Chapter 530: Chapter 234: Secret Realm Battle Royale_2

    The ministers and nobles heard the words and were first taken aback, then struck with great alarm.

    Although Xu YanKuan’s words sounded pleasant, careful consideration revealed many flaws.

    The Secret Realm Square-Inch, despite its miraculous nature, is after all just a secret realm, where trials normally last a month at most, or ten days at the shortest.

    In the shortest period of just ten days, to light the incense of thousands of City God Temples within the Great Xia would be an almost impossible task.

    For, the prerequisite for lighting the incense in City God Temples is the selection of a City God.

    City Gods often go through multiple inspections, and only after verifying the City God’s nature is the position established; it’s simply not something that can be completed by randomly worshiping a person.

    And when the position of a City God is selected, it often involves the interests between the local nobility and Great Xia’s Imperial Court. Even with pressure from the City God Ministry, it can’t be decided with just a word, so it is inevitably a lengthy process.

    The only possibility for Xu YanKuan’s confident guarantee to light all the City God Temples within ten days is that Great Xia’s Imperial Court would give up their decision-making power over the selection of City Gods and hand over the positions to local noble families in exchange for support.

    With the support of local noble families, it’s certainly possible to complete the lighting of City God Temples in the shortest time.

    Although all City Gods cannot defy the orders of the City God Ministry and Emperor Xia and have no risk of betrayal, after all, a City God is an incense-offering supernatural being, and if its nature is not confirmed—

    Under the erosion of incense faith, evil thoughts can easily arise, leading to chaos among supernatural beings.

    This method is to exchange the safety of Great Xia’s future for the opportunity of a rapidly constructed incense offering magic domain.

    “Your Majesty, this act is harboring disaster for Great Xia!”

    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?ον?0.с?

    “Xu YanKuan is deluding the public with deceit, Your Majesty is beseeched to execute Xu YanKuan to maintain the proper order!”

    “Once chaos ensues from supernatural beings, Xu YanKuan will surely become a sinner of Great Xia!”

    The Emperor Xia on the dragon throne watched all this with a cold gaze, and said indifferently:

    “Presumptuous!”

    “This matter has been approved by Ourself, and it’s not only Minister of Ceremonies Xu’s responsibility.”

    “The Spirit Energy Tidal Surge signals an era of great contention, and what Great Xia contends for now is the opportunity to seize control of the situation, which cannot tolerate any delay.

    All the positions of City Gods are under Our sole control. Even in the event of chaos from supernatural beings, suppression shall be executed; My loyal ministers need not worry.”

    “The matter is thus decided. The cultivators from the City God Ministry have already headed to various parts of Great Xia, preparing to light the City God Temples.

    Starting from today, the Imperial Capital Great Array Formation will be activated to suppress all unrest, and after seven days, on an auspicious day, a ceremony will be held for the Capital City God to command the incense offering magic domain of Great Xia!”

    Emperor Xia rose and left, leaving the ministers and nobles in the hall exchanging glances.

    …

    Inside the Mind-nourishing Hall, Xu YanKuan stood in the empty grand hall, watching the Emperor who hid in the shadows on the dragon throne.

    At some point, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s Superintendent no longer attended court or entered the palace, and the person coming to the Mind-nourishing Hall for deliberating on important matters had also been replaced by Xu YanKuan, the newly promoted Minister of Ceremonies.

    While others might see this as a supreme honor, standing within the Mind-nourishing Hall, Xu YanKuan felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

    “What has been Our Heaven Traversing Princess doing these past few days?”

    The voice of Emperor Xia rose slowly, authoritative yet with an indescribable hoarseness, as if not spoken with a throat.

    Xu YanKuan shivered and quickly bowed his head in response:

    “Since that meeting in the Netherworld Manor, the Heaven Traversing Princess has been perusing books regarding the grand ceremony for humanity, seemingly preparing for the forthcoming alliance ceremony between the Imperial Court and the Netherworld.”

    “A grand ceremony for humanity?”

    Emperor Xia’s voice carried a hint of scorn, but as his gaze, hidden in the shadows, fell upon the Fire of Humanity rising to the sky from the Enlightenment Pavilion, the anger in his eyes grew more intense.

    “What do you think, if at this juncture We were to accuse Xia Yunqiu of impropriety and strip her of the Heaven Traversing Princess title, and throw her into the dungeon, what then?”

    Xu YanKuan shivered again and hurriedly knelt to the ground.

    “Your Majesty! Although the date for the grand ceremony of offering to the Capital City God has been set, the affair ultimately requires the Netherworld’s assistance.

    The alliance between Great Xia and the Netherworld is not yet fully established. If We act against Xia Yunqiu at this moment, it may cause dissatisfaction in the Netherworld, possibly disrupting Your Majesty’s grand plan.”

    Upon hearing this, the fury in Emperor Xia’s eyes gradually faded.

    “Then We shall wait a bit longer.”

    Thereafter, Emperor Xia’s gaze shifted in another direction.

    “Among those who went to the Secret Realm Square-Inch, have you seen any signs of the Supreme Taoist?”

    “Aside from the Supreme Taoist within the Xue family’s Manor, only Xue Mingzhi is qualified to enter the Secret Realm Square-Inch, but at present, there are no disturbances within the Xue Manor.”

    Emperor Xia’s gaze grew increasingly deep.

    “The Supreme Taoist, what exactly is he up to?”

    Within the entire Imperial Capital, only that unfathomable Supreme Taoist could cause him such concern.

    The next moment, Emperor Xia’s eyes paused slightly as he saw two beams of Flight of Light suddenly rise into the firmament from within the Xue family’s Manor, heading towards the pitch-black Great Sun.

    The unease that had been lingering in Emperor Xia’s mind dissipated completely, bringing a look of joy to his face.

    “Good!”

    …

    Accompanied by a twist in space, the dark scene before his eyes changed, replaced by a strange desert.

    Xue Mingzhi looked around only to find that within this Secret Realm space, both Divine Sense and other peering secret techniques were suppressed, and even his vision was limited by the space.

    His eyes could only see the golden desert surroundings and several beams of Flight of Light falling in the distance.

    Looking up into the sky, he saw that the Great Sun occupied nearly half of the sky. The golden sunlight had never been so dazzling, and the intense heat seemed ready to incinerate anyone.

    “Is this the Secret Realm Square-Inch?”

    “Isn’t it said that secret realms are usually narrow, and their rules are incomplete, only able to operate according to specific logic?

    Why does the current Secret Realm Square-Inch almost entirely resemble the outside world?”

    Xue Mingzhi wiped the sweat beginning to form on his forehead, fixing his gaze on the sun as he said:

    “Even this Great Sun is indistinguishable from the one in the outside world, and because its essence is confined within the secret realm, the true intent of the sun it carries is even more intense than in the Primal Chaos Realm.

    Could this possibly be the legacy left by the Donghua Shaoyang Emperor mentioned in the legends?”

    While speaking, Xue Mingzhi subconsciously looked towards Shen Yuan beside him.

    Facing the true yang of the Great Sun so closely, Shen Yuan, dressed in white, remained calm and composed, completely disregarding the Great Sun as if it were nothing.

    Before this, Shen Yuan had always stayed within Lang Huan Garden, seemingly with no intention of venturing into the Secret Realm Square-Inch.

    Only after he took the initiative to enter Lang Huan Garden and invite him did Shen Yuan accept his invitation to step into the secret realm.

    Remembering that Shen Yuan had come to explore the Secret Realm Square-Inch at his own invitation, Xue Mingzhi slightly bowed and asked curiously:

    “Sir, have you ever heard of the name ‘Secret Realm Square-Inch’?”

    A strange expression appeared on Shen Yuan’s face.

    “I have heard a little.”

    At these words, Xue Mingzhi’s eyes brightened, and he asked with curiosity:

    “Then does sir know what is so mystical about this Secret Realm Square-Inch that even the Netherworld has given up numerous states’ incense offering faith and the position of City God for it?”

    “The Donghua Shaoyang Emperor, the Fengdu Emperor, Taoism’s Exalted One, and the powerful expert who created the Secret Realm Square-Inch amidst a reversal of time and space—are any of these true?”

    Listening to Xue Mingzhi’s words, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth slightly.

    Originally, to better promote the Secret Realm Square-Inch, Shen Yuan had determinedly exaggerated, pulling in all the titles of Highest Heaven he could think of, indeed fooling quite a few people.

    But now he couldn’t possibly reveal to Xue Mingzhi that the Donghua Shaoyang Emperor, the Fengdu Emperor, Taoism’s Exalted One, and the creator of the secret realm were all the same person, could he?

    His eyelid gave a slight twitch, and Shen Yuan cleared his throat, casually saying:

    “Once the trial begins, you will know.”

    “The trial?”

    Xue Mingzhi was puzzled.

    And just at that moment, above the sky of the Secret Realm Square-Inch, the brilliance of stars gathered to form a series of Taoist inscriptions imprinted upon the firmament.

    “Detecting that the number of cultivators in the secret realm exceeds a thousand, the trial of the secret realm is initiated.”

    “After the initiation of the trial, the Secret Realm Square-Inch will gradually be devoured by the Endless Void. Cultivators must escape to a safe area within a set time.

    In the process, those who fall into the Endless Void or suffer severe injuries may choose to voluntarily withdraw. After losing the qualification for the trial, the secret realm will transport them to the outside world.

    Random areas within the secret realm will erupt with celestial phenomena left by Emperors and Exalted Ones. After the disaster, there may be a chance for the emergence of Major Path true intent. Risks and benefits coexist. If you accidentally enter the celestial phenomena and cannot voluntarily exit, please tread cautiously.”

    “The Secret Realm Square-Inch will gradually shrink until only one person remains as the victor.”