Chapter 177: Chapter 95 Earthly Destroyer Shakes, Mars Guards the Heart_2

“But these sudden troubles, they seem to be a bit too many, isn’t it? It’s just a sect competition, it shouldn’t be so coincidental, right?”

Suddenly, Shen Yuan, who was originally calm, started to have misgivings in his heart.

With some uncertainty in his heart, Shen Yuan turned to Xue Mingzhi, who was driving the car in front and asked:

“Why is this Dao Discussion Conference held in Cang Province?”

As far as Shen Yuan knows, Cang Province isn’t teeming with famous mountains and rivers, and the sects are weak. What has continued for thousands of years are powerful clans instead.

The Dao Discussion Conference claims to be about discussing the Dao, but at its core, it’s the Imperial Astronomical Bureau wanting to dictate the division of the pie for the entire sect community.

Such an event, whether held in the Imperial Capital or Demonic City where the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is most influential, or in Yeang Province and Muu Province where the sects congregate, would be a perfectly good choice.

Only Cang Province has nothing, except for having the name of the Southern Three States, and there is nothing left.

As soon as Shen Yuan proactively inquired about these matters, Xue Mingzhi immediately showed a full-faced smile.

What he wanted most was to show his worth before Shen Yuan, so he immediately responded:

“Sir, you have little contact with the outside world, so it’s normal that you are not familiar with these matters.

With the accelerating return of Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, information about the monster tribe and cultivators in Great Xia has almost become an open secret.

All sorts of cultivator forums and online platforms have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Information about cultivators can be said to be the hottest topic at the moment.”

“There’s even a telecommunication fraud gang posing as recruiters of disciples for cultivation, preparing to deceive people to go to the Mian Kingdom, to imprison them for organ trafficking, or to forcefully compel them into the fraud gang.

Until half a month ago, when a gang of fraudsters deceived a group of people to the Mian Kingdom and prepared to move against them, they found that there was actually a self-aware cultivator at the Qi Transformation Stage among them.

This Qi Transformation Stage cultivator single-handedly turned over the entire fraud ring, and when the many victims escaped and exposed it online, it sparked a lot of heated discussion. Even the Imperial Court could not suppress these public opinions.

Under these conditions, besides the intention of reaching into the sect community by holding the Dao Discussion Conference, there are also some intentions of showing off the power of the Imperial Court through the influence of the conference and deterring those with ulterior motives outside the Imperial Court.”

About here, Xue Mingzhi’s face turned slightly serious and his voice became somewhat stern.

“The object that the Imperial Court most wants to deter is the ethnic groups outside the Human Clan.

Monster tribes live in deep mountains. Except for minor disturbances by a group of monsters in Yunfu awhile ago, most other groups have maintained peace. After all, the monster tribes are very clear that the Human Clan is currently controlling the general situation, and are not yet in a position to compete with the Human Clan.

Cang Province is filled with bodies of water. The main tributary of River Ji runs across Cang Province and has been the self-claimed territory of the Dragon Palace since ancient times.

In recent times, with the Sunn Family holding the Dragon Palace Edict and commanding the Jidu Aquatic Clan, the aquatic tribe of Cang Province has become increasingly rampant.

The Imperial Court wants to take advantage of this Dao Discussion Conference to warn the Cang province aquatic tribe, who is the real ruler of Great Xia.”

Shen Yuan was rather surprised, what appeared on the surface to be a competition between sects, actually involved so many intricate insider details.

The Great Xia’s Imperial Court’s strategic planning and manipulation are elaborate and skillful, at least from what he has seen so far, this Ancient Dynasty that’s lasted three thousand years can still stabilize the situation.

His gaze swept over the road the car was passing through, there is still quite a distance from Cang Province to Wenn City. Shen Yuan closed his eyes to reenter his reflections on the union of the sword and Elemental Qi during this time.

In the Imperial Capital, on the Golden Throne Hall, ministers were still arguing over the specifics of the Dao Discussion Conference.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s hosting of the Dao Discussion Conference involves more than just the interests of the sects.

At the moment, it’s the first Dao Discussion Conference, and if all goes well, there will be many more to follow.

As long as one can legitimately get involved in this first Dao Discussion Conference, they can continue to reap prestige and even unimaginable benefits if they become one of the organizers of the Dao Discussion Conference.

Various powers, major families all try to get involved in this meeting to seek benefits, they are even willing to spend a lot of money for this.

The resources and connections needed for the hosting of the Dao Discussion Conference in Cang Province have all become bargaining chips for these powers.

Emperor Xia, sitting on the dragon chair, watched everything with a stern gaze.

The superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, for a rare occasion, had left the blessed lands and appeared in this court, but he did not participate in the division of interests.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau had already reaped the largest benefits. If it were to recklessly interfere in these minor interests, it would inevitably arouse dissatisfaction from all parties. It would be better to let these influential figures fight for these benefits themselves.

Finally, the noise of the ministers slightly subsided, and all discussions seemed to have found answers.

Satisfaction was reflected on the faces of the ministers, their eyes meeting each other in silent understanding.

“Regarding the resolution of the Dao Discussion Convention, do my esteemed ministers have anything else to say?” The Emperor Xia’s aged voice echoed from behind the bead curtain, tinged with an undeniable sense of fatigue.

The ministers all bowed their heads and clasped their hands, responding with silence.

On the steps, the Ceremonial Eunuch, Cao Chun, prepared to announce the end of the court session.

Just then, a minister dressed in a crimson and purple robe stepped forward from the crowd, his voice carrying a commanding resonance.

“Your Majesty, I have a matter to report!”

The ministers all looked at the speaker, Yeang Xu Yan Taichang, one of the Nine Ministers.

Taichang is in charge of court and temple rituals, presiding over ceremonies for heaven, earth, people, ghosts, and deities.

Before the return of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, the position of Taichang had almost become a gilded figurehead with virtually no real power.

However, with the resurgence of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, and with the resurgence of netherworld ceremonies and city deities, the Taichang returned to its position as the head of the Nine Ministers.

Moreover, if the City Gods of the netherworld return to the world in the future, the Taichang who presides over the ceremonies of heaven, earth, mankind, ghosts, and deities could become a major figure influencing the situation of Great Xia independent of the three officials and Nine Ministers.

The entire Imperial Court was striving to win over Yan Xu, who held the position of Taichang.

Behind the bead curtain, Emperor Xia looked at Yan Xu with a heavy gaze, a trace of displeasure in his expression.

He made Yan Xu, this old pedant, the Taichang, one of the Nine Ministers, because he valued Yan Xu’s lack of connections with other influential nobles and would not arbitrarily lean towards any side.

Today’s Dao Discussion Convention involves Yan Taichang taking the initiative to stand out, which is bound to have a motive. Naturally, this displeased Emperor Xia.

However, while the Human Emperor Dynasty is controlled by the Emperor, it does not mean that the Emperor can arbitrarily dismiss officials, let alone Yan Xu, who is among the Nine Ministers. Any abrupt actions would shake the fortune of the Human Emperor Dynasty.

Emperor Xia, even if displeased, could only suppress his temperament and ask seriously:

“What is it?”

Yan Xu did not answer directly but took out two prepared memorials from his sleeve and handed them to Emperor Xia through the Ceremonial Eunuch. Then, he said:

“In recent days, torrential rain has fallen in Qing Province, causing a flood that flowed into Lake Dongting, causing disaster. In Yun Province, mountains trembled, and monsters from Yunfu Cliff came out to confront the Zhennan Army stationed there.

As the superintendent in charge of the Star Viewing Platform, I have observed the turbulence of the stars in the Southern Territories for several months. The erratic apparitions of Mars indicate a bad omen!

The superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, who had been sitting to the side, suddenly opened his eyes. A divine light seemed to shoot from his sharp eyes as he rebuked loudly:

“Shut up!”

“How dare you, a Taichang, utter such astronomical predictions!”

Yan Taichang remained fearless in the face of the reprimand from the superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. He bowed respectfully to Emperor Xia, seated on the imperial throne, and loudly declared:

“In my analysis, the bad omen of Mars is related to the Southern Territories. Therefore, Cang Province, being one of the three provinces in the Southern Territories, cannot escape the disaster.

This Dao Discussion Convention, hosted by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, will bring together representatives from all major grotto heavens sacred grounds. It is the symbol of the gathering of our Human Clan’s fortune.

We could dispatch the Fifth Prince with the Dragon Qi of the Human Emperor Dynasty to guard Cang Province. With the prestige of the Dao Discussion Convention, we could certainly dispel the monster threat in the Southern Territories and alleviate the disaster caused by Mars in the Southern Three States!”

“What audacity!”

“Scoundrel!”

The furious voices of Emperor Xia and the superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau resounded simultaneously..