Imperial Capital, Heavenly Palace.
Li Chang'an walked along the spacious corridors.
He could see that the civil officials, whose conduct was once so calm and relaxed, were now rushing about.
The Wu Tribe invasion had finally instilled a sense of crisis in these officials, prompting Li Chang'an to mutter,
"If you'd shown this kind of urgency earlier, would we really be in such a desperate situation now?"
With that, Li Chang'an flew down from the Heavenly Palace and arrived at the Imperial Capital's Heavenly Prison.
The Heavenly Prison was itself a Grotto-Heaven, forming a self-contained microcosm within.
It was gloomy and terrifying, with every sector utilizing formations or shackles to imprison villains captured from all corners of the world.
Yet, in the depths of the Heavenly Prison, there was a rare patch of lush green forest, from which smoke from a cooking fire curled upwards.
Entering the forest, one could see a small courtyard surrounded by formations.
Inside, a middle-aged man dressed in simple cloth robes was watering flowers.
"Oh? Li Chang'an?"
It was the State Preceptor, Min Youguo!
Min Youguo put down the wooden ladle in his hand and walked over to meet Li Chang'an.
"Greetings, Lord State Preceptor." Li Chang'an bowed slightly.
When the Wu Tribe invaded, Wu Neng of the Immortal Suppression Department had gone to the State Preceptor's Manor, only to find Min Youguo missing.
Upon asking, he learned that Min Youguo had come to the Heavenly Prison on his own accord and had even picked out a prime spot for himself.
The meaning was crystal clear.
Regarding the deeds of Min Tiange, although there was no hard evidence, everyone knew the truth in their hearts.
A father bears the faults of his son; Min Youguo was simply making it clear that he would not flee. Yet, given the immense power of the Min family, no one dared to kill Min Youguo.
"How goes the war with the Wu Tribe?" Min Youguo lowered his gaze.
Even while tending to flowers and plants here in the Heavenly Prison, he was not as at ease as he appeared.
"Like a swarm of locusts sweeping through the land… and like a tsunami crashing down."
Li Chang described the situation on the Wu Tribe battlefront, causing Min Youguo's face to turn pale.
Li Chang continued, "Lord State Preceptor, you are Min Tiange's father. You should understand him better than anyone. Do you know his objective?"
Hearing this, Min Youguo's eyes went dull as he said,
"I miscalculated regarding this eldest son of mine.
Back when the incidents at the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems and the Grand Tower came to light, I summoned him back to the clan. He came only as a clone.
At the time, he told us not to worry about the Immortal Suppression Department investigating him any longer, claiming that the Imperial Dynasty would soon have more important matters to attend to. But I never expected..."
"I never expected him to be this deranged, nor did I expect that over tens of thousands of years, he would grow to a level where even I could no longer control him."
Li Chang'an's brows furrowed deeply. "And where did you miscalculate?"
"I suspect that even the Wu Tribe Elders are controlled by his Dao Seed. This Wu Tribe war is being manipulated by him." Min Youguo sighed.
"But he underestimated the Wu Tribe.
He wanted to use the Wu Tribe to draw the Imperial Dynasty's attention. As long as the Wu Tribe charged into the Central Plains, it would result in at least a century of war.
With the Wu Tribe battlefront overextended, sooner or later, they would be wiped out by us in one fell swoop. By that time, no one would be looking for trouble with him anymore."
"However... he cannot control the true old monsters within the Wu Tribe.
Tiange is using the Wu Tribe, but once the Wu Tribe realized this, why wouldn't they, in turn, seize this opportunity?"
Li Chang pondered for a moment.
Min Tiange luring the Wu Tribe into the Azure Imperial Dynasty was just like a Beast Tamer releasing a pack of ferocious beasts.
These beasts might charge into the populace and slaughter people; at that stage, not even Min Tiange himself could predict what the future would hold.
Soon after, seeing Min Youguo pick up the wooden ladle to water the flowers again, he could not help but smile bitterly.
"Lord State Preceptor, the royal court needs you.
The officials are currently frantic due to the Wu Tribe's advance, but give it some time, and there is no saying that they won't start harboring ulterior motives again.
We still need you to preside over the situation. Surely you cannot mean to let Wu Neng manage the court's administration?"
"There will be someone to preside over the court administration."
Min Youguo spoke casually, then asked with a smile, "Has your Li Clan gathered all the Three Corpses?"
Hearing this, Li Chang was stunned for a moment.
He immediately replied, "Chang'an suddenly recalled that there are important matters at home. I will not disturb Lord State Preceptor any longer."
Just as he turned around, Li Chang halted in his steps.
Min Youguo's voice echoed in his ears.
"It is enough that you possess two of the Three Corpses. Fourth Prince will grant you the opportunity for Integration, but you must absolutely not give him the third one."
"His Majesty had his own reasons for sealing Zishu Lingtian."
---
Donate on Ko-fi ➡️ [https://ko-fi.com/darktea] ⬅️
Get Early Access to 90 Chapters: Search for "Dark Tea" on Ko-fi (Explore tab) and join my membership to read ahead!