"Elder He, the war faction has always been hostile toward the human race. If only war faction members go, I'm afraid it could lead to misunderstandings inside the Dragon King's tomb. I think it would be best to have some of our peace faction go as well," Yaojiao Guang requested of Elder He.
"Yaojiao Guang, what exactly do you mean by this? Don't you trust me?" The war faction elder said, clearly displeased.
"I'm sure Yaojiao Guang didn't mean that. It's simply a fact that your war faction harbors hatred toward the human race — surely you're aware of that?" Elder He said.
"Fine, then you go too." The war faction elder pointed at a peace faction Yaojiao King Beast, then looked at Yaojiao Guang and said, "That should satisfy you, right?"
"That would certainly be ideal." In truth, Yaojiao Guang was still not satisfied. After all, the war faction was sending one second-grade Martial Emperor and two first-grade Martial Emperors, while his peace faction was only getting one first-grade Martial Emperor. If something truly did happen, that lone Martial Emperor from the peace faction would have no way of controlling the situation. But the other party was an elder, and he — a patriarch in name only — no longer had much say. There was nothing he could do.
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, we open the Dragon King's tomb. Yaojiao Guang, Yaojiao Ba — you two will come as well," the war faction elder declared, and no one raised any further objections.
Only later did Chu Feng learn that the Dragon King's tomb would open on its own once a year on a special day, but at all other times, it could not be opened. There was only one way to open it — with the bloodline of a Yaojiao King Beast. However, opening the tomb placed a considerable burden on those involved, so each time it was opened, only the elders of the Elder Council, along with Yaojiao Guang and Yaojiao Ba, could undertake the task.
The thought of entering the tomb of a Beast Emperor first thing tomorrow morning had Chu Feng buzzing with excitement. What he did not know, however, was that a conspiracy centered around him was already being secretly plotted…
Inside Yaojiao Ba's palace — the one who held sway over the war faction — the three Martial Emperors who had been selected by the war faction elder to accompany Yaojiao Ting Yu and Chu Feng the next day were all present, along with Yaojiao Xue Ran.
"Once we enter tomorrow, eliminate Chu Feng," Yaojiao Ba said.
"My lord, that seems… inadvisable? Regardless of how we feel about him, Chu Feng is still a guest of our Yaojiao King Beasts. Acting against him within our own territory would be—" The three Martial Emperors were all startled upon hearing this.
"Inadvisable? The Dragon King's tomb holds our Yaojiao King Beasts' greatest secret — it must not become known to outsiders. If it did, the consequences would be catastrophic. And now, three humans already know about it. Who can guarantee they won't spread the word?" Yaojiao Ba said.
"But even if we eliminate Chu Feng, the other two humans would still be alive?" one of the first-grade Martial Emperors asked, confused.
"As long as Chu Feng is dealt with, I have my ways of making sure those other two humans die in there as well," Yaojiao Ba said.
"But Princess Ting Yu will be going too, and she'll likely stay by Chu Feng's side. We may not have an opportunity to act," one of the demon beasts said.
"Do I really need to spell this out for you?" A vicious gleam flashed through Yaojiao Ba's eyes as he spoke.
"My lord… are you saying—?" The expressions on all three Martial Emperors' faces turned to ones of alarm.
"What is there to be afraid of? The realm of the Yaojiao King Beasts will be ours sooner or later. The human race is a threat, but Yaojiao Ting Yu is a threat as well. This is the perfect opportunity to eliminate that threat so that our war faction can secure our dominion for the next eight thousand years," Yaojiao Ba said.
"My lord, this…"
Hearing this, the three Martial Emperors exchanged uneasy glances, hesitating. Within the Yaojiao King Beast clan, despite tens of thousands of years of infighting between the peace faction and the war faction, fratricide had never once occurred. Moreover, Yaojiao Ting Yu was one of the rare geniuses of the Yaojiao King Beast clan — the one who might one day elevate them to new heights. Being asked to kill her was not something they could bring themselves to do easily.
"Have we not been suppressed by the peace faction long enough over these past eight thousand years?"
"Must we live in humiliation for another eight thousand years, fading into obscurity?"
"The elders are old — they can live at most another thousand years. And after a thousand years, what level will Yaojiao Ting Yu's cultivation reach? Can you even imagine? By then, perhaps even I won't be her equal. If she decides to seize the patriarch's seat, who could stop her?"
"Even if she doesn't go after the patriarch's position, as long as she becomes the strongest cultivator in the Yaojiao King Beast clan, then even with Xue Ran holding the title of patriarch, all real power will fall into her hands."