Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Cloud Grove City, Mu Family -

Everyone was running around fl.u.s.tered, with panic and horror etched on their faces. News from Eastern Sun City confirmed where the Holy Palace had gone after its sudden disappearance. At the same time, this resulted in the failure of the Mu Family's every plan.

Qin Yu had become the new Holy Monarch. When the Mu Family cultivators thought about this, a sense of endless fear grew in their souls.

All of the high level Mu Family figures had gathered in a hall. Their faces were deathly pale and no one spoke. The atmosphere was so heavy that it left one almost unable to breathe. Everyone here knew exactly what the Mu Family had done after Qin Yu joined the Demonic Path. And, it was exactly because they knew so much that they felt even greater despair.

This was a grudge that could not be resolved. Once Qin Yu stabilized his power and authority, that would be the time when the Mu Family would fall into the abyss, never to emerge!

"What are you all putting on a sad face for, you useless things!" With a cold shout, Mu Yunli stepped forward.

Everyone sat up in a hurry and bowed. Listening to the confident Old Ancestor, faint traces of hope appeared in their despairing eyes.

"Humph!" Mu Yunli came to a pause and coldly snorted. "So what if Yao Bin becomes the Holy Monarch? Our Mu Family also had a Holy Monarch before!"

He lifted a hand and a crimson crystal appeared in his palm. Gorgeous characters flowed beneath its surface. "This is an imperial edict that our family's Holy Monarch left to us in the past. I avoided taking it out before so that none of you would act recklessly."

The Mu Family people went wild with joy.

"An imperial edict that can pardon all crimes?"

"So my Mu Family had such a lifesaving treasure!"

"This is too wonderful! With this imperial edict in hand, not even the current Holy Monarch can destroy my Mu Family!"

The constrained atmosphere in the hall suddenly dispersed.

The Mu Family Old Ancestor put away the imperial edict. "Right now, you should all be doing what you should be doing. If news of your panic spreads out, you will only inspire others to laugh at you!"

His face darkened and he said in a low voice, "Our Mu Family won't fall here!"

Without pause, after Mu Yunli finished speaking he headed towards the underground temple where he most often lived.

But it was clear that his comforting words had great effect. The Mu Family soon recovered and a smile appeared on their faces.

With the imperial edict in hand, even the great crime of treason could be pardoned. No matter how angry the new Holy Monarch was, he could no longer target the Mu Family.

The Mu Family would inevitably decline, but at least they would continue living. To them, this was the best possible result.

The Holy Palace's movements were faster than the Mu Family imagined. The day after Mu Yunli appeared, the True Demon Guard suddenly descended upon Cloud Grove City and blocked the entire residence of the Mu Family.

There was a massive number of silent True Demon Guards. They wore black armor and looked like a mass of black clouds gathered together. The aura they released made one's heartbeat quicken.

After a brief panic the Mu Family doors opened. With Mu Xianglin in the lead, some Mu Family cultivators walked out. He bowed and said, "Junior greets Lord Demon Envoy. I wonder why you personally came here to block in my Mu Family?"

The Demon Envoy had no expression. "The Mu Family is involved in the great crime of treason. His Majesty the Holy Monarch has issued an order to capture everyone within the Mu Family. Anyone that resists is to be executed on the spot!"

Mu Xianglin's complexion paled. He looked up and said, "Lord Demon Envoy, my Mu Family's Holy Monarch left us an imperial edict that can pardon any crime. Even if it is said that we committed some great crime of treason, we can also avoid punishment!"

He didn't bother disputing the charge at all. Qin Yu was already the Holy Monarch so fabricating evidence against the Mu Family would have been extremely simple.

Moreover, the Mu Family's hands weren't clean to begin with.

The Demon Envoy furrowed his eyebrows. "An imperial edict to pardon crimes?" He felt the sudden coming of a headache. Qin Yu didn't conceal his loathing of the Mu Family. But, if the Mu Family really had an imperial edict from the last Holy Monarch, that would make things troublesome.

Qin Yu had hidden the fact that his Demon Body had broken through to the Saint level. This was to lure out all the destabilizing factors and suppress them in a single swoop and quickly establish his authority. But at the same time, this was also a great test for the Demon Envoy.

Although he hadn't made any mistakes, Qin Yu had already expressed dissatisfaction with his actions, or lack thereof, these past years. The Demon Envoy knew he needed to use concrete actions to obtain Qin Yu's trust once more.

Suppressing the Mu Family was the first task that Qin Yu had given him since he ascended the throne. If the Demon Envoy couldn't even accomplish this mission, even he wouldn't have the face to see Qin Yu again.

Taking a deep breath, the Demon Envoy coldly said, "Words are no guarantee. Take out the imperial edict!"

Mu Xianglin calmly said, "I ask Lord Demon Envoy to wait a moment. I will have a junior contact the Old Ancestor." He turned and spoke several words. A Mu Family cultivator quickly left.

But a good period of time passed and Mu Yunli didn't appear. Mu Xianglin was puzzled. He had already sent someone to contact the Old Ancestor after discovering that the True Demon Guard had blocked them in. Could the Old Ancestor be cultivating right now?

A bit of restlessness appeared in his heart. Mu Xianglin was about to send someone else when the Mu Family cultivator returned, his face pale.

Mu Xianglin stiffened. He asked, "What happened? Why hasn't the Old Ancestor come out?"

"The Old…Old Ancestor…isn't…in the…underground temple…" As the Mu Family cultivator said these words his body trembled.

Mu Xianglin's eyes flew open. "Impossible!"

He turned and pushed everyone aside, soaring straight to the underground temple.

The Demon Envoy's eyes flashed but he didn't stop him. He waved his hand and a large number of True Demon Guards streamed into the Mu Family like a black tide.

Mu Xianglin rushed into the underground temple like a crazy man. But, what he saw left him feeling cold. The underground temple was completely empty; Mu Yunli was nowhere to be seen.

The Old Ancestor had run away…as this thought appeared, he felt his knees weaken as he slumped to the floor.

Mu Xianglin finally understood what had happened. When Mu Yunli appeared yesterday with the 'imperial edict' in hand, it was only to comfort them. It was to make the Mu Family draw the attention of all others, having them serve as decoys while Mu Yunli delayed for time.

Without accident, Mu Yunli should have escaped the Demonic Path's Holy Land small world by now.

"Mu Yunli, you old bastard!"

Mu Xianglin screamed until his throat went hoarse. His shouts reverberated through the underground temple.

…

Space warped and a black-robed figure stepped out. He pulled back a hood to reveal a wizened face - this person was Mu Yunli.

This old monster had a faint chill flash in the depths. There was no expression on his face as he thought about how the Mu Family was probably being suppressed right now.

News had spread out from Eastern Sun City that three Elder level characters had been tossed into the Demon Suppression Prison. From this, Mu Yunli knew that Qin Yu wouldn't forgive the Mu Family.

So from the very start he had decided to run away. The reason he comforted the Mu Family was exactly as Mu Xianglin thought.

In order to live until today he had paid a nearly infinite price. How could he allow himself to die too easily?

Taking a deep breath, Mu Yunli said, "Yao Bin, my shame and ruin is all thanks to you. I promise you that one day I will pay you back double for all that you've done!

"The Mu Family does have an imperial edict; it just happens to be in my hands. I'm curious, what do you plan on doing now? Consider this a minor repayment ahead of time."

Drawing the black hood over his face once more, Mu Yunli took a step forward and vanished from sight.

…

Mu Xianglin was dragged out from the underground temple like a dead dog. With this, the spirit of the Mu Family had completely collapsed. In the shortest time possible, everyone in the Mu Family had been tossed into cages. But even so, the Demon Envoy had a dark and gloomy expression.

Mu Yunli had run away!

Without him, most of the significance of destroying the Mu Family would vanish. Qin Yu wouldn't be satisfied with this.

And now there was also another extremely thorny issue.

After a quick interrogation, the Demon Envoy obtained information from the high level figures of the Mu Family. They had indeed seen an imperial edict in Mu Yunli's hand.

The imperial edict couldn't be faked; it had the Holy Monarch's aura on it. In other words, the Mu Family did have a death-pardoning card in their hands. However, Mu Yunli had taken the imperial edict and vanished. Due to that, figuring out how to deal with the Mu Family had become a difficult problem.

At this time, a True Demon Guard ran over, his face pale as he bowed. "Lord Demon Envoy, we discovered a hidden chamber within Mu Yunli's underground temple. There is a corpse inside…you should take a look yourself."

The Demon Envoy's heart skipped a beat. He shouted, "Bring me!"

Soon, he stepped into the chamber. He saw the corpse of someone who had clearly died after suffering great torment and torture. The corpse's face was twisted in agony.

An acrid stench filled the air but the Demon Envoy couldn't care about this at the moment. He recognized who this corpse belonged to. He clenched his teeth and cursed out, "That old bastard!"

He realized why Mu Yunli would flee with the imperial edict and wouldn't leave it in the Mu Family.

So it was because he had been waiting for this!

The Demon Envoy took a deep breath. "Tidy up the corpse and make sure it is properly placed." Without pause, he left Cloud Grove City with a heavy heart and heavy mind.

…