"This is a hurdle in my cultivation, a Heart Demon. Xie Xiaohuan must be eliminated, and even Prince Andre will pay the price," Chu Lingguang said with conviction.
His enmity with Xie Xiaohuan and Prince Andre was irreconcilable. Even if Great Yuan and the Turkic Kingdom established diplomatic relations, they would still pull all sorts of dirty tricks. Guer Khan had even planned to go after his Second Aunt’s family before.
If Guo Wei hadn’t been in Baiyang County, his Second Aunt’s family might have already met a terrible fate.
Every time he thought about it, Chu Lingguang was grateful for his decisiveness back then. He had struck first to gain the upper hand, eliminating Guer Khan and his men before they could act.
In the days that followed, the urge to kill Xie Xiaohuan grew ever stronger in Chu Lingguang’s mind.
Finally, he could no longer hold back.
Under the pretext of returning home to visit family, he requested a one-month leave from Lin Shirong.
Wolf Valley Pass was about a ten-day journey from Baiyang County. If Chu Lingguang rode a Han Gao Steed and used his Consciousness Manipulation Power the entire way, he could cut the time in half.
Riding a Han Gao Steed through the Hundred Thousand Mountains and into Turkic territory would also take about five or six days. One month was more than enough time for him to kill Xie Xiaohuan and throw the Turkic Royal Family into chaos.
But as a Deputy General, his request to leave camp was not something Lin Shirong could approve on his own. He had to report it up the chain of command.
「Half a month later.」
The order came down from the higher-ups: Chu Lingguang was granted a one-month leave to visit his family.
He was to depart in three days.
The higher-ups would also dispatch someone to help Lin Shirong guard Wolf Valley Pass in his absence.
「Three days later.」
Chu Lingguang left Little Red Horse at Wolf Valley Pass. Mounting a Han Gao Steed, he departed, following his map across the Hundred Thousand Mountains and racing toward the Turkic Kingdom.
「Five days later.」
Chu Lingguang arrived within the territory of the Turkic Kingdom.
’This is where the Aika Tribe used to live. To think they’d move away in less than three years.’
Chu Lingguang arrived at the former lands of the Aika Tribe.
The area was near the national border.
The last time he was here, the grasslands had been vast and verdant, a vibrant and flourishing landscape.
Returning now, he found the land barren, with great clouds of dust swirling in the air. It was clear that grasslands, like people, needed time to recover. Overuse never ended well.
Before setting out, Chu Lingguang had done his research. He knew that Xie Xiaohuan had become a confidant of Prince Andre and now led his own tribe within Turkic territory. While his tribe was much smaller than the Aika Tribe, its members were all elite warriors.
Many of them were Martial Arts masters who had fled from Great Yuan to seek his protection.
’Xie Family Castle!’
’To dare name his stronghold after his own family... Xie Xiaohuan really has a death wish.’
After searching for three days, Chu Lingguang finally found Xie Xiaohuan’s stronghold.
In the distance, he saw a castle built on a hill, flying a flag bearing the character for "Xie."
The Turkic territory wasn’t just endless plains. There were also high mountains, snow-capped peaks, and magnificent castles.
While most tribes, like the Aika, made their camps on the plains, a greater number of Turkic people lived within bustling castles.
Just like the people of Great Yuan, they owned their own permanent properties.
The systems of the two kingdoms differed, but they had one thing in common: the ruling powers of both levied all sorts of exorbitant taxes.
This was true in the Great Yuan.
And it was the same in the Turkic Kingdom.
Ever since the two kingdoms had established diplomatic relations and begun trading,
Turkic people could often be seen within Great Yuan territory. Likewise, trade caravans of Great Yuan merchants were a common sight in the Turkic Kingdom.
Chu Lingguang entered Xie Family Castle with ease.
The castle was home to two or three hundred thousand people. Of those, twenty to thirty thousand were members of Xie Xiaohuan’s tribe, who enjoyed a status superior to everyone else.
Chu Lingguang first took a stroll around the castle.
After a while, he arrived in front of the largest building in Xie Family Castle. A plaque above the entrance displayed two words: Xie Mansion.
It was heavily guarded, and he could even spot Martial Artists from Great Yuan among them.
Chu Lingguang sent out a Spiritual Sense Fluctuation. His current Sea of Consciousness Power was strong enough to envelop the entire Xie Mansion, but to avoid being detected by an expert with comparable power, he didn’t release its full extent at once.
Instead, he probed cautiously.
He soon discovered that Xie Xiaohuan had quite a few experts in his home.
To his surprise, there were three True Martial Realm experts stationed there.
This was significant. A few years ago, when Xie Xiaohuan had used the Aika Tribe to lure Guo Wei, the warriors at his side had, at best, reached Qi Sea Perfection, just shy of the True Martial Realm.
’The sudden appearance of three True Martial experts... it’s almost as if he’s preparing for an attack from me or Guo Wei.’
’Considering Guer Khan’s death, the Turkic people must have already identified me as a target,’ he reasoned. ’Plus, my reputation has grown significantly in the last year after I wiped out the Xiazigou pirates.’
’Xie Xiaohuan would certainly be on his guard.’
’But those three True Martial experts should be by Xie Xiaohuan’s side at all times.’
The fact that all three were in the Xie Mansion was strange.
So, Chu Lingguang sent out another Spiritual Sense Fluctuation, sweeping through the entire mansion, inside and out.
Finally, he found something unusual underground, beneath the Xie Mansion.
There, he sensed a familiar aura—it was Xie Xiaohuan himself.
A flicker of delight crossed Chu Lingguang’s face.
「That night.」
Using the Divine Breath Technique, Chu Lingguang slipped into Xie Family Castle without a sound.
He materialized in the air directly above Xie Xiaohuan’s location.
Beneath the patch of ground he hovered over was a secret underground chamber. Xie Xiaohuan was inside.
The three True Martial Realm experts were positioned in a triangle, guarding the chamber from three different points on the surface. If anyone tried to break in, they would sense the intruder long before they could get near Xie Xiaohuan.
Unfortunately for them,
the one they were up against was Chu Lingguang.
With the aid of his Divine Breath Technique, all three of them remained completely oblivious to his presence.