After settling the matter, Chen Chuan withdrew from the ritual space.
Ming Chengzi and Mu Xiaoren came forward to meet him.
Neither was surprised by the outcome. Still, Ming Chengzi felt that Chen Chuan had let Pi Lingzi off too easily by agreeing to help him find the descendants of the imperial bloodline.
Yet at the same time, he felt that Chen Chuan was not merely using force to suppress others, but possessed a broader vision. His resolve to follow him grew firmer still.
He said, "Since Xuanji agreed to Fellow Daoist Pi Lingzi's request, could it be that you already know the whereabouts of the former dynasty's descendants?"
Chen Chuan said, "I have some thoughts. Do you remember, Senior Adept, that Empress Cao was also surnamed Cao? Yet we never found Empress Cao's remains in that palace. Emperor Wenguang once said that the former dynasty's descendants should come to claim it. Since he said so, I believe there must be a reason behind it."
Ming Chengzi's heart stirred at this. He said, "Xuanji means that Empress Cao was a descendant of the former dynasty? Hmm, the Cao Family's ancestors indeed had some ties to descendants of the former dynasty's Imperial Family, though they were not of the main line. Unless..."
Stroking his beard, he said, "Could the Cao Clan have deliberately concealed it?"
On further thought, he felt that was entirely possible. The main branch of the former dynasty's imperial bloodline bore the most feared identity of all. It was highly likely that they had found some means to conceal it.
Chen Chuan said, "There is another reason why I deduced that Empress Cao was a descendant of the Cao Clan. Her child was also a descendant of the Yuan Clan. After her, the Hidden Treasure would return to