Within Qiankun Hall in Luoyi, Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long sat high upon his throne, his face grave. At his side, Grand Supervisor of the Inner Palace Yu Chaoen bent at the waist with utmost caution.
Grand Celestial Master Wu Yu of the Heavenly Patrol Division, Grand Priest Bai Xiang of the Ancestral God Hall, Minister of War Ban Di, Minister of Revenue Yu Liang, King Wei Liu Wubing—who held an additional post in the War Ministry and was known as a pillar of Great Zhou—as well as Prince Xun Ji Mao, one of the Princes of Consultation residing in the capital, the avatar of Prince Dui Ji Zhan, and more than a dozen high-ranking civil and military officials were all gathered in Qiankun Hall.
Yet the avatar of Prince Li Ji Yuan, currently the most important figure, was conspicuously absent.
Upon the imperial desk, the Nation-Suppressing Qiankun Seal glimmered faintly. Clearly, another exceedingly solemn secret council was underway within Qiankun Hall.
Urgent jade slips were passed from hand to hand among the many high officials. After reading them, every one of them wore an incomparably grave expression.
Long Ruo, Hall Master of Fire Spirit Hall, had fallen in battle. The entrance to the Blood River Forbidden Zone had been violently blasted open with Sun Fire, and the Devil Race army had already surged unchecked into the Blood River Forbidden Zone.
What was even more fatal was that Ye Zhen, the temporary commander with the greatest prestige in the Blood River Forbidden Zone and the one capable of unifying the three armies, had forcibly used a secret treasure earlier to deal with the Sun Fire. Whether he lived or died was unknown. Meanwhile, the armies within the Blood River Forbidden Zone were leaderless and on the verge of chaos.
There was