She lost interest in continuing her conversation with Ning Feiyan, and her expression gradually beca somber and sharp as the morning light rose.
Silently, the three of them soon arrived at the Changqiu Hall.
Inside the hall, there were no other foreign officials, only the Female Demon Lord, who sat behind a curtain. Despite the room being well-lit, the tense and chilly atmosphere could not be hidden.
The Inner Official, who had retired earlier, had prepared tea and pastries in advance. Ning Feiyan led the two won to their seats and, with a downward glance, noticed the wine prepared on the table was "Daughter’s Red" from Ze Country and the pastries were "Qianqi Cakes" from Wei Country.
Mmm...
Taixuan Sect was located in the southern Ze Country and Cangwu Palace in the western Wei Country.
The pastries and wine clearly hinted that she had already recognized the identity of the two won.
Su Jing and Yin Baishuang, upon seeing the pastries and wine prepared on the table, had extrely unsightly expressions, yet they did not lose their composure.
Seeing the situation developing toward a more dangerous direction, Ning Feiyan’s heart beca unusually calm.
She did not know when the Female Demon Lord had figured out their identities, perhaps after Baili An had taken them back to the Chao Mu Hall and secretly investigated their backgrounds, or perhaps she had already seen through their disguises at the Monarch’s Return Banquet.
Regardless, since the Female Demon Lord had allowed them to remain until now, she naturally would not easily kill them.
However, suddenly revealing their identities now, she wondered what deeper aning was hidden.
Before Ning Feiyan could guess further, the Female Demon Lord behind the curtain, unusually forsaking any roundabout speech, straightforwardly said,
"The two of your identities and backgrounds are already known to , and even the whereabouts of the three Taixuan Scripture Masters are within my knowledge. You must be clear that cultivators are forbidden in the Demon World.
"You both committed a taboo by intruding into the Demon World, not to ntion that harboring righteous cultivators under my River Lord is an unforgivable capital offense.
"Today, I invited you here for this wine, which serves both as a tribute and a punishnt. How you drink this wine depends entirely on your thoughts."
Each word seed not only to tightly grasp the weaknesses of Su Jing and Yin Baishuang, but also pushed Ning Feiyan into a dilemma between moving forward or retreating.
However, by the tone of her voice, there still seed to be room for choice left for the two won, which ant that Su Jing and Yin Baishuang were still of use to the Female Demon Lord.
Otherwise, they would not have been politely invited into the Changqiu Hall like now.
Regarding the charge of hiding righteous cultivators, Ning Feiyan neither refuted nor clarified, pondering for a mont before asking, "Your Majesty, have you encountered so sort of difficulty?"
The incense smoke from the burner was faint.
The person behind the bead curtain was silent for a long ti.
After a long while, a voice slowly drifted over, "Do you know about Mi Lu secretly harboring War Slaves?"
This was no secret, and Ning Feiyan nodded, "I am aware."
"The War Slave Camp has been established for a thousand years, always managed by Qi Ren under Mi Lu’s supervision. Over the years, many capable War Slaves with strong combat power have been developed under his brother’s command. They managed to dosticate those geniuses of the righteous path. However, it seems my brother has forgotten that inside the War Slave Camp, all are human cultivators. Even if Qi Ren’s thods of training are extraordinary, it’s inevitable that so will possess astonishing determination to resist."
"The implication of Your Majesty is..."
"Last night’s sudden invasion by the Manxie Clan seed like a long-planned civil war within our realm, but their strategist turned out to be Sikong Xuan, who had resided on Immortal Island for ten years under the Crown Prince Shen Jibai.
This war clearly had the involvent of an Immortal, pushing things along. Although the rebels were suppressed overnight, how could Shen Jibai be a common person."
Ning Feiyan’s eyes flashed, slightly shocked, "According to Your Majesty, the vast army of the Manxie Clan, all newly grown Spirit Roots, were rely a diversion in this battle, and the true deadly threat was hidden within the War Slave Camp!"
The Female Demon Lord spoke coldly, "River Lord Ning should know, what was the purpose of the Manxie Clan’s march towards the Mo City Imperial City last night?"
Ning Feiyan’s face turned sowhat grim, "The Capital’s Dragon Vein."
The Demon World’s Capital originated from a massive mountain range housing a Netherworld Dragon. Beneath the tens of thousands of feet of earth they stood on, a Netherworld Dragon slept.
Different from a True Dragon, which is a divine being that blessed all beings during the creation era, a Netherworld Dragon bathed in netherworld fire and was born from the Nine Nethers’ Astral Wind as an ancient Demon Spirit.
Humans and Immortals venerate True Dragons,
but Demons respect Netherworld Dragons. Born from Demonic Qi, the forr Demon Lord was once regarded as the leader of one realm, who alone subdued the Netherworld Dragon, transforming it into a Dragon Vein that lay beneath the mountains and rivers of Mo City, using its Dragon Energy to suppress the myriad Malevolent Spirits beneath Houtu.
Within this Imperial City, the systematically arranged palaces, the Netherworld Palace where the Demon Lord resided, and the Zhaoyu Palace belonging to Mi Lu, the forr Demon Lord’s most favored eldest son, were of utmost importance.
The Netherworld Palace was situated at the Dragon Heart, and the Zhaoyu Palace at the Dragon Tail.
When the Netherworld Dragon was sealed and slumbered, its head lay at the tail; although the Zhaoyu Palace was at the tail end, it was crucial. A stir there could affect the whole body, and if the Zhaoyu Palace were compromised, the Netherworld Dragon sleeping beneath Houtu would certainly awaken.
The Netherworld Dragon related to the great fate of the Demon World, and with the old Demon Lord fallen, no one could suppress a fully awakened Netherworld Dragon.
Even the current Demon Lord, with insufficient cultivation, was not able to confront a fully-grown Netherworld Dragon of a hundred thousand years head-on.
Shen Jibai did not care about the life or death of the Manxie Clan; his most critical move was actually pressuring Mi Lu, who had been detained in a place as dark as the Demon Cave for nearly a thousand years. After suffering a significant loss from Si Li, Mi Lu had beco cautious, nearly always focusing on defending his position in every major battle.
Last night, the sudden revolt of the Manxie Clan was fierce. Before Baili An activated the Tianji Umbrella, much of their forces were used to attack the Zhaoyu Palace.
Countless mbers of the Mo City City Guard perished, yet significantly absent were the War Slaves, who in such critical tis should not have hesitated to employ in the battlefield.
It was Mi Lu, seeking to protect himself and leave no room for error, who had commanded his long-nurtured War Slaves to retreat behind the lines under Houtu, ordering them to use their Essence Blood and souls to strengthen the protective barriers around the palace to an impenetrable state that no demons could breach.
Mi Lu had not anticipated that there was a weapon like the Tianji Umbrella hidden in the city, nor did he expect the Demon Lord to return to Mo City so swiftly.
Therefore, without hesitation, he took a step directly into the trap that Shen Jibai had set in advance, exposing the Demon Clans’ greatest secrets and weaknesses openly.
He was unaware that among the dosticated dogs he thought he had fully tad, several ravenous, watchful wolves were secretly lurking.
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