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Eighth Master Shen’s reaction couldn’t have been faster. As soon as he heard Chen Qing’s words, he had already summoned his spiritual power and charged toward his third brother, but it was still too late!

The mist-shrouded river water created as if an entire world stood between the two men merely ten meters apart. Despite Eighth Master Shen’s efforts, he couldn’t reach Shen Yimiao at all, and he could only watch helplessly as a giant seashell swallowed Shen Yimiao whole!

"So that’s how it is..."

Shen Yimiao realized all the key points as he looked at the beautiful figure inside the seashell.

So the trap was set here...

His technique was water-based, drawing the river water which had a high probability of temporarily shifting part of the array as well. If there were Ancient Worms cooperating outside the array, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to follow over during the activation of his technique.

From the moment he took the initiative to find Wang Ye, he had already fallen into the trap!

Shen Yimiao frowned, feeling the overpowering pressure emanating from the woman in the seashell. He knew that at this distance, he had no chance at all.

But what about Old Ba?

Shen Yimiao looked back and saw Old Ba amidst the mist, extremely anxious and rushing towards him, but however much he tried, he couldn’t reach him.

He immediately understood that he had brought the river water, which likely brought some of the restrictions of the ancient array on the river surface with it. But he still had doubts— even if he had brought the restrictions over, the array would need to cooperate. Could it be...

Shen Yimiao looked up at the young man in the air. Could this guy... control the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley?

This speculation made Shen Yimiao find it unbelievable, but at this point, he had no choice but to believe.

Who in the world was this guy?

"Eighth Brother, behind you!" Shen Yimiao shouted loudly the moment he was swallowed.

Eighth Master Shen was startled and instinctively looked back only to see a familiar face.

"Old Jiu?"

Those blood-red eyes and a pale, thin figure— if not Old Jiu, then who could it be? But then the technique displayed by the other in an instant made Shen Lao Ba immediately realize: "Second Brother?"

A huge green arm appeared behind Old Ba, and with its appearance, massive black chains bound the surroundings, locking his spiritual power within a range and sealing his technique in an instant.

"What are you trying to do?" Old Ba’s expression changed, and before he could react, another familiar figure appeared by his side.

Wang Ye?

"You... stop!" Old Ba instantly understood what the two were trying to do.

"Flying Star, rise!" Wang Ye’s eyes sparkled with dazzling white light, and a majestic flying elephant stood in the sky, carrying a distortive force that directly teleported Shen Lao Ba, who was locked by spiritual power, out of there!

"Old Ba!" Shen Yimiao roared, but he was no longer able to take any action, because the woman in the shell had tightly embraced him. The originally beautiful woman opened her exaggeratedly large mouth, and a disgustingly shaped worm with hundreds of fine legs emerged from her mouth, instantly attaching itself to Shen Lao San’s spine.

"Second Brother... have you gone mad?" Old San stared defiantly at Second Elder Shen, his eyes filled with immense resentment.

"I’m sorry, Old San..." Shen Yiyun looked at his brother about to be devoured, "Second Brother is compelled, but I promise you, I’ll preserve the Shen family and save Jiangnan!"

"Is that so?" Shen Yimiao’s face showed a sinister cold smile, and his voice now strangely carried a female tone: "Big Brother was right, you truly are the person most like our ancestor."

"If you say so, then so be it..." Shen Lao Er turned his head to the side, offering no explanation.

Seeing this, Shen Yimiao sneered but no longer glanced at Shen Yiyun, instead turning his gaze to Chen Qing in mid-air.

"Chen Qing, is it?"

Chen Qing was startled, not expecting Shen San to want to talk to him even as he lay dying.

After a moment of hesitation, he moved forward and respectfully said, "Junior Chen Qing, I have seen the elder."

Shen Yimiao nodded: "Seeing how you’ve managed Lyuzhou so well, it’s evident that your heart is with the Human Race. But to cooperate with such a monster, can you ensure the future?"

Chen Qing was stunned; he didn’t expect Shen Yimiao to ask this question at the last moment!

For a moment, the sense of self-satisfaction from his scheming dissipated entirely, and after a few breaths, Chen Qing put away the smile on his face, and very earnestly offered another junior’s salutation to the other party.

"Rest assured, Elder, this junior will not let you down!"

"Is that so?" Shen Yimiao closed his eyes, no longer speaking. After a few breaths, when he opened his eyes again, they had turned blood-red, clearly not those of the Shen Yimiao from before.

"How do you feel, Elder?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

He still addressed him as "Elder," but the smile now appeared masked, devoid of any previous sincerity.

"Not bad at all..." Speaking again, Third Elder Shen’s voice had completely turned into a woman’s.

Chen Qing nodded upon hearing this, "It’s good that the senior is satisfied!

" With that, he withdrew his hand, and a flash of silver light expelled Shen Yimiao’s soul, which turned into a crystal stone-like substance and flew straight into Chen Qing’s palm.

"Senior, the deal is sealed. Please keep your promise and withdraw from Lyuzhou! "

As soon as his words fell, techniques shone on both of them, and a massive worm appeared in the sky, but its fierce gaze was directed at Third Elder Shen, who had been possessed.

The other party was silent for a few breaths, evidently aware that the technique was now siding with Chen Qing, who had fulfilled the agreement.

Moreover...

He turned and saw Shen Yiyun not far away, looking at himself with a cold sneer.

Second Elder Shen controlled that witch, and with the technique constraining him, it was uncertain if he could win in a head-on fight, especially since he had just acquired a new body.

The priority was to familiarize himself with Shen Lao San’s techniques and locate the whereabouts of his other brothers.

He still had use for the man before him in many matters.

With this in mind, he showed a smile, "Little fellow, it’s been a pleasure working with you!"

"The pleasure is mine," Chen Qing replied with a smile.

As the dense fog receded along with the river, Chen Qing knew that the most venomous woman among the ancient worms was about to be released from her cage.

Her choice of technique was perfect; the battlefield in Nine Heavens Mirror Valley was at sea, and Mystic Water Sorcery was an extremely advantageous technique.

It was not only powerful but also allowed her to exploit loopholes in the arrays through the river water, breaking through certain blockades.

From this moment on, she would leap from her previously weakest position to become one of the strongest contenders among the nine ancient worms.

"This woman is very dangerous." Second Elder Shen approached and looked at Chen Qing, "Once she masters Third Elder Shen’s techniques, she’ll become even more dangerous. You have to be wary when working with someone like her."

Chen Qing rolled his eyes. Aren’t all of these people dangerous?

"So... when does Lord Chen plan to fulfill our agreement?"

"There’s no rush..." Chen Qing responded calmly, "I need to stay in Lyuzhou for a day; we can set out tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Second Elder Shen scoffed, "I must remind Lord Chen... you only have nine days left!"

After taking a deep look at the jade stone in Chen Qing’s hand, he added, "As for the arrangement with Third Elder Shen, if you fail to handle it, I’ll make sure to crush you to ashes!"

Chen Qing sighed, "Second Master truly values brotherhood. If that’s the case, why didn’t you discuss it directly with Third Elder Shen to avoid this trouble now?"

Second Elder Shen looked at Chen Qing coldly without a word.

Feeling a chill from the stare, Chen Qing hastily extended his hand, "Rest assured, Second Master. I keep my word. Since the conditions for Third Elder Shen are already met, as long as everything goes well, Third Elder Shen... shall become the ruler of Nanyang Hell!"

--------------------------

Elsewhere, the Crown Prince had rushed to Jiangnan Province to welcome the three hundred thousand reinforcement troops sent by the Imperial Court. Yet, when he and Fei Jun arrived at the camp, they were taken aback by the person leading the troops.

The identity of the commander had not been disclosed, and the Crown Prince initially thought it might be Hong Lie’s father or perhaps the patriarch of the Weichi Clan, given that both were his father’s most trusted old ministers.

But he never expected that the person leading the troops would be her?

"Aunt?"

The Crown Prince stepped forward and immediately saluted, "I greet Your Highness, the Princess Royale."

"Mother?" Fei Jun was stunned and followed with a salute, puzzled as to why his mother was here.

"Crown Prince, there’s no need for such formalities." The woman, bearing a striking resemblance to the handsome Fei Jun, wore a military outfit that accentuated her valiant and heroic stature, showing no signs of aging, and giving the Crown Prince a sense of déjà vu.

He remembered that a long time ago, when people around him thought he was still too young to understand, he had seen his aunt in military attire and heard of her formidable reputation.

The Princess Royale’s status in Great Jin was not just because she was the Emperor’s sister, but also for her illustrious military achievements on the battlefield!

It was said that if the Emperor hadn’t experienced a stroke of fate that greatly enhanced his strength, the one originally favored to be the Siao Family’s successor was his aunt!

"How have you been these days, my son?" After exchanging formalities with the Crown Prince, the Princess Royale immediately turned her attention to her son. The smile in her eyes was utterly different from her polite interaction with the Crown Prince, and without much restraint, she reached out to stroke Fei Jun’s face, "You’ve become so thin in just a short time. "

"Mother!" Fei Jun spoke in a lowered voice, his face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. With so many people around, couldn’t his mother act with a bit more reserve?

She was the commanding officer, after all.

He truly wondered what the Emperor was thinking to have her lead the troops here.

"What are you embarrassed about, child?" The Princess laughed, glancing at him, "Your father is also here, in the tent. Go and talk to him."

"Father is here too?" Fei Jun was taken aback before looking at the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, if you’ll excuse me..."

"Go ahead..." The Crown Prince nodded with a smile, and Fei Jun quickly bowed before hurrying away.

"This child..." The Princess shook her head with amusement, then turned to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, do you understand what it represents for me to lead the troops here this time?"

The Crown Prince was startled, then shook his head, "I... am slow to realize, could you enlighten me, aunt?"

"What is there to enlighten?" The Princess replied with a chuckle, "Since the founding of Great Jin, your father has never dared to entrust me with military authority. But this time he had no choice. He can’t leave the capital, so looking across the entirety of Great Jin, the only one who can match Duke of Qin. .. is me!"

Crown Prince: "...."