Interception

"Emperor Xia needs this immortal peach most right now. We must deliver it as quickly as possible!" Emperor Xia's condition was far from optimistic; he likely had only a few days left to live. This was precisely the time to take the immortal peach. The only thing that puzzled Lu Yang was why Eldest Senior Sister hadn't simply had Man Gu deliver it directly to the Imperial Palace, but instead had him deliver it. With the situation urgent, Lu Yang couldn't think of the reason for the time being, so he prepared to set off. To be safe, Lu Yang also informed Meng Jingzhou's father about the immortal peach, hoping the Meng Family would send someone to accompany him to the Imperial Palace. Ao Ling and the other two had special identities. If they took action, it would be impossible to explain why the three of them were helping Lu Yang; it was best if they didn't intervene unless necessary. "It isn't bound by the threshold of lifespan, and can still extend lifespan? Such an immortal treasure exists in this world?" Meng Potian's expression shifted with wonder. Even with the Meng Family's vast enterprise and wealth, he had never heard of the immortal peach. "Since Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi said so, it certainly cannot be false." "Come, I'll accompany you to the Imperial Palace in person!" Meng Potian knew this matter was of paramount importance. While Lu Yang was unfamiliar with the current state of the Imperial City, he understood it all too well: as Emperor Xia's lifespan ran out, numerous factions were stirring once more, all eager to profit from the situation. And the existence of the immortal peach would surely be a thorn in their side! Not to mention that an immortal peach capable of extending lifespan would draw the eyes of countless old monsters whose lifespans were running out. Although people today couldn't recognize that the immortal peach was the produce of a heaven-and-earth spiritual root, any accomplished cultivator could deduce merely from its fragrance that it was something that extended lifespan. Meng Potian suspected that along the path from the city gate to the Meng Residence when Man Gu carried the immortal peach into the Imperial City, its drifting fragrance had very likely already caught the attention of interested parties. Meng Potian tried various sealing methods to seal the immortal peach, but none could lock away its scent. Even calling upon a Tribulation Transcendence ancestor cultivating in the mountains of the Meng Residence proved useless. Lu Yang and Meng Potian had no choice but to carry the immortal peach radiating its sweet peach aroma and set out through the Imperial City. Accompanying them were several Meng Family Body Integration cultivators, as well as a Meng Family Tribulation Transcendence cultivator. On the surface, the Imperial City was as bustling and prosperous as ever, with cultivators everywhere. Yet Meng Potian knew this was merely an illusion. In reality, every faction was on edge, wound tight as a bowstring, keeping constant watch over every movement in the Imperial Palace. Everyone wanted to know whether the First Prince or the Second Prince would ultimately inherit the throne. The Imperial City was split in two by a river hundreds of zhang wide, dividing it into the South City and the North City. The Imperial Palace lay in the North City, while the Meng Residence lay in the South City. To get from the Meng Residence to the Imperial Palace, one had to cross the Jinsha River. When Lu Yang's group reached the middle of the bridge, a grand convoy of horses and men approached from the opposite direction. The person leading them was mounted on a tall steed and pulled up directly in front of the two. "Fellow Daoist Lu Yang, Uncle Meng, where might the two of you be headed?" The rider dismounted and inquired with refined politeness. Lu Yang eyed him warily and took two subtle steps back. "That's not something the Second Prince needs to concern himself with." The Second Prince narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing toward the box on Lu Yang's back. "If I am not mistaken, what Fellow Daoist Lu Yang carries on his back should be something capable of extending lifespan? Hand it over to me, Lu Yang. When I ascend the throne, I can give you anything you desire!" The Second Prince's gaze was fiery, staring at the box on Lu Yang's back as though ogling the naked body of a peerless beauty. Among his supporters was a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator named Cang Mingzi, whom Lu Yang had encountered during his journey to the East Sea. Cang Mingzi had informed the Second Prince that Lu Yang possessed something that could save Emperor Xia's life. In the Second Prince's eyes, this wasn't merely something to save his imperial father's life—this was a supreme immortal treasure that would compel his imperial father to hand him the imperial throne! As long as he obtained this life-saving treasure and used it to save his imperial father, Father would surely pass the throne to him! Meng Potian stepped in front of Lu Yang and said coldly, "Out of the way. His Majesty is in mortal danger right now, and every second counts. Do not waste time on this foolishness." The Second Prince did not wish to offend the Meng Family and the Dao Seeking Sect, but he knew this was his only chance to seize the throne. According to news from the palace, Father had already been preparing an imperial edict to pass the throne to Eldest Brother, only to fall unconscious at that exact juncture. Once Father woke and issued the decree, he would never have another chance to compete! Success or failure hinged on this one move. He had to go all out! To seize the throne, he had roped in too many people and traded away too many favors. If he backed down now, even if he agreed, the factions backing him never would. "And what if I don't move?!" "Then beat it!" In his youth, Meng Potian had roamed the cultivation world alongside Old Horse and Housekeeper Xu, and by nature he was a ruthless bandit. It was only after becoming family head that he had tempered his nature. At a moment like this, he simply stopped pretending. "Get them, all of you!" At Meng Potian's command, the Meng Family elders struck in unison. The power of the Five Elements circulated, and yin-yang qi erupted forth. Yet the Second Prince's side was no easy prey either; they likewise boasted several Body Integration cultivators. Boom! A battle erupted above the Jinsha River. The bridge deck collapsed with a tremendous roar, shattering into boulders that splashed one after another into the river. Fortunately, sensing the hostile tension brewing between the two sides, pedestrians crossing the bridge had long since retreated far away, not daring to step onto it. Faced with a chaotic brawl of Body Integration cultivators, Lu Yang couldn't help, so he could only hide to the side. Yet holding the immortal peach, he was inherently the focal point of the battle. Beneath the river's surface, a watery shadow locked onto Lu Yang and closed in rapidly. The river surface boiled as mist curled upward, transforming into chains of vapor that flew toward Lu Yang across the sky. "Cang Mingzi, you have some nerve!" A thunderous roar echoed from above Lu Yang's head, imbued with the true intent of a lion's roar, shattering the chains to pieces. Cang Mingzi flew out of the water. When he saw who had roared the chains to pieces, his pupils contracted sharply. "Meng Kuang, when did you reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage?!" Meng Kuang—Meng Jingzhou's grandfather, friend of Daoist Buyu, arch-nemesis of both the Right and Left Prime Ministers, and previous head of the Meng Family. "Do I need to report to you when the hell I reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage?!" Meng Kuang wielded a broad saber. He drew his palm across the blade, letting blood flow across its surface, which was quickly absorbed. The saber turned crimson from end to end and wrapped around Meng Kuang's wrist, as if fusing into one with him. "Throwing away all your dignity to rob a junior just to prop up the second Jiang son." Meng Kuang's crimson saber whipped up a tempest of foul wind and bloody rain. Seeing this, Cang Mingzi's face changed drastically, and he cried out in disbelief, "Great mastery of the Battle Saber Technique?! How is that possible?! The Battle Saber Technique requires feeding battle with battle—achieving epiphanies, breakthroughs, and perfection in the midst of war! No major wars have taken place in nearly a thousand years! Where could you have possibly had the chance to cultivate the Battle Saber Technique?!" Meng Kuang laughed heartily and slashed straight at Cang Mingzi. "Idiot! Aren't trade wars war too?! When I was family head, how many commercial wars did the Meng Family go through?!" "Behold this move: Battle Saber Technique, Rolling Wealth!" Cang Mingzi transformed his body into water. The highest virtue is like water, overcoming strength with softness. As a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator proficient in manipulating water, he was an exceptional counter against saber and sword cultivators. Meng Kuang slashed down, cleaving Cang Mingzi in two. He split into two masses of water, which merged back together, leaving Cang Mingzi completely unharmed. "How about that, old ghost Meng Kuang?! Don't think that secretly cultivating to the Tribulation Transcendence stage makes you my match!" Meng Kuang chuckled and produced a large cloth sack from behind him, stuffed to the brim with top-grade spirit stones. When Cang Mingzi saw the large cloth sack, his expression turned utterly magnificent. He hurriedly checked his storage ring, only to discover that every top-grade spirit stone inside was gone! "What kind of move is this?!" Cang Mingzi panicked, his eyes red with fury. Those were all his spirit stones! "I already told you. It's called Battle Saber Technique: Rolling Wealth." "Bullshit! There's no such move in the Battle Saber Technique!" "Commercial warfare, you know—it's all about turning your money into my money. Isn't it only natural that I comprehended a move like this from trade wars?"