Chen Mo hastily used his hand to support himself, preventing him from completely collapsing to the ground, clutching his chest and gasping for breath.
Suddenly, he noticed the blood-colored seal that had fallen not far away.
Compared to its previous "terror," the blood-colored seal now resembled a peculiar stone.
It was the first time Chen Mo had suffered such a significant setback, so even though the seal was quiet now, he didn’t immediately reach out to touch it.
Just then, his ears perked up as he heard faint footsteps coming from inside the hall.
"Who’s there? Show yourself!"
Chen Mo shouted loudly as he stood up, looking towards the direction of the bedchamber with a wary expression.
The faint footsteps quickly ceased.
This only made Chen Mo more cautious, confirming that there was someone inside the hall.
He coughed painfully a few times, picked up the robe that belonged to Tuoba Hui, and covered the blood-colored seal with it, trying to use a trace of innate spiritual qi to touch it from a distance. Seeing no further movement, Chen Mo wrapped the blood-colored seal in Tuoba Hui’s robe and picked it up.
He tied a knot and finally used the two sleeves of the robe to tie it around his waist before slowly walking towards the hall.
The hall was relatively tidy, the everlasting lamp had long been extinguished, and the divine tablets on the table had fallen to the ground.
There was also a lacquered wooden box open and discarded on the floor.
Chen Mo glanced at it, guessing it should be the box that held the seal.
"Come out, I’ve seen you."
Chen Mo glanced around, and after speaking, he closed his eyes to sense the surroundings. Soon, he sensed a weak and nervous breathing sound from behind the table with the divine tablets.
Chen Mo waved his hand.
The table with the divine tablets instantly shattered, sending wooden splinters flying, and the divine tablets scattered across the ground. Tuoba Zhi, who was behind the table, turned and ran.
Chen Mo caught a piece of flying wood between his fingers and flicked it towards Tuoba Zhi.
The seemingly inconspicuous splinter hit Tuoba Zhi’s calf and pierced through it, causing him to fall to the ground with a wail.
Chen Mo walked over slowly. This was a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. Judging by the red numbers on his forehead, he was a sixth-grade martial artist, dressed in a purple gold robe, wearing a rhino horn gold jade belt, as per the Jin Xia Academy’s Song system, an emblem of the Crown Prince’s status.
"Are you Crown Prince Tuoba Zhi?" Zuo Nian had told him the story of the Crown Prince.
Tuoba Zhi was not born to the current Queen Wanyan Ya.
When Tuoba Hui was still the Crown Prince, he and the then Crown Prince Consort Yelv Clan had Tuoba Zhi.
Later, when Tuoba Hui ascended to the throne, he had thought Tuoba Zhi would be made Crown Prince. Unexpectedly, Tuoba Hui took his father’s consort, Wanyan Ya, and despite opposition, made her the Jin Xia Queen. Wanyan Ya was deeply loved by Tuoba Hui, so the position of Crown Prince was left vacant.
Later, as Wanyan Ya remained childless, and a country could not be without a successor, Tuoba Hui, under pressure from various sides, established Tuoba Zhi as Crown Prince.
"I... I’m not, don’t kill me, don’t kill me..."
Tuoba Zhi held his head in his hands, curling up and trembling. Such a pathetic scene did not resemble a Crown Prince at all.
And this wasn’t Tuoba Zhi deliberately acting.
His life could be described as walking on thin ice.
His father didn’t care, and his mother didn’t love him.
As the eldest legitimate son, he almost missed the position of Crown Prince.
Because his father favored Wanyan Ya, Tuoba Zhi, even as Crown Prince, dared not offend anyone, fearing Wanyan Ya would find an excuse for his father to depose him.
The reason he was here was that Tuoba Hui had someone call him over.
And told him a bunch of startling things.
Such as, "I have made a will. If I unfortunately die, you will be the Great Khan of Jin Xia in the future."
"This is Tuoba Clan’s immortal treasure. After my demise, you must safeguard it. You cannot give it to anyone but you."
"The method to use this immortal treasure, which is cursed by the Blood God and represents misfortune, should not be used lightly, as it devours vitality."
"It’s activated by blood..."
"Remember, after I die, let the Queen accompany me; I can’t bear to leave her. Bury her with me..."
After telling him all this, Tuoba Hui left him in the bedchamber until now.
Chen Mo frowned, yet he had no time to interrogate him.
The time for the divine burning technique was about to end.
He was gravely injured, and once time was up, he would enter a period of weakness.
Given the opponent’s strength, he would not be a match at that time.
Chen Mo kicked him unconscious, his instincts telling him this person would still be useful.
Having done all this, Chen Mo carried Tuoba Zhi and sprinted out of the Grand Ancestral Temple.
He had to leave while the time for the divine burning technique still lasted.
Otherwise, once the guards outside discovered something was wrong and came in, he would likely face death while in the weakness stage.
Outside the Grand Ancestral Temple, Nalan Yiren looked at Tuoba Yan on the ground, with the Taotie Gu flying from his neck into Yiren’s hand.
Though both were Divine Power Realm martial artists,
Nalan Yiren was adept at using poison, and Tuoba Yan was unprepared. The longer he struggled against her, the deeper the poison affected him.
Finally, worried about Chen Mo’s safety, Nalan Yiren quickly resolved the fight, summoning the Taotie Gu to kill Tuoba Yan.
After Tuoba Yan died, Nalan Yiren didn’t even glance at the others before she intended to dash towards the Grand Ancestral Temple.
Just then, she saw a figure sprinting out, carrying someone.
Upon recognizing Chen Mo, Nalan Yiren was overjoyed, but seeing his condition, her face changed: "Why are you..."
Before she could finish, Chen Mo, rushing towards her, suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Nalan Yiren hastily stepped forward to catch him, but before she could speak, Chen Mo said, "Jin Xia Khan is dead. Quickly take me away, don’t forget him..."
After speaking, it was as if he had run out of energy, collapsing in Yiren’s arms.
"Don’t scare me, Chen Mo, wake up, wake up..." Nalan Yiren was somewhat frightened, her voice tinged with a sob.
Seeing the Jin Xia soldiers closing in around her, she immediately picked up one person in each arm and dashed towards the Imperial City gates.
Although the Poison Bee Army was strong, it could only serve as a diversion.
Moreover, the situation in the palace was still unclear.
Better to leave first.
"The Crown Prince has been captured, chase them quickly!"
"The Great Khan is still in the Grand Ancestral Temple, go check on him quickly."
"..."
As Nalan Yiren emerged with Chen Mo and Tuoba Zhi, she encountered Yu Zhu leading Chang En and Sun Meng with an army.
Seeing Chen Mo covered in blood, unsure whether he was alive, they were all taken aback.
"State Preceptor, what about His Majesty..."
Yu Zhu’s eyes moistened.
As the saying goes, affection develops over time.
After being together for so long, it was impossible for Yu Zhu to have no feelings for Chen Mo.
At this moment, she was genuinely worried about Chen Mo’s condition.
"I don’t know exactly what happened either, but His Majesty just told me that Jin Xia Khan is dead. Next, I need to heal His Majesty’s wounds. I’ll leave the aftermath to you."
As she spoke, Nalan Yiren handed Tuoba Zhi over to Chang En and the others: "I’ll leave him for you to watch over as well."
With that, Nalan Yiren carried Chen Mo away.
Yu Zhu quickly followed them.
Sun Meng glanced at Chang En.
"General Sun, you take some people to protect His Majesty. I’ll handle things here after." Chang En said.
Sun Meng nodded. That was his intention as well.
...
At Consort Yelv’s residence, Tuoba Hui’s deputy general arrived outside, seeking an audience with Consort Yelv. He reported the news of the Great Khan’s disappearance and the Crown Prince being captured by the Wei army.
Consort Yelv was shocked.
At that moment, Tuoba Hui’s chief eunuch and three ministers hurried over, handing Consort Yelv the will that Tuoba Hui had left behind during his lifetime.
Tuoba Hui had instructed them that should anything happen to him, the will was to be given to Consort Yelv.
Consort Yelv opened it. Besides naming Tuoba Zhi as the new Great Khan, it also ordered the execution of Wanyan Ya.
"Bring the poisoned wine and follow me."