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That year... I was at the end of my tether, hiding from my pursuers, and dared not lightly use any techniques, moving from place to place like a mouse.

Others may have forgotten the terror of the Holy Clan within Yundu, but I haven’t. Those so-called top Grand Sorcerers, within Yundu, are no better than livestock.

Such a stifling life passed in the blink of an eye—a hundred years—until he became numb and forgot the passing of time.

So, on his last days, he chose to make a final struggle.

Chen Qing listened to the other party recounting the past and found it interesting. How could such a being have caught the eye of the Buddha? What criteria did the Buddha use when choosing people back then?

Watching the other party heading towards The Harem, Chen Qing casually glanced back.

At this moment, the woman had finished packing up her things, and looking at Chen Qing turning his head back, she hesitated and said, "Sir, would you like me to warm up the food?"

Chen Qing gave her a glance and said indifferently, "He’s no longer the person you knew. Can’t you see that?"

The woman clenched her teeth and looked down without speaking.

"But what can I do? In this world, a woman with two children can’t survive on her own."

Chen Qing looked at her again, said nothing more, but this time did not stop her from continuing her watch.

Perhaps the woman just wanted to confirm the safety of her husband, or perhaps she wanted to understand him better, to find some common topics to discuss in the future. In Chen Qing’s eyes, it all seemed rather meaningless.

Meanwhile, Li Yankong had already left the strife near the Imperial Court far behind and had arrived unobstructed at the deep entrance of the Imperial Palace.

Chen Qing frowned. This location... if he remembered correctly, it should be The Harem, right?

"After deciding to return to Yundu, Brother Li, could it be that you ended up here?"

This was Chen Qing’s doubt. Even if nobody paid attention to him as the former Murong Family Head, he shouldn’t have been able to easily get into Yundu’s The Harem.

"I only remember... I’ve been here before..." Li Yankong hesitated to say.

"Been here before?" Chen Qing was puzzled; something seemed off.

"Yes..." Li Yankong also began to feel that something was amiss.

At that time, he was at the end of his life, groggy and feeble, on the brink of death. For some reason, he thought of returning to Yundu, as if he was beckoned by something.

When he returned to Yundu, he was aging and frail, so weak that he had to rely on spatial techniques to maintain the functioning of his organs, to be able to move like a normal person.

Such a weakened state should have made it impossible for him to sneak back into the Imperial Palace.

But... he had done just that.

He remembered that when he returned, Yundu was still bustling and prosperous, just like before the chaos. If it weren’t for his clear memory of the rebellion and seeing the centuries of war outside, he would have thought he had dreamt it all.

The bustling Royal Capital, the hustle and bustle of chariots and horses, laughter everywhere, and the fragrance of birds and flowers seemed like a paradise on earth.

The Imperial Palace was just as glorious as ever, spotless...

Countless guards in Golden Armor stood watch outside, giving him the impression that even a hundred of himself could not breach their defenses.

So... how did he get in?

Li Yankong, in a trance, slowly approached the heart of this familiar Court, making it all the way to the depths of The Harem without seeing another living soul.

"You’ve just said that when you returned here, you encountered something. What was it?" Chen Qing hastily asked.

"A... creature..."

"Creature?" Chen Qing frowned: "What kind of creature?"

"A...." Li Yankong struggled in his gaze, seemingly trying to recall something, but for some reason, he was unable to remember the last bit of his memory.

Before he had time to react, he heard a hurried yet familiar voice.

"Li Counselor?"

Li Yankong quickly turned around and saw the Emperor, covered in blood.

Accompanying the Emperor were two Elders from the major sorcerer noble families; one of them he recognized well—it was the Family Head of the black-clothed Li Family from the Five-colored Clan.

"Your Majesty?" Li Yankong was taken aback, but immediately regained his composure and asked, "What brings you here?"

"That’s what Your Majesty should be asking you, isn’t it?" The Elder from the Li Family replied rather rudely, "Why is the Murong Family Head here?"

The reason the two of them could emerge alive with His Majesty was through a prepared Spatial Technique, but it was evident that the Family Head from the Ziyi Family had arrived beforehand. When did this fellow slip away from the Imperial Court?

"I...." Before Li Yankong had time to explain, his words were interrupted by an extremely peculiar and seductive female voice.

"Why has my son come?"

The voice was laden with a heavy languor that instantly made all three noble family heads become bewildered.

Including the current Li Yankong.

It was an indescribable feeling, the voice made their bodies tingle as if countless feathers were teasing them. All three were heads of major noble families, what kind of women hadn’t they seen?

But presently, the mere sound made them restless, leaving them parched and tongue-tied.

"Mother!" Even the Emperor’s face was flushed, but he promptly said, "The Elders have rebelled!"

"Oh?" The woman’s voice paused briefly: "How could this be?"

"Mother... the situation is critical, please escape from here with your child. The Elders have gone mad, they’ve been hoarding military power, they’ve massively slaughtered ministers, and even members of our own Holy Clan haven’t been spared, it’s utterly deranged and extreme..."

"Is that so?" The owner of the voice still sounded so languid, with a captivating sweetness, and the three were almost too eager to look towards the source of the sound.

Not just the three men, even Chen Qing, who was observing the situation through the Thousand Eyes Technique, couldn’t help feeling a wave of thirst and agitation.

Where did this woman come from? Just her voice is enough to agitate one’s heart?

But then, Chen Qing quickly realized something...

The Emperor of the Sorcerer Dynasty... has a mother?

Chen Qing immediately felt something was amiss.

The Holy Clan of the Sorcerer Dynasty should be the Ancient Demon Clan.

Ziyue had once told him about how the Sorcerer Dynasty operated, through the succession of noble families attracting the Clans Alliance, then building the Royal Capital and continuously supplying legacies to the noble families along with certain Methods of Longevity, and then controlling the upper echelons of the noble families with parasitic techniques to serve the Ancient Demon Clan.

The Emperor, because of his exceptional power, is not fixed to any one Ancient Demon family, but was hatched from a previously frozen excellent Ancient Demon, then finding a host with good aptitude to parasitize, eventually becoming the Emperor through trials.

Strictly speaking, the Emperor of the Sorcerer Dynasty is the representative of the Ancient Demon Clan in this world.

Hatched from Mystic Ice, where could there be a mother?

Sensing something extremely wrong, Chen Qing frowned and looked on, always feeling that the owner of the voice was dangerous, and also seemed... somewhat familiar?

"Come inside first..." As the low, melodious female voice floated through the air, the doors to Phoenix Cry Hall slowly opened, and under the setting sun, an enchanting figure slowly emerged. The voice was so alluring that when they saw the silhouette, everyone’s heartbeat quickened.

Chen Qing also couldn’t help but feel an itch in his heart, wanting to see what this "Mother" mentioned by the Emperor looked like.

But just as Chen Qing strained himself, finally getting a glimpse of the face of the woman in black, he was instantly stunned.

How could it be her?