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Chapter 385, The Empress Dowager Appears

More and more cultivators are flocking to Nanxiang County.

However, as the Vermilion Bird Army patrolling Nanxiang County began to wear the Vermilion Bird Token, the possibility of some forces impersonating the Vermilion Bird Army to cause trouble was eliminated.

Furthermore, because the Vermilion Bird Token contains three Vermilion Bird spirit images, and the attack power unleashed by the Vermilion Bird spirit images is positively correlated with the Vermilion Bird pattern imprinted on Hua Changxi, each Vermilion Bird Token can withstand three full-force attacks from a Spirit Platform Realm cultivator.

After hearing that a tiger demon at the Spirit Platform Realm had died from an attack by the Vermilion Bird Order, those opposing forces of the Vermilion Bird Army dared not easily attack them.

With major powers backing down, ordinary cultivators dared not confront the Vermilion Bird Army head-on.

Therefore, under the inspection of the Vermilion Bird Army, Nanxiang County was actually more stable than before.

Of course, this was only a facade of calm. In secret, various forces had already formed alliances and alliances, and even ordinary cultivators had formed some small alliances.

Many demons still lurk in the mountains and rivers.

Whether they were cultivators or demons, their goals were very clear—to seize the city lord's token of Nanxiang City and to take over the blessed lands.

Each time Hua Changxi inspected Nanxiang County, his mood grew heavier. He could only urge the manager of the Martial Arts Hall to intensify the training of the Vermilion Bird Army and urge the weapon refiners at Lihuo Cliff to quickly forge the Vermilion Bird Token. Once the Vermilion Bird Token was forged, they would have to continue forging armor and weapons.

The thought that the Vermilion Bird Army's overall strength was not strong enough to suppress all the unrest made Hua Changxi anxious, so he could only force himself to improve his strength as soon as possible.

Ever since she learned from the boy with the ability to see through the dark eyes, Jing Sheng, that the Zhu Rong Stone could greatly expand one's meridians, she has set her sights on the Zhu Rong Tomb, one of the twelve blessed lands.

However, while she had her eye on it, others did too, and they even sent people to occupy the area outside the blessed land.

Twenty Nascent Soul cultivators were stationed on the ground, while five Spirit Platform cultivators were hidden in the high-altitude spiritual clouds. Such a grand arrangement weighed heavily on Hua Changxi's mind.

It is clear that the person who orchestrated this was determined to obtain Zhu Rong's tomb.

Hua Changxi had been secretly observing this group of people for several days and discovered something special: all of them had ignited black and white flames.

This was the second time she had seen so many cultivators simultaneously ignite the black and white flames.

The first time I saw it was on the group of cultivators who triggered the explosion of the protective array of the Sacred Artifact Palace.

The explosion of the protective array of the Weapon Saint Palace was orchestrated by the royal family.

Are the people who intend to seize Zhu Rong's tomb also members of the royal family?

Just as Hua Changxi was making her own guesses, three more cultivators arrived outside Zhu Rong's Tomb. One of them was Zhu Mufan, the Duke of Cheng'en, whom she had met once before.

The appearance of the Duke of Cheng'en confirmed that this group of cultivators was related to the royal family.

Hua Changxi thought to himself, "The royal family's foundation is still profound. So many forces have poured into Nanxiang County, but only the royal family has been able to discover the exact location of this blessed land."

Before she could think any further, Hua Changxi's eyes widened suddenly.

The Spirit Platform Realm cultivators flew down from the sky, and the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators scattered in various places gathered together, kneeling and bowing in unison to the purple-clad woman beside the Duke of Cheng'en: "Greetings, Empress Dowager."

The woman in purple merely raised her hand slightly: "Rise. You must guard this territory well. If anyone dares to approach, drive them away immediately. If they cannot be driven away, kill them on the spot!"

All the cultivators replied, "We respectfully obey the Empress Dowager's decree."

After the cultivators dispersed, the Empress Dowager looked at the young man behind the Duke of Cheng'en: "Yan'er, are you ready?"

Zhu Yan said solemnly, "Aunt, rest assured, I have mastered the 'body-to-fire' technique to perfection, and I will never let you and Father down."

The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction: "This blessed land is related to the ancestral witch Zhu Rong. Our Zhu clan all possess Zhu Rong's bloodline. Although the bloodline is very thin, with the help of the fire-transforming supernatural power, we should still be able to obtain permission to enter."

"Once inside, follow the instructions your aunt gave you about the deeds of the ancestral witch Zhurong, and you will surely be able to obtain this blessed land."

Zhu Yan: "Don't worry, Aunt, I will do my best."

Duke Chengen patted Zhu Yan on the shoulder: "Go, be careful."

Zhu Yan glanced at Duke Cheng'en, then at the Empress Dowager, and finally resolutely walked forward.

As he walked, Zhu Yan's body burst into flames, which quickly engulfed him. Then, only flames remained, and Zhu Yan's presence could no longer be sensed.

Hua Changxi watched this scene in astonishment, and then, something even more surprising happened. Where she sensed spatial fluctuations, as the flames that Zhu Yan had transformed into approached, ripples began to spread in the air.

At first, the ripples seemed to want to block the flames that Zhu Yan had transformed into, but as the flames burned brighter and brighter, the ripples opened a crack, allowing the flames to successfully penetrate them.

"He succeeded!"

The Duke of Cheng'en looked delighted.

The Empress Dowager's face lit up with joy, but she quickly calmed down: "Don't be too happy yet. Entering the blessed land is only the first step."

Duke Cheng'en nodded repeatedly, his expression somewhat hesitant: "Can Yan'er successfully obtain this blessed land?"

Although the Empress Dowager was not entirely sure, she nodded affirmatively: "He can definitely do it. Yan'er has the help of the magic lamp fragments, he will definitely pass the test."

The Duke of Cheng'en seemed to be persuaded and nodded, then said worriedly, "It seems that the Emperor Emeritus has also arranged for people to enter, and they should be arriving soon."

The Empress Dowager said calmly, "Don't worry about it. If we can't succeed, no one else can."

Duke Cheng'en hesitated for a moment: "The Chu royal family has ruled for nearly a thousand years, and has accumulated a lot of good fortune."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager fell silent.

If it weren't for valuing the fortune of the Chu royal family, she wouldn't have married the retired emperor and become the empress dowager.

Although the fortunes of the Chu royal family have been weakening over the years, they are still much stronger than many other powers.

Especially within the territory of the Great Jin Dynasty, the Chu royal family, who ruled the Great Jin for nearly a thousand years, always managed to find various ruins and secret realms before others by chance.

The Empress Dowager understood that this was the nation's destiny, aided by the unity of the people, helping the Chu royal family in the unseen realm.

In the distance, Hua Changxi dared not release her divine sense rashly, so she had no way of knowing the details of the conversation between the two. However, the Empress Dowager's personal intervention made her realize the importance that the royal family attached to the blessed land.

Thinking of the male cultivator who had entered Zhu Rong's Tomb, she felt somewhat anxious.

The royal family has deep-rooted resources; they might actually have the means to seize Zhu Rong's tomb first.

She needs to find a chance to enter Zhu Rong's Tomb as soon as possible!

Hua Changxi originally planned to send the Vermilion Bird Army to lure away the Nascent Soul cultivators and Spirit Platform cultivators hiding outside Zhu Rong Tomb. However, unexpectedly, someone followed the Empress Dowager and Duke Cheng'en to this place as well.

Dozens of men in black robes rushed out from all directions.

"May Your Majesty the Empress Dowager be well."

"It's really not easy to see you!"

The leader, a man in black robes, had most of his face covered by a cloak, but his exposed mouth revealed an undisguised mockery.

As soon as the man in black robes appeared, the cultivators sent by the royal family gathered around him, protecting the Empress Dowager and the Duke of Cheng'en in the middle.

Hua Changxi watched from afar and saw the Empress Dowager and the leader of the black-robed men talking excitedly. Before long, the two sides started fighting.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi quickly took out her teleportation device and sent a message to the manager of the Lingguang Hall's mission hall, informing him of the battle that had broken out and asking him to stop the patrolling Vermilion Bird Army from coming over.

That man in black robes doesn't look like a good person at all. Let them fight it out with the royal family.

After sending the message, Hua Changxi took advantage of the fact that the two sides were too busy to pay attention to their surroundings, applied an invisibility talisman, and quickly ran towards the place with the strongest spatial fluctuations.

Approaching the spatial rift, it summoned seven-colored strange flames with lightning speed, which merged into the Great Sun Divine Flame.

Finally, using the Rift Law of the Great Sun Divine Flame, he broke through the spatial rift and plunged into a blood-red world.

Just as she entered the spatial rift, Yi Nian Tong trembled.

"Palace Master, the patrolling Vermilion Bird Army has discovered that cultivators are gathering in the southeast direction of Lingguang Palace. At the same time, they have also spotted the figure of a fire phoenix."

Unfortunately, Hua Changxi didn't see this message at all.

(End of this chapter)