A master of comedy!

Is it even more shocking than the head transplant case?

Upon hearing Bao Ying's words, Zhou Sheng's heart stirred, and a hint of curiosity arose within him.

Baozi is definitely not the type of person who likes to exaggerate. On the contrary, he is always meticulous and serious in his work. If that's the case, then it can't be false.

"What's the case?"

Bao Ying absolutely trusted Zhou Sheng, and since the case was currently at a bottleneck, he happened to need Zhou Sheng's help to analyze it, so he told him everything.

"Brother Zhou, you should still remember the scene when Huang Chao's immortal corpse stormed into the capital and finally self-destructed?"

"Naturally remember."

Zhou Sheng's voice became more solemn. He had survived three tribulations back then and had witnessed that great battle firsthand.

Huang Chao's immortal corpse had been dead for many years, but it still retained a certain obsession and stormed into the imperial palace in Chang'an, thus unveiling the mysterious Lord of the Palace.

But just as Huang Chao was about to storm the Golden Palace, the great formation activated, isolating the inside from the outside.

Not long after, Huang Chao's roar was heard. This reincarnation of Mulian Venerable ultimately chose to self-destruct. In that earth-shattering explosion, through a corner of the formation's gaps, Zhou Sheng saw a pair of terrifying demonic eyes.

He escaped using the Great Path of Time, but his opponent was able to reach out a demonic hand from the River of Time and almost captured him.

"Within the imperial palace lies an unprecedentedly powerful demon, whose cultivation, methods, and intellect are unfathomable, and who likely harbors astonishing schemes!"

Bao Ying's gaze was solemn, with a hint of worry in his eyes.

Such a worried expression was very rare on his face. Bao Ying had always been a thorough pragmatist. Even in a major case like the head-swapping case, which involved both the living and the dead, he simply buried himself in his work and had never shown such an expression before.

Zhou Sheng could even sense a hint of his lack of confidence.

"At first, I thought it was His Majesty, but after several tests, I was finally able to confirm that His Majesty... was just incompetent, not the devil himself."

"Of course, His Majesty's incompetence over the years may well have been partly due to the bewitching of that devil."

In recent years, as the emperor's health deteriorated, he became increasingly fond of pleasure and favored alchemists. This trend intensified after he changed the reign title from Yuanshou to Yongshou.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince remained wise, which allowed Bao Ying to still hold onto hope.

"When a nation is about to perish, monsters will surely emerge!"

He spoke very harshly, without any concealment in front of his close friends, boldly expressing his true feelings.

"Over the years, I have been investigating that great demon. If we cannot eliminate him, even if His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he may still be bewitched by him. After all, His Majesty was once known for his wisdom and martial prowess when he was young."

Zhou Sheng listened quietly without saying a word, but in his heart he didn't think much of it.

Baozi was a man of great talent, but as an ancient person, he was bound by his own ideas. In his opinion, it would be better to overthrow the Great Xuan Dynasty and establish a new dynasty.

The Li family's court is rotten to the core; it cannot be cured simply by changing the emperor.

"But after years of painstaking investigation, and exhausting almost every method, I have not been able to find any clues in the palace, as if that demon... simply does not exist."

"But the more this is the case, the more terrifying it becomes."

"Then I had a sudden inspiration. Since that demon is so powerful that I can't find any clues in the mortal world, I might as well try my luck in the underworld!"

"Sure enough, the net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it. I finally discovered a clue in the old eunuch ghost who served as a scribe in Fengdu City in the underworld!"

At this point, Bao Ying's eyes lit up. Although he was over forty years old and no longer young, Zhou Sheng seemed to see the young man from years ago in those bright eyes when the topic of investigation came up. "He was an old eunuch from over two hundred years ago who served the founding emperor. After his death, he was appreciated by the King of the Underworld and became an official in the underworld. He told me about a strange story that happened in the palace back then."

"It is said that there is an old eunuch in the palace who likes to wear black robes and a dragon-shaped thumb ring on his hand. Sometimes he prunes the branches in the Imperial Garden, and sometimes he sunbathes by Xuanwu Lake. Many people have seen him, but strangely, it seems that no one knows him."

"What's even stranger is that no one can remember the old eunuch's face, and over time, it became a strange tale within the palace."

"Of course, there are many strange things in the palace, which doesn't prove anything. But when I investigated this as my goal, I found that hundreds of years later, there were still people in the palace who seemed to have seen that old eunuch."

"He was like a shadow, hidden in the shadows of the deep palace, never disappearing even after more than three hundred years..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

Wearing a black robe and a dragon-shaped thumb ring, with an unrecognizable face, these elements combined immediately reminded him of the sage who had guided the Empress of the Great Qian Dynasty to be buried in Kunlun Mountain.

He recounted the scene he had witnessed from the memories of the Great Qian Empress, and Bao Ying was visibly excited upon hearing it.

"It seems that person was even more well hidden than I imagined; he was already in the palace during the previous dynasty!"

"This person bears an inescapable responsibility for the downfall of the Great Qian Dynasty. Could it be that he intends to use the dynasty's fortune for cultivation?"

Bao Ying muttered to himself, his brows furrowed.

"Then how did you find out about Kunlun?"

Upon hearing this, Bao Ying gave a wry smile and said, "Someone gave me the clues on their own initiative."

"Three months ago, I received a mysterious letter that said the Queen Mother of Kunlun Heavenly Palace had a secret relationship with that old eunuch."

"Just that one sentence?"

"Just that one sentence."

Bao Ying shook his head and sighed, "Now that I think about it, the person who sent that letter must have been the old eunuch I've been investigating. He really figured out my personality."

In fact, Bao Ying realized something was wrong at the time, but since there had been no progress for a long time, he had no choice but to give it a try.

He then investigated everything related to the Heavenly Palace. What he found out was that the Heavenly Palace treated humans as animals and committed heinous crimes, but it did so in secret and that's why it was unknown to others.

Given his personality, he wouldn't have cared if he didn't know, but now that he does, he absolutely cannot remain indifferent.

Despite suspecting it might be a trap, he went anyway. Of course, he wasn't there to die. To this end, he not only mobilized many skilled fighters from the Xuanqiong Division, but also specially asked his father-in-law, the Yin King, for a powerful cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending Realm to protect him.

These were merely superficial measures to deceive the enemy; his true trump card was the Monkey King, whom he had invited through Yu Zhensheng's connections.

But to his surprise, the strength of the Heavenly Palace exceeded his expectations. If Zhou Sheng hadn't suddenly appeared, the outcome would have been hard to predict.

"It seems that the unassuming old eunuch has already realized that you are investigating him, so he led you to the Heavenly Palace, hoping to use the Empress to get rid of you. In this way, even if the underworld forces behind you seek revenge, they will only go to Kunlun."

Zhou Sheng was also shocked by the old eunuch's forbearance and ruthlessness. Despite having such high cultivation, he was still so careful and cautious, not wanting to leave the slightest flaw.

With such a temperament, it's no wonder he was able to remain hidden for two dynasties, secretly stirring up trouble without being known to anyone.

"Brother Zhou, this case—"

“I do not want to get involved in this case, and I also advise Brother Bao not to investigate any further.”

...(End of this chapter)