The palace maids and eunuchs assumed that the malevolent ghosts, suppressed for so long, had simply begun a new round of restlessness now that the red rain had stopped. No one paid it any mind.
Aside from the chaos in the outer city, the palace itself was far from peaceful.
Since the red rain ceased and the golden light descended, the palace walls had grown increasingly vivid in color, as if they were on the verge of dripping blood.
Furthermore, in the depths of every night, palace staff claimed to hear strange noises coming from inside the walls.
It sounded like someone chopping vegetables, or perhaps tossing a wok over a high flame.
Occasionally, one could even catch a faint scent of food, though it was mixed with a strange, inexplicable odor.
Everyone knew that hungry ghosts were sealed within those walls; no one dared to approach them under normal circumstances.
Some bolder palace servants leaned in close to the base of the walls to listen, but then they would hear nothing at all.
They only felt a bone-chilling cold emanating from the masonry, as if something were on the other side of the wall, staring at them intently.
Time passed quickly, and nightfall arrived.
Though it was evening, the golden light at the horizon remained dazzlingly bright, illuminating the night sky as if it were midday.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
An old eunuch stood outside and bowed respectfully.
"Exalted One, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has prepared another night banquet at the Star-Picking Platform."
"This old slave has been ordered to invite the Exalted One. Please, do us the honor of attending."
It was time.
A sharp glint flashed in Chen Zhou's eyes.
He straightened his robes and turned to Wu Gou.
"Stay here in the side hall to look after Song Zi'an. Don't let the golden light touch him again."
"Keep an eye on the place while you're at it. Don't let any old riff-raff wander in."
Wu Gou gave a thumbs-up and said with a grin, "Don't you worry. With this monk and Diting here, not even a fly will get inside."
With the rear secured, Chen Zhou looked at Jian Huaishuang.
"Huaishuang, let's go."
"Accompany me to the banquet."
Jian Huaishuang nodded. He left a paper umbrella propped by the kitchen door to shield Song Zi'an from the light.
Then, he followed behind Chen Zhou and stepped out of the side hall.
The two of them walked one after the other along the palace path paved in golden light.
Chen Zhou’s pace was steady, his expression composed.
His perfect vessel was by his side, and the sacrifice cooldown in the system was almost ready.
Everything was in place.
Tonight’s banquet would be anything but friendly. He wanted to see exactly what kind of grand performance Yin Wudao had prepared for him.
If the acting was poor...
He wouldn't mind flipping the table at any moment.
With his trump cards in hand, he didn't feel the slightest bit of panic.
They reached the Star-Picking Platform.
As the highest point in the imperial palace, it offered a vast view and should have been an excellent place for moon gazing and stargazing.
But at this moment, the atmosphere was incredibly bizarre.
Beneath the golden light, a crowd of monsters and ghosts who had come for the banquet were huddled in a corner of the Star-Picking Platform.
They were shivering as they endured the golden light, not daring to breathe too loudly.
All of them stared fearfully toward the head seat. Something seemed to have happened just moments ago; several fresh corpses still lay on the ground.
As the host, Yin Wudao sat majestically in the primary seat.
Today, he had changed into an even more magnificent set of golden ceremonial robes embroidered with nine aggressive golden dragons. Under the illumination of the golden light, he appeared even more imposingly noble.
Yin Wudao was toyed with a translucent noctilucent cup, a permanent smile fixed on his face, as if he were completely oblivious to the eerie atmosphere around him.
In the seat below him, Cangming sat with several sea demons.
The Clam Maiden they had seen before was dutifully opening her shell to create a water screen for Cangming, shielding his head from the golden light.
Cangming’s face was pale and he looked very weak. Clearly, this golden light was quite a burden for someone who had just had deep-sea black spots removed and still needed to recover.
It was then that Chen Zhou and Jian Huaishuang walked up with total indifference.
They had no protection whatsoever, strolling casually as they were bathed in the pervasive golden light.
To them, the searing golden light was nothing more than ordinary moonlight.
This scene instantly drew the eyes of everyone present.
The demons in the corner widened their eyes, faces full of disbelief.
What kind of monsters are these two? They actually aren't afraid of the golden light?!
Seeing Chen Zhou so relaxed through the water screen, Cangming couldn't help but feel a flicker of awe in his eyes.
He glanced over repeatedly. For some reason, he felt the dragon might emanating from the Dragon Ancestor was even thicker than before.
Cangming wanted to approach and say something, but sensing the half-smiling gaze of Yin Wudao from the head seat, he forced himself to hold back and maintain his poise as a prince of the Eastern Region.
Now was not the time; he couldn't expose the connection.
Seeing Chen Zhou approach without any protection, Yin Wudao's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, followed by a bright spark of interest.
He set down the noctilucent cup and stood up to greet them.
"The Exalted One's presence truly brings light to this humble Star-Picking Platform!"
Yin Wudao smiled as warmly as a spring breeze and cupped his hands toward Chen Zhou.
"Previously, I was unwell and left the table abruptly. I was quite negligent; I hope the Exalted One will not take offense."
"Today, I have specifically reset this banquet to offer my apologies."
Chen Zhou looked at the smiling tiger before him, his brow furrowing slightly.
He felt that the aura on Yin Wudao had changed.
If the previous Yin Wudao was still a relatively strong human cultivator—albeit tainted by some of the palace's death qi—then things were different now.
In Chen Zhou’s perception, the death qi on him was now so thick that it completely overwhelmed his life-force.
He looked more like an evil spirit wearing a human skin.
This was getting interesting.
Yet, Yin Wudao seemed completely unaware of the death qi on his own body.
He still maintained the air of a crown prince, his every word and gesture oozing with a sense of high-and-mighty superiority.
Furthermore, even if Yin Wudao couldn't see through Chen Zhou because of the Cloud Sea Resplendence obscuring heavenly secrets...
He didn't even give Jian Huaishuang, who was following behind Chen Zhou, a second glance.
In his eyes, it was as if Jian Huaishuang truly were nothing more than an ordinary servant.
What did that mean?
It meant he couldn't perceive it!
He couldn't sense that Jian Huaishuang was also an evil spirit.
Chen Zhou's gaze instantly turned playful.
It seemed the crown prince, despite turning himself into this ghostly state, was only a half-baked amateur.
He was far inferior to Ksitigarbha of Great Vows.
At least Ksitigarbha had parasitized a decaying corpse and truly gained the abilities of an evil spirit; his ghost domain was certainly disgusting enough.
Chen Zhou remained outwardly calm.
Seeing Chen Zhou stay silent, Yin Wudao assumed he was still angry about the last time, so he walked down from the high platform to stand before Chen Zhou.
As he grew closer, Chen Zhou saw the abnormalities on him more clearly.
Beneath his magnificent ceremonial robes, wisps of black smoke occasionally drifted out, only to be quickly dissipated by the golden light.
That was sinful karma.
It was sinful karma so thick it had gained physical texture. If it were any thicker, it would solidify, just like the Dragon-Suppressing Stakes underground.
Chen Zhou looked at the surrounding demons again.
The great demons of the Southern and Northern Regions had been handled by him. The Eastern Region belonged to the Sea Race, and the Western Desert was a dead land.
The great demons currently gathered in the provincial capital were almost all old monsters who usually stayed secluded in the deep mountains.
Aside from a few with thick sinful karma, most of them carried very little.
The less sinful karma one had, the more painful the golden light felt.
And the more sinful karma one possessed, the more composed they were.
Just like Yin Wudao.
So that was it.
It wasn't just those with merit who were rejected by the golden light.
Even those who had a resonance with the Golden Buddha and the ability to compete for it would be scorched just the same—unless their sinful karma was deep enough.
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