Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Hehe, why not capture this guy and ask to find out the truth?”

Yun Xiao’s face bore a hint of a smile, and his words made the figure of the person who had invaded the sleeping quarters tremble slightly, eyes darting around as if assessing an escape route.

”Hmph, I want to see just what kind of demon or ghoul has the audacity to kill my son!”

With certain thoughts swirling in his mind, Xuan Haoran coldly shouted. The intruder was wearing a black cloth over their face, making it impossible to discern their features. However, from the surprise in their voice just now, he had already guessed some of the truth; he only sought to confirm his suspicions completely.

The strength of a king is unquestionable. When Xuan Haoran pounced fiercely toward the uninvited guest, even Yun Xiao felt a sudden rush of breath, inwardly remarking that this king’s strength might be even greater than that of the Sect Master Yu Shu of the Jade Pot Sect.

Bang!

With such swift speed, the intruder had no time to dodge and could only take the hit head-on. This strike made both parties take a step back, causing both Xuan Haoran and the empress’s expressions to change slightly.

One must understand that Xuan Haoran had been alive for nearly two hundred years. Although he was old and his vitality waning, his cultivation was definitely one of the top two in the entire Xuanyue Empire.

Now, there was a person of unknown origin who could fight on par with Xuan Haoran, which was truly shocking. Within the Xuanyue Empire, such individuals were either reclusive old monsters or the Sect Masters of the Big Three Sects. And why would such a person come to provoke the Xuanyue Imperial Family?

Thinking of this, Xuan Haoran’s speculation in his heart became even more convinced. However, after one strike, he knew that if he wanted to detain this person, it would be impossible without revealing some of his trump cards.

”Hehe, what a Xuanyue Country’s king, that’s all there is to it!”

The night attacker, stabilizing his aura, let out a cold laugh from beneath the black cloth. But the very next moment, his expression changed subtly, for he felt a dangerous aura emanating from not far away - from King Xuan Haoran.

”Damn, bringing out the big guns so soon, I’m done playing with you!”

Perhaps sensing a whiff of an extremely threatening aura, the night attacker cursed under his breath and then abruptly turned around, attempting to flee through the window he had broken earlier.

”This is the Xuanyue Imperial Family, you scoundrel. You can’t just come and go as you please!”

Watching the scene, Xuan Haoran’s expression remained the same, even becoming slightly more solemn and austere. He changed the seal with his hand, and a white holy light erupted from his body, appearing both eerie and majestic.

”Xuantian Divine Light, bless my Xuanyue!”

A deep chant emerged from Xuan Haoran, and the white light around him seemed to brighten a few degrees at that moment. It gathered in front of him and then fiercely shot towards the back of the night attacker.

Whoosh!

The pale beam of light moved with incredible speed, reaching the night attacker’s vital spot in the blink of an eye. If he didn’t dodge, Yun Xiao believed the light beam would shoot through and leave a clear hole.

Ultimately, the night attacker was also a Peak Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse. Sensing the aura behind him, he knew that insisting on escaping first could result in grave injury from this strike, leaving him at the mercy of others.

Thus, the night attacker made a decisive choice. As he flew straight forwards, he twisted in mid-air. The white light beam, which seemed destined to miss his right side by inches, would no longer harm him in the slightest.

However, what neither the night attacker nor Yun Xiao saw was that as the former dodged, the seal in Xuan Haoran’s hand had already silently changed, as if sensing the attacker’s movements, the white light beam also changed direction at that moment.

Swish!

This time, the white beam of light abruptly shifted from straight to diagonally upward, whizzing past the night attacker’s ear with the force of a thunderbolt, almost penetrating his head like a death-dealing ray of light.

”Not good!”

However, before the night attacker could rejoice at his narrow escape from death, when he suddenly felt a chill on his face, it was already too late to act, because the black cloth covering his face was pierced by the white light in that strike, falling down to reveal an old, familiar face.

”Ran Xing, it’s really you!”

Yun Xiao, who had been closely watching the fight, with his keen eyesight and partially recovered Power of Soul, recognized the elder’s identity in an instant; it was none other than Ran Xing, the Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refining Master who had been with Xuan Jiuding during the day!

Hearing Yun Xiao’s shout, and seeing that familiar old face, Xuan Haoran’s body trembled slightly, as if he could hardly stand steady.

Xuan Haoran wasn’t alarmed by Ran Xing’s presence; he had speculated something when he made his move earlier, but now that his speculation had come true, he found it hard to accept.

As for this, possibly the only Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refining Master in the Xuanyue Empire, Xuan Haoran had never seen him before, nor had he heard the name Ran Xing. And yet, upon his arrival, he was in the company of Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding.

The reason Xuan Haoran couldn’t accept it was because Ran Xing’s intervention must have involved Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding, and it could even have been instigated by the prince.

Xuan Jing and Xuan Jiuding were brothers from the same father but different mothers. Xuan Haoran couldn’t figure out why Xuan Jiuding would want to harm his own brother, especially with such a fierce move.

Previously, Xuan Haoran refused to believe that Xuan Jiuding could be so cruel, but now, upon seeing Ran Xing, certain things became undeniable. After piecing everything together, it all seemed incredibly suspicious.

A disease that baffled all the Meridian Refining Masters in the entire empire, a national treasure that appeared suddenly in the prince’s chamber, plus an assassination attempt by Ran Xing in the dead of night, all of these things indicated Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding’s involvement.

Whoosh!

And just as Xuan Haoran staggered slightly, momentarily losing focus, Ran Xing left without a word, slipping out through the shattered window and disappearing into the night.

However, before he vanished, Ran Xing gave ”Bo Ku” a lingering look with an indifferent expression. He wanted to remember that face because he knew that his failed assassination attempt and the exposure of his identity might have been due to this man’s scheming.

Ran Xing harbored grand ambitions, and all of this relied on Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding, who might become the king of Xuanyue Country. Now that his identity had been exposed, not only could he no longer stay in the Xuanyue Royal Family, but it was likely that even Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding would be implicated. This was an enormous loss indeed.

Neither Xuan Jiuding nor Ran Xing could understand how Bo Ku had anticipated their nighttime assassination, preparing Xuan Haoran in advance. Such intellect was truly terrifying.

Regardless, the assassination plan of Xuan Jiuding and Ran Xing had been foiled by the appearance of Xuan Haoran, and Ran Xing’s exposure could trigger a great upheaval.

”Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding, come to me at once!”

The disappearance of Ran Xing finally brought Xuan Haoran back to his senses. At this moment, he didn’t immediately rise to pursue, but instead channeled his Meridian Qi, causing the entire Imperial Palace to echo with his furious shouts of ”Come here... come here.”

...

Such a voice, audible for miles, instantly disrupted the tranquility of the entire Xuanyue Royal Family, as they all were familiar with this majestic voice—it belonged to the current King.

And because of this, everyone sensed a great disaster brewing. Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding was the future successor, a shining figure meant to take over from the King of Xuanyue Country. But hearing the King’s tone, which was filled with rage, what in the world had the Crown Prince done to anger the king?

In an extremely lavish bedroom, a woman of noble and luxurious appearance, but with somewhat sleepy eyes, suddenly sat up from her bed. She too had heard the roar of rage, her expression fluctuating uncertainly.

”What has happened to my son to provoke such fury from His Majesty?”

Murmurs left the lips of the noble woman, and at the next moment, she called out loudly, ”Servants, dress me!”

...

Ignoring the fact that Xuan Haoran’s shout with Meridian Qi had prevented any rest in the palace for the night, a somewhat disheveled figure pushed open the door and entered from outside Xuan Jing’s bedroom.

”Greetings to my father. May I ask why you have summoned your son?”

The one who entered was naturally Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding. At this moment, he appeared sincerely anxious, which led Xuan Haoran to momentarily wonder whether this youngster was truly oblivious to the day’s events.

But in the next moment, Xuan Haoran set aside those thoughts and sternly shouted, ”Have you the face to ask me what is the matter? I ask you, was it your doing to have Ran Xing attack this chamber tonight to assassinate Jing’er and Mr. Bo Ku?”

”Ah, an attack on the chamber? An assassination attempt on my younger brother?”

Upon hearing this, Xuan Jiuding’s body trembled sharply. His head hung low, and no one could see his true expression. After his cry of surprise, he was already forehead-down on the ground, knocking his head repeatedly and loudly.

”Father, I have been wronged! What Ran Xing did has nothing to do with me. I had no idea he was such a deranged madman. Please discern the truth, Your Majesty!”

At this point, Xuan Jiuding was clearly still maintaining a shred of lucidity. No matter how much he valued that Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refining Master Ran Xing, he knew he had to sever ties with him after the latter’s identity was exposed.

In Xuan Jiuding’s heart, he had cursed Ran Xing’s ancestors eighteen generations deep. The old man had seemed cautious and careful; how could he have exposed his true colors so quickly, dragging him down with him?

Inside the entire bedroom, there was only the sound of Xuan Jiuding’s earnest kowtowing and his voice, trembling slightly as he pleaded his innocence, while at this moment, Xuan Haoran fell silent.