The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1133 - 616: Empress: This Time, I Will Take Action
When the two of them clearly saw the content of the text, their hearts shook once again.
"This is the Royal Cultivation Compendium..."
"This piece is... Ah, isn’t this what you mentioned, the secret skill Xu Jianwen used that suppresses the Martial God inheritors outside of the Imperial Family using their bloodline?"
Xu Zhenguan pointed to a spell on the wall in shock.
Zhao Douan glanced over, saying gravely, "It’s possible."
He averted his gaze, catching sight of a square-shaped terrain map on the wall. Due to the abstract style, he scrutinized it before exclaiming in surprise, "Is this the layout of the Imperial Palace? No, it’s a secret passage, this is the map of the palace’s secret passage..."
He quickly recognized the location of the Primordial Ancestor Temple, with a hidden pathway extending from there.
It was the very secret passage he had originally discovered that could lead into the Imperial Palace.
Underneath the Primordial Ancestor Temple, in bold and heavier font, were the small words "Dragon Essence."
"Old Xu... damn, the Grand Ancestor Emperor actually marked the location of the Dragon Essence here as well?"
Zhao Douan was genuinely astonished.
The shocked Empress didn’t mind his disrespectful wording, murmuring, "This records all the Royal secrets, should be the absolute secrets that only the Emperor can know. No... it’s more than what the emperors throughout history knew, otherwise, after six hundred years, the Dragon Essence would have already been taken by a previous emperor."
The Grand Ancestor Emperor had actually hidden all these in this old house within the ’Human World.’
Only by meeting stringent conditions could one come here to receive the complete royal inheritance.
"Ah. This is..." Xu Zhenguan walked to the wall, touched the table, and looking down, she was surprised to find a book placed on it.
She opened it... and was startled: "This is the Grand Ancestor’s cultivation notes!"
It must be known that within the Royal Family, there had never been rumors of the Grand Ancestor Emperor leaving any cultivation notes.
The Empress held it with trembling hands, opened it to read, her beautiful eyes shining with excitement, as these notes contained many key insights into the "Heavenly Human" realm of cultivation.
After just a few pages, she vaguely felt a significant breakthrough in comprehension.
A priceless treasure.
This was truly a priceless treasure.
Xu Zhenguan continued to read, and suddenly her fingers paused, her eyes lit up upon seeing the words on the paper.
Meanwhile, Zhao Douan was attracted to a mental method on another wall: "Dragon Taming Technique..."
His eyes shone brilliantly; this was actually a spell teaching how to harness the Dragon Essence for one’s own use.
Indeed, dragon taming was genuinely about taming dragons...
The enormous surprise almost knocked the monarch and minister unconscious; putting aside everything else, just these few secret skills were invaluable.
With a bit of time, the Empress’s cultivation would rapidly improve.
And Zhao Douan had an even greater chance to harness the Dragon Essence, truly unleashing the power of this half-divine figure cultivated by old Xu throughout his life.
Without any hesitation.
The two held their breath and focused, beginning to frantically memorize and remember.
Fearing that these words would quickly disappear.
For a brief moment, the room was silent, and when they finished memorizing, Xu Zhenguan just sighed in relief, feeling her body flicker, knowing that her time to stay here was up.
"Let’s discuss outside," she said.
...
A moment later.
On the fourth floor of the palace tavern.
Beside the stone wall, the Empress suddenly opened her eyes, seeing Zhao Douan also emerge from the mural.
Their eyes met, both seeing the passion and shock in each other’s hearts.
"What we saw tonight must remain confidential." This was Xu Zhenguan’s first sentence.
Zhao Douan nodded, indicating he would keep his mouth shut, then spoke the second sentence: "Our odds of success have increased."
Indeed.
The inheritance left by old Xu would undoubtedly greatly enhance the fighting power of the two, and with this new influencing factor, many future plans could be changed.
The two were overwhelmed by excitement, unable to suppress their emotions.
"Perhaps, after some rest, we can enter again. To seek more clues." Xu Zhenguan was eager to try.
The composed and elegant female Emperor had not been this excited like a young girl for a long time.
Zhao Douan nodded: "We can try. However, I feel the chances are slim. That female temple priest seems to be avoiding us, only willing to give us these. Perhaps we need to fulfill more conditions to obtain further clues and secrets."
This was a logical guess.
Xu Zhenguan calmed down from her excitement, agreeing with his judgment. The Empress paced back and forth in the room, murmuring, "Who would have thought, this mural handed down for six hundred years still hides so many secrets undiscovered by the royal family."
As she spoke, her gaze softening as she looked at Zhao Douan.
It seemed these secrets were only triggered after Zhao Douan, this "Painting Person," arrived.
He was like a key, unlocking the lock sealed for six hundred years.
The Empress took a deep breath, temporarily shelving the exploration of secrets from six hundred years ago, and said, "I need to spend some time comprehending the Grand Ancestor’s Notes, and once accomplished, it would greatly enhance my battle power. By then, facing Xuan Yin, perhaps victory can be achieved."
Zhao Douan said, "I also have a premonition that given a little more time, I can master the Dragon Essence. So, I have an idea."
"Speak."
"Perhaps, we can take bigger steps."
Zhao Douan’s eyes flickered with sharpness: "I heard at the front line that Prince Jing previously went to the Marine Road, seemingly to meet Qingshan’s Wu Xiankui and to form an alliance with Prince Chen. His aim at this time is also evident, wanting to leave briefly before spring arrives and large-scale wars can’t break out during winter."
Xu Zhenguan stared at him: "So?"
Zhao Douan pressed his lips together: "So, I was thinking a few days ago, should we simply not wait for spring, for Prince Jing to return? Instead, directly give up Huai River and Jiancheng, change route to invade Coastal, and intercept and kill Prince Jing on the Marine Road!"
Intercept and kill Prince Jing!
This was a crazy idea, but coming from Zhao Douan, who had previously attempted to assassinate Xu Jingtang, it was not surprising.
Xu Zhenguan’s expression grew serious, reminding him: "Marine Road is under the control of Prince Chen, and the situation is much different from Xu Jingtang."
Zhao Douan nodded: "I know. Similarly, Xu Wen, that old rogue, also knows, so he dares to leave his old nest and go to the Marine Road, relying on the fact that the court has no advantage on the Coastal area, and can even be said to be at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, on the Coastal, he has Prince Chen, a natural ally in rebellion, on one hand, and on the other, backed by Qingshan... Marine Road, due to the presence of Qingshan’s inheritance, has always been a Holy Land in the Martial Arts world, gathering countless martial artists. Qingshan’s disciples over a millennium have already permeated the martial world... So, Xu Wen certainly doesn’t think I dare go there to intercept and kill him, but I’m going to do the opposite."
Xu Zhenguan furrowed her brows tightly, still having worries: "You know the dangers of Marine Road, how can you be so confident to intercept and kill him? Just relying on Princess Consort Lu Yan’er?"
"Of course, not just her." Zhao Douan calmly said, "Your Majesty, how is the energy accumulation of that ’Heavenly Element Cannon’ built by Gongshu Tianyuan?"
"You want to use it?" Xu Zhenguan pondered for a moment, saying, "I previously placed it at the Back Lake, but the time is still slightly short, lacking some heat. Hmm, it can also accumulate during transportation. But even if enough time is accumulated, relying on just this one cannon is insufficient."
Zhao Douan said seriously: "I also thought it wouldn’t be enough, but now with the Dragon Essence technique, it’s different. The spell says that once harnessed, I can temporarily exhibit Heavenly Human Realm strength."
Dragon Essence + Heavenly Element Cannon + Princess Consort Lu Yan’er.
This combination, definitely has a high chance to annihilate Prince Jing, even if he has trump cards.
As for Prince Chen... Prince Chen’s forces are few, his strongest are marines, therefore choosing to "close off the country" and not participate in the struggle for dominance.
In the high-level combat slaughtering, he is simply not a contender at the table.
And with the Dragon Essence’s enhancement, even if some masters from Qingshan get involved, it won’t affect the overall situation.
Xu Zhenguan stared at him: "But the premise of all this is that Wu Xiankui won’t personally intervene."
Wu Xiankui.
That martial artist of the Heavenly Human Realm who disregards martial ethics.
If Wu Xiankui once again shamelessly tears up the Heavenly Agreement and chooses to act, it would be a dead end.
Can the Heavenly Agreement truly restrain Wu Xiankui?
Zhao Douan silenced for a moment, then said, "I can try to find Heavenly Master Zhang. He shouldn’t allow Wu Xiankui to breach the Heavenly Agreement."
However, Xu Zhenguan shook her head: "Although Heavenly Master Zhang is strong, I can’t predict his thoughts in such significant matters relying on him exclusively is risky. Moreover, even if he agrees to go with you, will Xuan Yin also act?"
Zhao Douan fell silent.
"However, intercepting Xu Wen is indeed worth trying."
"Therefore," Xu Zhenguan said surprisingly, "This time, I will take action."
