The corpse puppet of Prince Su stiffly removed its mask, revealing its true face.
Its features were lifelike but tinged with iron青色 (cyan), eerily grim. Its eyes were cloudy, devoid of any spirit—nothing more than a soulless shell.
"Prince Su...!" Lin Yu couldn't help but gasp.
Though he'd never met Prince Su, his portrait hung in the ancestral temple. The puppet bore a 90% resemblance, making him instantly recognizable.
"Correct. This is Prince Su of your Great Han royal family. Unexpected, isn't it? We turned him into a corpse puppet long ago!" Elder Wang grinned at Lin Yu. "Third Prince, tell me who's posing as Prince Su in the capital, and I'll grant you a quick death."
"Do you really want to know who's impersonating Prince Su?" A faint smile played on Lin Yu's lips.
Previously, his actions had been blamed on Prince Su by the Han Emperor and ministers. He never expected Prince Su to have fallen into the Demon Sect's hands and become a corpse puppet!
"You... you really know?" Elder Wang asked in惊喜 (surprise).
Lin Yu scanned the valley. Zhao Yihu had fled, leaving only Demon Sect cultivators.
"In truth, the one posing as Prince Su is me." Lin Yu nodded frankly. Slaying these cultivators would keep the secret.
"You... you claim to be posing as Prince Su?" Elder Wang burst into laughter. "Third Prince, don't joke. Everyone knows your dantian was destroyed—you're a useless cripple!"
"That mysterious expert who can ride a flying sword for thousands of li—how could a cripple like you pretend to be him?"
"Elder Wang, this brat is stalling. Let's capture him and interrogate him properly!"
The other cultivators laughed. Lin Yu was a renowned cripple; no one believed he could wield a flying sword.
"Since you refuse to cooperate, Prince Su—attack!" Elder Wang's expression chilled.
Prince Su unleashed a terrifying aura, pressing down on Lin Yu like a mountain. Even Xiantian Realm warriors would struggle to resist, while those below would be crushed.
But to their shock, Lin Yu showed no reaction, as if the pressure were a gentle breeze.
Looking up at Prince Su, Lin Yu murmured: "Ninth Granduncle, you were半步 (half a step) from Myriad Manifestations before death. Reduced to a corpse puppet—today, I'll free you from this disgrace."
"What... what do you intend to do?" Elder Wang and the others looked at Lin Yu in astonishment.
Boom!
Lin Yu erupted with a fearsome pressure, sweeping out like a hurricane. Prince Su's pressure vanished before it, unable to withstand even a moment.
Any cultivator caught in the hurricane burst into blood mist. In an instant, only Prince Su and Elder Wang remained; the rest were reduced to powder.
"Who... who are you?" Elder Wang paled, unable to believe the crippled Third Prince was a hidden peerless expert. He turned to Prince Su: "Attack! Block him—must block him!" Then he fled into the valley.
"Ninth Granduncle, rest in peace." Lin Yu looked at charging Prince Su. The Wind Controlling Sword emerged from his mind, its blade ablaze with霸道的 (domineering) fire intent, incinerating Prince Su. It then pursued Elder Wang, stopping at his chest.
The fiery intent trapped Elder Wang like a cage. Any movement would turn him to ash. Lin Yu walked past Prince Su's ashes, grasped the sword, and asked: "Do you want to live or die?"
"Live! I want to live!" Elder Wang collapsed to his knees, kowtowing wildly. "Third Prince, I swear by the Heavenly Dao never to betray you!"
"I need no Heavenly Dao oath or service. Tell me where your lair is and where the Blood Demon Lord sleeps, and you may live." Lin Yu smiled—this Demon Sect and the sleeping Blood Demon Lord must be eliminated.
Elder Wang's eyes lit with求生欲 (will to live). "I'll say! The Heavenly Demon Sect's headquarters is hidden in—"
Mid-sentence, his face contorted in horror, as if choked by an invisible hand. Black flames erupted from his orifices, igniting him instantly. He screamed incoherently, reduced to ashes.
"Tsk tsk! A Demon Sect secret art—triggering a curse from thousands of li to kill invisibly." Cauldron Lord explained.
"Killing under my nose—he won't escape." Lin Yu snorted, summoning the Wind Controlling Sword. Using the Nine Heavens Sword Art, he sent it soaring toward the distant demonic energy. The sword vanished into the clouds, flying thousands of li.
In Yin Cloud Ridge's Bone Palace, the Heavenly Demon Sect Master sat铁青 (livid), glaring at elders. "Wang Tianhe failed. I know not why, but he tried to betray us. I triggered his curse—he burned to death."
"Failed? He had Prince Su's Purple Mansion Seventh Grade corpse puppet!"
"Does this mean the corpse puppet is lost?"
"Hmph! Good riddance to the traitor!" Elders raged.
"Silence!" The Sect Master rose. "Since we can't incite war, prepare a city massacre to blood-sacrifice and awaken the Blood Demon Lord!"
Massacring a city would invite relentless pursuit, but the backup plan was now necessary.
"Yes!" Elders replied狂热地 (fanatically), treating mass murder as trivial.
Just then, all in the palace heard a shrill破空声 (sound of piercing air) approaching. Confused, they looked outside.