Chu Zhiyuan took a deep breath, suppressed his complex thoughts, and slowly said, "So, who are the deities in the Eastern Territory?" Ma Tianhe revealed a wry smile.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Speak freely."
Ma Tianhe said, "Anyone who doesn't want to take risks but wants to add to their resume will come to the Eastern Territory."
"Are there people from all eight great ducal houses?"
"Yes."
"What about the princes' and kings' residences?"
"Also yes."
"Not to mention the earls' and marquises' residences, and also the princesses' and commandery princesses' residences, and so on?"
"...Yes."
"It's certainly lively enough."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "No wonder Duke Kang doesn't dare to act rashly... With such a lineup, apart from the princes, I'm afraid no one would dare to take drastic measures."
"What the heir says is absolutely right!" Ma Tianhe nodded hastily.
He also felt that apart from the princes favored by the Emperor, ordinary people really couldn't handle these deities.
Chu Zhiyuan sighed, "Even the princes wouldn't want to offend everyone."
Whether it was a prince who could become emperor or a prince who had no hope of the throne, neither wanted to rashly antagonize all the nobles. There was no benefit in it.
Chu Zhiyuan put himself in the Emperor's position and considered the matter. The most ideal candidate was of course the bold and decisive Prince Ying.
But if Prince Ying came, would he be allowed to offend everyone completely? If an ordinary prince were sent, would that prince dare to act freely?
Therefore, the Emperor sent a duke.
Duke Kang was there to test the waters, to show an attitude that the court wanted to seize the Eastern Territory's military power.
If these nobles knew what was good for them, they would find a way to leave on their own; if they didn't know what was good for them, then they couldn't blame the Emperor for being impolite.
Duke Kang must have seen through the Emperor's intentions, so he didn't want to steal the credit and wanted to leave the work of rectification to the later prince?
Chu Zhiyuan pondered again and again, and finally sighed.
The officialdom was not so easy to navigate. "Heir..."
"I judge that the Great Lie Dynasty and the Great Guang Dynasty are already in action, possibly to cover their tracks," Chu Zhiyuan slowly said, "Tell Chief Leng to investigate carefully."
"Yes!" Ma Tianhe solemnly agreed.
Not long after Chu Zhiyuan returned to the palace, Zou Fang and the four girls of Mo Yi also rushed back.
"Heir, the Moon Invitation Palace will send a batch of Jiao dragon meat over every day."
"There's no need to be so troublesome. Just send a batch over directly and put it in the palace's ice cellar."
"The Moon Invitation Palace has an extremely cold ice cellar, far beyond ordinary ice cellars, which can maximize the preservation of the Jiao dragon meat's freshness."
"That's fine."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
He was about to continue practicing the Ziyang True Scripture when Feng Xi suddenly came over to deliver a letter.
Chu Zhiyuan knew who it was from without opening it.
A manor outside Jade Capital City.
Chu Zhiyuan and Xu Yingying sat cross-legged on the Arhat bed in the small pavilion, their palms touching. Xu Yingying was dressed in white, and Chu Zhiyuan was dressed in purple.
A gust of breeze blew, and their white and purple robes fluttered. Both of them closed their eyes and remained motionless.
Xu Suying stood under the steps of the front hall, watching them from afar, not going over to disturb them.
Xu Yingying suddenly opened her bright eyes, shining brightly.
She cheered with a beaming smile, "Another level up, ha, that's really fast!"
Chu Zhiyuan opened his eyes and looked at her with a smile: "It is indeed fast."
"Hee hee, it's just a small matter," Xu Yingying waved her small hand triumphantly, then asked curiously: "By the way, I heard that the Moon Invitation Palace killed three grandmasters of the Evil Sect, is that true?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
"You actually saw it with your own eyes?"
"I saw it with my own eyes."
"Tsk tsk, when did the Moon Invitation Palace become so powerful that they can actually kill Evil Sect grandmasters!" Xu Yingying exclaimed in surprise, and turned her head and said: "Master, is the Moon Invitation Palace that powerful?"
"It must be a coincidence," Xu Suying had no intention of getting closer and spoke from the steps of the front hall.
The two were more than thirty meters apart.
But her voice was as clear as if she were speaking in their ears.
"Yes, it's very difficult to kill a grandmaster," Xu Yingying analyzed to Chu Zhiyuan: "If a grandmaster wants to escape, you can't stop them."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
He understood Xu Yingying's meaning.
Grandmasters have the ability to distort the surrounding five senses, making it difficult to hit them, and if they escape, you can't intercept them.
Xu Yingying then sighed with emotion: "It's a pity I couldn't see it with my own eyes, tell me about it in detail."
"I was also confused and couldn't see clearly."
"That's also true," Xu Yingying agreed, "You helped the Moon Invitation Palace's Innate Perfection break through to Grandmaster, right?"
Her bright eyes stared at Chu Zhiyuan.
"What do you think?" Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile.
"You definitely helped," Xu Yingying snorted, "You forget your mother when you have a wife, you definitely helped for Xiao Ruoling's sake."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "It was just a little effort, by the way, the secret realm is so vast, how can I find good things, is there any trick?"
Xu Yingying had an endless stream of treasures, and if they were from the Nine Li Divine Sect, it would be impossible to dispose of them so casually, giving them to him as soon as he asked. It must be her own opportunity.
"You entered the Moon Invitation Palace's secret realm, didn't you?" Xu Yingying immediately asked curiously: "What's it like inside?"
"Very large, the trees are very tall and old, but I didn't find any good things."
"Did you only go in for a day or two before coming back?"
"Yes."
"Then of course it won't work," Xu Yingying said with a smile: "Within a day or two, how could there still be good things left? After so many years, they would have been taken away long ago."
Chu Zhiyuan frowned.
Each time he entered the secret realm, the location was different.
Xu Yingying seemed to see what he was thinking: "Each time you enter, is it different?"
"Exactly."
"You can enter ten or eight times without repeating, but if you enter too many times, you will still repeat. Most of the entrances are in one direction of the secret realm. If you want to find good things, you have to go deeper."
"You can't stay in the secret realm for more than a month."
"Walking for about ten days should be enough to encounter good things. I almost always encounter good things around ten days, and then I walk back."
Chu Zhiyuan was thoughtful.
He had previously thought that each time he entered would be different, but now it seemed that this was not the case. In terms of understanding the secret realm, the Moon Invitation Palace and the Nine Li Divine Sect were far better than him.
However, he really couldn't go in for ten or eight days, he didn't have that much time. Next time he went to the Moon Invitation Palace, he could try it.
Thinking of this, he was once again full of hope, curious about what good things he could get from the Moon Invitation Palace's secret realm.
"Hey, you wouldn't help our Nine Li Divine Sect's Innate Perfection disciples, would you?"
"..." Chu Zhiyuan smiled without saying a word.
"Tell me, what else do you want?"
"Do you have dragon meat?"
"Dragon meat..." Xu Yingying revealed a troubled expression: "We don't have dragons in our secret realm."
"Then which is the strongest demon beast?"
"Golden Tiger."
"Golden Tiger is the strongest?" Chu Zhiyuan was surprised: "How strong is it?"
"Grandmasters can't beat it," Xu Yingying praised: "It can fly without wings, its speed is like lightning, and one tail can kill a grandmaster."
Chu Zhiyuan clicked his tongue: "What about the weaker Golden Tigers?"
"...Alright, I'll get you some tiger meat, do you want tiger bones too?"
"That would be great."
"How about one tiger for one spot?" Xu Yingying tilted her head to look at him.
Chu Zhiyuan thought for a while, and finally nodded: "It must not be known to outsiders."
"That's natural!" Xu Yingying giggled, and said loudly: "Master, call someone over!"
Xu Suying flashed and disappeared.
A moment later, a graceful girl lightly pushed open the door and came in, swaying gracefully to the front, cupping her fists and saluting.
"This is my junior sister, my own junior sister," Xu Yingying said with a smile: "Zhou Sisi."
Zhou Sisi was a little shy, and shyly cupped her fists and saluted: "Greetings, Heir."
