Chapter 11: Blood Within Three Days – Usurp the Throne! Usurp the Throne!

The Book Pavilion fell silent.

The hot topics on the Tongtian Instrument gradually shifted from the tangled love-hate triangle to the upcoming event: the lectures at the Heaven Discussion Assembly, held by Qing Lian Immortal Lord once every five years.

Whether loose cultivators or members of the major immortal sects and clans, each had quotas to attend and seek enlightenment.

However, even the vast Xinnan Immortal Sect couldn’t accommodate everyone in the Cultivation World, so they set limits: no more than six people from each major sect. Even so, the number of guests staying at the Xinnan Immortal Sect grew daily.

This Heaven Discussion lecture was renowned throughout the Cultivation World. Even the towns dependent on the sect’s periphery were packed full, and occasionally, one could spot Dao cultivators flying past outside the barrier on beams of light swords overhead.

In the four or five days, he had only seen Rong Ye once. The Immortal Lord was busier than his own attendant, leaving Gu Changhuai clueless about where to even attempt an assassination.

Strangely, he hadn’t caught sight of Jin Shuang at the sect during these days either. Logically, as the one in charge of Supreme Peak, Jin Shuang should have crossed paths with him frequently.

The two magical artifacts that Han Ya had brought in its beak were hidden away by Gu Changhuai after he sealed their auras. He reasonably suspected their owner was among this batch of people coming to hear the immortal sect’s lecture, and he planned to quietly return them once he found the owner.

The days dragged on boringly. The Demon Venerable wouldn’t let things rest easily; he still had to send messages back from time to time. Gu Changhuai figured having Han Ya relay emotions verbally wouldn’t cut it, so after much deliberation, he picked up a brush and began writing a letter.

—To the revered and dear Demon Venerable, I am your most loyal subordinate. I have now blended into the Xinnan Immortal Sect and successfully assassinated Qing Lian Immortal Lord twice without detection. Though I haven’t harmed a hair on his head, if this continues, Your Excellency’s grand plan will soon be achieved. Please await good news; your subordinate will keep striving.

He revised and crossed out repeatedly, infusing every line with sincere affection.

Seeing this, Hua Mei remarked, “The wording is earnest, just a bit too fawning.”

Gu Changhuai hunched over his writing and grumbled, “This letter has to reach the Demon Venerable, or who knows if the next assassination target will be me or Rong Ye? Do you know how many assassins the Shadow Clan in the Demon Realm has? Can’t bear to watch me get purged?”

He lifted his gaze to Hua Mei, his expression one of compassion, eyes dimmed with sorrow—worried for his own future and bleak about the path ahead.

Kill Rong Ye? Ha, what a joke. Better to stay put here and sweet-talk the Demon Venerable into calm.

“…” Hua Mei paused, then turned away and cursed, “The Demon Venerable is a real beast!”

Gu Changhuai wrote furiously: “My efforts can’t go to waste. I have to record every move so he’ll know who’s the most loyal! Then we can keep laying low!”

He paused the brush, checked the letter over again, and nodded in satisfaction. Only then did he glance at Han Ya, who was tied up like a dumpling on a tree branch, mouth bound and unable to speak.

“Deliver it properly to the Demon Venerable. No funny business,” Gu Changhuai warned.

Finally freed from the gag but forbidden from defecting, Han Ya’s scarlet eyes welled with tears. Clinging to its last shred of defiance, it wailed, “I am an Ancient Demon Crow!”

Gu Changhuai flicked his eyes up: “Tch.”

“…” Han Ya shuddered all over, then resentfully bit down on the letter. Its entire form faded into black mist and vanished, off to report to the Demon Venerable with this earnest missive.

Hua Mei eyed it suspiciously. “Will it really obey? And it’s weird—keeps talking about defecting and recognizing you as master.”

Gu Changhuai smiled faintly as he sorted through his assassination plans. “Don’t worry, it will.”

His smile was mild, but his eyes remained as calm as ever. Hua Mei studied him for a moment but couldn’t read his thoughts, so he frowned and said, “Just be careful.”

…

The Heaven Discussion Assembly was now in full swing and would last two full months, so Gu Changhuai rarely saw Rong Ye around Waterside Residence lately.

Han Ya was incredibly fast. Just two days after sending the letter to the Demon Venerable, a reply came back—written on paper and delivered in its beak.

Gu Changhuai opened it. The words were ice-cold:

_Blood within three days._

In an instant, a black gleam shot from the paper into his brow. He immediately felt the thing in his abdomen writhe once, receiving the same command.

“…”

Gu Changhuai calculated on his fingers. At least a day and a half had passed since the message left the Demon Realm, meaning he had to make Rong Ye bleed within these next two days.

“What harsh demands,” Hua Mei said, glancing at the note and shaking his head. “Sometimes I really don’t want to admit I’m from the Demon Realm.”

Gu Changhuai sighed. “Now we’ve got a real problem.”

The Demon Venerable had played dirty, embedding a fate-binding curse in the letter. The Demon Gu would only quiet once it smelled Rong Ye’s blood; otherwise, in two days, it would be his end.

Hua Mei’s smile faded, his expression turning cold. “I think Han Ya’s right. Let’s defect, storm back to the Demon Clan, and kick him off the throne!”

At those words, Han Ya—who had been quiet as a mouse—suddenly boiled over with excitement. It spread its wings and rasped, “Yes! Yes! Usurp the throne! Usurp the throne!”

Gu Changhuai’s face twisted awkwardly. “If you could beat him, why bother coming here undercover? Great idea, but let’s hold off for now.”

Hua Mei deflated. “True enough.”

The scarlet glow in Han Ya’s eyes dimmed. It flopped over dejectedly and sighed like an old man: “To think I, a majestic Ancient Demon Crow, defected to a new master who’s such a pushover… Tragic! So tragic!”

“Scram!” Gu Changhuai flicked a chestnut at it. Han Ya shrieked and flapped up to the rafters.

Hua Mei asked, “It keeps saying it defected and recognizes you as its new master. If the Demon Venerable finds out it’s spying, will he skin it alive?”

“What new master? You believe its beak?” Gu Changhuai burned the letter and said, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

In the Demon Clan, Han Ya was synonymous with the Demon Venerable. Any message from him went through it, so in the Demon Realm, Han Ya equaled the Demon Venerable. Gu Changhuai didn’t buy its talk of defecting or recognizing him as master—not one bit.

The truth of the matter was debatable, but one thing was certain: Han Ya would never betray the Demon Clan, and the Demon Venerable wouldn’t clip his own wings. Han Ya was safe, but he wasn’t.

Right now, the priority was figuring out how to draw a bit of Rong Ye’s blood.

The room fell into heavy silence.

What to do… Gu Changhuai propped his chin, staring idly at the burned scraps of paper, fingers tapping the table sporadically.

After much thought,

he murmured, “To see blood, it’ll have to be a close-range sneak attack.”

In that instant, he had the assassination plan sorted.

Gu Changhuai decided on an ambush halfway.

Rong Ye’s whereabouts were unpredictable lately, making his attendant role pointless. To get close, he’d have to take the unconventional route—like digging a pit on Rong Ye’s must-pass path.

The Heaven Discussion Assembly lasted two months, so Rong Ye wasn’t there constantly.

Hua Mei confirmed, “Qing Lian Immortal Lord lectures daily at the hour of wei for one double-hour; the rest is handled by other sect leaders.”

That meant Rong Ye went to the Heaven Discussion Assembly every day. Due to the crowds, the lecture altar was set up at the northernmost Stone Long Platform of the Xinnan Immortal Sect, a long distance from Supreme Peak.

Though the terrain at Stone Long Platform was low, it was vast and open. Surrounded on three sides by towering mountain gorges, the cliffs enclosed it yet could hold all the attendees. A speaker just needed a touch of spiritual power for their voice to reach every ear.

There were only two paths to Stone Long Platform. One was the broad, brightly lit staircase avenue, used by nearly everyone attending—crowded daily with people heading up.

The other was a secluded mountain trail flanked by dense woods, rarely traveled. But it was direct, from Supreme Peak straight to Stone Long Platform.

Once he confirmed blood was needed within two days, Gu Changhuai wasted no time scouting. He perched on walls, secretly observing Rong Ye’s movements.

They split tasks: Hua Mei dug the pit on the small path, with Gu Changhuai specifically instructing him to add a Ten Thousand Jin Sinking Body Curse at the bottom—otherwise, Rong Ye might not even fall in.

He needed to “casually” appear at the right moment when Rong Ye dropped in, playing the perfect attendant savior. But during the rescue, he’d collect a little interest.

Like a bit of blood.

Past noon, the door creaked open. Gu Changhuai, peeking from the wall, ducked down in time, waited a beat, then peeked out again.

Rong Ye closed the door casually, expression indifferent as usual. His divine sense swept Supreme Peak; he had long spotted Gu Changhuai cautiously peeking from behind the wall.

Feeling the gaze shadowing him, he glanced back with a faint curve at his lips and, just as Gu Changhuai anticipated, took the secluded path.