Chapter 410: Marked

"Father, is it not a bit hasty to send Ling Yuan to cause a ruckus at Danyuan Peak?"

In the forbidden area of the palace, the Emperor spoke to the Grand Emperor with his usual deference, but from his tightly furrowed brows, it was clear that he did not approve of the royal family taking the lead to verify Hua Changxi's identity.

The Grand Emperor looked up at the Emperor, his face darkening: "Are you teaching me how to conduct affairs?"

The Emperor quickly lowered his head: "Your son dares not."

The Grand Emperor's expression was cold: "Although I have passed the throne to you, that does not mean you can make decisions for me."

The Emperor bowed his head even lower: "Your son has no such intention."

The Grand Emperor gave a cold snort, no longer looking at the Emperor, but the chill in his eyes grew thicker.

The Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall caused the royal family's schemes for several blessed lands in Nanxiang County to all fail.

In the seizure of Zhurong Tomb, the royal family lost a Chu Junshan, plus the Empress Dowager's nephew Zhu Yan.

In the seizure of Ghost Fire Well, the royal family lost King Shou.

In the seizure of Wutong Forest, the royal family lost Zhaohuang.

Years of scheming, not only did they fail to obtain the three blessed lands, but they also lost several rare cultivation prodigies.

It could be said that since the spiritual energy revival, this was the most thorough defeat the royal family had suffered.

The Emperor knew the crux in the Grand Emperor's heart, and knew it would anger him, but he still spoke up: "Even if it is confirmed that Hua Changxi is the Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall, the royal family cannot do anything to her for now."

Ever since the rumor that Hua Changxi was the Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall spread, investigations and inquiries from all sides had never ceased.

Although no concrete evidence had been found to prove that Hua Changxi was the Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall, some of Hua Changxi's movement traces did coincide with those of the Hallmaster.

A murderous light flickered in the Grand Emperor's eyes: "Hua Changxi's birth destined her vision and scope to be limited. She might barely manage to stir up trouble at Danyuan Peak, but to command a hundred thousand Vermilion Bird troops..."

The Grand Emperor looked at the Emperor: "Do you think she is a talent for a general or commander?"

"Everything she has gained now is merely by chance. Setting aside luck, does she have the ability to firmly hold the position as Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall?"

Although the Emperor agreed with the Grand Emperor's words, he was also well aware that since the spiritual energy revival, opportunities were crucial, whether for individuals or for various factions.

If Hua Changxi were truly the Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall, even if she knew nothing and understood nothing, people would continuously flock to her and work for her because of the resources in her hands.

The Emperor: "Your son still does not quite understand why you are so eager to prove whether Hua Changxi is the Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall."

Actually, the royal family didn't need to act; other factions would verify Hua Changxi's identity. The royal family could sit back and fish from a secure position.

The Grand Emperor's eyes narrowed: "If Hua Changxi is truly the Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall... she surely needs assistants. When it comes to governing the world, who can rival the Chu royal family that has ruled Great Jin for a thousand years?"

He paused.

"Hasn't Junhao been approaching Hua Changxi all along? If possible, winning her heart and forging a marriage bond would be a fine story."

After hearing this, the Emperor's eyes first brightened, then darkened: "Junhao said that Hua Changxi is very difficult to get close to; I'm afraid this matter is hard to accomplish."

The Grand Emperor shot a sidelong glance at the Emperor: "If Hua Changxi is unwilling, then choose another woman from the Hua family to marry into the royal family, or arrange for a princess to marry into the Hua family. Doesn't Hua Changxi have three full brothers? They are the best candidates for marriage alliances."

Hearing this, the Emperor seriously began to consider the possibilities.

If Hua Changxi were truly the Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall, then it would be absolutely necessary to get close to her.

And the fastest way to get close was undoubtedly marriage alliance.

The Emperor looked at the Grand Emperor and respectfully bowed: "Your son understands Your Majesty's intentions."

To be honest, before this, he had really thought the Grand Emperor could not suppress his anger and wanted to move against Hua Changxi.

The Grand Emperor gave a self-deprecating laugh: "If the tide of events were not unstoppable, I would indeed like to kill her."

"Imperial power has fallen into other hands; no matter how unwilling, we have to accept it!"

Upon hearing this, a bitter expression also appeared on the Emperor's face. Knowing the Grand Emperor's true intentions, he did not stay any longer. After taking his leave, he left the forbidden area.

As soon as the Emperor left, the Empress Dowager appeared.

The Grand Emperor looked at the Empress Dowager: "Are you certain that as soon as Hua Changxi shows herself, you can immediately recover the Eight-Petal Divine Lamp?"

The Empress Dowager nodded affirmatively: "As long as Hua Changxi is the Hallmaster of Lingguang Hall, then the Eight-Petal Divine Lamp in Zhu Yan's hands must be with her. As soon as she appears, once Zhu Xin meets her face to face, she can sense the lamp."

The Grand Emperor asked again: "Even if the divine lamp is truly in Hua Changxi's hands, getting it back won't be easy, will it?"

The Empress Dowager smiled faintly. "It's not easy to retrieve other Divine Lamp fragments that have fallen elsewhere, but that eight-petal Divine Lamp... in any case, Zhu Xin will be able to retrieve it."

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was still hiding things from him even now, the Grand Supreme Emperor let out a dissatisfied cold snort and mocked, "It's one thing for you not to trust me, but the Emperor is your own son. Keeping the matter of the Divine Lamp from him, aren't you afraid of chilling his heart?"

The Empress Dowager looked at the Grand Supreme Emperor, her expression indifferent, and did not respond.

The Grand Supreme Emperor was very displeased with this, but thinking of the Zhu clan's abilities, he still held back: "What if Hua Changxi is not the master of Lingguang Hall?"

The Empress Dowager: "...The eight-petal Divine Lamp is very important. If Hua Changxi is not, then deploy the personnel planted in the Vermilion Bird Army to force the master of Lingguang Hall out."

"No."

The Grand Supreme Emperor flatly refused. The imperial family had planted people in the Vermilion Bird Army not to cause trouble, but to lay a possible groundwork within the army, so that after the complete collapse of the Chu imperial authority, the Chu clan's members would have one more place to go.

Just like the imperial family's arrangements in the Five Sacred Grounds, all were to provide one more escape route for the Chu imperial clan.

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager said very firmly, "This is not up for discussion. We must find the master of Lingguang Hall as soon as possible."

The Grand Supreme Emperor looked over: "Is that eight-petal Divine Lamp really that important? Just because it has one extra wick?"

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was silent, the Grand Supreme Emperor probed again: "Does that wick have some kind of origin?"

The Empress Dowager looked at him: "Stop asking. Even if you knew where the wick came from, you wouldn't be able to replicate it."

She paused.

"I hope you don't forget that over the years, it was relying on that eight-petal Divine Lamp to help cultivators ignite the black and white flames that the imperial family managed to win over a group of utterly loyal followers."

"Without that eight-petal Divine Lamp, the Zhu family and I would have no way to gather subordinates for the imperial family."

After hearing this, the Grand Supreme Emperor frowned.

He knew that the Empress Dowager using the eight-petal Divine Lamp to gather cultivators for the imperial family surely had ulterior motives, but since the imperial family truly needed more cultivators to submit, he was too lazy to probe into the Zhu clan's purpose.

The Grand Supreme Emperor: "In that battle at the Wutong Forest between the ancient qin and the Vermilion Bird, the master of Lingguang Hall must have been injured. Ling Yuan has been causing trouble at Danyuan Peak for over half a month now. If Hua Changxi never shows up, then nine times out of ten she is the master of Lingguang Hall."

"Before the Emperor came, I sent a message to Ling Yuan, telling her to increase the pressure on Danyuan Peak and seriously injure those four eunuch stewards. If Hua Changxi still doesn't come out after this, the next step will be to think of a way through the Hua family."