Chapter 219 - 102: Practically Glowing Green, and You Return It to Me After 3 Days of Use?

The white cat seemed to understand her worries and anxieties. It extended its tongue and gently licked the back of her hand as if to comfort her.

"You are the last of the White Tiger Race’s royal bloodline, yet now you can only take the form of a little cat. Are you content with that?" Emperor Xia said with a slight smile.

Hearing this, the white cat rolled its eyes at her.

Her words, however, seemed to send Emperor Xia into a reverie. She was young then, only in her teens.

She had traveled alone to investigate a Demon outpost in Xiling Province.

And there, she had met Xiaobai. A member of the noble White Tiger Race and a bearer of its royal bloodline, she was being hunted by a pack of Demons. She could only flee through the forest like a common beast, dodging one flying arrow after another.

Behind her, the Demons cackled, pursuing her at a leisurely pace. Their faces were full of mockery, as if they were watching a trapped animal in a cage.

In that moment, it was as if she were seeing her own fate...

No, she would not resign herself to such a fate.

She wanted to break the deadlock, and for that, she needed supreme power. With enough strength, any plot or scheme would become nothing more than the moon’s reflection in water—shattering at the slightest touch.

’I always feel like Jiang is deliberately hiding something. Though I was young back then, I saw Jiang Lan from a distance. He didn’t look like some useless hedonist.’

’And yet, all these years, he’s repeatedly stirred up trouble in the Imperial Capital, unsettling everyone and earning himself the reputation of Great Xia’s number one hedonist...’

’What is he really after?’

’Knowing Jiang’s personality, making such a show of demanding all sorts of Heaven and Earth Treasures related to the Phoenix Race is likely a deliberate act to misdirect everyone.’

’After all, Jiang Lan only just established his foundation at his age. Even if he cultivates tirelessly from now on and has many fortunate encounters, it will be difficult for him to catch up to his peers. So, is Jiang trying to tell the world that Jiang Lan poses no threat, thereby drawing everyone’s attention to himself? Is this his way of protecting Jiang Lan?’

’Such actions would indeed make it easy for people to believe that Jiang Lan had no cultivation before. But surely Jiang knows that the more you try to hide something, the more you draw attention to it?’

’The more he does this, the more I must test him.’

Emperor Xia fell into thought, stroking the white cat in her lap.

Just then, the palace maid holding the ancient seal stepped forward. She approached the screen where Emperor Xia was seated and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, a message has arrived from the Naxian Alliance. The Half-Immortal Zhenren you have been seeking has finally agreed to meet you."

Hearing this news, Emperor Xia shot to her feet, nearly causing the white cat in her arms to fall to the floor.

Unable to hide the joy on her face, she declared, "Prepare for my departure. I will go to the Naxian Alliance myself."

For years, she had disguised herself as a Noble Family Disciple, entering various Jianghu Immortal Sects to search for clues, befriend gifted individuals, and recruit talented Tributors to serve her.

The Naxian Alliance was one such organization she had established herself, and it now boasted many masters among its ranks.

Of course, the most important thing was that some of its members possessed extraordinary abilities.

Even the National Master, upon learning of them, couldn’t help but marvel, believing that with time, these individuals would surely accomplish great things.

And that Half-Immortal Zhenren was a mysterious being mentioned in an edict left by her father, the late emperor, before he passed away.

Emperor Xia had been sending people to search for the Half-Immortal Zhenren for years. It was only a few months ago that they finally found a lead and confirmed the location of his secluded cave residence.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Emperor Xia changed into plain clothes and applied a light disguise. Then, under the protection of a few maids and guards, she left through a secret passage behind the Imperial Palace.

...

「Observatory — Dank Water Prison, Seventh Level.」

As the prison where Great Xia incarcerated many of its criminals, the year-round dampness filled the air with a foul, decaying stench.

The torches lining the passageway burned with Merfolk oil. They never went out and were impervious to the damp mist.

"The heavens are blind! With a treacherous minister in power, Great Xia’s foundations will sooner or later be destroyed at the hands of that scoundrel!"

"To think that my Xie Family has been loyal for generations, serving diligently and conscientiously, performing so many great deeds for Great Xia! And yet, in the end, we were framed by that scoundrel minister, only to end up in such a miserable state..."

A middle-aged man with disheveled hair and a filth-stained brocade robe, full of indignation and resentment, gripped the lock on his cell door tightly. He was trying to make a noise to attract the attention of the soldiers patrolling outside.

Unfortunately, the soldiers all wore expressions of detached indifference, as if they hadn’t heard a thing.

Quite a few high-ranking ministers were imprisoned in the Observatory.

The center of power at the imperial court had shifted in recent years. As a result, many Noble Families and prominent clans had been purged, and a great number of court officials had been thrown into prison.

Among them were even some veteran officials who had served several emperors, now held in the deepest parts of the prison.

"Father, there’s no need for this. The ones who framed our Xie Family know better than anyone how innocent we are. It won’t do any good for you to carry on in this rage..."

Inside the cell, a young man spoke up, trying to persuade him.

He looked just as miserable. His face bore a strong resemblance to the middle-aged man’s, and he was squatting in a corner of the cell, his clothes soaked through.

Moreover, his hands and feet were bound in chains. Because his Spirit Sea had been sealed, his body showed no trace of Spiritual Energy fluctuations.

The middle-aged man was the current Imperial Censor, Xie Qing, and the young man was his eldest son, Xie Yunshuang.

For the crimes of colluding with Demons and stealing the Royal Secret Canon, the several thousand members of the Xie Family were stripped of their status and became commoners overnight. All were imprisoned in the Observatory to await their sentences.

Now, the verdict had been delivered.

The morning after tomorrow, all the male members would have their cultivation crippled and be exiled to the borderlands to fight against the Alien Races of the Hundred Kingdoms.

As for the women, they would be sent to the Sword Sect to wash swords, forbidden from ever leaving the sect for the rest of their lives.