Chapter 822: Infiltration

Xu Luo and Su Qianqian had long left the crowds of well-wishers behind. They walked along a forest path, heading deeper into Piaomiao Palace.

The people on the path gradually thinned out. Leaving the noise and festive atmosphere behind, the two continued inward.

“Something is definitely wrong,” Su Qianqian said softly.

Xu Luo nodded. “Piaomiao Palace has likely just undergone an earth-shattering upheaval. I can still smell blood in the air.”

“I can’t smell any blood, but I can tell a major shift happened here,” Su Qianqian said. “Look, we just strolled right in without anyone stopping us. That’s highly unusual.”

“Yes. They’ve controlled the major aspects well enough, but there are still glaring oversights in the details,” Xu Luo said flatly, his eyes devoid of any joy.

“If my guess is right, the bride this time is none other than Yu Rou!” Su Qianqian lowered her voice, glancing at Xu Luo’s icy expression. “Otherwise, how could the guests have already arrived while the bride’s name remains unannounced? Moreover… given the relationship between Piaomiao Palace and Celestial Brilliance, it’s highly abnormal that no invitations were sent to Celestial Brilliance.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t do that,” Xu Luo replied, his voice chillingly cold.

“We shouldn’t act impulsively. We just need to find Yu Rou and her sister and take them away,” Su Qianqian advised. “If Zhou Wu dares to be so high-profile, it means he has completely taken control of Piaomiao Palace. He must have gained the approval of the older generation as well.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything foolish. However, if Yu Rou has truly been wronged, I won’t let them off easily!” Xu Luo said with a calm face.

But Su Qianqian knew he was genuinely furious.

Ever since Xu Luo entered Celestial Brilliance, Su Qianqian had witnessed everything Xie Yurou had done for him. Even she couldn’t find a single flaw in Xie Yurou’s actions; her devotion to Xu Luo was beyond reproach.

Even Su Qianqian felt that she might not compare to Xie Yurou in some regards.

People were not made of stone; everyone had feelings. Xu Luo was someone who deeply valued loyalty and affection. Faced with Xie Yurou’s selfless dedication without expecting anything in return, how could he not be moved?

Even putting aside their ambiguous relationship, with Xu Luo’s fiercely protective nature, there was no way he would stand idly by while someone bullied Heavenly Brilliance Disciples.

Neither of them knew the way, but assuming the inner residence would be located deeper inside, they continued along the path.

Ahead lay a complex of buildings hidden among towering Celestial Ancient trees. There seemed to be a strong defensive force stationed outside.

“This should be the place,” Su Qianqian transmitted her voice, shooting Xu Luo a glance.

Just then, someone emerged from the compound. It was a young woman in her twenties, dressed like a maidservant. She stood by the entrance, seemingly waiting for something.

At that moment, the sound of voices drifted from behind them, accompanied by the clatter of a horse-drawn carriage rolling along the road.

Xu Luo and Su Qianqian immediately ducked into the shadows of the trees lining the path.

A procession of people and horses headed straight in. Led by the maidservant, they bypassed the entrance and went directly into the inner courtyard.

Xu Luo glanced at Su Qianqian and transmitted, “Wait for me here!”

With that, his figure vanished into thin air.

Quite a few capable Piaomiao Palace disciples were hidden within this grove. With Xu Luo’s Divine Sense, finding them was a breeze.

Targeting the most concealed location, Xu Luo appeared behind a disciple like a phantom. Moving as fast as lightning, he subdued the man instantly. Grabbing his captive, Xu Luo bounded away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Finding an utterly deserted blind spot, he tossed the man onto the ground and lifted his restraints.

The captive’s reaction was incredibly fast. The moment he was freed, his immediate instinct was to attack.

“If I were you, I absolutely wouldn’t do that,” Xu Luo said flatly.

“Who are you? How dare you cause trouble in Piaomiao Palace! Are you courting death?” The man slowly turned around. He was a young man in his thirties, an arrogant air lingering between his brows.

Xu Luo had targeted him because out of everyone in the forest, his aura was the strongest—infinitely close to the Venerable Realm!

With such cultivation, acting as a guard here meant he had to be a leader.

Xu Luo’s guess was spot on. This Half-Step Venerable was one of Zhou Wu’s trusted confidants. With Zhou Wu’s recent rise to power, his status had also skyrocketed, making him part of Piaomiao Palace’s upper echelon.

He was stationed here specifically to prevent any unforeseen accidents. With him personally holding the fort, Zhou Wu felt completely at ease.

Xu Luo smiled and said nothing. Instead, a surge of Formless Sword Intent emanated from his body!

This Formless Sword Intent swept over him like a monstrous tidal wave, blanketing the area and scaring the young man so badly he nearly wet himself!

It wasn’t that he was a coward; the Formless Sword Intent was simply too terrifying!

In the face of this Formless Sword Intent, his cultivation was entirely useless. He felt like an ordinary mortal plunged into an icy cavern, his life and death completely out of his hands.

“What… what do you want?” the young man asked, staring at Xu Luo as he forced down his terror.

“I ask, you answer. If you utter a single lie, I’ll poke a hole in your body!” Xu Luo said coldly. “Who lives in that compound over there?”

A slight flicker crossed the young man’s eyes. Before he could even speak, the dark-skinned man exuding the endlessly terrifying Formless Sword Intent frowned.

SHLICK!

A bloody hole instantly blew open on the young man’s shoulder!

Agonizing pain washed over him. Just as he was about to scream, that icy voice rang out again.

“Dare to scream, and I’ll kill you!”

“Mmph…” The young man forcefully choked back his shriek. He no longer harbored any doubts about whether this man dared to kill him. Now, his only thought was how to get out of this alive.

“We have no grievances or grudges… Why… are you doing this?” Drenched in a cold sweat from the pain, the young man looked at Xu Luo, still harboring a sliver of hope. He wanted to stall for time and alert the others.

SHLICK!

Another bloody hole exploded on his other shoulder!

GASP!

The young man curled into a tight ball from the pain, nearly shattering his teeth from clenching them so hard.

It had to be known that these were no ordinary wounds.

If they were normal puncture wounds, the pain would have been tolerable.

But these wounds were pierced by Formless Sword Intent. The injuries themselves were nothing, but the Formless Sword Intent surged through the meridians around the wounds directly into his body, wantonly ravaging his internal pathways…

That kind of agony was absolutely beyond what an ordinary person could endure.

“Who lives in that compound?” Xu Luo asked coldly once more.

“It’s… it’s the old Lady of the Palace,” the young man said, feeling on the verge of collapse. His terror toward this dark-skinned man had reached its absolute peak.

“Who else? I’d prefer it if you didn’t hide anything. That will only accelerate your death,” Xu Luo said flatly.

He thought, “What a fucking psychopath!”

The young man wailed internally but truly didn’t dare to conceal anything else. He absolutely did not want to experience that excruciating pain again.

As for dying… he wanted that even less!

He had only just grasped power, only just tasted its sweetness. Having just risen above the masses, how could he be willing to die before he even had a chance to enjoy it?

“And… the Lady’s younger sister… the Celestial Splendor Noble Lady, Xie Yurou…” The young man gritted his teeth and thought, “Palace Master… I’m sorry. It’s not that your subordinate is incompetent; it’s just that the enemy is far too terrifying!”

“Is she also the bride today?” Xu Luo asked calmly.

By now, the young man was essentially certain that this intruder… was someone from Celestial Brilliance!

This was also what Zhou Wu had feared the most!

He was terrified that people from Celestial Brilliance would arrive in time to take the Xie Sisters away. Truth be told, if someone really came to whisk them away, Zhou Wu wouldn’t dare stop them!

No matter how powerful Piaomiao Palace was, they hadn’t reached the level where they could clash with Celestial Brilliance.

Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of the Xi Hezhou Grand Tournament, a time when Celestial Brilliance was extremely busy, to force their hand and seal the deal!

As long as the wedding was held and he claimed the Xie Sisters’ bodies, even if Celestial Brilliance wanted to make a move against him, they would have to carefully consider the consequences!

After all, by then, the Xie Sisters would have become his women. Ideally… they would even be pregnant with his flesh and blood!

That would be absolutely perfect!

But he never expected that before the wedding could even take place, someone from Celestial Brilliance… would actually come knocking on their door!

The young man was still quite loyal to Zhou Wu. Right now, he couldn’t help but feel incredibly anxious, calculating in his head how he could inform the Palace Master of this news.

“I suggest you give up on the idea of sending a message. If you don’t answer my question right now, you won’t just be tortured. My patience is limited,” Xu Luo warned.

“I… fine, I’ll tell you. Yes, today’s bride is Xie Yurou!” The young man nodded in admission.

A dangerous glint flashed through Xu Luo’s eyes. “What about her older sister?”

“Her sister is also…” The young man managed half a sentence before realizing his mistake and immediately tried to change his tune.

But he heard the dark-skinned man across from him curse through gritted teeth, “Animal!”

The young man instantly shut his mouth. A look of sheer embarrassment crossed his face, almost making him forget his physical pain.

It was true that he was Zhou Wu’s trusted confidant, but even he had his reservations about Zhou Wu intending to marry Xie Yudie as well.

No matter how you looked at it, in terms of seniority, Xie Yudie was Zhou Wu’s mother!

Even if they didn’t share any biological ties, if word got out… that was sheer incest!

However, Zhou Wu was extremely stubborn. Once he made a decision, he absolutely would not change it. Furthermore, his intent to make Xie Yudie his woman wouldn’t be made public.

In other words, there would only be one bride today: Xie Yurou.

After all, no matter how overbearing Zhou Wu was, he hadn’t reached the point of challenging everyone’s bottom line.

But just hearing this was enough to send Xu Luo into a towering rage. That gentle woman, that woman with peerless grace, the one who had helped him so much when he first arrived in the Divine Domain, was actually being driven to such a corner!

Xu Luo thought, “This Zhou Wu… is truly an absolute animal!”

Glancing at the young man, he asked coldly, “How do I get in?”