Chapter 596

After joining the Qinglong Society, he vanished without a trace.

Shangguan Wan couldn't help placing her hand to her forehead and said,

"Your Majesty! The past cannot be undone, and besides, Li Taibai has achieved what he has today."

"His talent and insight are certainly not lacking, but all of this likely owes much to Ximen Wudi behind him."

Wu Zetian nodded repeatedly in agreement,

"Yes! Compared to Ximen Wudi, Li Taibai probably... hehe!"

Whenever Ximen Wudi was mentioned, Wu Zetian turned into a little fangirl.

"Your Majesty…"

Shangguan Wan could no longer hold back her criticism and interrupted Wu Zetian,

"What we should care about most is the Earth Spirit Pearl!"

"The rewards from the Heavenly Dao Golden List usually come with descriptions."

"Only a few special ones lack descriptions."

"Huh? So you know what this Earth Spirit Pearl is?"

Wu Zetian smiled sweetly and asked Shangguan Wan.

"Your servant does not know…"

Shangguan Wan felt speechless, but added another remark,

"However, it is said that Li Taibai is currently traveling to Miaojiang with Chimi, the Holy Maiden of the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave."

"Could this Earth Spirit Pearl be connected to Miaojiang?"

The rewards given by the Heavenly Dao Golden List are generally closely tied to the person who made the list.

Either they offer a better cultivation technique built upon the existing one,

such as Di Er Daohuang's Shattered Dream Sword Art and Shi Dingtian's Military Path Killing God Fist.

Or they relate to the listee's upcoming actions or plans.

Thus, Shangguan Wan's speculation is not without merit.

"In Miaojiang, it seems Li Chunfeng once left behind a contingency."

"Contact them and find out what Li Taibai and Chimi are up to—you'll know soon enough."

Mentioning Miaojiang, Wu Zetian immediately recalled an old contingency.

"Your servant thought the same and has already sent word there, but for some reason, there's been no reply yet."

Shangguan Wan replied with a bitter smile.

"Never mind! But as for Di Er Daohuang, since he requires beautiful women,"

"What do you think of Lin Shiyin and the Devoted Heart Pill?"

Wu Zetian's heart stirred, deciding to maximize Lin Shiyin's utility.

To seize the Devoted Heart Pill, the three imperial dynasties once fought a great war.

In the end, Cang Qu's superiority allowed him to bring Lin Shiyin back.

Even now, Lin Shiyin is still well-fed and well-cared for, kept within the Great Ming Palace.

Since the Thunderfire Bomb proved ineffective, no one still believes the Devoted Heart Pill must work on Ximen Wudi.

So Wu Zetian decided to fully exploit Lin Shiyin.

"Your Majesty's idea is feasible, but…"

Shangguan Wan fell into thought.

"You're worried about Li Xunhuan, aren't you?"

As empress, Wu Zetian could hardly miss Shangguan Wan's reservations.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Shangguan Wan smiled bitterly—when the Qinglong Society once sought Lin Shiyin, not only did Li Xunhuan appear,

but even Zhang Sanfeng, the Seventh Dragon Chief, emerged.

Now Senior Xiaoyaozi has also returned.

If we offer Lin Shiyin to Di Er Daohuang and provoke the Qinglong Society, it would be disastrous.

"The Demon Sect has secret methods to make Lin Shiyin become someone else."

"But so far, I haven't found a suitable candidate."

Wu Zetian had long been pondering how to best use Lin Shiyin.

"Huh? Your Majesty, there's a beautiful woman in Yunzhou—though she hasn't yet appeared on the Heavenly Dao Hundred Beauties List,"

"I believe she will join it sooner or later."

Shangguan Wan's mind stirred and immediately suggested.

"Then entrust you with bringing her back as soon as possible."

Wu Zetian didn't ask for details—Shangguan Wan's recommendations were rarely wrong.

"Lastly, the Xuanwu Jun?"

Like Ying Zheng, Wu Zetian also closely watched the major events in Yunzhou.

"Yan Kuangtu has already sent urgent news from Yunzhou Imperial City via rapid courier."

Among the three imperial dynasties, the Great Tang is closest to Yunzhou Imperial City.

Thus, Yan Kuangtu immediately relayed the news the moment the situation stabilized.

"Oh? Did the Xuanwu Jun die in Yunzhou Imperial City?"

Wu Zetian asked curiously.

"No. The abdication ceremony staged behind the scenes by the You Dongying people in the imperial city of Yunzhou — only the Hidden Sword Style's Hayato Tenyin showed up."

"The rest were mostly You Dongying experts, plus Jian Chen, Jian Yu, and others."

"Only the Qinglong Society's Xiao Aoshi and Xiao Jingtian brothers showed up."

"After Xiao Jingtian revealed his true form as a Demon God, he suppressed the entire venue."

"The four swords of the Red Guard died in battle on the spot."

"The You Dongying experts have already fled."

Shangguan Wan'er laid out the entire upheaval in the imperial city of Yunzhou in just a few words.

After hearing it out, Wu Zetian could not help but sigh once more,

"What a pity! The Xiao Jingtian and Xiao Aoshi brothers — what strength they have — why must they insist on joining the Qinglong Society!"

In truth, both Shangguan Wan'er and Wu Zetian understood perfectly well.

The pull the Qinglong Society held over martial artists, from the top ranks down to the lowest.

Just from the fact that Xiao Jingtian could manifest his true Demon God form in broad daylight, one could see how terrifying the Qinglong Society truly was.

Shangguan Wan'er did not pick up that thread, only saying,

"As for the matter of the Xuanwu Lord, this subject has already sent people to investigate it in detail."

"The Heavenly Demon sent word a few days ago — the Yin Moon Dynasty is temporarily out of reach…"

She was clever, using another piece of news to cover up Wu Zetian's grumbling about the Xiao Jingtian brothers.

"Mm? Why?"

Wu Zetian was thoroughly puzzled and asked.

The "Heavenly Demon" Cang Ju is one of the absolute top-tier powerhouses of the present age.

The number of people across every faction who could exchange blows with him would absolutely not exceed ten!

After the trip to the Dragon Chant Cave, he had obtained two more Dragon Pearls, and after comprehending them, his strength had advanced further still.

Add to that the strangeness of his demonic arts — the trip to Beizhen should have gone smoothly, no?

"The Heavenly Demon did not say outright. I only inferred it from between the lines of his message."

"In Beizhen, there is an expert no weaker than him."

"And it was precisely because of this expert that he never made contact with the Yin Moon Dynasty!"

After Shangguan Wan'er deduced this piece of news, she too was utterly shocked.

An expert who could match Cang Ju, and that expert just happened to be in Beizhen.

What did that say?

The Yin Moon Dynasty was truly no simple matter!

"This…"