Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Ji Yan has been staying in Guangling County for the past month and is aware of everything that has happened there. He hasn't noticed anything amiss in Guangling County.

Du Wen replied, "Those Earth Realm experts from the Zhengui Division haven't left Guangling City for a long time; they've been staying in Guangling County."

Ji Yan asked, "What's wrong with that? The Prince of Zhennan is now considered the head of the Zhengui Division, so naturally the higher-ups in the Zhengui Division will stay by his side."

Du Wen said, "Logically speaking, the Zhengui Division should be busy dealing with those few ghost kings, but they haven't done anything for the past month."

"Moreover, those few demon kings have also disappeared without a trace; they haven't attacked human cities for a long time."

Upon hearing Du Wen's words, Ji Yan seemed to have thought of something and immediately said, "Could it be that the Zhengui Division has already sealed those few ghost kings? That's why the Zhengui Division has been staying in Guangling City."

"But if they've already sealed away those demon kings, they should have returned to the capital by now. Why are they still staying in Guangling City?"

Du Wen said, "This is also what puzzles our leader. We have been gathering intelligence for some time now, trying to find out why the Zhengui Division has not made any moves in the past month."

The Yellow Springs Sect doesn't face much pressure dealing with the Zhennan Prince's Mansion, but if the Earth Realm experts from the Zhengui Division also stay in Guangling City, they might intervene if anything happens to the Zhennan Prince's Mansion, which would disrupt the Yellow Springs Sect's plans.

They initially thought that the powerful experts from the Zhengui Division were only in Guangling City to discuss with the Zhennan King how to seal the Ghost King. However, after arriving in Guangling City, they stayed there, which forced the Huangquan Sect to postpone their plans.

Ji Yan then asked, "Are we just going to stay here like this as long as the people from the Zhengui Division don't leave Guangling City?"

Du Wen said, "Your Highness need not worry. Our leader has already decided that even if those Earth Realm experts from the Zhengui Division stay in Guangling City, our plan will continue to be implemented."

From the perspective of the Yellow Springs Cult, although those ghost kings have disappeared, they can still create disturbances to attract the people of the Ghost Suppression Division away, which is not a big deal.

……

The capital city, the Wanshou Hall.

The palace was like a cold abyss. Sunlight was blocked by the heavy carved windows, leaving only a few weak rays that fell onto the cold gold brick floor.

Gilded palace lanterns hung from the beams in the palace, their candlelight flickering.

The entire hall seemed to be filled with a heavy chill, and there was no sound, only emptiness and desolation.

The air was very stuffy and oppressive, making it difficult to even breathe.

Emperor Zhou sat upright on a prayer mat in the middle of the main hall, his demeanor having changed significantly compared to before.

He seemed to emanate a red, bloody aura, giving off a dangerous and evil vibe.

Just then, a dark figure appeared behind a pillar in the main hall.

The shadowy figure addressed Emperor Zhou, "Your Majesty, our men are ready. Shall we make our move?"

Upon hearing this voice, Emperor Zhou opened his eyes, his pupils glowing with a blood-red light. The corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly, and his expression appeared somewhat distorted with excitement.

He then said, "Execute it immediately."

After preparing for so long, he can finally begin his plan.

As long as he can obtain the dragon energy from the King of Zhennan, he will definitely be able to break through to the late stage of the Earth Realm directly.

At this moment, the shadowy figure continued, "Your Majesty, it seems that the Holy Maiden of Tianxuan Palace has also gone to Guangling City."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Emperor Zhou's face instantly froze, and his brows furrowed, giving him a bad feeling.

In order to prevent Mu Yunxi from ruining his plans, he finally managed to get her away, but Mu Yunxi ran off to Guangling County.

Could it be that Mu Yunxi discovered something and found out that the Yellow Springs Cult was related to him?

Emperor Zhou quickly calmed down and thought to himself that Mu Yunxi was unlikely to know about his relationship with the Yellow Springs Sect. Mu Yunxi's trip to Guangling City was probably just to help the Zhennan Prince's Mansion seal those ghost kings. He was just overthinking things.

Thinking of this, Emperor Zhou said to the shadowy figure, "Keep a close eye on Tianxuan Palace at all times, and inform me of any actions they take."

The figure in black said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

At this moment, Emperor Zhou suddenly remembered something and continued, "By the way, tell your leader that I need more of my heart's blood."

The "heart's blood" mentioned by Emperor Zhou refers to the essence and blood inside a person's heart.

He spent some time in the imperial mausoleum before his failed attempt to seize power.

Inside the imperial tomb, he discovered a hidden legacy and an identity token that could command the Yellow Springs Cult.

Among the inheritance he received were two evil spells. One spell was called Blood Refining Soul-Stealing Technique, which could accelerate cultivation by devouring people's heart blood; the other spell was called Blood Harm Demon Seed Technique, which could transform people into demons.

Unlike evil spirits and strange creatures, demons are extremely powerful and their strength cannot be suppressed by the Great Zhou's fortune.

However, transforming the demon is not an easy task, and the existence of the demon will erode the fortune of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Originally, the Zhou Emperor did not want to use these two techniques.

However, he failed to seize power and was trapped in the palace. Gradually, he abandoned his principles and secretly contacted the Yellow Springs Cult, asking them to provide him with heart's blood.

The monsters that massacred villages in the Great Zhou Dynasty during this period were actually demons created by the Yellow Springs Cult.

Because the aura of the demon is quite unique, neither belonging to evil spirits nor the supernatural, the Bureau of Suppressing Demons has been unable to track down its whereabouts, which has emboldened the Yellow Springs Cult to become increasingly unscrupulous.

Initially, the Yellow Springs Cult was worried that the Demon Suppression Division would track them down through the movements of the demons, so they initially chose remote locations to massacre villages.

However, the Yellow Springs Cult later discovered through their spies planted in the Town of Ghosts that the Town of Ghosts seemed unable to track the aura of the demons, so they became bolder and began to operate around the capital.

Because of its proximity to the capital, the blood collected was becoming increasingly fresh, which accelerated Emperor Zhou's cultivation.

As for why the Yellow Springs Sect found Ji Yan, the main reason is that Ji Yan is of royal blood. His body can perfectly accept the dragon energy in the Prince of Zhennan, and royal blood is also required when extracting the dragon energy from the Prince of Zhennan.

Therefore, Ji Yan was nothing more than a sacrifice to Emperor Zhou. Once Ji Yan returned to the capital, the dragon energy in his body would be devoured by Emperor Zhou. After the dragon energy was actively extracted, Ji Yan's cultivation would also vanish and be absorbed by Emperor Zhou.

The thought that he would soon break through to the Earth Realm and regain power filled Emperor Zhou with immense excitement.

He was well aware that the evil magic he used would cause the fortune of the Great Zhou Dynasty to decline, but if he did not do so and did not rely on the Yellow Springs Cult, he didn't know when he would be able to regain power.

Most importantly, Empress Dowager Pei Shuhua's talent is not bad. With her talent, breaking through to the Earth Realm is a sure thing. In fact, Pei Shuhua's talent may even be better than that of the emperor.

His current level of cultivation is entirely due to evil magic, while Pei Shuhua's cultivation is something she achieved through her own efforts.

Pei Shuhua might outlive him. If he tries to outlive Pei Shuhua by comparing who lives longer, he will most likely be the one who dies.

Therefore, he could only resort to radical methods to seize power as quickly as possible.

He'll figure out how to deal with the Yellow Springs Cult once he regains power. (End of Chapter)