Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 889 - 889 0540 The Emperors Whereabouts_2

Chapter 889: Chapter 0540: The Emperor’s Whereabouts_2 Chapter 889: Chapter 0540: The Emperor’s Whereabouts_2 Upon hearing Qi Tian’s question, one of the intruders who looked like their leader quickly nodded vigorously. Qi Tian pointed at him, and Gao Jinmei flicked her finger, dislodging the rag from the man’s mouth, which then flew out.

Qi Tian said to Xia Xiaoming, “Take the rest of them away for now. When I call for you to bring them over later, bring them then.”

After instructing Xia Xiaoming, Qi Tian turned to the cultivator who was now able to speak and said, “Now, I will ask, and you will answer. If your answers satisfy me, I can consider letting you all go. But if your answers dissatisfy me, or if you attempt to deceive me with lies and fabrications, I will not be kind to you.”

The man hurriedly nodded and said, “Senior, my name is Zhang Shengfan. Whatever you wish to know, you may ask me. I will hold nothing back and will tell you everything I know.”

Qi Tian was quite satisfied with Zhang Shengfan’s cooperativeness and began his interrogation.

Whether out of fear or because he bore no ill will towards Qi Tian in the first place, Zhang Shengfan answered all of Qi Tian’s questions to the best of his ability without any delay or concealment.

From what he said, Qi Tian learned many things.

Zhang Shengfan was a native of the Imperial Family Secret Territory and a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage. According to him, the history of the cultivation world within the Imperial Family Secret Territory is extremely lengthy; he wasn’t sure about the exact time span, but according to his elders, it was at least five or six thousand years old.

Zhang Shengfan’s ancestors served as a guard for the royal family of the Great Zhao Nation. More than a thousand years ago, they served by the side of the reigning emperor. Later, perhaps feeling that Zhang Shengfan’s ancestor had accomplished great deeds, the emperor allowed the guard’s family to move to the Imperial Family Secret Territory. In a blink of an eye, a thousand years had passed.

There were many like Zhang Shengfan whose ancestors had moved to the Imperial Family Secret Territory for various reasons. About five hundred years ago, emperors still moved people into the Imperial Family Secret Territory. However, more than four hundred years ago, there were no more such immigrations by the emperors.

Zhang Shengfan didn’t know how many people the Great Zhao emperors had moved into the Imperial Family Secret Territory over generations. Based on what he did know, there were three major cities within the Imperial Family Secret Territory, as well as dozens of medium and small cities and countless towns and villages. Even the least populated of the three major cities had a population exceeding ten million.

Although Zhang Shengfan’s ancestors were guards for the emperor at the time, it did not mean that all their descendants would be taken care of. Just like Zhang Shengfan, he was merely a collateral descendant, and any shadow of influence or legacy left by his ancestor had nothing to do with him.

Zhang Shengfan was able to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Stage mainly because he was born in a region suitable for cultivators at that stage. In this region, as long as one’s aptitude was passable and one was willing to work hard, there was a chance to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Of course, without other opportunities, such a cultivator at this stage would definitely be at the bottom of their realm.

Everyone harbors a desire for advancement, and Zhang Shengfan was no exception. Recently, some news had come from the three main cities, asking all cultivators with a legal identity in the Imperial Family Secret Territory to be on the lookout for foreign cultivators. If one could find traces of these outsiders, the main cities would not hesitate to give heavy rewards.

Zhang Shengfan was enticed by such rewards, which led him to band together with several childhood friends to search for traces of suspicious people. The reason they discovered Qi Tian was purely coincidental; during the day, Qi Tian and his companions were flying above, which was exactly when they were spotted. Although they could not be sure that Qi Tian and his group were outsiders, they followed them with a try-and-see attitude. The result was that they were all captured by Gao Jinmei without a single one escaping.

After learning about Zhang Shengfan’s background, many of Qi Tian’s doubts were cleared up. He had once researched the history of the Great Zhao royal family and discovered a bizarre phenomenon: the royal documents seldom recorded an emperor’s death. Only a very few emperors were noted to have died unexpectedly and thus recorded; the rest abdicated at certain times in favor of chosen successors, after which the abdicating emperors mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Qi Tian had always believed that these missing Great Zhao emperors had gone to places like Wanjie City, but it was from Zhang Shengfan’s words that he learned most of these disappeared emperors had actually come to the Imperial Family Secret Territory.

Why these Great Zhao emperors would give up the throne and not go to Sacred Cultivation Places like Wanjie City was something Zhang Shengfan could not explain. Despite being a native of the Imperial Family Secret Territory with ancestors who were considered to have good background, people like Zhang Shengfan were far too common there. Apart from a very few lucky individuals, the rest had no privileges and had to abide by certain rules of the Imperial Family Secret Territory. Once violated, the consequences could be dire.

The various rules of the Imperial Family Secret Territory were established by the Great Zhao emperors throughout history, in other words, they were sacred edicts. To defy them was to disobey a royal decree, which carried severe consequences. The descendants of imperial guards like Zhang Shengfan were all too aware of this. Moreover, within the Imperial Family Secret Territory, the Great Zhao royal family absolutely stood at the pinnacle, and even if Zhang Shengfan had the courage of three men, he wouldn’t dare to contradict the emperor’s orders.

The Imperial Family Secret Territory had many rules, one of which dictated the areas where everyone was allowed to move. The territory was divided into different levels based on the abundance of Spirit Qi and various functions of each area. Each native of the Imperial Family Secret Territory also had a level designation, and one could only move in areas of their level or lower. If one entered a restricted area and was discovered, the consequence could be as light as being captured for hard labor or as severe as execution and the punishment of one’s entire family.

Zhang Shengfan had never in his life stepped outside the areas where he was allowed to move, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t have the strength. After all, in the high-level areas, one often encountered high-level cultivators, and if he carelessly offended someone there, the outcome would surely be more than he could bear.

As for what exactly was in the high-level areas, Zhang Shengfan couldn’t say, nor could he explain why the Great Zhao emperors from one generation to the next were so keen on delving into the Imperial Family Secret Territory. He could only provide Qi Tian with some seemingly plausible legends—for example, in the highest-level area of the Imperial Family Secret Territory, there must be countless cultivation resources, with spirit stones piled like mountains and magical treasures in abundance, and even the bed that the emperor slept on was carved from a massive block of top-grade spirit stones.

Various rumors flowed from Zhang Shengfan like water, but Qi Tian shook his head as he listened. He knew at once that these rumors carried little credibility. For instance, how many magical treasures would have to exist to be described as a cartload? Surely there must be thousands? With so many treasures, even if the emperors who entered the Imperial Family Secret Territory earlier did not favor their successors, they wouldn’t stint on gifting one or two to their heirs. Yet there was no record in the history of the Great Zhao of emperors conquering all around the world, not even in folk legends. This was especially apparent in the case of the current Great Zhao Emperor, Emperor Tian Rui, who, before his disappearance, not only refrained from conquering domestically but even introduced three National Master Manors, allowing them to counterbalance each other so that his rule could be as stable as Mount Tai.

As for emperors sleeping on beds carved from top-grade spirit stones, that was even more preposterous. Having experienced many things since he began his cultivation, Qi Tian knew very well how difficult it was for a top-grade spirit stone to form. To say nothing of there being a piece large enough to make a bed, Qi Tian had never even heard of a spirit stone the size of an adult’s fist, let alone seen one with his own eyes.