Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1300 - 1300 0744 Turning the Tables_2

Chapter 1300: Chapter 0744: Turning the Tables_2 Chapter 1300: Chapter 0744: Turning the Tables_2 For Qi Tian at this moment, there was not a single bit of difficulty. The Master of the Saint’s Tomb had merged with Manager Chen and was already suppressed by Qi Tian inside the Spirit Beast Pouch. Regardless of the other formations or restrictions within the Saint’s Tomb, without the control of its master, they posed no threat to Qi Tian. Moreover, having obtained the complete design and construction blueprint of the Saint’s Tomb, he could easily avoid the formations and restrictions, or even dismantle them for his own use in the future.

Even so, it took Qi Tian two or three days to thoroughly cleanse the entire Saint’s Tomb of all its valuable objects. The treasures were not numerous, certainly fewer than the amount in a Storage Ring, but each of them was relatively large and powerful. Most were above the Half-step Nascent Soul level, with some at the Nascent Soul Stage. These were the most valuable treasures of the Saint’s Tomb, each priceless and unable to be bought even in Wanjie City.

After completely emptying the Saint’s Tomb, Qi Tian left, feeling satisfied. He followed the same path he had come by, preparing to leave the core area of the Imperial Family Secret Territory and return to Eastern Capital City.

Without incident, Qi Tian smoothly exited the core area and arrived at the North Gate of Eastern Capital City, where he had entered. When he had departed, Emperor Jianwu, for the convenience of entering and exiting the core area and to prevent being ambushed, had specially ordered people to take control of the North Gate.

Upon seeing Qi Tian emerge from the central area of the lake, a person dressed as an eunuch hurriedly ran out from the city gate to greet him. “Master Qi, you have finally returned. I have been waiting here for you for several days.”

Looking at Li Mijia, who was quickly approaching, Qi Tian nodded with a smile and said, “I took a little detour in the core area, which delayed me. Have you been waiting here all this time? You’ve worked hard.”

Li Mijia hastily replied, “For you to say so is too kind, I was more than willing to wait for you here.”

Qi Tian nodded and asked, “In these few days that I was away, nothing has happened, right? There hasn’t been any commotion from Chaoyang Palace, has there?”

Li Mijia quickly responded, “I was just about to report this matter to you. A few days ago, the five Princes, along with their entourages, returned to Eastern Capital City. Each Prince returned to his own palace with their followers. That very day, they issued orders to search for the individuals you had us look for, especially for news of Emperor Tian Rui and Xiao Xiaowu, the Master of Imperial Master Mansion. Everyone was ready to thoroughly search the entire Imperial Family Secret Territory, hoping to find them soon so that they could reunite with you. However, to our surprise, Chaoyang Palace made a big move at this time, disrupting our plans.”

Qi Tian frowned and asked, “What is Emperor Chaoyang up to now?”

Li Mijia explained, “Master Qi, you know that the North Gate here in Eastern Capital City was originally controlled by Chaoyang Palace. Before we entered the core area, Lord Jianwu dispatched people to take over here and even moved many troops to station here. On our return, we were concerned that the North Gate might be retaken by Chaoyang Palace. The Princes even discussed several plans to ensure that in case anything unexpected happened, we could recover the North Gate in the shortest possible time. But against our expectations, there were no movements from Chaoyang Palace at the North Gate, which we found strange. Later, we learned that while they did not retake the North Gate, they had been guarding the area. Once they realized that we had safely returned from the core area, Chaoyang Palace immediately received the news. Then, under the leadership of Emperor Chaoyang, they collectively relocated from Eastern Capital City, leaving behind only an empty shell of Chaoyang Palace.”

Qi Tian nodded, he hadn’t expected Emperor Chaoyang to react this way—moving the entire imperial palace away from the Eastern Capital City was no small matter. It affected the very foundation of Chaoyang Palace; after all, Emperor Chaoyang had been the leading figure in the entire Eastern Capital City, and his Chaoyang Palace had been deeply entrenched there for hundreds of years. Now that it was moving, many things would have to start over from scratch.

Qi Tian asked, “Do you know why Emperor Chaoyang wanted to move?”

Li Mijia replied, “That’s exactly what this servant has come to report to you. At first, when the princes learned that Chaoyang Palace was relocating, they celebrated, thinking that with Chaoyang Palace not looming over us, we’d have some peace. But later, the princes realized that the move was just the beginning of trouble. You see, Chaoyang Palace didn’t simply move; in fact, while Chaoyang Palace was gone, the imperial city of Chaoyang remained. Emperor Chaoyang had no intention of demolishing the imperial city. Instead, he donated it, stating his willingness to use his imperial city as a base and to open it to the princes of Xidu and Zhongdu, sharing the benefits of the Eastern Capital City.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Tian frowned. Although he was not from the Imperial Family Secret Territory, his time spent being tempered there had given him insight into many of its affairs. The three grand cities within the Imperial Family Secret Territory had always maintained a superficial harmony but were at odds at heart. These cities were in effect three independent kingdoms, each controlling approximately one-third of the territory’s rights and interests, with no one willing to share their share with the other capital cities.

Li Mijia continued, “After Emperor Chaoyang publicly declared his intention to donate his imperial palace, it caused a huge sensation throughout the Imperial Family Secret Territory. Originally deserted, Chaoyang Palace was soon refilled with cultivators from all over the Secret Territory. More than half of them were sent by the princes of Xidu and the North Capital, and the remaining cultivators came from the major forces and great families within the Secret Territory. When they gathered together, the energy they brought was not to be underestimated by anyone.”

Qi Tian asked, “So you mean to say Emperor Jianwu and the others just watched as outsiders occupied Chaoyang Palace?”

Li Mijia sighed, “That’s where Emperor Chaoyang’s cunning lies. Although he withdrew from the Eastern Capital City and left Chaoyang Palace vacant, he set up a teleportation array inside before he left. People outside don’t need to go through the gates of the Eastern Capital City to enter; they can come directly using the teleportation array. The princes didn’t consider this aspect at first, and by the time they realized something was amiss, it was already too late to stop the outsiders.”

Qi Tian curled his lips slightly but said nothing further.

Li Mijia went on, “If these foreign cultivators simply stayed in Chaoyang Palace without making any special demands, the princes, though not pleased, would not drive them away. But to everyone’s surprise, these people were not content to stay put. As their numbers grew, they left Chaoyang Palace and began to approach other imperial palaces. They gathered at the entrances of Jianwu Palace, Yonghe Palace, and others, demanding the princes to make commitments to them, to allow them the same access to the benefits of the Eastern Capital City.”

Qi Tian patiently asked, “What kind of benefits?”

Li Mijia explained, “There are many, but the main ones are two: one is the authority to manage the Eastern Capital City, and the other is the privilege of unrestricted access to the core areas. Both of these privileges are of great importance and absolutely not to be meddled with by outsiders. Yet they completely disregarded these points. They blocked the entrances of the imperial palaces, naming princes and demanding them to come out and meet. You should have seen their attitude—it was as if they were the masters and the princes their servants, haughty and arrogant, as though they were the true owners of the Eastern Capital City. It’s infuriating beyond words.”