Red shadows flickered, darting among the crowd. A slender finger reached out, about to touch the upper part of the jade pillar and the slowly rotating brocade box. Suddenly, the white mist emanating from the box changed color.
Several short swords, radiating spiritual energy, appeared from nowhere, directly targeting Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying's pupils contracted. She leaned back, retreated, and the glint of sword tips reflected in her eyes.
"Qianying (A'ying), be careful!"
Ouyang Qinglin and Du Chun were startled. After dodging the Xuanling Masters still fighting each other, they rushed towards Gu Qianying.
Jiaolong A'mu and the white-robed youth, Leng, seeing their sect leader in danger,
also, after injuring several Xuanling Masters, flew towards Gu Qianying.
However... at this moment, the many Xuanling Masters finally realized that the Demon Empress was approaching the jade pillar, intending to seize the Demon Clan's Evil Pearl for herself.
Everyone stopped fighting.
"Look... this Demon Empress is truly despicable. She actually wants to reap the benefits of our labor!"
"This bitch, we can't let her succeed!"
Someone in the crowd began to curse.
Among them, someone noticed the short swords aimed at Gu Qianying and cursed, "She won't get the Demon Clan's Evil Pearl that easily. Look... those short swords covered in spiritual energy."
Upon being reminded, everyone looked over in unison.
"It's best if they pierce her to death. If she dies, the three spiritual pearls will be ours."
"Right! It's best if she dies. I really wish to see all those swords pierce her."
At this point, everyone wished Gu Qianying would be immediately stabbed to death by those short swords, preferably a fatal blow.
And these people never considered that the person they were cursing, though a demon, was still a pregnant woman.
However, at present, Gu Qianying and the others had no time to pay attention to the rest of the crowd.
On Gu Qianying's side, after skillfully dodging several short swords, she raised her palm, and several black threads shot out instantly.
As she spun and flipped, the black threads wrapped around several short swords.
The spiritual energy emanating from the short swords was instantly covered.
"Clang..." sound after sound.
The short swords fell to the ground one after another.
Recalling her demonic power, Gu Qianying quickly walked to the jade pillar, extended her jade hand, and grasped the brocade box rotating above the pillar, suspended in mid-air.
Gu Qianying also took back the other two spiritual pearls surrounding the brocade box with a backhand move.
The moment the brocade box opened, a bright light flashed from within.
Following the light emerged a spiritual pearl, palm-sized and emitting a blue glow.
At this point,
the crowd exclaimed, "The Demon Clan's Evil Pearl has appeared! The Demon Empress actually obtained it!"
"How detestable! This bitch, how can she be worthy of the Demon Clan's Evil Pearl!"
"Kill her! Let's go together, kill her, and the Demon Clan's Evil Pearl will be ours!"
"Right, kill her, she doesn't deserve the three spiritual pearls."
"The spiritual pearls are ours!"
"Right! Kill them, let's go together!"
At this moment,
Gu Qianying became the target of all the Xuanling Masters present.
These people, while cursing, also reached a consensus at this moment.
The remaining Xuanling Masters in the venue, all holding their swords, lunged towards Gu Qianying.
Ouyang Qinglin, Du Chun, Leng, and Jiaolong A'mu, who had just arrived near Gu Qianying, saw the Xuanling Masters behind them charging forward.
These few reacted extremely quickly, drawing their swords or unleashing their palms.
Soon, more than half of the Xuanling Masters present were killed.
Meanwhile,
Gu Qianying dropped the brocade box, holding only the Demon Clan's Evil Pearl.
A scorching heat spread from her palm to her entire body.
Soon, the other two spiritual pearls and the Demon Clan's Evil Pearl in her hand rose simultaneously. The three spiritual pearls rotated in mid-air.
The light of three different colors merged into one.
Powerful spiritual energy enveloped everyone, covering the entire palace.
And at this moment, under the suppression of the powerful spiritual energy, the demonic power within Gu Qianying weakened.
Her face turned pale, and her jade hand trembled as she tried to control the three spiritual pearls, but it was somewhat strenuous.
The three spiritual pearls in mid-air spun faster and faster.
The three pearls merged, and the three different colors vanished in an instant.
A key emitting silver light landed steadily in Gu Qianying's palm.
"The three pearls have merged and turned into a key!"
Someone in the crowd exclaimed.
Everyone present looked in the direction he pointed.
They saw Gu Qianying standing not far from the jade pillar.
A key had appeared in her palm, and everyone knew that this key was the item to open the Xuan Kong Gate.
As the key landed in her palm, her palm began to sweat.
The powerful spiritual energy around her was forcibly suppressed.
"Master, can you give it to me?"
Bai Ze walked up to Gu Qianying and knelt on one knee.
As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the shimmering silver key in Gu Qianying's palm.
His gaze was deep, as if suppressing some emotion.
"Qianying, no!"
After injuring a Xuanling Master, Du Chun looked towards Gu Qianying.
He was warning Gu Qianying not to trust Bai Ze.
Ouyang Qinglin, who had originally intended to say the same thing as Du Chun, also looked towards Gu Qianying.
He remained silent, respecting any choice Gu Qianying made.
He believed his A'ying had her own judgment.
Bai Ze knelt, and even he was unsure if his contracted master would grant his request.
Gu Qianying directly handed the key to him.
The meaning was clear.
"We have a contract, and I know what you are thinking. Take it, it's good for you to see her."
Bai Ze was already her contracted beast, and Gu Qianying had learned about Bai Ze's past when the contract was formed.
Seemingly moved,
Bai Ze's eyes reddened, and he kowtowed to Gu Qianying.
The crowd was bewildered, not understanding the meaning of the current situation.
Du Chun, Ouyang Qinglin, Jiaolong A'mu, and Leng were also confused.
After expressing his gratitude, Bai Ze tightly grasped the key in his palm.
At the same time, bright red blood seeped out, staining the "jade-like" shimmering key.
He opened his palm, and the key in his palm rose into the air.
"Boom..."
A thunderous sound echoed.
The hall shook, and all the furnishings within the hall clattered down.
Everyone present looked terrified. Some quickly grabbed pillars, some cupped their heads and crouched, while others, unsure how to react, used their swords as support.
The crowd adopted various postures.
As the thunderous sound grew louder,
the hall seemed on the verge of collapse. Some, for self-preservation, rushed out.
The few who rushed out were immediately killed by the Imperial Guards outside with swords.
Those who remained in the hall were unaware of the situation outside.
Inside the hall, Gu Qianying almost fell, but Ouyang Qinglin quickly supported her.
She turned and saw that it was Yan Aotian, the Imperial Preceptor of the Empire, behind her. She immediately pushed his hand away and said, "Thank you."
Her words were polite, but her tone was distant.
Ouyang Qinglin's heart ached, and a bitter smile flickered across his lips.
Meanwhile,
the blood-stained key paused in mid-air for a moment.
The hall returned to normal, and then, all the decorations and layout within the hall underwent a drastic change.
The walls of the hall collapsed and disappeared, and a luxuriously decorated secret chamber appeared out of nowhere.
The blood-stained key trembled and, in the blink of an eye, flew into the secret chamber, landing in a single uneven spot.
Everyone looked closely and saw that the spot was indeed the keyhole.
At this moment, the door to the secret chamber was about to open.
The Emperor of the Empire, leading many Imperial Guards and cavalry, was less than a hundred meters away.
"They actually opened the Xuan Kong Gate. If that's the case, issue my decree: kill all these people!"
As he spoke, in front of the many cavalry, numerous archers stood up solemnly, drawing their bows.
"Whoosh!"
Thunder and lightning flashed, and the sky suddenly changed.
A scream pierced the tense atmosphere.
It was Wu Zi, the maid who had followed later.
"Sect Leader, you... you... your..."
Wu Zi's face was ashen, and she pointed with a terrified expression at Gu Qianying's hem.
Beneath her skirt, a large wet patch, like water but not water, was visible.
A sharp pain struck.
Gu Qianying's face turned pale, and she clutched her stomach.
Du Chun, Ouyang Qinglin, A'mu, Leng, and others' expressions changed drastically...