Chapter 1725: Chapter 850: Is the Emperor the Blood Ghost Sect Master’s Avatar?
“It seems I must go to the underground palace and take a look.” Qing Shuang made up her mind; she needed to enter the underground palace and uncover the truth.
Qing Shuang quietly left the side hall and continued searching the Imperial Palace. She knew the entrance to the underground palace must be very well-hidden and heavily guarded, and finding it would be no easy task.
After some searching, Qing Shuang finally discovered a hidden rockery near the emperor’s sleeping quarters. This rockery was strikingly similar to the one she found before, obviously crafted by the same hand.
“It seems the entrance to the underground palace is here.” Qing Shuang thought to herself as she stepped forward, carefully examining the rockery for mechanisms.
Sure enough, on one side of the rockery, Qing Shuang found a stone that was slightly different from the others. She reached out and pressed it, gently pushing it inward. As it retracted, the rockery emitted a low rumbling sound, slowly splitting open to reveal a dim passageway.
“I found it!” Qing Shuang’s heart leapt with joy as she slipped into the passage.
The passage was pitch-black, so dark that she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her. Qing Shuang took out the Luminous Pearl and, aided by its faint glow, proceeded cautiously forward.
After walking for quite a while, Qing Shuang finally reached the end of the passage, where it opened up to reveal a vast underground space.
The underground space was brightly lit, with a huge altar at the center. The altar was laden with various offerings that emanated a strong, bloody scent.
Surrounding the altar stood many black-cloaked figures, grave and solemn, as if they were conducting some sort of ritual.
“So this is indeed a secret stronghold of the Blood Ghost Sect!” Qing Shuang thought with a shock, hiding in the shadows to carefully observe the situation in the underground space.
Suddenly, Qing Shuang’s attention was drawn to a person at the center of the altar. The man was dressed in imperial robes and wore a crown — it was the emperor of the Tianyuan Empire!
“Why is the emperor here?” Qing Shuang was filled with doubt as she watched closely, noticing that the emperor’s expression seemed odd. His eyes were vacant as if under someone else’s control.
At that moment, the ritual at the altar seemed to reach a critical stage. The Blood Pool at the center of the altar began to churn violently, and a powerful force surged from it into the emperor’s body.
The emperor’s body started to tremble violently, his face contorting in pain.
“This is bad; they’re conducting an evil ceremony!” Qing Shuang’s face changed as she realized the dire consequences if the ritual succeeded.
“I must stop them!” Qing Shuang spoke in a low voice, preparing to rush out and halt the ceremony when suddenly a voice sounded behind her.
“You have finally arrived.”
Startled, Qing Shuang quickly turned around to find a black-cloaked man standing behind her.
“Who are you?” Qing Shuang asked warily.
“Who I am is not important. What matters is that you’ve discovered a secret you shouldn’t have.” The black-cloaked man spoke with a hoarse, unpleasant voice, like an owl.
“The ultimate secret of the Blood Ghost Sect is hidden within the Tianyuan Empire’s Imperial Palace, and the emperor is a doppelgänger of the Sect Master of the Blood Ghost Sect, right?” Qing Shuang said coldly.
On hearing this, the black-cloaked man shuddered, seemingly surprised by how much Qing Shuang knew.
“How do you know this?” The black-cloaked man asked, with a hint of surprise in his voice.
“Mo Han discovered a note at a Blood Ghost Sect stronghold that said, ‘The ultimate secret of the Blood Ghost Sect is hidden within the Tianyuan Empire’s Imperial Palace.’ And I found the entrance to the underground palace and the emperor’s secret in the palace.” Qing Shuang said.
“I see.” The black-cloaked man seemed to understand suddenly, “Looks like your plan has already reached this point.”
“That’s right. Our plan is to utterly destroy the Blood Ghost Sect!” Qing Shuang declared, her eyes filled with determination.
“Destroy the Blood Ghost Sect? Hahahaha…” The black-cloaked man suddenly laughed, his laughter full of sarcasm and disdain, “With just a few of you? It’s a fool’s dream!”
“Whether or not we can destroy the Blood Ghost Sect is not for you to decide!” Qing Shuang replied coldly, “Today, I’m going to stop your ceremony and uncover your conspiracy!”
“Stop our ceremony? Hahahaha…” The black-cloaked man laughed again, “Do you think, with just you alone, you can stop us?”
“Whether I can stop you or not, you’ll find out!” Qing Shuang said, drawing her Longsword and pointing it at the black-cloaked man.
“Very well, then let me see what you’re capable of!” The black-cloaked man said as he slowly removed his hood, revealing his true face.
Qing Shuang’s pupils shrank sharply at the sight of the black-cloaked man’s true face.
“It’s you?!” Qing Shuang gasped in shock.
Qing Shuang gasped, nearly dropping her Longsword. The person before her was someone she never expected — the old eunuch! That seemingly timid and harmless old eunuch who had served in the palace for years now exuded a chilling and sinister aura, utterly different from his usual demeanor.
“What, surprised?” The old eunuch’s lips curled into a strange smile, his voice as rasping as sandpaper, “Did you think I should be trembling and unable to even walk steadily?”
Suppressing the shock in her heart, Qing Shuang struggled to make her voice sound calm, “Who are you really? Why disguise yourself as a eunuch?”
“Who am I?” The old eunuch’s laughter was sharp and piercing, “I am the true master of this Tianyuan Empire! As for disguises… haha, how many in this palace aren’t wearing a disguise?”