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

Lu Chen's words echoed endlessly within the hall, while the hearts of the ministers were already boiling with excitement, especially the military generals, whose aura was constantly rising. They couldn't wait to lead their troops south.

Having laid the groundwork, Lu Chen glanced at the assembled officials and continued, "Today we will discuss the matter of marching south to defend the emperor, and the various preparations needed for such a mission."

Although nominally a southward campaign to defend the emperor and quell the rebellion, this war was far more difficult than the war against Da Wu.

Their goal this time is to conquer the entire Great Xia Dynasty, which is much larger than the small territory of Great Wu that they have already occupied.

Moreover, the situation within the Great Xia is even more complicated; sometimes it's easy to occupy, but governing it is incredibly difficult.

In addition, Lu Chen's reputation was not good, and those aristocratic families or large landowners were all afraid of him. There was nothing they could do about it, since Lu Chen had confiscated all the land in the Northern Kingdom.

In this situation, if Lu Chen wants to seize the throne of Great Xia, he needs to make a lot of preparations in advance.

Especially in the occupied territories, whenever Lu Chen leads the Northern Army into other parts of Great Xia, he must occupy and govern each place. If someone causes trouble in the rear, it may affect the army that is heading south to support the king.

This is very difficult for Lu Chen and for the entire Northern Kingdom, so it needs to be discussed in advance.

Lu Chen's initial plan was to wait until Yelü Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao's child was born, when he would have more support, before heading south.

However, he recently thought about it and realized that since Yelü Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao were probably going to have a baby within the next month, there was no need for him to wait until they had their babies before taking action.

He couldn't just lead his troops south immediately; he still had a lot of work to do, and it would take at least two months. So he started preparing in advance.

Once Xiao Wenyao and Yelü Nanyan's child is born, I will have made all the necessary preparations.

After Lu Chen finished speaking, the officials in the hall began to discuss the issues of war mobilization and logistics.

Currently, civil and military officials are holding a court meeting together, so there is no military deployment yet. Since Lu Chen took sole control of the military power in the North, civil officials have rarely been able to access military matters. Only a few ministers, such as Zhuge Chongguang, have been able to access the North's military secrets.

The rest of the day will be spent in meetings, and the ministers will have lunch and dinner in the main hall.

There are just too many things to discuss in a short time.

Seeing that it was almost eleven o'clock, Lu Chen had no choice but to let the ministers go back first and continue discussing some issues the next morning.

After sitting on the throne for a day, Lu Chen also felt very tired. With his pseudo-celestial realm, his body did not feel tired at all, but he was mainly mentally exhausted.

He had initially guessed that there would be a lot of things to discuss when he led his troops south, but he hadn't expected there to be so many that they couldn't be discussed in a single day.

After today's meeting, Lu Chen went to Fengyun Academy. He was so tired that all he wanted to do was get some sleep and rest. He didn't even want to touch a woman tonight.

However, just as he was about to go to Fengyun Courtyard to sleep, Liang Zong arrived.

Liang Zong had clearly come with important intelligence, so Lu Chen had no choice but to go to the study.

Upon entering the study, Liang Zong handed Lu Chen the intelligence gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Your Highness, news has spread from the capital that there seems to be an exceptionally powerful divine weapon within the palace. It is said that this weapon can kill even celestial beings!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen's hand froze in mid-air. He hadn't even opened the intelligence report. After a moment of stunned silence, he looked up at Liang Zong.

"How was this intelligence gathered?"

Liang Zong replied, "Someone in the capital is spreading this news, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard has not yet found out who it is."

Upon hearing Liang Zong's answer, Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then opened the intelligence report in his hand and read it carefully.

After reading the contents of the intelligence report, Lu Chen wondered if the Lin family was passing on information to him.

If the Lin family had discovered any secrets within the palace, it seems unnecessary to go through all this trouble; they could simply pass the information on to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Since the Lin family pledged allegiance to him, the Northern Kingdom has stationed Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) in the Lin family. Any news about the Lin family can be transmitted to the Northern Kingdom through the Jinyiwei immediately.

and many more……

Could it be that my own father, the emperor, is spreading this message?

If it was his father, then there was indeed a motive.

Perhaps his father sensed that he was already making moves and was afraid that he would lead his troops south, so he wanted to spread false information to intimidate him?

No, this news might also be true.

When Lu Yi came to the Northern Kingdom, he told him that his father had obtained an evil treasure that could instantly elevate the Imperial Preceptor's strength to the Celestial Realm.

At that time, he suspected that perhaps his father had really obtained such a treasure, but that the treasure was most likely not for improving a person's cultivation level, but for some other purpose.

Now, rumors are circulating in the palace that there are divine weapons capable of killing celestial beings. This is certainly not unfounded; someone is probably actually passing information out to the outside world.

Perhaps the person who spread this message wasn't actually passing it on to him, but rather to other factions; however, the information is highly likely to be true.

If there really is a weapon capable of killing celestials, then they must be more careful on their southward journey.

Lu Chen then said, "Find out what that weapon is and how to guard against it."

Liang Zong replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

At this moment, Liang Zong continued, "Your Highness, there is one more piece of information."

Lu Chen asked, "What intelligence?"

Generally, important intelligence is reported in writing; intelligence without a written report is generally not considered important.

So Lu Chen asked casually, not taking Liang Zong's words to heart. At this moment, Liang Zong replied, "The Taiyin Divine Sect massacred a city in the south for a blood sacrifice."

Lu Chen's face instantly darkened.

Although he knew that the Taiyin Divine Sect was a demonic sect, he did not expect that the Taiyin Divine Sect would be so depraved as to commit such a heinous act as massacring an entire city.

Liang Zong continued, "The Taiyin Divine Sect is becoming increasingly active in the south. Several vassal kings in the south have been destroyed by the King of Zhao, and now the King of Zhao is leading a large army north. The south is now empty and has little military strength, which gives the Taiyin Divine Sect an opportunity to cause trouble."

After a moment of silence, Lu Chen asked, "Where is the Crown Princess now?"

Lu Chen wanted to confirm whether this was the work of Xue Linglong, that vixen. Although Xue Linglong was already his woman, he still couldn't tolerate her committing such a thing as a massacre and blood sacrifice.

Liang Zong replied, "She has been staying in Anping City ever since she left the Northern Kingdom."

Hearing this, Lu Chen breathed a slight sigh of relief, as long as it had nothing to do with Xue Linglong.

However, to be fair, this vixen is really patient; she's been gone for months and hasn't returned yet.

He originally thought Xue Linglong would be back in two months at most.

It seems I underestimated her.

She truly deserves to be the Holy Maiden of the Taiyin Divine Sect.

At this moment, Liang Zong tentatively asked, "Your Highness, should we bring the Crown Princess back?"

Lu Chen said calmly, "No need, she knows to come back on her own."

Although Xue Linglong has been on the run for several months, Lu Chen still firmly believes that she will come back on her own one day.

Lu Chen then asked, "Is there anything else?"

Liang Zong bowed and said, "That's all."

Lu Chen said, "Okay, that's enough for today."

Liang Zong immediately said, "This subordinate takes his leave!"

After Liang Zong left, Lu Chen did not leave the study immediately. He sat down at his desk and opened the intelligence that Liang Zong had just sent, reading it over and over again.

He wondered what he should do if there really was a weapon in the palace that could kill a celestial being. He couldn't possibly send Xuanyuan Chaoge to his death.

We must find a way to steal or destroy that weapon.

However, such weapons would certainly be guarded very closely, and would not be so easily stolen.

After thinking it over and over, Lu Chen had no other choice but to get up and walk towards Yunrong Courtyard.

As soon as Lu Chen entered Yunrong Courtyard, Yun Xianxian noticed his presence. After spending the last few months together, the relationship between Yun Xianxian and Lu Chen became much smoother.

Yun Xianxian rarely put on a superior attitude in front of Lu Chen, after all, she suspected that Lu Chen, like herself, came from a higher cultivation world.

Furthermore, Yun Xianxian also passed on several sets of martial arts techniques to Lu Chen. Although Lu Chen didn't go to the battlefield much, these techniques were still quite useful for self-defense.

Noticing that Lu Chen had come to Yunrong Courtyard again, Yun Xianxian thought to herself that she hadn't had dual cultivation with Lu Chen for a long time. Should she go to Chen Wanrong to borrow Lu Chen again today?

Whenever Lu Chen came to Yunrong Courtyard, he would always seek pleasure with either Chen Wanrong or Lin Wanyun.

In the past few months, Yun Xianxian had borrowed Lu Chen from Chen Wanrong many times and practiced the Dragon-Phoenix Yin-Yang Technique with Lu Chen several times. Although she still hadn't touched Lu Chen's body, her attitude was much better than when she practiced with Lu Chen before, and she no longer made Lu Chen stand like the first time.

Now, when she and Lu Chen practice the Dragon and Phoenix Yin-Yang Technique, Lu Chen runs errands and sits down while the two of them face each other, making it look like a very serious practice.

Just as Yun Xianxian was about to go to Chen Wanrong's room to borrow someone, she suddenly discovered that Lu Chen was not going to Chen Wanrong's room, but was heading straight for her own room.

Yun Xianxian was stunned for a moment.

She couldn't help but wonder if her disciple was planning to betray his master and ancestors.

Just as Yun Xianxian was lost in thought, a knock sounded on the door.

"Master, I have something important to discuss with you."

Upon hearing this, Yun Xianxian thought for a moment, then waved her hand and opened the door.

"Come in!"

Lu Chen then entered the bedroom.

The moment he entered the room, a fragrance wafted into Lu Chen's nostrils, instantly dispelling his fatigue and making him restless.

At this moment, Yun Xianxian, dressed in a white gauze robe, sat cross-legged on the bed, surrounded by an ethereal aura, pure and holy, like a fairy descended to earth.

Seeing Lu Chen enter and his eyes fixed on her body, Yun Xianxian snorted, "You wicked disciple, how long are you going to keep staring at your master's body?"

Lu Chen snapped out of his daze and said with a smile, "Master is indeed a fairy, getting younger and more beautiful every day."

Yun Xianxian asked, "Did you come here today just to talk to your master about this?"

Lu Chen said, "Of course not."

"I just received some information that someone is spreading a message in the capital that there is a divine weapon in the palace that can kill celestial beings."

Upon hearing this, Yun Xianxian frowned slightly, and the chill emanating from her body intensified, even forming a layer of frost on the bed.

Lu Chen continued, "This disciple doesn't know if this news is true or false. After all, this disciple is not a Celestial Being, and doesn't know if there are any weapons in this world capable of killing Celestial Beings."

"So, this disciple would like to ask Master, is it permissible for weapons to kill celestial beings to exist in this world?"

Yun Xianxian replied, "I have such a weapon."

Upon hearing Yun Xianxian's answer, Lu Chen was taken aback, instantly recalling what Chu Xiong had told him.

His mother once took the Xuan Yue Palace's divine artifact out of the Xuan Yue Palace a few days ago, and the Chu family had originally planned to keep that artifact.

It seems that what Yun Xianxian was talking about was the divine artifact that her mother brought out of Xuan Yue Palace.

Yun Xianxian continued, "No wonder those two traitors went to collude with Emperor Xia. It turns out they thought they could kill me with Emperor Xia's weapon."

Upon hearing Yun Xianxian's words, Lu Chen immediately felt as if he had heard some important information.

At this moment, Yun Xianxian said, "Although this world does indeed possess weapons capable of killing celestial beings, the conditions for using such weapons must be extremely harsh; they cannot be used at will."

"Take my weapon for example. If I use that weapon once, it will likely consume half of my spiritual power."

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment. Such a huge consumption?

Lu Chen immediately thought of the disappearance of martial artists in the Great Xia Dynasty. He then said, "In the past year, many martial artists of the fifth rank or above have gone missing in the Great Xia Dynasty. The disappearance of those martial artists is related to my father. Perhaps they were charging that weapon."

Upon hearing this, Yun Xianxian asked in confusion, "Charging?"

Lu Chen said, "It means creating the conditions for that weapon to be used."

Yun Xianxian said, "That is indeed possible."

At this point, Yun Xianxian fell into deep thought.

Lu Chen asked, "Master, how well has your strength recovered?"

Yun Xianxian replied, "He has basically recovered to the level of a Celestial Being." (End of Chapter)