Now things were getting lively.

Yan Qingqing laughed and said, “Yes, that’s why my chance has come. Because of my trust, he treats me so well now. He comes to see me every day, and sometimes even stays overnight—not for any improper reason, of course, but just to keep people from knowing I’m pregnant. It’s incredibly easy for an emperor to protect the little tadpole in my belly. Besides, I make sure to act as if I’m not adept at palace intrigue, so I have no choice but to rely on him—and he likes that dependence.”

“Haha, now that you’ve exhausted the power of the earth veins, let’s see how you’ll fight me! Die!” Suddenly, from within the black hole, the Demon Lord’s wild, arrogant voice boomed out, followed by a deep, heavy impact echoing from the darkness.

Gu Meijing’s nightgown slipped halfway off in her shock. She stared wide-eyed at Xiao Quan and asked, “What did you say?” Her brother had known all along? This… it sounded unbelievable, but on further thought, it actually made sense.

Returning to the inn took less than half an hour. By then, dawn had broken. The inn remained lively, the streets outside still bustling with people coming and going. It seemed that the events unfolding tens of thousands of miles away had not disturbed the capital’s daily order in the slightest.

The bonfire at the banquet was indeed bright and warm, but in the shadows beyond its reach, the stalwart warriors who occasionally prowled were not just for show. The flashing edges of their weapons gleamed with an aura that could not be wiped clean of blood.

Thus, although Chen Zhi had managed to sneak in, he spent all his time dodging and hiding in embarrassment, never finding an opportunity to investigate.

The appearance of Li Lingtian commanded the genuine respect of every strong fighter present. It was as if a true deity had descended among them, inspiring awe and reverence from the depths of their hearts.

From deep within the distant mountains came frequent howls and wails. In this land, there were many rare birds and strange beasts that few had ever seen.

Of course, the most crucial point was that no one believed that the mere few hundred people from Lingzhou could possibly stir up much trouble in Bianjing, a city with a population of several hundred thousand.

When Fang Zhong inquired about the Grand Mage, Chen Yufeng replied that since the Grand Mage had formed the Blood Infant, Lord Lu Gongli had been killed, and many of his subordinates had died as well. Recently, things had been relatively quiet, with no notable actions. It had been a rare period of peace, bringing relief to both Mount Shu and the Celestial Masters.

The atmosphere at the scene grew even colder than before. Consort Xue’s expression darkened further, and even Liang Shuo turned his head to look at her, his eyes full of displeasure.

Now, the main fighting force was himself! Because of the Nirvana of the Lamp, all the disciples of the Buddhist order could sense it! The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven was not on Mount Ling! Distant water could not quench present thirst! And look at the faces of each Buddha below.

After completing the count, the mayor smiled with satisfaction and said, “Yunkong, thank you for your outstanding contributions to Pingshan Town. This is your reward.”

“So be it. For now, the only person you can command is Lin Jiutian, but his strength is too weak,” Nangong Ling said, shaking his head.

However, on his way back to his own tent, Zang Ba grew increasingly uneasy. He felt it was best to inform Zhang Fei just in case.

“Rune Spears—there are about a hundred thousand that can withstand the strength of a Profound Immortal. There are more at the True Immortal level, and even more at the Celestial Immortal level—a total of about a million. But we’re running out of materials,” Qu Fengyang reported.

Cao Cao was puzzled, but he didn’t take Liu Bei seriously. After all, he had a hundred thousand troops from Qingzhou and another forty thousand from Yuzhou—one hundred and forty thousand soldiers in all, far more than Liu Bei’s army.

Luo Qiushi stood up with a grim face. Although the business had suffered and the other party was an elder of the Luo family, he was, after all, the head of the Luo family and chairman of the company.

Seeing that Li Jing and his son hadn’t reacted, the Perfected Taiyi continued, “Because he graduated but couldn’t find a job. He wanted us to secure a place in Heaven.”

The first item was a box. Inside, eight imperial crystals were arranged neatly.