"Boom! ……"
At that moment, Xu Taiping felt a massive convergence of guards toward the Tai'a Palace, and from deep within the imperial palace, one or two auras not weaker than those of the Gazing Abyss Realm were rapidly closing in.
"Even though it's a mundane kingdom, the foundation of a nation should not be underestimated."
Sensing these auras, Xu Taiping murmured to himself.
Had he not obtained the Dao Seal, he would never have risked being besieged by the power of an entire nation to rescue the Sixth Princess.
"Who are you, Cultivator, to dare to barge into the imperial palace? Are you not afraid of the Nine Mansions' punishment?"
The Emperor of Black Vulture Nation, though somewhat disheveled, still exuded the majestic aura of an emperor in both demeanor and tone.
However, Xu Taiping paid no attention to his questioning.
Feeling the auras drawing closer, he hesitated no more and, looking straight into the furious eyes of the Black Vulture Nation Emperor, said, "Your Majesty, have you ever heard of this poem?"
"Poem?"
The Emperor of Black Vulture Nation was utterly baffled.
"Spring whispers, night stretches long, the azure sky and distant Chu palace share the same horizon."
After capturing the Emperor's attention, Xu Taiping swiftly recited the first line of the poem.
"Why recite this to me…?"
The Emperor began to question Xu Taiping, but mid-sentence, his eyes, once filled with anger, suddenly contracted, turning from rage to shock.
"How do you know the verses from my dreams? What's the next line?"
He stood up from the Dragon Throne, his voice urgent as he pressed Xu Taiping for the next line.
Xu Taiping was equally elated.
The Emperor's reaction was enough to prove that this poem was very likely the key to breaking his seal.
""Dreams and spirits roam …"
"Boom!"
Just as Xu Taiping was about to recite the poem in one breath, the armor of Ren Chong in front of him suddenly shattered, the resulting aura fluctuations piercing through the wind barrier and causing Xu Taiping's breath to falter.
At the same time, Ren Chong's aura soared, and he once again brought his long saber down upon the wind barrier.
"Bang!"
The wind barrier, originally conjured by Xu Taiping's Cangluan Ring, had easily blocked a strike from this martial master, but now it was shattered by Ren Chong's single slash.
"A martial master at the peak of the Gazing Abyss Realm."
This thought flashed through Xu Taiping's mind.
"Swish!"
As the wind barrier before him shattered, Ren Chong raised his saber again, slashing fiercely at Xu Taiping.
This strike held the power of a martial artist and the art of a Cultivator, and as the long saber cut through the air, blade shadows before Xu Taiping morphed into a mountain of sabers.
"Ren Chong, stop!"
The Emperor of Black Vulture Nation roared from behind.
But Ren Chong turned a deaf ear, continuing his relentless attack on Xu Taiping.
"Crackling…"
Xu Taiping had no time left to recite the rest of the poem. He immediately activated the Danxia Art to shield himself with the Xuanbing Armor, while his fingers came together, ready to counter with the Cangluan Ring's Three-Fingered Sea Splitting Strike.
"Snap."
Just as he was about to execute the Three-Fingered Strike, a somewhat cold hand suddenly rested on his shoulder, and a woman's melodious voice recited beside his ear:
"Dreams and spirits roam free and unchecked, once again crossing Xie Bridge amidst falling poplar flowers."
As her voice echoed, a delicate jade hand reached out from beside him, directly grasping the ferocious strike from Ren Chong.
"Bang!"
To Xu Taiping's astonishment, the strike from Ren Chong, a martial master of the Gazing Abyss Realm, was effortlessly caught by that hand.
"Crack!"
With a gentle effort, Ren Chong's saber was snapped in half.
Astonished, Xu Taiping turned to look.
The woman who caught the saber was none other than the Sixth Princess, Li Yu.
But now, Li Yu's eyes and face bore no trace of her former naivety, replaced instead by an indescribable aura of cold sanctity, reminiscent of Xu Taiping's first encounter with Fairy Lingyue.
"Demoness Haitang, even if I cannot destroy your Dao heart, I will make you slumber once again!"
At that moment, General Ren Chong's eyes filled with blood, and a thick aura of blood emanated from him. He suddenly grabbed his spine, pulling out a bloody bone saber and slashing it with a heavy, mountainous destructive aura toward the Sixth Princess beside Xu Taiping.
"Boom!"
But just as Ren Chong raised his bone saber, an even more terrifying aura of destruction appeared behind him.
It was the previously confused and bewildered Emperor of Black Vulture Nation.
Now, his presence was equally awe-inspiring, but within it lay a haughty disdain and a tyrannical pressure like a tsunami.
Even in the presence of the Qingxuan Sect's Sect Master, Xu Taiping had never felt such a terrifying pressure.
"You dare to address my wife by name?"
At that moment, the transformed Emperor of Black Vulture Nation raised his hand and brought it down hard on Ren Chong.
"Boom!"
Amidst the thunderous noise, Ren Chong's blood aura shattered, and he was turned into a mist of blood by that single palm strike.
Seeing this, Xu Taiping, no matter how slow to catch on, understood.
The Sixth Princess was an exiled Immortal.
The Emperor of Black Vulture Nation was also an exiled Immortal.
And that poem was the key to unlocking their seals.
"Daoist Taiping."
At this moment, the Sixth Princess, whose aura had greatly changed, turned to face him and bowed deeply, saying, "For your protection along the way and for breaking the seal for my husband and me today, Haitang will never forget your kindness."
"Emm, Sixth Princess, there are some things I still don't quite understand."
Xu Taiping scratched his head.
He understood the situation before him, but the specifics were still a mystery.
"I can explain everything to you, Daoist," said the Sixth Princess with a gentle smile.
"Wait, Your Highness, I need to leave for a moment. I'll come back later to ask for your guidance."
Xu Taiping was eager to know what had happened, but he suddenly remembered that his clone was still playing chess with Oriole.
"Are you worried about Oriole of the Nine Mansions?"
The Sixth Princess asked with a smile.
"Yes, if I don't return soon, I'll be exposed."
Xu Taiping nodded.
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas