The next morning, while Biyu Cloud Palace was bustling with preparations for the new Empress's enthronement ceremony, a group of schemers were preparing to make their move in an inconspicuous corner of the palace.
"Such incredible fortune! To be able to wander through the legendary Profound Heaven Empress's court, just the tale alone will make all the other cultivators look at us in a new light."
"Biyu Cloud Palace is so ethereal and transcendent, with countless treasures within. If we can just find a tiny bit of fortune, it'll benefit us immensely."
"So, you're saying there's a chance for this little monk to break through to the Soul Sea realm?"
"You flower monk, can't you think bigger? You could break through an entire major realm! Soul Sea Peak isn't a dream."
"Alright, enough talk. Time is of the essence. While everyone's occupied, let's go find the Empress's private treasury immediately."
Liang Hao, Ding Bu'er, and Fa Hai, the three schemers, disguised themselves as delivery servants to exact revenge on Heavenly Severing Holy Land and Mu Qiuyao. Sneaking into Biyu Cloud Palace, they were determined to plunder Mu Qiuyao's private treasury.
If possible, they even planned to dig up the Immortal Dynasty's ancestral tombs and scatter them into the sea.
The three of them immediately got to work, with clear divisions of labor. They took out the Luoyang shovels they had found in Shen Zhao's room in Qingyang City from their storage bags and planned to dig a tunnel directly to the Profound Heaven Empress's private treasury.
The group was busy for a while. Fortunately, the palace's attention was currently focused on setting up the venue; otherwise, the commotion of digging a tunnel in broad daylight would have resulted in a "Nine Generations Elimination Game," turning them into negative examples in the Northern Region, hanging on the pillar of shame to be severely criticized.
At the same time, on the other side, Feng Xiunian and He Yishou, who had been offline for dozens of chapters, knocked out two guards and threw them into a latrine. Then, they changed into the guards' clothes and stood openly at the outer palace gate, collecting tolls.
"Halt! What are you doing?"
"The Myriad Beasts Hall is here to observe Sect Leader Ning's enthronement ceremony, specially offering a bottle of White Tiger Pills and three drops of the Beast King's spiritual blood..."
"No matter who you are, if you want to see Her Majesty, you must show your sincerity!"
"What sincerity?"
"One hundred high-grade spirit stones per person!"
"Are you trying to extort us? Let me remind you, we are disciples of the Myriad Beasts Hall, invited to attend the enthronement ceremony of the new ruler!"
"What? Did a few words get you all riled up? So what if you're from the Myriad Beasts Hall? I could wipe you out with a flick of my wrist!"
Upon hearing this, the people from the Myriad Beasts Hall immediately erupted with intense killing intent.
A mere ant at the Spirit Gathering Realm dared to be so arrogant?
He Yishou, who was standing to the side, took a look and secretly thought, Wow, none of these eight people were below the third rank of the Soul Sea Realm.
He and Feng Xiunian were only at the sixth rank of the Spirit Gathering Realm, barely scraping by in the underbelly of the cultivation world. If a fight broke out, they could be annihilated a hundred times over with a single finger.
But Feng Xiunian wasn't afraid at all. Facing the menacing disciples of the Myriad Beasts Hall, he simply let out a heavy cold snort, accompanying it with the heavy thud of the dozens of kilograms of his spear against the ground!
"What's the deal? Is Myriad Beasts Hall trying to make trouble for the new Emperor? Come on, come on, if you've got the guts, try it. I'd like to see if you have the guts to offend the new ruler of the Immortal Dynasty!"
With that, he shoved his neck forward, with a look that said, "Go ahead, if you dare to cut me."
The disciples of Myriad Beasts Hall were trembling with anger. Just as they were about to attack, a white-haired old man suddenly stopped them: "Enough, this is Biyu Cloud Palace, not Myriad Beasts Hall."
"But Master, this guy..."
"Shut up!"
The old man stopped them from speaking further, then took out a top-grade spirit stone and handed it to Feng Xiunian, saying, "Young friend, you're only at the Gathering Spirit Realm. You should be more low-key. Take this top-grade spirit stone, and let us in."
Feng Xiunian took the top-grade spirit stone, but still said seriously, "Old Daoist, you know what's good for you. But just letting you pass like this, I'm afraid I'd be violating my principles."
The old man frowned: "What? Isn't one top-grade spirit stone enough? I advise you, young friend, don't be insatiable."
Feng Xiunian's face darkened. "What, are you trying to pull rank? I'm telling you, it wasn't me who decided to collect tolls. It was our Immortal Dynasty's Profound Heaven Empress's future husband, Lin Feng, the Emperor's Consort!"
He Yishou immediately added, "This is what's called a refined policy of the new dynasty, understand?"
The old man took a deep breath, then smiled apologetically. "My friends, we were in a hurry when we left, and we didn't bring so many spirit stones. Could you be a little accommodating? The Myriad Beasts Hall will certainly offer a generous reward later."
"No! This is a rule set by the new Emperor's husband. It's just been implemented. If something goes wrong, what will we do if we're punished?" Feng Xiunian looked "troubled."
The old man immediately pulled out a bag of spirit stones and said, "Please be understanding, young friend. The Myriad Beasts Hall wishes to be friendly with the Immortal Dynasty. And your new Emperor is also the late Emperor's beloved disciple. Presumably, he won't make things difficult for you."
"This... let me think about it."
Feng Xiunian weighed the storage bag and gave He Yishou a look. The two of them pretended to argue for a while, then walked dejectedly in front of the old man.
"Well, who doesn't have difficulties when they're out and about? Today, we'll be bold and let you pass. But this is the only time. Hurry up and leave before anyone notices."
"Thank you!"
The old man didn't linger. He immediately signaled to the Myriad Beasts Hall disciples behind him and went straight through the palace gates.
As soon as they left, Feng Xiunian and He Yishou immediately beamed with joy.
"In just a little while, we've made two hundred upper-grade spirit stones. That's more than our earnings in Qingyang City for a month."
"It's a shame this is a one-time deal. If we could stand here for four or five years, we could make at least a couple of small fortunes."
"You have to say, those from the big sects are truly wealthy. They're nothing like those small sects and families."
"That's right. One 'shuang' is only 208 spirit stones, and this job just earned us several hundred 'shuangs'."
Taking advantage of the current lack of people, the two of them pulled out cigars, puffed clouds of smoke, and started to chat idly.
"I wonder how Brother Shen is doing."
"From what I've seen, he's got a tough life. Unless he doesn't want to live, there aren't many who can hurt him."
"Let's hope so. It's been two months, and we haven't seen him. He probably doesn't even know that Little Su is in trouble."
"Speaking of which, that family is really something. They actually set their sights on Little Su. If Brother Shen finds out... Heh, I don't even want to imagine what will happen."
"Alright, keep an eye on the door. Once Ding Bu'er and the others come out, we'll leave this godforsaken place immediately and go to the Southern域 to find Little Su. If anything happens to her, Brother Shen will probably tear a hole in the sky."
The two men chatted casually, one sentence at a time.
Meanwhile, outside the palace gates, all the aristocratic families and sects from the Northern域 who had received invitations had gathered, eager to witness the enthronement ceremony of the new Immortal Dynasty Emperor!
In a corner of the palace walls, two familiar figures were squatting on the ground, humbly begging passersby for alms.
These two weren't anyone else, but the Dragon King Tang Ran, who had been missing for a long time, and his father, Tang Hao.
Ever since Shen Zhao shattered his Yuan Dan with a palm strike that day, leaving his cultivation completely ruined, Tang Ran had been pursued by Shi Tongtian and Fu Tianhan. If it weren't for his father still having some cultivation, he would have been finished long ago.
However, even though they had escaped the pursuit of Shi and Fu, they unknowingly provoked the disciples of the Pure Yang Palace who were out on an experience. They were directly and brutally beaten.
Later, they ended up in the Northern Domain. Along the way, they encountered a bunch of illogical cheaters who immediately started brutally beating them. This caused his father's Qi Sea to explode, and he, like Tang Ran, became a complete waste with no cultivation.
The down-and-out father and son could only beg for food along the way, relying on scavenging to survive, enduring countless cold stares and mockery. Only then did they manage to make their way to the front of the Biyu Cloud Palace.
"Dad, I haven't eaten anything for three days. I haven't even had a bowel movement recently. I'm really starving!"
"Son, it's not just you. Your father's eyes are also shining with hunger, but you don't need to worry. The new emperor's enthronement ceremony is about to begin.
When the banquet is over, we'll get some slop. I guarantee we'll have enough to eat."
"But how much longer, Dad? Your son is so hungry he's practically glued to his back! I don't think I can hold out much longer."
"Son, you are destined to be a dragon among men. These hardships are just a test on your path to the top. You must learn to endure."
"Endure again? Dad, Mom used to tell me to endure, and now you are too! When will it end?"
"That's because you haven't endured enough. When you reach the top in the future, you can have all the power and women you desire. When you look back at this unpleasant experience, you'll realize it was nothing more than a minor hardship!"
While Tang Hao kept feeding Tang Ran with inspirational words, a female cultivator disciple happened to pass by. Seeing the two beggars, she couldn't help but sigh, "How pitiful."
After saying this, she took out a steamed bun she hadn't eaten that morning and threw it directly into their bowl, then floated away.
Upon seeing this, Tang Hao's eyes lit up immediately. He grabbed Tang Ran's hand and said, "Son, we finally have something to eat."
Tang Ran was also very excited, "Dad, that's great! Finally, we can fill our stomachs and not be hungry anymore."
Tang Hao said, "Son, eat up quickly. You're at the age where you're growing, don't starve yourself."
Tang Ran instinctively reached for the food, but then thought of something and quickly declined, "No, Dad, you've been hungry for a long time too. You should eat it."
This was purely a polite gesture; he figured Tang Hao wouldn't actually compete with him for the steamed bun.
Sure enough, Tang Hao waved his hand, "No, you eat it, son. The heavy responsibility of reviving the Tang Sect rests on your shoulders. Eat up quickly."
After further polite refusals, Tang Ran felt at ease and reached for the steamed bun in the broken bowl.
But, just as his hand touched the bowl, a large foot descended from above, crushing the bowl and the steamed bun into pieces.
"My steamed bun!"
Tang Ran was about to lose it. He looked up and saw a young man in gray clothes, not yet thirty, brushing off his clothes and striding forward without noticing what he'd done.
"Stop right there! You owe me for my steamed bun!"
Tang Ran couldn't take it anymore. The grievances he'd endured for over a year finally erupted. He immediately raised his voice, shouting to stop the young man.
The young man paused, slowly turning his head. "Hey, you smelly beggar, were you the one just yelling?"
Tang Ran pointed a finger at his nose. "Give me back my steamed bun!"
"Steamed bun?"
The young man's face was covered in question marks, then he looked at the broken bowl at Tang Ran's feet, crushed by his own foot, and understood everything.
"Poor bastard, really a poor bastard. Just arrived at Biyu Cloud Palace and immediately run into two beggars begging in the streets. What a bad start!"
However, the young man had no intention of taking responsibility. Instead, he put his hands behind his back, showing an impatient expression and continuing to mock him.
This drew a crowd, all watching the scene with amusement.
Tang Ran, who considered himself a son of the heavens, couldn't allow someone to use him to show off, especially in front of so many people.
"Apologize to me, and pay for my steamed buns!"
The young man seemed to have heard something unbelievable and immediately stepped forward, his eyes filled with hostility: "Looks like you're tired of living, daring to make me, a poor nobody, apologize to you? If you think your life is too long, I don't mind sending you off."
Tang Hao saw the situation was getting out of hand and immediately pulled Tang Ran back: "Forget it, son. Now is not the time to act on impulse. We can't afford to offend these people!"
Tang Ran broke free from Tang Hao's grasp: "Father, a man must stand up for his pride, even if it means fighting over steamed buns. It was clearly this guy's fault, why shouldn't he apologize to me?
Even if they are from a noble family or a sect, what about justice and the law?"
This sentence was overheard by Dugu Xin and his two companions, who were disguised and mixed in with the crowd. They immediately joined the onlookers.
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