrades who had fought with him for the throne grow old and die, the beauty in his arms also grew old and passed away, and finally even his own princes died, leaving him alone on the path to immortality.
Qiao Shuangzhao was the second immortal he had seen in the past three hundred years. He should have been born in the same era as him, but they had different positions and one of them would die while the other would live.
But now Qiao Shuangzhao is also dead, and there are no other immortals in the world.
After all, he is the only one who can achieve immortality in this mortal world.
As for the immortal cultivators
There is a difference between immortals and mortals. Immortal cultivators do not regard mortals as their own kind, so Yan Shenji naturally will not regard the immortal aliens as his compatriots.
A sudden shout interrupted Yan Shenji's brief distraction.
"Ancestor..." At this time, a slightly panicked voice came from the distance of the hall, and the voice echoed in the empty hall.
The person who called him was Emperor Yonghe.
At this moment, Emperor Yonghe had a knife pressed against his neck by Hai Siyuan, and had successfully broken through the Feiyuwei's defense line.
Although Qiao Mu had died in the battle, the little time he bought in front of Yan Shen Ji also allowed the old soldiers to succeed.
But at this moment, Hai Siyuan did not show much excitement on his face, only a faint sense of confusion and emptiness.
Another member of the Qiao family died in front of them.
It was Qiao Shuangzhao who made them think of holding the emperor hostage. Now Qiao Shuangzhao is dead. Although the emperor is in their hands, they have ultimately failed.
Yan Shenji turned his head to look at Emperor Yonghe and Hai Siyuan who was holding a knife beside him.
He was 100% sure of killing Hai Siyuan and others. Once Qiao Shuangzhai died, no one in the palace could compete with him.
But with his strength, he only has a 50% to 60% chance of controlling Hai Siyuan and others at such a distance without hurting Emperor Yonghe.
But when he raised his sword and was about to strike, he hesitated in his heart.
He used his super-limited martial arts to take on Qiao Shuangzhao's Heaven-Slaying Sword Technique.
But he didn't respond to Qiao Shuangzhao's questions before he died.
When he was a young man, he once broke into the palace with a sword to assassinate someone, but he was not alone, and there were many kind-hearted and patriotic people following him.
Some of those patriots died in the palace, some followed him all the way to the end of the journey, were crowned kings and given titles, and then turned into a handful of earth.
This situation made him feel a little dazed, as if he was dreaming back to the past...
"The Yan soldiers who defended the frontier in the past took up their swords and stabbed the emperor... The decadent atmosphere of the last days of the dynasty is so strong."
Qiao Shuangzhao is dead.
But his death caused Yan Shenji to have unnecessary hesitations.
All the cherishment of talent and all the reluctance are nothing more than the elders seeing their own shadows in the younger generations.
And the same is true today.
The assassin with a knife, the blood-stained palace, and the emperor sitting high above, all happened just like three hundred years ago.
"Think about it carefully. Every choice has a price." Yan Shenji did not make a move in the end, but said:
"Choose to raise the knife, blood will splatter in two steps, and the whole world will be in mourning. And I will support a new king... The price of regicide is the lives of all of you."
"Choose to lay down the knife, take Qiao Shuangzhao's body away and bury it properly, and I will clear your name and keep you safe."
Yan Shenji handed the choice back to Hai Siyuan.
Hai Siyuan was silent.
The rest of the veterans also looked at him. At this moment, with just a simple exchange of glances, they already understood each other's thoughts.
Qiao Shuangzhao is dead, and the motive that supports them in holding the emperor hostage is gone.
So, the next step is to take the emperor hostage or assassinate him, which depends on their single decision.
"Your Majesty, I have a few questions to ask you." Hai Siyuan suddenly said:
"I am just an old soldier, I don't understand too many twists and turns, today I just hope that Your Majesty can clear up my confusion."
"If this puzzle can be solved, it is not impossible for me to surrender."
Emperor Yonghe did not respond immediately, but looked at Yan Shenji, who nodded slightly:
"He will answer truthfully."
These few words made Emperor Yonghe's heart skip a beat. He keenly noticed that the attitude of his ancestor Yan Shenji seemed to have changed slightly
"Your Majesty." Hai Siyuan asked:
"We have been soldiers of the Great Yan for our entire lives. We have defended the isolated city for forty years without retreating or giving up an inch of land. We have lived up to the Great Yan and the emperor's grace."
"Qiao Shui and I once entered this Golden Palace and asked Your Majesty if he felt guilty... At that time, Your Majesty replied that he felt guilty."
"Today I want to ask, if Your Majesty knew about the lonely city in the desert in advance like the Qiao family, would you send reinforcements to try to rescue the soldiers and civilians trapped in the desert for forty years?"
Hai Siyuan's voice echoed in the Golden Palace for a long time.
Emperor Yonghe frowned, looked at Yan Shenji in the distance, and pondered for a moment before speaking:
"Although I feel guilty, I will not send reinforcements."
Hai Siyuan pressed down slightly with the hand holding the hilt of the knife, and the blade cut the skin on Emperor Yonghe's neck, and some blood oozed out.
Emperor Yonghe's voice became a little more anxious:
"The enemy is strong and we are weak. If I send reinforcements and start a dispute with the Immortal Sect, how many lives will be lost?"
"For the sake of the greater good and the people of the world, I will not send reinforcements. Although I feel guilty, the soldiers and civilians in the desert are necessary sacrifices."
Hai Siyuan remained silent, and the other three hundred veteran soldiers looked a little cold.
These soldiers who have defended the city for forty years are not afraid of sacrifice, but they just need to see why they sacrifice themselves.
No one would be willing to be a victim of the overall situation as described by Emperor Yonghe... However, the gap between immortals and mortals is huge. Although Emperor Yonghe's statement is chilling, it can be considered a reason.
Hai Siyuan asked again: "Since Your Majesty is so far-sighted, what has Your Majesty done over the years?"
Emperor Yonghe was speechless for a moment. After careful thought, he said:
"For the past forty years of the alien war, I have been working hard every day to preserve the survival of the dynasty. I have measured the material resources of my dynasty and have been walking on thin ice with the nine major immortal sects, struggling to maintain a fragile peace for forty years."
Hai Siyuan took two deep breaths, calmed down a little, and asked again:
"Your Majesty is truly far-sighted and ambitious. I just want to ask one more question..."
"Besides maintaining the relationship between immortals and mortals, does Your Majesty have any other tricks to fight back?"
When he said this, Emperor Yonghe straightened his chest slightly:
"A sword that represents the destiny of the dynasty makes the immortal sects fear it."
"Secretly support the immortal ancestors in the royal family in the hope of the future."
Yan Shenji narrowed his eyes slightly.
He knew very well that both the Human King Sword and the Great Yan Taizu were beyond the expectations of Emperor Yonghe and were variables outside the plan.
Upon hearing this, Yan Shenji understood in his heart that as a descendant, he actually didn't have any good solution. He could only use the tactic of procrastination and try his best to maintain the survival of the Great Yan Dynasty, hoping that future emperors would be able to turn defeat into victory.
Hai Siyuan's breathing became slightly rapid, and he said faintly:
"Over the past forty years, thanks to the forty years of peace maintained by Your Majesty, taxes in all parts of the Nine Provinces have become heavier. If Your Majesty really cares about the world, why did you let the people suffer?"
Although he had only been out of the desert for a few months, he had eyes and could naturally see the current situation of Zhongzhou and Dayan.
Emperor Yonghe said: "Of course I know that the taxes have been increasing over the years and the people have had a hard time, but what other choice do I have? It is not the right time to make an enemy of the Immortal Sect. If we make an enemy of the Immortal Sect, we will be doomed forever and the land of the Nine Provinces will be submerged."
"I can only let the people suffer first... I will bear the infamy that the people have towards me." Emperor Yonghe said in a deep voice:
"Thousands of years later, when the world turns around, my merits and demerits will naturally be judged by future generations."
The sword in Hai Siyuan's hand shook, and he seemed a little dazed.
By this point in the question, he had understood.
He just felt a chill in his teeth and said calmly:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for clearing up my confusion. It has helped an old soldier who only knows how to fight on the battlefield to resolve my confusion."
"In short, all the sacrifices your majesty has made at the moment are for the sake of the overall situation. They are necessary sacrifices that will benefit future generations."
"And your Majesty's merits and demerits cannot be determined until future generations blow the horn of counterattack thousands of years later?"
The mistakes that Emperor Yonghe is making now cannot be called mistakes, but necessary sacrifices for the overall situation.
People today cannot judge him, we have to wait and see hundreds of years later.
In the mind of Emperor Yonghe, he has his own set of self-consistent and logical statements that have supported him to this day.
He really didn't lie.
He really felt that he was not wrong.
The more disappointed the old soldiers were in him and the more the people insulted him, the more self-intoxicated Emperor Yonghe became. After all, he dared to bear the infamy.
Everything is part of the plan.
Hai Siyuan felt confused at this moment. He began to doubt whether the emperor would still think he was not wrong and still be immersed in his own self-consistent theory if he stabbed him to death with a knife.
If that were the case, wouldn't it be an easy win for him if he stabbed Emperor Yonghe to death
As a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for half his life, Hai Siyuan had no idea how to deal with the Yonghe Emperor in front of him. He only felt that he was invulnerable, making him feel like he had no place to use his strength, and his punch with all his strength hit a piece of cotton.
At this time, an old voice was heard again in the Golden Palace.
The sea has no boundaries.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say." Hai Wuya opened his cloudy old eyes and looked directly at the king:
"If Your Majesty is truly prepared to bear the stigma of being a tyrant, and if Your Majesty's actions are truly for the greater good..."
"The Great Yan Dynasty is now in a precarious situation."