Genius in the whole system: The useless young lady dominates the world

After calming down a bit, Di Lin immediately asked the question that concerned him most at the moment, "Seniors, do you know where my father is now? It is widely rumored that my father has been imprisoned by Lie Tian in the Abyss of Broken Souls. Is this news true?"

The moment this question was raised, the atmosphere in the stone chamber, which had just eased, became tense again. Upon hearing the words "Soul-Severing Abyss," the expressions of Cangsong, Xiong Yuan, and Ying Hong changed drastically at the same time, and a trace of fear and anger flashed in their eyes simultaneously.

Cangsong immediately shook his head, his tone resolute, "Your Highness, you must not believe it. The Soul-Severing Abyss is definitely a trap set by that treacherous villain, Lietian!"

"A trap?" Di Lin's heart sank. Although he had suspected it before, hearing Cang Song's affirmative answer still made him feel a chill.

“Exactly!” Cangsong forced himself to sit up straight and began to analyze, “Your Highness, please consider this: when I was arrested, it was still early. Although Lietian had successfully usurped the throne, his foundation was not yet stable, and there was constant opposition from the court and the public. His Majesty Emperor Hong was his greatest threat and the legitimate ruler of the demon realm. If Lietian had truly captured His Majesty, given his suspicious and cunning nature, he would have imprisoned him in the most secret place and used every means to block the news. How could he have made such a major secret known to everyone? This is completely inconsistent with Lietian’s usual style. This is the first point.”

"Secondly," Cangsong continued, "by imprisoning such an important figure as His Majesty, Lietian will inevitably use his most trusted forces to guard him. Although Duanhunyuan has sent Ghost-Faced Owl King and tens of thousands of elite troops, making it seem impregnable, based on my understanding of Lietian's troop deployment, Ghost-Faced Owl King is one of his most important mobile forces, and his elite troops are his reliance in his campaigns. He would not use forces that could influence the course of the war merely to guard a 'prisoner,' even if that prisoner is His Majesty. This is more like a performance, a show for all the loyal officials who are concerned about His Majesty's whereabouts and harbor illusions. In reality, this place is used as bait to lure loyal officials there, and then wipe them out in one fell swoop, completely eliminating dissidents!"

Xiong Yuan added in a deep, rumbling voice, his anger making his voice even lower: "Strategist Cang is absolutely right. The defenses of the Soul-Severing Abyss seem formidable, but they are actually just a showy, empty shell. Although I, Old Xiong, am not as bright as the strategist, I know that a truly top-secret place would never be so ostentatious. That brat Lie Tian is best at bluffing and creating a false sense of mystery. By placing the Ghost-Faced Owl King there, he is more like telling everyone: 'Look, your Demon Emperor is right here. If you have the guts, come and rescue him!' This is clearly a trap, waiting for anyone who isn't afraid of death to walk right into it!"

Chief Eagle Hong nodded, coughed a few times, and said weakly, "Moreover, my Eagle Clan has a secret technique that allows us to sense the location of a specific powerful figure through bloodline and aura. During my imprisonment in the Black Stone Mine, although I was severely injured and suppressed by the restrictions, I still tried my best to sense His Majesty's location with my last bit of strength. Although the sense was blurry due to the distance and interference from the restrictions, I can confirm that the vast and abyss-like aura of the emperor is definitely not in the direction of the Soul-Severing Abyss. The so-called 'aura' coming from the Soul-Severing Abyss is most likely a bait fabricated by Lie Tian using some kind of evil magic!"

The three senior ministers, one analyzing from a strategic and psychological perspective, one judging from a military deployment perspective, and one confirming from a special intuition perspective, corroborated each other, completely overturning the rumor that Emperor Hong was imprisoned in the Soul-Severing Abyss.

"So that's how it is..." Di Lin murmured to himself, feeling a wave of fear. If it weren't for the three old ministers reminding him, he probably would have really fallen headlong into the trap of Lietian because of his eagerness to save his father.

Lu Lingxi Yao (Xiao Qi) listened quietly from the side. Her cold gaze swept over the three old ministers, and she asked thoughtfully, "Since the Soul-Severing Abyss is fake, what was Lie Tian's real purpose in setting up such a huge trap? Was it merely to eliminate dissidents? Also, during your imprisonment, did you three notice anything unusual about Lie Tian's surroundings or his subordinates? For example... the appearance of some forces that do not belong to our demon realm?"

Lu Lingxi's question seemed to have touched a taboo, and the three old ministers' expressions instantly became even more unsightly, with a hint of undisguised fear even appearing on their pale faces.

They exchanged glances, seemingly hesitant, but in the end, Cangsong lowered his voice and said, "Miss Lu Ling... your suspicions are correct. Lietian's usurpation was not solely his doing. There is probably someone behind the scenes manipulating things!"

He recalled, his voice trembling slightly, "Before being transferred to the Black Stone Mine Prison, I was imprisoned in the deepest part of the Demon Capital's Heavenly Prison. During that time, on one occasion, Lie Tian and his most trusted confidants came to interrogate other serious prisoners. Through the thick stone walls, I vaguely overheard Lie Tian and his confidants' private conversation... Although I couldn't hear clearly, several key words were branded into my mind. Lie Tian seemed to be boasting to his confidants that his smooth acquisition of the throne was entirely due to the strong assistance of 'that person,' and he also mentioned... mentioned 'the power of the Black Abyss.'"

"The power of the Black Abyss?" Upon hearing these four words, Nalan Rongzhi (Naragu)'s eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light, and his aura turned icy. He was all too familiar with it; wasn't this the Black Abyss?

Xiong Yuan suddenly raised his head, his large, fan-like hands clenched into fists, the knuckles cracking, his voice booming like muffled thunder: "I, Old Xiong, have also encountered this. Before being captured and taken to the mining prison, I tried to break out and fought with a mysterious expert wearing a ghost mask under Lie Tian's command. That guy was terrifyingly strong, his moves were extremely bizarre, and the power he used was cold and evil, carrying a strong aura of death and corrosiveness. My protective demonic energy was like paper in front of that power. That was definitely not the technique of any race in our demon realm. At the time, I felt strange, and now that I think about it, that feeling... is extremely similar to the description of the power of 'Black Abyss'!"

Chief Eagle added with lingering fear, "Our Eagle Clan excels at reconnaissance and perception. Right after Lietian completely took control of the Demon Capital, the last top scout from our clan to send back a message risked infiltrating deep into Lietian's palace. In his message, he mentioned that in the most heavily guarded part of the palace, he sensed a terrifying aura that made even the soul tremble. That aura was filled with destruction and despair. It was definitely not Lietian's own aura. After that scout sent the message, we lost all contact with him..."

Combining all this information, everyone in the stone chamber realized a terrifying fact: Lie Tian's usurpation was not merely a power struggle within the demon realm. He colluded with evil forces from outside the demon realm, forces that were also connected to the "Black Abyss." The Black Abyss's goal was likely to make the demon realm their puppet (Lu Lingxi and Nalan Rongzhi immediately thought of the shadows behind Lu Lingqing and Nalan Rongshang).

Lu Lingxi and Nalan Rongzhi exchanged a glance. All of this seemed to confirm the prophecy left by the Goddess Lu Yao: "Chaos is about to begin, and all realms will be in chaos." This internal strife in the demon realm was probably just the beginning of this catastrophe!

Since the Abyss of Broken Souls is a fake, the direction for rescuing the Demon Emperor Hong needs to be readjusted. The most urgent task is to find out where His Majesty is truly imprisoned.