Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Compared to the players' feast, the palace was much quieter.

Lin Mu, who was continuing his trek deeper into the palace to collect meteorites, received a report from Yu Jin, who had gone to gather information: "My lord, the feudal lords have all set up camp inside the palace, preparing for a protracted war!"

"They're all staying away from Nangong Qun, aren't they?" Lin Mu raised an eyebrow and said.

"Yes... Currently, they have sent out some soldiers to search for something, while the rest are stationed at the main camp. As for the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and the Flying Bear Divine Army, they have both disappeared without a trace," Yu Jin continued.

"Flying Bear Divine Army..." Lin Mu murmured softly.

To be honest, he hadn't expected Dong Zhuo to leave the Flying Bear Divine Army in the palace.

Were they afraid the feudal lords would directly attack Nangong to stop them? But they weren't gathered there to guard Nangong...

"My lord, do you think the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and the Flying Bear Divine Army might... attack us?" Cui Wu suddenly reminded him.

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned.

"Hiss...maybe that's possible!" Taishi Ci and the others suddenly realized.

If they were to attack, given the current formation of Lin Mu's 600,000-strong army, they would essentially be lambs to the slaughter...

"Wen Zeziyi, arrange for a large number of scouts to patrol and monitor all the key roads. Report any unusual activity immediately," Lin Mu instructed.

"promise!"

Meteorite collection can be slow, but it must be done safely.

"It seems we can't leave so soon," Huang Xu said in a low voice.

Lin Mu originally planned to place the 600,000 troops nearby to collect meteorites, while the main force would go directly to the depths of the palace to investigate.

"My lord!" Just then, Huang Zhong and Yue Jin's voices rang out.

They're finally back...

"Huh, where's Gong Tu?" Lin Mu asked, puzzled, seeing that only Huang Zhong and Yue Jin had entered.

"After Gong Tu went to pursue the ambush troops, he disappeared..." Yue Jin shrugged, indicating that he did not know where he was.

"My lord, we are late. We encountered Qiao Mao and Kong Rong's troops on the road. They have indeed come to Luoyang," Huang Zhong reported.

"Did they also come from the direction where the ambush was set up?" Lin Mu asked in a deep voice.

"Yes! Our lord is incredibly insightful; he even knew that the feudal lords Qiao Mao, Kong Rong, Tao Qian, and others would all enter through the north gate!"

Lin Mu, Sun Jian, Yuan Shao, and others all entered from the east wall, while the Nine Suns Legion and the Thunder Legion were lying in ambush near the north wall...

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu smiled slightly but remained silent.

"They have stationed troops on the plains near the official road outside the northern city wall of Luoyang, and have already established temporary camps there. Most of their provisions are stored there..."

"The number of troops they led into the city was not large, basically around 400,000..." Huang Zhong continued.

They arrived so late because they had been gathering information along the way.

Based on the current situation, there are two possibilities:

First, all the troops and provisions brought by Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu entered Luoyang, with some settled in the Yuan family mansion and others in the temporary camp in the imperial palace.

Secondly, most of the troops of the warlords such as Liu Bei, Sun Jian, Qiao Mao, Liu Dai, and Kong Rong were stationed outside the city, while a portion of their elite troops were brought into the city, and most of their provisions were kept outside.

Everything is proceeding as planned, with no unexpected changes.

"Night Shadow Legion, you may enter!" Upon hearing Huang Zhong's words, Lin Mu narrowed his eyes slightly and said quietly.

The plan outside the city had three parts: [to instigate a bloody battle between Liu Dai and Qiao Mao], [to instigate a bloody battle between Gongsun Zan and Kong Zhou], and [to capture Kong Rong].

However, due to Gongsun Zan's sudden realization, the second plan failed. It's conceivable that after withdrawing from Luoyang, Gongsun Zan wouldn't remain outside the city, but would instead return directly to the Yu and Yan provinces to serve as the General Who Conquers the South!
Given the current situation and Gongsun Zan's ambition, he will likely conquer another prefecture and begin his quest for supremacy!
With one less target, the planning for the Great Wilderness Territory will have more room for error, and the success rate will be greatly improved.

With this in mind, Lin Mu began using the pages of the Qiankun Mother-Child Book to send messages, officially launching the plan.

……

Deep within the palace, in Sun Jian's temporary camp.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu led their troops through wind and rain and finally caught up with their father.

“Father, I have a feeling this place is very dangerous. Should we… be more cautious?” When Sun Ce saw Sun Jian, he originally wanted to suggest that they retreat, but not wanting to dampen his father’s spirits, he changed his mind to being cautious.

“Ce’er…this place holds an opportunity to defy fate. We must seize it!” Sun Jian said solemnly, as if he knew Sun Ce’s thoughts.

“Our Sun family… has too little foundation. Lin Mu is just a mere superhuman, yet he drove us out of Jiangdong… and we’ve been targeted and schemed against by him so many times. If it weren’t for our great fortune, we might have already been buried at the bottom of the river…”

"I am not reconciled as your father! ~~~" Sun Jian revealed his true feelings for the first time, speaking emotionally.

"My lord!!!" Huang Gai and the others looked at Sun Jian with excitement upon hearing this. "Uncle, even if we find that opportunity, can we really take it away from the capital? Can we really bring it back to Changsha? This journey is too dangerous; our lives will be in danger!" At this moment, a discouraging voice rang out.

It was Zhou Yu who said it.

“How will we know if we don’t try? ... An opportunity that defies the heavens should be pursued against the heavens. The more dangerous it is, the greater its value!” Sun Jian said solemnly.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu sighed inwardly and said nothing more.

"I would gladly die so that the Sun family can accumulate enough resources!" Sun Jian exclaimed excitedly.

Just as Sun Jian and the others were speaking, a cry of alarm rang out from somewhere in Nangong Qun's space: "Oh no! Quick, stop it! That dragon vein's primordial energy is trying to escape!!"

"Roar!~~~" A dragon's roar echoed throughout the space, and then both the sound and the dragon's shadow vanished...

At the same time, just as Sun Jian uttered the words, "What does it matter if I die?", a dragon's roar resounded from an ancient well, followed by a loud cracking sound. The next moment, a faint golden light spread out, illuminating the well water in a golden glow...

In the well water, the corpse dressed as a palace maid slowly floated up from the bottom of the well, with a box tied around her neck. The clasp on the box had just been opened, hence the clicking sound.

A crack appeared in the box, and the golden light emanated from this crack.

At the same time, as if sensing something, Sun Jian suddenly raised his head and looked towards the palace where the ancient well was located...

"Let's go, no rest tonight, let's continue the search. Head in this direction!" Sun Jian shouted immediately, his heart stirred.

"My lord, that's the direction of Jianzhang Palace. We've already searched it three times!" Huang Gai suddenly reminded him.

"Continue the search!" Sun Jian shouted, his brows furrowed.

"Yes, sir!!" Huang Gai and the others shouted.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and followed Sun Jian to get to work.

Just as Sun Jian and his men were taking action, a dark figure swiftly moved through the palace in the rainy night...

Soon, the shadowy figure arrived at an ancient well. It immediately plunged into the well, diving into the water and searching... but after searching for a long time, it found nothing.

"What happened...what happened? How did it disappear? Our lord said it was right here! And Xu Ying and the others confirmed it..." the shadowy figure whispered in astonishment.

"Could someone else have gotten it?! No, I have to go back and report to the lord immediately." The dark figure jumped out of the ancient well and quickly left.

After he left, streaks of torchlight pierced through the heavy rain and spread out in this direction...

Afterwards, the various squads of the army began a thorough search, meticulously inspecting even places they had checked several times before.

The Jianzhang Hall is very large, with more than a dozen auxiliary palaces around it, plus spacious pavilions, an even larger dilapidated courtyard, and more than a dozen ancient wells.

The ancient well was a key area of ​​investigation. Many soldiers skilled in water went down there many times, and even retrieved some jewelry that had been submerged for many years or the remains of people who had died unjustly at some unknown time... but they just didn't find that so-called opportunity.

"Roar!~~~~" As Sun Jian stepped into the vicinity of the Jianzhang Hall, a dragon's roar suddenly rang out.

This shocked everyone!
They searched before without any disturbance, but this time there's a dragon's roar...

The group moved quickly and soon spotted the ancient well emitting golden light!
Sun Jian, along with Huang Gai, Sun Ce, and others, quickly surrounded the ancient well.

"My lord, I'll go down!" Huang Gai volunteered.

"My lord, I'll pull the rope!" At this moment, a general volunteered. However, while everyone's attention was drawn to the ancient well emitting golden light, no one noticed the strange smile that appeared on the general's lips.

"Alright, hurry up!" Sun Jian shouted.

Huang Gai was not afraid of the palace maid's corpse floating in the ancient well, and jumped down directly. He gently removed the box tied around the corpse's neck, and then used a rope to pull the corpse up.

After Huang Gai came up, he personally handed the box to Sun Jian.

Sun Jian couldn't wait to open it, and a huge dragon roar suddenly soared into the sky.

Sun Jian and the others only glanced at it before they could see what was inside the box, and then Sun Jian immediately covered it up.

"My lord, this is the Imperial Seal of the State!!!!!" Huang Gai was overjoyed, as were the others.

They seized the greatest opportunity!

As expected, without Lin Mu's obstruction or sabotage, the lord who obtained the Imperial Seal was still Sun Jian!
“The Imperial Seal of the State…The Imperial Seal of the State!” Sun Jian gently stroked the box, a complex expression on his face…

This item is the foundation upon which the Sun family rose to power!

He received it and should have been very happy... but for some reason, a strange sense of oppression weighed on him, as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders... Perhaps, it was the responsibility of all the people in the world!
"Our lord is indeed a man chosen by Heaven!!!" Han Dang exclaimed, looking at Sun Jian with admiration.

At this moment, Cheng Pu said solemnly, "My lord, we cannot stay here any longer. We should return to Changsha immediately and not pursue any important matters."

"Yes...we're leaving right away!!" Han Dang, Huang Gai, and the others said urgently.

Han Dang, Huang Gai, and the others sensed nothing, but Sun Ce, standing beside Sun Jian, sensed something amiss, just like his father… But the boat was already made; the river had to be crossed… (End of Chapter)