My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

Deep in the Zhongnan Mountains.

The towering, multicolored rays of light gradually receded, transforming into scattered, shimmering halos that blended into the surrounding deep night.

Deep in the mountains, where poisonous miasma and fog have been shrouded for years, a massive stone gate covered in moss slowly opened to both sides with a deep, rumbling sound.

A musty, old aura, yet mixed with faint spiritual energy fluctuations, emanated from inside the stone gate.

"Hahaha! Spiritual energy! It's the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!"

A hoarse, feverish laugh came from the dark cave.

Several figures dressed in tattered Taoist robes rushed out of the stone gate impatiently.

The leader was an elderly man with white hair and beard, who was extremely thin.

He took a deep breath of the crisp, spiritually rich air of Zhongnan Mountain, his old face, as white as withered tree bark, contorted violently with extreme excitement.

"Heaven has opened its eyes! The spiritual energy has finally recovered!" The old man roared to the sky.

"Our Guiyuan Sect has been barely surviving in this dark and sunless secret realm for three hundred years! We have only managed to stay afloat by relying on the leftovers and discarded pills left by our ancestor."

"Now, the day has finally come for us to see the light of day again!"

Behind the old man were a dozen or so young disciples, also dressed in tattered Taoist robes.

One of the young men, with a fair complexion but eyes that revealed a hint of frivolity and wickedness, stepped forward and respectfully bowed to the old man.

"Elder, now that the spiritual energy in the outside world has recovered, shouldn't we go down the mountain and ask those mortal dynasties for some offerings?"

The young man's name was Yin Wujiu. He was the only son of the current sect leader of Guiyuan Sect and also the young sect leader of Guiyuan Sect.

He licked his lips, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

"We've been living a bland life in this secret realm for so many years, and we can't even find a servant to take care of us."

"It's time for those mortal ants to remember the fear of being controlled by immortals."

The elder sneered, stroking his beard with his withered fingers, and nodded arrogantly.

"What the young sect leader says is absolutely right." The elder's eyes were full of contempt.

"Mortal emperors are nothing more than sheepdogs that herd sheep for us immortals. Now that we have come out of the mountains, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty should offer us the best resources."

"Let's go! Let's engage with the world!"

With a wave of his sleeve, the elder created a faint whirlwind beneath his feet, lifting him three feet off the ground and carrying him away from the mountains.

This is the most basic "Wind Control Technique" for Qi Refining stage cultivators.

But in their own eyes, this was already a divine means that would make mortals worship and marvel at.

……

The next day, the sun was high in the sky.

Chang'an City, Taiji Palace.

Li Shimin sat upright on the dragon throne in the Taiji Hall.

He had just practiced the "Xuanwu Internal Strength Breathing Method" for two hours last night, and now he felt refreshed and had inexhaustible energy throughout his body.

The morning court session was drawing to a close.

The Minister of Revenue was loudly reciting the latest production figures from the Silver Mine in the southern suburbs, and all the civil and military officials listened with smiles on their faces, creating an extremely harmonious atmosphere in the court.

Just then.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar suddenly came from outside the Taiji Hall.

Immediately afterwards, the two heavy palace doors, covered with copper, were forcefully smashed open by an invisible gust of wind.

The dozen or so guards outside the hall didn't even have a chance to draw their swords before being blown about by the strange wind and tumbled down the white marble steps like rolling gourds.

"Protect the Emperor! There's an assassin!"

The military officers inside the hall were shocked. Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and others opened their eyes wide instantly, their hands already on the hilts of their swords, ready to rush forward and kill at the emperor's command.

The civil officials turned pale with fright and scattered to the sides.

A strong wind swept dust into the main hall.

The dust settled.

Four men dressed in tattered Taoist robes, with arrogant expressions, swaggered across the threshold of the Taiji Hall.

Leading the group was none other than the Grand Elder of the Guiyuan Sect.

He deliberately didn't walk, but instead used his half-baked Wind Control Technique, lifting his feet three feet off the ground, and slowly floated into the center of the hall like a ghost.

The Grand Elder tilted his chin slightly, looking down at the Tang Emperor on the dragon throne with his nostrils, without even bending his waist.

"You are the emperor of this mortal Tang Dynasty?"

The Grand Elder's voice contained a faint vibration of spiritual energy, which hummed in the empty hall, causing some of the weaker elderly ministers to feel pain in their eardrums.

These words shocked the entire court.

"Insolence!" Wei Zheng was the first to jump out, pointing his finger at the Grand Elder's nose and shouting angrily.

"Where did this madman come from! How dare he trespass into the Taiji Hall and address His Majesty by his given name? Doesn't he fear the extermination of his entire family?!"

"Execute his entire family?"

The Grand Elder seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and he glanced at Wei Zheng with disdain.

With a casual wave of his hand.

A faint wind blade instantly formed, grazed Wei Zheng's cheek, and with a "crack," sliced ​​Wei Zheng's official hat in two.

"How dare a mortal ant shout at the immortals?"

The Grand Elder snorted coldly, withdrew his gaze, and looked back at Li Shimin on the dragon throne.

"Your Majesty, listen well! I am the Grand Elder of the Guiyuan Sect, a reclusive immortal cultivation sect!"

The elder's voice was extremely arrogant, as if he were issuing some kind of irresistible divine decree.

"Now that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has been restored, my Guiyuan Sect has seen the light of day again."

"Your mortal royal family is obligated to pay tribute. You have three days to prepare 100,000 taels of gold and select 500 pure-blooded boys and girls to be sent to the foot of Zhongnan Mountain outside the city."

"If you dare to spend even a single penny less, I will unleash divine punishment, reducing this great Tang imperial city to ashes!"

The entire Taiji Hall was deathly silent.

All the ministers stared in horror at the old Taoist priest whose feet were dangling in mid-air.

The invisible wind blade that sliced ​​off the hat, the ability to float off the ground, and the chilling "immortal cultivation sect" he mentioned.

These immortals actually demand that the Tang Dynasty send forth young boys and girls as offerings to serve as their cultivation furnaces?!

The ministers' hearts sank to the bottom, and a strong sense of despair arose spontaneously.

What use would Tang's million-strong army be against such a powerful immortal who could summon wind and rain? Unless it was the sixteenth prince?

however.

Li Shimin, sitting upright on the dragon throne, had an indescribable eeriness in his expression.

Unlike his ministers, Li Shimin was not trembling with fear.

He leaned forward slightly, his dragon eyes wide open, and carefully examined the four "deities" standing in the center of the hall from head to toe.