Meng Jingzhou patted Lu Yang’s shoulder and said, “You have finally become outstanding enough to have people come to propose marriage.”

Lu Yang looked at Meng Jingzhou and asked, “Also?”

Meng Jingzhou proudly said, “Since I was young, I have had royal relatives, powerful ministers, and reputable sects come to my house to propose marriage. Even though they are not my biological parents, they still insisted on their daughters becoming my fiancées. But my parents and elders disagreed, their attitude was extremely firm. Otherwise, how could I…”

Lu Yang interrupted, “How could you have kidney deficiency?”

Meng Jingzhou angrily said, “How could I not be a playboy!”

The two of them started fighting, using their tiger fists. The sound of their fighting echoed in the clouds, but Yun Zhi, who was flying attentively, ignored them.

Lu Yang transformed into a tiger demon and pressed Meng Jingzhou down with one claw, making Meng Jingzhou beg for mercy.

After the fight, Lu Yang still couldn’t understand why his outstanding qualities displayed in Yanjiang County had reached the level where people would come to propose marriage.

And why were the elements of “proposing marriage,” “the woman changing her mind,” and “having a powerful soul inside the body” so familiar?

…

In the Great Xia Dynasty, in the imperial city, in the palace.

On the high platform, a dignified man dressed in black with golden patterns stood, not smiling or speaking much. The officials below called out “Your Majesty” in a solemn and serious atmosphere.

“Ministers, please rise.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor of Xia scanned the officials and took out the report he had just received. “I have just received a report from the governor of Qingzhou. It says that in a place called Buyi Town in Qingzhou, five ancient combined stage cultivators have revived and formed a domain. The Sect Master of Seek Tao Sect happened to pass by and killed three of them with his two disciples.”

Upon hearing this, the officials breathed a sigh of relief. The revival of five combined stage cultivators was no small matter. Fortunately, they encountered Bu Yu Taoist. If it had been other combined stage cultivators, Buyi Town would have been destroyed.

Although Bu Yu Taoist’s reputation was not good and everyone had been tricked by him when they were young, his strength was unquestionable. He was one of the top combined stage cultivators.

“But two combined stage cultivators managed to escape, and they are both at the peak of the combined stage.” The Emperor of Xia reminded the officials that this was the key point.

The Emperor of Xia didn’t expect them to abide by the rules. The ancient cultivation methods were very rough, and they treated human lives as insignificant. These revived cultivators were fighting for a great opportunity in the world. They would stop at nothing. The Great Xia Dynasty had already learned this lesson.

The officials whispered among themselves. If the two combined stage cultivators showed themselves, there would be no need to fear. There were many people in the court who could deal with them. But if they were hiding and secretly plotting something, it would be more troublesome, especially if they were colluding with the demonic sect.

“These ancient combined stage cultivators!” The Emperor of Xia was very troubled. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was becoming more active, and more and more ancient cultivators were reviving.

These combined stage cultivators were a great disaster. If left unchecked, they could cause a huge calamity and harm countless people.

The good news was that there were no revived transcendent stage cultivators yet.

Based on the information collected so far, those who had revived early were at the initial stage of the combined stage. The later they revived, the higher their cultivation level. The cultivators who revived in Buyi Town were at the peak of the combined stage and the late stage of the combined stage.

It could be predicted that transcendent stage cultivators would soon revive. At that time, together with the troubles from the Eastern Wilderness, Western Buddhist Country, Southern Demon Domain, Northern Extreme Land, and the four major demonic sects, the rule of the Great Xia Dynasty would inevitably be shaken. The rumors of each dynasty only lasting ten thousand years would likely come true.

“All for the sake of becoming immortals!” The Emperor of Xia’s eyes turned cold. He knew many secrets. All the chaos and disasters were caused by someone secretly plotting, wanting more immortal cultivators to appear.

The Emperor of Xia suspected that it was the work of the nameless figure from ancient times, one of the five ancient immortals.

“Is becoming immortal that important?” The Emperor of Xia felt angry in his heart, but he didn’t show it.

If the person behind the scenes really thought that the Great Xia Dynasty could be manipulated like a pawn, then they were completely mistaken.

The Emperor of Xia no longer thought about the nameless figure from ancient times and focused his attention on the two combined stage cultivators who had escaped.

At this moment, the chief eunuch received a memorial and, after seeing the source, quickly handed it to the Emperor of Xia.

After reading it, the Emperor of Xia’s face lit up. “Good, very good!”

The officials were puzzled and didn’t know what was written in the memorial that made the Emperor so happy.

“There’s no need to worry about those two combined stage cultivators anymore! Yun Zhi from Seek Tao Sect has already captured them!”

“Yun Zhi?” Some ignorant ministers were puzzled and didn’t know who Yun Zhi was. It seemed that there was no one named Yun Zhi among the eight elders of Seek Tao Sect.

Some knowledgeable old ministers knew Yun Zhi’s identity and how terrifying she was. They knew that capturing two combined stage cultivators was not difficult for her.

“The envoy from the Demon Domain…” The Emperor of Xia and the officials began to discuss other matters.

After the court session, the Emperor of Xia returned to the Yanging Palace and reviewed the new memorials.

“Your Majesty, Duke Jingyansong of the Qin Kingdom has something to report.” The chief eunuch whispered.Emperor Xia didn’t even lift his head, “Come in.”

After Duke Qin entered the Heart-nurturing Hall, he saw Emperor Xia was busy reviewing memorials. He didn’t say a word, just stood respectfully, waiting until Emperor Xia finished reviewing the most important memorials before he spoke.

“What brings Duke Qin here?” Emperor Xia’s expression was solemn, looking at Duke Qin. Those of faint heart wouldn’t dare to meet his gaze.

“Your Majesty, I believe we must be wary of the Seek Tao Sect. Yun Zhi of the Seek Tao Sect once defeated the leaders of the five major immortal sects as a disciple, setting an unprecedented record. Since then, she has been low-key, rarely making a move, but every time she does, it shocks everyone. Over these hundreds of years, her cultivation must have reached a terrifying level.”

“I fear her existence may shake the foundation of the dynasty. After all, the Seek Tao Sect was established during the Great Yu era and has experienced the ‘Division of the World’ and the ‘Establishment of the Great Xia’. They might harbor ambitions to replace us.”

“This is not just my personal opinion. On my way to the court, I even heard a waiter singing ‘When Seek Tao rises, the world is at peace’.”

Emperor Xia frowned. Seeing this, Duke Qin knew that His Majesty had begun to doubt the Seek Tao Sect, so he said no more and took his leave.

Emperor Xia summoned the chief eunuch, “Go and check who Duke Qin has met recently, especially his dealings with the Demon Realm.”

“Yes.”

Emperor Xia sneered in his heart. It seemed that not everyone in this court was on the side of the Great Xia.

“Trying to create a rift between me and the Seek Tao Sect, what a good idea.”

After Emperor Xia ascended the throne, he visited the five major immortal sects in turn. When he visited the Seek Tao Sect, he met Yun Zhi and was amazed by her. He felt that she was unfathomable. He sent people to investigate, but they still couldn’t figure out Yun Zhi’s background. So he went directly to the forbidden area of the palace to ask the ancient ancestor if he knew about a female cultivator named Yun Zhi from the Seek Tao Sect.

The ancient ancestor was silent for a long time, only replying with one sentence: “The strongest among the five major immortal sects.”

Emperor Xia was not satisfied and continued to ask, “How about compared to you, ancient ancestor?”

“Don’t ask anymore.”

Emperor Xia was kicked out by the ancient ancestor, feeling somewhat embarrassed and angry.

(End of the chapter)