The villain, Xiao Nanliang, caused the female lead excruciating pain.

After reading it all, Su Qi didn't know what to say.

It can only be said that he is indeed the chosen one who joined this sect.

The sect leader is a power-hungry, deceitful, and treacherous scoundrel.

The Grand Elder is a hidden half-human, half-demon.

The Second Elder is a spy for the Demon Clan.

The Third Elder is an undercover agent for the Ten Thousand Saints Sect.

The Fourth Elder is the incarnation of an unknown being sealed in the forbidden area of ​​the back mountain.

The Fifth Elder has been possessed and replaced.

The Sixth Elder is the eldest daughter of the ancient Zhongzhou clan who rebelled.

Tsk tsk tsk, Su Qi had already foreseen how exciting his life would be from now on.

Just as he was pondering what to do with this information, he suddenly sensed a fluctuation of divine consciousness.

Su Qi quickly put away the scroll, slipped into a corner and squatted down, his eyes slightly red and lifeless, staring blankly ahead.

He swept his divine sense over it and then stopped paying attention.

A few breaths later, there was a knock on the door.

dong dong dong...

"Ruoxue, are you alright?"

"do not bother me!"

His voice was cold and slightly hoarse, as if mixed with sobs.

Ruo Bingli was extremely distressed.

If I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have let him go out this morning.

Those who spread rumors within the sect deserve to die.

Gritting her teeth, she stopped knocking on the door with her hand still hanging in the air and turned to go next door to cultivate.

Su Qi sensed for a moment and, after confirming that Ruo Bingli was no longer watching him with her divine sense, he set up an isolation barrier around himself and began to study the avatar that Jiang Ying had given him.

He must learn this secret technique as soon as possible, otherwise he will have to personally perform every time he fakes his death, and he will eventually mess it up.

……

In the Southern Region, within the imperial palace of the Great Spirit King.

"Your Majesty, according to our informants, the internal strife within the old royal organization has ended. Ning Hongyu, who previously attempted to assassinate you, is none other than Chu Bijun, a remnant of the Chu royal family, and has emerged victorious."

"Very well, now that they are severely weakened, you must take this opportunity to wipe them out completely. I cannot rest easy until the remnants of the six kingdoms are eliminated."

Ying Muxue stood by the window with her hands behind her back, gazing into the distance, seemingly looking at something.

Perhaps the sunlight outside the window was a bit too bright, so she raised her hand to shade her eyes and squinted slightly before she could see clearly.

"My dear Bai, why do you say this? I have already unified the Southern Region, but why does it feel more chaotic than before? Am I unworthy to be the emperor?"

Bai Luo glanced in the direction Ying Muxue was looking, and then thought about the recent spate of rebellions.

"Your Majesty, I once heard a saying that I found very insightful: The common people don't care who the emperor is; they only care whether they can eat their fill and survive!"

"You mean... it's because I'm incompetent and haven't fed the people enough that they've risen up in rebellion?"

Ying Muxue turned around, her eyes revealing no emotion as she stared at Bai Luo.

"Your Majesty misunderstands. What I mean is that now that the country has just been pacified, everything needs to be rebuilt. We should find ways to develop the economy and ensure that the people are well-fed. In this way, the rebellion will naturally be quelled."

"Oh? What suggestions does Minister Bai have?"

"Recently, I discovered a merchant guild that has just emerged in the Southern Region. Their methods are quite interesting. As we all know, unlike the Southern Region, the Eastern Region is vast, sparsely populated, and rich in resources. This merchant guild, through some unknown means, has reached a cooperation agreement with the city lords of the two ancient capitals, Tianfu and Tianzui. Their goods can be transported via teleportation arrays at extremely low cost."

"Oh? When did those arrogant fellows in the ancient capital become so easy to talk to?"

Ying Muxue was slightly surprised. As the Great Ling Emperor, she had sought cooperation with these ancient capitals before.

But the other party rejected her without hesitation, no matter what price she offered.

"According to my investigation, it seems that the owner of this chamber of commerce used something to impress the city lords of the two ancient capitals."

"Oh? Who is the owner of this chamber of commerce? How could he have such abilities?"

“This person is very mysterious. I have investigated him several times but have been unable to find any information about him. He is suspected to be a member of an ancient clan in Zhongzhou.”

Upon hearing this answer, Ying Muxue immediately lost interest.

People from the ancient Zhongzhou clan, no wonder the city lords of both places would give them this face.

The position of lord of the ancient capital may seem prestigious, but in reality, very few people are willing to take it.

The main reason is that compared to the Central Plains, the spiritual energy in the Southeast region is far too scarce.

Being sent down from Zhongzhou to the ancient capital to serve as a city lord is actually similar to being exiled to the frontier in ancient times.

Therefore, for the lords of the ancient capital, the descendants of those ancient clans were the people they needed to curry favor with.

Perhaps one day they'll be in a good mood and say a few kind words to their elders, and they might be able to transfer back to Zhongzhou.

"Your Majesty, I believe that while we may not be able to cooperate with the ancient capital, we could cooperate with this chamber of commerce."

……

By the time they finished discussing the matter and left the palace, it was already getting dark.

Bai Luo returned to his residence, preparing to write a memorial to present a proposal at tomorrow's court assembly, when a chill ran through him.

"Who?"

"Hehehe... Lord Bai, it's been a long time! Oh no, I shouldn't call you Lord Bai, I should call you Lord Ying Ziyi!"

A woman in red emerged from behind the screen, covering her face and giggling.

Bai Luo recognized the person instantly, but he was no longer in the mood to be shocked as to why Ning Hongyu was there.

What shocked him even more was that this woman actually knew...

"What nonsense are you spouting? Who is Ying Ziyi?"

"Oh? Lord Bai doesn't recognize him? Then let me introduce him to you."

Ning Hongyu walked over and sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a small sip.

"Ying Ziyi, the nineteenth son of the late Emperor of Daling, was born to the late Emperor of Daling after he was drunk and had a palace maid. Although he was a prince, he was not valued because his mother was just a palace maid."

These words seemed to have stirred up some memories for Bai Luo, and his eyes gradually became clouded with shadows.

"Your mother was bullied to death by other concubines in the palace. She never got to see that man again before she died. You harbored resentment towards that man because of this, but you were powerless and knew that you would have a hard time surviving alone in the palace after losing your mother. So you found a way to escape from the palace and have been missing ever since."

As Ning Hongyu spoke, she picked up another cup, filled it with tea, and pushed it to the opposite seat.

"When you reappeared, you joined the Great Spirit Army as a successor of the Heavenly Mystery Valley. You made numerous outstanding contributions in the war that destroyed the six kingdoms, and rose to become the number one person in the Great Spirit Army based on your military achievements!"

Tianji Valley is a very mysterious place in the Southern Region.

Only one successor will emerge in each generation, and each successor will accomplish a sensational feat.

Outsiders all thought that the sensational thing Bai Luo did was to help Da Ling unify the six kingdoms.

However, Ning Hongyu felt that this was not the case. This man's true purpose was probably to overthrow the entire Great Ling Dynasty.

He harbored hatred for the late Emperor Daling, but by the time he completed his studies and emerged from seclusion, the late Emperor Daling had already passed away.

With nowhere to vent his hatred, the target of his revenge became the Great Ling Dynasty, for which the late Emperor Da Ling had devoted his entire life.

If I'm not mistaken, it's likely that the reason Ying Muxue's mother got involved with Luo Ai was because he was behind it all.

According to the information Ning Hongyu found, Bai Luo's birth mother was a palace maid in the Empress Dowager's palace. Originally, the late emperor was drunk and wanted to have sex with her, but she pushed Bai Luo's birth mother out and took the opportunity to have an affair with someone else.