Watch Together?

If the proportion of cultivators within the Great Yan territory could truly reach such a level, then it would probably truly be worthy of being called half a celestial dynasty on earth.

Unfortunately,

The imperial court's top brass, including his father, did not want to see this situation occur.

At least,

I don't want to for now.

And in this silence,

Bai Muxi looked at the two visitors on the ground with strange expressions and asked softly:

"Sir, is there anything wrong with the cultivators in our seven cities?"

Coming to his senses, Xu Yuan looked at the slender woman with skin as fair as a vampire from his past life and replied with a smile:

"No, it's just that I really think it's remarkable that you've managed to maintain such a large number of cultivators after tens of thousands of years."

His words carried a hint of condescension.

Bai Muxi didn't seem to care; her red lips beneath the thin veil smiled slightly.

"Where there is survival."

After saying that, she asked very politely:

"Now that you two have finished asking your questions, may it be my turn?"

"Of course," Xu Yuan readily agreed.

Bai Muxi's beautiful eyes flashed, and after a moment's pause, she asked directly:

"Do either of you hold an official position in the Great Yan Dynasty outside?"

"."

Upon hearing this question, Xu Yuan's expression turned strange.

Li Qingyan always referred to herself as "this palace," how could this woman not recognize that?

It seems that even after tens of thousands of years, the underground civilization has still experienced a severe break in its continuity.

After a moment of thought,

"I don't."

Xu Yuan answered directly, then glanced at Li Qingyan and asked, "Do you hold an official position?"

Li Qingyan rolled her eyes at him.

"How could I possibly hold an official position?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan gestured with his lip towards the female Simin whose face was veiled:

"Look, she doesn't have any either."

Bai Muxi frowned as she looked at the imposing Li Qingyan, her eyes filled with suspicion:

"Really not?"

"Is this even a problem?"

Xu Yuan smiled and asked in return, enunciating each word clearly:

"Or do you, Simin, not trust us?"

"."

Bai Muxi gave this handsome man, who only possessed the cultivation level of Soul Condensation but acted so brazenly, a deep look. She lowered her posture, folded her sleeves, and bowed again.

"I certainly believe your words, but let me ask you another way: could you please tell me your identities and status?"

"That's simple. She's a princess of the dynasty, and I'm the Prime Minister's third son."

Without hesitation, Xu Yuan paused, then added, "As for status, her and I should be considered to have quite high status in the Great Yan Dynasty."

"."

silence.

Bai Muxi glanced back and forth at the two people whose statuses were clearly different, her beautiful eyes almost overflowing with confusion.

In terms of social status, she was of higher rank than him; in terms of cultivation, they were worlds apart.

Why did this woman listen to the man?

But none of that matters. If what the man said is true, then the Seven Cities of the Cave can truly be saved.

However, she still needed to confirm one more thing.

Thinking it over, Bai Muxi collected her thoughts and bowed respectfully.

"I have another question, and I hope you can answer it."

"Ask."

"Did you two enter our Underground Palace on purpose?"

"."

It gets straight to the heart of the problem.

If so, with reinforcements from the Great Yan Dynasty on the ground, the nearly 400,000 people of the Underground Palace could be saved.

If not, then these two are no different from her, both trapped in this Underground Palace.

Xu Yuan didn't rush to answer the question, instead scanning Bai Muxi with interest.

Bai Muxi stood gracefully, her gauze dress lightly draped over her shoulders, her gaze clear and serene.

Li Qingyan stood aside, also somewhat interested in whether the dead man would try to exploit the female Simin by lying.

After a while,

He uttered two words:

"No."

After saying that,

A flicker of sadness flashed in Bai Muxi's eyes, but his clear voice remained unchanged, still polite:

"I understand. Since you two have come from afar, let the six officials of the Divine Palace escort you to rest for the night, and then we can talk again."

"Hello."

Xu Yuan interrupted Bai Muxi, asking with a smile, "Simin Siming, have you forgotten that you still owe us a question?"

"."

Bai Muxi remained silent for a few breaths, her calm eyes revealing no emotion, and then asked with her hands clasped:

"Excuse me."

Do you want to go out?

"What?" The composure that Bai Muxi had maintained for less than a few breaths instantly crumbled.

Xu Yuan stepped forward, squinted, raised his hand, and gently touched the center of the cleavage beneath the sheer fabric of the female Simin's dress:

I asked, "Do you want to go out?"

The underground Divine Palace arranged for Xu Yuan and Li Qingyan to stay in a stone palace.

According to the laws of the underworld, Bai Muxi initially arranged for each of them to live in a separate room, but Xu Yuan showed no intention of conforming to local customs.

It wasn't that he wanted to sleep with Li Qingyan; it was mainly because he was afraid of being attacked by Bai Muxi at night while living alone—it felt too unsafe.

The palace was very large, with several heavy stone pillars carved with strange and huge beasts supporting the four-zhang-high roof, making it magnificent and quite like an imperial palace.

The layout of the city also contradicts the dilapidated state of the Underground City.

In the Great Yan, this would be considered commonplace, but within this Underground Palace, it would be considered extremely luxurious.

A large wooden bed sits in the center, with cotton blankets, sheer curtains, a wooden table and cushions, a gauze screen, and even a strangely shaped wooden tea set.

Some special underground green plants emitted a faint blue glow in the darkness of the hall, like starlight adorning the darkness and illuminating the entire hall.

It seems that these living supplies are also produced underground, but the output is very small, only enough to supply the top floor of the cave Underground City.

The class divide is truly ubiquitous.

However, Xu Yuan didn't care much about these things.

The supplies he extorted from the sect and Li Yunqing are all in his Sumeru Ring. Even if they're not here, he can take a whole set from his Sumeru Ring.

The moment Xu Yuan entered the hall, his gaze was immediately drawn to the appearance of the sculpture at the deepest part of the palace.

It was a hideous Strange Ghost.

Suddenly, Li Qingyan's smiling voice rang out beside him:

"I've noticed that you seem to enjoy using your hands when you speak?"

Xu Yuan snapped out of his reverie, looked at her indifferent gaze, pondered for a moment, and then asked with a smile:

"Habits can't be changed, but you can try to help me."

"Virtue."

Li Qingyan a soft hum, her tone tinged with amusement:

"Although I have some understanding of your character, Changtian, I don't think you would commit such an unnecessary offense, so..."

"You're after the gem on her chest?"

Xu Yuan, quite the straightforward man, bowed respectfully and chuckled, saying:

"Your Highness is indeed exceptionally intelligent. Words alone are insufficient; you must provide some evidence to prove that I can take her out. My actions just now were merely to subtly guide her and demonstrate that what I said is true."

Upon hearing this,

Li Qingyan slowly walked to the edge of the large bed and sat down. She removed her black robe, revealing her curves instantly through the brownish-red Fungal Armor covering her body. Her two long, slender legs were intertwined as she rested her chin on her hand and looked at him.

"And how did you learn about that jade pendant?"

"The Saint's Remnant Soul within the Soul Ring."

Xu Yuan shifted the blame again, and before Li Qingyan could speak, he changed the subject, pointing to the Strange Ghost sculpture deep inside:

"This palace doesn't look very clean from the past. With the Strange Ghost sculptures and the strange beasts on those stone pillars, this palace is definitely a place of worship."

"From what the female Simin just said, we can infer that a coup has taken place here."

Li Qingyan spoke calmly, crossing his legs and gently swaying them. "Every year, a city sacrifices two hundred people to secure a meager existence. In dire straits, those former 'sacrificers' most likely use the worship of evil creatures to consolidate their rule, just like those barbarians of the Snow Plain who proclaim that those who die in battle will have their souls return to their ancestral gods."

Speaking of this,

Li Qingyan gently tapped her fair cheek with his long index finger, smiled with narrowed eyes, and asked:

"Changtian, have you thought of anything?"

"."

They looked at each other silently, then smiled at one another.

Xu Yuan walked over and sat down next to Li Qingyan, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"A coup d'état is either for power or to realize one's own ideals."

"The Strange Ghost in the Blood Demon Cave are overwhelmingly stronger than the humans in this cavernous Underground City. If they launch a coup for the former, they could be wiped out at any time."

"This newly appointed female Simin either possesses some clues that allow her to escape."

"Either she discovers that things have changed at the Strange Ghost ' lair, and if she doesn't make changes, this so-called ' Seven Cities Alliance ' will be slaughtered by the Strange Ghost!"

After a pause, Xu Yuan put his arm around Li Qingyan's shoulder, glanced at him, and smiled:

"Qingyan, am I right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan glanced sideways and chuckled:

"Your mind isn't entirely filled with women."

Xu Yuan looked at Li Qingyan and shook his head:

"That's true, but overly intelligent women aren't always popular."

Li Qingyan lowered his eyelids and whispered:

"Maybe I can play dumb in front of you."

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes:

"What's fake can never be real."

"How pretentious."

After saying that,

Xu Yuan didn't answer again, but glanced at the sculptures deep inside the palace:

"If it's the former, then Simin probably doesn't have much information, and it might not even be certain, otherwise she wouldn't have treated me that way just now."

"If it's the latter, then we are the only lifeline that could save her when she was drowning."

"."

Li Qingyan stopped joking, sat up straight, and looked at Xu Yuan seriously:

"Tell me honestly, how confident are you in the success of your plan?"

Xu Yuan saw her expression and instantly knew what she wanted to do:

"You intend to use the seven thousand cultivators in this cavernous Underground City to train your troops in this Underground Palace?"

"."

Li Qingyan remained silent for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence:

"Men who are too smart aren't necessarily popular."

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then said:

"Alright, tell me your thoughts."

Li Qingyan nodded, and then said in a low voice:

"Our Sumeru Ring are well-stocked with resources. In three to six months, we should be able to fight. At that time, I can use the army formation to break through the entire Underground Palace."

"No, that's taking too long."

Xu Yuan rejected her idea. "The risks of your plan are no less than mine."

Li Qingyan lowered his phoenix eyes and spoke in a low voice:

"Barbarian King?"

"Yes."

Xu Yuan nodded and looked directly into Li Qingyan's eyes. "The changes brought by the Barbarian King are too great. The Beifeng Army has broken away from you, and your deputy general is no longer in command. Mr. Zong's Black Scale Guard has also begun to head south. We can wait, but the Barbarian King will definitely try every means to get out now. A powerful figure like him running around in this cave is very likely to discover our outer cave Underground City."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

After a while,

Li Qingyan said quietly:

"I'll listen to you."

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to get us out of here."

After saying that, Xu Yuan raised his hand to touch her head to comfort her, but the princess directly slapped his hand away.

She stared at him:

"I don't like others touching my head."

Xu Yuan rubbed his wrist and teased:

"Even the coach's orders don't work?"

Li Qingyan ignored him and sighed softly:

"It's a bit of a pity about the seven thousand cultivators inside this cave Underground City. I just investigated them, and their foundations are all quite good; their auras are extremely profound among those of the same cultivation level."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly, his voice very soft:

"This is a physique formed underground over tens of thousands of years, something that can't be obtained by chance. However, if the Great Yan Dynasty could achieve a cultivator ratio like theirs, the Demon Beast that plague those towns and villages would no longer be a problem."

Li Qingyan's firm, full breasts rose and fell slightly. She exhaled, composed herself, and said with a smile:

"Impossible. The martial arts academy that Father Emperor and Prime Minister Xu publicly established to teach martial arts has only been in existence for a little over twenty years, and the martial arts students who have left have already begun to wreak havoc in the countryside."

"Cultivators are more terrifying to ordinary people than Demon Beast."

Xu Yuan smiled, slightly surprised:

"You've spent so much time in the military, how come you know about local banditry?"

"Why wouldn't I know?"

Li Qingyan glanced at Xu Yuan with a strange look and said in a low voice:

"In the past, there were many such chivalrous groups composed of idle martial artists operating in Beifeng City. Even among the large and medium-sized chivalrous groups backed by the government, many of the members were bandits and strongmen with the blood of good people on their hands, not to mention those unregistered martial artists."

Speaking of this,

Li Qingyan slightly curled the corners of her lips, her husky voice carrying a hint of amusement:

"Moreover, those people actually have the audacity to call themselves wandering knights."

"Not just wandering knights"

Xu Yuan Wan'er and added softly, "In many counties and prefectures in the south, martial arts practitioners have begun to establish sects and recruit disciples by using the Cultivation Method they learned from martial arts schools."

Li Qingyan's eyes were strange; having spent most of her life in the Northern Border, she was unaware of this matter.

"A group of martial arts disciples who haven't even reached the Soul Condensation dare to establish a sect?"

Xu Yuan shrugged and chuckled:

"A sect can be established as long as Cultivation Method, but you can just think of those low-level Cultivation Method as obedient bandits."

"Of course,"

They themselves did not consider themselves bandits, but...

"Secular sects"

Since the establishment of the Tian'an Martial Hall, which provided a training channel for ordinary people, those martial arts apprentices who were either eliminated or did not choose to join the army have evolved into what is now known as the "martial arts world".

"Secular sects?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan's crimson eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his voice carried a hint of military killing intent. "The local government doesn't care? If this continues, it will shake the very foundation of our Great Yan's rule."

"."

Xu Yuan's eyes flickered, slightly surprised by Li Qingyan's political acumen as a military general, but he quickly understood when he remembered her status as a princess of the imperial dynasty.

To be honest, he didn't know these things either.

But what could he do when his father was a powerful and fiercely protective Prime Minister?

When he reunited with the other three young masters of the Capital City at the brothel, the joke he made with Gong Yuanzeng, the son of the second prime minister, was not a joke.

Because his father's study was located in the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister's Prime Minister's Mansion, he, the third son, could come and go as he pleased.

It was possible when I was a child, and it's even more possible now.

During his time in the Imperial Capital, he openly and legitimately went inside to read many of the Great Yan Dynasty's confidential memorials and internal reports.

Sometimes I even watch it with my dad.

The father and son sat silently at the desk. As soon as the father finished reading the annotations and put them down, Xu Yuan immediately picked up his own desk and began to peruse them.

Therefore, Xu Yuan is now very clear about the current situation of the Great Yan.

The establishment of basic training institutions such as the Tian'an Martial Hall and the Array Pattern Department provided ordinary people with access to the path of cultivation, and as a result, the overall national strength of the Great Yan has been growing at an extremely rapid pace.

More cultivators,

More array masters,

More alchemists

More spirit medicine Breeders

More and more.

These talents, like top-tier military Demon Beast, propelled the Great Yan Empire forward on its path to prosperity.

However, the growth rate of this national power is actually faster, and it can be equipped with military-grade flying Demon Beast as "engines".

The Source Qi between heaven and earth is constantly surging, and with the current overall output of Cultivation Resources in the Great Yan, it is entirely possible to supply more people with cultivation opportunities.

However, this trend has been suppressed by both the imperial court and the sects, who continue to control and suppress the channels for Cultivation Method, especially high-level Cultivation Method, on a large scale.

The productivity of the Great Yan is being firmly suppressed by its top-level architecture.

Unfortunately, once productivity is unleashed, top-level management cannot be suppressed simply by doing so.

Just like the secular sects that made Li Qingyan wary.

Once one of these secular sects appears, a second and a third will follow. When they become widespread, it will lead to a rapid proliferation of low-level martial artists in the coming decades.

Li Yaoxuan, his father, and their advisors need time to deal with the chaos brought about by this change.

After a pause, Xu Yuan explained softly to Li Qingyan:

"These secular sects were approved by my father."

"Did Lord Xu approve?"

Li Qingyan murmured, then instantly understood, and asked, "Because they're obedient?"

"Transparent."

Xu Yuan gave the tight-fitting princess a thumbs up. "These martial arts sects have a fixed base, which is much easier to manage than those wandering bands of heroes. They are obedient, can wipe out the Demon Beast near their location, and can also generate revenue for the local government. Why not?"

"It's better to guide than to block."

"Lord Xu saw was truly far away."

Li Qingyan pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, a smile returning to his lips:

"Let me guess, will Lord Xu's next step be to transform all those active large-scale martial arts groups into these secular sects, and then hold their leaders accountable?"

"."

Xu Yuan's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

That's right again.

This is roughly the conclusion he reached with the old man.

It's better to guide than to block.

Try to guide these unofficial martial arts practitioners to join the sect and let them settle down and operate in a fixed sect location.

The imperial court's attitude towards this was always tacit approval, not recognition.

If they obey, they'll be treated like dogs; if they disobey, they'll be beheaded.

The princess remains as intelligent as ever.

With a slight smile, he said softly:

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan asked with great interest:

"Changtian, how did you get this classified information?"

"Of course, through a memorial to the emperor," Xu Yuan said matter-of-factly.

"Memorial to the throne?"

Li Qingyan glanced at Xu Yuan, her eyes filled with surprise:

"Lord Xu Changtian to peruse the memorials?"

"Didn't you go to the inner courtyard of my mansion? The door to my father's study is always unlocked."

Xu Yuan looked into her eyes and smiled, saying:

"If you'd like, we can watch it together."

I went to the hospital for an IV drip during the day.

It's a bit late, and a little long.