Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1319 - 1319 0754 Acting Wildly

Chapter 1319: Chapter 0754: Acting Wildly Chapter 1319: Chapter 0754: Acting Wildly Chapter 0754: Wild Manners

Blocked outside the palace gates, Qi Tian’s first thought was to forcibly barge in. With his current means, it wasn’t just about breaking into a palace—flattening it in a short time wouldn’t be much of a problem either. But after some consideration, Qi Tian dismissed the idea. He was never a bloodthirsty person, and there was no need to take things to such extremes.

Qi Tian planned to use a simpler approach. Since the guards at the door didn’t even wish to send a message, why not create that wish within them?

Qi Tian took out the black heart, which at the moment of its appearance, followed his command and immediately used Illusion Skill to control the guards at the palace gates. Under the spell of the illusion, they could only be manipulated by the black heart, which ordered them to enter the palace and make the announcement.

The guard obediently turned around and entered the palace. After a short while, he emerged with a eunuch who was dressed in the attire of a high-ranking eunuch.

The eunuch looked Qi Tian up and down, his eyes assessing and also containing a hint of fear. He bowed to Qi Tian and cautiously asked, “Are you Qi Tian, Master Qi?”

Qi Tian nodded and replied, “I am Qi Tian. I have a private matter and have come to see your Prince. Please send word that Qi Tian requests an audience.”

The eunuch hurriedly said, “Our Prince has already ordered me to bring you into the palace. Please follow me.”

As he spoke, the eunuch turned and led the way, his demeanor extremely respectful.

Qi Tian followed him into the palace. The eunuch was very polite and obsequious, providing guidance to Qi Tian as they moved forward and occasionally advising him to watch out for steps and take turns, but beyond that, the eunuch was tight-lipped, unwilling to say anything else. Even when Qi Tian inquired, he would smoothly respond, suggesting that if Qi Tian had any questions, he could ask the Prince later, who would personally provide answers.

Seeing he couldn’t get any information, Qi Tian put aside the thought of probing the eunuch further. He fully activated the sensing function of the Heavenly Dao Engine for Spirit Qi and walked forward, searching every corner of the palace below, hoping to find traces of Sun Xiang and Liao Bichu.

Unfortunately, even as he reached the middle of the palace, Qi Tian still hadn’t detected any Spirit Force fluctuations from Sun Xiang or Liao Bichu. This result was somewhat hard for Qi Tian to accept. He had analyzed the Princes of Xidu and North Capital beforehand, and experience told him that the disappearance of Sun Xiang and Liao Bichu was likely related to the master of the palace beneath his feet.

Based on such a judgment, Qi Tian didn’t first visit the other palaces but came here first, hoping to make a successful start. Yet things didn’t match his deductions. Where exactly was the problem? Was it an error in his reasoning, or was the information he had previously collected about this Prince inaccurate?

While Qi Tian was conjecturing, the eunuch led him to the Imperial Study.

The master of the palace, Emperor Longqing, was standing at the entrance of the Imperial Study. Seeing Qi Tian approach, he strode forward to greet him, laughing heartily, “I have long heard of Master Qi’s great reputation and have always wondered how I could pay you a visit. But I have been entangled in mundane affairs and haven’t been able to get away. I was thinking about writing you a letter. Just as I was pondering over what to write, Master Qi, you came in person, which truly honors my Longqing Palace.”

Qi Tian didn’t feel any hostility coming from Emperor Longqing. Although he couldn’t figure out what Emperor Longqing’s intentions were, he had no plan to create needless enmity with Emperor Longqing. He bowed to Emperor Longqing and said, “I apologize for the intrusion.”

Emperor Longqing laughed heartily and grabbed Qi Tian’s wrist, saying, “What intrusion? Someone like you, Master Qi, is a distinguished guest we can’t even usually invite. Since you’ve come, you are the most precious guest of my Longqing Palace. Let’s not talk about other things for now. I’ve already had a banquet set up in the Imperial Study. We must have a good drink today.”

Emperor Longqing, without letting Qi Tian say another word, pulled him into the Imperial Study. Indeed, as Emperor Longqing said, the banquet was already set up. Emperor Longqing directly pushed Qi Tian to the seat of honor, seating himself next to Qi Tian in a subordinate position. It wasn’t just him; after Emperor Longqing sat down, he summoned three others to join them at the table.

Once everyone was seated, Emperor Longqing smiled at Qi Tian and said, “It’s not often that you come, Master Qi, so I must entertain you well. Besides myself, these few at the table are all my blood relatives. Let me introduce them to you.”

Without considering whether Qi Tian wished to listen, Emperor Longqing began to introduce the cultivators seated with them.

These three cultivators appeared quite old by their features but each of them had the complexion of youth and vibrant spirit. They all bore more or less a resemblance to Emperor Longqing, being his immediate relatives – one was Emperor Longqing’s own brother, while the other two were his sons. These two were well-renowned in the Longqing Dynasty, having held great prestige at one time.