Chapter 126

Jingcheng, Qintian Tower.

At the very moment the Lingguang Palace appeared in the world, a spiritual light flashed across a white jade stone table at the top of Qintian Tower.

Yuan Qi, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, sensed the disturbance and immediately sprinted to the top of the tower. Seeing the pattern that had appeared on the stone table, his expression could not help but shift in shock.

On the white jade stone table, a continent had appeared, and in the southern part of this continent stood a magnificent red palace—Lingguang Palace.

An anomaly also occurred at the Guangyin Tower opposite Qintian Tower; the history books of the Four Spirit Realms appeared once more, spiritual light converged, and a line of text was written upon the paper.

The 4,990th year of the Spirit Awakening, the 7th day of the sixth lunar month, Lingguang Palace appears in the world.

At the southernmost tip of the Great Jin, deep within the vast and magnificent South Sea, the mist dispersed, and a vast, boundless continent slowly emerged.

On the continent, one could see mountain ranges of fiery red rock everywhere, as well as massive mountains constantly spewing flames.

On the other side, outside Lingguang Palace, after the Demon-Suppressing Army had left, Prince Fu was unwilling to let this ruin fall into the hands of others and wanted to send people into Lingguang Palace to investigate.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice, wanting to curry favor with Prince Fu, dispatched men from the Six Doors to serve as the vanguard.

Upon receiving the order, the men of the Six Doors wore grave expressions.

Chief Constable Xie Zhixun looked at his subordinates and instructed in a low voice, "Be careful once you go inside; do not touch anything in there."

Compared to the unease of the others, Hua Minghe, who was already a cultivator, felt more excitement.

Previously, the Six Doors mostly handled matters involving martial artists from the pugilistic world; they had never participated in major events like exploring ruins.

Soon, led by Xie Zhixun, the men of the Six Doors crossed the gatehouse and walked toward the towering palace complex.

However, the moment they stepped onto the red jade-paved ground, most of the Six Doors men jumped up in pain, then turned and quickly retreated.

"My lord, the ground inside is scalding; walking on it feels just like walking on a red-hot iron plate."

The feet of several Six Doors men were scalded until they were a bloody mess, making it difficult for them to even walk.

Prince Fu frowned upon seeing this, and after a moment of silence, he sent out the few cultivators behind him.

After the cultivators passed the gatehouse, they didn't get far before they also quickly retreated.

"Your Highness, once we pass the gatehouse, we are unable to use our spiritual power."

Except for the cultivators with Fire Spirit Roots, the other cultivators, while not having their feet scalded like the martial artists of the Six Doors, still found the soles of their feet unbearable due to the scorching heat.

"This Lingguang Palace seems to only be accessible to cultivators with Fire Spirit Roots."

Upon learning this, Prince Fu looked at those present.

The officials exchanged glances and all dispatched the cultivators with Fire Spirit Roots they had brought with them.

After the dozen or so cultivators with Fire Spirit Roots crossed the gatehouse, although they could not use their spiritual power, the red jade ground caused them no harm. These people walked safely to the foot of the red jade steps and climbed them.

Watching them successfully reach the steps, the expressions of Prince Fu and the officials improved slightly.

However, when those people climbed to the first palace and tried to open the palace doors, a burst of red light emerged, directly blasting them away.

The dozen or so cultivators fell from the tens-of-meters-high steps and crashed heavily onto the ground.

Seeing this scene, Prince Fu's expression sank immediately.

The Emperor had already occupied several ruins, and he had some understanding of the rules for a ruin to recognize a master.

This Lingguang Palace clearly already belonged to that person in the black robe. Unless that black-robed person was willing to give up Lingguang Palace, the only way for others to have a chance to compete for it again was to kill them and leave Lingguang Palace masterless.

'Which faction sent that black-robed person?'

A dangerous light flickered in Prince Fu's eyes. Lingguang Palace was within the territory of the capital; running to the imperial family's turf to slap them in the face—it seemed that with the recovery of spiritual energy, some people could no longer sit still.

"Gentlemen, the Emperor is still waiting for our report; please accompany me into the palace."

Unable to investigate Lingguang Palace, staying here was a waste of time, but the identity of the black-robed person had to be uncovered. Prince Fu left a team of personal guards to watch the place and then returned to the capital with the officials present.

The Ministry of Justice officials had wanted to leave the Six Doors men to guard the site, but Xie Zhixun did not agree, saying that many were injured and needed to return to recover.

Thus, Hua Minghe and the others were able to leave.

"Brother He, what kind of medicine did you give us? The effect is truly excellent; the soles of my feet don't hurt much anymore."

On the way back to the capital, Xie Zhixun found an ox cart to carry those subordinates with severely injured feet. Although they weren't walking, they were still in unbearable pain until Hua Minghe applied the medicine, at which point they felt as if they had come back to life.

Hua Minghe smiled: "This medicinal powder was refined by my third son. If you think it's good, I'll bring you some later."

Xie Zhixun looked over, signaling Hua Minghe to let him see the medicine. After examining it, he raised an eyebrow: "Minghe, this medicine refined by your third son is quite different from ordinary golden sore medicine."

Hua Minghe trusted his colleagues who had been through life and death together, and he was especially convinced by Xie Zhixun, who took care of him in every way, so he blurted out: "The prescription was... inadvertently found in a medical book by my ninth daughter."

Xie Zhixun glanced at him: "Is that the little girl who was snatched away by an evil Daoist for a blood sacrifice two years ago?"

Hua Minghe nodded: "Yes."

Xie Zhixun smiled: "Your little daughter is bold and clever, knowing how to save herself. Of all the people snatched away by evil monks and Daoists, she is the only one I know of who survived."

Hua Minghe still felt a lingering fear when he thought about his daughter being kidnapped for a blood sacrifice: "My ninth daughter's temperament—sometimes I feel it's a good thing she's bold, but other times, I feel it's not good for her to be too bold."

"If she were a boy, I would definitely wake up laughing in my dreams, but she happens to be a young lady. Being too bold, I really fear she won't find a husband's family."

Xie Zhixun patted Hua Minghe's shoulder comfortingly: "By the way, you mentioned before that she entered the Menial Hall of the Medical Department as a menial?"

Hua Minghe gave an 'en': "I wanted her to come home, but she wasn't willing."

Xie Zhixun was surprised: "You didn't allow her to go to the Medical Department, and she could still defy your order as a father?"

Hua Minghe smiled awkwardly. Unable to say that he couldn't control his daughter, he could only make up an excuse: "The daughter is grown, and it's not good for me to interfere too much in her affairs."

Xie Zhixun was speechless: "I think you just spoil the child too much." He paused, "Actually, it's fine to let your youngest daughter stay in the Menial Hall."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice: "Many nobles and officials in the court now want to stuff their own juniors into the Medical Department. I heard the Seventh Prince also went to the Medical Department."

"People in high places never do anything without profit. They are competing to enter the Medical Department, so there must be some benefit in it."

"Since your daughter is already in the Medical Department, just let her stay there properly. See how the people above act; if she follows along, she'll always be able to drink some soup."

After hearing this, Hua Minghe nodded: "I will tell Ninth Daughter."

At this moment, someone started shouting.

"What's going on? Usually, it only takes an hour or two to reach the city gate, but today we've been walking for so long, why haven't we even seen the city gate yet?"

Xie Zhixun and Hua Minghe's attention was drawn over, and at this point, both of them noticed that something was wrong.

Xie Zhixun looked back at the still clearly visible, towering Lingguang Palace, his expression shocked: "Nanxiang County has grown larger."

His subordinates were shocked upon hearing this: "How could Nanxiang County grow larger?"

Xie Zhixun shook his head: "I don't know, but commoners had previously reported to the imperial court that some mountains and rivers had grown larger, and these matters were all suppressed."

"This world... is going to change!"

Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

Xie Zhixun suddenly looked at Hua Minghe: "Minghe, we are all brothers who have been through life and death together. If it's not too difficult, could you tell everyone how to become a cultivator?"

Hua Minghe looked at Xie Zhixun in astonishment.

Xie Zhixun pointed at all his subordinates: "After passing the gatehouse, they were all injured, only you and I were not. I was because of my shoes; what about you? What was the reason?"

"I observed those who passed the gatehouse behind us; as long as they were cultivators, they weren't injured."

Hua Minghe knew of Xie Zhixun's ability to observe things in minute detail, and since his status as a cultivator had been discovered, he did not deny it.

"Boss, are you really a cultivator?"

The few constables who worked under Hua Minghe ignored the pain in their feet and swarmed forward to surround him.

"How did you become a cultivator?"

"When did it happen?"

"Can we become cultivators too?"

Hua Minghe felt a headache from everyone's questions. He raised his hand to stop them and looked at Xie Zhixun: "Chief, I didn't become a cultivator on my own. I cannot promise everyone anything, but I can help you ask."

Xie Zhixun smiled and patted Hua Minghe's shoulder: "That is already very good."

The men of the Six Doors were invigorated to learn that they might also become cultivators, but not long after, they wilted again.

There was no other reason: the area of Nanxiang County was dozens of times larger than before.

Hua Minghe and his party walked for three days and three nights before they saw the city gate of the capital's Nancheng.

"Nanxiang County is no longer a county; I think it's clearly a large prefecture now."

Neither Xie Zhixun nor Hua Minghe had expected Nanxiang County to have grown so much.

Looking at his exhausted subordinates, Xie Zhixun directly told them to go home and rest.

At the same time, a great battle was still erupting at the underground Jiuyou Kunmen Pass.

The Heaven Department dispatched half of the Demon-Suppressing Army, and after several days of fierce fighting, they captured Kunmen Bridge, Minglong Pavilion, and Niutou Mountain. Just as Wei Zhenjie wanted to go and attack White Bone Mountain, he was informed that White Bone Mountain had already been occupied by the Duke of Xin's Prefecture.

Upon learning this news, Wei Zhenjie was so angry he wanted to hit someone: "Why is the Duke of Xin's Prefecture everywhere?"

Chu Junyi, standing to the side, waited until Wei Zhenjie had finished venting before speaking: "The reason the Duke of Xin's Prefecture reacted so quickly is because of Gu Jinfan's reminder."

"Lady White Bone was trapped and killed by Gu Jinfan using the Kunlun Mirror."

Wei Zhenjie narrowed his eyes upon hearing this: "That Gu Jinfan is quite a character."

Chu Junyi agreed with this. Back when they were at Mount Kunlun, he had witnessed the courage of that young lady. If it weren't for her charge, the Duke of Xin's Prefecture could not have returned fully loaded.

Chu Junyi looked at Wei Zhenjie: "Master, what exactly is the reason for the change at Kunmen this time?"

The Heaven Department had planted people at all nine gates of Jiuyou. As soon as Wei Zhenjie arrived at Kunmen, he understood the whole situation and sighed: "Great Master Changmei of Xiangguo Temple is dead."

"Some time ago, I received news that Xiangguo Temple and the Celestial Master's Mansion wanted their disciples to come to Jiuyou for training. Later, the Three Pure Ones Palace and the Grand Purity Palace also got involved."

"Great Master Changmei led the team, and twenty or thirty people came to Jiuyou for training together, all of them personal disciples. Originally, there was no danger, but they just had to enter the Soul-Breaking Forest."

Chu Junyi's expression shifted: "Entering the Soul-Breaking Forest, they wanted to..."

Wei Zhenjie said calmly: "The training was a pretense; their goal should have been to seize the Two Rituals Talisman Brush."

Chu Junyi asked hurriedly: "Did they get the Two Rituals Talisman Brush?"

Wei Zhenjie shook his head: "I don't know. Great Master Changmei and his party were captured and brought to Niutou Mountain, then locked in the Soul-Devouring Well. Logically, they should have been sucked dry of their soul power by the Soul-Devouring Tree, but their fate was not to die."

"A female cultivator who had drunk the Spirit-Sealing Soup but could still use spiritual power was also locked in the Soul-Devouring Well. It was that female cultivator who saved them from the Soul-Devouring Well."

Chu Junyi: "How did she do it?"

Wei Zhenjie narrowed his eyes: "That female cultivator can condense the Zhu Que Flame of the Burning Silence Primordial Spirit. The reason the Underworld Dragon was severely injured was because it was hurt by the Zhu Que Flame. We were able to capture Minglong Pavilion so easily because the ghosts in the Underworld River at the Kunmen section were all burned to death by the Zhu Que Flame."

"Zhu Que Flame..."

Chu Junyi thought of something and immediately told Wei Zhenjie about Lingguang Palace being seized by a black-robed person.

Wei Zhenjie slammed the table upon hearing this: "Lingguang Palace... When the Zhu Que Emperor walked in the human world, he called himself Lord Lingguang. Why didn't I think of that before?"

If he had thought of it earlier, he wouldn't have thought that taking over Lingguang Palace was less urgent than coming to Jiuyou; he definitely would have led the team himself to take over Lingguang Palace.

"That black-robed person must be the female cultivator who fought the Underworld Dragon. To be able to severely injure the Underworld Dragon, her cultivation must be more than just the Golden Core Realm. A Nascent Soul Realm powerhouse—the Heaven Department didn't receive any news at all. Where did she pop out from?"

Chu Junyi looked at him: "Master, I have a guess as to who she is."

Wei Zhenjie: "Who?"

Chu Junyi: "The Fire Lotus Fairy of Mount Wuzhi."

Wei Zhenjie stroked his chin and pondered: "Don't say, it really could be her. Have you found out her identity?"

Chu Junyi shook his head: "Every time the Fire Lotus Fairy appears, she only summons the siblings An Ran and An Ze. Anyone who has seen her has sworn a Heart Demon Oath, so it's impossible to find out her background."

"The mountain spirit and the welcoming pine of Mount Wuzhi should know, but we can't catch them."

Wei Zhenjie: "Continue to monitor Mount Wuzhi; we must find out the identity of the Fire Lotus Fairy."

At this moment, Meng Ziyu and Ye Jingzhou arrived.

"Department Head, Commander, look at what this is."

The two of them each carried a wooden tray, and the trays were filled with storage magical treasures.

Chu Junyi stepped forward to look and frowned: "The demons of Niutou Mountain have actually harmed so many of our human cultivators."

Wei Zhenjie said nothing, only telling Meng Ziyu and Ye Jingzhou to distribute the storage magical treasures in the trays to the soldiers who had performed outstandingly this time.

After the two left, Wei Zhenjie smiled at Chu Junyi: "Let's go, Master will take you to see the Soul-Devouring Well. There is a soul crystal mine under this Niutou Mountain."

"Having captured Niutou Mountain, Master doesn't have to worry about having no cultivation resources when advancing to the Spirit Platform Realm in the future. Speaking of which, I really have to thank that Fire Lotus Fairy. If she hadn't ignited the Underworld River, it would have been really difficult for us to attack Kunmen."