In the spacious hall, you could hear a pin drop.

The emperor above furrowed his brows, while the people seated below either craned their necks or leaned forward, wanting to see what action he would take.

Chen Weichen took a sip of wine, then discovered the atmosphere was too deathly silent, making even his slight movement seem inappropriate.

He could only put down his cup and watch quietly as well.

He recalled that this Lord Xie was from a renowned family, known for his loyalty and integrity. In the past, when he was the head of the Censorate, he offended the emperor and was demoted several ranks, becoming a lowly official who could not even attend court.

From the looks of it, he was going to remonstrate.

However, this was the Peach Blossom Banquet, different from the imperial court. The hall was filled with officials in full dress, civil and military officials, nobles and wealthy merchants. Remonstrating in this situation would not give the emperor any face at all.

Xing Qiu let out a light scoff and said, "Choosing this place, the emperor is constrained by face. He may not have to die then."

Chen Weichen looked at Lord Xie below the steps, but shook his head and said, "Look carefully, he is going to die."

Xing Qiu still didn't quite believe it. "Oh?"

They saw Lord Xie face the imperial seat above and take out a memorial from his bosom. "Your subject Xie Yan requests the abolishment of the official system, the restoration of the imperial examination, the nurturing of elite troops, the reform of old systems, and the adoption of new policies."

With all eyes on him now, even if just for the reputation of remonstrating eloquently, the emperor could not refuse to accept and read it.

An eunuch took it and presented it to the emperor.

The emperor unrolled the scroll and read, his expression growing worse and worse. Halfway through, he threw the memorial in front of him. "Utter nonsense!"

The emperor's wrath made everyone as silent as cicadas in winter.

Only Lord Xie alone raised his head proudly, meeting the displeased gaze of the emperor. "Our dynasty today is utterly corrupt and rotten. If reforms are not made, it will be too late to turn the tide."

The emperor looked down at the people below, forcibly suppressing the anger he felt when he saw the intense words like "signs of a falling nation" and "no different from a fatuous ruler" in the memorial earlier. He said, "Right now it is a time of peace and the capital is prosperous, no less than in the past. You worry too much, beloved minister."

The emperor probably knew this type of scholar, aware that they liked the reputation of "dying for a cause". Next he would plead his case and dash his head against a pillar.

However, the more upright the censor, the more fatuous the emperor would appear. Dashing his head - this absolutely could not happen. He signaled to the eunuch beside him with his eyes. The eunuch quickly bent down and left, passing down orders for the imperial guards to be on high alert. If any bad signs were detected, the person would be immediately restrained on charges of disrespect before the emperor.

"The prosperity of the capital comes from heavy taxation, and the peace of the realm is merely a false sense of security. In the past twenty years, even without foreign invasion, our dynasty's national strength has been exhausted."

The words "false security" were truly grating. The emperor took a few deep breaths and repeated "You worry too much, beloved minister" again. "Our dynasty now has natural defenses outside and fertile lands within. By recuperating our strength, in the future-"

Before he could finish, Lord Xie kowtowed heavily, his voice muffled, beads of blood oozing from his forehead.

"Your Majesty," he said word by word, "Securing the realm lies in virtue, not in natural defenses."

Throwing the words "no virtue" blatantly at the emperor, he completely disregarded the emperor's livid complexion and kowtowed again, blood flowing.

The emperor's chest heaved violently a few times. The captain of the guards read his expression and knew it was time for him to relieve the emperor of his worries. He shouted, "Disrespect before the emperor! Spreading fallacies and deceiving the masses! How audacious!"

He then led his subordinates to the center, intending to take the man away.

But they were stunned by a horrifying scene.

Lord Xie slowly closed his eyes as two trails of blood tears slid down!

"Your Majesty," his voice was filled with sorrow, "Your Majesty, listen to your subject's words-"

At Chen Weichen's table, the immortal people all had solemn expressions.

Xie Lang said in a low voice, "This is-"

The captain of the guards shouted at his subordinates, "What are you still standing there for?!"

"Sir..." one of his men pointed with a trembling hand, "Look there."

The captain followed where he pointed and was also startled.

As the blood tears slid down, blood also seeped out from Lord Xie's fingertips, dripping onto the jade steps. It suddenly spread wildly, first in ghastly patterns, then in large blotches.

Before long, the glistening white jade steps had turned into blood jade steps.

And the spread of the blood color still did not cease, rippling out with his body at the center.

The guards truly did not dare approach that eerie blood pool and even retreated a few steps.

The entire hall was shocked.

The emperor's body swayed unsteadily as he fell back, panting. He looked in the direction of Xing Qiu. "State Preceptor, this... this is-"

Xing Qiu let out a light "Oh?", stretched out his hand and made a grabbing motion in that direction.

As his fingers slowly closed, the momentum of the blood's spread lessened somewhat. Everyone's doubtful gazes then fell upon the State Preceptor - a remonstration had actually turned into such a bizarre scene.

Seeing that the State Preceptor indeed had vast magical powers, the emperor felt somewhat reassured and shouted, "Xie Yan, you actually used evil arts!"

Before the words faded, Xing Qiu's expression changed and he quickly withdrew his right hand as if it had been burned.

The blood stains writhed as if they had a life of their own, suddenly breaking free of the restraint and surging like waves on a sea of blood.

Xing Qiu frowned at his hand, while Xie Lang beside him pondered deeply.

It was Ye Jiuya who said in a solemn voice, "The remnant pages of the Heavenly Book record that Confucianism arose from shamanism, using blood to sacrifice to heaven and earth. The 'sacrificing the body' technique can seize the mandate of heaven."

Chen Weichen asked him, "How is this technique used?"

"A place where literary energy gathers, the utmost sincerity of heart, assisted by the 'sacrificing the body' secret art."

The location of the Peach Blossom Banquet was very particular. There were also many civil officials present, and talented scholars from among the people had also gathered here. It was indeed a "place where literary energy gathered".