Hearing these discussions, Xia Wuyang smiled faintly, paying them no mind.
’Emperor Xia really fell for it after all,’ he thought. ’He actually believes the Northern Desert Royal Court and the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races are behind all this. As foolish as ever.’
’Then again, considering his current situation, it’s understandable why he’d make such a misjudgment. His most trusted aides are all my people, and I have indirect control over the Divine Capture Sect as well.’
After sleeping with a few Fox Girls from the Demon Race, he returned to his Practice Room to focus on his cultivation.
After a period of arduous cultivation, he slowly opened his eyes, an azure starlight swirling within them.
He could feel that his Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield was approaching Tenth Floor Perfection. After all, his Body Refining Cultivation had already reached the Supreme Peak.
Now that he was recultivating the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield, his progress was naturally astonishing. His overall strength had increased by ten to twenty percent.
The Qi Blood in his body surged like a dragon and a tiger. His skin, bones, and organs were undergoing a complete transformation, becoming much stronger than before.
It wouldn’t be long now. Perhaps during his next epiphany, he could completely merge the Dragon Tiger Fist and the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield. He might even be able to use that opportunity to break through to the Extraordinary Body Refining Realm.
At that time, he would possess the cultivation of Three True Monarchs: a Qi Refining True Monarch, a Body Refining True Monarch, and his already Extraordinary Refining God True Monarch. Even when facing the Royal Family’s old ancestor, the Three Spirits True Monarch, he would have the power to fight. He might even be able to defeat him.
"Xia Shengming, Murong Ba, Qian Wanguan..." he murmured their names, a murderous intent surging in his eyes. "When the time comes, none of you will escape. You will all pay the price. It’s time to settle the score for what happened back then."
Outside the window, the dreary rain continued to fall.
But on the distant horizon of the Northern Territory, dark clouds were gathering over the city, accompanied by flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder, as if portending something to come.
A storm that would engulf the Great Xia was quietly brewing, one destined to overturn the entire dynasty.
And the source of this storm was currently residing in Wenhua Hall. Most of the time, he appeared as a white-haired old man with cloudy eyes. Anyone who saw him would assume he was just a cripple on the verge of death, completely unaware that he was the one pulling all the strings.
The wind of the Northern Desert always carried the scent of sand and blood, along with a bone-chilling cold.
The Golden Tent of the Da Kuo Royal Court stood in the center of the vast steppe, surrounded by tens of thousands of yurts and tents. Like stars gathering around the moon, they protected the Royal Court at their core.
Inside the Golden Tent, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron. Thick tallow torches cast flickering shadows on the tent walls, illuminating faces that were either furious or bewildered. They were just as confused as they were angry.
Upon the throne sat Da Kuo Khan Tie Muer.
This great ruler, who had dominated the Northern Desert for two centuries, was clutching a declaration of war sent by express from the border of Great Xia. His brow was knitted into a knot, and his expression was strange.
The declaration was handwritten by Emperor Xia himself. The calligraphy was as sharp as a blade, exuding an indescribable killing intent.
"Da Kuo Khan Tie Muer, your wolfish ambitions know no bounds. You have repeatedly violated our borders, and now you have sent a large number of Celestial Humans to infiltrate White Jade City, poison a Prince, and harm the Empress. You have insulted the dignity of Great Xia and treated us as if we are nothing. This is an irreconcilable feud! I have already dispatched two hundred thousand Imperial Guards north. They will soon be at your city gates. If you have even a shred of honor left, bind the true culprit and present them to us. This may spare your people from annihilation. Otherwise, my horses will trample your Royal Court, and I will wash the steppes in blood to avenge this slight!"
At the bottom was the bright red imperial stamp of the Jade Seal, the treasure of the Emperor of the Great Xia. It looked as if it had been forged from fresh blood.
Tie Muer slammed the declaration of war onto the low table in front of him. The gold-inlaid silver bowl on it jumped, spilling horse milk wine all over the floor. The surrounding Da Kuo high officials all flinched.
"Absurd!"
His voice was as deep as muffled thunder rolling across the steppes. "When have I ever sent a large number of Celestial Humans to White Jade City? When did I ever poison some Prince and Princess, or harm any Empress? If you want to condemn someone, you can always trump up a charge. This is utterly outrageous!"
Below the throne, the Left Prince, Huyan Zhuo, stood up. He was an old general with white hair and a white beard. He frowned as he picked up the declaration and examined it, his expression growing grimmer the more he read.
"Great Khan, what this declaration says doesn’t seem to be baseless," Huyan Zhuo said in a low voice. "Our spies sent back news a few days ago that several of Great Xia’s Princes and Princesses were successively ambushed and crippled. Even Empress Murong Wan was attacked in the Deep Palace and left in a catatonic state. The Great Xia Court and Wilds are in an uproar. Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion, Prince Zhenbei’s Mansion, and the Celestial Treasure Pavilion have joined forces to pressure him. Emperor Xia has been driven to his wits’ end, so this is likely a move of desperation."
Tie Muer said angrily, "So what? What does Great Xia’s internal turmoil have to do with me?"
"The problem is, who else in the world besides our Northern Desert Royal Court and the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races could accomplish all this?" the Right Prince, Tuoba Xiong, interjected. "To sneak into the Deep Palace, cripple a Prince and the Empress, and even ransack the Inner Treasury, the National Treasury, and Qianqing Palace... all without leaving a trace." The middle-aged general’s face was sinister, and a sharp light glinted in his eyes. He too was quite perplexed by the matter. "Moreover, there are rumors that the one responsible might be an Extraordinary True Monarch. Otherwise, how could they have plundered Qianqing Palace so easily?"
A momentary silence fell over the tent, and the expression on everyone’s face changed.
A True Monarch!
Such beings were extraordinary, transcendent existences. The entire Northern Desert had only two.
One was the Royal Court’s National Preceptor, Canglang True Monarch. The other was the Ice Phoenix True Monarch, a recluse deep in the snowy mountains. Both were among the most powerful beings in the world.
Within Great Xia, it seemed there was only the old ancestor of the Royal Family.
"Where is the Lord State Preceptor?" Tie Muer asked, turning his head.
From the shadows in a corner of the Golden Tent, an old man in a black robe slowly emerged.
He was gaunt and his face was wizened, but his eyes glowed a faint green, like the eyes of a wolf in the dead of the steppe night.
This man was Wu Zhu, son of the Da Kuo’s Canglang True Monarch, and a Celestial Human at the Super Grade Realm.
Tie Muer stared at him. "Has the Lord State Preceptor left the Royal Court at all in the past few months?"
Wu Zhu slowly shook his head, his voice as hoarse as scraping sandpaper. "My father has not taken a single step away from the snowy mountains in three months. He is in seclusion, comprehending the final layer of the Gray Wolf Devouring Moon Technique. If the Great Khan does not believe me, you may go to the snowy mountains and ask him yourself."
The Left Prince, Huyan Zhuo, said, "Of course it couldn’t be the National Preceptor. What about the Ice Phoenix True Monarch?"
"The Ice Phoenix is also a recluse deep in the snowy mountains and has not appeared in the world for thirty years. It is said she is attempting to break through to the Two Spirits True Monarch Realm," Wu Zhu said flatly. "Furthermore, she cultivates an Ice Attribute Technique, which does not match some of the clues from the intelligence reports."
"Then this is strange. It wasn’t us, and it wasn’t the Southern Barbarians either. The Witch God of the Southern Barbarians cultivates the Poisonous Gu Dao, which also doesn’t fit. The Western Rong’s True Monarch fell twenty years ago, and it seems they currently have no True Monarch. The Donghai Islands have no True Monarch either, nor do they have enough Celestial Humans to accomplish these things..." the Right Prince, Tuoba Xiong, said, puzzled.
"Could it be that the Great Xia Royal Family staged this themselves?" someone guessed.
Huyan Zhuo dismissed the idea. "Impossible. Crippling the two most promising Princes and the Empress, and even having the Inner Treasury, National Treasury, and Qianqing Palace ransacked? What benefit would that bring Emperor Xia? It would only cause turmoil in the court and instability on the borders. Although Xia Shengming is no brilliant monarch, he isn’t that foolish."
The Golden Tent fell into a stalemate. No one could figure out what was going on.

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