Zhang Yu glanced at the metal plate. When his gaze fell, the surrounding scenery instantly darkened. Then, a layer of clouds spread out in front of him, revealing a map drawn with all kinds of colorful materials. It was not static, but a moving map. The mountains and rivers were vividly depicted.
At a glance, one could tell that it mainly represented the Dongting Southern Land that had not been completely explored in the Dongting Prefecture. It also marked underground rivers, mineral deposits, mysterious creatures, ancient ruins, and many other places. The old man named Pahlau claimed that it took him nearly an era to sort out this map. It seemed that he was not lying.
With these things, the Southern Land was in his hands.
But even so, the Revival Conference did not completely explore the entire land. Especially when the map went south, it blended into nothingness. Obviously, it was not the end.
In fact, the same was true for the Dongting Northern Continent. The northern end of the prefecture was directly connected to the sea, but no one knew how far it went. After all, every time the Turbid Tide passed, the land would expand and the terrain would change.
The only exception was the large area that included the An Mountain Range, which was the coastal area on the west side of the Dongting Northern and Southern Lands. Even if it was attacked by the Turbid Tide, it had not changed much. There were many guesses as to the reason, but until now, there had not been an accurate conclusion.
At this time, he saw some places marked with special spiritual symbols on the map. He asked, "What are these places?"
The old man took a look and replied, "Reporting to Supreme Venerable One, those are some places that even we haven't explored yet. Some of them are occupied by gods that are hard to get in touch with, and some of them are extremely dangerous mystical creatures. As for those marked in red, they are ancient ruins, especially that place …"
He reached out and pointed to a place. It was a large area of red that was almost east of the center of the Southern Land. It was very eye-catching.
"To this day, we still don't know what kind of place that is. Every time we send people there, they never return. This is because this place has not changed since the beginning of the previous era. Even before the Turbid Tide, there was no change, so it did not affect us. Thus, we never went there to investigate.
After looking at it, Zhang Yu put away the metal plate and said, "One more thing. You should have kept the prophecy tablets, right?"
The old man said, "Yes, yes. These things, including all the knowledge I obtained from the Moqi Divine Clan, are all in the insect boat. I am willing to give them to Tianxia. Supreme Venerable One can send people to check." He paused and lowered his head. "But I have a request. I want to be a person of Tianxia..."
Zhang Yu said indifferently, "It depends on whether you have committed crimes in the past and can be checked by Tianxia law." He waved his hand. Naturally, a cultivator from the encampment stepped forward and held him down, saying, "Come with us."
The old man did not dare to resist and obediently and followed the two cultivators.
Zhang Yu looked at Yi Shen and said, "Dao friend Yi Shen, you did well."
Yi Shen smiled, "I don't deserve such praise. As a person of Tianxia, I should do my part for Tianxia. However, I only want to live in this world, I wonder if you will allow me to do so. "
Zhang Yu nodded and said, "If Fellow Daoist is willing, that is naturally possible. Fellow Daoist's contribution this time will be rewarded in the future."
Tianxia did not have the rule of quasi-upper realms living in the human world. As long as one made an oath in advance, there would be no problem. However, compared to the upper layer, the inner layer was not a place that upper layer cultivators wanted to stay for long. That was why very few people chose to do so.
After talking with Yi Shen, Zhang Yu talked with Jin Zhixing and Ai Bogao for a while. Then, his avatar turned into starlight and returned to the main body, continuing to meditate in the palace.
However, three days later, Yun Hai rang the bell and the Xuanting Palace once again held a court meeting.
This time, the matter of defense was brought up again. However, most of the court officials agreed with Dai Tingzhi's previous suggestion, which was to set up a security formation in both the inner and outer layer, then strengthen the forces of Shouzheng Palace's various garrisons. They did not want to change the forces of the world too much.
Chong Tingzhi and Zhong Tingzhi were both against it and gave their own reasons. They faintly expressed that even if the court was to decide, they would still try to reject it.
However, even though the court was not held this time, this matter could not be left unresolved. Therefore, the court officials ordered Shouzheng Palace to temporarily strengthen their forces and wait for a decision to be made next time.
After descending from the River of Light and Aura, Zhong Tingzhi said to Chong Tingzhi, "Dao friend Chong, did you notice that the chief enforcer has been speaking less and less recently?"
Chong Tingzhi pondered, "It seems like the chief enforcer needs to focus on his cultivation. The only one who will take over the position of chief enforcer in the future is Chen Tingzhi."
Zhong Tingzhi nodded his head.
If not for Gu Yangzi from Shangchen and Guan Chaosheng from Huanyang school, Chen Tingzhi's cultivation was second only to the chief enforcer ever since Tianxia entered the world. His reputation was also extremely high, so it was natural for him to take over the position of chief enforcer.
However, he was worried that although Chen Tingzhi was a True Cultivator, he was now a Monk Hunjang. It was hard to say which side he would lean towards.
He sighed, "It's a pity that Wu Tingzhi is inferior to Chen Tingzhi."
Chong Tingzhi said in a low voice, "I know Wu Tingzhi well. Even if he had the chance, he would not have the intention to do so."
Wu Qingxu rarely spoke in court. Other than being in charge of matters within his authority, he did not ask about anything else. He also rarely made friends with people of the same path. He did not even have the intention to take charge of the overall situation.
Zhong Tingzhi shook his head and said, "If you think about it this way, it would be a good thing for Chen Tingzhi to take over the position. It would be better than someone like Chao Tingzhi becoming the chief enforcer, right?"
Although he knew that it was impossible, Chong Tingzhi's expression could not help but change slightly at the thought of it.
Actually, when it came to the chief enforcer, they had another candidate in mind, and that was Zhang Yu. However, although Zhang Yu's contributions were not small and his cultivation was high enough, he was still inexperienced. However, when Chen Tingzhi retired, if he wanted to, there might be a chance. Now, it was impossible.
Chong Tingzhi sighed, "There are too few people in court who can support my opinion. If the Zhengqing Daoist can return, we can still turn the tables."
Zhong Tingzhi nodded. If Daoist Zheng Qing had not been banished back then, he would have been the best candidate to take over the position of the Chief Enforcer regardless of his cultivation, status, or past experience. He would have been able to compete with Chen Tingzhi for the position.
He thought for a while and said, "Zhengqing Daoist and Cen Chuan do not seem to like creating things. Even if they come to the upper echelons, they might not support us."
He paused and said, "However, if the chief enforcer retires, the court will most likely appoint another chief enforcer or guardian as the chief enforcer. Currently, there are only a few people who are qualified to take over the position of chief enforcer."
To be able to become a chief enforcer, one must either have made enough contributions or been in charge for a long time. Furthermore, his cultivation must be passable. Both Feng and Gao were special cases.
The only thing that comforted them was that after Zhang Yu, although Xuanxiu had made a few people, their foundation was still shallow and no one was qualified. Therefore, the successor would either be a true cultivator or Monk Hunjang who was in charge of the outer layer.
Chong Tingzhi said, "Recently, Daoist You has obtained a superior Dao Fruit. If this person is willing to take up the responsibility and oversee a region, it won't be difficult for him to become a Tingzhi. Unfortunately, he doesn't care about anything other than formations." He said in a low voice, "But no matter what, we have to fight for this. It would be best if we can nominate a true cultivator to take over the position!"
Zhong Tingzhi said, "This needs to be discussed at length."
If the two of them could see this, the rest of the court enforcers could see it too. Daoist Feng even sought out Zhang Yu to discuss the possible situation.
Zhang Yu could also see that the chief enforcer was preparing to retire. This way, there would most likely be another superior cultivator in the court. He did not care if the other party was a true cultivator or Xuanxiu. As long as he was promoted according to Tianxia's rules, there would be no problem.
However, it was still too early to think about this. He had a faint feeling that the five enforcers looking for him might have something to do with the chief enforcer's retirement.
At the same time, in the outer layer of the void.
Zhu Feng and Mei Shang were sitting on a flying boat and cruising around the various constellations. However, because of the frequent movements of the turbid tide, they recently discovered that there were more and more mystical creatures in the void.
Especially a few days ago, they encountered some strange creatures. These creatures were like membranes that wrapped around the heavenly stars that floated in the void. They used the heavenly stars as eggs to give birth to their own kind. Then, they floated into the void like jellyfish. Although these creatures did not have any offensive capabilities, their numbers were gradually increasing.
There was another thing that was even weirder. It was a kind of crystal chip that looked like a mirror that wandered in the void. This thing had merged with the void. Unless one sensed it carefully, one would not be able to tell where it was or what shape it had. Only when one got close to it would one be able to see the reflection of one's own figure.
It was fine for Xuan Zun like them. They were originally people who had transcended the mortal world and could not reflect anything. However, the cultivators, disciples, or soldiers who had been reflected in the crystal chip would always dream when they returned. They dreamed that they were in the crystal chip and that the shadows had replaced them on the outside.
After waking up, they could not help but think about it. They could not even tell if they were still themselves. Regardless of whether they were cultivators or soldiers, their mental state would become worse and worse because of this.
Zhu Feng and Mei Shang had tried to destroy these things, but found that they were inexhaustible. The number was also gradually increasing. The cultivations of the disciples who were affected also became higher and higher. It seemed that these things would also increase in level. This was very dangerous. Because it was difficult to say what level they would reach in the end and what kind of abilities they would have.
Zhu Feng sensed the seriousness of the matter and suggested, "Fellow Daoist Mei, we should report this matter to the enforcer as soon as possible."
Mei Shang thought for a moment and agreed with this view. Thus, the two of them wrote down all the strange things they saw on a jade talisman and sent it to the upper level of the sky using the Yuandu Xuantu.
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