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

Upon hearing Lu Yi's words, Lu Chen's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

He had long suspected that this matter was likely related to his father, and he also suspected that his father might be practicing a similar technique called the Absorption Technique. However, he did not suspect that his father was capturing those martial artists not only for their internal strength, but also for their life essence.

They drain people dry? Doesn't that sound like something from a demonic cult?

After a moment of silence, Lu Chen looked at Lu Yi and asked, "Brother, do you have concrete evidence that the missing martial artists of Great Xia were all secretly captured by Father's men?"

Lu Yi said, "No, that's not the case."

"But Ninth Brother, think about it. Besides Father's shadow guards, what other organization or force could do this without anyone noticing?"

"Moreover, Father Emperor just happened to obtain that evil treasure. If it wasn't Father Emperor who did it, then who else could it be? Most importantly, I personally witnessed the soldiers being drained of their life force and turned into dried corpses. Therefore, the mastermind behind the disappearance of the Great Xia warriors is most likely Father Emperor!"

After hearing Lu Yi's words, Lu Chen pondered for a moment. It turned out that Lu Yi did not have direct evidence, but Lu Yi's speculation was correct. If the Xia Emperor really possessed such an evil treasure, the Xia Emperor would not have refrained from using it.

If the Xia Emperor were to use that treasure, he could not use it openly, much less openly kill people as sacrifices. He could only secretly capture some warriors from other forces to sacrifice.

After all, this thing sounds like something from the Demonic Sect. If the world knew that Emperor Xia was related to the Demonic Sect, it probably wouldn't be long before all the major righteous forces would unite and come to the capital to cause trouble for Emperor Xia.

Seeing that Lu Chen remained silent, Lu Yi asked, "Does Ninth Brother believe that the disappearances of those martial artists have nothing to do with Father?"

Lu Chen came to his senses. "No, but I was wondering who gave that evil treasure to Father."

Lu Yi said, "I heard that my father once sent people to the sea to search for something. Perhaps that evil treasure came from the sea."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was stunned for a moment.

From the sea?

Could it be something from Fengyin Island?

It seems there's quite a lot on Fengyin Island. Once I take control of the Great Xia Dynasty, I'll have to send people to Fengyin Island to investigate as soon as possible.

At this moment, Lu Yi glanced at Lu Chen's reaction and then tentatively said, "Now that Father has obtained such an evil treasure, if Father activates that treasure, the Imperial Preceptor will be able to become a celestial being."

Lu Chen smiled and said, "It's a good thing that the Imperial Preceptor has become a Celestial Being. Perhaps the internal strife in the Great Xia will soon come to an end."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi said directly, "Ninth Brother, you don't need to say these things in front of me. You and I both know very well that once the Imperial Preceptor becomes a Celestial Being, Father Emperor may very well turn against the Northern Kingdom."

"I've heard that the Celestials from Xuan Yue Palace may have visited the Northern Kingdom. Ninth Brother, you should be well aware of the Celestials' strength."

Lu Yi had also heard about the matter of Hengyou Daoist and Tongshen Sect Master. After all, the commotion at the time was so great that some news would inevitably leak out. Like Emperor Xia, Lu Yi believed that Tongshen Sect Master and Hengyou Daoist were killed by the celestial beings of Xuan Yue Palace. Therefore, in his opinion, the celestial beings of Xuan Yue Palace and his ninth brother should have some connection.

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then asked, "In your opinion, what should I do now?"

Lu Yi said, "The disappearance of martial artists started a few months ago. Now, there are probably tens of thousands of martial artists above the fifth rank who have gone missing. I suspect that my father's treasure must have absorbed enough essence blood, perhaps enough to make the Imperial Preceptor or someone else become a Celestial Being. There is probably already a Celestial Being guarding the palace now."

Upon hearing Lu Yi's words, Lu Chen wondered what Lu Yi was planning and what he intended to do next.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Brother, just say what you want to say."

Seeing that Lu Chen had already said so, Lu Yi said directly, "Why don't you lend me some troops, Ninth Brother? I'll go and occupy that land in the west of Qi Kingdom, and then gather troops to test the situation in the capital for you."

Hearing this, Lu Chen chuckled inwardly. So this was what his elder brother was planning. No wonder Lu Yi had come to the north after his failed coup.

Seeing that Lu Chen's expression did not change, Lu Yi continued, "Ninth Brother, you may not know this, but after King Zhao destroyed the Huai Kingdom, the remnants of King Huai's army took over Heyang County, which is under the jurisdiction of Yong'an County. Now Heyang County is no longer under the control of the imperial court."

Lu Chen smiled; how could he not know such a thing?

Lu Chen then said, "Brother, your occupation of Heyang County was probably not to test the situation in the capital for me, was it?"

Lu Yi said, "Now that treacherous officials are in power and control the court, even Father Emperor has been deceived. Can Ninth Brother bear to watch the Great Xia Dynasty fall into the hands of outsiders?"

"I know that Ninth Brother must have thought about going south to serve the King, but if you go south at this time, you will inevitably be labeled a traitor. In addition, the policies you have implemented in the North have made the powerful families in the Great Xia very afraid of you. Once you go south, they will definitely unite to stop you from going south to serve the King, and then you will be even more unpopular."

"Furthermore, you have no way of knowing whether the capital already has celestial beings. If the capital already has celestial beings, even if you lead your troops to the capital and are protected by celestial beings, you may still be unable to kill the treacherous officials. In that case, you will be forced to leave Great Xia and return to the Northern Kingdom to continue being the Northern King."

"But I am different. Although my uprising failed, I am the eldest son, and there are still many people in the Great Xia territory who support me. As long as I occupy Heyang County, many forces and righteous people will surely come to my aid."

"Once my power grows stronger, I will lead troops to the capital in the name of serving the emperor. If I fail in the end, it will not be a great loss for you. Not only will you suffer no loss, but I will also help you test the power controlled by the capital, and even help you find out if there are any celestial beings. You will not have to bear the stigma of being a traitor."

Hearing Lu Yi's novel remarks, Lu Chen laughed. Lu Yi's idea was indeed quite interesting.

Just as Lu Chen was about to refuse, he suddenly thought of something. If there really was an evil treasure that could directly allow someone to break through to the Celestial Realm, then he probably wouldn't be able to proceed according to his original plan.

If that's the case, then what Lu Yi said might actually be feasible.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen's expression changed, and he said seriously, "Brother, this matter is quite important. Please allow me to think about it some more. I cannot give you an answer immediately."

Lu Yi said, "It's alright, Ninth Brother, you can think about it slowly. I just hope you understand that if I succeed in supporting the king, I will definitely share the throne with you in the future. The promise I made to you when I was acting as regent will still stand."

Lu Chen said, "I understand. I have other things to do today, so I'll head back now."

Lu Chen immediately stood up, and Lu Yi quickly stood up as well, saying, "I'll see you off."

...(End of this chapter)