Chapter 520: I Have

Chapter 520: I Have

"Empress Wu?" Everyone in the hall gasped in disbelief at the mention of her name.

Empress Wu, the first wife of the current emperor, had been the crown prince's consort when she was young, ascending to her role as Empress as the crown prince rose to power. How could she suddenly be found in a coffin at the bottom of Jade Dragon Pond?

Even if Empress Wu had really died, her passing would not have gone unnoticed.

"Of course, the Empress is fine; otherwise, there would have been news. I'm just baffled by how this corpse could look so much like her. I have already informed the Imperial Supervisory Bureau," Chen Xuanlu assured.

Having spent many years working outside the capital of Yu, Chen Xuanlu was an experienced cultivator well-acquainted with the court's inner workings. He knew how things worked—until the palace officially declared Empress Wu dead, the identity of the body didn’t matter. Even if the body turned out to be Empress Wu, it would still be considered a fake. There was no need for him to make any judgments.

"Not long after, the Imperial Supervisory Bureau sent people to retrieve both the coffin and the body. I thought that would settle everything," Chen Xuanlu continued. "However, I later learned that before anyone from the palace could examine it, a strange fire broke out at the Imperial Supervisory Bureau, turning the coffin and the body into mere ashes."

The Mount Shu Sect team stood in stunned silence, grappling with the implications of what they had just heard.

Though the sects in the Divine Nine seemed otherworldly, they were not without their share of open confrontations, mind games, and hidden schemes. Most of their conflicts centered around the pursuit of the Great Dao. However, in Yu's capital, the intricacies of human nature and court politics revealed a level of intrigue that was entirely beyond their understanding.

"I was advised by the people from the Imperial Supervisory Bureau to stay silent about this matter, and I obeyed," Chen Xuanlu continued. "However, the following day, the villagers living near Jade Dragon Pond began to report strange dreams...

"In their dreams, a woman appeared, soaked from head to toe, wailing, 'Return my life!'

"Three days have passed. And now, even the people in the capital started getting this strange dream. Countless individuals have reported having the same dream. We, the members of the Profound Mind Sect, were not the only ones who knew about the coffin being retrieved from the Jade Dragon Pond. Many villagers saw it as well, so the news started spreading like wildfire...

"Word is spreading rapidly throughout the capital, with people claiming that the Empress in the palace is an imposter and that the real Empress drowned long ago."

"I regret pulling that coffin out of the water," Chen Xuanlu lamented with a regretful expression. "I've created quite a mess, and who knows what kind of trouble awaits us now?"

The Profound Mind Sect gained sudden fame in the capital of Yu due to this incident, but as they said, fame was not always a blessing.

In light of the current tensions between the emperor's concubines, this bizarre case became particularly intriguing.

In their younger days, the emperor and the empress were truly in love. In fact, the emperor was not even willing to take concubines. However, due to his duties as emperor, he eventually did so and expanded his court of women.

A downside to being a cultivator was that the higher the cultivation level, the harder it became to conceive children.

Perhaps this was a limitation imposed by the Heavenly Law, for if a powerful cultivator lived for several centuries, they could have fathered thousands of children if they so wished.

The children of such powerful cultivators were often born with extraordinary spiritual natures. If these cultivators had been allowed to have as many children as they wanted, the world’s spiritual energy could have been depleted in just a few generations.

The emperors of the Yu Dynasty were all at least at the seventh realm, making it incredibly challenging for them to produce heirs. Historically, they often took multiple concubines, and sometimes they only felt compelled to try for more children out of a sense of duty.

The current emperor made great efforts to have children, but he could only manage to have ten, and of those ten, only three had the Divine Fire Spirit constitution.

Some emperors in past generations were less diligent, resulting in only one or two children.

Despite having many concubines, the emperor remained loyal to Empress Wu, a story of love that was once celebrated in their early years.

Three years ago, a woman named Gong Yu'er entered the palace and somehow won the emperor's affection, quickly being granted the title of Noble Consort. Since that time, all his attention has been on her, resulting in Empress Wu being neglected.

This was understandable. Empress Wu was in her fifties or sixties, and despite her efforts to maintain her beauty, she couldn’t compete with a younger, more attractive woman. Nevertheless, her noble lineage, popularity among the people, and status as the mother of the Second Prince kept her position secure.

What really ruined Empress Wu's image was the rumor that she secretly consumed Eternal Youth Pills.

The Eternal Youth Pill was a diabolical pill that could only be crafted through the sacrifice of human lives. Although it had been banned, the refinement of these pills never truly stopped as this pill was known to be the best beauty-preserving pill in the world. There had always been rumors of noblewomen in the capital using this pill, but there was never any concrete proof.

No one knew how the rumor began, but it spread rapidly, infuriating the common people and completely ruining the virtuous reputation she had worked so hard to build over the years. Although the palace quickly released a statement to defend her, many remained skeptical.

Unexpectedly, he saw a young boy storm into the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, loudly announcing that he would reserve the whole place for himself and make all the women his wives.

The boy appeared to be around ten years old and was quite short, so everyone just took what he said as a joke.

Liu Yunzheng walked over to toss the boy out of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, but to his surprise, when he attempted to grab the boy, he realized he couldn’t move the boy at all. In a swift moment, the boy's palm came flying back at him, knocking him into the street.

With severe injuries, he had no choice but to leave in a mortified state.

He stammered and struggled to finish his story as he felt utterly embarrassed about being injured by a child in a fight at the brothel.

"A child?" Chen Xuanlu said with a grave expression. "What sort of child could wield such immense power? If you had been less fortunate, that palm strike might have killed you! It has to be a master pretending to be a kid."

"He said..." Liu Yunzheng explained, "His name is Qi Lin'er. If you want to take revenge on him for my sake, go ahead and look for him."

"No wonder!" As soon as they heard the name, the members of the Mount Shu Sect quickly put the pieces together.

All teams sent by the sects from the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten to participate in the Assembly of Immortal Sects were extensively studied by everyone.

In the team sent by Penglai, there were Yang Shenlong, Yang Yuhu, Xi Miaoxian, as well as a mysterious new participant named Qi Lin'er. The addition of the mysterious Qi Lin'er took many by surprise.

After conducting some research, only a handful of details regarding his background came to light.

Twelve years ago, it was reported that Daoist Cangsheng ventured into the Divine Ruins and returned with a multicolored stone. When the stone was cracked open, a baby was discovered inside. Recognizing the child's special nature, Daoist Cangsheng brought him back to Penglai, where he was trained alongside the Azure Dragon.

Of course, this was the official version provided by Penglai.

Other sects of immortality cultivation remained skeptical, with many speculating that the child was merely an illegitimate son of Daoist Cangsheng, who had to fulfill his lustful desires at an old age.

In simple terms, they believed that Daoist Cangsheng secretly had a child with someone and brought him back to be raised on the islands of Penglai.

"So he’s from Penglai, huh?" Chen Xuanlu grumbled, feeling even angrier.

"If it had been a small sect, he might have sought justice for his disciple. But since it was a powerful sect like Penglai, he had to swallow his grievances and stay silent."

It was common for young people to be hot-headed, and conflicts like these were frequent at the Assembly of Immortal Sects. It wasn’t all that unusual.

Liu Yunzheng, seeing the anger on his teacher’s face, quickly said, "Don’t worry, I’ll heal up fast and make sure that my injuries will not affect my match tomorrow."

"That's easy for you to say," Chen Xuanlu replied with a grim expression. "While your external injuries aren’t severe, your meridians are heavily damaged. You won’t be able to circulate your energy, let alone fight. Without a spirit medicine, it will take at least three months for you to recover.

"Ah?" Liu Yunzheng was shocked.

If this affected the competition happening tomorrow, the consequences would be dire. After all, everyone would only get one chance to participate in the Assembly of Immortal Sects in their lifetime. If he lost his chance because of this...

But the spirit medicine Chen Xuanlu mentioned was certainly made from rare treasures of nature, making it incredibly expensive.

Liu Yunzheng's family had already spent a considerable amount to ensure he could take part in the Assembly of Immortal Sects, and affording such a medicine would be an unbearable financial burden, even for a family of officials.

Chen Xuanlu was well aware of this. During the Assembly of Immortal Sects, the costs of spirit medicine skyrocketed. If the prices weren’t so outrageous, he would have gladly covered the expense himself to ensure his sect's success.

Just as Liu Yunzheng gritted his teeth in frustration, a hand unexpectedly reached out from the side, revealing a jade box.

A voice then sounded.

"I have it."