"That's how the rumors of Princess Xi's ambition to abandon her family and follow King Kang spread across the major Sanctuaries."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused and then continued with a deep tone, "Later, like the Lin Family, King Kang almost reached the 'Boundless Heart Sea - Core Region,' but the 'Fog Hidden Association' dispatched a Yaksha to rise to the sixth rank."

"And they directly crushed the quasi sixth-ranked King Kang, leaving him severely injured."

As he spoke, a fleeting hint of reluctance appeared in Qiu Tu's eyes. He said, "When I learned about this, I had some doubts."

"How could King Kang, who now falls ill so easily, have escaped with his life after being attacked by a Yaksha during his advancement, and then fully recovered?"

Zhao Ji had obviously been listening attentively. She asked, "Butterfly Gu?"

Qiu Tu acknowledged with a sound, "Yes, and it's the 'Original Gu' of the 'Butterfly Gu.' That's... Princess Xi."

"He and the Queen, to save their own lives when Princess Xi came back into the light and was reborn, pushed her off a cliff by their own hands, drugged her, and stole her chastity."

"It was precisely the strength of the 'Original Gu' that saved King Kang, who was already halfway to the grave."

As Qiu Tu finished speaking, the room fell into silence.

Even with Zhao Ji's usual calm demeanor, it seemed to have been shaken.

She sat quietly for a while, then composed herself and stopped cultivating.

She looked at Qiu Tu and asked, "So... is that why Lin Xi hates them so much and started a new round of revenge?"

"She not only poisoned the Queen but also continued to poison King Kang secretly for years, ultimately poisoning him to death?"

Qiu Tu replied indifferently, "I don't know about that."

"These are all palace secrets. Who knows the truth except for the ones involved."

"But the Kou family claims... some of the secrets were told to them by King Kang."

"And the reason King Kang entrusted great power to the Kou family when he was gravely ill, instead of to Princess Xi, was because he suspected she poisoned him for her own gain."

"He even spent his half-hour of clarity each day transferring power to the Kou family, for this reason." (Chapter 523)

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Zhao Ji slightly nodded expressionlessly, showing understanding.

After discussing these secrets with Zhao Ji, Qiu Tu stretched and said, "However... these are all things of the past."

"Although I sympathize with Princess Xi and want to help her, politics looks at interests, not sympathy."

"Well... it's also because the Kou family offered too much."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused again, then added with a smile, "Of course, I'm not the kind of person to turn away after getting my benefits. I've already paved another path for Princess Xi."

"That path... might even be more to her liking than the current one."

Having said that, Qiu Tu waved at Zhao Ji and said, "Alright. The fight over there is almost done. It's time for me to step in."

"Your Highness, I'll come back and chat with you later."

After finishing, Qiu Tu's body slumped, then shrank, and soon transformed into a small doll.

It was Qiu Tu's often-used substitute tool: the Uncompromising Simulacrum.

Zhao Ji looked at the crumpled doll on the ground, her mind involuntarily recalling the moment when Qiu Tu approached her today.

At that time, she immediately noticed Qiu Tu was a simulacrum. She thought Qiu Tu had gone mad and intended to use a simulacrum to tease her, to avoid being hunted down.

However, surprisingly, Qiu Tu didn't do that.

He merely sighed and said he found out some secrets, feeling somewhat despondent.

He would soon enter a fierce battle, so he wanted to talk to her, hoping to subtly improve his image with her.

Those amusing words made Zhao Ji let him stay.

The result was that they talked until now.

'What a baffling guy...'

Silently evaluating Qiu Tu in her heart, Zhao Ji slowly closed her eyes, intending to meditate again.

Yet, for some reason, her state of mind seemed affected, unable to settle down.

So after hesitating for a moment, she opened her eyes and ceased her meditation...

She looked up, her gaze directed towards the northwest, towards the location of the Sixth Sanctuary, as if her sight pierced through the distance of time and space, witnessing the two forces in fierce battle...

-----

We might win the single-day Monthly Ticket champion today! I beg for a wave of Monthly Ticket support!

And there's a draw of 13,000 yuan in the last hour! Voting also means participating in the draw!

The previous chapter was said to be a cliffhanger by everyone. Luckily, I'm on leave and not working these two days, so I rushed to write it out, enhancing everyone's reading experience.

Today, it's still 2 chapters and 10,000 words, with another chapter between 3-6 AM.