581: Red Lotus Ancestor, the peak of Dongxuan

Royal Palace.

Inside a grand hall, the Scarlet Sky Monarch lay on a bed, his face pale, with a black aura between his brows, as if he had been poisoned.

Your Highness Qin Fuguang examined the Scarlet Sky Monarch's body, and with a solemn expression, asked, “How long has my Imperial Father been unconscious?”

The Scarlet Sky Monarch's condition clearly indicated poisoning.

General Wei Wuyan, standing nearby, said in a grave voice, “It’s been a month. He was afflicted by a strange soul poison, and all the imperial physicians were helpless.”

“Imperial Father’s poisoning, it’s obvious it’s the work of Marquis Chi Cang and Yuan Jue,” Your Highness Qin Fuguang said coldly.

Three years ago, her Imperial Father went into seclusion to break through to the Dongxuan Realm, but he was ambushed and ultimately failed.

When she arrived at the scene, she was made to take the blame, a blame her Imperial Father willingly placed on her.

Because the other party had failed to break through to Cave Profound, their power was waning.

The court was practically filled with Marquis Chi Cang and Empress Yuan Jue’s people. If she had remained in the Chitian Ancient Kingdom, her life would certainly have been in peril.

Even with a powerful expert like General Wei Wuyan, he might not have been able to protect her.

The Chitian Academy, however, had two Dongxuan Realm experts, but they would not concern themselves with court affairs.

It was precisely for this reason that she had left the Chitian Ancient Kingdom.

However, the situation in the Ancient Kingdom had now changed, seemingly affecting the Chitian Academy.

Those two from the Academy had relented, expressing willingness to help her, which was why she had rushed back.

“Their ideals clash with the King’s, so they were bound to act, especially after they advanced to the Dongxuan Realm; their ambitions grew even larger,” General Wei Wuyan sighed softly.

The current Chitian Ancient Kingdom was in a complex situation, embroiled in conflict, with ideological clashes among its various forces.

The first faction, led by Marquis Chi Cang and Empress Yuan Jue, advocated for expanding the Chitian Ancient Kingdom’s territory and encroaching upon the outside world!

Many believed that the single oasis in the Great Desert was insufficient for survival. They yearned for more fertile and extraordinary territories, wishing to move their entire clan out of the Great Desert to develop in the southern regions beyond it.

Over the years, many cultivators had come from the south, and the Southern Lands where those cultivators resided must be extremely suitable for all races to survive.

Many sects and forces within the Ancient Kingdom strongly supported Marquis Chi Cang and Empress Yuan Jue.

For them, the Crimson Sky Kingdom was still too small, with limited subjects. To spread their doctrines and develop, they needed more people.

Therefore, they planned to invade the outside world, devour territory, and continuously establish orthodoxies to expand themselves.

As for the Northern Lands, they dared not even consider it; the north was still an endless, more perilous Great Desert.

The second ideology came from the Scarlet Sky Monarch. He disagreed with the ideas of Marquis Chi Cang and Empress Yuan Jue.

He believed that guarding their existing territory was sufficient, and the people were accustomed to it. If they were to invade, it would be fraught with countless unknowns, and a single misstep could cause the entire Chitian Ancient Kingdom to perish.

The Great Desert was the root of the Chitian Ancient Kingdom; to be born in the Great Desert and buried in the Great Desert was their destiny.

Southern cultivators wanting to move north indicated that the resources in the south were not as extraordinary as imagined. He also agreed that capable individuals should leave the Great Desert.

However, not by heading south, but by continuing north, crossing the Great Desert, and going to even more extraordinary realms.

His ideals displeased Marquis Chi Cang and Yuan Jue, which led to a huge divergence within the Chitian Ancient Kingdom.

Currently, the Scarlet Sky Monarch was afflicted by a strange poison, confined to his bed, with power controlled by Marquis Chi Cang and Yuan Jue.

Many forces within the Ancient Kingdom and many court officials were already secretly preparing for the southward expansion.

Fortunately, the Chitian Academy had relented, as they also seemed to dislike invasions.

Now that Your Highness Qin Fuguang had returned, she was an Imperial Daughter, with hopes of inheriting the throne.

As long as the Chitian Academy supported her, she could assume power, control the government, and suppress the southward expansion.

Your Highness Qin Fuguang frowned deeply and mused, “The poison Imperial Father is afflicted with is quite extraordinary. It seems I must go to the Chitian Academy.”

“It’s just a bit of soul poison, is there really a need to go elsewhere?”

Just then, Qin Honglian walked in.

Upon seeing Qin Honglian, Your Highness Qin Fuguang quickly bowed, “Greetings, Ancestor.”

“...”

General Wei Wuyan looked at Qin Honglian, a hint of confusion in his eyes. Who exactly was this person?

He had cultivated for two hundred years, yet he did not recognize the person before him.

Qin Honglian, being a figure from a thousand years ago, it was naturally normal for him not to recognize her.

Boom!

Qin Honglian glanced at the Scarlet Sky Monarch on the bed, waved her sleeve, and a streak of blood-red light injected into his glabella, furiously obliterating the soul poison.

After half an incense stick’s time.

Qin Honglian withdrew her hand. The black aura on the Scarlet Sky Monarch’s glabella dissipated, the soul poison in his body was resolved, and some vitality returned to him.

Qin Honglian said indifferently, “He will awaken in half an hour. When he does, have him come see me. I need him to help me with something.”

Currently, her cultivation had not fully recovered, and she needed to go somewhere to find something, for which she would require the Scarlet Sky Monarch’s assistance.

“Thank you, Ancestor!” Your Highness Qin Fuguang’s face lit up with joy, and she quickly bowed.

“...”

Qin Honglian said nothing more, simply turned and left.

After Qin Honglian departed.

General Wei Wuyan quietly asked, “Imperial Daughter, who was that just now?”

Your Highness Qin Fuguang smiled, “A thousand years ago, our imperial family had an Ancestor, known as Ancestor Honglian! That was Ancestor Honglian.”

“What? She… she is Ancestor Honglian?”

General Wei Wuyan’s heart trembled, his expression utterly shocked.

He might not have met Ancestor Honglian, but he had heard rumors about her.

This was a powerful figure from a thousand years ago, a supreme expert at the peak of the Dongxuan Realm, once hailed as the foremost person in the Chitian Ancient Kingdom, invincible.

Rumor had it that she had left the Chitian Ancient Kingdom for a more vast world, but unexpectedly, she had returned now.

A thousand years ago, Ancestor Honglian was already at the peak of the Dongxuan Realm, so how strong must she be now?

Thinking of this, General Wei Wuyan felt a shiver run down his spine.

He said gravely, “If Ancestor Honglian is willing to intervene, then what you need to do will be much simpler.”

Your Highness Qin Fuguang, however, shook her head, “After a thousand years, it’s hard to say if Ancestor still has feelings for the Chitian Ancient Kingdom. We cannot trouble her with the Ancient Kingdom’s affairs, otherwise it would be rather presumptuous.”

The dynasty was still the dynasty of a thousand years, but the people were not the people of a thousand years.

Now that Ancestor Honglian had returned to the Chitian Ancient Kingdom, being a person who had lived for a thousand years, she must have seen through many things.

She might not bother with these minor affairs of the Ancient Kingdom.

“That makes sense.” After some thought, General Wei Wuyan also agreed that Your Highness Qin Fuguang’s words were valid.

A figure like Ancestor Honglian, whose power defied creation and whose strength was unfathomable, would surely be too lazy to deal with such matters.

“Now, we simply await Imperial Father’s awakening.”

Your Highness Qin Fuguang looked at the Scarlet Sky Monarch on the bed. If he were to awaken, it would also make some matters much simpler.