Prince Qing clenched his fists, placed them on his chest, and breathed heavily.
For a physical cultivator like him who has almost reached the peak, this little injury on his body should not be a big deal. As long as his blood and energy are circulated, he will be back to normal.
But now, his chest was bursting with scarlet blood, bleeding profusely , and there was no way to heal.
Because at this moment, his wounds were filled with surging sword intent that could not be shaken off and was blocking the circulation of his blood and energy.
If the sword's intent is not dissipated, the blood and energy will not flow.
Prince Qing raised his arm again, but this time he did not punch out. Instead, he wiped away the blood that was oozing from his mouth or nose.
The pale-faced Prince Qing raised his head, stared at Li Qiubai, and revealed the secret, "It's just a prototype, but it already has such power. Li Qiubai, how can anyone dare to imagine the scene where you return to the Sword Fairyland and turn the entire world into a sword."
Li Qiubai did not reply, but his mind moved.
The sky was dark and the wind was blowing. Another cloud sword took shape between heaven and earth.
The power is no less than the previous sword.
When Prince Qing saw this scene, his heart trembled slightly.
The power of the previous sword is still vivid in my mind!
He is no match for Li Qiubai.
No doubt about it.
The tip of the Yun Sword was pointing directly at Prince Qing.
Li Qiubai had no intention of listening to his praise, nor did he have time to argue with him, so he asked directly: "Now, can we talk properly?"
"Haha... Of course," Prince Qing swallowed a mouthful of blood, staggering slightly, looking very carefree and resigned to his fate, "Since I'm no match for you, what else is there to say?"
As a Martial Emperor who has reached the pinnacle of cultivators, it is absolutely impossible for him to be as shameless and stubborn as ordinary cultivators.
"The three cities of Donglin, Qianniao and Tai'an are all empty, and millions of human beings have disappeared. And all the clues point directly to your lineage. How are you going to explain it?" Li Qiubai narrowed his eyes, and his murderous intent grew.
Upon hearing this, Prince Qing's expression changed slightly and he looked quite embarrassed.
But Li Qiubai was staring at him with eyes as sharp as swords, stabbing him with his sword again and again, not allowing him to be perfunctory in the slightest.
Finally, the new Martial Emperor, who had been the most powerful in thousands of years, slowly lowered his proud head in front of the old sword immortal who had been famous for a long time.
He said slowly: "There are generally two ways for physical cultivation to temper one's own Qi and blood and forge strength. One is to repeatedly temper the body so that Qi and blood will be generated naturally. The other is to gather external objects and replenish oneself."
What Prince Qing said is easy to understand.
The first method is to cultivate the body to build a strong physique, and the Qi and blood will naturally become strong and vigorous.
The second way is actually to replenish one's own qi and blood through elixirs, spiritual medicines, and even the flesh and blood of monsters.
Li Qiubai remained silent, waiting for Prince Qing's further explanation.
“Among the giant demons, there is a secret that is not passed on, called the “blood” secret.
Through the "blood" technique, they can collect essence blood and refine it into blood essence.
Others only need to take the blood essence to improve their own blood, strengthen their bodies, and even become powerful. "King Qing became more and more serious.
"For physical cultivators, blood essence is the most precious and magical treasure that can help them continuously break through the realm."
"Since I was promoted to Emperor Wu, I have been focused on seeking the Great Dao to Heaven and almost no longer cared about the affairs of my subordinates."
"As a result, it was because of my negligence that my eldest son Xia Jing actually had evil thoughts and secretly colluded with the demons to reach a cooperation. He continuously improved his cultivation by sending humans to the demons in exchange for the demons refining blood essence for him, and called this transaction a blood exchange."
Using human blood to exchange for blood essence is called blood transfusion.
"Xia Jing is the most outstanding of my descendants. He has reached the ninth realm. I trust him enough and it is hard for me to believe that he would do such a thing. So I let him use my influence to do something that goes against the principles of heaven and humanity. It was not until a few days ago that I discovered this and I want to settle the account with him."
"I didn't expect that he would realize that his crime had been exposed and would not surrender. He resolutely launched a brutal massacre in the city of Daxia, hoping to refine enough blood essence in the shortest possible time, and attempt to break into the Martial Emperor level, so as to have the power to resist me."
"I was a step slow in reacting, and he was too ruthless, so I was careless for a moment, which led to the loss of all three cities."
"I was in a hurry to deal with him and didn't have the time to deal with the affairs of the three cities in detail. This led to all these disturbances and also caused you to follow me all the way here."
"Did you send the black-armored monks from Tai'an City?" Li Qiubai asked coldly, "Did you kill the unrelated monks passing by just to prevent the news from leaking?"
At this point, King Qing gave a bitter smile and said helplessly: "I, Xia Qing, killed countless demons in the battlefield outside the domain when I was young. I was regarded as a great general of Daxia. My cultivation was unparalleled and I was respected by many cultivators. However, among my descendants, there appeared such a traitor..."
"I feel sorry for Daozu, and for those human cultivators who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield outside the domain. But no matter what, I have to suppress this matter. Although I hope to preserve my reputation, but..." King Qing paused and said in a deep voice: "It is definitely not just for myself, but also for the overall situation."
The new Martial Emperor suddenly raised his head and looked directly into Li Qiubai's eyes, "The Chang'an Sword Immortal should understand how great an impact this will have if it is made public and known to everyone."
He raised his right hand and said seriously: "First, it will cause a crisis of trust among the human cultivators in Daxia, leading to internal instability."
The Great Xia royal family, who were revered as the guardians of the human race, actually took the initiative to sacrifice the human race in exchange for resources that would make them powerful from the demons.
This kind of behavior, which can be called "embezzlement", once exposed, will inevitably cause an uproar, leading to various unrest, affecting the prestige of Daxia, and may also cause many people to lose trust in Daxia.
"This matter is only about my bloodline, but in the eyes of the outside world, our Great Xia royal family is one. Even if Xia Zhao knew nothing about it and had no involvement at all, he will be implicated and face many troubles. I think Chang'an Sword Immortal would not want to see this happen."
At this point, Prince Qing is no longer just analyzing the pros and cons, he's even starting to play the emotional card.
He was sure that Li Qiubai would definitely take the Great Xia Lord in Chang'an into consideration and did not want to cause her too much trouble.
"So?" Li Qiubai asked calmly.
Seeing Li Qiubai's reaction, Prince Qing was confused about his thoughts for a moment, so he could only grit his teeth and continue, "I have already captured Xia Jing, and he is currently imprisoned in the Qingcheng prison. I will never go easy on him just because he is my eldest son."
"I want to see." Li Qiubai naturally couldn't believe King Qing's one-sided words.
Prince Qing did not refuse, and said with a clear conscience, "Sword Immortal, please follow me."
He took a breath, the wound on his chest still hurt a lot.
But he couldn't care less.
Li Qiubai quietly dispersed at this time, and the cloud sword he condensed with the power of heaven and earth.
Two figures flashed by in the surging blue sky.
The next moment.
The prison under Qingcheng.
It was very dark here, without any sign of life, dead and silent, without even a sound.
Two figures suddenly appeared.
Prince Qing and Li Qiu were defeated.
Li Qiubai showed a strange look on his face. He stood in the cell, looking at the opposite side silently.
There, there was a male cultivator who was skinny and looked like a hanged ghost, surrounded by a gloomy and sinister aura.
He was not wearing any clothes, and his naked body was covered with porcelain-like cracks and bleeding. However, the blood that flowed out was dead black and red, without any life at all.
The essence of this person's life is constantly slipping away.
The physical cultivator's body, which should have been extremely powerful , had now become shriveled and dry, like a mummy, with pits and holes all over its surface, and bones visible. It was in a terrible state.
Several dark black chains that emitted cold air penetrated deep into his flesh and blood, clamping him firmly in place.
This is the " culprit , the eldest son of Prince Qing, the ninth-level cultivator, Xia Jing!
"Father," Xia Jing raised his head with difficulty when he saw Prince Qing coming in. An ambiguous smile appeared on his pale face. "You are here..."
Prince Qing sighed deeply.
It seemed as if he felt deeply regretful that his eldest son, whom he valued and trusted the most, had become what he is now.
"This is my eldest son, Xia Jing." Prince Qing said.
"Because I still need to interrogate him to find out the specific details of his collusion with the demons over the years, so as to suppress and retaliate against the demons, so I have not killed him for the time being, but imprisoned him here."
"You said that he gave the human race to the demon race through a blood exchange transaction in exchange for the demon race refining blood essence for him?"
Li Qiubai frowned, "Then how did he make a deal with the demons? There is only one passage from Zhongtian Territory to the Demon Territory, and that is the battlefield outside the territory. But there is Yanlan Pass blocking it. Neither you nor the demons can send the human race into the Demon Territory."
Yanlan Pass is the town gate of Zhongtian Domain, guarded by the Daxia royal family and Tianji Temple.
Even Prince Qing couldn't cover up the situation at Yanlan Pass and send the human race into the Demon Realm silently, let alone his mere offspring.
King Qing's face became solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "That's because in the Zhongtian Realm, there is a second space passage leading to the Demon Clan's Tianmen Realm."
Li Qiubai raised his eyebrows.
This is a terrible thing.
The human race is already lacking in strength, and guarding Yanlan Pass is already extremely strenuous. If a second space channel appears in an area, they will be forced to divide their forces, and inevitably they will be unable to cope with the situation and be unable to cope with the situation.
But he knew in his heart that there must be a sequel.
This space channel should not be that simple - if it is really the same as the space channel guarded by Yanlan Pass, the demons would not have been so peaceful over the years and would have launched offensives from both sides long ago.
"Fortunately, this space channel is very unstable and extremely fragile. It cannot carry beings with too much power. Otherwise, it may collapse at any time. In this respect, it can be said to be extremely useless. Unexpectedly, the demons found its use and recycled it to transport humans." King Qing explained.
"Please rest assured, Sword Immortal. After I have found out everything, I will punish Xia Jing accordingly and make him pay with his life." He made the promise again.
"The souls of the millions of wronged human beings in heaven cannot be comforted by just one person." Li Qiubai looked at King Qing coldly.
The corners of Prince Qing's mouth twitched slightly, and a deep shadow flashed in his eyes. His pupils suddenly contracted. After a few breaths, he said word by word: "I have captured all the monks who participated in the blood exchange transaction and the Three Cities Incident. I have killed most of them, and now a small number are being held in other prisons."
"Not enough." Li Qiubai shook his head calmly.
Prince Qing's face was already twitching at this time, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I will explain the whole matter to Xia Zhao, and send Xia Jing to Chang'an for Xia Zhao to deal with, regardless of life or death."
Although he made Xia Jing's life a fate worse than death, he still had a sense of friendship in his heart and wanted to let his eldest son die at his hands... Li Qiubai thought to himself, and a chill suddenly rose in his heart.
Even if Xia Jing died a hundred times, it would not be enough to comfort the souls of so many wronged human souls in heaven. How could Prince Qing still think so much?
How could he agree?
"It's not enough." Li Qiubai spoke again.
Prince Qing was silent for a few seconds. His tone was cold and his face became paler. It was unknown whether it was because of his injuries or because he was angry. "Then what do you want to do?"
"Xia Qing, you indulged your eldest son Xia Jing in his evil deeds, shielded Xia Jing, and even killed innocent monks, just to keep the news of the Three Cities crisis secret. You made one mistake upon another. It can be said that you are guilty of everything. The first thing you need to do is to confess your guilt!"
"Li Qiubai, I am the Martial Emperor, one of the few monks with this honorable title in the entire human race! At a time when a great war with the demons is about to break out and every bit of strength is urgently needed, you don't want me to pay with my life for what I have done for my offspring, do you?" Prince Qing shouted angrily and sneered.
Li Qiubai shook his head. "I will not interfere too much in the affairs of your royal family. How to deal with you should be decided by Xia Zhao."
"Take your eldest son to Chang'an and confess your crime to her. She will make the final decision on how to punish your lineage."
"What if I don't agree?" Prince Qing took a deep breath, as if the injury in his chest had recurred.
He never looked down on Xia Zhao, even though Xia Zhao was the Lord of Great Xia.
"I am Emperor Wu. What else does Xia Zhao have except the throne? What gives her the right to deal with me?" Prince Qing laughed in anger.
"She still has me." Li Qiubai said in a deep voice, emphasizing each word.
The color on Prince Qing's face was fading away bit by bit.
He felt extremely humiliated.
After being promoted to Martial Emperor and with the blessing of his status, his status is already the highest among human cultivators. Even towards Xia Zhao, he is extremely disdainful in his heart.
Moreover, Xia Zhao never could and would not give him orders.
Now, Li Qiubai wants him, the dignified Emperor Wu, to bow his head and confess his guilt to a girl whom he has always looked down upon, and allow her to punish him?
A surge of blood rushed to my heart.
"Li Qiubai, don't go too far." Prince Qing said in a hoarse voice.
"If you refuse to plead guilty, then even if it's inappropriate, I will have to do it myself." Li Qiubai's voice was calm, but it was as heavy as a thousand pounds.
For beings of their level, the principles of the world are so simple.
My sword is harder than your fist, so my words are the truth.
Li Qiubai hinted, "I don't believe that this was really all his idea and you were totally unaware of it."
He is not that naive.
However, this kind of matter has so many twists and turns, and he is just one person, so it would be too difficult for him to investigate.
So after he figured out the main points, he didn't want to worry about the remaining details anymore and left them to Xia Zhao.
He also believed that Xia Zhao could handle the matter well.
"You have to understand that if I take action instead, your ending will be very ugly." Li Qiubai sneered again, the threat clearly revealed.
He has always been alone, free of worries, never thinking too much, and never caring about the so-called "big picture".
If he takes action, Prince Qing's ending will be extremely ugly.
However, Xia Zhao, being in that position, would have more to consider and more concerns, while Prince Qing would have ended up with a much better result.
Prince Qing's face turned pale and blue.
He also understood this principle.
However, for him, a Martial Emperor, to apologize to a junior whom he looked down upon, a woman, was too embarrassing and he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"I always keep my word." The swordsman said again.
"puff!"
At this moment, Prince Qing, who had been suppressing the sword intent on the wound, became so angry that he spurted out a mouthful of blood.
"Okay... then it's as you say!" After wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Prince Qing finally made a decision. He raised his head and spoke word by word, gritting his teeth.
Li Qiubai nodded slightly, said no more, turned around and left the prison, "I'll give you some time to prepare for things here, and then I will personally send you to Chang'an City."
The sword immortal's figure quickly disappeared in the prison.
…
After Li Qiubai left, Prince Qing, who looked extremely angry, suddenly restrained his anger.
He looked up at Xia Jing, who was no longer in human form, and stroked his dry face, which was like dead tree bark. "Jing'er, thank you for your hard work. Just hold on for a while longer, and you'll be fine..."
Xia Jing tried his best to smile at King Qing, which was extremely ferocious, and seemed to be crying and laughing at the same time, "I'm glad I can help my father."
“Hehe…” Prince Qing lowered his eyelids and whispered to himself, “Li Qiubai, ah Li Qiubai, even if you are the most talented person in history, so what?”
"Your talent has made your life too smooth, so you think too simply about many things and will never see through them."
Li Qiubai's reaction was completely calculated by him.
How can a sword immortal who has had a smooth journey compete with a veteran like him who has been scheming for thousands of years?
Go to Chang'an to confess your guilt?
I couldn't ask for more.
"My last step is to be completed in Chang'an."
Li Qiubai asked him to go to Chang'an to confess his guilt to Xia Zhao, which was exactly what he wanted!
"The way of man is to take from those who lack and increase those who have more than enough..." Prince Qing murmured.