"Your Majesty's visit brings glory to the whole of Dragon Tiger Mountain."

After hearing the news, Yuan Mobai and Yao Yuan both nodded slightly. "It's just that the mountain has just gone through a great upheaval. I'm afraid we might not be able to attend to everything properly and might be remiss in our duties before Your Majesty."

The recent civil strife had both parties fighting with True Fire.

In the heat of battle, they naturally disregarded much, and damage to the spiritual aura of the mountain gate was inevitable.

It was just like the previous two great battles on Dragon Tiger Mountain, which led to the calamity of the entire Taoist Holy Land.

Back then, spiritual places like Ganoderma Terrace were destroyed.

Today, the situation was not much different.

The once lush and spiritual Taoist immortal mountain now had ravines, scorched forests, and even barren lands.

Even the Supreme Pure Thunder Mansion Cave Heaven within the clouds above the mountain peaks was affected.

After the battle ended, there were numerous issues that urgently needed to be handled by Yuan Mobai and the others.

Reorganizing the mountain gate was also put on the agenda, but it couldn't be achieved overnight.

"Along the East Sea coast, living beings have suffered terribly, and Your Majesty has just left from there," Shangguan Ning said. "Since Her Majesty has decided to visit our sect, She must be psychologically prepared for this. If we try to conceal things a little, I trust it will not be considered a breach of etiquette before the Empress."

Yao Yuan then asked, "Do we know the size of the entourage? If we could know in advance, we could make the most appropriate preparations to receive Her Majesty."

Shangguan Ning replied, "I hear She is traveling with a small retinue."

Her words were not merely polite.

The Empress's previous departure from the Capital wasn't for leisure and sightseeing.

The chaos caused by demons in the East Sea and the rebellion in the Land of Wu and Yue had finally been quelled; most from the Tang Imperial Court would not follow the Empress further south, opting instead to return to the Capital first.

The Capital was a place of importance that needed to be secured.

It had been relatively unguarded for some time, and there could be no further delays now.

However, traveling with a small retinue did not mean incognito.

Even if the Empress was traveling in a simplified manner, the entourage would still have a certain scale; that much was certain.

For Dragon Tiger Mountain, this was also a matter of great importance.

Following the internal strife, the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion had fallen into a slump and needed a better external environment to recuperate and overcome the current difficulties.

Whether the Tang Imperial Court had long intended to intervene or simply had no time to concern itself with this side, during the previous conflict involving Li Wai, Shangguan Ning—who was originally quite close to the Li Clan—remained neutral. She offered only a few lukewarm words of mediation, which, to a certain extent, was a statement of her position.

In such circumstances, with the Empress herself coming to visit, Yuan Mobai and others naturally wouldn't cause any trouble.

Once Tang Xiaotang arrived, Shangguan Ning, acting as an intermediary, immediately communicated with the Tang Imperial Court to confirm the specific date for the visit.

Lei Jun excused himself and left.

After exiting the High Merit Pavilion, he encountered two people head-on.

It was Zhang Jingzhen and Shangguan Ning's chief disciple, Lin Shan.

As they greeted each other, there was a feeling as if a lifetime had passed.

But both Zhang Jingzhen and Lin Shan were people of calm dispositions and quickly readjusted their mental state.

The three of them chatted briefly, their conversation inevitably turning to the Li Clan and the recent great war.

"Will all the disciples of the Li Clan be expelled and removed from the sect?" Zhang Jingzhen asked in a subdued voice.

Lei Jun replied, "We have to wait for Master, Master's elder brother, and Sister Tang to come up with a plan first, then we'll see."

Lin Shan then asked, "Lei, have you seen Li... Xuan?"

In front of them, Lei Jun's answer naturally differed from when he was speaking to Yuan Mobai. "I have not seen him. I only heard from other sect members that Li Fenghe died, apparently related to Chen Yi?"

Lin Shan nodded. "Yes, he was killed by Chen Yi. I chased after Chen Yi later, but unfortunately, he got away. After that, I heard that Li Xuan also went into that deep earth vein valley in search of Chen Yi, but currently, both of them are missing."

Lei Jun's expression remained unchanged as he calmly looked at Lin Shan.

According to the information Li Xuan mentioned when he used the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman to contact those Li Clan disciples, they were planning to take the opportunity to eliminate Lin Shan in that deep valley.

Of course, at the top of their list of rebels to eliminate among the Middle Three Heavens Cultivators was Lei himself...

Zhang Jingzhen said, "I also searched for them earlier but found nothing. I will continue to pay attention to news about Li Xuan and Chen Yi."

Lei Jun glanced casually at Zhang Jingzhen and then withdrew his gaze.

It was unclear if Zhang Jingzhen had noticed it herself, but in her statement, the emphasis seemed to be on Chen Yi rather than Li Xuan.

However, this was fine, since Li Xuan would no longer trouble her to search for him.

Lin Shan said, "Trying to find Li Xuan and Chen Yi is difficult, but what's even harder is locating the Celestial Master Seal and the Celestial Master's Robe!"

At this, Lei Jun and Zhang Jingzhen both sighed simultaneously.

Although he possessed the Celestial Master Seal, thinking about the consecutive loss of these three great treasures, a curse almost escaped his lips, and he wondered if he should say it.

He even found himself speechlessly wondering if, following the precedent of the Celestial Master Seal and the Celestial Master's Sword, Dragon Tiger Mountain would have to suffer another great calamity before the Celestial Master's Robe would return.

That would truly be infuriating to the point of laughter.

Lei Jun looked up to see Lin Shan and Zhang Jingzhen wearing odd expressions as well.

It seemed they had all arrived at the same conclusion.

Although Lin Shan and Zhang Jingzhen did not know that the Celestial Master Seal had, in fact, already returned, it had appeared six years ago when Dragon Tiger Mountain was besieged.

Adding the recent situation with the Celestial Master's Sword, it was inevitable for them to think further.

The three of them exchanged glances.

Silence fell.

As if by unspoken agreement, they all turned their heads and looked elsewhere.

Magical Treasures possess intelligence, sensing danger and acting accordingly.

But it wasn't as if staging an exercise would "trick" the treasures into returning.

Minor skirmishes likely wouldn't do the trick either.

But as for large-scale conflicts... Currently, the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion had its Primordial Qi severely damaged and could not afford such a gamble.

After chatting for a few more moments, Lei Jun bid farewell to Lin Shan and Zhang Jingzhen.

He went to the forbidden Rear Mountain Ancestral Tomb.

The guardian of this location was no longer Elder Xin from six years ago; another Elder had taken his place.

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