223: Harmful effects

Inside the restaurant lobby, voices buzzed loudly as Cultivators from all walks of life engaged in spirited discussions.

What slightly surprised Chen Yuan was that many of the discussions reaching his ears were actually about himself!

"Have you heard? A formidable person has emerged from the Eastern Barrens, named Chen Yuan!"

"He single-handedly destroyed the Nanxiao Divine Palace, consecutively slaying several Tribulation Transcendence mighty experts!"

"It's said that two Sixth-Turn Elders from the Mo Family personally took action, but they only found an empty spot—the Eastern Barrens now has nothing left!"

"Tsk tsk, what a ruthless person! It's been years since someone managed to infuriate the Mo Family like this!"

"I heard Chen Yuan is quite young, yet he has already reached the realm of Sword God. I truly don't know what kind of Prodigy he is!"

Listening to these discussions, Chen Yuan calmly drank his Spirit Tea, but his heart stirred.

He hadn't expected his deeds to spread so quickly; they were already known throughout the Divine Continent.

He quietly summoned the System panel. Sure enough, the number in the Emotion Point column had soared to an astonishing level.

Two hundred thirty million!

And it was still increasing slowly! This was undoubtedly the massive emotional income brought by the Cultivators of the Divine Continent.

"This is an unexpected bonus..." He mused secretly, planning how to use this massive sum of Emotion Points to boost his strength.

Suddenly!

"Bang!"

The restaurant door was violently kicked open!

A squad of Cultivators, dressed in dark black Flying Fish Robes, wearing standard long sabers at their waists, and exuding sharp, cold auras, filed in one after another.

They instantly sealed off the lobby inside and out, making it impossible for anyone to slip through!

The cold-faced general leading them scanned the entire hall with hawk-like eyes, his voice icy and devoid of emotion:

"We are acting under Imperial Edict! Nobody move rashly! Those who disobey will be killed without mercy!"

The restaurant immediately erupted in an uproar, but feeling the chilling Killing Intent emanating from the Flying Fish Guards, no one dared to resist.

"It's the Flying Fish Guard!"

Everyone felt panic in their hearts.

The Flying Fish Guard only answers to the Qitian Dynasty's Sovereign, possessing the authority to execute first and report later, similar to the Brocade-Clad Guard on Blue Star.

Chen Yuan frowned slightly, feeling puzzled.

Before he could think further, two Flying Fish Guards stepped forward and, without a word, locked his hands with specialized shackles.

These shackles had the effect of suppressing spiritual energy.

"What is the meaning of this?" Chen Yuan asked in a deep voice. He did not immediately resist, wanting to see what was going on.

The cold general did not answer at all, merely waving his hand coldly: "Take them all away!"

Including Chen Yuan, all the guests, waiters, and even the manager inside the restaurant were escorted out and pushed onto the prison carts waiting outside.

The journey was silent. The prison carts drove directly into the depths of Qitian City, entering a heavily guarded Heavenly Prison that exuded a chilling aura.

Inside a dark, damp cell, Chen Yuan was locked up alone.

He circulated his spiritual energy and found that although the shackles could restrain ordinary Mahayana Cultivators, the internal formation script was not complicated and could be easily broken.

He did not rush to act, instead cocking his ear to listen to the conversation in the next cell.

"Sigh, what an undeserved calamity! I was just having a drink, how did I end up being labeled an accomplice of the rebels?"

"You still don't know? It's the First Prince! The First Prince launched a Palace Coup last night, attempting to usurp the throne!"

"It's said he failed. Your Majesty is furious and is currently searching the entire city for the First Prince and his cronies!"

"We're so unlucky! That restaurant... apparently, after the First Prince's forces were defeated last night, that was the last place he appeared!

Your Majesty suspects everyone who was in the restaurant at the time was either an accomplice or helping the First Prince escape!"

Hearing this, Chen Yuan immediately understood. So it was an internal struggle within the imperial family; he had become collateral damage.

He casually glanced across at the much larger cell opposite him.

Inside that cell, a young man was locked up alone. Though dressed in prison clothes, his noble aura was hard to conceal.

Although the young man was disheveled and looked slightly wretched, a trace of arrogance remained between his brows as he sat against the wall, resting with his eyes closed.

Based on the discussions he had just overheard and the man's unique temperament, Chen Yuan was almost certain that this person was the First Prince who had failed in his rebellion!

Chen Yuan couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

What kind of mess was this!

The Heavenly Prison was not peaceful over the next three days.

Prisoners were continuously brought in for interrogation, and most of them were subsequently released.

Only twenty or so people remained imprisoned, including Chen Yuan himself.

Chen Yuan quietly sensed their auras and found that most of the remaining people had condensed and steady auras; their cultivation was at least at the Body Integration Stage, and a few had even reached the Mahayana stage.

Through the sporadic complaints and conversations he had overheard over the past few days, Chen Yuan had roughly pieced together the entire story of the Palace Coup.

It turned out that the Qitian Dynasty's Sovereign had four Princes, each possessing extraordinary talent and ambition—or, as they say here, "all possessing the Qualifications of a Great Emperor."

However, the Sovereign had delayed naming a Crown Prince, causing undercurrents of unrest in the imperial court.

Not long ago, the Sovereign devised a "brilliant plan": he pretended that his Cultivation had gone awry, causing Qi Deviation and leaving him critically ill, to see which son genuinely worried about his father and which was only eyeing the throne.

The reactions of the four Princes, however, left the Sovereign heartbroken and furious:

The Second Prince immediately went to the Duke of the Nation's Residence, seeking military support;

The Third Prince rushed straight to his mother's sleeping quarters, intending to leverage the power of the imperial harem;

And the Fourth Prince secretly met with his Prime Minister uncle, who held immense power over the court.

As for the First Prince, he made the most drastic move!

He somehow managed to persuade an Eighth-Turn Tribulation Transcendence Stage Elder from the Imperial Clan to directly lead troops into the Sovereign's sleeping quarters, ostensibly for a "visit," but actually to force an abdication!

He planned to take advantage of the Sovereign's "weakness" to forcefully seize control, forge an edict of succession, and establish his reign in one fell swoop!

Unfortunately, Emperor Qi was a mighty expert at the Peak of Ninth-Turn Undergoing Tribulation; the so-called Qi Deviation was merely an act.

The First Prince's actions were nothing more than a clown show in his eyes.

The outcome was predictable: the First Prince and his cronies were quickly suppressed, and the Eighth-Turn Tribulation Transcendence Imperial Clan Elder was personally severely wounded and captured by the Sovereign.

After sorting out the details, Chen Yuan could only shake his head helplessly.

The waters of the Qitian Imperial Family were truly deep, and his undeserved calamity had arrived out of nowhere.

Just then, the iron door of the cell swung open with a clang. A cold-faced jailer stood outside, pointing at Chen Yuan: "You, come out!"

Chen Yuan calmly stood up and followed the jailer out, being led to an interrogation room.

Inside the interrogation room, a Commander wearing silver Flying Fish Robes, whose aura was clearly much stronger than that of ordinary Qitian Guards, sat in the main seat, scrutinizing Chen Yuan with sharp eyes. Beside him were several guards responsible for recording and carrying out punishments.

"Name, background, cultivation level, and why were you at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant three days ago?"

The Commander's voice was utterly emotionless.

Chen Yuan had already prepared his statement and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"My name is Chen Jiu, a Loose Cultivator. I just arrived in Qitian City and, having heard of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant's reputation, went to sample the Spirit Cuisine. I had no other intentions."

The Commander carefully examined the dossier regarding Chen Yuan that he held.

It was indeed completely blank; no background could be found, as if he had appeared out of thin air.

While this was uncommon in the Divine Continent, it was true that some Loose Cultivators who practiced in seclusion or came from distant regions did exist.