Chapter 2026: Rumors

Zu'an recalled his experiences in the Great Snow Mountain, where he had once been pursued by a mysterious and powerful Snow Woman.

The entire Great Snow Mountain seemed like a forbidden zone of life, filled with various mysteries and legends.

He no longer needed to fear the Snow Woman who had once chased him relentlessly.

Zu'an had always intended to revisit the Great Snow Mountain to explore its mysteries.

However, he was constantly occupied with other matters and never found the time, so he was surprised to be passing by the Great Snow Mountain again under these circumstances.

Even at high altitude, he could distinctly feel the Great Snow Mountain's unique chill, which even significantly weakened the flames on his Wind-Fire Wheels.

"It's certainly much colder than before," he thought. It was midday, with the sun blazing overhead, so the temperature should have been higher.

Zu'an was puzzled; he had never heard of the Great Snow Mountain's temperature changing over thousands of years.

Could something have happened there?

Unfortunately, the situation at the Sealed Land was urgent, and he dared not waste any time. Despite his curiosity, he ultimately did not stop and continued flying north.

After flying for a while longer, Zu'an suddenly felt a stir and pulled out his Voice and Vision Mirror from his pocket, which was regularly emitting light.

He knew this device wasn't used for non-urgent matters. Without a second thought about the precious elemental stones, he quickly inserted dozens of Heaven-grade elemental stones.

Soon, a ripple like water appeared on the Voice and Vision Mirror, revealing Liu Ning, dressed in a Grand Empress Dowager's ceremonial robe.

"Prince Regent, I couldn't reach you earlier with the communication jade slip, so I resorted to using the Voice and Vision Mirror," Liu Ning said, sitting upright.

Zu'an took out his communication jade slip and saw that there were indeed no messages. The real-time communication of this item was indeed unreliable.

"What is it, Grand Empress Dowager?" Zu'an replied respectfully. Her formal address clearly implied that others were present, meaning some things couldn't be said.

At that moment, Bi Linglong's voice also came through. She naturally moved to Liu Ning's side, stepped into the range of the Voice and Vision Mirror, and looked at Zu'an with deep affection.

"Early this morning, we received an official plea for help from the Demon Royal Court," Bi Linglong said. "There's a problem at their Sealed Land, and they hope we will honor our past agreement and send reinforcements to jointly resist the demons from another world."

"Has the situation deteriorated to this extent?" Zu'an's expression hardened. Although he had previously discussed organizing reinforcements with Liu Ning, it had only been as a contingency.

Both the demon race and the human race had their pride; if they could solve a problem themselves, they would never seek help from their former mortal enemies.

Now, for the demon race to officially request aid from the human race, it clearly meant they were desperate.

"Alright, organize the reinforcements as quickly as possible. I'm currently on my way to the demon territory, and I'll help you coordinate border passage and supplies when I get there," Zu'an replied swiftly. At the same time, he wondered why the Little Demon Empress hadn't contacted him about this situation.

A thought struck him, and he asked, "Grand Empress Dowager, Empress, did the Little Demon Empress personally contact you regarding the demon race's plea for help?"

Liu Ning shook her head slightly. "No, it wasn't her. The Great Elf King sent the message through the Voice and Vision Mirror. We heard there was a problem at the Sealed Land, and the Little Demon Empress, to stabilize morale, departed overnight with the Golden Crow Guards to provide support. It's consistent with what our spies reported earlier."

The image of a handsome old man appeared in Zu'an's mind, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The Great Elf King was trustworthy; he was his father-in-law, Xue'er's father.

It seemed the Little Demon Empress was dealing with an emergency and simply had no time to contact him.

"Has the commander-in-chief been decided yet?" Zu'an asked.

"Originally, the two Dukes of the Qin family were the most suitable candidates," Bi Linglong replied, "but unfortunately, they were injured previously and couldn't recover in a short time. After negotiations and compromises among various parties, it was decided that King Liang, Zhao Yi, would be the commander, leading the army north as reinforcement."

"King Liang?" Zu'an frowned. That man, though the Emperor's uncle, was incompetent and mediocre.

He had once strutted around Brightmoon City, but to truly top-tier masters, his cultivation was utterly unimpressive.

From Bi Linglong's words, he could roughly guess the situation: the Empress's faction certainly wouldn't want a confidant of the Liu family to hold such a powerful position, and similarly, the Grand Empress Dowager's faction wouldn't want someone from the Bi family.

Thus, both sides compromised and chose King Liang, a member of the imperial clan. Although his cultivation and wisdom were mediocre, he was chosen for his seniority and certain prestige.

At this point, Liu Ning seemed to sense his concern and said, "Prince Regent, you don't need to worry. The court has discussed it, and once the army reaches the demon territory, you will primarily be in charge of its command. He will, at most, serve as a supervising general."

Zu'an nodded slightly. That was good; it prevented a single incompetent general from exhausting the entire army.

As for King Liang serving as a supervising general, it was clearly a safeguard set up by the court. After all, with such a large army venturing deep into demon territory, and Zu'an himself being the demon race's Prince Regent, they were certainly worried he might conspire with the demons against the human army.

At this point, Bi Linglong said, "Many young members of the Qin family have enthusiastically signed up, likely hoping to restore their family's glory. Additionally, many academy disciples are also very eager, especially after hearing you'll be there; they're all vying to come and fight alongside you. Should we approve or reject them?"

Zu'an instinctively wanted to say that the Sealed Land was very dangerous, but then he reconsidered: if the young men from other families went to face such a dangerous situation, but those close to him did not, what would outsiders think? It might directly undermine morale.

Furthermore, as the saying goes, "Jade cannot be polished without carving." Only through tempering and experience would they grow faster.

So, he stated solemnly, "Explain the potential dangers to everyone. If they still insist on coming, then allow them."

Bi Linglong nodded slightly. "Understood."

Liu Ning, standing nearby, looked at her with a hint of surprise, thinking, *This little vixen is so domineering when she clashes with me normally, yet in front of Azu, she acts like a demure little wife. Tsk tsk, Azu really knows how to handle women.*

Zu'an and the two women discussed some further details of state affairs before ending the call, feeling a lingering sense of unfinished business.

Immediately afterward, he tried to call the Little Demon Empress's Voice and Vision Mirror, but there was no response.

His heart sank. At first, he thought she might have been too busy organizing troops to support the Sealed Land due to the urgency, but now, when he called her, she didn't even have time to connect.

This could only mean either the situation on her end had reached a critical point, or... something had happened to her.

Previously, he couldn't reach Yun Jianyue via the Voice and Vision Mirror, and as expected, a major incident had occurred. If he hadn't arrived in time, she might have perished.

As for the Little Demon Empress... he hoped he wasn't too late!

He fully activated his Wind-Fire Wheels, even boosting them with his own essence energy, increasing his speed by another forty percent.

Flying day and night without rest, he passed by the Serpent Tribe's territory. After a moment's thought, he decided to land and inquire about the situation.

As expected, Yu Yanluo was not there. The Serpent Tribe elder mentioned that the Little Demon Empress had recently called upon experts from all tribes to support the Sealed Land, and their tribal chief was among the first to respond, leading the tribe's masters, along with Xiaobai, Xiaoqing, and others, to the Sealed Land.

Even Yu Yanluo had gone...

Zu'an tried to contact Yu Yanluo using the Voice and Vision Mirror, but he couldn't reach her either, which made him even more anxious.

Ignoring the Serpent Tribe's warm invitation to stay and without even taking a sip of tea, he resumed his journey.

After flying for some more time, Zu'an looked down at the familiar royal palace below and felt a momentary daze.

He realized he had arrived at Qingqiu Kingdom, a place full of fox spirits. He had once shared a wonderful memory with Tu Shan Yu, the Queen of Qingqiu, right up in the sky.

Just then, a large bird flew up from the royal palace below, carrying a graceful woman. Her delicate and beautiful face, hair fluttering in the wind, and light blue long dress gave her a pure appearance. Yet, her enchanting, foxy eyes were captivating, and combined with the fluffy, swaying tail behind her, she truly embodied a perfect blend of two completely different temperaments: purity and allure.

"May I ask which senior has arrived... Prince Regent!" Tu Shan Yu had initially been quite apprehensive, but upon recognizing his face, she was instantly overcome with joyful surprise.

Zu'an extended a hand, and a gentle force drew her into his embrace. "Long time no see!"

Tu Shan Yu stood on tiptoe and kissed him directly.

That passionate yet somewhat unpracticed kiss, combined with the unique exotic fragrance of the Qingqiu Tribe emanating from her, almost instantly ignited Zu'an's desires.

However, he knew that urgent matters took precedence and quickly composed himself.

Tu Shan Yu reluctantly pulled away, her small face flushed. "Are you here because of the Sealed Land?"

"You know about it too?" Zu'an seized the opportunity to inquire about related information.

"A few days ago, the Royal Court issued an edict from the Little Demon Empress, ordering tribal chiefs to lead their elites to support the Sealed Land, stating that the demon race had reached a moment of life or death," she explained. "Our Qingqiu Tribe isn't skilled in combat, and our abilities are useless against those foreign demons, so we weren't sent to the front lines. We're staying here to handle some logistical work."

Zu'an was secretly alarmed to hear the Little Demon Empress use terms like "life or death." "Do you know what exactly happened at the Sealed Land?" he asked.

Tu Shan Yu's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "There are many rumors there. Some say the Second Prince was corrupted by demons and betrayed the demon race; some say his subordinates were tired of endlessly wasting away in the bottomless pit of the Sealed Land and coerced him into escaping; others claim the Second Prince has already died in battle at the Sealed Land... There are all sorts of rumors, and it's impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood. Only one thing is certain: something has indeed happened at the Sealed Land."

Zu'an frowned. "What about the supervising army left by the imperial court?"

Everyone knew that the Second Prince had clearly been sent to the Sealed Land to deplete his elite forces, and the Demon Royal Court must have been wary of him. That's why they left an army to monitor them from the rear, ready to react immediately if they made any suspicious moves.

"There's been no news from that army," Tu Shan Yu replied. "It's as if everyone has disappeared."

Zu'an's expression changed. It seemed the situation was even more serious than he had imagined.

He asked for some more information, then took out the Prince Regent's seal of the demon race and wrote some official documents, handing them to Tu Shan Yu. "In a while, the human reinforcements will be heading north. Take my written order and inform the checkpoints along the route to grant them passage, and also arrange for provisions and supplies."

Tu Shan Yu's expression became solemn. "I will not fail in my mission!"

At the same time, her gaze towards him grew sweeter. She had always worried he merely saw her as a plaything, but since he was willing to let her act as his representative, that was clearly not the case.

Meanwhile, in the human capital, Xie Daoyun was arguing heatedly with Xie Xiu, her face flushed. "Absolutely not! You are the Xie family's only son; you absolutely cannot go to the Sealed Land!"

"Aren't you also an only daughter? If you can go, why can't I?" Xie Xiu replied with a smile.

"I'm a woman; it's naturally different!" Xie Daoyun glared angrily at her younger brother. "It's one thing for you to chase after women on a daily basis, but this is a matter of principle. Absolutely not!"

Xie Xiu sighed at this. "With demons from beyond invading, and the world facing a crisis of life and death, though I'm often called a 'pretty boy' or 'sissy' by men who envy me, I'm a real man. How can I timidly hide in the rear?"

Xie Daoyun's face hardened. "Mother and Father aren't here, so I can't let you act recklessly. I'll represent the Xie family; that's enough."

Xie Xiu then chuckled, "Well, let me put it in a way you can understand. So many academy disciples have eagerly signed up to follow the Libationer to fight the enemy, and many of them are female. If I stay here, afraid of death, my reputation will be ruined later. How will I ever impress girls then?"

Xie Daoyun: "..."

Similar scenes were playing out in thousands of families across the capital.

At the Prince Regent's manor, Qin Wanru slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "No, absolutely not! Youzhao, you cannot go!"

Across from her, Chu Youzhao immediately grew anxious. "Why? Even Sister Qinghe can go!"

Qin Wanru was equally agitated. "You're the only heir of our Chu family! If something happens to you, what will your parents do? What will become of the many people in the Chu family?"

Years ago, they went to great lengths, overcoming countless difficulties to ensure the Duke of Brightmoon's title could be successfully passed down. How could they let all that effort be in vain now?