Chapter 745: Audience

On Zijin Mountain.

For the past few days, Jingcheng has been under martial law, and all the capable personnel under Zijin Mountain have been sent out to handle matters, leaving the core Nine Heavens Dao Palace empty—it could even be said to be the emptiest it has been in decades.

Although it was empty inside, the few people left to guard the mountain were not worried, nor would anyone worry for the Dao Palace—who in this world would dare to come and cause trouble for the Dao Palace? It would be good enough if the Dao Palace didn't cause them trouble; let alone taking action against the Dao Palace, even being slightly rude would require one to consider whether the heads of their entire family were conductive.

However, today was different.

A group of uninvited guests arrived at Zijin Mountain, storming up the mountain with fierce expressions. The guards on the mountain hurried up to stop them, but were shoved aside by the leader, who shouted, "I must see the State Preceptor today! Let's see who dares to stop me!"

He had the guts to clamor, but his subordinates truly lacked the courage to intervene. Because the person who had arrived was the golden branch among golden branches, the head of all the princes in Jingcheng, Shou Wang.

As for whether the State Preceptor would dare to provoke Shou Wang, he certainly would; if Shou Wang violated the State Preceptor's rules, the State Preceptor would strike him down all the same. But just because the State Preceptor could afford to provoke him didn't mean his subordinates could. Even though the Disciples of the Dao Palace were usually arrogant, daring to make things difficult even for those around the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, if these nobles truly disregarded their status and charged in personally, those Disciples couldn't do anything; let alone taking action, they wouldn't even dare to touch a hem of their robes.

Those who truly disregarded rules and only cared about fists were all in the wilderness; even the feudal lords had to observe etiquette once they grew powerful, and those in Jingcheng were all people within the rules, where the hierarchy of superior and inferior could not be ignored.

These Disciples could only symbolically block the Prince's attendants, and Shou Wang did not mind, charging straight in with the two other princes on his left and right, entering the Dao Palace.

At this moment, Zhongmeng Zhenren, who was left to guard the Dao Palace, also came up to meet them, saying in a troubled tone, "Three Highnesses, why have you..."

Upon seeing him, Shou Wang's expression changed instantly, and tears flowed down as he wailed, "Zhenren, you must save us! You must save the Yuan family! We are being bullied to death, the State Preceptor must uphold justice for us!"

With a Shou Wang who had a full beard suddenly resorting to crying and making a scene like a rogue, Zhongmeng Zhenren was also a bit at a loss, hurriedly saying, "Your Highness, your words are too heavy. How could anyone dare to bully you Highnesses at the feet of the Son of Heaven, under the very eyes of the State Preceptor?"

Shou Wang cried even harder, snot and tears flowing, and shouted, "How could no one be bullying us? Forget bullying, someone is even trying to exterminate our families!" Disregarding Zhongmeng Zhenren's expression, he multiplied the tragedies that had occurred in Jingcheng over the past few days by tenfold, and loudly lamented how they had been living in constant fear, claiming that even if the nobles in Jingcheng hadn't been killed yet, they were being scared to death.

Could Zhongmeng Zhenren not know what he was saying? Of course, Zhongmeng knew. It wasn't that the Dao Palace didn't want to resolve it. After all, protecting the safety of the imperial family was the duty of the Dao Palace; otherwise, why would they be called the State-Protecting Zhenren?

The Dao Palace had also been overwhelmed these past few days, dispatching personnel to solve these cases. It was just that there had been no results for a long time. After all, the main manpower was currently focused on stabilizing the court, and the State Preceptor couldn't attend to this side. To put it bluntly, in the eyes of the State Preceptor and the Dao Palace, the priority of the safety of the imperial family was not high enough; if it couldn't be solved, it would be set aside for now. In any case, they wouldn't all be killed in a short time, so they would deal with it when the State Preceptor had time.

It was just that this was not easy to say out loud, so Zhongmeng Zhenren said, "Your Highnesses, rest assured, we have already increased our manpower to ensure everyone's safety..."

Just as he was saying this, the distant sky lit up slightly—

Another residence had caught fire.

Zhongmeng Zhenren fell silent for a moment, and Shou Wang cried out, "Zhenren, it is not that we do not trust you, but that the thief is too cruel. Who can subdue them except for the State Preceptor? We beg the State Preceptor to come forward and protect us!"

Zhongmeng Zhenren was still trying to stall, when the Prince behind him also followed up, saying, "We know the State Preceptor must have more important matters, but if we cannot invite the State Preceptor out, we request to move our entire families into Zijin Mountain, to live right at the feet of the State Preceptor, just for peace of mind."

Ying Wang had originally been pushed out by force, but since he was already here, he couldn't help but follow along, sobbing, "I think so too. If we could live by the State Preceptor's side, what would we have to fear?"

The three of them surrounded Zhongmeng Zhenren, wailing and truly not taking imperial decorum seriously. Zhongmeng Zhenren smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highnesses, there is no need for this... The State Preceptor is indeed not on the mountain; he has important matters to attend to. How about this: I cannot make the decision for either moving onto Zijin Mountain or having him personally go out to capture the thieves. I can only invite the State Preceptor to ask him."

The three princes were overjoyed and hurriedly said, "We trouble you, we trouble you."

Zhongmeng Zhenren said, "Wait a moment..." He instructed a young Daoist to fetch the necessary items. Once everyone had left, he suddenly turned serious and said solemnly, "Are you sure you want to see the State Preceptor? He is currently worried about the overall situation, and I fear his mood will not be very good. If you insist on seeing him at this time, will you not regret it?"

The implication was: are you sure you want to poke a tiger's nose with a grass stalk?

Ying Wang shivered, thinking of the State Preceptor's usual accumulated prestige, and couldn't help but feel anxious, but Shou Wang said, "I will not regret it! Please bring him out!"

Since he had said so, the others could only follow suit and say they wouldn't regret it; otherwise, why had they come?

Before long, a Disciple brought over a brocade box, set up an incense table, first burned incense to pray, and then took out the magic treasure for contacting the State Preceptor from the brocade box.

These were actually two Copper Tubes of equal length, with wooden handles at the back. Zhongmeng Zhenren held one in each hand, and when he brought his hands close together, blue-white electric light actually appeared at the tips of the Copper Tubes.

The closer the Copper Tubes were, the more obvious the electric light became, and gradually, Electric Arcs connecting the two Copper Tubes appeared. These Electric Arcs intertwined, forming a curtain of light woven from electricity.

After waiting for another moment, the outline of a person appeared on the curtain.

This curtain was formed by the intertwining of Electric Arcs, so it was naturally extremely unstable, and the figure on it could only barely be seen in outline, with no clear features. As soon as this outline appeared, Zhongmeng Zhenren immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Master."

The three princes also bowed slightly; although they were all afraid of the State Preceptor, they were not required to bow by etiquette, so bowing was a sign of respect.

The State Preceptor's standard, tingling voice rang out: "What is it? Why do you summon me?"

Zhongmeng Zhenren bowed and said, "It is the three Princes... representing the nobles of Jingcheng, requesting of you..." He did not add fuel to the fire, but properly stated the requests of the few.

As he spoke, the electric light grew brighter and brighter, gradually turning from blue-white to a brilliant pure white, and the Electric Arcs also showed signs of going out of control.

The State Preceptor was angry!

"You all..." His voice had not changed; the State Preceptor's voice would not change with his emotions.

"Just for this? To bother me with such matters at a time like this, do you not know that the great affairs of the world are what matter? As members of the imperial clan, how can you be so ignorant of the big picture?"

Damn it, what do you mean "such matters"? Our families are about to be exterminated, so many people are living on the edge, and it's reduced to "such matters"?

Even Ying Wang, who had never dared to stand out, was a bit fired up. After all, these princes were used to being high and mighty; their brains told them to be sensible, but their bodies were not good at being sensible.

At this time, Shou Wang said repeatedly, "State Preceptor, please understand. We naturally know that the great affairs of the world are important, but the fierce thief who struck does not. Or perhaps he knows, and he came precisely to destroy the world. We members of the imperial clan may not matter individually, but together we are the foundation of the Great Jin imperial family. If we are all killed, and only a few members of the Great Jin imperial family remain, wouldn't we be on the verge of extinction if we are not careful? This is a scheme to cut off the branches and leaves, then dig up the roots, and finally kill the great tree! We beg the State Preceptor to spare a little power from your busy schedule to nip these thieves in the bud! We will certainly do our best to support the court and fulfill our duties as the imperial clan."

His eloquence was good, and Ying Wang was terrified, thinking to himself: Could it really be like this? They want to kill all of us surnamed Yuan, and finally kill the Emperor too, letting the world change its surname and master? What should be done?

Shou Wang added, "State Preceptor, are you worried about not finding the enemy? If it were someone else, it might be possible, but how could the State Preceptor not find them? Isn't Jingcheng right under your eyes? As long as you wait for his next strike and pay more attention, you can naturally destroy him with the power of thunder. Wouldn't that be an effortless task?"

Before the State Preceptor could speak, Zhongmeng Zhenren had already shouted, "Shou Wang, you speak lightly. Do you know when the next strike will be? If he doesn't strike for a day, must you have the Master wait for a day? If he doesn't strike for ten days, must he wait for ten days? Can the truly important matters still be done?"

Shou Wang immediately said, "Yes, if the State Preceptor does not wish to, then we all request to move onto the mountain to live. We guarantee to be quiet and never cause trouble, just asking for a place where we can sleep in peace."

Ying Wang hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes, I think... we want to move up."

The State Preceptor gave a cold "Hmph," and Zhongmeng Zhenren immediately said, "This Nine Heavens Dao Palace is the Nine Heavens above; it is not a place for Mortals to dwell."

Shou Wang followed up with a sentence: "If the State Preceptor will not take us in, are you letting everyone die together? From now on, don't call Jingcheng Jingcheng; it might as well be called the Imperial Graveyard. And the State Preceptor is the gravedigger."

Zhongmeng Zhenren shouted, "Presumptuous!"

Ying Wang was terrified: Is this the courage of Uncle Shou Wang? He is worthy of being someone who once held the world in his hands; even if I were killed, I wouldn't dare speak to the State Preceptor like that.

Shou Wang paused, then said, "State Preceptor, I meant no disrespect to you. It is just that the imperial family must also consider... If you will not let us go up the mountain, then at least assign a Dao Palace Disciple to each of us. That way, as soon as the enemy arrives, they can send a message in time, and the State Preceptor can arrive in time. I believe that as long as the State Preceptor arrives, wouldn't capturing the thief be as easy as turning over one's hand?"

Zhongmeng Zhenren said, "This..." Looking at him, it was clear he was tempted.

At this moment, the State Preceptor said, "Zhongmeng, you handle this matter."

Zhongmeng Zhenren said, "Master, our manpower is a bit tight..."

However, before the words were finished, the electric light flashed and extinguished, and the State Preceptor's shadow could no longer be seen.

Zhongmeng Zhenren was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Your Highness Shou Wang, you have succeeded in this matter."

Shou Wang showed gratitude and said, "This is all the State Preceptor's compassion for us, and also your help, Zhenren. We will never forget this. I will have to trouble you, Zhongmeng Zhenren."

Zhongmeng Zhenren flicked his sleeves and said, "Since the State Preceptor has approved, how can I not do it? Follow me." Having said that, he walked out. The few behind him hurriedly followed.

At this time, the Prince who had been silent all along and seemed to be outside the situation narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression grave:

It seems, something is not quite right...