Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Xia Jin, severely injured and unconscious, was barely breathing. However, the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture unconsciously began to activate itself.

A faint green halo emanated from beneath his skin, continuously repairing his internal organs, which had been nearly shattered by Lu Tiancheng's terrifying fist force.

I do not know how long it has been,

The sound of wheels, accompanied by the sound of orderly footsteps, came from the official road beside the valley.

A group of about a dozen guards dressed in black, with standard-issue long swords at their waists, escorted a carriage as it slowly approached. From the patterns on the carriage, it was vaguely discernible that this group consisted of members of the Great Qian royal family.

The carriage suddenly stopped.

The sudden stop clearly startled the people inside the carriage.

As the carriage curtain was lifted, a woman with almond-shaped eyes peeked out, looked at the official road ahead, and couldn't help but frown.

It turned out that not long ago, due to the fierce battle between Xia Jin and Lu Tiancheng, a lot of rocks rolled down the mountain, blocking part of the road and hindering their carriage from moving.

"Sister, what's going on?" Another soft voice rang out from inside the carriage, and a slender woman poked her head out. She was slightly younger than the previous woman, but they looked about seven or eight parts alike.

The woman with phoenix eyes did not immediately answer her sister. Instead, she glanced around and then beckoned to the guard beside her, "Quickly clean this place up. We must return to Tianyu City tonight."

"Yes, Your Highness!" One of the guards nodded obsequiously and immediately directed seven or eight people to step forward and clear away the rubble.

Although there were many pebbles, these guards were also quite skilled, and in less than a quarter of an hour, they had pushed all the stones to the side of the road.

"Boss, look down there!" A young guard clapped his hands and was about to return to the back of the carriage when he inadvertently noticed a huge pit in the valley below, with what appeared to be a figure lying next to it.

"How did such a huge hole suddenly appear over there? I remember it wasn't here when I passed by last month. And there seems to be... a person next to it!"

The older guard beside him glanced quickly in the direction the other man was pointing, then glared at him fiercely: "Why are you meddling so much? What's the big deal about someone dying in this desolate wilderness? Better to mind your own business and get ready to go!"

"Understood, boss." The young guard shrank back, not daring to say another word.

Inside the carriage, the woman with phoenix eyes was looking at the letter in front of her when she suddenly looked up.

For some reason, it seemed as if a voice from the depths of her being was telling her: saving the person below might... be useful to her in the future.

"Send two people down to check. If they're still breathing, bring them back up," she suddenly called out, pointing towards the outside of the carriage.

"Sister?" The slender woman in the carriage frowned upon hearing this. "These are turbulent times. Just two days ago, news came from the palace that Emperor Lu Hao had disappeared. The Crown Prince and the Second Prince will surely take action. We don't need to provoke this person of unknown origin at this time; it will only cause trouble."

"I know what I'm doing. This person... might be useful." The woman with phoenix eyes glanced at her sister but didn't offer any further explanation.

Soon, two guards carried Xia Jin, who was charred black but still unconscious, up and placed her on a carriage piled with miscellaneous items.

Xia Jin had regained some consciousness, but his severe injuries prevented him from opening his eyes.

As the group arrived at another residence next to the Third Prince's residence, Xia Jin was casually led into a side room by two guards and thrown onto a hard bed.

After the two guards left, an old servant brought a basin of water and placed it by the bedside. Looking at Xia Jin, whose body was somewhat charred, he couldn't help but shake his head.

"You look tough, young man. You were almost charred black, yet you still survived."

......

Meanwhile, in the main hall of this mansion.

The woman with phoenix eyes looked at the few messages that had just come from the Great Qian Imperial Palace in front of her, her eyes filled with doubt.

"It was already strange enough that Emperor Lu Hao of the Great Qian Dynasty would visit the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion at night and then suddenly disappear. Even that terrestrial immortal being in the palace didn't return after leaving! What exactly happened?"

"Could it be that besides the terrestrial immortals within the imperial palace, there are other people in the Great Qian Dynasty?" She narrowed her eyes slightly. "If I can win over this person, I will have a very good chance of controlling the Great Qian Dynasty."

But she quickly shook her head.

Land Immortal Realm experts are all renowned figures. With the intelligence network that Luo Qinghe has built up in the Great Qian Dynasty over the past ten years, if such beings truly existed, she would probably have received the news long ago.

Suddenly, the candlelight in the hall flickered slightly.

A black figure suddenly appeared in front of Luo Qinghe.

"Jun Wuxie greets the eldest and second young ladies!" The newcomer bowed respectfully to Luo Qinghe and the other young lady.

Luo Qinghe looked at the middle-aged man opposite her, whose temples were slightly gray, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Alright, Uncle Jun, didn't I tell you long ago that you don't need to bow to us?"

"Yes, Uncle Jun." Luo Qingyao, who was standing next to him, also stood up, affectionately wrapped her arm around the middle-aged man, and pulled him to a chair next to him, pressing him down to sit. "This isn't outside, and you've watched my sister and I grow up. If you act like this, it will only make us feel bad."

Upon hearing Luo Qingyao's words, a hint of a smile appeared on Jun Wuxie's cold face.

"By the way, Uncle Jun!" Luo Qinghe's phoenix eyes suddenly turned serious. "You personally went to investigate. What exactly happened to Lu Hao? With his peak Divine Realm strength, how could he have disappeared without a trace in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and still be nowhere to be found?"

Jun Wuxie slowly shook his head, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes: "After receiving the news of Lu Hao's disappearance, I went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion immediately, but the scene had already become ruins."

"However, I heard... that Lu Hao was apparently ambushed by outsiders while having illicit relations with the wives and concubines of the Duke of Zhenguo, and then disappeared without a trace. A certain being at the Land Immortal Realm in the palace personally went out to investigate, but... he also never returned to the palace."

"Both of them have disappeared without a trace?" Luo Qinghe's face darkened. "Such a coincidence? Uncle Jun, in your opinion, could it be that Lu Hao did this on purpose, wanting to watch the princes fight for the throne?"

"It's not impossible! But in my opinion, it's best for us to remain still and observe the situation. Let the other princes fight over it!" Jun Wuxie said after a moment's thought.

"Should we remain inactive? Fine, let the Crown Prince and the Second Prince fight to the death first! If something really happens to Lu Hao then, it will suit our purposes perfectly!"