The Commander’s Seal triggered a portion of the Imperial Capital Great Array Formation to reinforce it, and its power was enough to suppress even the mightiest of Spirit Transmutation Peak experts; the reason he hadn’t acted yet was merely because he wasn’t fully aware of the current situation.
The man in the black robe slowly climbed out of the deep pit, his now shattered robe finally revealing his true face.
"It’s you!"
Xia Yunqiu’s beautiful eyes trembled, and she couldn’t help but cry out in shock.
The man in the black robe was none other than the Imperial eunuch who had forced her to drink the poisoned wine in the Heaven Traversing Princess Mansion.
"Weren’t you killed by the destruction of your Spirit Soul by my hand? How could you appear here!"
The eunuch, now showing his true face, no longer had any disguise. His body, severely wounded by the Moon Extraction Divine Skills, was covered with traces of being frozen by ice crystals, and his chest was even penetrated by a sword wound.
A spurt of fresh blood splattered onto his clothes, making the originally red Imperial servant’s attire even more vivid.
The Imperial eunuch didn’t care about the injuries on his body at all. His bright lips curled into a strange smile and he did not answer Xia Yunqiu’s question.
Taking out a golden authority token from within his arms, the Imperial eunuch said in a loud voice:
"I am Eunuch Zhou Kuang, the Chief Eunuch with the Seal, by the Emperor’s decree to capture the criminal, but obstructed by a sect’s rebellion.
All of you, quickly form the Array, execute the traitors!"
Amidst his words, the golden authority token resonated with the dynastic fate confirming the truthfulness of his words to the three Colonels.
The three Colonels exchanged glances before loudly commanding with the Commander’s Seal in hand:
"Form the Array!"
The martial spirit of the soldiers combined with the Imperial Capital Great Array, sealing off the nature’s spiritual energy around Enlightenment Pavilion.
The martial might began to suppress Xia Yunqiu’s Mana, and the spreading ice and snow around also started to melt at this moment, suppressing Gong Buyu’s strength.
Seeing this, Xia Yunqiu stepped forward and called out loudly:
"I am Heaven Traversing Princess Xia Yunqiu, who presided over the grand ceremony of humanity and negotiated an alliance with the Netherworld, arguing with reason for Netherworld to return to Great Xia several City God positions and faith offerings.
However, Emperor Xia was swayed by slanderous lies, intending to wrongfully execute me without cause.
I ask you all, is Great Xia the Great Xia of all living beings in humanity’s path, or the sole decree of Emperor Xia?"
Everyone was momentarily taken aback; rumors of baseless accusations had already spread throughout the Imperial Capital, and even the soldiers stationed in the Imperial Capital Marketplace had heard something of the matter to some extent.
The majority of people felt sympathy for Xia Yunqiu’s plight, and the fluctuation in their minds caused the previously gathered martial spirit to suddenly become unstable.
The three Colonels frowned as they naturally would not let their emotions affect them at such a position.
Xia Yunqiu’s misfortune, tragic as it may be, was someone else’s problem and far less important than their own wealth and future prospects.
"All soldiers, obey my command, kill the traitor!"
However, no one realized that as Xia Yunqiu took the initiative to speak up, the weak Fire of Humanity within her trembled slightly, and a small part of the dynastic fate emanating from the Imperial City suddenly started to converge upon her.
The Fire of Humanity under the gathering of humanity’s fate began to shine brighter, and as the light rose and fate interwove, a dignified and noble aura emanated from Xia Yunqiu.
Just as the soldiers were preparing to follow the Colonel’s order to execute Xia Yunqiu, everyone suddenly discovered that the Imperial Capital Great Array Formation that had been reinforcing them lost its effect as they pointed their weapons towards Xia Yunqiu.
"How is this possible?"
The three Colonels looked astonished and quickly pulled out their Commander’s Seals to forcibly stimulate.
"Crack!"
Accompanied by a crisp sound, all three Commander’s Seals shattered completely.
The Imperial Capital Great Array Formation’s foundation was humanity’s fate; Xia Yunqiu, carrying the Fire of Humanity and protected by humanity’s fate, could not be targeted by the Great Array. Hence, Emperor Xia had issued a decree to strip Xia Yunqiu of her title as Heaven Traversing Princess, making it easier to deal with her.
However, the humanity fate on Xia Yunqiu had not been severed; instead, due to the matters involving Emperor Xia spreading, her reputation had greatly increased, subtly taking Emperor Xia’s dissipated humanity fate for her own.
Freed from the Imperial Court’s decree but still carrying humanity’s fate, Xia Yunqiu, at this moment, already possessed the positional fate of the heir to humanity’s path, and before she lost that status, it was impossible to use humanity’s fate to suppress her.
The many soldiers, feeling the loss of the Great Array Formation’s reinforcement, were uncertain of the reason; they only knew that after Xia Yunqiu spoke the truth, the powerful effect of the Imperial Capital Great Array Formation voluntarily dissipated.
Such a scenario had only appeared in legends.
With the Fire of Humanity flickering, the gaze of many soldiers looking at Xia Yunqiu started to undergo subtle changes, and the convergence of fate quietly accelerated at this moment.
Zhou Kuang, who had everything under control, looking at the dimmed authority token in his hand, also realized the issues at hand.
The expression on his chilling face turned extremely ugly, with a growing ominous gleam in his eyes.
"Do you really think," he hissed, "that I have no way to deal with you?"
"The military assassination array may indeed be ineffective against you, but what if I suppress you directly with force? How then will you respond?"
Amid the soft-spoken words, Zhou Kuang’s body, covered in burns, began to swell.
Crevices formed on his cold visage, spreading and cracking like a mask, revealing the grotesque and writhing flesh beneath.
With his face completely shattered, what appeared before everyone was a bloody giant several meters tall, with a hideous red complexion, akin to a Flesh Asura stepping out from the pages of mythology.
He exuded a deep abyss-like aura, as the blood previously spilt seemed to be given a new life, transforming into small, crawling monsters on the ground.
His dark eyes fixed on Gong Buyu, his face twisted in a hideous smile.
Above in the sky, dark red clouds of tribulation crazily converged, with lightning bolts sprawling across the dark firmament.
Zhou Kuang at this moment had transcended the limitations of this world, reaching the Spirit Refining Stage.
However, with a massive amount of the dynasty’s fortune gathering around him and the Imperial Capital Great Array Formation shielding him, the Heavenly Tribulation could only hover high in the firmament, unable to descend.
"What kind of monster is this?"
"Is this really the Chief Eunuch by His Majesty’s side?"
Without the protection of the Imperial Capital Great Array Formation and witnessing such a terrifying monster, the soldiers were already in turmoil.
"Forcing out my true form should indeed be a matter of pride for you. But everything stops here."
"Just die!"
Zhou Kuang’s right fist clenched as he smashed it towards Gong Buyu. His colossal body seemed merged with the Sun God Dharma Image, twisting even the space itself as the punch fell.
"Boom!"
The violent collision shook the ground but did not harm Gong Buyu in the slightest.
Zhou Kuang was surprised to find that, seemingly out of nowhere, a mirror carved out of ice crystals had appeared, spreading a soul-freezing chill from its surface, inching towards his arm.
"A Taoist artifact!"
He exclaimed in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Even thousands of years ago, a Taoist artifact was an undeniable treasure, powerful enough to suppress the foundation of a sect.
With the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge of the Primal Chaos Realm over millennia, who knows how many treasures have fallen in rank. The Taoist artifacts that remain to this day are few and far between, mostly controlled by the ancestors of the grotto heavens sacred ground.
The fact that a mere Spirit Transmutation cultivator before him could bring out such a treasure far exceeded Zhou Kuang’s understanding.
The cold spread rapidly, and, driven by fear, Zhou Kuang bit through his determination and severed the arm that was in contact with the mirror.
The ice swiftly froze that arm solid; his body, comparable to that of a Sun God Dharma Image, was rendered useless against the Taoist artifact, instantly shattering into a sky full of ice crystals.
His resentful gaze fell on Gong Buyu, whose face had paled slightly, his voice filled with venom.
"Is this your trump card?"
"But with your cultivation at the Spirit Transmutation Late Stage, even activating this Taoist artifact barely once is already your limit.
Next time, how will you block me?"
Gong Buyu looked at Zhou Kuang with a trace of pity in her eyes, casually waving her hand to receive the ice-crystal-crafted Taoist artifact mirror into her palm.
A ripple emanated from the space ring on her slender index finger, and a delicate jade bottle appeared in her hand.
She opened the bottle, and a rich Spirit Energy filled the area within a hundred meters instantly. Gong Buyu poured out an elixir pill resembling jade and swallowed it, her pale face instantly regaining its peak condition.
Seeing this, Zhou Kuang couldn’t contain his outburst:
"The Multiplied Creation Pill! A great pill that can restore the essence of a Void Refining True Monarch, and you use it for recovering your energy and injuries?"
"Very well! I want to see how many Multiplied Creation Pills you have to activate the Taoist artifact."
Gong Buyu moved her bare hand lightly, and more than ten jade bottles appeared before her, from which a strange fragrance wafted.
Zhou Kuang’s hateful expression froze into one of intense fear.

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