Chapter 196: Victory Before Anything Else

　　Sword light dimmed, and Lu Mingshu sheathed her sword.

　　After the specter, demonic beasts came over one after another. Lu Mingshu already felt nothing.

　　“Why are there so many demonic beasts?” Xie Lianzhen raised his hand and rubbed his nose. This action made him seem like a kid, totally different from the “Young Master Lianzhen” that threatened her yesterday.

　　It made Lu Mingshu curious. Every time she thought she had seen through him, he showed another side that shocked her even more.

　　The gentle side when they first met, followed by the guy harbouring evil intentions, then the ice-cold guy, and now an outgoing one.

　　Which was the real him? Lu Mingshu couldn’t tell.

　　“We may be in trouble. There’s so many demonic beasts… it may be a beast cave.”

　　“That’s weird.” Xie Lianzhen rubbed his chin. “There aren’t any beast caves near the Seventh Truth Platform, even a thousand miles away.”

　　“Could it be…” Lu Mingshu deliberated. “This duplicated space is way earlier than we guessed?”

　　“You mean before there was a Seventh Truth Platform?” Xie Lianzhen immediately got what she meant.

　　Lu Mingshu nodded.

　　“Impossible.” Xie Lianzhen denied. “When the Seventh Truth Platform was established, the forefathers put in a lot of effort. Great Morning Mountain was altered, so if this is before the Seventh Truth Platform was established, the land wouldn’t look like this.”

　　“This…”

　　If what Xie Lianzhen said was true, the situation they were facing now would be hard to explain.

　　“There’s another possibility.” Xie Lianzhen looked at the ferocious beast’s body on the floor. “There is a place on Great Morning Mountain with so many ferocious beasts.”

　　Lu Mingshu pondered for a while. “You mean the place where they raise them? The one that you mentioned before.”

　　“Yes.” Xie Lianzhen nodded. “But in order to achieve this, it would be extremely difficult. I see that this person has a partner who holds a high position in the Seventh Truth Platform.”

　　Lu Mingshu nodded and stopped questioning. She shouldn’t ask any further; this was an internal matter of the Seventh Truth Platform, and it wasn’t good to know too many secrets.

　　“What should we do know?” After some hesitation, she asked.

　　“What do you think we should do?” Xie Lianzhen retorted.

　　Without hesitation, Lu Mingshu replied. “Move on and find out.”

　　Xie Lianzhen burst out laughing.

　　“Why are you laughing?” She asked, displeased.

　　“This is so you.”

　　“So me?”

　　“You like to take hold of your own fate, and you hate to wait,” he said softly.

　　“…” Lu Mingshu felt uncomfortable hearing this. That seems to have a hidden meaning.

　　“If you’re afraid, you can just stay here. With Young Master Lianzhen’s means, you should be able to protect yourself, right?” She added on immediately, trying to sound tough.

　　“Miss, do I really look that useless? If we were to fight, you definitely wouldn’t have the upper hand.” He facepalmed.

　　“Heh!” Lu Mingshu grinned and walked forward to the crack in the barrier.

　　Xie Lianzhen sighed and followed.

　　The place beyond the barrier was different from the river bank they were just at. The surroundings were too quiet, and a sense of danger filled the air.

　　After some distance, they met a bunch of demonic beasts.

　　Yes, “a bunch.” At least ten, forming an entire group. Their cultivations were all around the Inner Breath Realm or the Harmonization Realm. Fortunately, they didn’t meet any Spirit Realm demonic beasts.

　　Lu Mingshu grasped her sword tightly and lean toward Xie Lianzhen. “Hmm.”

　　“What?”

　　“If you are eaten up by them, leaving not even a single bone behind, will the queen murder me?”

　　Xie Lianzhen smiled. “You have a lot of confidence in her, huh? Wait until you actually see if she survives this.”

　　…

　　The queen felt that she didn’t have enough physical strength.

　　It had been years since she fought personally.

　　The blood of demonic beasts in front of her and the smell of mud brought her back to thirty years ago when she was still in the Seventh Truth Platform.

　　Back then, she was like any other female disciple in the Seventh Truth Platform; listening to scriptures in the morning, cultivating at night… leading a simple life.

　　She was someone who had lived in a Taoist sect. Hearing the chimes of the morning bell, looking at the mountains around, and studying the heavenly laws. Carved balustrades and marble steps, divine and elegant dresses… those were things that couldn’t be found in her life, and they were something that she didn’t pursue at all.

　　What was always on her mind was whether the bunny that she kept in secret had been discovered by her master, or would she be forced to copy scriptures if she couldn’t practice a skill well? The acrobats that her senior brother promised to bring her to watch in Tianyun City, would she ever find any time for that?

　　Now that she thought about it, the girl in her memories seemed like a stranger to her.

　　It was a totally different life from the one she was leading now. How did I even get to where am I now?

　　She could clearly remember the fight at the Yin Mountains. There were harpies everywhere, similar to the situation that was in front of her now.

　　Her senior brother pushed her onto his mount and shouted for her to leave.

　　The indefatigable suanni brought her far from the battle site. The last thing she could remember was her senior brother being drenched in blood.

　　That was the past of Qing’er.

　　After that, she became the queen of Zhongzhou – above everyone, second to only the emperor.

　　The carved balustrades and marble steps, the divine and elegant dresses that she had never thought about, were now in her life, existing as the realest things. Roping people in and suppressing others, fighting for authority – that was the war she had to fight every day. A real fight like this never appeared in her life anymore.

　　Holding her sword, waving it in the air, and slashing.

　　Sweat dripped down, and fresh blood was flying everywhere. The things that she used to despise were surprisingly something that she missed badly now.

　　A fast and straightforward fight like this was way easier than all the mind games.

　　“Your Highness!” a shriek could be heard.

　　The queen beheaded the demonic beast in one slash and used her sword as support. She looked over to see a woman running toward her.

　　“Qingqing….”

　　Seeing that the queen was fine, Ding Qingqing heaved a sigh of relief and helped her to the side. “Your servant’s late.”

　　The queen shook her head. “Not late, just on time.”

　　“What’s going on? Why are we here? Your Highness, are we being plotted against?”

　　The queen smiled thinly. Her bright, pretty face had some bloodstains on it, making her more dazzling. “Daring to do this during the Qilin Festival, and having such an accurate grasp of timing. Isn’t the answer obvious?”

　　Ding Qingqing stared at the queen blankly. She then cautiously asked. “Is it… our own people?”

　　The queen sighed. “Only our own could do it, but I don’t know who among the seven clan leaders are involved.”

　　“Evil!” Ding Qingqing smiled sarcastically. “All these years, Your Highness has treated them well, yet they help an outsider…!”

　　“It may not be an outsider,” the queen said. “Moreover, in some eyes, I have broken the rules.”

　　Not much explanation was needed; Ding Qingqing knew what the queen meant. Xie Lianzhen taking over his position was evidence of the queen abusing her power.

　　“Let’s find a way to get out of here first,” the queen said. “This plan is risky for them. Aside from the fact that the elders are still guarding this place, His Majesty – who’s in the Assimilation Realm – will be hard to stop.”

　　“Then we…?”

　　“Persevere.” The queen stood up and took out her sabre. “If we persevere, we will be the ones who win.”