In recent days, Li Mu had a rare moment of free time.
Phantom Princess was in seclusion in the Yao Nation, using the spirit of telekinesis gathered by the four major demon clans to attack the Seven Tails. Su He had to cultivate and learn how to manage the newly unified Ghost Realm, so she didn't have time to care about him.
In the Divine Capital, he spent most of his time with his wife or riding Happy Heart, traveling around with the Empress. Occasionally, he would attend morning court and stroll around the Consecration Department.
The Imperial Court, which used to be divided by several factions, now only had the Empress's faction led by Zhang Chun. In the past two years, the Xiao clan and the Zhou clan had dispersed and gradually lost their power. The important figures of the two families seemed to have given up and rarely appeared in the Imperial Court.
The Zhou clan and the Xiao clan used to be giants that Li Mu couldn't defeat. They were also a major obstacle to the Empress's power.
But now, it was very difficult for them to be Li Mu's opponent.
His opponent was Xuanzong, who was of the demonic path. They were the top factions of the continent's righteous and evil paths. Compared to these two, the Xiao clan and the Zhou clan were not worth mentioning.
On this day, Li Mu sent Liu Hanyan and Li Qing back to Baiyun Mountain and took a look at the sect's situation.
After leaving the Ghost Realm, he left a large amount of spirit jade and soul power in the sect to raise the cultivation of the low-level disciples. In just a few months, the Fu-lu School's overall strength had increased by a level. In terms of quantity and quality of low-level disciples, they were already catching up to Xuanzong at a fast speed.
Then, Li Mu made another trip to the Yao Nation.
The four major demon clans had united, which was rare, and the entire Yao Nation was extremely cohesive. Large and small demon clans were incorporated into the Yao Nation. At the same time, the Yao Nation also issued laws. The previously chaotic Yao Nation was gradually becoming orderly.
Phantom Princess had yet to come out of seclusion. Like the Empress, she used the spirit of telekinesis to forcefully raise her cultivation when her magic power was far below the seventh realm. She was not as natural as Jadesun's. A year and a half of seclusion was considered very fast.
After returning to the God's Capital, Li Mu wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity to further his relationship with the Empress. However, a piece of news caught his attention.
The Demon Path had suddenly invaded the State of Yong, and the State of Yong's envoy requested that the Great Zhou dispatch troops to reinforce the Yong imperial family.
Li Mu had two impressions of the Yong Kingdom.
First, the small and sparsely populated Yong Kingdom had condensed the will of the people. In less than a century, the citizens of the kingdom had condensed three strands of Emperor's Qi. Even the Great Zhou could not compare.
Secondly, Li Mu's painting mantra had been swindled from a young envoy from the Yong Kingdom.
Great Zhou had no reason to refuse Yong's request for help.
On one hand, Great Zhou bordered the southern kingdoms. Once Yong fell, the southeastern border of Great Zhou would face the threat of the Demon Path. Resisting the Demon Path and aiding Yong was a strategic necessity for Great Zhou.
On the other hand, the relationship between the Great Zhou and the State of Yong was that of a suzerain state and a vassal state. Every year, the State of Yong would pay tribute to the Great Zhou, and the Great Zhou would protect them.
Within the imperial study, the Empress had just received the Yong envoy.
The envoy was a scholarly middle-aged man. He wore a scholar's robe and knelt in front of the palace, pleading, "I implore Great Zhou to dispatch troops and assist the State of Yong in repelling the Demon Path …"
In front of outsiders, Zhou Yi regained her majesty as the Empress and calmly said, "The State of Yong is a vassal state of Great Zhou. If the State of Yong is in trouble, Great Zhou will naturally not sit idly by."
Saying this, she called out in a deep voice, "Li Mu!"
Li Mu walked to the front of the palace and cupped his hands. "This subject is here!"
Zhou Yi said, "I will leave the matter of assisting the State of Yong to you."
Li Mu loudly said, "As you command!"
The Yong imperial family had three Transcending Realm experts. If even they couldn't resolve the problem, it would definitely be very thorny. The Demon Path would definitely have dispatched more than one seventh realm Elder. There was also the possibility that some ten-thousand-year-old monster would personally take action.
As such, there was no need to dispatch the Consecration Bureau, the Southern Army, or the Eastern Army. Perhaps only the four deans of the great academies and the Empress would be of some use.
The Empress couldn't possibly leave the Divine Capital to assist the State of Yong, and the deans of the four great academies had the responsibility of guarding the Divine Capital.
Li Mu promptly made a decision and used a sound transmission artifact to contact Xuan Jizi, asking him to invite the experts of the Southern Sect, Northern Sect, and Danding Sect to Yong. Distant water couldn't quench a present thirst. These three sects were in the vicinity of Yong and could provide assistance as quickly as possible.
Afterwards, Li Mu executed the Earth Shrinking Art and personally headed to Yong.
With the Empress's status, she couldn't personally head there. In the imperial court, only he had the qualifications and strength to represent the Empress.
Using the Earth Shrinking Art to travel was much faster than flying or riding artifacts. In less than two hours, a radiance flashed in the sky above Yong's capital. The space fluctuated, and Li Mu's figure walked out.
Just as he arrived at Yong's capital, Li Mu sensed several powerful auras.
Somewhere in Yong's capital, there were six seventh realm auras. Li Mu was very familiar with three of them. They were the auras of orthodox Daoism. The other three were also seventh realm auras, but they were very weak. It was obvious that their injuries weren't light.
Li Mu's figure disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already in a great hall within Yong's imperial palace.
The three old men looked at him and smiled, "Martial Nephew has arrived."
Li Mu cupped his hands towards them and said, "Greetings, Martial Uncles."
Other than Xuanzong, the five sects of Daoism were now as close as a family. After receiving Xuan Jizi's message, the Southern Sect, Northern Sect and Pill Cauldron Sect each dispatched a Grand Elder, rushing to Yong immediately.
After a simple greeting, Li Mu asked, "Where are the people of the Devil Dao?"
An old man said, "After the three of us rushed over, we joined forces with the three Daoists from Yong and repelled them."
Li Mu asked again, "Who came from the Devil Dao?"
That old man said, "Three seventh realm Elders. One of them is very powerful. She could fight the four of us alone. I didn't expect the Devil Dao to have such a terrifying expert …"
Li Mu asked, "Is it a white-clothed woman who is proficient in corpse arts?"
The three were shocked at the same time. The Pill Cauldron Sect's Grand Elder asked, "Martial Nephew knows this person?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "She is one of the Five Ancestors of the Demon Sect. Her strength is unfathomable. I didn't expect her injuries to recover so quickly …"
The Pill Cauldron Sect Elder was shocked. "This person is so powerful. Who could injure her?!"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "That's not important. What's important is why did the Devil Dao suddenly invade Yong?"
He understood the Devil Dao very well. For thousands of years, although the Devil Dao had been wreaking havoc on the continent, their goal was only the Heavenly Tomes. They rarely took the initiative to invade unrelated countries, especially Yong, which bordered the Great Zhou and was surrounded by a circle of smaller countries. Even if the Devil Dao wanted to encroach on the countries in the south, they had no reason to start with Yong.
At this moment, an old man wearing a black dragon robe bowed to the group and said, "Many thanks for your assistance."
An Elder smiled and said, "You're welcome. The Devil Dao has wreaked havoc on the continent. Everyone has the right to punish them."
Li Mu looked at the three experts from Yong's imperial family and got straight to the point, asking, "Do you know why the Devil Dao attacked Yong?"
The two old men's lips moved, wanting to say something but hesitating. In the end, the old man in the black dragon robe sighed and said, "Forget it. Now that things have come to this, that secret is no longer a secret."
He looked at Li Mu and said, "My clan has a page of the Heavenly Tomes. This has always been a secret of my clan. However, for some reason, the Devil Dao suddenly learned of it, leading to today's events."
Li Mu was shocked. "You have the Heavenly Tomes!"
He finally understood why the Five Ancestors of the Devil Dao had personally come to Yong.
An ordinary man is innocent, but treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime. The Devil Dao had struggled at death's door for ten thousand years for the Heavenly Tomes. In the entire Ancestral Province, anyone or power that once possessed a Heavenly Tomes was the target of the Devil Dao.
For example, the Six Daoist Sects had the strength to protect the Heavenly Tomes. The Devil Dao was helpless.
For example, the Three Buddhist Sects of the Shen Kingdom possessed the Heavenly Tomes but did not have the strength. The Heavenly Tomes were snatched away by the Devil Dao, cutting off their inheritance.
The Yong Kingdom's Heavenly Tomes were hidden. It was fine if he secretly comprehended it, but once the Devil Dao learned of it, they would definitely come to snatch it away. Li Mu urgently asked, "Where is your Heavenly Tomes?"
The old man shook his head and said, "It has already fallen into the hands of that woman."
Although Li Mu felt that it was a pity, he was not surprised.
None of those old monsters were easy to deal with. Even if the three Yong experts worked together, they would not be her match. If they had not handed over the Heavenly Tomes, their souls would have likely been scattered and they would have become cultivation resources for the Mysterious Underworld Race.
He looked at the three Yong experts. It was no wonder that Yong had developed so rapidly these past few years. The Heavenly Tomes must have played a role in this.
At this moment, the old man in black dragon robes worriedly said, "The Heavenly Tomes were stolen because our skills were inferior. However, Linglong was also taken away by them. She possesses the Heart of Seven Orifices and can decipher the Heavenly Tomes. If the Devil Dao forces her to decipher the Heavenly Tomes, the Devil Dao will definitely become even more powerful in the future …"
Li Mu stared blankly for a moment before asking, "Wait a minute. What Linglong? What Heart of Seven Orifices?"
The old man sighed. "Linglong is my Yong Kingdom's princess. She was born with the Heart of Seven Orifices and can decipher the contents of the Heavenly Tomes. This was originally a secret of my imperial family. I don't know who leaked it to the Devil Dao …"
Li Mu was momentarily speechless. The Heart of Seven Orifices — how could there be such a thing?!
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