After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 361 Mechanism
"Father-in-law, this can't go on forever. If something happens to His Highness the Crown Prince, we will both be held responsible!"

The purple-robed Taoist priest looked anxious, while the white-haired old eunuch beside him just stared at the palace where Li Musheng and the others were with a gloomy expression, without saying a word from beginning to end.

"Now, in the entire Great Xuan Imperial Palace, perhaps only the old ancestor in the palace is confident that he can defeat that young man."

The white-haired old eunuch finally spoke slowly, but then he changed the subject and said:
"However, unless it concerns the life and death of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace, that ancestor will never show himself easily. The safety of His Highness the Crown Prince is important, but it is not enough to make that ancestor take action personally."

Upon hearing this, the purple-robed Taoist priest frowned and looked at the white-haired old eunuch, asking:
"So, are we just going to stand by and do nothing?"

The white-haired old eunuch paused for a moment, then slowly shook his head and said:

"That person's target is His Majesty. Until he achieves his goal, His Highness the Crown Prince and the others should be safe for the time being."

As he spoke, the white-haired old eunuch glanced at the purple-robed Taoist priest, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said:

"Besides, our family has never said we wouldn't do anything."

Upon hearing this, the purple-robed Taoist priest's expression changed, and he looked at the white-haired old eunuch with suspicion, saying:
"Does Your Excellency have already devised a good plan to deal with that young man and rescue His Highness the Crown Prince and all the concubines?"

A hint of disdain appeared on the pale face of the white-haired old eunuch, who said:
"The Daoist priest is not a member of the imperial palace, so his understanding of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace is naturally not as thorough as mine."

"Besides the martial arts masters like us guarding this palace, there is another crucial weapon: the mechanical arts of the Lu Gong Temple."

The purple-robed Taoist priest's expression shifted slightly, as if he understood the white-haired old eunuch's meaning, and he said:
"What you mean, sir, is to use the palace's mechanisms to deal with that person."

"That's the way it is."

The white-haired old eunuch slowly nodded and said:
"In terms of martial arts strength alone, we may not be able to defeat them, but if they enter the 'Earth Vault Mystic Palace' that the palace has painstakingly built, then even if their martial arts strength is above that of a Martial Saint, they will not be able to get out of the trap."

Upon hearing this, the purple-robed Taoist priest looked thoughtful, but quickly frowned and said:
"But if we just stay here and do nothing, how are we going to lure that person into the trap?"

The white-haired old eunuch glanced at the purple-robed Taoist priest, then looked again at the palace where Li Musheng and the others were, and said with slightly narrowed eyes:

"This matter should not be done by us or the Taoist priest, but by His Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, the purple-robed Taoist's expression changed slightly, but then he followed the white-haired old eunuch's gaze and said:

"Does Your Excellency mean that His Highness the Crown Prince must lure that person into the trap?"

But soon, the purple-robed Taoist shook his head again and said:
"But how can you be so sure that His Highness the Crown Prince would do such a thing? And how can you have a way to make that person fall into a trap?"

Upon hearing this, the white-haired old eunuch waved his hand and said:
"That depends on His Highness's adaptability and methods. If His Highness can do all this, then His Highness will naturally win His Majesty's favor and be valued by His Majesty even more."

As he spoke, the white-haired old eunuch glanced indifferently at the purple-robed Taoist priest and said:
"The current situation, while a crisis for His Highness the Crown Prince, is also a test."

"If His Highness the Crown Prince does not have a strong enough will and cannot remain calm and adaptable in the face of danger, how will he be able to ascend to the throne in the future?"

The purple-robed Taoist priest frowned slightly. He felt that the old eunuch's words were unreasonable. Putting the crown prince in a life-or-death crisis was too harsh a test.

But just then, the white-haired old eunuch suddenly spoke up, interrupting the purple-robed Taoist's thoughts.

"His Highness the Crown Prince truly lives up to his reputation as the prince most valued by His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, the purple-robed Taoist priest's expression shifted, and he looked toward the white-haired old eunuch.

In the distance, in the palace courtyard of Li Musheng and his entourage, Crown Prince Zhao Kuang was seen walking out of the gate, seemingly leading Li Musheng and his party towards the depths of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace.

"His Highness the Crown Prince did not disappoint. The direction he went was the location of the 'Earth Vault Mystic Palace'."

The white-haired old eunuch emitted a high-pitched, effeminate voice, then, seemingly in a good mood, clapped his hands lightly, glanced at the purple-robed Taoist beside him, and said:
"Master, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. If we can trap that person, our palace will have another powerful puppet at our disposal."

Seeing the white-haired old eunuch's confidence in the palace's mechanisms, the purple-robed Taoist priest pondered for a moment and then said no more.

……

At the same time, the head of the Dali Secret Intelligence Bureau moved like a blur, swiftly traversing the Daxuan Imperial Palace.

But no matter where he hid, the skilled eunuchs behind him could find him at any time.

"They must have a special way of finding me. It seems I can't stay in the Great Xuan Imperial Palace any longer tonight."

The head of the Secret Intelligence Bureau turned around and glanced back. In the darkness behind him, besides the two eunuchs who had fought him earlier, there was now another martial arts master whose strength was no weaker than theirs.

Clearly, the Great Xuan Imperial Palace is also sending more experts to try and capture him.

The head of the Hidden Intelligence Bureau withdrew his gaze and then turned to look in a certain direction of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace. There had been signs of the true energy of heaven and earth trembling and martial arts masters making their moves there, and those masters were no weaker than him.

The head of the Secret Intelligence Bureau guessed that the commotion there might be related to Li Musheng, since the only people who broke into the Great Xuan Imperial Palace tonight besides himself were probably Li Musheng.

Although he was unaware of how far Li Musheng had progressed in rescuing his senior sister.
But he has no intention of investigating for the time being, since the matter has been entrusted to Li Musheng. What will the final outcome be? He'll have to wait until after tonight to find out.

He has now been staying in the Great Xuan Imperial Palace for quite some time. In addition to being chased by the eunuch experts behind him, he has also fallen into the traps and mechanisms of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace twice during this period.

If he hadn't been skilled in array formations and mechanisms, these traps wouldn't have been able to hold him; he would probably have been captured by now.

This also made the head of the Hidden Intelligence Bureau realize that the Great Xuan Imperial Palace was indeed not what it seemed, and was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

The Great Xuan Imperial Palace would certainly not tolerate such insolence from outsiders. If the three eunuchs behind him could not subdue him, they would probably send even more experts.

Therefore, if he continues to stay, his situation will inevitably become more dangerous.

With this in mind, the head of the Secret Intelligence Bureau withdrew his gaze from the distance and immediately moved, rushing towards the direction outside the palace.

Seeing this, the three skilled eunuchs behind him continued to follow closely, showing no intention of letting the head of the Hidden Spy Bureau go.

However, after the three had followed for some distance, they suddenly stopped and stared ahead in astonishment.

At this moment, in the sight of the three, a gigantic hand brimming with true energy suddenly emerged from the palace in front of them.

Then, with lightning speed, the giant hand reached up and grabbed the fleeing head of the Secret Service, instantly disappearing into the palace below.

Upon seeing this, the three eunuchs who had stopped exchanged glances and were immediately at a loss for words.

Clearly, the person who made the move in the palace must be a hidden master within the imperial palace. However, they did not know the other party's identity, and what shocked the three of them was that the martial arts aura that the other party had just released made them tremble even from a distance.

All three realized that the martial arts prowess of the person who made the move was far superior to theirs, even more terrifying than the eunuchs around His Majesty.

Therefore, the three skilled eunuchs dared not make any rash moves or inquire about the other party's capture of the head of the Secret Intelligence Bureau.

They merely bowed from afar, and said with trepidation:
"Thank you for capturing the thief, senior. We three servants would not dare to disturb your peaceful cultivation. Do you have any other instructions?"

Upon hearing this, the distant palace fell silent for a moment, then a very old voice rang out, saying:

"Go back."

Upon hearing this, the three old eunuchs dared not say anything more. They immediately bowed and retreated along the same path, disappearing into the night within moments.

……

Meanwhile, led by Crown Prince Zhao Kuang, Li Musheng and his entourage arrived at a magnificent palace within the imperial palace.

The palace before them was extremely luxurious, surpassing all the palaces that Li Musheng and the others had seen in the imperial palace before.

"Could this be the Great Xuan Emperor's bedroom?"

A martial arts master from the Great Xuan realm looked surprised and asked the Crown Prince Zhao Kuang in front of him.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuang stopped in front of the gilded dragon gate.

At this moment, the eunuchs guarding the gate looked extremely puzzled when they saw Zhao Kuang and the group of people following him.

Zhao Kuang simply waved his hand at the group and gave the order:

"Go wait over there."

Although the eunuchs were puzzled, they all responded in unison and immediately stepped aside.

Zhao Kuang took a few steps forward, reached out and pushed open the golden gate under the palace lanterns, and then walked straight into the palace with its carved beams and painted rafters, and its magnificent gold and green walls.

"This is not Father Emperor's bedroom, but a palace designed to mislead."

As Zhao Kuang walked, he slowly began to explain:

“There are countless people in the world who want my father’s life. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Those who do not know the situation may think that such a luxurious palace must be the emperor’s bedroom, but that is not the case.”

At this point, Zhao Kuang suddenly stopped, then turned to look at Li Musheng behind him and said:
"This place looks like the emperor's bedroom, but it is actually the most dangerous trap and mechanism in the entire palace."

As soon as he finished speaking, the palace gates slammed shut.

Immediately afterwards, a series of rumbling sounds of giant gears turning rang out, and the ground where everyone was standing plummeted. At the same time, heavy walls of refined iron appeared above their heads, completely blocking their only remaining escape route.

The group of martial arts masters in the palace had no time to react, and their expressions changed drastically.

After realizing what was happening, the Fire Cloud Evil God struck first, unleashing several Fire Cloud Divine Palms that slammed into the heavy iron wall above his head.

However, although the Fiery Cloud Palm blasted through the several-foot-thick iron wall, a cloud of mercury swirling with poisonous gas shot out from the wall and poured down on the people in the palace.

Upon seeing this, all the martial arts masters of the Great Xuan were shocked and immediately tried to control the surrounding true energy of heaven and earth to block the poisonous mercury above.

But at this moment, everyone was shocked to discover that the true energy of heaven and earth in this palace was extremely thin, almost non-existent.

This meant that even those who were masters of the Celestial Realm were completely unable to use the true energy of heaven and earth.

With no other option, the group had to circulate their martial arts internal energy to form a barrier of true energy in the air, plugging the hole blasted open by the Fire Cloud Evil God and blocking the poisonous mercury from entering.

Only then did the group of martial arts masters look at Zhao Kuang in the palace with murderous intent in their eyes.

However, before Li Musheng spoke, although they all wanted to kill the culprit, the Crown Prince of Da Xuan, with a single palm strike, they all refrained from making a move immediately.

"Young hero, this scoundrel prince lured us here, intending to wipe us all out. Please allow me to take action and skin him alive."

Enraged, a martial arts expert immediately spoke to Li Musheng, wanting to take action against Zhao Kuang.

Li Musheng waved his hand, glanced at Zhao Kuang indifferently, then looked around the palace and asked:

"Where is the Great Xuan Emperor? I don't see him at all."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding martial arts masters were all slightly taken aback, and Zhao Muning, standing to the side, stared at Li Musheng with a strange expression.

As a princess of the Great Xuan, she was naturally aware that the Great Xuan Imperial Palace was full of traps and mechanisms. However, after coming of age, she was granted a residence by her father and had moved out of the palace many years ago.

Therefore, she was actually unaware of the traps and mechanisms in the palace before her.

However, judging from what Zhao Kuang had said earlier, and from the actions of experts like Huo Yun Xie Shen just now, she understood that the traps and mechanisms here must be extremely powerful, more than enough to trap martial arts masters like Huo Yun Xie Shen.

Even so, she couldn't see any emotion on Li Musheng's face; he seemed completely unconcerned about the predicament he was facing.

At this moment, Zhao Kuang, whose gaze had been fixed on Li Musheng the entire time after the mechanism was activated, suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly and clapped his hands in praise:
"Your composure and calmness in the face of danger are truly admirable."

As he spoke, Zhao Kuang pointed to the enormous palace that had already sunk deep into the ground before him and slowly said:
"This mechanism is called the 'Earth Vault Mystic Palace'. Apart from my father and me, only a few people in the entire Great Xuan Imperial Palace know about it."

"This palace was designed and built by the top master craftsmen of the Lu Gong Temple. It is said that even a martial saint would be trapped and killed inside, just like a turtle in a jar."

At this point, Zhao Kuang paused slightly, noticing that Li Musheng was just staring at him without saying a word, seemingly unconcerned about the situation at the Diqiong Xuan Palace.

He suddenly felt a pang of anxiety and immediately continued:

"The Earth Vault Mystic Palace contains the most dangerous mechanisms, but it is also one of the safest secret places in the entire Great Xuan Imperial Palace."

"The reason I brought you here is because I think my father might be in seclusion here."

(End of this chapter)