Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Heavenly Venerable, do you mean that once you seize the throne, you must cede half of the Great Chu's territory to the Northern Yan barbarians?"

Lu Tiannan trembled with rage, unable to believe that these words would come so openly from the mouth of the Celestial Venerable.

He was indeed very dissatisfied with a series of policies issued by Jiang Mengxuan since she ascended the throne.

In his mind, even if a new ruler was to be established, it should be resolved internally by the State of Chu. What was the point of involving the Northern Yan?

Not to mention the absurd idea of ​​giving up half of the country.

“Yes, from now on I will be the ruler of Great Chu, and all choices will be made by me. Great Yan helped us overthrow the Empress’s tyranny, so we should reciprocate by giving up the entire northern lands to settle the people.”

Jiang Yue still didn't think there was anything wrong with her words. After all, in her subconscious, as the ruler of a country, she had the right to decide everything, and no one could disobey her.

Upon hearing Jiang Yue's words, everyone present fell silent, and their expressions turned extremely grim.

Finally, Qi Yinshang said with a forced smile, "Sect Leader Lu, the Heavenly Venerable is doing this for everyone's good. Many things can actually be discussed."

The most urgent task right now is to dethrone the Empress; everything else can be discussed later.

"No!" Lu Tiannan loudly refused. "Overthrowing the Empress doesn't require outside interference. Although my Bai Na Sect isn't a major sect, it's still an upright and legitimate one."

I don't want to one day see my sect's disciples being gossiped about and called traitors. In short, I will absolutely not agree to cooperate with Northern Yan.

The atmosphere inside the hall instantly turned cold.

Upon seeing this, Murong Wei smiled slightly and said to Jiang Yue, "Heavenly Venerable, it seems that you fellow cultivators still do not like my Great Yan Kingdom. In that case, in order not to make things difficult for you, my Great Yan Kingdom will not interfere."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue's face contorted with rage as she glared at Lu Tiannan: "Lu Tiannan, I ask you, have you considered what the consequences will be if our uprising fails without the help of Great Yan?"

Lu Tiannan replied proudly, "If the uprising fails, I may die, but if we invite wolves into our house and destroy half of my Great Chu, please forgive me for refusing to join them!"

"presumptuous!"

A powerful aura spread throughout the hall.

Jiang Yue glared coldly and suddenly stood up, placing all her pressure on Lu Tiannan.

"Lu Tiannan, I am the leader of the martial arts world and the future emperor of the Chu Kingdom. How dare you disobey my orders!"

Lu Tiannan felt his bones cracking slightly, but he still forced himself to speak and replied, "Using the lives of millions of people in the North as bargaining chips to appease foreign tribes, please forgive me, but I cannot agree with it!"

"court death!"

Jiang Yue roared, and in an instant, a vast and powerful pressure erupted, causing Lu Tiannan's meridians to shatter.

"metropolitan!"

Upon seeing this, two disciples of the Bai Na Sect rushed forward to help Lu Tiannan.

At this moment, Lu Tiannan was on the verge of death, with blood constantly gushing from his mouth.

Upon seeing this, Murong Wei sneered and then said to Jiang Yue, "Heavenly Venerable, why are you so angry? Since Sect Master Lu is unwilling, there is no need to force him. Just let him be."

Jiang Yue waved her hand dismissively: "Fifth Prince, there's no need for further discussion. I am the leader of the martial arts world. If people don't listen to what I say, how will I gain their respect in the future?"

He looked around and shouted, "Anyone who dares to disobey orders will suffer the same fate as Lu Tiannan!"

The scene was completely silent, and many people looked at Lu Tiannan with great sympathy.

Two disciples of the Bai Na Sect knelt on the ground, frantically taking care of Lu Tiannan.

"Cough cough cough..."

Lu Tiannan coughed up blood, then used his last bit of strength to grasp the hands of the two people.

"Listen up, all of you..."

"Sect Master, don't speak, we'll take you to find a doctor..."

"Listen to me," Lu Tiannan stopped the two. "Although my Bai Na Sect is not a renowned figure in the martial arts world, we have always acted with integrity and uprightness."

As disciples of the Hundred Talents Sect, you must strictly abide by the sect's rules. The Heavenly Venerable's actions are despised by all people under heaven; you must not join him in this depravity.

Even if I die, I want to die with dignity, so that no one will speak ill of me behind my back…

The two disciples were in tears, nodding repeatedly.

"Overthrowing the Empress is to prevent the imperial court from controlling the situation in the martial arts world. Regardless of success or failure, doing one's best is what matters."

If there is truly no other way, even if we surrender to the imperial court, we must never collude with barbarians to ruin the reputation of our sect.

The disciples of my Hundred Talents Sect have never stooped to colluding with foreign enemies. Have you all remembered that?

"take note of it!"

The two disciples responded forcefully.

Lu Tiannan smiled with satisfaction, then glanced at Shen Lang standing not far away, cast a meaningful look at him, and passed away peacefully.

"metropolitan--"

The two cried their hearts out.

"Enough! Are you done crying? If you're done, throw him out right now, he's bad luck!"

Jiang Yue's sinister voice rang out, and the two disciples instantly stopped crying and exchanged a glance.

They saw a resolute look in each other's eyes.

"Heavenly Venerable One, our Hundred Gatherings Sect hereby withdraws from the Anti-Imperial Alliance, effective immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue became furious again.

"Withdraw? Did I give you permission to withdraw?"

Her pupils were bloodshot, and a murderous intent surged from her body.

"He died because he disobeyed my orders. Do you all want to be buried with him?"

The pressure inside the hall dropped sharply in an instant.

The two, however, appeared resolute in the face of death: "Heavenly Venerable, the Sect Master has passed away, and there are still many matters within the sect that require our return to handle. The Hundred Harmonies Sect is no longer able to participate in the matter of the anti-emperor movement."

"Dare to defy me? Then we'll all die together!"

Enraged, Jiang Yue lunged at the two of them.

Instantly, a fierce wind arose inside the hall, and a terrifying killing intent enveloped everyone's hearts, forcing them to become unable to move.

Just as the two closed their eyes and awaited their death, a figure appeared just in time.

"enough!"

boom--

With a deep shout, Shen Lang blocked Jiang Yue's killing move with a palm strike.

"You also want to rebel against me!"

Jiang Yue stared intently at Shen Lang, her anger flaring instantly.

"I said, enough is enough!"

Shen Lang let out another deep shout, his true energy surged, and he directly forced Jiang Yue back with a palm strike.

Jiang Yue took three steps back, flicked her hand to dispel the remaining force within her body, and asked coldly, "Shen Lang, what exactly do you want?"

"Is he Shen Lang?"

Upon hearing Jiang Yue's words, Murong Wei glanced at Shen Lang, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.

Shen Lang coldly replied, "Those who offended you are already dead. Why go after them all?"

"You're going to plead for them?"

"You've killed everyone, who will help you seize the throne?"

Jiang Yue stared intently at Shen Lang.

Shen Lang, not to be outdone, returned Jiang Yue's gaze with the same look.

"Humph."

After a long while, Jiang Yue snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Shen Lang waved to the two people behind him, signaling them to leave quickly.

Without saying a word, the two carried Lu Tiannan's body and slowly left the main hall.

After they left, Shen Lang said, "Heavenly Venerable, I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave first. Please."

After saying that, he tossed his cloak and strode out of the main hall, showing no respect to Jiang Yue whatsoever.

"Heavenly Venerable One, Shen Lang has offended you so much, are you just going to let him go like this?"

Bai Tianyu couldn't help but ask a question.

"Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Jiang Yue replied coldly, and Bai Tianyu immediately shrank back to look.

"Ignore them, let's continue."

The meeting inside the hall continued.

Shen Lang stepped out of the main hall and walked quickly towards his room.

A trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth only after he opened the door.

"Uh--"

As he clutched his chest, his cheek twitched slightly.

"I tried to test her with one move, but she turned out to be at the peak of the Immortal Realm! I didn't expect Jiang Yue's cultivation to be higher than Xuan'er's. Luckily, I didn't make a rash move before."

When I opened my hand, it was covered in crimson.

The wound in his chest from the sword strike in the palace has not yet healed.

Discarding all unnecessary and chaotic thoughts, he immediately sat down by the bed and began to regulate his breathing and heal his injuries.