Chapter 1319: The Demon Clan Imperial Palace

Zu'an worried that the palace was deliberately using those reasons to turn away visitors. So, he went around to a secluded corner and, seeing no one around, climbed over the courtyard wall.

There were some defensive arrays on the wall, but with his current Grandmaster cultivation, avoiding them was not difficult.

Along the way, there were indeed some patrolling guards, but compared to the strict vigilance in human society, the defenses on the demon side were much cruder, even more careless.

Even for a royal palace, the level of defense here was not even comparable to that of a slightly higher-ranking minister's mansion among humans.

He had originally planned to catch a maid and ask where Xue'er's private chambers were. However, he noticed several maids constantly carrying tea to a particular room. Overhearing their private conversations, it seemed they were holding a meeting to discuss Princess Xue, and it had been going on all day without any resolution.

Zu'an's heart stirred, and he quietly followed them.

However, he didn't dare get too close. He wasn't so arrogant as to underestimate the heroes of the world. With a group of powerful figures meeting in the core of the Elf King's palace, there were bound to be some masters present, and revealing himself would be troublesome.

Under these circumstances, using his spiritual sense to probe was also inappropriate, as it could easily be detected by other Grandmasters or even higher-level experts.

So, he activated the Jade Cong, controlled a plump, large yellow cat, and sent it lazily padding around the meeting hall.

Voices drifted out from inside:

"Princess Xue still hasn't returned so late; has something happened?"

"What could possibly happen in the imperial palace?"

"It's precisely *because* it's the imperial palace that something could happen! What if the Golden Crow Crown Prince forces himself upon Princess Xue? Wouldn't that be the end of it?"

"Even if nothing truly happened, the palace gates are about to close. If she stays overnight in the palace, what will people outside say? Princess Xue's reputation would be completely ruined."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire meeting hall fell silent.

Zu'an's heart sank. Sure enough, Xue'er was in danger.

Then another voice spoke: "Actually, if you think about it differently, this might not be a bad thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it: what an honor it is to marry the Crown Prince and become the Crown Princess! Soon she'll be the new Demon Empress. Countless women wish they could marry him but can't."

"At that point, it would be an excellent outcome, both for her personally and for the entire Elf race."

"But Princess Xue has already sacrificed so much for our Elf race! She endured hardships in human society and brought so many of our people back. Do we still want her to sacrifice more? Isn't that too much?" Someone immediately raised an objection, which was echoed by many others.

Zu'an felt a slight sense of relief; these elves weren't completely heartless. At least some remembered Xue'er's contributions over the years.

"How can this be called a sacrifice? Becoming the Crown Princess and Demon Empress is a great honor!"

"Besides, the Elf King is currently imprisoned. Everyone knows why. If Princess Xue doesn't marry, do any of you have a way to free the Elf King?"

Hearing this challenge, the others fell silent, clearly lacking the confidence to rescue the Elf King.

Zu'an stopped listening. The elves had various considerations, but he did not. In this situation, the priority was naturally to rescue Xue'er from danger first.

He quickly left the Elf King's palace and headed straight for the Demon Imperial Palace.

Although he had never been to the royal court, the Imperial Palace was the most prominent and magnificent building, making it easy to find.

Unlike the red walls and yellow glazed tiles of the human capital's imperial palace, the Demon Imperial Palace primarily used blue and gold.

The blue pigments were self-explanatory, while the gold was essentially made from actual gold.

Zu'an secretly grumbled, "These demons are truly extravagant, actually using pure gold? Aren't they afraid of commoners scraping off bits of gold now and then?"

Furthermore, the doors of the Demon Imperial Palace's buildings were much taller than they were wide, making their proportions seem somewhat imbalanced. Yet, strangely, this created a peculiar sense of harmony, lending the structures an imposing aura.

Nearly every building featured numerous thick, exposed pillars. While human architecture preferred smooth, flat pillars, here, the pillar surfaces were serrated or wavy, and many were adorned with various carvings.

Zu'an observed for a moment, then couldn't help but frown. Perhaps it was because night was falling, but defensive arrays had already been activated near the city walls, which were far more sophisticated than those at the Elf King's palace.

In fact, with his cultivation, sneaking in wouldn't be too difficult. However, the entire imperial palace emitted an inexplicable pressure, and he knew it was the Demon Emperor's aura.

Remembering that the Demon Emperor was as renowned as Zhao Hao, he dared not be careless in the slightest. If he directly breached the defensive array and was detected, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive.

However, this did not stump him, as he still had the Thousand Faces skill.

He had initially thought of disguising himself as the Golden Crow Crown Prince. But then he reconsidered: the Golden Crow Crown Prince was too conspicuous. The Golden Crow Guards in the palace would likely know his whereabouts, and if they saw another Golden Crow Crown Prince approaching from outside, anyone would realize something was wrong.

A thought struck him, and he decided to directly disguise himself as Hei Chiran. This fellow's appearance was easy enough to replicate, but the most challenging part was his pitch-black teeth. Zu'an even worried he wouldn't be able to perfectly mimic them and prepared to blacken his teeth with charcoal.

To his surprise, when he finally looked in the mirror, he was an exact replica. He couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of the Thousand Faces skill.

He found a passerby nearby to use the "Cute Girl Voice Changer" skill on, and only then did he confidently stride towards the palace gate.

"Halt!" He was quickly stopped by guards. However, upon seeing him clearly, they all bowed in salute: "It's Lord Zongzheng."

Zu'an breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Hei Chiran hadn't left after escorting the Little Demon Empress back, but it seemed there was no problem.

Mimicking Hei Chiran's earlier demeanor, he nodded: "I'm going into the palace to see the Crown Prince."

He chose to disguise himself as Hei Chiran precisely because of Hei Chiran's relationship with the Crown Prince; his aunt was the Crown Prince's birth mother. Given this connection, it was perfectly normal for him to visit the Crown Prince.

As expected, the guards didn't suspect anything and moved aside: "Lord Hei Chiran, please proceed."

Zu'an hadn't expected it to go so smoothly and walked straight inside.

Just as he stepped through the palace gate, a voice called out from behind him: "Wait!"

Zu'an's heart skipped a beat. He knew he shouldn't have rejoiced too soon.

Turning around, he saw a general in golden armor leading a pair of guards approaching.

He cursed inwardly. While he could impersonate Hei Chiran, he couldn't replicate his memories. He didn't know these palace generals.

"Lord Hei Chiran, why are you back again?" The golden-armored general had a very long face, making it appear unusually narrow, giving him an odd appearance.

A thought sparked in Zu'an's mind. Remembering Kong Qing's recent description of the palace situation, he returned the greeting: "General Ma, the Crown Prince has something to discuss with me. How could I not return?"

"The Crown Prince sent for you? Why wasn't I informed?" The golden-armored general had no objection to Zu'an's address, confirming he was indeed Ma Tian, the General of the Left Guard. He then glanced outside: "Hmm, why don't I see your retinue?"

Zu'an's response was quick: "Because it concerns a secret matter, I didn't bring anyone with me."

Hearing him speak so mysteriously, Ma Tian found it difficult to press further. After all, Hei Chiran's relationship with the Crown Prince was closer than his own.

However, he looked up at the sky, appearing a bit troubled: "The palace gates are about to close. You know the rules: no external officials are allowed in after closing, unless they have a hand-order from the Demon Emperor or the Crown Prince."

Zu'an inwardly groaned. Where would he get a hand-order?

Seeing his troubled expression, Ma Tian, not wanting to offend him, said: "Is Lord Zongzheng's matter urgent? If not, you can come back tomorrow morning. If it's urgent, how about I go report to the Crown Prince immediately?"

Zu'an thought to himself, "Reporting to the Crown Prince would expose everything!" But he had no reason to stop him.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He pulled out an item: "I don't have a hand-order, but the Crown Prince had someone deliver this to me."