Chu Zhiyuan's expression was grave.
He had always felt that the relationship between the Emperor and the Four Great Demonic Sects was strange, not just antagonistic, but something more complex.
The imperial court was so wary of the Four Great Demonic Sects, the Surveillance Division was extremely cautious, and even the Tongtian Pavilion had no records of the Four Great Demonic Sects.
Everything felt off.
Now he finally understood the general idea.
This should be a long-standing issue from the time of the Taizu Emperor, which had become an unsolvable knot.
He could understand the thoughts of the successive emperors.
The Four Great Blessed Lands and the Four Great Secret Realms were certainly rich in resources, with natural treasures, exotic flowers, rare fruits, and countless demon beasts.
However, only Grandmasters could enter to gather and explore, and Grandmasters were limited in number.
The Four Great Secret Realms of the Four Great Demonic Sects, however, could be entered without Grandmasters.
If they were all controlled by the imperial court, from the Xiantian stage to the Grandmaster stage, all could enter the Secret Realms, the strength of the imperial court would inevitably skyrocket.
It might even have the hope of dominating the Three Great Dynasties, and further even the hope of unifying the world.
This was a great temptation for successive emperors.
He knew that the power of the Son of Heaven Sword came from the hearts and minds of the people.
The more subjects, the stronger the Son of Heaven Sword would naturally be.
But now, they had to feign compliance with the other two dynasties, even stooping to compromise, which was too frustrating.
Of course, he also understood the thoughts of the Four Great Demonic Sects.
They had promised something in the beginning, but now they wanted to take it back, a typical case of kicking away the ladder after crossing the river.
Moreover, the Four Great Demonic Sects had deep foundations and might not really be afraid of the imperial court, so they naturally wanted to have a trial of strength.
They hadn't openly broken ties, but were constantly fighting in secret.
Chu Zhiyuan pondered, "Grandmother, do the Great Meng and Great Zhen also have Blessed Lands and Secret Realms?"
"Of course," Consort Rou nodded gently, "Otherwise, how could they establish their dynasties?
Even small countries like Great Lie and Great Guang have Secret Realms; Secret Realms are the foundation of a nation."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
In this world where martial arts flourished, it was difficult to support a country without resources like Secret Realms.
How could a weak nation not be annexed by others?
"The Great Jing, Great Zhen, and Great Meng became great powers because they had more Secret Realms?"
"Well, more or less.
The three great powers all have twelve Blessed Lands and Secret Realms, while other small countries, like Great Lie, Great Guang, and Great Jian, only have two Blessed Lands and Secret Realms."
"Then why not directly annex them?" Chu Zhiyuan said, "Wouldn't the imperial court have four more Secret Realms if they annexed them?"
"Even if they are small, they also have the Son of Heaven Sword, which wouldn't be worth the loss.
Moreover, the imperial court doesn't really look up to their Secret Realms; they are all low-level Secret Realms."
Chu Zhiyuan suddenly understood.
These were all secrets within secrets, not recorded in the Tongtian Pavilion or the Mingwu Hall.
Consort Rou's existence was too important.
He hesitated, "In that case, it has to be the Four Great Sects?"
"The Secret Realms of the Four Great Sects are the best."
"...In this case, isn't it an unsolvable knot?"
"Successive emperors have been trying to find a solution, but the Four Great Sects are not easy to deal with either, so they are in a stalemate."
"Even if Ruoling becomes a Holy Maiden, it won't change the general trend, right?" Chu Zhiyuan pondered.
"What if you become the Emperor?" Consort Rou chuckled, "Then it would be different."
Chu Zhiyuan was stunned.
Consort Rou said, "If you become the Emperor, the Yaoyue Palace's resistance to you will be further reduced, which will also be more conducive to their integration."
Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "Wasn't Consort Xi also a Holy Maiden of the Yaoyue Palace?
The result is still the same."
"If Consort Xi wasn't a Holy Maiden of the Yaoyue Palace, how could the Yaoyue Palace be so close to the imperial court now?"
"Then the women of the other three sects..."
"They are not female sects.
When female disciples enter the palace, it's different from the Yaoyue Palace."
Chu Zhiyuan slowly nodded.
Consort Rou glanced around and said, "Yuanchu, you will also be vying for the throne in the future, right?"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Does Grandmother think I shouldn't compete?"
Only Zou Fang and Huang Cheng were around, so he wasn't afraid of being overheard.
As for the Emperor, he had never intended to hide it, and he couldn't hide it either.
If the Emperor wanted to listen to someone's words, he probably had treasures or secret methods, so there was no need to be secretive.
Xu Yingying even had the secret method of intercepting sound transmission, let alone the Great Jing Emperor.
Consort Rou said, "Do you think it must be Prince Ying's?"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Everyone thinks so, right?"
"The succession to the throne cannot be predicted," Consort Rou said, "First become a Grandmaster, then make contributions, and finally let the Son of Heaven Sword choose its master.
These are the three steps, and in fact, everyone has an equal opportunity."
"Whose contribution is greater among the Grandmasters, who is the master of the Son of Heaven Sword?"
"Not necessarily," Consort Rou said, "The Son of Heaven Sword chooses people not only based on merit, but also on character, and other things.
In short, it's not just about merit."
"In that case, Uncle Ten is more hopeful," Chu Zhiyuan said, "Uncle Ten is almost destined to become a Grandmaster, his merits are outstanding, and his character is impeccable."
"You don't want to give up the fight, do you?"
"...I have to try," Chu Zhiyuan said.
No matter how wise and martial, how benevolent and generous Uncle Ten was, he would still make mistakes and inevitably be suspicious of him.
It was really uncomfortable to have the Son of Heaven Sword, which could kill him, hanging over his head all day long.
He was more accustomed to controlling his own destiny; it would be better to have the Son of Heaven Sword in his own hands.
Consort Rou said softly, "The Son of Heaven Sword has spirituality and can see through people's hearts and minds.
If you want to compete for the throne, you must not do anything against your conscience, especially not kill your brothers and clansmen.
This is the most taboo thing."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded solemnly.
Consort Rou said, "If your heart and mind are up to par, and you have earth-shattering achievements, it will be more stable.
Yuanchu, what you lack now is this."
Chu Zhiyuan pondered.
He actually had an idea at the beginning, to use his super-perception to deeply analyze and dissect his understanding of entering the Grandmaster stage, thereby lowering the threshold for finding the Gate of Grandmaster.
In this way, the martial arts experts of the Great Jing Dynasty would inevitably skyrocket, and at the same time, the experts in the army would also skyrocket.
Once their strength increased, they would have the hope of surpassing the Great Zhen and Great Meng, and unifying the Three Dynasties would not be a dream.
Later, he felt that this idea was wrong.
If he really found a way, the Great Zhen and Great Meng would definitely be able to steal it, after all, there were so many spies.
If the strength of the Great Jing skyrocketed, their strength would also skyrocket.
So he didn't put any more effort into it, and focused his energy on his own cultivation.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Consort Rou coughed violently again, her veins bulging.
Bai Ningshuang hurriedly brought the jade bottle to her mouth and nose.
Chu Zhiyuan stretched out his palm and placed it on Consort Rou's fair wrist.
He had already begun to use his Insight, and found that her internal organs were all vibrating, forming a strange rhythm.
Chu Zhiyuan frowned.
No wonder it was so difficult to deal with, it turned out to be so troublesome.
But if it wasn't troublesome, the Emperor wouldn't have no solution.
He saw clearly with his Insight, carefully analyzing the vibrating rhythm, and vaguely realized something.
This was an extraterrestrial force!
He immediately had a guess and said softly, "Grandmother, you were injured by a Grandmaster of the Evil Sect, right?"
Consort Rou's bright eyes flashed suddenly, her coughing gradually stopped, and she wiped a layer of sweat from her forehead with a white towel: "You can actually see that?"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "A Grandmaster of the Fearless Sect, right?"
