After being exiled for eighteen years, the prince returned to the capital as a veritable immortal.

Prince's Mansion.

Zhou Yi stood on the shore of Taiping Lake, hands behind his back, like a sculpture.

His deep gaze looked up at the endless sky.

In the far western frontier.

Wu Meng led his Iron Cavalry Guards, under Zhou Yi's banner, across Wansuhai, to search for Kunlun Mountain.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yi, Hu Die, and Si Xuan had already secretly returned to the capital and were holed up in their mansion.

Hu Die carried tea and pastries, and gently placed them on the stone table in the lakeside pavilion.

His Highness was meditating on the Dao, so of course she wouldn't go up and disturb him.

With her hands supporting her chin, she gazed intently at the handsome figure.

It wasn't until a busy bee flew past her that she was pulled back to reality from her reverie.

She composed herself and took out the Six Paths of Reincarnation Diagram.

Although its name refers to a diagram, the material of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Diagram is neither iron nor gold, nor copper nor jade.

The shape is that of a ferocious and ugly monster, holding a round mirror.

On the mirror surface are drawn the six realms: the realm of heaven, the realm of humanity, the realm of animals, and so on.

The diagram illustrates the principle of the cycle of heaven.

His Highness places great hopes on reincarnation and rebirth, and Hu Die is well aware of her heavy responsibility.

and so.

She changed her previous lax attitude towards cultivation.

Aside from taking care of Zhou Yi's daily life, she devoted all her time to cultivation.

Her current obsession with cultivation is no less than Zhou Yi's.

Holding the Six Paths of Reincarnation diagram in her hands, Hu Die was completely absorbed in the moment.

With her foundation in the practice of the "Netherworld Scriptures," her understanding of the Six Realms of Reincarnation came naturally.

With a flash of silver, Si Xuan arrived at the lakeside.

As a master, one can move about without making a sound.

Si Xuan was speechless when he glanced at the two who had attained enlightenment.

These two guys seem to have no interest in anything other than cultivation.

The martial arts examination has begun, and undercurrents are swirling in the capital, yet the two seem completely unconcerned.

Si Xuan couldn't sit still at all.

He secretly left the palace early to get a clear understanding of the situation in the capital.

Obviously.

Zhou Yi did not miss Si Xuan's arrival.

Even his innermost thoughts, which he could hardly contain, seemed to be perfectly clear to him.

"Speak your mind," Zhou Yi said without moving.

Immediately, Si Xuan poured out his report like beans spilling from a bamboo tube:

"Your Highness, the martial arts competition has already begun."

"More than 90% of the candidates are from the Mahayana school of Buddhism."

These people harbor evil within them.

With Master Si Xuan's cultivation level, it wouldn't be difficult for him to sense it.

"Tens of thousands of Mahayana Buddhists have infiltrated the city in the past few days."

"Moreover, the martial arts tournament is like a performance, where everyone holds back their strength."

"The second prince was furious as a result."

"besides……"

Si Xuan hesitated for a moment before saying, "The barrier that's blocking the death fog... I'm afraid it won't hold."

Hu Die put away the Reincarnation Diagram and reluctantly exited her cultivation state.

She picked up the fragrant tea, handed it to Zhou Yi, and asked for his permission:

"Your Highness, how about I go out of the city..."

Zhou Yi shook his head.

Si Xuan immediately became anxious, "There are so many innocent people in the city, we can't just leave them unsaid!"

"Hmph, what do you mean by 'not saving'?"

Hu Die pouted and said angrily, "Yesterday, Your Highness also reinforced the seal of the Underworld Emperor."

"Who told the Martial Emperor to say that Your Highness is an evil dragon?"

She has always held a grudge about this.

"Do not worry."

Zhou Yi said, "I have already made arrangements."

Hearing Zhou Yi say this, Si Xuan finally felt relieved.

If Your Highness has made arrangements, then the common people will naturally not be affected.

Regardless of how many people the Mahayana sect sends.

Hu Die's mention of "evil dragon" also stirred up Si Xuan's displeasure.

He scratched his head and said, "There's an evil dragon in the royal family. Who could it be?"

"No matter who it is, it can't be His Highness!" Hu Die said indignantly.

Thinking about this made her furious.

Your Highness, a perfectly healthy human being, how could you become the evil dragon in the Empress Wu's mouth?

even.

He almost perished in the dragon vein.

The direct descendants of Empress Wu, excluding the deceased crown prince.

Those who can be ranked are only the Second Prince, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Sixth Prince, and Zhou Yi.

"Could it be one of the Second Prince or the Sixth Prince?"

Si Xuan muttered to himself, "It doesn't seem like it either."

Of the group, apart from Zhou Yi, only the two of them advanced to the seventh-grade Grandmaster level.

The Fifth Prince is only at the sixth-grade Cave-Hidden Realm, while the Third Prince is at the fifth-grade Golden Core Realm.

As for the fourth prince...

Heh, the Qi Refining Realm is no different from a useless person who can't cultivate.

"Whoever is the worst, that's definitely it," Hu Die said angrily.

"The worst?"

Si Xuan blurted out, "It has to be the Fourth Prince."

"Pfft!"

Hu Die was amused. "You're not even a mudfish in the Qi Refining Realm, yet you dare to call yourself a dragon?"

Si Xuan smiled too.

The least likely person to be an evil dragon is the fourth prince.

Both of their gazes turned to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi shook his head.

He didn't know who the evil dragon was.

……

"All of you candidates, you should all strive to be the best in serving the court."

"Never forget the lesson of Liu Sanniang of the Snow Mountain Sect!"

On the martial arts field.

The sixth prince's words sent shockwaves through the hearts of all the candidates.

Liu San Niang refused to participate in the martial arts examination, so the Imperial Grandson Si directly wiped out the Snow Mountain Sect.

No one wants to follow in their footsteps.

then.

The ensuing match immediately became intense.

Swords clashed, sparks flew...

Although, the principle of the competition is to stop when the point is reached.

However, swords have no eyes, and the number of candidates who were injured gradually increased.

Seeing this, the sixth prince finally nodded in satisfaction.

The second prince's face was clouded with gloom, almost as if it could be wrung out of water.

However, this does not seem to be enough.

The sixth prince gave a wink to the people below the stage, and four late-stage Golden Core cultivators stepped forward.

To speed up the process, four arenas were set up in the training ground.

Four matches were held simultaneously.

The four Golden Core cultivators stepped forward and jumped onto different arenas.

The four were not only ridiculously powerful, but also extremely ruthless.

Their opponents were all from cultivation sects.

The four opponents, whose cultivation levels were not weak, were completely crushed.

Coincidentally, all four Golden Core cultivators "used too much force" and couldn't stop for a moment.

"Puff, puff, puff, puff!"

Four heads were severed.

hiss--

What a deep grudge this is.

The four Golden Core cultivators were clearly there to kill.

The second prince suddenly stood up, slammed his fist on the table, and angrily shouted at the guards beside the arena:

"They were so ruthless! Take down all four of them!"

"Second brother, that's enough."

The sixth prince grabbed his wine gourd, took a sip, and said, "It's normal to occasionally make a mistake in a martial arts competition."

As he spoke, he waved to the guards who had stepped forward, signaling them to retreat.

The guards' gazes darted back and forth between the two princes, unsure of which prince to listen to.

"Punish the murderer severely!"

"Punish the murderer severely!"

Most of the martial arts candidates who participated in the imperial examination were disciples of various martial arts schools.

At this moment, they all raised their arms and shouted, demanding that the murderer be punished.

after all.

Anyone could see that the other party's claim of not being able to stop was a lie; the real intention was to kill.

however.

The next moment, something strange happened.

Almost simultaneously, a black spirit emerged from the four corpses.

It has a humanoid shape, with red flames burning in its eyes.

They are clearly four evil creatures.

Mahayana Buddhism!

Everyone immediately understood.

These four martial arts graduates were members of the Mahayana sect who had infiltrated the imperial city.

The four demonic creatures pounced on the nearest guard and burrowed into his body.

Followed by.

The four guards, their eyes burning with fire, roared:

"You are deeply sinful!"

"You deserve to die, I'll kill you!"

……

The carnage erupted instantly.

Chaos broke out in some parts of the field.

The sixth prince took out the tiger tally and ordered the generals following behind him to quickly go outside the city to mobilize troops to suppress the Mahayana sect.

soon.

Fully armed heavy cavalrymen marched into the training ground.

The sixth prince took the lead and stood at the head of the army.

The second prince stood opposite him, with tens of thousands of Mahayana Buddhist followers behind him.

Disciples from various sects participating in the martial arts examination also stood behind the Second Prince.

The sixth prince cupped his hands and said:

"Second brother, when two tigers fight, one of them will surely be injured."

"Sixth Brother is right. Why don't we join forces and force the Empress to abdicate?"

"Alright! Then, it's up to each of us to rely on our own abilities!"

……

The two princes each led their troops and together surrounded the palace.