Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Tomorrow Night at Midnight

The System stayed silent for a while, then said: “Something is wrong with this palace.”

Ye Zhao Zhao perked up: “What do you mean, wrong?”

The System answered calmly: “I cannot be completely sure. Do not involve yourself. If things are as I suspect, we may not need to work so hard. Soon, we can take everything from Li Shuang.”

Its tone was eerie. That Devil Heart did have some skill. A Devil Creature like that should only be able to exist by relying on someone else’s body, yet this Devil Heart clearly refused to accept those limits. The Formation here could fool others, but not him. He grew stronger by absorbing other people’s fortune, so he was very sensitive to such things.

In this imperial city, someone had laid down a grand Formation to draw away a nation’s fortune. They meant to use the fortune of a whole country to forge the body of a True Devil.

It was a bold plan. If it worked, that person’s cultivation could jump straight to the Integration Realm. But the chaos it would cause would doom him to endless pursuit by the great sects.

The System did not want such noise. His method of absorbing fortune was more hidden and far more efficient than this Formation. If the Devil Heart really forged a True Devil body, Li Shuang and the others would not be able to stand against him. The System had already settled inside Ye Zhao Zhao, and once Li Shuang died, her fortune would still be taken by him.

[Let the Devil Heart do the dirty work, and I will reap the harvest.] With that, the System decided to simply watch. He felt no need to warn his so called peer. [A single country’s fortune is not so easy to carry. He may not even know how he will die.]

Ye Zhao Zhao asked a few more curious questions, but the System kept its secrets and said no more.

In a dark room, the people from Emotionless Peak whom Li Shuang had urgently gathered listened to her report, and their expressions all changed.

Sui Jin asked in a low voice: “You mean the entire palace is actually the complete Grand Bloodfiend Body-Refining Grand Array?”

Li Shuang nodded without hesitation: “Over the last few years, many new buildings have appeared in the palace. Those new structures are all parts of the complete array. The Formation is now seamless. Even if we destroy the buildings, it will not hurt the Formation itself. Our only chance is to wait until the Formation reveals itself and then break the core.”

She added: “Tomorrow night at midnight, the heavens will shift. That is the best time to start the Formation. We must stop it.”

Her words carried too much weight. Everyone’s expression hardened. They did not ask how she knew. Knowing Li Shuang’s nature, they understood she would not speak so firmly without absolute confidence.

Sui Jin said, face serious: “If we can find the one behind the scenes ahead of time and restrain them, we might force out a way to solve the Formation.”

Luo Ming Yue nodded and said softly: “I scouted Emperor Chen Lie’s bedchamber tonight. In the palace, he is timid and cowardly, with none of an emperor’s bearing. He must have a problem.”

Li Shuang said: “I found Emperor Chen Yang’s tomb inside the palace. The coffin is made of ice. Stranger still, an Illusory Formation is set inside it. You can see Emperor Chen Yang’s body with the naked eye, but in truth the coffin is empty. Emperor Chen Yang is likely a problem too.”

All the strange points within the palace converged on the two emperors.

Now the questions were these:

[Where did Emperor Chen Yang go?] [What does Emperor Chen Lie know?]

What puzzled Li Shuang most was this: the Formation had not been laid in a day. Tomorrow was the day it would be complete. Yet the one behind it had deliberately lured them into the palace.

[Is that because he is too confident and wants to kill us all here? Or was it someone else who led us in?]

Time was tight. After a short discussion, they decided to start with Emperor Chen Lie. Whether or not he was the mastermind, he had to know something they did not.

Night grew even deeper, and the heavy rain did not let up. Using the storm to cover all noise, they went to Emperor Chen Lie’s residence. Luo Ming Yue had already set a Barrier Formation there. No one had gone out while she was away.

Around the residence lived many Cultivators that the emperor had drawn to his side. Li Shuang had no wish to run into them. Using a Soul Method, she made them all fall unconscious for a while.

Seeing the group, “Emperor Chen Lie” cried out in fear and collapsed on the spot. Li Shuang frowned, lifted him up with one hand, and asked coldly: “You are Emperor Chen Lie?”

Her eyes held a trace of frost. Under that gaze, the man shook all over.

“Immortal Maiden, spare me,” he babbled: “If you want revenge, find the real Emperor Chen Lie. I am only a stand-in. I do not know anything.”

“A stand-in?” Li Shuang’s brows drew tighter: “Where is the real Emperor Chen Lie?”

“I do not know. I truly do not,” he stammered: “They picked me only because I look like him. Since his enthronement, I have been playing the role. I am only a puppet. Whatever he tells me to do, I must do. Heaven knows, I did not even dare enter the harem. I hardly enjoyed any benefits, and now it is my turn to die.” With that, he started wailing.

He looked nothing like an emperor.

Even so, they tied him up and took a thread of his blood for Liu An to test. As State Preceptor, Liu An had the duty to keep the imperial bloodline and the means to verify it.

After checking, his face went white. “This man is not Emperor Chen Lie,” he stammered.

Only one thought pounded in his skull: it’s over. As State Preceptor, he had failed to notice the emperor had been replaced. There was no way he would escape blame. The best he could hope for was to atone with merit.

He bowed deeply and said quickly: “Please be at ease, Seniors. Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find Emperor Chen Lie.” Then he rushed out.

Li Shuang and the others did not expect Liu An to truly discover much. Still, letting him run around might help muddy the waters.

Li Shuang glanced at the fake emperor. She stepped forward, intending to put him to sleep for a while. Just as she was about to move, the man trembled and blurted out in a rush: “Tomorrow night at midnight, the Formation’s core is in the Radiant Sun Hall.”

The words spilled out, and then he seemed to terrify himself. He toppled over and fainted.

Li Shuang blinked. She checked him and found that he really had fainted from fright, which left her even more speechless.

Tomorrow night at midnight. The Formation’s core. The Radiant Sun Hall. He had revealed three vital facts in a single breath.

Then he passed out? From fear?

[Can we trust what he said?] Li Shuang frowned, deep in thought.