Chapter 1735. The World Is Vast, But Where Can One Flee? The Runaway Princess

The Weiyang Hall was filled with surging rosy mist and permeated by chaotic qi, boundlessly vast and empty.

The Weiyang Emperor wore a simple cyan robe without his crown.

Behind a desk piled with World Stones, he was handling memorials, his brows furrowing from time to time.

He had already noticed the old woman Xing Ying approaching the imperial palace, but he did not rise to receive her.

Ye Wudao was left outside the Weiyang Hall by Xing Ying.

She entered alone. There were no guards around the hall, making it appear especially empty and quiet.

With the Weiyang Emperor’s cultivation and strength, he did not require any guards for protection.

“Jiang Yun, you’re quite at ease. At a time like this, you still have the mind to handle memorials.”

Xing Ying entered the hall and glanced at Jiang Yun indifferently. She did not show the reverence outsiders usually had toward the Weiyang Emperor. She appeared cold, as if the two were very familiar.

Jiang Yun continued reading the memorial in his hand without even lifting his eyes. “Senior Sister Xing Ying, what brings you here?”

“It seems you’re not very welcoming.”

Xing Ying’s expression remained cold, faint anger suppressed between her brows. After such an incident, Jiang Yun still seemed completely unaware of any consequences.

“If there’s something to say, Senior Sister Xing Ying, it’s best you say it directly. I still have many matters to handle here,” Jiang Yun replied calmly, his attitude equally indifferent.

Toward Xing Ying, he did not conceal his dislike and coldness in the slightest.

Xing Ying snorted coldly, walked over, and directly placed the sandalwood box in her hand onto Jiang Yun’s desk.

“This is a grand gift Master asked me to deliver to you. Open your eyes and take a good look at what’s inside,” she said coldly, her silver-white brilliant eyes filled with chill and fury.

Hearing this, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in Jiang Yun’s heart.

He frowned and looked at the sandalwood box before him. A thick bloody stench seeped from the gap, accompanied by a very familiar aura.

In the next instant, his face changed drastically. He suddenly stood up from behind the desk, his eyes turning icy, killing intent spreading, his expression filled with disbelief.

“This is…?”

Even someone as powerful as Jiang Yun had a trembling voice at this moment, as if unable to believe it.

His hand beneath his sleeve clenched tightly, joints cracking.

Xing Ying did not let him open the box himself. With a flick of her sleeve, the lid flew open.

A bloody head, eyes wide open in rage, lay directly inside.

The head was full of thick beard, hair coiled into spiral flesh knots. It was Xing Sha — the same man who had recently exchanged letters with him and drunk and feasted heartily with him in this very hall.

Looking at those eyes that refused to close even in death, Jiang Yun’s face was filled with grief. His body trembled.

Had he not held onto the desk beside him, he might not have been able to stand.

“Senior Brother Xing Sha…”

His voice carried extreme sorrow and anger.

Outside the Weiyang Hall, the vast starry domain and boundless universe trembled with him.

Countless stars shook like waves in a raging sea, quivering and flipping as if about to fall.

The pitch-black deep sky seemed transparent as thick blood-colored lightning bolts, as wide as stars, streaked across it, striking down like apocalyptic divine punishment.

The terrifying scene left countless cultivators and living beings horrified, not knowing what had happened, filled only with fear as they knelt and kowtowed toward that direction.

Jiang Yun was filled with grief and deep regret.

He never imagined that the senior brother who had laughed and eaten meat with him not long ago would appear like this upon their next meeting.

“You killed Senior Brother Xing Sha. If you hadn’t insisted on testing Master’s resolve, how could he have ended up in such a miserable state?”

“This is all your fault. You must pay with your life for Senior Brother Xing Sha.”

Xing Ying’s eyes were full of chill and hatred, her voice thick with resentment.

If she hadn’t known she was absolutely no match for Jiang Yun, she would have already attacked to avenge Xing Sha.

Unlike her hostile relationship with Jiang Yun, her relationship with Xing Sha was extremely close — they were fellow disciples.

They had once studied and cultivated together at Yin Ruins Cave, as close as siblings.

When she was weak, Xing Sha had been like an elder brother — taking care of her, supporting her, teaching lessons to those who bullied her, searching for cultivation resources for her, helping her reach where she was today.

Although they later separated — Xing Sha was sent by the Cave Master of Yin Ruins to guard the Flowing Sand Domain and was not allowed to leave — she would still visit him from time to time, bringing his favorite foods.

But this time, she never expected that when she went to see him again, she would be carrying a sandalwood box from the Cave Master of Yin Ruins.

Inside that sandalwood box was a blank sheet of white paper.

The moment it was opened, the white paper became like a sword. Sword qi surged like a river of stars rising to the sky, and with a puff, it severed Xing Sha’s head.

Now that blood-stained white paper lay quietly at the bottom of the box.

Xing Ying did not know what Xing Sha had done to deserve execution by the Cave Master.

But she knew that since the Cave Master had asked her to deliver this “gift” to Jiang Yun, it meant Xing Sha had died because of Jiang Yun.

“I wronged Senior Brother Xing Sha. I failed his goodwill and caused his death.”

Jiang Yun’s face was wooden, his eyes filled with pain and guilt.

He understood — this was the Cave Master’s threat and warning to him.

Previously, Xing Sha had come bearing the Cave Master’s decree, but Jiang Yun had not taken it seriously.

Before leaving, Xing Sha hesitated for a long time and specially reminded him about his daughter, Jiang Weiyang.

His daughter was his reverse scale. Jiang Yun would never allow her to suffer any danger.

After much hesitation, he had decided to use this to test the Cave Master’s determination. That was why he arranged the various matters of selecting a husband for his daughter afterward.

Choosing a husband was no small matter — it involved not only the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty but also other civilizations and sects across the vast expanse.

The Cave Master usually stayed behind the scenes, avoiding worldly affairs and unwilling to stain himself with karmic ties.

Jiang Yun even suspected the Cave Master had extremely terrifying enemies.

He hid outside the world, concealing his aura and karma, covering all heavenly laws, fearing that past foes might trace the cause and effect to hunt him down.

That was why Jiang Yun had deliberately used his daughter Jiang Weiyang as bait to test whether the Cave Master dared to step into the open.

The Cave Master was playing an enormous game spanning countless eras and civilizations.

Even Jiang Yun himself was merely a chess piece.

He was unwilling to be a puppet, unwilling for his wife and daughter to be threatened or placed in mortal danger.

But he had greatly underestimated the Cave Master’s decisiveness.

With the current dark calamity descending, it seemed the Cave Master had finally decided to step onto the stage.

No one could shake this resolve.

Executing Xing Sha — who had once delivered a message for Jiang Yun — was both a threat and a warning.

Defy him, and this would be the outcome.

Jiang Yun felt a deep chill and sorrow, along with extreme helplessness.

At this moment, he no longer resembled the emperor who dominated all realms and was worshiped across heaven and earth, but rather a weak, despairing, numb puppet.

“If, back then in the depths of spacetime, I had agreed to that request and fallen into darkness, would the ending be the same now?”

A trace of confusion and melancholy surfaced in his eyes.

Inside the sandalwood box, Senior Brother Xing Sha still stared with unclosed eyes, never understanding why he had to die.

Xing Ying looked at Jiang Yun. Though her expression remained cold, sorrow and pain could not be hidden.

Today it was Xing Sha — tomorrow, could it be her?

That junior brother with white brows in Immortal Chu Land had become a discarded pawn once he lost value, left to be captured and imprisoned by the Holy Hall of Xiyuan.

Would she too become a pawn one day?

Suddenly, Xing Ying felt utterly dispirited.

She took out the blood-stained white paper from the bottom of the box, then hugged the box and turned into a streak of light, leaving.

Ye Wudao had been waiting outside the hall, but Xing Ying did not even spare him a glance as she departed swiftly.

“What does this mean?

Could it be that the Weiyang Emperor is also connected to Yin Ruins Cave?”

Ye Wudao frowned in confusion.

Inside the hall, Jiang Yun looked at the words gradually appearing on the blood-stained white paper and laughed in extreme anger, his face pale and gloomy.

Wisps of black mist flickered across his face before he suppressed them.

The content on the paper was simple:

The Cave Master of Yin Ruins admired Ye Wudao, had taught him for a period, and considered him a promising talent who would achieve great things.

Since Jiang Yun’s daughter Jiang Weiyang intended to choose a husband, why not match the two — a talented man and a beautiful woman, a fitting pair.

Reading this, Jiang Yun could fully imagine the Cave Master’s calm, indifferent demeanor.

To him, the entire world, all races, and all living beings were merely chess pieces.

Jiang Yun’s face darkened to the extreme as he crushed the blood-stained paper into powder.

In the past, the Cave Master might still have played polite games with him.

Now he did not even bother to hide it.

Outside the hall, Ye Wudao continued waiting. After learning that the Weiyang Emperor was also related to Yin Ruins Cave, he was completely at ease.

He did not know what had happened between the emperor and Xing Ying, but he was not anxious.

After a long time, a sigh came from within the hall, followed by a dignified voice.

“Enter.”

Ye Wudao rose and walked inside.

Within the hall, the Weiyang Emperor Jiang Yun sat behind a curtain, chaotic qi swirling, hazy and indistinct.

His deep, boundless eyes seemed to be examining Ye Wudao thoroughly.

It was Ye Wudao’s first time meeting this renowned emperor.

He showed no panic, remaining calm, bowing neither humbly nor arrogantly.

“Like father, like son. The Lord of Nanzhao has mentioned you many times before me.

Seeing you today, you truly deserve the titles of young hero and youthful supreme.”

Jiang Yun’s calm voice sounded.

“I intend to marry my daughter Jiang Weiyang to you. What do you think?”

What?

Ye Wudao was stunned, almost unable to process the emperor’s meaning. Then surprise and delight appeared on his face.

“If Your Majesty is willing to grant the princess to me, I swear upon my Dao-heart that I will never wrong her or let her suffer the slightest grievance. If I gain nine parts of the world in the future, I will give her ten.”

He was filled with heroic spirit.

It was impossible for him not to be moved by a peerless beauty like the Weiyang Princess.

He never expected that upon their first meeting, the emperor would directly propose such a marriage.

Was this the good fortune Xing Ying had mentioned?

Jiang Yun showed no reaction to Ye Wudao’s words, merely nodding.

“With this intention, I am at ease. After I entrust my daughter to you, if you dare let her suffer even half a grievance, even if your father stands before me, I will not spare you.”

After saying this, he waved his sleeve and sent Ye Wudao out of the hall.

Ye Wudao still wanted to say more, but it was too late. His face was full of smiles and unexpected joy.

On the distant white jade steps, a tall, slender figure approached gracefully.

She was very beautiful — wearing a moon-white trailing gauze dress that outlined her exquisite curves. Her hair was elegantly styled with a wind hairpin. Her porcelain-like fair face bore a calm, cold expression, peerlessly radiant.

“Princess Weiyang, we meet again.”

Ye Wudao smiled and stepped forward to greet her.

Jiang Weiyang was slightly startled upon hearing the voice, surprised that Ye Wudao was here.

But she paid him little mind, preoccupied with her thoughts, merely nodding slightly. “Young Master Ye…”

Then she walked past him.

Ye Wudao did not grow angry, still smiling, catching the lingering fragrance in the air like blossoms piled with snow.

“The jewel of Weiyang Immortal Chu — you belong to me now,” he laughed softly and strode away, waiting for the emperor’s announcement.

Arriving outside the hall, Jiang Weiyang did not wait for permission and pushed the doors open directly. Her long skirt trailed across the cold jade floor.

She was anxious, walking quickly, not even noticing her dragging hem.

Jiang Yun seemed to have expected her arrival and stood with hands behind his back in the center of the hall, facing away.

“Father…”

She stepped forward, about to voice all her doubts and worries.

Jiang Yun raised a hand to interrupt her.

“I have already arranged your marriage. This is a sachet I prepared earlier for you. Keep it well.”

A small, ancient black sachet appeared in his hand.

Jiang Weiyang froze, not understanding his meaning.

“Tomorrow I will announce to the world your engagement to Ye Wudao, the Ninth Prince of Nanzhao,” Jiang Yun said calmly, though deep pain and helplessness hid in his eyes.

Jiang Weiyang’s eyes widened in confusion, unable to see her father’s expression.

“Since Father has arranged it, your daughter will naturally agree without complaint…”

Thinking of General Zhu Cangning’s words, her face dimmed as she lowered her head.

Jiang Yun looked at her obedient appearance, his heart aching.

“I am not telling you this so you will marry Ye Wudao, but so you can buy time…”

Jiang Weiyang froze again, then suddenly understood.

“Father, you want me to flee the marriage and leave the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty?”

She shook her head like a rattle drum.

“Your daughter will not leave. At a time like this, how can I abandon the dynasty and live alone? No matter the crisis, I will advance and retreat with you.”

Jiang Yun shook his head.

“The Weiyang Immortal Dynasty is being drawn into a terrifying invisible vortex. Anyone can stay — except you. I have encountered a dreadful enemy. Only if you leave can I fight him with peace of mind.”

“All these years, I never told you — your mother did not die. She has always been alive. When you return to the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, I will reunite you with her.”

Jiang Weiyang was completely stunned, unable to believe her ears.

Her mother was alive? Hadn’t she died of illness after giving birth to her?

“I understand… but the vast universe is so immense — where can I flee to? If even you find this enemy terrifying, can I truly escape?”

Jiang Weiyang was not stubborn.

She understood that staying might only burden him.

“I do not know where is safe. But remember — stay far from the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, far from the Orthodox Alliance. Go to a place he cannot see, cannot reach…”

Jiang Yun’s gaze was deep, his voice heavy.

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