In front of the Imperial Palace.

Zheng Guo stepped forward to report and before long, the Fourth Prince came out to greet them.

"I was unaware of the True Monarch's arrival and did not come out to meet you in time, I hope you will forgive me..."

The Fourth Prince gave a deep bow, "Has the True Monarch come today for the Royal Law Collection?"

"It is indeed so."

Zhong Shenxiu nodded.

"I will lead the way!"

The Fourth Prince, seemingly having guessed the purpose, invited Zhong Shenxiu into the palace complex.

"This palatial city is divided into nine fortified layers, built by the Ancestor of Yan Han, and has been remodeled and expanded multiple times... Now totaling 12,859 palace chambers, it incorporates many arrays... With the Spiritual Beast Garden, the Imperial Garden, the Immortal Ganoderma Room, and many other splendid sights, the True Monarch must not miss them..."

"Let's go to the Dharma Treasure Book Tower first..."

Zhong Shenxiu always felt that if he went to the Imperial Garden, he might bump into a certain County Lord, so he decided against it.

"This way, please."

The Fourth Prince, unconcerned, led Zhong Shenxiu through a palace gate.

In the next moment, heaven and earth seemed to turn.

It was as if he had undergone a short-distance teleportation, or perhaps he had arrived at a grotto heaven.

Zhong Shenxiu saw the clear azure sky, supporting a vast dome.

Directly in front of him appeared a nine-storey wooden building surrounded by flickering divine lights, obviously laden with powerful magical restrictions.

Before the Dharma Treasure Book Tower, there was a pavilion with a comfortable chair beneath it, on which lay an old man with a large head, sparse white hair, engrossed in reading a book in his hands.

Zhong Shenxiu gave the book a glance and saw that the title was "Essential Collection of the Mysterious Mechanism of the Art of Love," his expression inevitably became slightly odd.

Looking at the desk next to him, a few books were scattered about, titles like "Taiyi Moon Gathering Profound Scripture," "Annotations and Commentaries on the Realization of Truth," "Nine Essentials of Life Preservation," and so on...

"Greetings to the great ancestor!"

The Fourth Prince saluted formally, and after standing up introduced Zhong Shenxiu, "This is the Unity True Monarch, who is our Imperial Family's great ancestor, in charge of guarding the Royal Law Collection and many secret tomes..."

Zhong Shenxiu gave a formal salute, knowing that the person before him was a powerful being with a Dharma Body.

"No need for formalities, Donghua True Monarch. Since you have joined the court, you are one of us."

The Unity True Monarch elegantly put down the scroll in his hand, and spoke indifferently, "Yin and yang together create all things, the Dao is among them, if in the future you have questions in this regard, you are welcome to discuss them with this old man..."

"Thank you for your guidance, senior."

Zhong Shenxiu exchanged further pleasantries and then entered the Royal Law Collection.

The Fourth Prince, however, did not enter, and stood respectfully beside the Unity True Monarch.

After a moment, a flash of spiritual light appeared on the surface of the Royal Law Collection.

"All is secured now, even a Dharma Body True Monarch cannot listen in without triggering the enchantments..."

The Unity True Monarch said indifferently, "Little grandson, what do you think of this man?"

"A prodigy reincarnation, a powerful being in a new life, carrying great secrets..." The Fourth Prince mused as he gave his assessment.

"Yes... In observing him, one sees clarity inside and out, a divine light that is stern, a future Dharma Body that will surely be achieved, and even hope for attaining immortality..."

The Unity True Monarch's tone was even, it was unclear if it was out of envy or admiration.

"The closer one is to the Dao, the more one knows how difficult it is to break through the barriers; countless cultivators exist under heaven, yet how many possess a Dharma Body? And to aspire to achieve the Dao and become an immortal is even more unlikely for the majority... Now that our Imperial Family is in decline, having the support of such a person is indeed not bad... Heh, how did the Supreme Dragon and Tiger Sect turn a blind eye and easily give up on this person?"

The Fourth Prince listened respectfully and at the end added, "However, Donghua True Monarch seems not too willing to draw close to our Imperial Family. He not only has refused the marriage alliance but previously also had some conflicts with Little Nine..."

"Actions are weighed without regard to intentions, and if one truly harbors ill will, marrying off all your sisters would be useless."

The Unity True Monarch was very open-minded about this, "How many among us cultivators would be bound by such ties? As for Little Nine... let him create a fuss. It's time to properly temper his arrogance. Alas... If our princes and princesses continue in this manner, the future is worrisome."

The Fourth Prince's expression unavoidably became a bit bewildered.

As a prince with hopes of contending for the throne, he had been vaguely advised on several points, such as how the Imperial Family was no longer as it once was, and that one must be humble and low-key when facing high-ranking cultivators, and so on.

But he only felt perplexed.

After all, the previous attitude of the Imperial Family was not like this, and this time, it was just the loss of a single Dharma Body.

That inexplicable sense of superiority in his heart, having not gone through the trauma of witnessing the fall of disintegrated celestial beings, had not yet disappeared.

However, he was a smart man, also skilled at enduring silently.

Moreover, involved in court politics, he could infer some unsettling matters from the recent continuous imperial decrees aiming to win over factions from all quarters. These decrees went as far as directly bestowing Spirit Mountains, as well as nearby fertile lands and civilians, withdrawing official management; he knew that the court had already begun to make significant concessions.

This was the reason he behaved extremely humbly.

Otherwise, as a dragon's son and grandson, his pride would be ten times stronger than that of the Ninth Prince!

...

At the same time.

In a certain location within the Imperial Palace.

"Ancestor, Ancestor..."

The Ninth Prince, with red marks still on his face that he had deliberately not erased, knelt in front of a palace hall, "That Donghua True Monarch is too bullying... He is merely a Primordial Spirit, and yet he dares to do this. If he achieves a Dharma Body, won't he turn the heavens upside down?"

"You must stand up for me, Grandfather!"

Slap!

Before his words were finished, the Ninth Prince received another slap, causing the other cheek to swell up high and red, his expression becoming dazed, as if stunned.

"Your heart should be devoted to the court's True Monarchs; they are the foundation of the Imperial Family where the dragon's aura resides... Little Nine, recognize your place!"

A chilling voice rang directly in the Ninth Prince's ear:

"You are merely a prince... Since the founding of Yan Han, the descendants have grown innumerable; who knows how many tens of thousands? If you truly have a conflict with a True Monarch, we can only abandon you!"

The Ninth Prince was momentarily stunned.

This brutal unveiling of reality had delivered a formidable blow to the young man's psyche.

He numbly kowtowed his farewell and left the Imperial Palace.

Even as he approached his own mansion, his expression was still that of deep shock.

In a nearby teahouse, two figures quietly watched the scene, "Tsk tsk... Such misery for this prince..."

"The more miserable, the better. Otherwise, the upcoming drama won't play out well," replied another young man with a sword on his back, sneering.

"Are we truly going to make an enemy of Donghua True Monarch?" The Daoist who spoke first hesitated a bit.

"We sea-bound sects, only by the late emperor's decree, could settle in the Central Plains... The world is only so big, and if we give away too much to others, we'll have less. The opportunity inherent in the Dao lies within struggling for it! This Donghua True Monarch has good relations with the Taiping Sect; he represents the Central Plains Sect and does not tread the same path as our Fangcun Spirit Mountain," said the Sword Cultivator coldly.

"Moreover... he is not yet a True Monarch, yet he is able to receive the imperial edict, causing our East Sea Daoist – the foremost Primordial Spirit cultivator of our time – to lose face. Where do we put our pride?"

"Apart from this, we are all Guest Elders of the court; the Imperial Family won't intervene. And what's more, they would likely delight in seeing us embroiled in conflict, to facilitate their control," he added with a cold voice.

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