Great Xia: At the start, summon the Net of Heaven to suppress the martial arts world.

After the Misty Pavilion pledged allegiance to the imperial court, and the old pavilion master was born, he told Yue Qingying about his origins in detail.

There was no concealment whatsoever regarding the news about the Heavenly Palace.

Looking at the woman in white staring at her, Yue Qingying hesitated for a moment before finally calling out:

"Grandmaster, your junior disciple toasts you!"

"Alright." Upon hearing this, the Lord of the Heavenly Palace did not refuse, but instead responded with a smile.

With the cultivation level of the Heavenly Palace Master, a slight sensory examination would reveal that the cultivation technique operating within his body was exactly the same as that of the Heavenly Palace.

Moreover, ever since their master went to the mortal world, the Heavenly Palace has been paying attention to them and has been collecting information about the Misty Pavilion.

The Lord of the Heavenly Palace was naturally aware of Yue Qingying's existence.

Upon seeing this, Yue Qingying was overjoyed. With her strength as a terrestrial immortal, she was certain that her mind and actions were in harmony. Since she had agreed, she no longer harbored any resentment towards her master.

Upon realizing this, Yue Qingying quickly raised her wine cup and drank the wine in one gulp.

Seeing this, Xia Taige smiled and said:

"The Ice Palace Master is truly a master who produces outstanding students. Now that the Elder of the Misty Pavilion has emerged from seclusion, he has become famous overnight and has made a strong entry into the Grandmaster Ranking."

"Even now, Yue Qingying is already a Grandmaster at the peak, which shows that the Heavenly Palace has a very deep foundation!"

Xia Taige naturally already knew that the old master of the Misty Pavilion was someone from the Heavenly Palace, but he never took it to heart.

However, the Heavenly Palace did have some reasons for accepting the surrender of the Misty Pavilion.

"I must thank Your Majesty for the praise. Master Qingying and her disciple are blessed with great fortune, and their achievements have little to do with the Heavenly Palace!" Upon hearing this, the Lord of the Heavenly Palace smiled but did not acknowledge the cause and effect.

Seeing this, Yue Qingying knew that her goal had been achieved, so she bowed and stepped back.

If I can offer a toast today, my master will surely be relieved of decades of worries when I return home. In that case, today's trip will not have been in vain.

Upon hearing this, Xia Taige did not continue the previous topic. It was indeed a misunderstanding on the part of the Heavenly Palace Master.

The Misty Pavilion is dispensable to the Great Xia Dynasty, and it's not enough for Xia Taige to test the waters again.

But since things had come to this, Xia Taige didn't argue, but just shook his head with a smile.

Thus, the banquet that night gradually drew to a close amidst the two men's casual conversation.

Xia Taige originally intended to go through the motions at this banquet and leave halfway through.

But now that the Lord of the Heavenly Palace is present, Xia Taige can't bring up leaving the table. Fortunately, he learned some news, which is a pleasant surprise.

The next day, after Xia Taige got up from Qianning Palace, she went to the Imperial Study alone before Lin Ying could go to pay her respects to Lady Yan.

During this period, with the implementation of the land tax reform policy, the Great Xia Dynasty had not held a morning court session for many days.

All matters requiring daily reporting were submitted to the Cabinet for unified approval and response.

It is worth mentioning that a few days before Xia Taige's marriage, Lin Dongshi, who was the Grand Secretary, had already submitted his resignation, and the cabinet was now being managed by Fang Xuanling.

When Xia Taige arrived at the Imperial Study, he had not been sitting for long when Cao Zhengchun arrived.

"Your Majesty, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has sent back a report of victory!"

"As of yesterday, there were no more members of the Divine Cult throughout the entire Chinese continent!"

"Within a few days, more than 3,000 members of the Divine Cult were wiped out in various places, and 37 martial arts sects and powerful families involved with the Divine Cult were eliminated."

"The personnel are all outside the Great Xia territory!" After saying this, Cao Zhengchun presented the intelligence with both hands.

Seeing this, Xia Taige did not reach out to take it. He had no interest in the details; he only cared about the result.

"Azure Crane!" Xia Taige called softly.

The next moment, Canghe's figure appeared inside the hall.

"Your Majesty!" Canghe bowed respectfully.

"During this period, have you investigated anyone who assisted the leader of the Divine Cult a few days ago?" Xia Taige asked Canghe.

Clearly, Xia Taige had a particularly strong memory of the person who had helped the leader of the Divine Cult a few days earlier.

Having just eliminated the leader of the Divine Cult, Xia Taige had no intention of having another person similar to him emerge.

Xia Taige's only thought regarding this phenomenon was to root it out, eradicate it completely, and nip it in the bud.

"Your Majesty, although I currently have no leads whatsoever, I suspect that this matter was the work of the Immortal Island's patriarch."

"As far as I know, there is no treasure in the world that can allow someone to ascend to the realm of a terrestrial immortal while severely injured, let alone something so coincidental."

"As for a sudden enlightenment, based on my understanding of him, I'm afraid that's absolutely impossible."

"According to the intelligence from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion and the Zhenwu Division, the island lord of the Immortal Island is a man of strong character and flamboyant behavior."

"Now that he has reached the realm of a terrestrial immortal, he has not revealed it to the outside world at all, which is inconsistent with his past behavior!"

When the island lord of the immortal island ascended to the realm of terrestrial immortals, Canghe sensed that something was amiss.

According to the description of him by Tianji Pavilion, even decades later, he had no hope of breaking through to the Land Immortal Realm, even though the position of Land Immortal Realm was vacant.

Upon hearing this, Xia Taige's face turned cold. After pondering for a moment, he agreed with what Cang He said.

Xia Taige didn't believe that someone capable of so many foolish things could suddenly achieve enlightenment and ascend to the realm of terrestrial immortals.

Upon realizing this, Xia Taige's murderous intent arose instantly.

"Yuan Tiangang!"

"Your Majesty!" At Xia Taige's soft call, Yuan Tiangang's figure immediately appeared in the hall.

"This trip to the Immortal Island will be undertaken by the two of you!"

"I hereby bestow upon you two two Immortal Locks!" With that, Xia Taige waved his sleeve, and two golden Immortal Locks appeared before the two of them.

"If this item is used to bind a powerful cultivator at the terrestrial immortal level, it can suppress their cultivation, preventing them from escaping!"

"If the master and disciple do not resist in the slightest, then use the Immortal Lock to escort them back to the capital, so as not to leave the position of the Land Immortal Realm vacant!"

"If the two resist, then let no one on the entire Immortal Island be spared!"

This move may cut off the opportunity for many Grandmaster-level experts in the Chinese mainland to ascend to the Land Immortal Realm.

But once the two are imprisoned by the imperial court, there will be no further changes in the entire Chinese continent.

Currently, apart from the Great Xia Dynasty, there are only eight powerful land immortals, including the master and disciples of the Immortal Island. Moreover, the ancestor of the Xuanzong sect must also be included.

If the two are imprisoned here, the worst-case scenario for the entire Chinese continent is that there will only be six powerful beings at the Land Immortal Realm.

Although this move may block Gai Nie and others from reaching the realm of terrestrial immortals, it will only take a few years.

Once the barrier breaks, with the strength of Gai Nie and the others, breaking through to the realm of terrestrial immortals would be just a thought away.

"Yes! Your subordinates will remember!" Upon hearing this, the two stepped forward, took the magic lock, and then disappeared into the main hall.

(P.S.: Happy New Year everyone!)