In the white-haired old Taoist’s hand, he held the token of the Dragon Protector Pavilion. The materials used to refine the token were extremely special and impossible to imitate.
Even though, Zhang Ruochen had never met a member of the Dragon Protector Pavilion, he still had to recognize his identity.
Who would have thought that the legendary Dragon Protector Pavilion actually existed?
Zhang Ruochen returned the token to Zhao Jie and asked, “Where are the rest of the members of the Dragon Protector Pavilion?”
Although, Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation level was still very low, Zhao Zhen was very respectful to him and didn’t dare to offend him, saying, “The members of the Dragon Protector Pavilion are spread all over the Kunlun Realm, each with different identities and missions, and only the Pavilion Master knows the identities of all of them.”
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and asked again, “What exactly is the mysterious mission of the Dragon Protector Pavilion?”
Zhao Jie shook his head and smiled, “Your Highness, I only know that my mission is to guard the Imperial Tomb Forest, and I do not know the missions of the others. However, Lord Pavilion Master surely knows about it.”
Zhang Ruochen asked some other questions, such as, where was the Pavilion Master of the Dragon Protector Pavilion? Did the Dragon Protector Pavilion take away the treasury of the Sacred Brightness Central Empire eight hundred years ago?
However, the things that Zhao Qian knew were extremely little, and Zhang Ruochen did not ask for substantial and useful information.
Zhao Qian told Zhang Ruochen that his master had died, and when he was dying, he had only explained to him a way to contact the Dragon Protector Pavilion’s owner, which could only be used when there was the most urgent situation. Other times, it was the Dragon Protector Pavilion Master who took the initiative to contact him.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t ask Zhao Zhen to contact the Dragon Protector Pavilion Master, not that he didn’t want to recall the members of the Dragon Protector Pavilion, but rather, he felt that the timing wasn’t ripe right now.
Right now, the situation in the Kunlun Realm, was changing rapidly, the dark tide was surging, and an unpredictable calamity could erupt at any time.
The more noise anyone made, the more attention they would attract, and the faster they would die.
Kong Lan You said, ”Actually, cousin can also recall the members of the Dragon Protector Pavilion. As long as you raise your arms, with the support of the Dragon Protector Pavilion and the Hall of Brightness, along with the descendants of the Zhang Clan’s royal family and the old clans from all sides, WoW can completely take down Sacred Brightness City, rebuild the Sacred Brightness Central Empire, and claim the title of Emperor in one fell swoop, against Chi Yao’s First Central Empire.”
Immediately afterward, she added, “Nowadays, the imperial court’s armies are being held back by the Undead of the Eastern Domain, the Deadly Zen Cult of the Southern Domain, and the Immortal Blood Clan of the Northern Domain, and they simply have no time to deal with us. It’s just right for us to take this opportunity to grow and expand, opening up our territories and causing the First Central Empire to completely fall apart.”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, “You have a good idea, it’s just a pity that the consideration only stops at the surface.”
Kong Lanyou bit her lips, revealing an angry expression, feeling that Zhang Ruochen was too disrespectful to her.
No matter what, she was also a Ming Tang Sacred Ancestor with eight hundred years of experience, her cultivation was Xuanxuan, and she was feared by everyone, yet, Zhang Ruochen still treated her like a teenage girl and directly refuted her suggestion.
“You are very unconvinced? Then let me analyze for you, the situation in the world today.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “First of all, whether it’s the Undead in the Eastern Domain, the Deadly Zen Sect in the Southern Domain, or the Immortal Blood Clan in the Northern Domain, they’re actually no match for the First Central Empire at all. As long as Chi Yao is determined, it wouldn’t take much power at all to exterminate them.”
Kong Lan You naturally knew how terrifying the First Central Empire’s underpinnings were, and was also clear about how terrifying Chi Yao’s cultivation was, yet he still somewhat didn’t understand what Zhang Ruochen meant, revealing a puzzled expression.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Kong Lanyou and shook his head, sighing in his heart that he had indeed not gotten any wiser after so many years had passed.
“I suspect that Chi Yao is practicing.”Zhang Ruochen said.
“Practicing?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded his head clearly and said, “The First Central Empire has created a martial arts heyday, with saints coming out in great numbers and splendor, but the Human Race has been at peace for hundreds of years, becoming extravagant and arrogant, already forgetting about the old days of surviving in the cracks of the barbarian beasts’ various races.”
“If I were Chi Yao, also standing at the peak of the Kunlun Realm, and saw such a situation, I would also draw in a force to use to sharpen them.”
Huang Yichen’s eyes flickered as he said, “Is the empress intentionally not going to clean up the scourge of the three domains? In that case, wouldn’t many innocent humans die? How could she be so indifferent?”
Kong Lanyou pondered carefully, a cold light appearing in his eyes as he said, “With my understanding of her, it’s really possible that she would do that. It’s still cousin who knows her best, her heart is deeper than anyone else’s.”
Immediately after, Zhang Ruochen added, “Secondly, the stone talisman left behind by the Thousand Bone Empress can only seal the passage between the Yin and Yang Realms for a few years. It won’t be long before even stronger and more numerous Undead Ghostbusters will pour into the Kunlun Realm.”
“That would be the true calamity, and the entire Kunlun Realm united may not be able to withstand it. In the face of that kind of calamity, even if we rebuild the Sacred Brightness Central Empire and the First Central Empire in a life-and-death battle right now, what’s the point of it other than for us to die some more?”
“There are too many hidden dangers in the Kunlun Realm, many ancient forces, many powerful lords are still hibernating, waiting for the right time. For us to take the lead and jump out and rebuild the Sacred Brightness Central Empire, we will surely become a target and will not end well.”
Just the two major hidden dangers of the Underworld King and the Blood Queen already made Zhang Ruochen feel very uneasy.
What’s more, how could there be more than just the Underworld King and the Blood Queen in the Kunlun Realm?
After all, the Immortal Blood Clan was only one of the ancient clans.
Not to mention the distant ones, let’s just say that the Corpse Catching Ancient Race and the Ghost Raising Ancient Race, if they dared to jump out and make waves, they must have some hidden means as well.
The Kunlun Realm was too big, and if a dead person like Zhang Ruochen could come back to life after 800 years, who knew how many other things were hidden that surpassed common perception?
With Kong Lanyou’s current status and cultivation, she naturally knew many hidden secrets about the Kunlun Realm. Her small mouth, which moved slightly, eventually said nothing and continued to listen to Zhang Ruochen’s explanation.
Zhang Ruochen’s tone calmed down a bit as he said, “There is also the third rule, can Ming Tang really still come together with the Imperial Clan Zhang?”
Hearing this question, Kong Lanyou clenched his lips and sighed in his heart, “What should have come, came after all!”?Zhang Ruochen also stopped avoiding the question and asked, saying, “Lan You, the Peacock Villa should owe me an explanation, right? Eight hundred years ago, why exactly?”
Sooner or later, he had to ask.
If he didn’t ask, there would always be a gap between him and Kong Lanyou.
Kong Lan You didn’t dare to meet Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, instead, he stared at the distant mausoleum and said, “Cousin, at that time, I was still very young as well, and I simply didn’t know why those things happened. It wasn’t until later …… it was hundreds of years later that I realized the truth.”?”What is the truth?”Zhang Ruochen said.
Kong Lanyou’s eyes blinked, and with a pleading look, he said, “For the time being, I can’t tell you yet.”
“It’s just a truth, is it that hard to say it?”Zhang Ruochen’s heart was very puzzled.
What exactly was Kong Lanyou trying to hide, and why was he unwilling to say it?
It had already been eight hundred years, many things had already happened and had become the past, so there was still a need to hide it?
Kong Lan You shook his head vigorously and said, “Please, cousin, don’t force me, okay? When I feel that I can tell you, I will definitely tell you everything in full.”?”Alright, I won’t force you.”Zhang Ruochen sighed.
Finally, Kong Lanyou let out a slight sigh of relief, the things that happened back then, didn’t want to hide them from Zhang Ruochen at all, yet they had to be hidden.
There were some things that were not as simple as they appeared.
Kong Lanyou said, ”I am the Sacred Ancestor of Ming Tang, as long as I am willing, I can completely order the ministries of Ming Tang. Cousin, whenever you want to rebuild the Sacred Ming Central Empire, I will rush to embrace you at the first opportunity.”
With Kong Lanyou’s current cultivation and status, and still being able to say such words, Zhang Ruochen’s heart was naturally still very touched.
It was only that the Ming Hall and the old division loyal to the Sacred Brightness Central Empire had long since broken up, and had deep hatred for each other, so even if they were forced to integrate them, they would surely sow hidden dangers.
In Zhang Ruochen’s opinion, instead of that, it would be better to fully develop the Ming Sect and cultivate a force that was truly his own.
Zhang Ruochen did not ask Kong Lanyou if the leakage of his identity was related to her. Because, he already believed that Kong Lanyou would never do such a thing.
Then, there was only one person left, Kong Hongbi.
“Kong Hongbi is probably just trying to utilize other forces to find me out, and doesn’t necessarily truly know my identity.”Zhang Ruochen secretly said.
Kong Lanyou saw a cold light flash through Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, so, he asked, “Cousin, what are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly and didn’t say anything about the grudge between him and Kong Hongbi.
Zhang Ruochen never liked to rely on other people’s power when he did things, and anything that he could solve on his own, he would definitely do it himself.
Only when one was strong was one truly strong.
For the next period of time, Zhang Ruochen stayed in the Imperial Tomb Forest, not only was he guarding the tomb for his mother’s mother, he was also practicing and improving his cultivation.
By refining the divine blood, Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation had managed to break through to the peak of the Fifth Order Half-Saint.
It was on this day that Zhao Qian brought a piece of news, “There is an internal disturbance in Ming Tang, the imperial army is gathering, preparing to take advantage of this opportunity to destroy Ming Tang in one fell swoop.”
The interior of the Ming Tang was not an ironclad one, bringing together more than a dozen forces from the former dynasty, and the Peacock Villa was merely the most massive of them all.
Each force had different interests, and it wasn’t impossible for civil unrest to break out.
Learning the news, Kong Lanyou prepared to make a trip back and said, ”Cousin, come back to Mingtang with me? When I pacify the civil unrest, I can support you to become the Hall Master of Ming Hall.”
“No way.”
Huang Yichen walked out and immediately objected, saying, “Ming Tang has only just erupted into civil unrest, and the imperial army has already gathered, would it be too fishy? I suspect that this matter is related to the empress. It’s likely that she left the Central Imperial City in preparation for clearing out Ming Tang first. At this time, wouldn’t it be quite dangerous for Brother Dust and you to return to Ming Tang?”
Kong Lanyou gazed carefully and felt that Huang Yichen’s words were not completely without reason, saying, “Cousin, I’ll come back to you when I’ve calmed down the Ming Hall’s internal turmoil.”
Zhang Ruochen also felt that this matter was fishy, but yet, he also knew that Kong Lanyou had to rush back because, the Peacock Villa’s clansmen were still in Ming Hall.
Eight hundred years had passed, and Kong Lanyou had indeed remained unchanged, however, the responsibility she was carrying had become very heavy.
No longer was she just an innocent little girl, no longer was she just Zhang Ruochen’s cousin, but, rather, the Sacred Ancestor of Ming Hall.
“Lan You!”
Zhang Ruochen called out to her and reminded her, saying, “Be careful, if you see Chi Yao, don’t fight her hard. Sooner or later, I will personally go to her palace and make her pay the price she deserves.”
Kong Lanyou answered and nodded, then, transforming into a white stream of light, he disappeared into the Imperial Tomb Forest.
