409: National destiny

The turmoil of Nether Crow Ridge began with the collapse of the Nether Crow Cave Mansion. After investigation and suspicion, it involved the greedy struggles of Nascent Soul Cultivators, stirring up the winds and clouds of the Tianqi Dynasty and the Southern Frontier.

Finally, with the departure of the Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry, this turmoil was completely settled.

The Royal Capital gradually restored its former order.

The bustle of the streets remained, with the cries of vendors, the laughter of children, and the rumbling of carriages intertwining to sketch a scene of peace.

The lives of the common people returned to tranquility, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, as if the turmoil that had affected many Cultivators and the imperial family had never occurred on this land.

Yet only the few at the center of the storm knew what undercurrents had been hidden beneath this calm.

Li Xuan returned to the inner palace, dismissed all attendants, and sat alone in the empty hall.

Outside the window, the sky was bright. The sunlight filtered through the window frames, spilling onto him and casting a long, lonely shadow.

He gazed at the remnants of clouds on the horizon, his eyes filled with complexity. His wariness and curiosity toward Situ Jun had reached their peak.

He vaguely felt that the reason Li Zhong had ended the investigation so abruptly and let everyone off so easily was surely connected to Situ Jun, the City Lord of the Northern Frontier.

However, no matter how much he racked his brain, he could not fathom exactly how Situ Jun had accomplished it.

Elsewhere, the Withered Bone Ascetic, Bai Qingtian, Mo Chenggui, and the others also left the Royal Capital one after another. They either headed toward the Southern Frontier or returned to their own Sect Immortal Caves, their steps hurried, yet no one dared to mention the events of Nether Crow Ridge again.

Meanwhile, in the Northern Frontier City thousands of miles away.

Situ Jun was currently standing on the viewing platform of the City Lord's Manor, hands behind his back, looking toward the Tianqi Royal Capital.

His gaze was profound, as if it could pierce through thousands of mountains and rivers to see the rising winds and surging clouds of that prosperous imperial city.

Endless thoughts were hidden in his eyes, like shifting stars or churning rivers and seas.

The morning breeze blew past, carrying the unique crispness and warmth of the Northern Frontier, fluttering his robes with a snapping sound.

He stood quietly for a moment, then slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the turbulence in his eyes had dissipated, returning to his usual calm, with only the determination in their depths becoming clearer.

A storm had ended.

But Situ Jun knew that this was only the beginning.

The Heavenly Dragon Dynasty was vast and boundless, with countless Cultivators; ambition and greed had never ceased.

Today it was Nether Crow Ridge, tomorrow it would be some Secret Realm; disputes arising from interests would only increase.

Being in the world of cultivation, he had to constantly improve his strength and consolidate the power of the Northern Frontier to gain a firm foothold in this cruel, chaotic world, protecting the stability of the Northern Frontier and ensuring everything he cherished remained safe and sound.

The morning light of the Northern Frontier broke through the clouds and poured down, plating his tall figure in a layer of faint golden brilliance.

In the morning light, that figure became even more upright and resolute.

On the other side,

Li Xuan sat for a long time, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the cold, hard kui-dragon patterns on the armrest of the dragon throne. Ultimately, he dismissed the most terrifying guess in his heart—it wasn't that Situ Jun was secretly interfering with Li Zhong's investigation, but rather that Li Zhong had urgent matters to attend to, which was why he had so hastily concluded this "unsealing" turmoil that had nearly overturned the Tianqi Dynasty.

"Gone... they're finally gone..."

He murmured in a low voice, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. The tense muscles in his cheeks from the past few dozen days suddenly relaxed, and even the bloodshot streaks in his eyes faded slightly as a faint, almost exhausted smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

In that smile, there was the relief of surviving a disaster and an even more unspeakable exhaustion.

In these days, when had he ever had a single day of peaceful sleep?

Every night when he closed his eyes, he saw the image of the Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry in black armor treading through the palace gates; every meal, though a hundred delicacies were set before him, tasted like wax.

He feared not his own death, but that a single wrong move or improper response would provoke the wrath of those iron cavalrymen acting on the orders of the Imperial Dynasty. If that happened, the entire Tianqi Dynasty would be reduced to dust, doomed forever.

Now, the sword named "Destruction" hanging over his head had finally been moved away.

The price was merely the forfeiture of a batch of Spirit Stones from the national treasury. Compared to the possible change of dynasties or the end of his path, this loss was like a drop in the ocean—the best possible outcome granted by the heavens.

Thinking of this, the turbid air accumulated in Li Xuan's chest was finally exhaled.

He braced himself against the armrest of the dragon throne and slowly stood up. His tone even became lighter, carrying a hint of the joy of a long-imprisoned bird finally gaining its freedom:

"Someone! Prepare the carriage for the bedchamber. I wish to bathe and change my clothes!"

The attendants moved at his word. Before long, the bright yellow imperial carriage stopped steadily outside the hall.

Li Xuan stepped in slowly and made his way to the bedchamber. He shed the dragon robe stained with the scent of days of anxiety and sank into the warm bathwater.

The steam was dense, carrying the scent of calming sandalwood, washing over his shoulders and heart, cleansing away the grime and fatigue of many days.

Changing into a moon-white Cloud Brocade casual robe, Li Xuan leaned against a soft couch, his fingertips holding a cup of steaming Qi-condensing tea.

The tea was clear and cold, transforming into a gentle stream of Spiritual Qi that flowed slowly through his Meridians upon entering his throat.

Only then did he feel his soul, which had been drifting for so long, finally return steadily to its place, and his chaotic thoughts gradually became clear.

However, the lighthearted thoughts only circled in his mind for a moment before another heavy concern crashed down like a giant boulder—the national fortune!

Long before the Nether Crow Cave Mansion opened, the State Preceptor Xuan Qingzi had entered the palace with a face full of worry to report. He stated that while using divination to investigate the national fortune, he had sensed that the Dragon Qi of the Tianqi Dynasty's national fortune was being suppressed and quietly eroded by an unknown force. It was clearly someone acting in the shadows, performing a Heaven-Defying act of stealing the Dynasty's Luck.

This matter was of no small importance!

The national fortune is the foundation of a Dynasty. When the national fortune flourishes, there is peace across the four seas; when it declines, the flames of war rise everywhere, and the common people suffer.

At that time, Mysterious Clarity Master had volunteered to go to the Southern Frontier. On one hand, it was to seek the ancient Opportunities within the Nether Crow Cave Mansion; on the other hand, it was to follow the clues of the leaking Luck to track down the source of the power suppressing the national fortune!

Now, Mysterious Clarity Master had already returned from the Southern Frontier, and the crisis of the Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry had been resolved. So... how much progress had been made in the investigation regarding the national fortune?

At this thought, Li Xuan's newly relaxed brows furrowed tightly again, and his heart couldn't help but hang in suspense.

He could no longer sit still and stood up abruptly, calling out to the hall:

"Someone! Prepare the carriage for the Forbidden Ground in the back mountains!"

A moment later, the bright yellow imperial procession surrounded Li Xuan as they headed toward the Forbidden Ground in the depths of the palace's back mountains.

The Head Eunuch Li Fu followed closely by his side. Seeing the clouds of worry gather on the Emperor's brow again, he did not dare say a word, only keeping his head low and quickening his pace.

Before long, the group arrived at the entrance of the Forbidden Ground.

This place was perpetually shrouded in a layer of pale purple mist from a Formation. Even if ordinary people wandered in by mistake, they would only spin in circles, never able to glimpse the entrance.

Li Xuan stopped, turned back to Li Fu, and said in a low voice:

"Li Fu, stay here. I will go to see the State Preceptor alone."

"This old servant obeys your command."

Li Fu bowed and replied, his voice filled with respect.

Li Xuan nodded slightly and said no more.

He raised his hand, a wisp of pure spiritual power condensing at his fingertips, which he precisely injected into the Formation at the entrance.

*Buzz—*

A faint hum sounded, and the churning purple mist receded like a tide, revealing a winding bluestone path ahead.

The path was covered in moss, and occasionally, unknown small white flowers bloomed quietly in the cracks of the stones, exuding a sense of secluded tranquility.