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A dead end... was there really only one path?

This was the first time Chen Ying had doubted Shen Qi’s judgment...

In the seemingly harmless Guanyin Temple, guarded by just one person, Chen Ying had actually seen this person from a distance before when she went to fetch Ali after a court session, a fellow whose appearance and style differed from the people of the Central Plains.

It was Wutu Gu, the one who would face Chen Qing in a fair duel in public a few hours later!

Seeing this person, Chen Ying’s unease grew quickly.

She didn’t know why because, logically speaking, having the chance to take down Wutu Gu in advance was extremely rare.

If he died a sudden death, she and the others could legitimately take the Princess away, and the Emperor of the Siao Family would lack a direct reason to hold them.

But the appearance of such an important figure here, in such a nonchalant manner, made her feel that something was off...

"Tsk... what’s there to hide from?" Wutu Gu, standing in the distance, took off his Central Plains-style robe, exposing his mountain-like exaggerated muscles, flexing his limbs, making a sound like firecrackers.

"That obvious fishy smell, I could smell it from ten meters away!"

Chen Ying frowned and looked towards the Yaksha general at her side.

This Yaksha, named Ah Da, was one of Prince Ao Zhen’s guards.

He enjoyed drinking and was hospitably treated by the simple villagers on Daqing Mountain.

Compared to the other more radical members of the Dragon Palace, his attitude towards the Human Race was rather positive, except he disliked people who complained about the fishy smell on him.

The smell wasn’t actually strong; these Yakshas could control their sweat glands.

When transformed into human form, as long as they didn’t sweat profusely, they wouldn’t emit a fishy smell.

The fact that the other party could smell it meant they had a special method, but this provocation precisely hit Ah Da’s few buttons.

However, when Chen Ying looked at him, she found that Ah Da wasn’t the slightest bit angry this time but was looking at the other party very seriously, with a very solemn look in his eyes. This made her even more uneasy.

"General?" Chen Ying whispered.

"Run..."

"Hmm?" Before Chen Ying could respond, she was flung away by a tremendous force!

By the time she realized what happened, she had been thrown a great distance. The words of the straightforward Yaksha still echoed in her ears.

"Run, as far as you can. Take that little fox and run, get out of the Capital City if you can!"

In that moment, Chen Ying felt a chill throughout her body; she knew her uneasiness had been justified.

Using the immense force that the Yaksha had used to send her away, and combining it with Wind Sorcery, she covered hundreds of zhang in almost an instant.

But for some reason, she felt an oppressive sense that no matter what, she couldn’t escape.

"Really decisive..." Wutu Gu clapped his hands, revealing a ferocious smile, and upon closer inspection, one would realize that this Wutu Gu appeared different from before. His sharp, pointed teeth made him look more like a shark than even the Yakshas did.

"Dragon Transformation Technique!" Ah Da took out his weapon, his eyes cold. "It seems unmistakable. That traitor of the Dragon Clan is indeed here!"

"Dragon Transformation Technique? Is that the name of that wonderful ritual?

" Wutu Gu chuckled, his muscles flexing, and on closer inspection, scales were turning out from under his skin.

In just a moment, his body was covered in scales as hard as black iron armor, and a pressure as heavy as a mountain exuded from him, pushing down even a mighty warrior from the Dragon Palace like Ah Da, forcing him to bend at the waist within moments!

"This is not an ordinary Dragon Transformation..." Ah Da muttered under his breath. He wasn’t talking to himself, but to a small eyeball he had brought with him on his chest.

That was Shen Qi’s Technique, used to share intelligence. Ah Da wasn’t sure if Shen Qi could still hear him at this moment, but he tried to send whatever information he could discern at the last moment.

The aura on this human was strange, not simply a Dragon Transformation, nor any dragon type he knew of. The presence made him uneasy, and he even felt that not even Prince Ao Zhen would necessarily be able to handle him if he were here!

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

"You are..."

At Sanxing Temple, Shen Qi and another Yaksha general, Ah Er, had chosen the temple that seemed the most likely to be an ambush spot.

The reason they dared to go was one, they had some faith in the combat prowess of the Yakshas, and two, Shen Qi had considerable confidence in his own ability to sense danger.

As long as he detected something wrong ahead of time, he believed that among everyone, their team was the most likely to escape.

But after arriving, there was no ambush as expected in the large temple. The doors stood wide open, with just one enchanting figure standing in the center.

Neither Shen Qi nor Ah Er detected anyone else.

They did not believe anyone else was present because if someone could still hide from the two of them, there would be no point in fighting this battle at all.

Still, despite this, Shen Qi remained very cautious about the situation before them.

The person approaching him was someone he recognized. Twenty years ago, when the Ancient Worm possessed his sixth brother and turned him into the Minister of War in Capital City, Chen Qing had come to the Capital once and had seen this person.

The very paragon of motherhood in Great Jin!

"Empress Mother..." Shen Qi squinted his eyes, but he did not perform the courtesy due to a sovereign.

It was not because Jiangnan was now in a state of de facto independence, but rather by intuition, he felt that the person before him could not possibly be the same gentle and dignified Empress he had known years ago.

"Ah... such a delicacy you are." Dressed in black light gauze, the Empress eyed Shen Qi and licked her dry lips like a charming demon.

Her allure was different from that of Ali, possessing a very dominant temptation. Even someone like Shen Qi, who had never been particularly interested in women, felt his blood rushing and his consciousness drifting away at that moment.

Ah Er beside him was fairing even worse, breathing heavily, his eyes crimson, his leather trousers in the lower half being tented.

The unsightly scene brought Shen Qi back to his senses, and he whispered, "General Ah Er, snap out of it!"

"I am lucid!"

"Really?" Shen Qi was startled because Ah Er’s voice was extremely serious and indeed did not seem charmed.

"I must give it to that old hag hard!"

Shen Qi: "...."

So lucid, it was intense...

"Hehehe..." The Empress, enchanting to the bone, giggled until she was trembling, but then looked at the Yaksha with utmost disgust.

"You lowly mongrel, better drop dead now, truly nauseating..."

"Then let me make you utterly sick!" The Yaksha charged without hesitation, shouting at the last moment, "Run now, Mr. Shen Qi!"

Shen Qi: "!!!"

It seems... he was truly lucid...

It was the first time Shen Qi saw the Yaksha fight seriously, with an earth-shattering momentum and precise spear technique. He had seen this move before; it was the Heavenly Spear that Xuu Hu often practiced.

Its name was plain, a spear technique that descended from the heavens, specifically designed to combat giant pythons in the sea.

After half a year of relentless practice, Ah Da and Ah Er enjoyed watching Xuu Hu training. Xuu Hu never hid his techniques from them, and this also made them quite fond of Xuu Hu, who they would even proactively approach for advice.

Shen Qi heard from Xuu Hu that the two Yaksha generals didn’t have much talent in martial arts, especially when it came to utilizing strength—harder to teach than an ox.

But their natural physical power was truly exaggerated, only learning sixty to seventy percent of the technique, they could exert astonishingly immense strength.

Sometimes talent is a thing that can really make one despair.

Ah Da and Ah Er never used this move when sparring with each other, as they said it was already a killing move. If not controlled properly, it could kill the opponent.

A very high evaluation, indeed, for when it was used, the power was truly shocking!

That thrust of the spear from the sky felt like a meteorite falling to Shen Qi; he thought if the other party dared dodge, the entire Sanxing Temple behind would be destroyed!

Shen Qi did not leave. He didn’t think he could get away, so he wanted to see the outcome. With Ah Er’s strength, was there really no chance at all?

Soon, he knew the answer...

The woman’s figure seemed as delicate as a willow, as if a gust of wind could carry her away, yet with only two fingers, she pinched Ah Er’s Trident.

With just one more motion, the awe-inspiring Ah Er was twisted with his weapon into a twisted mess!

Shen Qi took a step back, and at the same time, his Thousand Eyes Sorcery picked up multiple feedbacks.

They had agreed to strike all at the same moment, so the instant Ah Er died, the outcomes seemed to have been decided in several other locations.

Shen Qi gave a bitter smile. Not one had been spared; it was a total annihilation!!