Three days later, Lu Xingzhou set off to return to Xia Province.

The original plan was to disguise himself and hide his tracks after leaving the capital, so no one would know where he went, but this plan was not carried out.

He left with great fanfare. Sheng Yuanyao and Pei Chuyun “threw tantrums” and didn’t see him off, while Qi Tuizhi and other subordinates from the Protocol Office sent him ten miles outside the city, bidding him a reluctant farewell.

Only A’nuo accompanied him; even the little pig wasn’t brought along. Master and disciple flew leisurely towards Xia Province, barely concealing their presence.

“Your Majesty, it seems the State Preceptor truly left the capital secretly with Lu Xingzhou,” the Grand Eunuch Hai Ruyuan reported softly. “According to our hidden informants, when Lu Xingzhou left the capital, the State Preceptor was no longer in the observatory, and neither was Dugu Qingli.”

Gu Zhanting opened his eyes from his meditation and revealed a cold smile. “Indeed. And here I thought Ye Tinglan was so pure and lofty, but it turns out she’s just a hussy behind my back.”

Hai Ruyuan didn’t know what to say. Although he wouldn’t use such harsh words about Ye Tinglan as Gu Zhanting did, he also found it incredibly bizarre.

Where did Ye Tinglan give anyone the impression of someone who would chase after men? Back when there were rumors about the Holy Lord and the Demon Empress fighting over Lu Xingzhou, any discerning person would have treated it as a joke, believing the two great figures merely valued the young man’s abilities and were trying to recruit him. That would make sense. Who the hell would have thought there was actual illicit affection?

The two most prominent women of their time, both having an affair with the same pretty boy?

It turned out Ye Tinglan really did.

By that logic, the Demon Empress’s affair was also very likely true.

This was hilarious. If that rumor had been confirmed true back then, it would have been enough for Gu Zhanting to kill Lu Xingzhou twice. With Ye Tinglan, it was stealing a woman, grounds for death; with Long Qinghuang, it was colluding with the enemy, also grounds for death.

Yet, he dismissed it as a joke and didn’t care, even promoting Lu Xingzhou.

When Ye Tinglan shamelessly interjected during the court proposal, forcing the young man to propose to her as well, Gu Zhanting’s mind was filled with nothing but expletives, his thoughts completely gone.

To hell with it.

“I told Lu Xingzhou to get married after graduation, and sure enough, Ye Tinglan couldn’t stand it and wanted to go with him to marry, eager to throw herself at a man,” Gu Zhanting sneered. “And Lu Xingzhou, he actually walks around so brazenly. I overestimated him. Does he think I made him an Assistant Minister because I was still trying to win him over?”

The promise of an Assistant Minister was never about poaching or reconciliation, but about misdirection, concealing his murderous intent.

Now, the person Gu Zhanting loathed most was Lu Xingzhou. But trying to kill him in the capital was impossible with Ye Tinglan protecting him. It could only be considered after he left the capital.

“First, observe Lu Xingzhou’s movements and see if there’s an opportunity for a direct assassination.”

“If the State Preceptor is protecting him secretly, no one can assassinate him.”

“At least it can confirm for me that Ye Tinglan truly went with him. This matter must be handled with caution. You personally observe; no need to act.”

“Yes.”

Lu Xingzhou and A’nuo flew slowly for a day, and by nightfall, they landed in a mountain wilderness outside the city. They lit a bonfire and leisurely roasted food.

Several figures lurked like ghosts in the darkness, quietly drawing their bows and nocking arrows.

Several “twangs” sounded simultaneously. Master and disciple Lu Xingzhou seemed to suddenly realize, startled, they quickly stood up, scattering embers from the bonfire.

But these deadly arrows could not harm Master and disciple Lu Xingzhou in the slightest. Long before the arrows reached them, a gentle moonbeam slanted down, striking all the arrows, deflecting them without a trace of smoke or fire.

“First-rank assassin…” Lu Xingzhou suddenly asked, “Where is Yan Jun?”

The assassins did not reply and turned to flee.

The matter they wanted to test had been confirmed. The Heavenly Jade Profound Moon shone obliquely in the sky, undoubtedly indicating the State Preceptor was secretly protecting Lu Xingzhou. If they didn’t run now, they wouldn’t be able to.

However, they still couldn’t escape.

Suddenly, the path ahead disappeared, filled with vast, clear moonlight, as if the entire world was dominated by moonlight, with nothing else. And no matter where they tried to run within it, it felt like they were only stepping in place, unable to advance even an inch.

Behind them, Lu Xingzhou and A’nuo swiftly caught up, their fists already striking their backs.

Far away, Hai Ruyuan did not continue watching and left quickly.

“Today’s people do not see the moon of ancient times…” The signature illusion array of the Tianyao Holy Land, a feat of the Transcendent rank. If he watched any longer, he would be discovered by the State Preceptor himself.

“Bang!” Lu Xingzhou’s fist struck the back of the first-rank assassin leader. The assassin’s body twisted eerily, and Lu Xingzhou couldn’t land a solid hit, missing him.

The assassin turned and lunged with a sword. The sword energy, initially silent, suddenly burst forth, perfectly embodying the assassin template of the Yanluo Hall.

Not just this leader, but the other assassins engaging A’nuo also played their parts perfectly.

These were imperial loyalists, already prepared to die, and even in death, they intended to mislead Lu Xingzhou into believing they were assassins from the Yanluo Hall.

In the eyes of outsiders, Lu Xingzhou was a traitor to the Yanluo Hall, having been targeted by their assassins in Xia Province before, and even Ye Wufeng tried to assassinate him in the capital. It was perfectly reasonable for Yanluo Hall assassins to continue targeting him. To avoid exposing the royal involvement, Yanluo Hall was the best misdirection.

It seemed to have been successful earlier, as Lu Xingzhou’s first reaction to the attack was, “Where is Yan Jun?”

The next moment, a palm descended from above.

Initially, it was like the gentle moonlight, cool and high, appearing to be a typical Daoist cultivation technique. But as the palm wind approached, it suddenly became violent and howling. A ferocious murderous aura surged, causing even the surrounding shadows to roar along, as if they had come alive, exuding a chilling, prison-like presence.

What was restricting their escape was not the Heavenly Jade Profound Moon at all, but… the Underworld’s Forgetfulness River!

“You’re not the State Preceptor, you’re Yan Jun!” The assassin leader exclaimed in horror, a single expletive echoing in his mind.

This Lu Xingzhou was still pretending to ask, “Where is Yan Jun?” The person protecting him was Yan Jun herself! No wonder she didn’t show her face earlier, and her techniques were control-based rather than destructive, because once she used destructive power, she wouldn’t be able to hide her Yan Jun aura. She only started killing recklessly after knowing Eunuch Hai had left!

But even if it was control-based, how could Yan Jun simulate the Heavenly Jade Profound Moon so perfectly?

But they would not have a chance to relay the message.

The thought flashed in an instant, and the Yama’s Soul-Reaping Hand had already slammed onto his forehead. The assassin leader had no power to resist; his brains splattered, and he died with eyes wide open.

At the same time, all the other assassins let out a scream. The surrounding shadows pierced their bodies, impaling them, as if they were corpses displayed in a marketplace.

Yuan Muyu, whose cultivation had fallen to the edge of the Transcendent rank, effortlessly eliminated one first-rank and several second and third-rank assassins.

After all, even when she was a first-rank, she was invincible among her peers.

Looking at the instantly killed bodies around them, Lu Xingzhou took out the Myriad Soul Banner, which he hadn’t used in a very long time, and collected their souls into the banner while they still drew their last breaths.

He then sighed with a touch of melancholy: “Your killing intent is stronger than before.”

Yuan Muyu shook her head: “Actually, it’s lighter.”

“Hmm?” Lu Xingzhou looked at her strangely.

In the past, Yan Jun’s killing intent was indeed strong, and her hands were bloody, but she would never desecrate bodies. This situation, with shadows impaling everyone like stakes and displaying them in the wilderness, would never have happened before.

And yet you say it’s lighter than before?

Yuan Muyu didn’t explain. After breaking through to the Transcendent rank, her killing intent had indeed become stronger than before. But this time, with her cultivation realm falling, her state of mind had changed, and her Dao path seemed to have shifted. She knew that the killing intent in her heart had lightened considerably compared to the past.

This intensity now was only because they wanted to kill Lu Xingzhou.

But if she said that, would Xingzhou believe it?

Lu Xingzhou didn’t dwell on the topic, merely saying, “Gu Zhanting wants to mislead me into thinking the Yanluo Hall wants to kill me. We’ll also mislead him into thinking the Master has left the capital. This game of wits has just begun… Will Older Sister still return to the capital with us?”

Yuan Muyu’s beautiful eyes fixed on his face: “Why do you ask that? Even if you refused… that’s impossible. Aren’t I still your Older Sister? Is there anything worth asking about me helping you?”

“It’s not that. I didn’t hold back in asking you to protect me this time either,” Lu Xingzhou said. “But this return to the capital, you’d be helping the Master. You and she have been at odds for ten years, are you willing to help her?”

Yuan Muyu slightly lowered her gaze: “As long as you say so, then I will.”

Lu Xingzhou and A’nuo both gaped slightly but ultimately said nothing.

Older Sister Yu is so strange now.

It felt like she had transformed from her previous muddled state into another extreme that they didn’t recognize. This gentle obedience didn’t make A’nuo feel comforted; rather, it made her a little anxious.

If Older Sister Yu continues like this, won’t she go crazy?

Meanwhile, Gu Zhanting received Hai Ruyuan’s report and nodded slightly: “Standard Heavenly Jade Profound Moon, a feat of the Transcendent rank. Ye Tinglan is indeed protecting her paramour all the way.”

Hai Ruyuan dared not respond.

Gu Zhanting stood up and slowly walked out of the palace.

The direction he headed was precisely the suburban altar that Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli had investigated together.

However, the altar, once abandoned and surrounded by no guards, now inexplicably had a group of guards whose aura was grim and not human-like.

And the once energy-depleted abandoned altar now had a faint, bloody glow circulating. The heavy snow falling on the altar melted instantly, leaving no water behind, making the bloody color even darker and the scene appear even more bizarre.

“Ye Tinglan investigated this ‘abandoned altar’ repeatedly but couldn’t find anything, thinking I used witchcraft for healing, then discarded it as ineffective,” Gu Zhanting slowly ascended the steps, a faint smile on his lips. “She thinks she’s the strongest in this world, with vast knowledge… but everyone has things they don’t know. These ancient realms, demon arts, witchcraft, and demonic aura, they are all intertwined. Only an emperor can fully grasp them; how could a mere woman understand?”

As he spoke, Gu Zhanting had already reached the summit.

Originally, it was a world of ice and snow, with no stars or moon in the sky.

But the moment he stepped onto the center of the altar, the clouds in the sky suddenly parted, revealing a blood-red moon.

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