The improved female villains regained their memories.

He and the Second Prince Xu Nianren had been at odds for a long time. Although Xu Nianren was the Crown Prince and had the support of court officials, he was ultimately born out of wedlock. Xu Baxian had the support of the Empress and a military background. In addition, he was respectful to scholars and did not have much respect for the Guardian Sect. He even wanted to overthrow them. Indeed, no one was more suitable to cooperate with Song Panning than him.

"If there's no divine intervention, then there isn't. We'll just have to walk our own path from here on out."

The way of the sage is to remain hidden, and this is Song Panning's principle. Therefore, she will continue to hide herself in the shadows.

She pushed open the door, called over Leng Yan who was cleaning, and whispered instructions:

"Xiao Yan, there's something I can only rely on you for."

Leng Yan stared at her with wide eyes. Here we go again?

When Song Panning said those words last time, she had already laid out a grand scheme. Now that she's saying them again, it's anyone's guess who will be unlucky.

"...That's all for now, is it difficult?"

“…Miss, without the support of the royal family, it would take me ten to twenty years to do this, but…”

"What if Xu Baxian had his support?"

"With his support, a year is enough."

“In that case, let’s get on with it. Once his confinement is over, I will completely submit to him and become his advisor.”

"Yes, ma'am."

Song Panning's plans are always grand in scale.

This time is no exception.

Time slowly passed, day by day, and finally, Xu Baxian was released from confinement and left the palace overnight.

He did not notify anyone before leaving the palace. Instead, he used a fake body to stay in the palace while he himself secretly slipped out with the help of his attendants and met Song Panning in a small courtyard in the suburbs.

The two talked for three days and three nights. From then on, Song Panning completely submitted to Xu Baxian and became his advisor.

With Song Panning's help, Xu Baxian became completely opposed to Xu Nianren, and his power grew stronger and stronger. In less than two years, he was already showing signs of overshadowing the Crown Prince.

In the palace, in the main hall, the officials below did not gather together and chatter as usual, but remained silent.

"Your Majesty." An official in red robes stepped forward, bowed, and said, "The Fourth Prince's recent actions have been somewhat inappropriate. What do you think...?"

Xu Weibang's eyes swept over the emperor, who was deep in thought, but he said nothing, only waving his hand to indicate that he understood.

The rivalry between the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince was no secret in the court, but the Fourth Prince's ambitions were higher, seemingly aiming for the heavens, which was not a good thing.

It seems that the previous confinement did not teach them a lesson at all; on the contrary, things have only gotten worse.

"Fang Wu".

After the court session ended, Xu Weibang stood in his room, the incense on the table wafting softly. He called out in a low voice, and a rift appeared in the surrounding space, revealing an old eunuch in a sacrificial posture: "Your Majesty."

"I ordered you to keep an eye on him. What has he been doing lately?"

"The Fourth Prince, he..."

Fang Wu spoke in a low voice, and as Xu Weibang listened, he felt his blood pressure slowly rise, and even the veins on his forehead bulged.

"What exactly does that rebellious son want to do?"

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, you would be better off sending the Fourth Prince to the Northern Border," Fang Wu suggested. "Abu Han Tugu has been invading our borders for days, and we need a prince who can keep him in check. I think the Fourth Prince would be very suitable."

He had one more thing he didn't say: those who can keep things in check don't necessarily need to be princes, but if Xu Baxian stays in the capital, he'll likely become increasingly conspicuous.

"In that case, let him go."

Xu Weibang walked behind the desk, picked up the memorials from the visit, one of which was an urgent report from the northern border.

The emperor, expressionless, picked up his pen and held it above the paper. He then wrote his verdict on Xu Baxian.

"His Majesty……"

Fang Wu looked at Xu Weibang, clearly having something left unsaid.

Xu Weibang glanced at him and said as he wrote:

"If he wants to fight, let him. But before he fights, he must first settle things in the north for me, otherwise..."

He snorted coldly.

"If you can't even solve problems on earth, how can you expect to solve problems in heaven?"

Chapter 282 The Protagonist in Action

乾国

A mountain village.

A thunderous roar, like an earthquake, erupted and echoed throughout the mountains and forests. From underground, something seemed to be trying to break free.

"Help!"

"Father! Mother!"

"Run! Run towards the mountain pass!"

The earth shook violently, and the small village nestled in the valley suffered an unexpected disaster. The once quiet village was suddenly thrown into chaos, with cries and screams filling the air.

In a secluded place, unnoticed, an immortal gazed expressionlessly at everything before him.

This is a woman dressed in iron armor.

She was breathing heavily, with long hair draped over her shoulders, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. Although she was not tall and even looked somewhat delicate, she exuded a heroic spirit that was in no way inferior to that of a man.

Looking at the scene before her, she frowned slightly and muttered to herself, "Something's not right."

This is not an ordinary earthquake.

The woman could clearly sense that deep within the earth's veins, there seemed to be something buried that could trigger a surge of spiritual energy. The village in front of her had simply stumbled upon it, and thus was unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire.

"This place seems far from the capital, but for immortals, it's just a matter of a snap of the fingers. Who could have buried something here that could cause a surge of spiritual energy?"

She muttered to herself and reached for the giant sword behind her, but a man suddenly appeared beside her and pressed her down.

"Guan Hongyi, Ling Tiandu said that we should rest and recuperate properly."

The woman's hand tightened instinctively. She looked at the immortal who was also floating in the air beside her, her brows relaxed, and she said, "It's you. So that's how it is. You've become that guy's lackey."

"The term 'lackey' is too offensive. In the end, we still have to listen to the main characters of the main world. Besides, don't forget, without Ling Tiandu, our cultivation wouldn't have increased so quickly."

Guan Hongyi listened in silence.

She couldn't stand the other person's endless rhetoric. In the end, she hadn't broken free from the mindset of loyalty to the Yan Kingdom. After all, her Guan family had been loyal to the Yan royal family for generations, and she found it somewhat difficult to accept being asked to listen to another person.

"Gu Zi'ang, is Ling Tiandu your father? Why are you going to listen to her like this?"

Guan Hongyi came to the Guardian Sect in the same batch as Gu Zi'ang. It was the God of Wine who picked her up, so compared to the mysterious woman Ling Tiandu, she had a better attitude towards the God of Wine.

Dionysus is a straightforward and easy-going person. Although he is a bit slovenly, he is a good person overall. As for Ling Tianju, he is not only mysterious in person, but also likes to speak in riddles.

Guan Hongyi hates riddle tellers the most.

"Don't put it so harshly. We both have the wind elemental root, so why are you hostile towards me?"

"There are plenty of people with the same attribute. When have you ever tried to understand an enemy just because they share the same attribute as you?" Guan Hongyi looked at him like he was an idiot. "Besides, I'm not that familiar with you. You don't need to follow me."

Gu Ziang didn't say anything, he just looked at her silently.

Guan Hongyi realized what was happening and immediately flew into a rage: "So, it was that Ling Tiandu who sent you to watch over me, right? Is she crazy?"

"During this special period, it's best not to go out unnecessarily."

"Ha, fine, she's the main character of the main world, she's right."

Logically speaking, Guan Hongyi would have fought with Gu Ziang, but this guy wasn't reckless. The emotions he just deliberately displayed were actually a test.

The result of the test surprised her; Gu Ziang seemed to listen to Ling Tiandu quite well.

[This is bad. Has one of the people with me already been brainwashed? Damn it, I just want to go back to my old world.]

She thought to herself, then withdrew her imposing manner and turned to leave.

Gu Zi'ang looked at her, slightly surprised: "Where are you going?"

"go back."

“I saw you standing here for so long, I thought you were going to save this village.”

"I can't see the situation clearly during this underground riot. Besides, didn't you tell Ling Tiandu to keep quiet and not cause trouble? In that case, why should I go looking for trouble?"

"She meant we should rest and recuperate."

"They all mean the same thing."

Guan Hongyi flew away on his own, and Gu Ziang sighed helplessly and followed suit.

The two had just landed at the Guardian Heaven Sect when a white-robed disciple appeared, tearing through space: "Lord Gu, the Sect Master Ling is holding a meeting. Please move to the main hall."

Gu Ziang nodded. Just as Guan Hongyi was about to say something, the white-robed disciple spoke up: "Lord Guan, Sect Master Ling requests that you rest well."

"……I see."

Guan Hongyi remained expressionless, revealing nothing, and turned to leave.

Gu Zi'ang squinted as he watched her leave, then nodded to the gatekeeper and walked towards the main hall.

Next came the aforementioned gathering of the main characters. At the meeting, Ling Tiandu presented the information he had gathered on the four female villains, then finalized the Tianren Mountain plan and selected the main characters to travel there.

After the meeting, Gu Zi'ang had just stepped out of the main hall when he heard Ling Tiandu transmit a message to him: "Wait for me at the usual place."

Gu Zi'ang's body stiffened slightly, then he was enveloped in mist and disappeared from the spot.

The training ground at the back mountain of the Guardian Heaven Sect.

"Drink!"

Guan Hongyi gave a soft shout, and the giant sword immediately burst forth with countless wind blades. With a single swing, tens of thousands of cracks appeared on the boulder in front of him.

Clang clang!

The wind blades swept past incessantly, like a vast army, which was particularly spectacular.

The poor boulder stood there, enduring the relentless barrage of wind blades that lashed at it, leaving it with numerous cracks.

The wind blades are intertwined, and the most wonderful thing is that each wind blade will shatter into countless tiny wind blades when it hits the stone. Then the tiny wind blades will split again, becoming several even smaller wind blades, and so on, until the power of the wind blades disappears.

The wind blades hovered over the boulder for a full twenty breaths before stopping.