Chapter 440 - Chapter 440: Chapter 270 The Rumors in the Capital City of Great Xia_3

Chapter 440: Chapter 270 The Rumors in the Capital City of Great Xia_3

“Your Majesty, please do not be enraged, take care of your dragon body!”

The Sum Emperor also realized that if he continued to be angry, he might indeed suffer from qi deviation, so he quickly stabilized his breath and calmed himself down.

After a while, the Sum Emperor’s heart had slightly settled.

However, at this moment another shadow appeared in front of the Sum Emperor. He was about to report intelligence when Situ Ce furrowed his brows, fearing that the news from this Shadow Guard was another piece of bad news that would anger the Sum Emperor. He hurriedly said, “Your Majesty is not feeling well at the moment; whatever it is, report it tomorrow.”

Upon hearing the State Preceptor’s words, the subsequent Shadow Guard swallowed back the words he was about to say. At that time, the Sum Emperor, having calmed down, spoke up, “No need, speak.”

He did not believe that any news that followed could be worse than the news that Zhuge Zhongguang had broken through to the Heavenly Human Realm. In his view, there was no news that could be worse than that.

Seeing that the Sum Emperor had allowed him to speak directly, the Shadow Guard did not hesitate and said, “Your Majesty, the Valley Master of Peach Blossom Valley has sent a message that she is going into closed-door cultivation. She may not come out for ten years, and if you have any matters, please seek her after ten years.”

Hearing this, the Sum Emperor snorted coldly without saying a word.

Obviously, the Valley Master of Peach Blossom Valley had also heard the news of Zhuge Zhongguang’s breakthrough and was scared into hiding.

What nonsense closed-door cultivation, all but a bunch of cowardly old antiques afraid of death.

The Sum Emperor then said, “Issue a decree, have Zhao Quan speed up and quickly settle the rebel forces in the South, and capture Shuyun back.”

Although the Sum Emperor still found it somewhat unbelievable that Zhuge Zhongguang had broken through to the Heavenly Human Realm, he knew some preparations had to be made in advance.

The North Country had already stationed a hundred thousand troops at their border with Qi Country, clearly showing that the little beast had set his sights on something. If he wanted to remain secure on the throne, he had to rapidly quell the turmoil in the South and then shift all his elite forces to the north.

Some time later.

A rumor spread in the streets and alleys of the Great Sum Capital city. Some said that the royal family of Great Sum had obtained a Sacred Artifact from Mysterious Moon Palace, claiming this artifact could temporarily raise a person’s strength to the level of the Heavenly Human Realm.

Once the rumor spread, it immediately caused a stir, with many people doubting its credibility. After all, if such a thing truly existed, why would Mysterious Moon Palace give it to the Great Sum royal family?

The Goddess of the Mysterious Moon Palace may have married the Sum Emperor, but their ending was not a happy one; the palace had long fallen out with the Great Sum royal family, and they wouldn’t give the emperor anything valuable, let alone their sacred artifacts.

Meanwhile.

North Country.

Lu Chen had already embarked on his inspection journey to Great Yu City. This trip to the north was rather leisurely and without much danger, so Lu Chen took Xiao Wenyao with him.

Xiao Wenyao had always wanted to gallop on a horse across the grasslands, right? During the journey to the north, the endless grasslands offered the perfect opportunity. During the day, Xiao Wenyao would ride freely on the prairie, and at night, it was Lu Chen’s turn to relax on horseback.

Although Lu Chen had traveled north, their convoy was not particularly fast, and any news from the Brocade Guard could still catch up with Lu Chen’s convoy.

In the evening, Lu Chen’s convoy had already set up camp. Just as he was about to have someone call for Xiao Wenyao, a Jinyiwei Guard approached him, “Prince, there is intelligence from the Capital!”

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen immediately took the intelligence from the hands of the Jinyiwei Guard and scanned it.

Seeing the rumor from the Great Sum Capital, Lu Chen’s lips curled slightly. He had already learned of the Sum Emperor’s possession of the Mysterious Moon Palace Sacred Artifact from Chen Wanrong.

However, the fact that this news had spread and was circulating throughout the Great Sum Capital was quite thought-provoking.

It was most likely not Mysterious Moon Palace that released the news; they didn’t want people to know that their Sacred Artifact was in the hands of the Sum Emperor.

It would not sound good for such a powerful Sect Force as Mysterious Moon Palace to have lost their Sacred Artifact, only for it to end up in the hands of a secular royal family.

Moreover, that Sacred Artifact must have some importance to Mysterious Moon Palace. If too many people knew it was in the hands of the Great Sum royal family, what would they do if more people covet the Sacred Artifact?

Since the news did not come from Mysterious Moon Palace, who could have released it?

To guess who released the news, one must consider that there surely aren’t many who know that the Great Sum royal family possesses the Mysterious Moon Palace Sacred Artifact, so it definitely wasn’t spread by a commoner. Secondly, whose interests would be served by releasing this news?

Lu Chen’s mind instantly pictured the Sum Emperor.

The news of Zhuge Zhongguang’s breakthrough to the Heavenly Human Realm had spread to all dynasties, plus, to make the act more convincing, Lu Chen had ordered Wei Siyuan’s army of a hundred thousand to be stationed near the border with Qi Country, portraying a posture ready to advance southward, causing unrest in Great Sum.

Without a doubt, the Sum Emperor was also scared.

The Sum Emperor truly feared that the North Country would rebel by leveraging the Heavenly Human Realm.

Thus, to prevent North Country from actually rebelling, he had no choice but to release information about possessing the Sacred Artifact from Mysterious Moon Palace, creating an impression that Great Sum’s royal family had a secret weapon capable of fighting at the level of the Heavenly Human Realm.

With that, if the North Country contemplated rebelling or marching south to attack the Capital, they would have to consider whether Great Sum’s royal family really possessed a Sacred Artifact that could elevate someone to the Heavenly Human Realm.

Essentially, it was a deterrence against North Country.

After reading the intelligence, Lu Chen said to the Jinyiwei Guard in front of him, “Go tell Wei Siyuan to have his troops also make a move, show their faces more near the Qi Country border.”

“Yes, Prince.”

Lu Chen continued, “Alright, you may leave.”

“This subordinate takes his leave.”

The Jinyiwei Guard had just left when Xiao Wenyao, who had been riding all day, returned. She was very relaxed, hardly having been so happy in a long time.

At that moment, Lu Chen asked Xiao Wenyao with a smile, “Yaoyao, how do you feel?”

Xiao Wenyao gratefully responded, “Thank you, Prince, for allowing this servant to accompany you to the north.”

Lu Chen then said, “You must be tired from riding all day. Come, join me in the tent, and I’ll help you ease the fatigue.”

Hearing Lu Chen’s words, a blush flashed across Xiao Wenyao’s face; after all, she had indeed let Lu Chen ‘ride’ enough for the day.

Xiao Wenyao spoke softly, “This servant will join you shortly.”

…