Chapter 1131: Chapter 1131: Perish Together
Mei Ji, fuming with rage, raised her palm and unleashed a burst of magic power, striking Jiu Ge’s back.
"You rebellious child, have you gone mad?" Mei Ji scolded Jiu Ge furiously. From childhood until now, although Jiu Ge had expressed his disagreements with her, he had never so directly opposed her like this.
Jiu Ge slowly turned around, his hollow gaze fixed on Mei Ji.
He could have dodged the attack or used magic power to protect himself, but he did nothing, choosing to endure Mei Ji’s strike head-on.
He wanted to know—would his mother, ruthless and merciless to others, show any restraint when it came to him?
Fortunately, even though Mei Ji was extremely angry, she still remembered the bond between mother and son. Her attack was not overly forceful.
Jiu Ge didn’t know whether to feel sorrow or relief—sorrow that his mother could truly strike him, relief that she had ultimately held back.
Although his injuries weren’t severe, the pain was very real, forcing him to confront his true feelings.
Seeing that she had injured Jiu Ge, Mei Ji felt a pang of guilt and hurriedly rushed to his side. Gripping his shoulder tightly, she said, "Are you out of your mind? Why didn’t you dodge?"
Jiu Ge stared into Mei Ji’s eyes, his voice carrying a hint of pleading: "Mother, please stop killing people. Stop this madness!"
The tenderness in Mei Ji’s eyes disappeared instantly. She pointed toward the gates and snapped angrily, "Look at those people! How do you expect me to stop? Do you want them to take my life?"
Jiu Ge took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm, and spoke deliberately: "Pass the clan leader position to me. I can ensure your safety."
Mei Ji stared at Jiu Ge in shock, then suddenly burst into laughter, her tone turning manic: "So this is your plan, Jiu’er? You want to be the clan leader? But why must you pressure your mother like this? The clan leader position will eventually belong to you, won’t it?"
A look of anguish appeared on Jiu Ge’s face as he tried to explain to his mother: "Mother, if you continue as clan leader, either Midair City will be destroyed, or you will. Pass the position to me—I can save both you and the city."
"Don’t even think about it!" Mei Ji growled fiercely. "Jiu’er, when my lifespan ends or I tire of being clan leader, I will naturally pass the position to you. But now? Absolutely not. Those treasonous rebels wish to destroy me—I’ll make all of Midair City perish with me!"
Jiu Ge’s gaze turned cold as he slowly stepped back. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a fan from his storage ring.
It was a crimson fan, vibrant and eerie in its redness. Its ribs were made of Blood Eagle bones, and its surface was crafted from Blood Eagle feathers. As it waved, a fierce gale stirred.
This was the Thunder Break Fan, one of the Top Ten Great Divine Artifacts of the Demon Sacred Realm.
Mei Ji’s eyes widened as she sneered, "Jiu’er, I gifted you the Changkong family’s Divine Artifact, and now you intend to use it against me?"
Jiu Ge’s body trembled faintly as he said in agony, "Mother, don’t force me."
Mei Ji let out a piercing, bitter laugh. Raising her head, spreading her arms, she cursed loudly: "Go ahead, my dear son, attack me! I won’t dodge or block! If you wish to destroy me, I’ll make sure to drag you down into destruction with me. I’ll make you bear the guilt of matricide forever, drowning in endless agony—living a life worse than death."
Jiu Ge staggered back a step, his eyes red-rimmed. He had never imagined that he would one day stand as an enemy against the only family he had in the world, facing each other in deadly conflict.
Qin Sisi once said she liked Ye You—not because he was a prince.
Jiu Ge had pondered for a long time. Perhaps Sisi admired Ye You’s integrity and sense of responsibility. And so, Jiu Ge wanted to try being an upright, responsible person too.
But he had never realized that in his world, being upright was such an arduous task—one that came with immense pain and guilt.
Mei Ji glared venomously at Jiu Ge, her fierce gaze slithering around his throat like a slick, poisonous snake.
Mother and son stared hard at each other, unwavering and unyielding, locked in a battle of pain and heartbreak.
At that moment, a sudden "crackling" sound interrupted them. Both Jiu Ge and Mei Ji turned their heads, their expressions stunned, as they saw the Defensive Array’s controller shattered into pieces, surrounded by scattered chunks of stone.
Not far away, Yun Wang was half-buried in the earth, his upper body visible while traces of Earth Attribute Magic Power lingered on his hands.
"You bastard! How did you get in here?" Mei Ji roared furiously, nearly losing her mind. With the controller destroyed, the Defensive Array was disabled, leaving the Chief Mansion unprotected and vulnerable to direct combat.
Mei Ji swiftly unleashed a burst of magic power toward Yun Wang, who hurriedly burrowed into the soil, fleeing downward at high speed.
Mei Ji’s magic power was far superior to Yun Wang’s. Her strike left a deep crater in the ground, and though Yun Wang was quick to use Burrow Escape, he was still injured by the lingering energy of the attack.
Fighting through the burning pain in his chest, Yun Wang pushed himself to burrow downward as quickly as possible.
Even though they had sparked a massive rebellion in Midair City, they had no effective means to breach the Chief Mansion. Forcibly breaking the array or climbing the Soul-breaking Ladder again would consume significant magic power and alert Mei Ji.
Moreover, they already knew that some Blood Eagle queens in the mansion were of the Seventh Order—not foes they could contend with. Their previous entry via the Soul-breaking Ladder was sheer luck.
If they hadn’t coincidentally encountered the eagle queens laying eggs, they might have all been killed instantly.
Finally, Gong Zhuo proposed a viable plan. Although Midair City floated in midair, its base was still earth, reinforced at the bottom with taboo magic that prevented destruction.
Over time, the magic reinforcement weakens and requires maintenance. Gong Zhuo, having participated in past repairs of the forbidden layer beneath the city, knew of a spot where the taboo was relatively thin. By pooling the strength of Ye You and the others, they could potentially open the barrier and use Earth Escape Skill to infiltrate the Chief Mansion.
Following Gong Zhuo’s guidance, Ye You and his team spent hours breaking through the weakest point of the taboo magic and finally carved out a passageway.
Initially, they planned to infiltrate the mansion together using Earth Escape Skill. But fearing unforeseen dangers and wasted effort, they chose a different approach.
Ultimately, it was decided that Yun Wang and Yun Cheng, the two most skilled in Earth Escape Skill, would enter through the passage, sabotage the Defensive Array’s controller, and render the Chief Mansion’s defenses useless.
Then, the others would blast open the mansion doors for a direct confrontation with Mei Ji.
At the same time, seeing the mansion’s doors destroyed would embolden the citizens outside, solidifying their resolve to overthrow Mei Ji’s rule. The fall of the metaphorical wall would push everyone into action, amplifying their uprising’s impact.
A few minutes after Yun Wang destroyed the Defensive Array’s controller, a deafening "boom" reverberated through the area. The grand and magnificent entrance of the Chief Mansion was torn apart by a surge of violet magic power, reduced to rubble.
