“I greet Her Highness the Princess!”
Lu Xuan did not put on airs. He simply clasped his hands together in a gentle salute and returned the greeting to Princess Xingyue.
“Director Lu, there’s no need for such formality.”
Princess Xingyue’s lips curved upward slightly, a faint smile appearing on her delicate, beautiful face.
But that smile was like a fleeting reflection on water—gone in an instant!
Then, Princess Xingyue had no intention of making more small talk with Lu Xuan. She went straight to the point and explained why she had come.
“Xingyue specifically requested an audience with His Majesty to come see you today, Director Lu, because I wanted to thank you in person.”
Though Princess Xingyue’s voice sounded very soft and gentle, it carried a trace of fatigue that was hard to detect.
Lu Xuan’s gaze sharpened slightly. He could still see the flash of pain that flickered briefly in Princess Xingyue’s eyes.
However, Lu Xuan could understand Princess Xingyue’s pain.
Indeed, anyone whose beloved betrayed them would fall into an abyss of despair.
This time, Lu Xuan did not speak to respond to Princess Xingyue. He simply nodded slightly—a silent gesture that acknowledged her gratitude.
After all, Lu Xuan couldn’t experience that kind of romantic pain between men and women.
Of course, Lu Xuan didn’t want to experience it either.
“Your Majesty, your younger sister takes her leave!”
Princess Xingyue’s voice was crisp and pleasing. After giving a slight bow to the Empress Xia Mingyue ahead of her, she turned gracefully, her palace robes and skirt fluttering, her movements clean and nimble.
In an instant, she vanished from the great hall, leaving only a faint fragrance behind—as if to prove she had once been there.
“Minister Lu, you eliminated the Wen family and safely rescued Xingyue.”
“This is a great merit. I am very pleased!”
After a brief pause, Empress Xia Mingyue walked over slowly with an attitude of equality.
“Minister Lu—”
Suddenly!
The entire great hall was enveloped by an invisible force.
An indescribable sense of oppression filled the invisible air.
Every inch of space seemed to be suppressed by some supreme power.
It was as if one had suddenly been placed in a completely unfamiliar world.
“This is… the power of heaven and earth laws!”
Lu Xuan was shocked. The purple vortex within his body instantly surged violently, as if stimulated by something intense.
At the same time, wisps of black-gold flames quietly appeared within the great hall.
Each wisp of black-gold flame wandered through the palace like a swimming dragon, directly confronting that mysterious power of heaven and earth laws.
The clash between these two unimaginable forces of heaven and earth laws produced no earth-shattering sound, yet it turned the entire space upside down.
Lu Xuan and Empress Xia Mingyue seemed to share an unspoken understanding, controlling this irresistible power to keep it from affecting the outside world as much as possible.
Otherwise, with just this power of heaven and earth laws alone, this enormous palace could be reduced to nothing in less than a second!
In that flash of lightning, in a forbidden area deep within the imperial palace, ten miles away.
Inside an underground palace.
Three elders dressed in ancient, ornate robes suddenly opened their eyes.
Their eyes were dry and murky, yet at this moment, they simultaneously burst forth with a captivating dark black radiance.
From within that profound black light, faint but enormous bird calls could be heard—as if a divine beast from the primordial wilds was roaring.
These three elders were the most unfathomable foundation of the Great Xia Royal Family—the three Royal Ancestors!
The one seated in the very center held an even more earth-shattering identity.
He was the younger brother of the Great Xia Founding Saint Ancestor Xia Wuji—Xia Wushi!
A true old monster who had lived for nearly two thousand years, he had witnessed every moment of the Great Xia Dynasty.
“Which fellow cultivator is it?”
Xia Wushi and the two elders beside him exchanged glances, then slowly spoke.
Clearly, the aura confrontation between Lu Xuan and Empress Xia Mingyue had alerted these three Royal Ancestors buried deep underground.
At the same time, their gazes seemed to pierce through layer upon layer of palace walls, aiming directly toward the great hall.
These three lines of sight, carrying the power of heaven and earth dharma forms, descended directly into the Xuanyi Hall.
Xia Wushi’s body, sitting cross-legged on the stone platform, actually floated upward, as if he intended to descend upon the Xuanyi Hall in person to investigate!
It was no wonder Xia Wushi reacted so strongly!
Because!
Under Xia Wushi’s perception, he had never encountered this unfamiliar aura of a Dongxu True Lord before.
You see, in the years this world had existed, there were only about a dozen Dongxu True Lords currently in existence.
They were the ancestors of the eight great families!
The sect masters of the five transcendent forces!
Ziyao, the Director of the Xuan Bird Guard; the mysterious Holy Mother of the Pure World White Lotus Sect; and the Netherworld Python at the bottom of the Brocade Scale River!
Xia Wushi had memorized the auras of every single one of these existences.
And now, this Dongxu True Lord appearing within the imperial palace was an existence completely unfamiliar to Xia Wushi!
An unfamiliar Dongxu True Lord?
Appearing in the Great Xia Royal Family’s lair—the Great Xia Imperial Palace—without even a greeting!
If that was the case, that was unacceptable!
You see, even the vast imperial palace could not withstand the power of two Dongxu True Lords.
Xia Wushi and the other two did not want their lair to be reduced to ashes!
However, just as Xia Wushi and the other two were about to leave the underground palace—
Empress Xia Mingyue’s voice suddenly reached the underground palace, echoing endlessly.
“Three Ancestors!”
“There’s no need to worry!”
Upon hearing this, the dark black light in the eyes of Xia Wushi and the other two flickered slightly. They exchanged glances, as if communicating something.
“Ancestor Wushi, Mingyue should know what she’s doing.”
At this moment, one of the elders slowly spoke to Xia Wushi.
“It seems Mingyue has indeed not disappointed us!”
“This unfamiliar fellow cultivator is probably like that woman Ziyao—his origins are likely no small matter!”
Another elder stroked the frost-white long beard on his chin leisurely.
“In that case!”
“Ten days from now, the origin of the Spirit Ruins Land will ultimately fall into the hands of our Great Xia Royal Family.”
“With the power of our Great Xia Royal Family, plus the power of the ancestral artifact, the Xuan Bird Cauldron.”
“That wisp of the Earth Sovereign’s remnant soul will be eliminated by us in one fell swoop!”
“Even those few families among the eight great families, and those five damned old fellows like Ying Lingfeng.”
“Will no longer be able to stop us from completely taking the Spirit Ruins Land into our grasp!”
“With the small world origin power left behind by that Earth Sovereign.”
“Perhaps!”
“We old fellows barely clinging to life might also glimpse the power of that realm!”
The elder’s words revealed a deep yearning and obsession, as if in his dry eyes he could already see that distant realm—the Earth Sovereign Realm Master.
That was the supreme realm above the Dongxu True Lord.
A transcendent existence legendary for being able to create small worlds with one’s physical body and control the rules of the world.
Although Dongxu True Lords could already harness the power of heaven and earth laws, before the power of world rules, they seemed so insignificant.
Without a doubt!
The martial realm of Earth Sovereign Realm Master, in the eyes of Dongxu True Lords like Xia Wushi, was nearly akin to a divine existence.
They not only condensed small worlds within their bodies but also possessed nearly eternal lifespans.
Almost close to a hundred thousand years!
As long as the small world within their body remained undestroyed, an Earth Sovereign Realm Master could be considered to share the lifespan of heaven and earth, competing with the sun and moon for brilliance.
In contrast, the lifespan of a Dongxu True Lord, though already far exceeding ordinary people and able to live over two thousand years.
Yet before the nearly hundred-thousand-year lifespan of an Earth Sovereign Realm Master, it seemed so brief—like a mayfly, born in the morning and dead by dusk.
The martial realm of Earth Sovereign Realm Master was no longer just an elevation of power, but an existence that had thoroughly transcended the hierarchy of life.
Therefore, for old monsters like Xia Wushi, the realm of Earth Sovereign Realm Master was undoubtedly the ultimate goal of their life’s pursuit.
However, the realm of Earth Sovereign Realm Master was ethereal and elusive; countless powerhouses throughout their entire lives could hardly touch it.
Anyway, in this world of the Great Xia Dynasty, over the course of hundreds of thousands of years.
Xia Wushi only knew of one person who had ever crossed into this realm.
That was his own brother, the Founding Saint Ancestor of the Great Xia Dynasty, Xia Wuji!
The detailed records about Earth Sovereign Realm Masters were also left behind by Xia Wuji.
However, after founding the Great Xia Dynasty for a hundred years, Xia Wuji completely disappeared.
Leaving behind only the seal upon this world of the Great Xia Dynasty!
After a long while, Xia Wushi could not help but let out a mournful sigh, speaking faintly.
“Alas!”
“Brother!”
“When will I ever be able to catch up to your silhouette!”
These words contained both envy for his brother and a trace of helplessness and self-mockery.
Xia Wushi had cultivated for nearly two thousand years, and yet even now, he had only barely reached the realm of Dongxu Great Perfection.
That was the supreme existence of the Dongtian realm!
What a pity!
These old monsters who had lived for thousands of years, though powerful, had long lost their peak condition under the erosion of time.
So, wanting to break through to the realm of Earth Sovereign Realm Master was almost impossible.
The origin of the Spirit Ruins Land was the last ray of hope for these people who were about to decay and die.
Because the Spirit Ruins Land was the small world left behind by that Earth Sovereign Realm Master!
The origin of the Spirit Ruins Land was the rule-origin power of the Earth Sovereign Realm Master’s small world.
Under the effect of the world rule-origin power of the Spirit Ruins Land, these “barely clinging to life” old fellows would have a chance to glimpse that supreme realm.
“Earth Sovereign Realm Master…”
Finally, Xia Wushi murmured in a low voice, the dark black light in his eyes growing deeper.
In his heart, a long-lost yearning had been ignited.
Even if the hope was slim, Xia Wushi did not want to give up this last chance.
Inside the great hall, Lu Xuan’s expression had become extremely grave, and a rare trace of wariness even flashed through his eyes.
He was not only wary of the immensely powerful Empress Xia Mingyue before him, but also shocked by the profound foundation displayed by the Great Xia Royal Family.
The Empress Xia Mingyue’s strength seemed to have far exceeded his expectations.
Her power of heaven and earth laws was not only immensely powerful but also contained an indescribable force.
Even a Dongxu True Lord like Lu Xuan had to go all out when facing her, and even faintly felt a trace of pressure.
However, what made Lu Xuan even more alarmed was the power displayed by the Great Xia Royal Family.
Just now, within the great hall, three terrifying powers of heaven and earth dharma forms had descended simultaneously.
If nothing unexpected.
According to Lu Xuan’s guess, these were the so-called ancestors of the Great Xia Royal Family.
One of these three powers of heaven and earth dharma forms gave Lu Xuan the same shock he had felt when facing the Netherworld Python.
Within the Great Xia Imperial Palace, there was actually a supreme existence of the Dongtian realm!
Indeed, the Great Xia Royal Family’s ability to stand tall through the long ages was no accident.
Their foundation was far deeper than it appeared on the surface.
Come to think of it, if the Great Xia Royal Family didn’t have some tricks up their sleeves, how could they suppress the eight great families and other forces?
In a world where martial power was supreme, people wouldn’t care about any distinction between ruler and subject!
Strength was everything!
Suddenly, the power of heaven and earth laws emanating from Empress Xia Mingyue dissipated abruptly.
With that, Lu Xuan’s taut nerves relaxed slightly.
Lu Xuan had already been prepared to flee at any moment.
Now, there were already four Dongxu True Lords appearing within the imperial palace alone.
Among them, one was a suspected supreme existence of the Dongtian realm. Lu Xuan didn’t even need to think about it—retreating was the best option.
It seemed this Empress wanted to test his strength.
But what she didn’t know was.
While she wanted to test his strength, Lu Xuan had also had the same idea.
He wanted to see what kind of power this Empress, who presided over the Great Xia Imperial Palace and ruled the world, actually possessed.
Now, after the earlier probing, Lu Xuan had his answer!
This Empress’s seemingly casual power of heaven and earth laws was actually far beyond Lu Xuan’s.
Could she also be a Dongxu True Lord at Great Perfection? An existence who had condensed a small cave-heaven?
Lu Xuan had not forgotten that this Empress also possessed the Great Xia Royal Family’s ancestral artifact, the Xuan Bird Cauldron.
With her martial cultivation plus the mysterious and unfathomable Xuan Bird Cauldron.
If he were to face her, he would have absolutely no chance of winning!
Just as Lu Xuan withdrew his power of heaven and earth laws, Empress Xia Mingyue stood before Lu Xuan, the hem of her dark black imperial robe fluttering gently in the wind.
At that moment, the corners of her mouth curved upward slightly, revealing a faint smile.
“Minister Lu, I have heard that you are quite fond of heavenly and earthly spirit items and ritual artifacts.”
“Here are three little things. I’ll let you pick one at your leisure.”
With that, she raised her fair, flawless jade hand, and a faint black light swept across her palm.
Immediately, three exquisite small jade boxes floated above her right palm.
The jade boxes quietly opened, and two surges of unimaginably powerful heaven and earth spiritual energy rapidly filled the entire great hall.
Lu Xuan’s gaze was instantly drawn to those three small jade boxes.
They were heavenly and earthly spirit items of the same grade as the Dongtian spirit item, the Black Spirit Wood, that the Empress had previously bestowed upon him.
Two Dongtian spirit items?
And there was also a black bronze artifact jade pendant, carved all over with naturally formed heaven and earth patterns.
“This is an eight-patterned moon artifact, the Spirit-Suppressing Pendant!”
Empress Xia Mingyue only introduced this one ritual artifact, without mentioning the other two Dongtian spirit items.
Because she knew Lu Xuan already understood in his heart, so there was no need for excessive explanation.
However, what Empress Xia Mingyue had not expected was—
“Your Majesty, please forgive my offense!”
“If possible, I am deeply fond of all three of these items.”
“I hope Your Majesty will grant my wish!”
Lu Xuan’s words were almost equivalent to telling Empress Xia Mingyue directly.
I want all three of these things!
Only children make choices—Lu Xuan had a different idea.
He wanted them all!
“Pfft!” A light laugh escaped.
“Minister Lu, you really do surprise me!”
Empress Xia Mingyue parted her vermilion lips, her voice crisp and pleasing, carrying a hint of irrepressible amusement.
This was the first time she had laughed out loud without restraint in front of an outsider.
In that instant, the Empress Xia Mingyue’s peerless smiling face entered Lu Xuan’s eyes.
The charm contained in that smile was breathtakingly captivating, and even Lu Xuan felt a strange emotion stir within him.
The next moment, Empress Xia Mingyue waved her jade hand casually, and the three jade boxes drifted leisurely to Lu Xuan’s front, steadily hovering in midair.
“Very well, then it shall be as Minister Lu requests.”
Lu Xuan was momentarily stunned. He had not expected this Empress to be so decisive.
You actually gave them!
But even as Lu Xuan thought this, the speed at which he stowed away the three jade boxes was simply astonishing.
Within a second, the three small jade boxes were swept by a faint dark light and vanished instantly, already stored away by Lu Xuan into the Void Floating Realm.
“Minister Lu, tomorrow you will preside over the martial arts tournament on my behalf, to select the top hundred candidates for the upcoming Spirit Ruins Land.”
“Everything is up to you. No need to report back!”
When Lu Xuan looked forward again, Empress Xia Mingyue’s figure had long since disappeared.
“The martial arts tournament?”
“I accept the decree!”
Lu Xuan made a slight bow toward the empty space where the Empress had departed, then also stepped into the void and quietly left!
As for tomorrow’s martial arts tournament, Lu Xuan didn’t pay it much mind.
Half a day’s time was enough for him to refine these three items.
