Just yesterday, Xia Wuyang received some news.
Emperor Xia had once again ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to select twelve peerlessly beautiful young women to be added to the Harem.
It was said that each of them was a heavenly beauty, gorgeous beyond compare. One pair of sisters, in particular, was rumored to possess a beauty that could topple nations. Emperor Xia himself bestowed upon them the names Furong and Peony and summoned them to his bed that very night. He seemed to have enjoyed himself immensely.
Seeing his enemy so happy filled Xia Wuyang with bitterness. After all, his deceased mother, the Empress, and so many of his relatives and friends were now beneath the Yellow Springs, and he had no way of knowing if they were suffering.
’I need to stir up some trouble for him,’ Xia Wuyang thought as he rose and walked to the window, gazing toward Lan Yue Palace. ’He’s having far too much fun.’
According to intelligence from Tantai Zhan and Zheng Zhicang, Emperor Xia’s current favorite was Consort Ji, Ji Ruxue. He favored her even more than he had the former Empress, Murong Wan.
Not only was this woman beautiful and bewitching, but more importantly, a few years ago, while dallying with her, Emperor Xia had faintly sensed an opportunity to break through to the True Monarch Realm, nearly ascending to the Extraordinary level.
Though he ultimately failed to seize the chance, from then on, Emperor Xia saw Ji Ruxue as his catalyst. He believed she was a source of good fortune and doted on her increasingly, pinning all his hopes for a breakthrough on her—and with some success.
Rumor had it that before long, he might just achieve his breakthrough with Ji Ruxue’s help.
Xia Wuyang could not possibly allow Emperor Xia to have a smooth breakthrough. The man was merely a Martial Artist at Celestial Human Perfection, yet he was already incredibly difficult to deal with. If he broke through to the True Monarch Realm, leveraging the deep reserves and treasures the Great Xia Dynasty had amassed over many years, he would be nearly unrivaled among Low Level True Monarchs.
Though he had rarely visited the Harem in recent months due to pressing state affairs, on the few occasions he did, he went to Lan Yue Palace nine times out of ten, eager to find his chance for a breakthrough.
’Your catalyst, is it?’ The corners of Xia Wuyang’s mouth lifted in a cold smirk. ’I wonder what kind of expression Xia Shengming will make when this "catalyst" of his dies. He’ll be overjoyed, I’m sure.’
’He bore no great personal grudge against Consort Ji, certainly nothing like what he felt for Empress Murong Wan. After all, when his world came crashing down, Consort Ji hadn’t even been born.’
’So I’ll go a bit easier on Consort Ji. I won’t make her suffer a fate worse than death like Empress Murong Wan. The most I’ll do is kill her.’
A plan quickly formed in his mind: he would frame someone for the deed.
The frame-up had to be ingenious, convincing enough that Emperor Xia would have no doubts, which would further provoke his conflict with the Northern Desert Da Kuo Royal Court and the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races.
The Northern Desert Da Kuo and the Southern Barbarians were already being scapegoated, so he might as well make the accusation stick more firmly. What’s one more crime to add to the list?
He would stage Consort Ji’s death to look like the work of Southern Barbarian Witchcraft.
After all, the Southern Barbarians excelled at Poisonous Gu Curse Skills. Their ways were mysterious and strange, making them the perfect scapegoats for such a "baffling" crime.
A few days ago, while studying the texts he had plundered from the Inner Treasury, Xia Wuyang had accidentally discovered a fragmented scroll that recorded a Southern Barbarian Secret Skill. He had gained some insight after only a brief study.
With his Comprehension, he grasped the rudiments of several of the Curse Techniques within a short time.
Although he had only scratched the surface, it was more than enough to stage the scene without leaving any easily discoverable flaws.
’Celestial Eye Sun Wuyang...’ Xia Wuyang mused.
’That Elder Divine Constable has a wickedly sharp eye. If the forgery is too crude, I’m afraid it won’t fool him. I’ll need to be careful.’
’I need to leave traces of the Southern Barbarians, but they must be subtle enough that Sun Wuyang has to work to find them. That will make it seem more authentic. Fortunately, thanks to my supreme Comprehension, I’ve already managed to decipher those few Secret Techniques of the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races. I can afford to use some of the more advanced methods.’
’Tonight at midnight, I’ll pay a visit to Lan Yue Palace,’ Xia Wuyang decided, gazing out the window as dusk settled.
「11:45 PM」
The world was steeped in a profound silence.
Inside Lan Yue Palace, Ji Ruxue had just finished her bath. Draped in a silk robe as thin as a cicada’s wing, she sat at her vanity, combing her long hair.
Though she was vicious at heart, Ji Ruxue’s beauty was undeniably catastrophic.
The beauty in the Copper Mirror had sultry eyes, and the post-bath flush on her cheeks only added to her allure—a sight that could make countless heroes bend the knee.
She was in a good mood, a smile on her face.
Not long ago, her brother had sent word that 500,000 *dan* of grain would soon be shipped from Jiangnan, destined for the Northern Territory to resupply the Imperial Guard.
Emperor Xia was overjoyed when he heard the news. He rewarded her with a pair of South Sea Pearls and promised to take her to the West Mountain Palace soon to escape the summer heat and have some fun together.
Ji Ruxue looked in the mirror, gently stroking her own cheek. ’Once we’re at the palace,’ she thought, ’I’ll put in a little more effort. Maybe I can help His Majesty finally break through that barrier and ascend to the True Monarch Realm. When that happens, I’ll be a great benefactor to Great Xia. The title of Empress will be within my reach, and I will become the mother of the nation.’
Her eyes flashed with ambition as she fantasized about the future.
With Empress Murong Wan deposed, it wouldn’t be long before she was forced to abdicate, leaving the throne of the Empress vacant.
’There are a few other Consorts with more seniority and far more powerful backgrounds, it’s true, but who among them is more favored by His Majesty than I?’
’And most importantly, who else can serve as the catalyst for His Majesty’s breakthrough?’
As she was lost in thought, the candlelight in the chamber suddenly flickered.
It wasn’t the wind. The windows were shut tight, and there was no breeze in the chamber.
Ji Ruxue frowned and turned toward the candlestick, trying to see what was wrong.
In that very instant, she saw it in the Copper Mirror: a dark shadow had appeared behind her.
"Who’s there?!" she snapped, starting to rise from her seat.
But her body suddenly went rigid, and she couldn’t move.
It wasn’t that her pressure points had been sealed. Rather, she was bound by an invisible power, unable to move even a single finger, much less call for help.
She tried to scream for help but found that no sound would come out. All she could do was watch, paralyzed, as the dark figure in the Copper Mirror drew slowly closer. Terror exploded in her chest, nearly suffocating her.
It was a cloaked figure, face concealed in shadow, its features impossible to discern.
But those eyes... Ji Ruxue knew she would never forget them. They were as deep as a Cold Pool, as frigid as frost and snow. The way they looked at her was as if she were an inanimate object, devoid of any trace of life.
The shadow moved behind her. It raised a hand and gently placed it atop her head, as soft as a lover’s touch.
Ji Ruxue shuddered violently, losing all control of her body.
She felt a bizarre power bore into her mind, and the scene before her eyes began to warp and spin, as if coming to life.
Countless phantasmagoric images flashed before her eyes: the primeval forests of the Southern Barbarians, Witch Priests performing grotesque dances, burning green flames, and a writhing mass of venomous insects and scorpions...
This was a particular application of the Soul Enchantment Technique, one that Xia Wuyang had deliberately disguised as the Southern Barbarian Soul-Catching Spell. The disguise was so perfect that not even a True Monarch could tell the difference. The Soul Enchantment Technique, having been improved and transformed, no longer bore any resemblance to its original form. In Xia Wuyang’s hands, it was capable of infinite variations.
Ji Ruxue’s consciousness began to blur. Her final, lingering vision was of the savage face of a Southern Barbarian Witch Priest and a curse, spoken in a stiff, halting dialect of the Central Plains: "Those who dare offend my Southern Barbarians... will be cursed to death... and die without a place for burial."
And then, darkness descended, and she knew no more.

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