Yet this blood-colored seal seemed like it had grown eyes, relentlessly chasing behind him.
Chen Mo darted into the palace hall, the blood-colored seal piercing through the walls; as Chen Mo dashed around the hall haphazardly, the palace collapsed as he emerged.
With a "bang," the blood-colored seal shot down from above at an angled trajectory, barely grazing the top of his head and embedding itself in the ground before him, creating a pit the size of a barrel and raising a cloud of dust.
Chen Mo’s expression changed; he realized the blood-colored seal was moving even faster.
Chen Mo’s expression grew increasingly solemn. He continued to sprint frantically and called out to Nalan Yi Ren, who was struggling to keep up from a distance: "Yi Ren, help me find Jin Xia Khan."
Chen Mo refused to believe that this object was uncommanded.
Even if he guessed wrong, it surely belonged to Jin Xia’s side. All he needed was to find Jin Xia Khan, use him as a shield, and he didn’t believe this ghostly thing would dare strike its own Khan.
Nalan Yi Ren wasn’t foolish; she quickly understood Chen Mo’s intention.
At that moment, two poisonous bees arrived with their venomous bee army.
Nalan Yi Ren directed the swarm to search for him.
Though Chen Mo and Nalan Yi Ren didn’t know Jin Xia Khan personally,
Given his status, he must be heavily guarded. Based on the layout of the imperial palace, searching near the emperor’s bedchamber or imperial study was bound to yield results.
...
Grand Ancestral Temple.
Tuoba Hui sat cross-legged in mid-air, viewed from behind, his fitted robe seemed draped over him instead of being worn.
From the front view of Tuoba Hui, anyone familiar with him would be taken aback by his current appearance.
Because at this moment, Tuoba Hui’s complexion was pale, devoid of any trace of blood, his body gaunt and skeletal, as if a human skin were draped over a skeleton.
His eyes were shut, and if not for his faint breathing, he’d resemble the dead.
Although his eyes were closed, he could still see beyond the Grand Ancestral Temple, witnessing the collapse of palaces and a young armored man sprinting along the walls.
His consciousness, or rather his soul, seemed fused with the Blood God Seal, indistinguishable from one another.
"He can’t be allowed to escape any longer, or Er Ya will be in danger, and I won’t last."
Tuoba Hui felt his time was running out.
"Emperor of Da Wei, weren’t you searching for me? Come to the Grand Ancestral Temple, or your Wei soldiers who withdrew from the Imperial City will not survive."
...
Defying all odds, while frantically sprinting, Chen Mo suddenly heard the blood-colored seal speaking. He turned back to confirm, hearing the raspy and deep voice coming from the skullhead’s mouth.
After speaking, the blood-colored seal abruptly departed, halting its chase.
Chen Mo: "..."
His expression shifted; he lacked the omniscient view and didn’t know Tuoba Hui’s true state. But Chen Mo understood the formidable nature of this blood-colored seal—the threat in its words was credible.
Moreover, he had already penetrated deeply alone into the palace, and if he didn’t capture the palace quickly, awaiting the complete return of the Jin Xia Army would mean their defeat.
Therefore, he had to reach the Grand Ancestral Temple.
Prior to arriving at Yu Xi, Chen Mo had gathered information on the Imperial City’s layout from the surrendered generals like Zuo Nian, knowing roughly where the Grand Ancestral Temple was located.
Outside the Grand Ancestral Temple, the Jin Xia Army guarded heavily.
Nalan Yi Ren, through the bee swarm, also recognized something was amiss here.
Just as she was about to notify Chen Mo, he was already charging toward this spot.
"Who dares trespass the Grand Ancestral Temple?"
"Apprehend him."
This unit of Jin Xia soldiers was Tuoba Hui’s Imperial Guard, among the elite forces of the Tuoba Clan.
The commander was also from the Tuoba Clan’s Ministry of Rites, Tuoba Yan, a Third-Grade Martial Artist.
"Allow him entry."
At that moment, a voice emanated from within the Grand Ancestral Temple, reaching Tuoba Yan’s ears.
Tuoba Yan wasn’t aware of the Tuoba Clan possessing an Immortal Treasure, because that was passed down from generation to generation among the Khans of the Tuoba Clan, known only to each successive Khan.
But to demonstrate the Tuoba Clan’s might, internally there’s always been talk of the Tuoba Clan possessing a suppressive artifact.
This artifact enables the Tuoba Clan to fear no one within Jin Xia.
However, Tuoba Yan hadn’t seen this suppressive artifact; up until a quarter of an hour ago, he always believed this artifact was non-existent.
Until the blood-colored seal flew past before him.
Tuoba Yan instructed the soldiers to clear a path for Chen Mo.
Chen Mo wore a stern expression, stepping forward boldly.
Honestly, he only dared to come due to some confidence within himself.
Although the blood-colored seal is formidable, it couldn’t deal with him.
Furthermore, he still had unused trump cards.
Nalan Yi Ren also wished to enter but was obstructed by Tuoba Yan’s group.
Chen Mo proceeded straight to the central hall.
Upon seeing Tuoba Hui, for the first time, the notion of "skin and bones" manifested vividly in his mind.
Tuoba Hui stood in mid-air, a blood-colored seal was suspended in his hand—the same one that had pursued Chen Mo earlier.
On his forehead, a red number 1863+3006(+) was displayed.
Chen Mo was greatly astonished.
From using the system’s function until now, Chen Mo knew that the preceding number 1863 represented the opponent’s realm, which was Third Grade.
The subsequent number, 3006, represented the "power" added by the weapon and the martial arts cultivated within the realm corresponding to the weapon.
Yet this was the first time Chen Mo had seen such a high number.
His Great Sun Qi Slash, cultivated to this extent, only added a few hundred points.
This blood-colored seal—perhaps it’s some sort of Immortal Artifact or Magical Treasure.
As a transmigrator, he had read quite a few xianxia novels.
However, the "+" found after 3006 perplexed him.
Chen Mo’s eyes flickered, his inner doubts growing stronger.
"It seems you are Khan Tuoba Hui." Chen Mo spoke coldly.
This Grand Ancestral Temple wasn’t accessible to just anyone.
With heavy military defense outside, Chen Mo could guess a bit.
Tuoba Hui, standing in mid-air, nodded.
"The words the seal spoke earlier were yours, weren’t they?"
Chen Mo noticed the words spoken by the blood-colored seal were very similar to those spoken as he entered the Grand Ancestral Temple.
Tuoba Hui nodded again, then spoke: "Emperor of Da Wei, I understand the reasons behind your attack on Jin Xia; your intentions have already been met. If you retreat now, I can let go of all the past actions you’ve taken."
Tuoba Hui knew Chen Mo came seeking retribution.
At this moment, he could empathize with Emperor Wu’s situation when facing Song Taizu.
"Let go of past actions?"
Chen Mo chuckled.
Before entering the Grand Ancestral Temple, Chen Mo was quite apprehensive about the blood-colored seal, his heart tense. But now, hearing Tuoba Hui’s somewhat "cowardly" words confirmed Chen Mo’s earlier speculations.
"I can retreat the army, but surrender, lay down your weapons, submit to me by delivering a letter of submission to Great Wei, bowing in allegiance." Chen Mo replied.
His words were also a form of probing.
Tuoba Hui was not surprised at Chen Mo’s response; when he spoke, he knew there was little chance of Chen Mo agreeing.
If he were in Chen Mo’s place, having reached the palace of Wei Kingdom, he wouldn’t retreat upon the Wei Kingdom emperor’s request either.
"In that case, accompany me to hell."
"Blood God, I am willing to forego reincarnation, I beseech you to kill him."
Tuoba Hui pointed at Chen Mo.
Instantly, the skullhead at the seal’s top seemed to come alive, with blood-red light shining intensely, engulfing him.
A moment later, Tuoba Hui’s clothing dropped to the ground.
And he himself had vanished.
Chen Mo saw it clearly; he witnessed Tuoba Hui being consumed by the red light emanating from the skullhead.
"Jie Jie Jie..."
An eerie, cold laugh emanated from the skullhead’s mouth, the voice still Tuoba Hui’s, but intertwined with something strange.
Above the skullhead, a blood shadow gradually emerged, identical to Tuoba Hui when he still had flesh.
In Chen Mo’s eyes, this blood shadow bore a 1863+5000(+) number on its forehead.
Chen Mo’s eyes widened.