Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

In order to be fully prepared, a Nascent Soul Ancestor needed to be with Saint Emperor Zhao Dutian at all times for protection.

Thus, Zhao Sheng and two others discussed and quickly decided on their roles: Zhao Zhenhai was to stay permanently in the Taiji Palace to ensure the safety of the Saint Emperor.

Qingshan Ancestor and Zhao Sheng acted as mobile forces, always on guard against sudden attacks from the Heavenly Corpse Master and the Ghost Manipulating Young Man, and even more enemies.

Of course, the few were actually not very worried about Zhao Dutian's personal safety because virtually no fool dared to intrude into the Imperial City.

This was because the Imperial City and inner city of Divine City were personally built by their ancestor Zhao Xuanjing. The city had multiple Great Arrays set up, as well as some killing devices unknown to outsiders, which were enough to deter anyone other than True Monarchs from approaching.

That day, Zhao Dutian gathered the direct descendants within Divine City and personally held a grand celebration for Zhao Sheng and another.

This act had three purposes: first, to welcome the ancestor to Divine City; second, to soothe the public's mind; and third, to deter the petty criminals lurking in the shadows, ideally making them retreat knowing their disadvantages.

The next day, Zhao Sheng moved into a newly built palace specifically for him, claiming to be in seclusion, but in truth, his true body had already slipped out of the palace and was wandering around Divine City at will.

Over the next half-month, Zhao Sheng traversed the inner city and much of the Outer City, secretly leaving countless footprints.

During this period, Divine City was absolutely calm, as if all the malefactors had deeply hidden themselves away.

However, what kind of a great man was Zhao Sheng!

During the half-month of touring the city, he had taken action multiple times, capturing many practitioners of Evil Demons.

As the saying goes, a large forest houses all kinds of birds!

After all, Divine City was one of the most prosperous megacities in the Tianzhu Realm.

In this giant city covering hundreds of miles, capturing a handful of those Evil Demons who were making a living, hiding, or evading enemies was easy.

With Zhao Sheng's late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, finding these hidden Evil Demons was an overqualification!

Though he captured many people, disciples of the Corpse and Soul Sects were few and far between.

With only a little effort, he made them weep and confess everything they knew in haste.

Previous intelligence had not been mistaken; the Ten Thousand Corpses Sect and the Ten Thousand Soul Sect truly suffered heavily, hence they harbored a heart for revenge in secret.

However, the ones who appeared on the surface in Divine City were just sacrificial pieces. The core forces of the two sects, including the Nascent Soul Ancestors, were extremely well hidden and did not show any traces.

Just as Zhao Sheng thought that the situation would continue to be stale, urgent reports came one after another from the eastern territories of the Zhao Dynasty.

"...Three days ago, the Governor of Gandang Province was assassinated, the assassin wore a black robe and a masked face, commanded a hundred copper-armored corpses, suspected to be the doing of the Ten Thousand Corpses Sect's Corpse Witch; the murderer's whereabouts are currently unknown..."

"...Five days ago, the Grand Governor of He Xi Province suddenly vanished into thin air during the night; who did it is unknown... but a very faint ghostly aura was left in the bedroom, extremely pure... the Grand Governor belonged to the Martial Saint Realm, and the one who silently took him away... is suspected to be a Nascent Soul Ghost Practitioner..."

"...Yesterday, while Prince Qian was traveling to Bai Xiu Mountain, a masked man suddenly attacked the camp, a thousand Spirit Army formed an array to fight the enemy, but were completely annihilated. Prince Qian was taken away by the masked man, his whereabouts unknown... The attacker is suspected to be a Late-stage Golden Core Master, even a Nascent Soul Ancestor..."

At the same time, Great General Zu Chong of Beacon Fire Pass suddenly fell into a coma. After investigation, it seemed that his Divine Soul had been cursed... to this day he cannot wake up..."

"According to Long Lin reporting..."

"Enough, don't read any further!"

In the Imperial Study Room, sitting on the Nine Dragon Couch, Zhao Dutian's face was filled with anger, and he suddenly interrupted the report of the Dragon Scale Envoy with a cold shout.

The Dragon Scale Envoy was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.

This person, as the head of the highest intelligence agency of the dynasty, was not only a Zhao Clan member but also had reached the Martial Saint Realm, comparable to a Golden Core Master.

Seeing the Saint Emperor enraged, the Dragon Scale Envoy immediately bowed his head in silence and stepped aside.

Zhao Doutian forcefully suppressed his anger and turned his head to look at the three Nascent Soul Ancestors sitting by his side. He couldn't help but ask, "Ancestors, this is clearly a provocation against the majesty of our dynasty! If we do not quickly eliminate these bandits, I fear the other Imperial Families will laugh at our clan's incompetence. Please, three Ancestors, relieve this emperor of his worries!"

Qingshan Ancestor stroked his chin and spoke in a deep voice, "At the same time, so many high-ranking officials are either assassinated or missing. It seems the strength of the remnants from the Corpse and Soul Sects should not be underestimated!"

"In my opinion," one elder said, "this large-scale assassination is not only the work of the Corpse and Soul Sects. I fear that more forces with ill intentions have also secretly participated."

Zhao Zhenhai spoke sensibly, after all, the Southern Sky Zhao Family had risen too quickly with shallow roots.

Especially over the past millennium, the most glorious family has been the Southern Sky Zhao Family. Due to the excessive number of clan members born, the Zhao Family inevitably occupied many lands rich in Spiritual Energy in Central Continent.

There's only so much overall interest in Central Continent; if you occupy too much, others will inevitably suffer losses.

Thus, the 'fat and bulging' Southern Sky Zhao Family is bound to provoke countless 'enemies' and even become the target of many arrows.

This recent turbulence is not unintentional; it's a manifestation of overindulgence leading to backlash.

At this moment, Zhao Zhenhai looked towards Zhao Sheng, who had been silent the whole time, and asked, "Sixteen, how do you view this matter?"

Zhao Sheng raised his head and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke, "I find it strange that some killers took the bodies with them. Check those who are missing, whether dead or alive, to see if the bodies of our clan members are missing?"

At that, Zhao Sheng's mind flashed, and he immediately corrected, "...No, check further—whether their ancestors are from the lineage of Qingyang Ancestor and whether they carry the blood of the ancient barbarians?"

With these words, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed simultaneously!

The Dragon Scale Envoy could not care about rank and hurriedly stepped forward, kneeling on one knee, trembling as he reported, "Reporting to the Ancestor, your speculation is correct. All the missing are closely related to the royal family. Aside from those officially listed in the royal registry like Prince Qian, there are also several illegitimate children."

"Humph, useless! Get out and thoroughly investigate this matter. If you find no clues, I will strip you of your title — begone!" Zhao Doutian said angrily, waving his sleeves continuously and pointing at the nose of the Dragon Scale Envoy as he cursed.

On the surface, Zhao Doutian was scolding, but in reality, he was treating him lightly, much like coddling a calf.

"Your humble servant will definitely not fail the emperor's heavy trust. I shall take my leave first!" The Dragon Scale Envoy bowed respectfully before quietly exiting the Imperial Study Room.

In front of the three ancestors, Zhao Doutian did not maintain the air of a Saint Emperor but showed a worried face, "Alas, this is troublesome now! Our dynasty's territory is nearly three million miles, with innumerable provincial governments. To find that group of bandits in such vast territory is like searching for a needle in the ocean.

If this continues, I don't know how many ministers and generals from each provincial government will die or be injured. These people are the pillars of the nation, and it pains my heart deeply!"

Qingshan Ancestor sprang up, his entire body engulfed in Yellow Light, and the phantom of a giant peak appeared behind him as he coldly snapped, "Hmph, our clan has not shown its edge for a long time. Those petty figures probably think we're too old to move. It seems they really want to see if my Qingshan Palm can smash their heads to pieces. They simply do not know whether they are alive or dead!"

Hearing this, Zhao Sheng quickly interjected, "Seventh Ancestor, do not be angry, otherwise, we might fall into the enemy's trick of distraction!"

"A diversion? Yes, that's a possibility. But it might also be an overt scheme. If we simply defend the Divine City and do not move, the enemy will likely continue to commit crimes wildly everywhere. If we rush to all places, it will undoubtedly disperse our strength. Perhaps we should first seek aid from Divine Dragon Valley," Zhao Zhenhai also suggested.

Zhao Sheng thought about it and felt that he was right. The force scheming in the shadows had already committed a taboo, undoubtedly declaring war on the Zhao Family.

This matter was no longer merely a retaliation from the Corpse and Soul Sects but more likely targeted at the entire family, gradually evolving from a covert scheme into an overt conspiracy.

However, there was something logically off about this.

In theory, behind the Zhao Dynasty stood a Divinity Transformation True Monarch; it was impossible for any fool to dare to challenge the Zhao Family's authority.

Yet this happened!

What did this imply?

If it wasn't someone foolishly seeking their own death, then it must mean that behind all these troubles, there must be someone backing them.

Following this logic, could it be that... the long-dormant Supreme Sensing Sect was becoming restless?

Thinking of this, Zhao Sheng had a thought, looked up at the other two ancestors, and said gravely, "I propose sending a prince to inspect all the provinces in order to stabilize the hearts of the officials!"