Empire, or a woman!

It had never been possible to have both!

Ziqing looked at the sinister profile of Xuanyuan Lige’s face, and unconsciously, the words Jun Beiyue had once spoken echoed in her ears.

He had said: both the woman and the empire—this prince wants them both!

In truth, an empire was incompatible not only with a woman, but with countless other things as well!

Xuanyuan Lige had never once made a real choice, because all along, he had only ever recognized his dream of Great Qin!

Ziqing had no doubts about this, and Yanzi even less so—she was delighted. “Xuanyuan Lige, this is exactly what a real man should do! A woman is nothing more than a fleeting cloud passing before one’s eyes!”

Yanzi spoke as though she herself weren’t a woman at all. No—in her own heart, of course she was a woman, but a woman entirely unlike any other woman in the world.

Xuanyuan Lige’s control over Lishang, over the demonic zither, could not be pried away through threats alone!

Rather than coerce him, better to tempt him instead—he had almost no resistance at all when it came to his dream of Great Qin!

Yanzi had long wanted to win him over, only she hadn’t expected Xuanyuan Lige to propose it himself first!

She glanced toward the dark corner, and seeing that the man there raised no objection, she immediately tossed her whip aside and strode over to Xuanyuan Lige, personally unlocking his shackles.

“A pleasure doing business! Within a year, I promise you, I’ll see the imperial banner of Great Qin planted atop the imperial city of Western Chu!” Yanzi said generously, extending her hand for a handshake with Xuanyuan Lige.

Xuanyuan Lige, however, pretended not to see it, saying coldly, “Give me back the demonic zither first.”

“What’s the rush? I’ll give it to you when the time comes.” Yanzi was no fool—the demonic zither was her greatest bargaining chip.

A flash of malice crossed Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes, but he did not let it show. He asked disdainfully, “A year? Aren’t you being a bit too confident?”

“Starting from now, cultivating her into a poison Gu—exactly a year to unravel Lishang’s secret and find the yang Gu. Don’t tell me it can’t be done—just a moment ago you swore up and down that you could!” Yanzi said, word by word.

“Start cultivating now? Do you think it’ll be easier to travel with her, or to travel with a Gu creature? Or do you plan to hide underground in the capital for an entire year? Don’t forget, this is Jun Beiyue’s territory—he has more than enough power to dig three feet into the ground looking for you,” Xuanyuan Lige reminded her.

The only thing he could do now was look for a chance to escape, and stall for time before Yanzi could act against Ziqing and begin the cultivation process.

Yanzi pursed her lips, nodding repeatedly. “Very well, come with me then! At the very least, once you’ve shared Lishang’s secret, we can leave without delay. I promise you, Jun Beiyue absolutely won’t be able to find this place so quickly!”

With that, she suddenly raised her hand and, without hesitation, snapped the iron chain from which Ziqing was suspended—and beneath Ziqing’s feet, after all, was a burning furnace!

Xuanyuan Lige instinctively moved to rush forward and save her, but reason held him back at the last moment.

Yanzi would not really harm Ziqing—this was merely a test of him!

Sure enough, in that razor’s-edge instant, the black-clad man in the corner darted out in a flash, catching Ziqing in his arms and setting her down safely.

Only then did Xuanyuan Lige quietly let out a breath of relief—yet he didn’t dare even glance at Ziqing, not for fear of arousing Yanzi’s suspicion, but because he feared seeing hostility in her eyes.

Until now, no matter what position they’d found themselves in whenever they met, at the very least her gaze had always been calm—at the very least, she had never once looked at him with hatred.

Ziqing watched Xuanyuan Lige’s back silently as he vanished into the darkness alongside Yanzi. She no longer felt calm, yet she felt no hatred either—only a faint trace of sorrow, gone in an instant!

They were strangers to each other in the end, after all; why torment herself over it further?

They wanted to cultivate her into a poison Gu; they were searching for the Lone Island to find the other person immune to all poisons—someone who could prevent her from being consumed by the Gu’s backlash, so they could refine the yang Gu!

One yin, one yang—could the face of this other immune person bear the yang emblem missing from Lishang?

How could she save herself? Her only chance would come when they moved her out of this secret chamber—how could she manage to escape then?

She didn’t know exactly what this Gu poison was, but she knew for certain it was nothing good at all.

What should she do?

“Take her down,” the black-clad man’s sudden order interrupted Ziqing’s train of thought.

“Wait!” Ziqing said quickly—this black-clad man was able to speak with her calmly; this too was an opportunity!

But to her surprise, the black-clad man simply gave a cold instruction. “Mind her hands, she has poison on them.”

With that, he turned and left. Ziqing’s eyes narrowed sharply—even this last sliver of a chance had been seen through. For the first time in her life, she felt a sense of utter helplessness, and it felt terrible.

Xuanyuan Lige followed Yanzi deeper down the passage, and only then did he realize just how deep this secret chamber truly ran—heaven only knew when it had first been dug!

Such depth suggested this was not just a hideout, but perhaps an escape route as well!

Xuanyuan Lige observed everything along the way, following without drawing attention, until at last they stopped in another chamber!

Yanzi sat down lazily, her breathtaking beauty and proud, overbearing presence in no way inferior to that of his own mother, the sole reigning empress of the entire continent of Longyuan!

“Come, we have the whole night ahead of us. Once tonight passes, we’ll leave,” Yanzi said, pouring herself a cup of tea and casually tossing another toward the dim corner!

The figure there caught it silently without a sound. Xuanyuan Lige looked over and said, “At the very least, let me know who he is first.”

“He’s merely my shadow guard. There’s no need for you to know him,” Yanzi said, her attitude making it clear she had no intention of introducing him.

The corner of Xuanyuan Lige’s lips curved into a cold smile. He didn’t press further, saying flatly instead, “The musician who composed Lishang, back in the day, hid the location of the Lone Island within the climax of the piece—a code made up of musical notes. Decipher those notes, uncover what they represent, and you’ll know where the Lone Island lies.”

At these words, Yanzi sat up straight without meaning to, glancing toward the corner.

A shadow of darkness crossed Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes. This was, after all, only a fraction of the secret!

The true secret lay within the twelve notes of the Qinse Sea Valley—how could he ever reveal that truth to them?

“How much has Jun Beiyue found?” the black-clad man finally spoke up.

Xuanyuan Lige sneered. “I gave Lishang to Han Ziqing myself. Do you really think they know more than I do?”

“You suffered complete defeat on Liuxian Island!” the black-clad man scoffed coldly.

“What cannot be destroyed can only be kept from being found. It would do me no good at all if Jun Beiyue uncovered the secret of the Lone Island,” Xuanyuan Lige explained.

Had he known earlier that Ziqing’s body could be used to cultivate a Gu, he would never have given her Lishang and the zither in the first place!

But he had learned the truth far too late!

He had searched for three full days and nights in the old residence of Lady Ci and his master in the Qinse Valley, and at last had uncovered the secret Lady Ci had left behind!

The secret of that constitution immune to all poisons, the secret of cultivating poison Gu, the secret of just what kind of place the Lone Island truly was!

Before that discovery, everything he’d done had been to race against Jun Beiyue, striving to find the clues first. But afterward, everything he did was aimed at obstruction instead!

To stop them from unearthing this secret, from finding that terrible place—how laughable, that even as he tried to protect Ziqing by obstruction, he was also trying to kill Jun Beiyue at the same time!

Everyone assumed he and Jun Beiyue were racing each other for the same goal, never knowing that all he was truly doing was obstructing.

What he feared was that one day, the secret would be uncovered, and Ziqing would be unable to escape her fate of being cultivated into a Gu!

Yet everything had come to pass ahead of schedule regardless!

Someone else had already been watching all of this, just as he had!

Hearing Xuanyuan Lige’s explanation, the black-clad man finally believed him and asked, “You say there are places that can’t be destroyed—where else might there be?”