If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

This fire phoenix is ​​larger, clearer, and more lifelike than the one Su Mingyue had when she returned to the city six months ago.

It took off from the summit of West Mountain, its huge wings flapping slowly, each flap leaving a long trail of flames in the sky.

It flew slowly, even leisurely.

Along the straight line from Xishan to Yongning City, close to the lower edge of the clouds.

It slowly swept over the farmland on the outskirts of the city, over the streets and alleys in the west of the city, and over the dumbfounded soldiers guarding the city walls.

In front of the imperial palace outside Yongning City, the entire court and tens of thousands of common people knelt on the ground, and the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" still echoed through the streets and alleys.

Just then, a clear and melodious phoenix cry pierced through the sky.

The sound was not like the cry of an ordinary bird, but like a thousand chimes being swept by a gentle breeze at the same moment, carrying an invisible tremor that penetrated heaven and earth, causing everyone's robes to tremble slightly.

The people kneeling on the ground raised their heads, and then their eyes were fixed on the ground.

A colossal fire phoenix, so large it blotted out the sky, hovered directly above the palace.

It wasn't the blurry, hazy light and shadow of that moonlit night six months ago, but a real, vividly detailed divine bird.

Every feather on its wings was clearly visible, and as it flapped its wings, fiery rain fell from the tips of its feathers, turning into nothingness before it even touched the roof.

Its eyes are flowing gold, and deep within its pupils seem to hide two miniature suns.

Its tail feathers trailed from the main hall of the palace all the way to the end of the imperial road, with nine long tails swaying slowly in the air, enveloping the entire palace in a crimson-gold light.

The phoenix's cry rang out again, this time clearer and longer.

The fire phoenix slowly circled once above the palace, then folded its wings and swooped down towards the imperial steps.

The crowd gasped in surprise, and some of the more timid people instinctively covered their heads.

But the phoenix did not crash down. It suddenly stopped when it was only ten feet away from the steps, its wings outstretched, hovering in mid-air.

Its phoenix head slowly lowered, facing the figure in black armor and silver spear on the steps of the palace. Its phoenix eyes, flowing with golden light, met Su Mingyue's phoenix eyes from afar.

Then it raised its head and let out a loud phoenix cry, its wings flapped suddenly, and it soared back into the sky.

It circled one last time above the palace, then flapped its wings and flew back in the direction it had come from.

It flew higher and higher, farther and farther, until finally it transformed into an extremely bright red-gold spot at the edge of the azure sky and disappeared silently.

Su Mingyue stood on the steps of the palace, the long sword stuck in front of the dragon throne still trembling.

She tilted her head slightly, gazing in the direction where the phoenix had disappeared, her eyes surging with an extremely deep and bright light.

Her lips twitched very slightly; the direction the phoenix flew from was towards the Western Hills.

Su Mingyue turned her gaze away from the direction of the Western Hills and back to the steps of the imperial palace.

The entire court and tens of thousands of common people remained kneeling in place, no one spoke, no one stood up.

Everyone remained gazing upwards at the sky, as if the fiery phoenix was still hovering above them, as if the clear, melodious cry of the phoenix was still echoing in their ears.

It's unclear who was the first to come to their senses, but they slammed their foreheads heavily onto the gold-brick floor and cried out in a sob.

"The Mandate of Heaven has been bestowed upon us... Long live the Emperor!"

This shout was like the first domino to fall, and the entire crowd erupted in cheers of "Long live!" that were more than ten times louder than before.

Zhou Ming stood at the entrance of the West Mountain Cave, watching the fire phoenix that flew back from the direction of Yongning City slowly dissipate, but his expression was somewhat depressed.

The others were too busy looking up at the phoenix to notice Su Mingyue's expression.

However, his divine sense always enveloped the entire palace, and even the slightest change in the figure in black armor and silver spear on the steps could not escape his perception.

Just as the fire phoenix swooped down and the entire court of civil and military officials knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!", Su Mingyue's lips twitched very slightly.

It wasn't about being moved or shocked, but rather a sense of helplessness from being forced to speak.

Immediately afterwards, her gaze swept from the direction where the phoenix had disappeared to the western mountains.

It was just a quick glance, so fast that almost no one noticed, but Zhou Ming's divine sense captured that gaze clearly.

She knew she was back, and she also knew who was behind the phoenix.

Zhou Ming leaned against the cave entrance, rubbing his temples with a hint of helplessness.

The last time Su Mingyue asked him at Haitang Garden if the appearance of the Divine Phoenix was his doing, she had this same expression.

First she pressed him for answers, then she glared at him, and finally, she was so angry at his words, "Listen to my excuses," that she almost burst out laughing.

He thought he had hidden it better this time than last time, but the young lady knew him too well.

Who else in the world could create such a large fire phoenix for her coronation ceremony, besides that kitchen manager who went to the Endless Forest?

After thinking about it, he decided to go back.

Staying in this cave to study the formation is not a solution.

The array jade slip has been mostly devoured, and the Nascent Soul stage is still a long way off. Continuing to go into seclusion would just be like reinventing the wheel.

Moreover, Su Mingyue has just ascended the throne and is in need of manpower.

Although she commanded hundreds of thousands of troops and had many fierce generals under her command, the number of people who could truly handle internal affairs, offer advice, and navigate the court were very limited.

Moreover, his return would make it easier to implement the next step of the plan.

Youzhou is merely the starting point of the Nine Provinces; with Su Mingyue's ambition, she will never stop there.

With each step she takes into the Nine Provinces, more causal chains break, and the more causal chains break, the faster his cultivation level in his dantian increases.

This cycle needs Su Mingyue's war machine to drive it, and the war machine needs him to add fuel to the fire.

With a wave of his sleeve, Zhou Ming stored the few personal items he had in the cave into his storage ring, then turned and walked out of the cave.

Zhou Ming did not fly.

He walked down the narrow path of the Western Hills step by step.

I walked at a moderate pace, organizing and refining my plan in my mind as I went.

After refining his thoughts, he looked up and found himself standing outside the main gate of the palace.

The Imperial Guard captains at the gate spotted a dark blue figure approaching from the end of the long street.

The figure walked at a leisurely pace, his face still bearing that same sharp, monkey-like features.

His physique was much fuller than before, when he was as thin as a stick.

But for some reason, the captain always felt that there was an inexplicable aura about him.

Like an undercurrent in a deep pool, it appears calm on the surface, but can sweep people away without leaving a trace.

As the man drew closer, the captain finally saw his face clearly, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

He didn't even dare to ask, but simply clasped his hands in a salute and stepped aside to make way.

A young, newly arrived imperial guard, unaware of what was happening, was about to step forward to stop the man when the captain grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

The captain lowered his voice, his tone tinged with lingering fear.

"Are you out of your mind, you son of a bitch? You dare to stop this guy?"

The young imperial guard stared blankly as the slender figure disappeared into the depths of the passageway within the palace gates, and whispered:

"M-Sir, who is that?"

The captain glared at him and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth:

"Zhou Ming, Steward Zhou."

He paused, then added, lowering his voice even further.

"You can't afford to offend this person. If you offend others, at most you'll get a scolding or a beating."

"Offending this person could mean the confiscation of your property and the extermination of your entire clan."

Upon hearing this, the young imperial guard shuddered and stammered:

"Is it...is it really that scary?"

"You know about those powerful families that disappeared from Yongning City half a year ago, right? They were all killed by this guy. Isn't that terrifying?"