The evil monarch's left hand was behind his back, and his right hand brushed against the front of his robe: "Of course, otherwise where would the old ghost go to find the sacred relic?"

  He slowly said, "In the past, when Sheng Zun fell and became a monk, there was a young Sha Mi who served him. After he condensed the crystal stone and passed away, this young Sha Mi accidentally made friends with someone from the grasslands and told them about it as an unusual rumor."

  No wonder the young master of the Xun clan knew where Mo Zun was... Meng Qi looked at Xie Jun in a daze, not saying a word.

  The evil monarch still had a slow and leisurely tone, not like being in the dragon's lair of the imperial palace, but rather at ease in his own home: "The old ghost's coma was only temporary, unable to withstand the massive influx of spiritual energy into his body, and he soon woke up. But he felt that 'coma' was better than being awake, firstly because he could observe the performance of his four sons, see their true faces, and use the struggle for the throne to lure several great masters into the capital. Secondly, he could spread the news of the Saint's relic, letting the great masters take the bait automatically."

  "So, was Batu's pursuit that night actually a leak of the Jie tribe young master's own whereabouts?" Meng Qi asked thoughtfully after luring Da Zong Shi into the trap.

  If there's anything in this world that can make several Grandmasters fight to the death, the Demon Emperor's relic is undoubtedly the most likely candidate. Compared to it, the throne is not important in the hearts of the Grandmasters. After all, they have been stuck at their current realm for a long time and are only one layer away from breaking through, but no matter what, they can't break through and urgently need external reference and help.

  The evil lord looked at Meng Qi with a smile that was not a smile: "Yes, if it weren't for you meddling, driving away Lie Jian and scaring off Ru Yi Seng and Gui Wang, taking away Ba Tu and Chang Sun Jing, I'm afraid the great masters outside of Wang De Rang and Ba Mu Er would have already gathered at Yuan Jue Temple to fight over the Saint's relic."

  According to a certain investigation, Yuanguo Temple buried countless pounds of explosives. As soon as the high-ranking monks entered, there would be brave warriors who would light the fuse, and with a loud bang, they would all be blown to smithereens.

  Meng Qi nodded calmly: "No wonder the young master of the Zhuang tribe left his hiding place just before Rushing to the Right Minister arrived."

  The sound of the wind blowing through the branches became extremely clear, allowing people to directly feel the greatness, ferocity and fierceness of the wind.

  "Wang De Rang did not expect that Batu would be 'taken away' by you, nor did he anticipate that Lu Guan would choose to become a lone minister and bring Batu before him, rather than surrendering to some prince. So, intentionally delaying for a while, he sent someone to inform the young master of the Zou tribe. Otherwise, with his great master's strength, why wouldn't he rush over urgently, capture and subdue first, instead of bringing Lu Guan and Batu along slowly?" Xie Jun said with a hint of mockery.

  Yes, if he himself "found" the young master of the Zhuang clan, he would be in a difficult situation. If he didn't go to Yuanjue Temple, the other several great masters with rich experience would know there was a ghost as soon as they smelled it and would definitely send someone to investigate. But if he went to Yuanjue Temple himself, would the dead soldiers outside light the fuse or not?

  Meng Qi did not relax his guard against the sword, and sighed: "I didn't expect the Emperor to be so wary of the Grand Masters, as if he would kill them with pleasure."

  "As the ruler of the world, who would want a powerful Grandmaster with abilities close to those of gods and demons outside? If they were to stake their lives, they might be able to kill the Emperor who is under multiple layers of protection."

  The evil lord still had his left hand behind him, and his right hand across his chest. "So as soon as he finds an opportunity, the old ghost will not let go, even if the sacred relic has not been fully absorbed, it will be used as bait. After all, his physical body is already in decline, even if his strength increases, the amount of spiritual energy that can be accommodated and absorbed is limited. Ah, if this matter had not been suppressed by Wang De, it would have likely caused chaos. The old ghost would rather keep him in the dark, letting him also go to Yuanguo Temple to send himself to death."

  "He was a qualified emperor." Meng Qi sighed.

  "Yes, cold-blooded, iron-hearted, loving the throne and power in his hands more than his consorts and children." The evil monarch rarely showed a look of approval.

  The wind grew stronger, the air became very humid and felt oppressive.

  Meng Qi asked deliberately, "Even if 'Hun Mo' has the right prime minister, the military commander of the Western Expedition, and the Grand Commander of the Imperial Palace, his control over the imperial court and the palace is still very strong. How could he suddenly die? Did he secretly send the Western Expedition General to contact Lu Huasheng, determined to negotiate?"

  It's impossible to deceive the Grand Eunuch by pretending to be unconscious, after all, the Emperor is not a god and still needs to eat, drink, urinate and defecate, so someone must take care of these things.

  "If the price is not beyond the bottom line, Lao Gui will definitely be willing to negotiate, kill the Grand Master, get rid of the restless son, and then reorganize the troops, and stabilize the northwest. If negotiations really can't work out, he has also invited Lu Guan into the capital as a backup, able to stabilize the hearts of the northwest troops." Xie Jun spoke fluently, seemingly understanding the old emperor's thoughts like the lines on his own palm.

  Meng Qi nodded slightly, if the old emperor didn't die, his main task could only be completed by finding a way to sabotage the peace talks - the old emperor had the chess piece of the young master of the Zong tribe in his hand, knowing the inside story of the Western Rouran, and would definitely not lack a way to make the fake peace talks turn into real ones.

  The evil monarch sneered: "He thought he had everything under control, but misjudged the hearts of men. As an emperor, the vast majority of people think that when he falls into a coma, it's equivalent to death, and so he really 'died'."

  "If you want to pretend to be unconscious, there will always be various clues exposed, such as appetite and the state of excrement. The eunuchs and guards thought that the emperor had a stroke and was unconscious, and the new emperor was about to take office, so they hurriedly pledged allegiance and expressed their loyalty, passing on all kinds of messages to the crown prince and the seventh prince, allowing them to judge that the old devil was pretending to be 'dead' and setting up a scheme."

  If it weren't for the Emperor's sudden collapse, the Third and Fourth Princes would have had no hope. Normally speaking, in other people's minds, the new Emperor should be either the Crown Prince or the Seventh Prince.

  "No wonder the Crown Prince refused to see me when I went to visit him, he was being cautious. Meng Qi said in a daze, then furrowed his brow again, "But since the Seventh Prince also knew about it, why did he want to see me? And what's with this talk of fighting for the throne and not being able to retreat?"

  The evil lord's stature was relatively high, with a refined and elegant temperament that hid his evil intentions. Standing there, he had an inexplicable aura of calmness: "At that time, the old ghost had already died."

  "So the Seventh Prince is unscrupulous, while the Crown Prince, due to his ignorance, shuts himself off from the world?" Meng Qi felt that this was not right.

  Xia Jun smiled: "The Crown Prince is pretending he doesn't know that Lao Gui is dead, and the Seventh Prince is pretending he doesn't know that Lao Gui is faking his coma."

  They're all good actors... Meng Qi muttered a sentence under his breath and suddenly grasped the meaning behind Yao Jun's words: "The one who killed the Emperor was the Crown Prince?"

  "It can be said that he ordered, hey, only a few people know about this matter, even Wang Dejan thinks that the old ghost is too greedy, and died suddenly due to excessive absorption of essence. So he secretly did not announce his death, and gave the crown prince time to win over General Xizheng, and other people, letting him make thorough preparations, if not then so be it, but once he makes a move, it will be with thunderous force, leaving the other three princes no room for resistance, lest the capital and the world fall into chaos." The evil monarch spoke of this matter as if he had personally experienced it.

  Meng Qi had no doubts about this. The Right Chancellor, Wang Dejan, was a great Confucian scholar of the time, and with the Western Xiongnu army stationed outside the capital, he would definitely want the transition of power to be smooth and uneventful. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't even need explanation that the great Confucian scholars would choose the orthodox heir. However, the Crown Prince had been suppressed for a long time, and his officials and military officers were not strong enough to overpower the other princes. The Grand Master above him, the Fourth Prince had the Sword Emperor, and the Third Prince had the Demon Empress, so they didn't fall behind either.

  If the crown prince is suddenly announced to succeed, other princes are likely to be dissatisfied, triggering a rebellion and causing divisions, making the capital and the world turbulent, giving the Western barbarians an opportunity to take advantage of.

  So the news of the old emperor's death was kept secret, and only the crown prince was informed to make preparations, win over neutral forces, and use a thunderbolt-like momentum to subdue the other three princes and quickly resolve the dispute over the throne.

  "Whose order? Who killed the Emperor?" Meng Qi asked again.

  The weather outside seemed increasingly oppressive, and the sound of sword fighting from Geonjeongjeon was carried over on the strong wind.

  The evil monarch said with a self-satisfied smile: "Prime Minister Lü Ling."

  "Traitorous minister?" This was the person who had demoted Lu Guan for many years.

  As the head of the Politburo, one of the de facto prime ministers, he had the right to stay overnight in the Forbidden City and also had the right to visit the old ghost. The evil monarch seemed to say nothing hidden, "Lv Ling is good at guessing thoughts, deeply trusted by the old ghost, with Lu Guan's entry into Beijing, he keenly sensed that he might lose favor."

  "When the prince secretly told him that Lao Gui was pretending to be unconscious, he confirmed this speculation. As a trusted person, even such things were hidden from him, which could only mean that Lao Gui wanted to use him as a scapegoat. Heh heh, if the negotiations with Yu succeed and result in ceding land and humiliating the country, the prince and he would be the scapegoats. If the negotiations fail, Lu Guanbai would also need someone to take responsibility for the previous chaos in the northwest and his own demotion. Clearly, it couldn't be the wise and powerful emperor's fault, only that of treacherous officials deceiving the ruler."

  The evil king's face was clear and gaunt, he must have been a handsome young man. He said with a wise tone: "After understanding this point, Lü quickly turned to the crown prince, and as his prime minister for many years, he often entered the palace, and naturally pulled in some eunuchs and guards. These eunuchs and guards thought that the new emperor was about to take over, so they unreservedly surrendered to him, helping him spy on the Zǐ Jí Gé (Purple Extreme Pavilion) and pay attention to the intelligence of the Imperial City Guard."

  "After they figured out the old emperor was just pretending to be unconscious, they were in a difficult situation and could only follow Lv Ling's plan all the way. Lv Ling judged the old emperor's condition based on various clues and found a pill that accelerated the absorption of true yuan, which was beneficial to the body without any harm or toxicity. He let the eunuch add it to the old ghost's food, so the old ghost absorbed the essence too quickly and died suddenly."

  Meng Qi thought for a moment before asking: "This is such a secretive matter, why are you speaking as if you've experienced it personally?"

  "Because Lü Ling told him, it was also he who helped him sneak in here." Xie Jun smiled and sighed, "If there were no external enemies, the crown prince would have killed him to silence him. Even if he spread the word, Wang De would think he was desperate and making false accusations. At that time, there should be no other princes left, and even if Wang De didn't believe the crown prince, he would have to believe it. Therefore, Lü Ling told him about this matter, plotting a way to save his own life."

  Meng Qi said regretfully: "What's the use of telling you?"

  "At this moment, the Seventh Prince should have already left the capital, heading southeast to mobilize his accumulated power in the imperial court and military, to split the land and rebel. The evil monarch spoke as if he was talking about something unimportant."

  Meng Qi suddenly understood the true meaning of the Seventh Prince's words. In the capital, with the Right Chancellor leaning towards the Crown Prince, he had no chance; his way out and hope lay outside the capital: "So the one behind the Seventh Prince is you."

  The evil monarch smiled and nodded: "It was me, but I didn't tell him that the old ghost was killed by Prince Taizi's instigation of Lv Ling. I just let him find an excuse to rebel."

  "Do you want chaos throughout the land?" Meng Qi suddenly grasped the true intentions of the Evil Lord.

  The evil monarch proudly said: "If relying on plotting and usurping power, the foundation will be unstable. The Holy Gate will forever be suppressed by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Only by raising a righteous army and sweeping across the land can the Holy Gate become the orthodox. I have already prepared 'fire seeds' in the southeast for the Seventh Imperial Son to use."

  Power comes from the barrel of a gun... Meng Qi didn't know why he thought of this sentence, Xie Jun indeed had a heroic spirit hidden in his heart.

  He sighed: "But all living things in the world are suffering because of this."

  "Dying in a good place, with a lingering fragrance." Xie Jun said coldly and ruthlessly.

  He suddenly smiled: "Do you know why he wants to talk so much and tell you so many things?"

  Without waiting for Meng Qi to respond, he took out a deep yellow crystal stone from behind his back with his left hand. Inside it seemed to have an amorphous substance like glue, but only about half of it was left.

  He snorted and his expression turned cold again:

  "Because someone wants to delay time."

  He put away the crystal stone, his momentum rising steadily, and he actually had a few points of the demonic emperor's aura.

  "Although it's not fully absorbed, it's enough to kill you!"

  Rumble!

  Lightning flashed outside, and thunder rumbled.

  Although he didn't know why he could get the Demon's Relic, nor did he understand why he wanted to hastily absorb the essence, Meng Qi was not panicked at all: "Do you know why I've been listening to your nonsense for so long?"

  Before the evil lord could respond, Meng Qi laughed, revealing two rows of white teeth:

  "Because I also want to delay time!"