Meanwhile, in the imperial city of Black Vulture Nation, within the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
"I never expected you to actually fulfill the three conditions I set forth."
The Emperor of Black Vulture Nation, resting his chin on his hand, looked indifferently at the Sixth Princess Li Yu, who stood below him holding a scroll.
"Your Majesty, this is the armistice document for White Tree Nation, personally drafted by my royal father. Please, Your Majesty, take a look."
The Sixth Princess repeated her words.
Though her tone remained neither servile nor overbearing, her hand holding the document trembled incessantly.
"General Ren, present Fan Qi's head to me."
The Emperor of Black Vulture Nation ignored the Sixth Princess and turned to General Ren Chong, who was clad in silver scale armor.
"Yes."
Ren Chong nodded, then shouted towards the outside of the hall:
"Bring up Fan Qi's head."
Soon after, an imperial guard came in carrying a wooden box and knelt to present it with both hands.
General Ren Chong stepped down to receive the box.
He opened it to inspect the contents, and after confirming there were no abnormalities, he presented it to the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation.
"Your Majesty, the inspection is accurate; this is indeed Fan Qi's head."
Ren Chong handed the head to a eunuch.
The eunuch immediately presented Fan Qi's head to the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation.
"When I allowed you to stay by my side, you insisted on going to Huangmei Town to hold that life-and-death arena. Now look at you, you've even lost your life."
The Emperor of Black Vulture Nation shook his head as he looked at Fan Qi's head.
With a wave of his hand, he signaled Ren Chong to take the head away.
But at that moment, the head, whose eyes had been tightly shut, suddenly snapped open, revealing blood-red pupils, and then a blood sword shot out from its mouth.
"Whoosh!"
In the nick of time, General Ren Chong stepped in front of the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation, blocking the blood sword with his protective qi while drawing his war blade and slashing towards Fan Qi's head.
"Boom!"
To Ren Chong's surprise, before his blade could strike, the head exploded on its own, turning into streaks of blood light that converged above the Sixth Princess's head.
"Boom!"
Almost instantly as the blood light converged, a violent aura erupted from the Sixth Princess, with streaks of silver radiance flying out from her chest and finally forming a sword sheath in her hands.
The blood light above her head formed a blood-red longsword that "swooshed" into the sheath.
"Boom!"
As the blood sword settled into the sheath, the aura around the Sixth Princess surged, nearly reaching the Gazing Abyss Realm of cultivators.
"Whoosh!"
Without any hesitation, the Sixth Princess drew the Infant's Cry sword, and with a piercing cry like that of a wailing infant, she thrust the sword towards the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation.
"Boom!"
A terrifyingly destructive aura swept through the entire palace like a tidal wave.
"Protect His Majesty!"
Seeing this, General Ren Chong bellowed.
A group of highly skilled guards unleashed their protective qi like shields, standing in front of the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation.
"Boom!"
With a single slash, the Sixth Princess turned the dozen guards into a mist of blood.
Her sword continued its unstoppable thrust towards the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation.
"Whoosh!"
General Ren Chong's surging qi burst forth, forming an invisible wall in front of the Emperor, while his war blade carried a massive shadow and thundered towards the Sixth Princess.
"Boom!"
With another muffled boom, General Ren Chong's blade shattered, and he was sent flying backward.
The power suddenly unleashed by the evil sword Infant's Cry was not something a mere warrior could withstand.
Thus, the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation was left completely exposed under the Sixth Princess's sword.
As the sword was about to claim the Emperor's life, a resolute smile finally appeared on the Sixth Princess's face, for she knew that once this sword fell, she would not be able to leave the imperial city alive. The power of the Infant's Cry sword was only enough for her to swing these two strikes.
"My life for the peace of thousands in White Tree Nation is worth it," she thought to herself.
"Boom!"
But just as she brought the sword down on the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation, he suddenly clapped his hands together forcefully, and a giant golden palm materialized out of thin air, "bang," trapping the Infant's Cry sword between them.
"Boom!"
However, the power of the blood-red Infant's Cry sword was too great, and the golden palm holding it shattered after a short while, but the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation took advantage of this brief moment to dodge to the side.
"Bang!"
With a loud noise, the blood-red sword pierced through the throne and left a large hole in the wall.
"The Emperor of Black Vulture Nation is a… cultivator?!"
The Sixth Princess was astonished.
But quickly, she raised the Infant's Cry sword again, ready to use the last of her strength for another strike.
"Whoosh!"
Just then, General Ren Chong suddenly recovered, summoning all his internal strength. He leaped up and, with reckless abandon, slashed fiercely at the Sixth Princess.
The Sixth Princess, whose power had not yet recovered, was blown backward by the surging blade qi of General Ren Chong, forming a gale around her.
"It's over…"
As the sharp blade loomed overhead, the Sixth Princess felt neither resentment nor complaint, only relief.
She was tired. From White Tree Nation to Black Vulture Nation, it had been a two-year journey. After beheading Fan Qi, she thought her journey would finally bear fruit, but instead, she received her mother's cold command: "Please die for White Tree Nation, die for me."
She was truly exhausted.
"Boom!…"
As she braced for the sharp blade, a figure silently appeared behind her, steadying her.
At the same time, a wall of wind spread around her.
"Bang!"
Ultimately, Ren Chong's blade was blocked by the wind wall in front of her.
The Sixth Princess turned her head in astonishment and saw a face both unfamiliar and familiar—the unfamiliarity in the man's features, the familiarity in his gaze.
"Tai…"
"Don't speak."
The Sixth Princess was about to call out the name but was interrupted by the man.
Indeed, this man was none other than Xu Taiping.
"Sigh…"
He looked up at the Emperor of Black Vulture Nation and thought to himself with a sigh of relief:
"The timing was just right; now to see if that seal works."
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas