Chapter 38

"Princess, the three counties are gathering many evil cult experts, especially the barbarian divine envoy. Even the Third Prince dares not easily provoke them. The Nineteenth Prince, without any intelligence, was sent to lead the charge. What if something goes wrong? It would be difficult to explain to the court."

A trusted maid was reporting to Lou Baiyue.

"I have my own plan. Gu Chensha and Xiao Xiao, the provincial military forces, are opposing the evil cult in the three counties. That is indeed a place where one can die without a burial. But don't forget, he is of the Xian Dynasty royal bloodline and has awakened the Giant Spirit God bloodline. To the remnants of the Xian Dynasty, he is a precious seed. Only by placing him in a dangerous situation will the high-level experts among the remnants of the Xian Dynasty appear to save him." Lou Baiyue was confident: "If Grand Tutor Wen Hong appears, we can use his hands to kill the barbarian divine envoy."

"If Grand Tutor Wen Hong appears, the Princess might also be in danger." This trusted maid knew many secret intelligence and was a true personal attendant. Her martial arts were at the Grandmaster level, her eyes like lightning, and a faint blue aura appeared on her face. Her fingers were as tender as ivory, with a soft luster, but they contained terrifying killing power: "I heard that Wen Hong has cultivated the Ten Thousand Stars Immortal Technique to great success, and may have already achieved immortality! Otherwise, he wouldn't have escaped from the Emperor's hands back then. If it weren't for him, the Xian Dynasty would have been destroyed long ago."

"He is not a match for the Emperor, no need to worry." Lou Baiyue looked at the sky, "The Emperor's cultivation has long surpassed the Thirty-Six Transformations. The many evil gods are just struggling bitterly."

The trusted maid remained silent.

"Miaoxiang, you and Yuxiang, Diexiang, Lanxiang, Yunxiang, Xixiang, Luoxiang, Xuexiang, Meixiang, and Sixiang are my true confidants and the ones I truly cultivate. In the future, you cannot marry; you can only follow me. Do you regret it?" Lou Baiyue suddenly asked.

"This is the good fortune I have cultivated for countless lifetimes." Miaoxiang quickly knelt down: "I can follow the Princess to cultivate the Dao, and in the future, I will be free and independent, a dragon among people, controlling power, remaining young forever, and achieving immortality. How can this be compared to mere romantic love?"

"It's good that you have such thoughts." Lou Baiyue stood up: "You ten will cultivate the Ten Extremes of the Vast Wasteland Dao, each mastering one extreme. When you combine your powers, the strength will increase a thousandfold. This method was passed down to me by the Emperor. It is said that in ancient times, there were ten emperors who each mastered the ultimate of heaven. If the ten emperors could combine their powers, they could change certain rules. Of course, this is just a legend, but when you ten combine your powers, you can definitely defeat a Dao Realm First Transformation expert. You must practice diligently and not slack off at all."

"Yes!"

At this moment, another maid came in, it was Yuxiang.

She held an intelligence report and knelt down, presenting it with both hands: "Princess, a major event has occurred. The Nineteenth Prince encountered a Black Bat Demon assassination in Bannan Province. He then killed the Black Bat Demon, and the corpse and the magic scripture on its body have been sent here, and after multiple inspections, it is confirmed to be correct."

"Is that so?" Lou Baiyue took the intelligence report and read it carefully, not missing a single word. After a while, she put it down with a smile: "It's quite interesting. The Black Bat Demon has been wreaking havoc for sixty years, and it was killed by him in an unclear manner."

"Is it the remnants of the Xian Dynasty helping him?" Yuxiang asked tentatively.

"No, if the remnants of the Xian Dynasty were involved, I would have received intelligence. It seems that other experts are helping him. This means he has recruited other strong experts, or perhaps other strong experts have joined to assist him, hoping to gain benefits through the Prince's influence. Investigate for me!" Lou Baiyue ordered.

"Where should we start the investigation?" Miaoxiang asked.

"Start from his residence in the capital. I heard that recently, many warriors, martial artists, and grandmasters have joined his residence. His adopted son's martial arts have also progressed rapidly. Who are these people?" Lou Baiyue began to plan.

"I have investigated this matter, but the Nineteenth Prince's residence is well-organized, and many spies have been discovered. I tried to buy off the warriors in the residence, but they are taciturn and live simple lives, focusing only on eating, drinking, and practicing martial arts. They show no emotion, as if they were trained from a young age to be loyal soldiers." Miaoxiang reported.

"It seems he has the support of a major force with at least hundreds of years of history. Training such loyal soldiers is not something that can be done overnight; it requires at least hundreds of years of foundation." Lou Baiyue smiled: "It's getting more and more interesting."

"I have more to report."

"Go on!"

"The Tenth Prince, Gu Zhensha, successfully broke through to the Dao Realm two days ago, greatly increasing his strength. He has submitted a petition to the court, expressing his willingness to go to Xianzhou to establish achievements and gain merit, to obtain the title of Duke. The Emperor has already agreed, and he is now on his way, but not as an imperial envoy. He is only assisting the Third Prince, Prince Fan, in his duties." Miaoxiang revealed the major news.

"Oh? He actually broke through? So quickly? It's unexpected. Once the world is in turmoil, dragons and snakes will emerge. Xianzhou, this murky pond, also contains opportunities, which must be seized." Lou Baiyue flicked her finger, and a jade bottle flew out of her sleeve into Miaoxiang's hand: "This bottle contains ten drops of Heavenly Dew. Each of you will receive one drop. Cultivate well. I am waiting for all ten of you to achieve the Dao Realm, and then we can explore the Ten Emperors' treasure. If we obtain it, we will achieve a great leap forward."

"Thank you, Princess." The two women knelt down and bowed.

In the capital, the imperial palace, the Upper Study.

Eight ministers were handling state affairs, and memorials from various provinces were being delivered in a steady stream. The Upper Study ministers could make decisions on minor matters, but major matters such as official appointments, executions, troop movements, rewards for meritorious officials, disaster relief, land reclamation, road construction, river management, and foreign affairs required a summary to be written and the Emperor's decision.

In addition to these eight ministers, two princes also assisted in the administration, a great honor representing the Emperor's trust in his sons.

One of them was naturally the Seventh Prince, Gu Fasha, and the other was the Fourth Prince, Gu Huasha.

The Seventh Prince was the Empress's biological son, with the highest cultivation, and was frequently entrusted with important tasks. Although he had not been officially designated as the Crown Prince, he had the power of a Crown Prince. The Fourth Prince, though indifferent to fame and fortune and uninvolved in affairs, had early on cultivated to the Dao Realm and was promoted by the Heavenly Symbol Emperor to participate in the administration in the Upper Study. However, he rarely spoke, only quietly handling trivial matters.

Now he was just copying and writing, seemingly busy, but actually just passing the time.

He always did this, and the other ministers did not interfere.

"Yuan Guogong, please review this memorial. It is from Xianzhou's Bannan Province, where the Nineteenth Prince, Duke Chen, personally killed the old demon, the Black Bat Demon, who has been wreaking havoc for sixty years. The corpse and the magic scripture have been inspected and are now being urgently transported to the capital, a distance of three thousand miles. Experts from the Heavenly Engineering Institute's Medical Department have examined it and confirmed it to be the corpse of a Dao Realm Second Transformation, Nine Ox Two Tigers expert. Here is the autopsy report." An Upper Study minister placed the memorial and documents down.

This minister had white hair and a youthful face, a kind and scholarly appearance, and was clearly a great Confucian scholar who had studied all his life. His words and actions were always measured and proper.

"Master Zhu, thank you for your efforts." Lou Chongxiao was greatly shocked but maintained his composure. This minister was named Zhu Xia, a great Confucian scholar who had once been his teacher and had many disciples in the court, and was respected by several princes. He dared not show any disrespect in front of him.

He carefully took the memorial and documents and passed them to the other ministers.

After everyone had reviewed them, they were handed to Gu Fasha.

"Who would have thought that the Nineteenth Prince would achieve such a great feat." The Seventh Prince, Gu Fasha, had a blank expression, "The Black Bat Demon has been causing chaos for many years and has recently allied with the barbarians, killing our officials and civilians and establishing an evil god altar. Even if another expert had killed him, they would have received a noble title and rewards from the court, at least a baron. What do you all think?"

"This is a matter of rewarding merit, and it must be decided by His Majesty." Another Upper Study minister said, an elderly man who was the Prime Minister: "Involving the Nineteenth Prince, we cannot speak rashly."

"Prime Minister Wen is right." Minister Liang Tao agreed.

Liang Tao was a representative of the court's clean stream faction, with many disciples and was a teacher to the princes. He had once made Gu Chensha stand as punishment. He was secretly surprised: "The Nineteenth Prince was still pretending to be crazy half a year ago, but now he has achieved a great feat. This change is hard to understand. If he can be recruited to our clean stream faction, it would be very beneficial."

The Upper Study ministers were divided into several factions, and their conflicts were not uncommon. Liang Tao's clean stream faction was in great conflict with Lou Chongxiao's military radical faction.

"Fourth Brother, what do you think?" Gu Fasha asked Gu Huasha, who was writing a summary.

"How did the Nineteenth Prince's martial arts improve so quickly? I need to ask him in detail when he returns to the capital." The Fourth Prince, Gu Huasha, answered irrelevantly.

Gu Fasha smiled but did not press further. He knew that this Fourth Brother did not like to meddle in trivial matters, had a very deep personality, and a strong background. Asking him anything was a waste of time.

"His Majesty is in seclusion, and state affairs are decided by the Upper Study ministers. I suggest that the matter of the Nineteenth Prince is not urgent and should be temporarily set aside. His achievements should be recorded in the archives, and we will report to His Majesty when he emerges from seclusion. I believe His Majesty will have rewards." Gu Fasha made the decision.

"There is another matter. The Tenth Prince has already set out for Xianzhou with a thousand household guards. On the way, he sent a memorial, stating that the weapons and armor of the household guards are insufficient, and he requests the Ministry of War to allocate a thousand sets of Horned Dragon Armor, a thousand sets of Fire Talisman Spears, and ten thousand Fire Talisman Bullets from the Heavenly Engineering Institute." A young minister reported with a memorial.

This young minister was under thirty but was resolute and steady, with deep cultivation and a decisive manner.

He was a young talent personally selected by the Heavenly Symbol Emperor from the imperial examinations, the top scholar, named Fang Lin. His talent and ability were first-rate, and more importantly, he was from a humble family. At a young age, he became an Upper Study minister, envied by many. However, he was cautious and handled relationships flawlessly, and after a few years, he had not given anyone a chance to find fault with him, gradually establishing himself in the court.

"How dare he! The Tenth Prince is being presumptuous!" Gu Fasha took the memorial and was somewhat angry after reading it: "Does he think Horned Dragon Armor is cabbage? A thousand sets? Fire Talisman Spears are the latest invention of the Heavenly Engineering Institute, not even the Emperor's guard is equipped with them, and he dares to ask for so much? Also, a thousand household guards? He is a Duke, and according to regulations, he can only have fifty household guards. He is asking for twenty times that? How audacious!"