You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?-Chapter 402 - 22. Deception_2

His father stood excitedly and joyfully in front of him, "The Imperial Family of Great Yu, the Wu clan, dare to commit such acts of betrayal and rebellion, truly they are at the end of their fate, such a dynasty deserves to be destroyed!"

His heart trembled, and he forced a smile, "Congratulations, father."

"Good child, there is something very important I need you to do."

His father solemnly said, "We have already figured it out, the key to this matter is the Ninth Princess. Among the five ancestors of the Demon Path, two have agreed to cooperate with us. As long as we capture the Ninth Princess, this matter will be halfway done. However, it's too difficult to act in Chonghua City. Since you are close to her, it shouldn't be hard to find an excuse to lure her out of Chonghua City, right?"

His mind buzzed blankly, and he opened his mouth with difficulty, yet he couldn't utter a single word.

"What's wrong?"

"Father... I... I can't do it. I'm sorry... I really can't..."

Despite the difficulty, he finally spoke the truth from his heart.

If his father had angrily beaten or scolded him, he might have felt better, but his father only stared at him blankly. After a long time, he sighed, came over to hug him, and said nothing.

He felt a deep pain because he could sense his father's disappointment and helplessness.

From that day on, his father also began to distance himself from him.

No matter how diligently he cultivated, nor how rapidly he progressed, he could no longer receive a single word of praise.

He even condensed a heaven-defying embryonic Dao form which earned praises from the Main Hall Master, yet he couldn't even see his father's face.

The Ninth Princess noticed his melancholy and took him to Sacred Heart Road, holding his hand for the first time, walking five hundred and twenty zhang before he reached his limit.

But the Ninth Princess did not continue forward, instead, she held his hand and stopped there.

"I reached my limit, why didn't Princess Xing Lian continue?" he asked.

"See, this is the difference. Not everyone is willing to stop for you, and not everyone will leave you behind. That's life. Some will leave you, and some are beyond your reach; all you can do is your best, but if doing your best can't change anything, what then?"

Her gentle, soft words and delicate touch gradually revived his desolate heart.

"But your Three Thousand Hell Body has a good tempering effect on the Primordial Spirit. You haven't experienced much, yet your Dao Heart Will has reached five hundred and twenty zhang, so it wasn't a waste for you to endure such pain."

She smilingly took out a carving knife, etched a star character and then a Shou character on Sacred Heart Road.

"Alright, it's marked. I've engraved it with the power of Taiyin True Water, and it won't disappear for thousands of years. Next time we come, you must accompany me along the entire Sacred Heart Road."

Time passed.

Suddenly, one day, his father's most trusted confidant came to see him, telling him there was a way to help his father, to make his father close to him again, and he agreed without hesitation.

He began cultivating a strange Cultivation Technique, consuming some special treasure medicines.

Although he didn't know the effects of this technique or medicine, his progress was indeed getting faster, making him all the more hopeful.

Alas, fate often betrays intentions.

"Brother Xiahou, your father, he..."

Just half a year later, the Imperial Family of Great Yu announced that his father, the Hall Master of the Ancestor Hall Chong Yuan, conspired with the Demon Path to assassinate Emperor Yu, intending to harm the Human Clan, and had already been killed by the combined forces of the Imperial masters.

He stared blankly at his father's corpse hanging at the city gate of Chonghua City, his heart sinking into an endless abyss.

...

"Your Majesty, Emperor Yu, you claim my father is a Human Clan traitor. Where's the evidence? Are you relying solely on these testimonies? How do I know this isn't just an excuse by your Great Yu Imperial Family?"

On the Golden Throne Hall, he walked step by step to the Imperial Platform, his voice full of cold anger.

"Insolence! Xiahou Shou, how dare you!" Emperor Yu was furious.

That day, he caused a ruckus in the Golden Throne Hall. If he hadn't been the direct disciple of the Main Hall Master, even a genius like him would have long been imprisoned.

Yet, he was still expelled, unable to enter the Imperial Palace, nor to see the Ninth Princess.

He even heard the laughter and insults of the Imperial clan's children towards his father within the palace walls, but he couldn't enter, powerless.

That night, he met someone.

The man was a drunkard, with a hearty laugh, arriving by Wind Control. Xiahou Shou couldn't discern him, clearly an entry-level Saint.

"Kid, have a drink. Chong Yuan did raise a good son, such a pity..."

"Demonic Qi... which of the demon ancestors are you with?"

"Demonic Qi must mean I'm a demon ancestor? Maybe I'm a Demon Buddha, who knows? Haha, I just chanced upon someone like you, suited for the Demon Path, yet kept in the dark. It bothers me a bit, so I came to chat."

"Senior knows the truth?"

"Want to know where your father died?"

...

The following night, he went to the Emperor's Mausoleum of the Great Yu Imperial Family outside Chonghua City.

Last night, the mysterious master, suspected to be one of the demon's five ancestors, gave him a magical treasure that allowed him to infiltrate the mausoleum to uncover the truth, as long as he didn't touch the central bronze coffin, he wouldn't be discovered.

After sneaking into the mausoleum, he found the bronze coffin deep inside.

After waiting for a long time, a group entered the mausoleum, led by an entry-level Saint, who surprisingly was King Cang Yu, the most powerful in the court.

Then, he saw King Cang Yu open the bronze coffin.

Inside the bronze coffin lay a burly man whose immense vitality was unimaginable, and whose aura was overwhelmingly strong, but there was no spark of spirit in his open eyes, empty and hollow, as if he had lost his soul.