"The eldest disciple has turned traitor?"
...
"Boom——"
The Heavenly Halberd smashed down once more, finally breaking open the Buddha Beads that had trapped him.
Ji and Huang Hong, joining forces with the National Seal.
The black-robed monk quickly became overwhelmed.
And as for the National Seal,
though it was Huang Hong who appeared to wield it, in actuality, the Old Emperor was still secretly in control.
A strike descended.
The National Seal restrained the Zen Stick, as Ji and Huang Hong attacked simultaneously.
The Protective Purple Energy that enshrouded the black-robed monk began to wobble as if ready to fall apart.
"General Ji!"
Huang Hong yelled loudly.
One saw within General Ji’s grasp, the Heavenly Halberd, with the enhancement of True Qi, transformed into a lion-tiger beast towering over a zhang tall as if a demonic deity descended from the heavens, its roar shaking the air, carrying boundless Power as it pounced down.
This time,
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the black-robed monk could no longer withstand the assault, his Protective Incense Fire Divine Power completely collapsed, and he spun out like a top, crashing to the ground, unable to rise despite several attempts.
Such overbearing True Qi...
Struggling, he lifted his head
only to see General Ji, dragging the Heavenly Halberd, slowly approaching.
He shouted vehemently, "You rebels, will you not submit to execution?!"
"Vice Sect Hierarch!"
"Holy Monk!"
"..."
The crowd glanced sideways, momentarily becoming flustered.
The civil servants who came to show support from a distance also had unsightly expressions.
The situation was clear.
They were going to lose!
Everyone knew what the consequence of a failed rebellion would be.
"All of you, stop!"
Huang Hong’s voice rang out, high-pitched, "His Majesty is merciful, if you stop now, you may yet preserve your life, and your families will not be implicated. Continue this, and your entire clans will be eliminated, none spared!"
"This..."
"What do we do?"
"The Holy Monk and the rest have all fallen!"
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"..."
"Cough cough cough..."
Amidst the cacophony of discussions, sudden coughing emerged from outside the hall, growing more and more severe, so severe that it sounded as if life could fade at any moment.
At that precise moment,
everyone briefly ceased fighting,
making the coughing even more distinct.
"Tap tap~"
Following that, came the sound of a walking stick tapping on stone pavement.
All eyes, as if on cue, turned towards the entrance of the great hall.
Until a somewhat stooped figure appeared, moving from darkness to light, crossing the threshold with some difficulty, revealing a gaunt face.
"Your Highness!"
"Your Highness, why have you come?"
"..."
Fan Tianfa struggled to get up: "The matter is not yet concluded; Your Highness shouldn’t show yourself!"
"Let’s all stop."
The Crown Prince tucked away the handkerchief from his mouth: "You are all pillars of our Great Sheng Dynasty; if we are all injured, it is our own loss."
"..."
Emperor Longqing lifted his eyes and looked at him, saying nothing.
"Your son pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
The Crown Prince slowly knelt down, struggling to kowtow.
"Rise,"
Emperor Longqing said languidly, "You shouldn’t have come. Someone, the Crown Prince is unwell, quickly help him back to rest."
"Father Emperor!"
The Crown Prince raised his hand, signaling not to come closer, "Your son still has one more matter unfinished."
"Speak."
Emperor Longqing uttered a single word.
To everyone’s eyes.
Everything had already ended.
What followed was simply a slow and individual cleanup.
Even if the Crown Prince admitted his wrongs at this point, it would be too late to make amends.
"Your son begs Father Emperor to abdicate!"
The Crown Prince suddenly raised his voice, "The state of Dasheng can no longer bear Father Emperor exhausting the people and squandering wealth! Too many commoners have no way to live, too many grievances need to be exposed, too many ills need curing. Father Emperor’s position should be taken by someone else!"
"Should Father Emperor abdicate to become the Supreme Emperor, your son will certainly fulfill his filial duty!"
Emperor Longqing finally showed emotion, "Crown Prince, haven’t you caused enough trouble?"
"Your son begs Father Emperor to abdicate! Otherwise…"
The Crown Prince, supporting himself, slowly rose to his feet, each word echoing thunderously, "Your son will have no choice but, for the sake of this world, to commit an act of unfilial piety!"
"Your Highness!"
Chief Eunuch Huang Hong warned, "Can’t you see that His Majesty wants to minimize the impact? Now that the situation is settled, even if you persist on troubling yourself, what can you change?!"
Crown Prince.
Stripped of this noble status, he was just a frail and sickly old man.
They really could not understand why he still wanted to come over.
The royal family cared about face.
As long as he did not appear, there were ways to negotiate behind the scenes, at least he wouldn’t lose his life. Now that he showed up in person, it was useless, and it would also disgrace the royal family.
"Sect Hierarch!"
All they heard was a black-robed monk shouting, "No more hesitation! Take action!"
Sect Hierarch?!
Upon hearing this.
Everyone present doubted they were hallucinating.
This old man, who needed a cane to walk, was the Hierarch of the Incense Fire Divine Sect?!
Let alone outsiders.
Even Fan Tianfa was unaware.
"Buzz—"
An elliptical incense burner quietly appeared before the Crown Prince.
One rune after another on the surface of the incense burner lit up with purple light, until fully connected, bursting forth a dazzling purple light that filled the entire bedchamber, like a purple sun.
Above.
A strange and ethereal shrine materialized.
However...
Transforming into strands of Purple Energy, it poured into the Crown Prince’s body from above.
"Stop him quickly!"
Although Huang Hong and others did not know what exactly would happen next, they understood they couldn’t let things be.
General Ji, wielding his Heavenly Halberd, launched several moves, all of which were blocked by the mysterious force within the incense burner.
"Father Emperor, this is from the Evil God Path!"
The Crown Prince, allowing the Purple Energy from the shrine to fill him, spoke as if he were two people at once, "Once it is unleashed, your son will not be able to control himself. This is the last time your son is asking Father Emperor, would you be willing to abdicate?!"
Emperor Longqing’s silence gave him his answer.
With the loss of his last concern, the Crown Prince completely merged with the shrine, his eyes thoroughly turning purple, his posture erect, his expression drastically changed, as if he had become a completely different person:
"Then I have no choice..."
"But to invite Father Emperor to die!"