Chapter 153

Xiao Jieyun's face sank—Da Xia Shen Tong?

Stole His Majesty's dragon fortune, yet dares to come? Must be for the jade seal!

"How many people did he bring?"

"Reply to His Majesty: sixteen in total, all serving inside the Yiguan."

"Send someone to watch them and report their movements daily."

"Yes!"

Xiao Jieyun thought: "Cheng Jinyan, go to Fengyi Palace and tell the Princess the news of the Shen Tong entering the capital."

"Yes!" Eunuch Cheng turned and left.

"Tou Shen has come?" "Tuan Tuan was somewhat surprised," what is he here for?

"Uh... this servant doesn't know."

"Got it! Grandpa, I'm going to go play with the eleventh prince and them!"

Eunuch Cheng startled: "Oh, okay." Then turned and returned to Zichen Hall.

Xiao Jieyun's face darkened: "What did the Princess say?"

Eunuch Cheng looked embarrassed: "The Little Princess said she knew and went to go play with the eleventh prince and them."

Xiao Jieyun's expression froze for a moment, then he gave a self-mocking laugh: His Majesty here is worried sick, yet you haven't given it a thought at all.

"Forget it, after all, she's just a child."

Over the following days, Xiao Jieyun grew more alarmed hearing each day's movements of Gong Sun Zhi.

Gong Sun Zhi never even stepped out of the Yiguan's main gate, yet his subordinates spread throughout Jingcheng the news that the Da Xia Shen Tong possesses boundless magic.

This drew countless commoners and even officials to come begging for his blessings.

Soon, all that circulated in Jingcheng were words of praise.

"Have you seen the Shen Tong?"

"No, why?"

"I went to pay my respects a few days ago, and it truly lives up to its reputation!"

"Quick, tell us! What does the Shen Tong look like?"

"That appearance! Face like a silver basin, skin like jade, a red mole between the brows, just like the Shen Tong in the paintings!"

"You're so lucky to have been granted an audience with the Shen Tong! Quick, tell us, what did you go to ask for?"

"Truly divine! Isn't my spouse always bedridden? The Shen Tong gave me a blessing token to take home and hang at the head of the bed."

"Guess what the result was?"

"What's wrong? Hurry up and tell us!"

"Only three days! She actually got out of bed!"

"Really? Is the illness completely gone?"

"Not exactly, but the doctor came over and said there's no serious problem anymore. The doctor even asked if I had taken some kind of elixir."

"Truly that effective? You're not just boasting to fool us, are you?"

One person beside him interjected: "What this brother says is definitely true; I went too!"

"What did you go to ask for?"

"I'm not afraid of your ridicule; my donkey went missing, I searched for days without finding it, that day I passed by the Yiguan and went to the gate to request an audience."

"I never expected the Shen Tong to let me in! He also told me to keep going west and I would surely find what I sought."

"I didn't dare not believe it, so I kept heading west, and wouldn't you know, two days later I actually found that beast!"

"Does the Shen Tong even bother with such trivial matters?"

"Yes! He really is a Shen Tong, not looking down on us! He's just like the true person in that temple, granting every request!"

"No, I also have to go seek an audience!"

"What do you seek?"

"Since the Shen Tong grants every request, even just seeing him once and asking for a blessing would do!"

"Makes sense! But there are too many people wanting to see him now! Look at the Yiguan's gate—it's packed with people!"

"If you want to see him, you'd better hurry! Otherwise, if the Shen Tong returns to Da Xia one day, the chance will be gone!"

"That's right, that's right! Sigh, no wonder Da Xia enjoys favorable weather and abundant harvests!"

"Exactly, it's surely because Da Xia has a Shen Tong, so there are no disasters!"

"Hasn't His Majesty appointed some sort of Prayer-to-Heaven Immortal Envoy? I heard it's a girl of only four or five!"

"Prayer-to-Heaven Immortal Envoy? Who is that? I've never heard of it!"

"Can it compare to the Shen Tong?"

"How could that be possible!"

"I heard that the Prayer-to-Heaven Immortal Envoy is to help His Majesty ascend the platform to pray for rain!"

"If it's said the Shen Tong can summon rain, I'd certainly believe it! But that so-called Prayer-to-Heaven Immortal Envoy is utterly obscure—can it really summon rain?"

"Don't embarrass yourself! Ah—!"

The person who said that let out a cry, suddenly flung himself to the ground as if tripped by something.

It provoked a burst of laughter from the surrounding people.

By the roadside, Xiao Ningchen tossed away the extra stones in his hand and brushed off his hands.

"You've got gall, saying that about my sister—let you take a fall, that's letting you off easy!"

"Let's go!" He led a few soldiers, striding into the Ning Prince's Mansion.

Seeing Xiao Yuanhang, Xiao Ningchen dropped to one knee: "Father! I've returned."

Xiao Yuanhang looked at him, nodded: "Get up quickly! Sit! Not bad, you've grown taller, and also become sturdier!"

Xiao Ningchen sat down and repeated the rumor he had just heard on the street.

"Father, that Da Xia Shen Tong's move is clearly an attempt to gain influence! The Heavenly Sacrifice Platform is about to be completed, His Majesty is about to pray for rain, his actions likely conceal ill intent."

Xiao Yuanhang nodded: "That's why I had you come back. Those not of our kind must have different hearts. Da Xia is stirring; we must make thorough preparations."

"Yes!"

Da Xia, Guoshi Residence.

In the secret chamber, candlelight flickered, causing the runes on the surrounding walls to flicker bright and dark.

Wu Luo dismissed the attendants, then unfurled a parchment before the incense table.

As he chanted the obscure incantation, the airflow on the parchment rippled like water, the ink flowed and gradually coalesced into a three‑dimensional image of an exquisite palace garden!

In the image, every table, chair, flower, and tree was distinctly visible, so fine it made one's hair stand on end.

Above the image, three small characters coalesced and did not disperse: Phoenix Etiquette Palace!

He half‑closed his eyes, and his fingertips gently pressed upon the three characters of Phoenix Etiquette Palace.

He murmured: "The direction is set, the fortunes are linked!"

He whispered to himself, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, piercing the void, and saw the omen of fortune above Phoenix Etiquette Palace.

Beneath a sky made especially ashen by drought, a radiant streak of fortune like the morning sun hovered above Phoenix Etiquette Palace; not only was it solid in itself, it was also slowly nourishing the waning national fortune of the Fierce Kingdom.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils blazing: "What a magnificent primordial chaos fortune!"

Wu Luo's eyes blazed with fervent greed: "If one were favored by this qi, all laws would be unable to intrude, there would be no taboos. Alas… you have not yet attained the Great Dao; such fortune ought to be used by my Da Xia!"

He hesitated no longer, raised his hands sharply, intertwined his ten fingers, and formed an extremely intricate ancient seal.

"Ten thousand miles share the same wind, qi seals heaven and earth!"

"Using the palace as a guide, using the name as a token—seize!"

Boom!

On the parchment diagram, every part of Phoenix Etiquette Palace emitted a fine ray of light, like countless chains, intertwining and winding toward the column of fortune above the diagram.

Wu Luo relaxed his hands, revealing a satisfied expression: "Draining the pot from underneath is the best strategy. When your fortune wanes, Zhi'er will arrive with great force; look at you, this 'Immortal Envoy,' how will you still block his way?"