Everyone is having a rough time due to this chaos that has risen. Emperor Yin Wenyan didn't have it easy as well. He can barely keep up with Eunuch Ye. Dealing with this monster for an hour or two will do but he's afraid he can't keep up for the third hour. If this continues, he will eventually get exhausted.
The deceased eunuch sensed the order of the empress dowager. As her mere pawn, the creature suddenly backed off from the emperor and immediately headed out of the Union Hall. Emperor Yin Wenyan didn't see this coming. He didn't know why Eunuch Ye suddenly runs out of the hall at full speed.
Of course, his majesty won't let him go just like that. He chased after him, hoping on the roof from eves to eves. He followed him closely until they reached the Empress Dowager's Hall where his sister and the empress dowager are in combat.
Without any forewarnings, Eunuch Ye grabs the empress dowager on the waist and took her with him away from her opponent.
And soon after, the emperor landed near the princess' post.
"Wenyan! You're finally here!" Princess Yin Xiulan cheered up a little. Finally, a reinforcement worth ten men came. However, this backup also brought an opponent worth ten enemies. "And you actually brought another enemy with you."
"Sorry about that. I was careless. I let him get away from me." He apologized before he once again chases the on-the-run enemy. His sister comes along as well. When the princess matched her pace, he continued to speak. "I know now why he suddenly ran like a mad dog."
Without saying it, the princess knows what he meant by that. She could only warn the emperor about the dangerous weapon. "Don't let that javelin that the empress dowager holds injure you. I heard that's extremely poisonous."
Emperor Yin Wenyan heard it loud and clear and nods as a response. "Got it."
It's like they're playing tag, chasing one another on the roof underneath the moon. It must be fun if only not for the fact that lives are at stake here. The chase continued until they reached the imperial garden.
Emperor Yin Wenyan's time seems to stop when he sees the beau in bridal robes together with the man who shares the same face as him.
Xu Zhengming, just like Yin Renshu, is soaking wet. Looks like they had a bad fall in the lake. They must be feeling cold due to the ice-cold water and the cold breeze. But that's not what Emperor Yin Wenyan is worried about.
In his heart, he felt a sour feeling. He wants to go down and grab Xu Zhengming away from his brother but they have a priority. First thing's first. They need to deal with the empress dowager and that corpse.
Speaking of this beau, Xu Zhengming is struggling again. He's battling for control of his own body. Since the empress dowager strengthened the array, the effects of the poison in Xu Zhengming's body got triggered again. This time, it's harder to fight.
It's painful. He could barely keep his consciousness. His knees and palms are supporting him from kissing the ground. But even his bodyweight seems so heavy. He feels very weak and his strength is declining continuously. He could feel that his whole body is trembling nonstop.
Personally, Xu Zhengming just wants to submit to his beastly instincts and end this suffering. However, he's afraid that he might hurt others... especially his majesty. He once harmed him and he doesn't want to do it once more.
"What's happening? You look terrible. Speak to me. Xu Zhengming!" Yin Renhu is asking Xu Zhengming for the third time but the other won't utter a word. Little did he know, he's too pained to say a single word. He could even barely hear him!
Yin Renshu of course, doesn't know what the empress dowager did to the victims of the poison. Seeing Xu Zhengming like this makes him anxious. What's wrong with this man? What should he do? The former emperor reached for the white cloak he threw earlier and puts it on Xu Zhengming. He's just too adorable thinking that Xu Zhengming is just cold caused by the incident lately. Unfortunately, that's not really the case.
The empress dowager ordered Eunuch Ye to stop. They can't just run away forever, right? And besides, isn't this what she wanted? She's waiting for many years to do her vengeance against the entire dynasty. Since she doesn't care if she'll live after this or not, she chooses to face them.
The empress dowager runs swiftly on the roof eves, charging with the Crimson Javelin on her right hand. This sudden change of tactics almost got Emperor Yin Wenyan and Princess Yin Xiulan off-guard. Good thing, they reacted just in time before the empress dowager got close enough.
The empress dowager came from a cultivation sect as well and even cultivated his spiritual core. It's not really surprising for her to have some moves. This is why she's bold enough to charge towards the two.
Princess Yin Xiulan swings her fan several times, creating multiple wind blades charging towards the empress dowager. Emperor Yin Wenyan follows the attack with a strong current of a stream.
Unfortunately, the empress dowager is able to spin the javelin with her two hands, creating a shield to block the incoming attacks. These blows are not weak at all. In fact, the emperor and the princess do not intend to go easy on her despite her noble title. However, their recent blows created no scratches on her weapon.
To think that the empress dowager is in a weakened state, she is indeed a formidable opponent to the current generation of the dynasty.
The deceased eunuch hops towards their direction and was about to scratch them with his sharp fingernails. Luckily, the emperor is quick to respond and made a hand seal, creating a hard barrier. This barrier is similar to what Zhao Yangguang is currently creating on the other side of the imperial palace. Of course, it is similar since as one of their teachers, he taught that to them that technique personally. Although the barrier is hard enough to protect them from hurricanes, the impact of the attacks that it receives from the enraged corpse makes it look like it's going to crack sooner or later.
The emperor dispels the barrier and immediately hops backward, pulling his sister along before Eunuch Ye injured them. They barely had their balance regained when the empress dowager charges at them again.
Princess Yin Xiulan almost got a cut from the sharp end of the Crimson Javelin. It was just merely about a centimeter distance. It even cuts a lock of her hair. This surprise made her totally lose her balance and roll her way to the edge of the roof, causing her to fall.
The hands of the emperor are full of Eunuch Ye so he couldn't offer his help to his sister at the moment.
It's a good fall of not less than four meters. Fortunately, the princess got it and managed to land with her feet and palms, minimizing the impact. She's just like a cat that has fallen from a height. The only thing about it that hurts her is that her fan falls a little delayed than her and eventually falls right on the top of her head.
Even though this fan of hers is a holy weapon that she summoned on the top of a raging volcano, and despite the fact that it can control the wind, its physical form isn't much different from the ordinary ones. It's made of wood and with a length of thirteen inches so it's a little heavy. If this thing falls into a person from more than four meters, of course, it would hurt.
After she recovered from the fall, Princess Yin Xiulan stands straight. Only by then did she notice the presence of his brother Yin Renshu that is torn between helping them and staying by Xu Zhengming's side.
"Hey! Why did you suddenly disappear from the battlefield? Did you know that we had it rough in there?!" She complains to her brother. "And Xu Zhengming too... didn't I tell you not to leave? Well, not that it matters now."
Lately, Yin Renshu disappeared from her sister's side as soon as he realized that Xu Zhengming might be turning into a bloodthirsty monster just like the other servants. And he got it right. As soon as he arrived in the Empress Dowager's Hall, Xu Zhengming was about to become one.
"But Xu Zhengmimg..." Yin Renshu didn't have the chance to finish what he's about to say when Xu Zhengming interrupted him with his hoarse screams of agony.
This beau couldn't hold it any longer. His head feels like it's going to crack into halves. He couldn't breathe properly too. His long and sharp fingernails are hurting him when he clenches his fists because of pain. Also, his pair of almond-shaped eyes are becoming bloodshot. Slowly, he's losing his consciousness and the vicious monster inside him gradually overtakes his body.
This surprised Yin Renshu and the princess. Even the emperor's attention is drawn to him.
The ear-piercing sound of two metals colliding with each other echoed in the area. When Emperor Yin Wenyan got distracted, the empress dowager took advantage of it and attacks him which eventually got blocked by his majesty's holy weapon.
This blow of her highness is followed by Eunuch Ye's fierce attacks which his majesty also blocked, except for one scratch. His arm got wounded by the vicious ghost.
Blood drips on the roof tiles. This isn't good. Emperor Yin Wenyan has been fighting since sundown. Although his majesty's moves are still fast, it's not as swift as his usual ones. Even though he's a skilled cultivator, he's still a human. His stamina isn't unlimited.
The empress dowager chuckles. "Your majesty, you sure are full of yourself. You actually dared to avert your eyes from us?"
Emperor Yin Wenyan can't help but click his tongue in annoyance. His bride is suffering yet he can't go to his side because of these villains. He distanced himself for a few couple of meters and made a hand seal. This enables him to command his sword to charge against the deceased eunuch, and exchange blows with him.
While his holy weapon is making Euncuh Ye occupied, he goes towards the empress dowager, grabs some talisman underneath his sleeves, and throws it in her highness' direction. The empress dowager, on the other hand, is fast to counter this move. She's quick to swing her javelin, causing the talismans to cut into two parts and dispel its effects, making it useless against her.
While she's occupied dealing with the talismans, Emperor Yin Wenyan took this chance and throws another set of talismans. This time, the talismans successfully got attached to her. As soon as the emperor did the incantations, the spell activated. A stream of cold water binds the empress dowager, preventing her to move.
However, instead of feeling defeated, she laughs. "Your majesty, I think there's an important information about me that you don't know." The empress dowager single-handedly uses her spiritual energy to free herself. "My spiritual root element is water. I am immune to any of your attacks just as you are with mine. That's the reason why I am not relying on my spiritual powers in this match."
This revelation that the empress dowager just said didn't surprise his majesty. In fact, he looks like he anticipated this to happen. "I know... but you don't have much remaining spiritual energy as of now, right?"
"..." The empress dowager fell silent and frozen at the moment.
How did he know it? She's not giving any hints of her weakness, right? Or is her movements too slow? But she's clearly keeping up with his pace. Or is it that she looks unusually weak than her normal state? Thoughts are flooding in empress dowager's mind but she can't figure out how his majesty knows about it.
His pair of phoenix eyes narrow as he stares at the blood-red weapon on her right hand. "If I am not mistaken, the one you're holding is a Crimson Javelin."
The empress dowager is shocked at first when Emperor Yin Wenyan got it right. Even so, it didn't take her too much time to regain her composure. With her usual sweet smile on her face, the empress dowager commented. "I see. So your majesty is well-versed about this weapon."
"Not really. Actually, I am quite ashamed that I realized it just now." Emperor Yin Wenyan said in a plainspoken manner. His facial expression looks so solemn that no one can trace the gentleness that once inhabited that face. "I haven't actually seen one but I learned from the old records that my great-grandfather received a Crimson Javelin from your clan."
In the past, Yin Wenyan as a mere double of the emperor got a lot of spare time. Since Xu Zhengming that time already graduated from the imperial academy as a junior scholar and left the imperial palace, he just spent his free time becoming a better emperor.
And so, he studied and did some research about the previous generation of the dynasty. And there, he learned many things. He learned about the controversial connection that the Xue clan has with the royal family... including this particular weapon: the Crimson Javelin.
The emperor continues, "It's forged using blood and a massive amount of spiritual energy. You left the Union Hall earlier because you have some matters to deal with, right? I assume you are talking about that."
"Not bad for a guess." Despite her secret being revealed, the empress dowager still tries to trick the emperor. "But what made you think that I forged it just earlier? Wouldn't that make me into a great disadvantage if I use a massive amount of my spiritual energy just to forge this?"
Emperor Yin Wenyan took another set of talismans and throws it towards the empress dowager's direction. "Because it's most poisonous when used within a short period of time after forging. And you're unusually pale too. Where does your blood go to if not in that weapon, right?"
The empress dowager cuts the talismans into halves again. This time, there are a couple of talismans that she failed to deal with. Just like before, when the spell is activated, streams of water will bind her. The emperor used the same tactic as earlier so the outcomes are not much different. The empress dowager eventually manages to free herself from the binding spell.
Actually, Emperor Yin Wenyan's goal here isn't to bind her but to make her use up all her remaining spiritual energy until she exhausted herself and couldn't fight anymore,
But the empress dowager is hardheaded. Stubbornly surpassing her limits right here and now. "Since your majesty knows this much, I'll make you its first victim."