Despite never doubting the Qinghuan Emperor's judgment, the Dragon Ritual Princess knew that when it came to her own path and great cause, not the slightest carelessness could be afforded. That's why she decided to come and see for herself.
Whether it would work out or not, it was best to clarify things as soon as possible.
The Qinghuan Emperor was renowned throughout the Dao Court for her discerning eye, as evidenced by the many outstanding talents surrounding her daughter. Any one of them, with their impressive family backgrounds and innate talents, could potentially become the supreme leader of their respective powers if they did not fall prematurely.
Yet, even such individuals were deemed insufficient by the Emperor and not up to the task. Hence, since the Dragon Ritual Princess began her journey, she had yet to settle on a partner. Even when two other Emperors pleaded on behalf of their direct descendants, they were rejected by her.
Therefore, the Dragon Ritual Princess was genuinely curious about Qing Muling, whom she had never met. She vaguely knew that her mother, being a core figure in the Dao Court, must possess some special, unknown methods to glimpse fragments of the future, which is why she gave him such an exceptional evaluation.
But now, with Qing Muling away and no telling when he would return, the Dragon Ritual Princess might end up waiting in vain if he stubbornly refused to come back.
With her astute mind, the princess could clearly see the true attitude of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace's higher-ups towards her: they were both immensely wary and unwilling to yield.
Any other Supreme Dao Lineage would have likely accepted the conditions offered by the Qinghuan Emperor, even if it meant giving up a prodigious talent destined to inherit their lineage. In the face of ten billion merits and the friendship of a Dao Court Emperor, all else would pale in comparison.
Therefore, Qing Muling must possess some very special secret that made the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace's higher-ups willing to offend the Qinghuan Emperor to keep him.
After much deliberation, the Dragon Ritual Princess decided to wait and see, proposing to stay temporarily at the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace.
Mu Yinghua, polite and proper, agreed and chose a beautiful and blessed Hidden Cave Mystical Realm to accommodate their distinguished guest. The accompanying entourage was also taken care of, with a senior elder personally overseeing the arrangements to ensure no mistakes were made.
***
"Sect Master, what should we do about this situation?"
Once things had settled down, Yu Lingzhou came to consult with Mu Yinghua in private.
Mu Yinghua sighed, "What else can we do? We can't afford to offend the Qinghuan Emperor. For now, we must handle it this way. But we absolutely won't let Qing Muling go, even if it means breaking with the Dao Court!"
Yu Lingzhou nodded, "That's the principle. So, does this mean we have to halt the restoration of the Main Altar?"
Mu Yinghua didn't object, "It's fine to stop. After all, we're nearly done. The final touches can wait."
With outsiders present, it was naturally not suitable for the sect to make any significant moves, lest they see something they shouldn't.
"I'll secretly inform Ice Falcon and the others to be cautious and keep a low profile while outside, ensuring Qing Muling's safety. As for Xuebing Xuan and the others, they should continue their secluded cultivation."
Mu Yinghua added, knowing that it was normal for high-level cultivators to spend hundreds or thousands of years in seclusion. If they stayed out of sight, she doubted the Dragon Ritual Princess would wait here for hundreds of years without leaving.
She pondered for a moment, then raised her hand to perform a subtle spiritual gesture. The sky above suddenly surged with clouds, and the faint sound of thunder echoed. A towering, starlit tower phantom slowly emerged, suspended in the air, its destructive might contained but unrevealed.
This was the Li Huang Star Cloud Tower, always stationed at the core of the Mountain Protection Array, drawing in the void's spiritual energy to accumulate power. Mu Yinghua intentionally revealed its form to deter the top-tier second-generation followers accompanying the Dragon Ritual Princess.
After all, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace had no shortage of stunning beauties, and these over-energetic troublemakers might cause a scene if they were tempted, which would be embarrassing for everyone.
On the other side, after settling down, the Dragon Ritual Princess remained quiet, content with brewing wine and playing the zither in her dwelling, showing no signs of causing trouble.
***
After a dozen days, several figures resembling guards and maids quietly returned.
"Have you discovered anything unusual in these days?" In the quiet room, the Dragon Ritual Princess set down her Dao scripture and asked leisurely.
A deep-eyed, green-robed elder bowed slightly and reported, "Your Highness, the restoration of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace's Main Altar is nearly complete, and the sect's overall fortune has returned to its peak state from ten thousand years ago. This is certain, even though they haven't reclaimed many territories and their high-level powerhouses are not as numerous as before."
A middle-aged Daoist nun added, "Their methods to conceal their fortunes are quite ingenious, but they couldn't escape detection by the secret treasures personally crafted by the Emperor. Therefore, they must have had some extraordinary encounter that led to such an abnormal phenomenon!"
"Is that so?"
The Dragon Ritual Princess pondered. She certainly didn't come here for nothing. Even without Qing Muling, she had to assess the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace's reality.
It seemed that this sect had many secrets. To the outside world, even if the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace had recently stopped its decline and swiftly regained strength, it was still far from a true Supreme Dao Lineage.
"So, Master Lingmiao, what have you found?"
The princess's gaze turned to a gaunt, unremarkable-looking man in black, whose presence, though unimposing, was unfathomable.
Master Lingmiao spoke indifferently, "I've investigated everywhere and found nothing related to Qing Muling. It seems… all traces of his existence have been deliberately erased by the Sect Master. Those elders who are qualified to know are tight-lipped, so there's not much valuable information."
"However, one thing is certain: Qing Muling already has a Dao companion, one of Mu Yinghua's four personal disciples."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.
"Master, are you sure?"
A beautiful woman, looking like an official, asked with a cold face. She was from the Qinghuan Emperor's side, accompanying the princess to ensure everything went smoothly. If the predestined son-in-law had already been taken by another, what was there left to see?
Master Lingmiao nodded, "I'm certain. If Qing Muling is indeed important, Mu Yinghua would have made a significant effort to tie him down, leaving no chance for others."
The Dragon Ritual Princess thought for a while, then suddenly laughed, "It seems that before us, other powers must have had their eyes on him, and that's why Mu Yinghua handled it this way. But I remember that Xuebing Xuan's innate talent is actually not as good as mine, yet she has now reached the Elemental Immortal realm. It seems she must have had a very special encounter."
"And this news must have been deliberately released by Mu Yinghua, betting that I wouldn't stoop to compete with her disciples over a man, especially considering my mother and the Dao Court's reputation."
The official asked, "Your Highness, given the circumstances, what do you think we should do? Should we immediately report to the Emperor?"
The Dragon Ritual Princess glanced at her, "No need. Before departing, my mother gave me full authority to handle all matters here."
Thus, those who were about to offer advice fell silent. Both the Qinghuan Emperor and the Dragon Ritual Princess clearly knew more secrets but couldn't reveal too much to them.
The Dragon Ritual Princess stood up gracefully, pacing the room before stopping and saying slowly, "It seems the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace's recovery is quite rapid, and it can now be considered a true ancient Supreme Dao Lineage, worthy of further support from the Dao Court."
"Let's do this: Aunt An, go meet with Mu Yinghua and tell her that I can lend her the ten billion merits. However, from now on, the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace can only be close to the Qinghuan Emperor and must not have too many dealings with the other two. She should understand what this means!"
The beautiful woman looked slightly stunned but then nodded, "Alright."
The Dragon Ritual Princess continued, "Having received such a great benefit, they must owe me this favor, and this favor must be repaid by Qing Muling himself in the future, not by anyone else!"
The woman, though puzzled, did not ask further and left. This arrangement was likely also the Emperor's intention, and she didn't need to overstep.
In just a moment, she returned with news that Mu Yinghua agreed to the arrangement but requested that since Qing Muling was young and his cultivation was low, the repayment of the favor should be deferred until after he ascended to the True Immortal realm.
"Alright, then let it be so!"
The Dragon Ritual Princess smiled, "Let them prepare, I will depart for the Dao Court tomorrow to prepare for the True Immortal tribulation. Otherwise, I'm tired of those bastards bothering me under various pretenses."
"So soon?!"
The woman was both shocked and delighted. Among the new generation of elites in The Great Void, very few could ascend to the Elemental Immortal realm, let alone True Immortal. If the Dragon Ritual Princess successfully took this step, she would truly become the number one figure of the new generation. Given time, the Dao Court might well gain another Emperor!
***
In the secret hall.
Qing Muling and Luo Huan were enjoying a feast and discussing their cultivation insights when the transmission jade in his arms vibrated, drawing the couple's attention.
Reluctantly letting go of the milky-white Daxuezi, Qing Muling took out the jade talisman from his arms, infused it with mana, and began to read, while Luo Huan's beautiful eyes also looked over.
After reading the message from Mu Yinghua, Qing Muling fell silent.
Luo Huan couldn't help but ask, "Junior Brother, are you confident? This favor is not small, and the princess is clearly making things difficult for you. The Sect Master really agreed to this?"
"You can't say it like that; it must be some kind of test."
Qing Muling smiled, "Regardless, the Qinghuan Emperor has indeed helped the sect a great deal this time. With these resources, the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace should be able to awaken the third-generation disciple of our founding ancestor."
"As for myself, ten billion merits is indeed a staggering favor, but once I ascend to the True Immortal realm, such a debt won't be much, and I can repay it many times over."
Luo Huan looked at her Junior Brother doubtfully. Ten billion merits, even if a Supreme Dao Lineage's powerhouses all came out, it would take hundreds or thousands of years to accumulate, and that's if everything went smoothly.
Moreover, as a sect, it's not possible to drop everything else and focus solely on earning heavenly merits. It might be feasible in the short term, but definitely not in the long term.
With the great calamity approaching, even a Supreme Dao Lineage couldn't remain unaffected, let alone the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, which had many enemies. If they could have an Emperor-level existence to stand guard, the situation would be entirely different.
Now, it must be the higher-ups of the surrounding Dao Lineages who couldn't sleep.
As for earning merits, Qing Muling felt he had no issues. With the power of the Harmony Spirit Seed, as long as he could kill enough Magic Clan descendants, accumulating that number would just be a matter of time, but this would have to wait until after he ascended to the Elemental Immortal realm.
Even now, the heavenly merits Qing Muling had earned from killing Magic Clan descendants and purifying dead zones were already so numerous that his peers could only look on in envy.
"Junior Brother, how far do you think the sisters are from breaking through to the True Immortal realm?"
Luo Huan looked at Qing Muling and hesitated to ask.
It was said that the Dragon Ritual Princess would soon attempt to break through to the True Immortal realm, and naturally, she didn't want to be outdone. She believed Xuebing Xuan and the others felt the same.
Qing Muling thought for a moment, "With me here, it shouldn't take too long. If we also use the time acceleration formation, about ten or eight years should be enough. After all, you don't have the bottleneck of exhausted potential; once you've accumulated enough, you can advance."
"That's good to hear!"
Luo Huan let go of her worries, stretched out her arm to embrace him, and smiled sweetly, "If we want to advance quickly, we can't be lazy. Let's cultivate!"
***
In the depths of the Hidden Cave Mystical Realm behind the sect.
Mu Yinghua held the majestic golden seal in her hands, passed through the long corridor, went through dozens of strict security checkpoints, and arrived at a magnificent hall.
The hall, spanning a thousand miles, was filled with the rich Dao Rhyme of rosy clouds and purple qi, enveloping every inch of space with endless light rain dancing lightly, and profound heavenly melodies resonating at the level of the Divine Soul.
On the white crystal platform, huge lotus flowers carved from green crystals brimming with vitality were placed. In the center of each lotus flower lay a beautiful and otherworldly woman.
Of course, in the outermost area, seven green lotuses were already empty, thanks to Qing Muling. After Ice Falcon, six more senior elders had been restored under his power. If he hadn't left to travel, there would be even more restored elders by now.
"Has it… been done?"
From the top nine green lotuses, a sweet and elegant voice gently asked.
"Yes, ancestor, I have not failed in my duty!"
Mu Yinghua bowed slightly and quickly recounted the events.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan