"According to the Empress's secret message in the silk pouch, the true purpose of the Sixth Princess's journey is not to negotiate peace but to assassinate the Emperor of the Black Vulture Nation under the guise of peace talks."
"To set this trap, the first crucial piece she played was the Sixth Princess herself. Just a month after the princess was born, she had a cultivator from the mountains seal an extremely mysterious power within her body, which is the source of the fairy power rumored to be within the princess."
"The second crucial piece she played was Fan Qi."
"Fan Qi's betrayal and massacre of a city were all orchestrated by the Empress from behind the scenes."
"Betrayal was to gain the trust of the Black Vulture Nation's Emperor, and the massacre served two purposes. The first was to further secure the Emperor's trust, and the second was to use the souls and blood of hundreds of thousands of citizens from the White Tree Nation to enhance Fan Qi's power and forge that demonic sword—Infant's Cry."
"After these two deeds, the Empress quietly waited for over a decade, biding her time for the Sixth Princess to grow up and for the perfect moment to assassinate the Emperor of the Black Vulture Nation."
"And then this opportunity for peace talks arose."
"The moment the Sixth Princess beheaded Fan Qi today was when the sword of regicide met its wielder."
In Xu Taiping's room, Fairy Lingyue briefly recounted the contents of the secret message from the silk pouch to him.
"This is a deathlock."
Xu Taiping leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.
"Exactly, even if the Sixth Princess succeeds, there's no way she could escape the imperial palace."
Fairy Lingyue nodded in agreement.
"Moreover, the demonic sword Infant's Cry is quite interesting. Before it meets its wielder, it's merely a mass of malice and murderous intent fused together, undetectable by anyone. But once it meets its wielder, if it is not drawn, it will surely devour its master."
She added another sentence.
"No wonder Fan Qi channeled his murderous intent and rage into his fist intent, and deliberately set up this life-and-death arena. He was trying to mask the aura of the demonic sword Infant's Cry, wasn't he?"
Xu Taiping pondered thoughtfully.
"What was the Sixth Princess's reaction after reading this letter?"
He then turned to look at Fairy Lingyue.
"Being commanded to die by her own revered mother, no one could accept that in a short time, let alone, according to the letter, she was treated as a disposable piece by her mother from birth."
Fairy Lingyue sighed softly.
"However, given the personality of the Sixth Princess, I think she will most likely accept it."
She continued.
"Even if not for her mother, just considering the many valiant heroes who died on the journey from the White Tree Nation to the Black Vulture Nation, and the guards who died protecting her, she would probably accept this deathlock."
Xu Taiping nodded.
"Yes, every step of the way, the Empress has been pushing the Sixth Princess towards an inevitable death, both in her circumstances and in her heart."
Fairy Lingyue echoed his sentiment.
"Over twenty years of planning, sacrificing the lives of tens of thousands of citizens, as well as a fierce general and her own daughter, all just to take the life of the Black Vulture Nation's Emperor?"
Xu Taiping still found it hard to understand.
"According to the letter, the Emperor of the Black Vulture Nation is a formidable ruler. His death would surely plunge the Black Vulture Nation into chaos," explained Fairy Lingyue.
"I feel that reason is still insufficient. The Empress seems to be plotting something we're unaware of."
Xu Taiping shook his head.
The scheme seemed logical, but Xu Taiping felt something was amiss.
"Your intuition is not wrong," Fairy Lingyue suddenly said with a smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Hearing this, Xu Taiping looked at Fairy Lingyue with a surprised expression.
"Mortal rulers and their subjects are like a boat and water; even the most cold-blooded wouldn't sacrifice hundreds of thousands of citizens without a second thought to set up this trap. Only cultivators from the mountains, who regard mortal lives as mere grass, are capable of such a deed."
As she spoke, Fairy Lingyue used her spiritual power to place a chess piece on the board from the chess box on the table.
"Fairy Lingyue, are you suggesting that this might be a gambit within the cultivation world?"
Xu Taiping was profoundly shaken.
At the same time, he felt that the seemingly insoluble doubts were beginning to loosen.
"I indeed smell the scent of a Dao struggle," Fairy Lingyue nodded again.
"Dao struggle? What is a Dao struggle? But in this mundane world, with its polluted spiritual energy, what could possibly be worth the cultivators' contention?"
Xu Taiping asked several questions in quick succession.
"Taiping, have you ever heard of banished immortals?" Fairy Lingyue then asked Xu Taiping.
Xu Taiping nodded and replied:
"I've read in the sect's archives that after breaking through to the realm beyond the Profound Realm, a cultivator can reincarnate through a method known as 'Cadaver Liberation,' and such reincarnated cultivators are called banished immortals."
Fairy Lingyue nodded upon hearing this.
"This Cadaver Liberation is a last resort for cultivators who are nearing the end of their lifespan and unable to break through. They can only extend their lives through this method. However, there's a significant drawback: not every banished immortal can awaken their past life's memories. Most end up blending in with the masses or becoming someone else entirely."
"To avoid such problems, some cultivators leave a Dao mark on their soul before dissolution and entrust it to someone close to them for safekeeping until the right moment to release it. This is known as 'mark releasing.'"
"The so-called Dao mark usually represents regrets from a past life, such as unfulfilled grand ambitions or a lover not yet reunited. Once these obsessions are resolved, the memories of the past life will surely awaken."
"But this leads to a new problem."
"If your enemies learn of your Dao mark and destroy it, preventing you from resolving your obsession, you will never have the chance to embark on the path of cultivation again."
"And this is what is known as a Dao struggle."
Fairy Lingyue explained to Xu Taiping in great detail.
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