The Golden Scale Royal Court harbors numerous descendants of high-ranking mythical beasts, so by all rights, it should be a place brimming with life, yet the current situation has defied everyone’s expectations.

"Master, Master, why does this place feel haunted?"

Jingming looked as though he couldn’t wait to turn back.

Li Rui and the others also felt that this place was not what they had imagined.

After crossing the barrier, what appeared before them was a section of a wooden city wall, seemingly fashioned from entire tree trunks laid flat and smoothed, yet it stood several dozen meters high.

The middle of the wall opened to a city gate almost as tall as the wall itself, yet no one guarded it—only gusts of eerie wind blew through.

"The area ahead is called the Shadow Cover Wall, not for defense, but merely to delineate the Barbarian Emperor’s presence from the outside world,"

Chongxu said, "However, the city gate should by rights have a procession of auspicious beasts to display imperial majesty. I don’t know why it presents such a desolate scene."

They were in the forest in front of the Royal Court, where they could barely hide, but any further advance would easily expose them.

"We should try to find out where the Barbarian Emperor’s personal troops, the Thunder General, are stationed first," Li Rui said.

Chongxu made no comment; he had already decided to enter the city, but if Li Rui had needs, he was willing to assist first.

Guan Gui quietly activated his little ghost pathfinding ability, and both students of Shenxiao Palace wore strange expressions.

Li Rui suddenly remembered that this method of reincarnation is related to Fengdu, and hurriedly said with a dry laugh, "Daoist, he’s not from the Evil Dao; we come from outside the world and have no choice in the matter."

Chongxu nodded, "Naturally."

Since the concept of being from outside was clear, and with Li Rui vouching for him, there was no need to pursue this further.

However, this made the old Daoist think again: did Fengdu, long opposed to Shenxiao Palace, know what was happening in the world?

It wasn’t long before the pathfinding ghost returned, and Guan Gui said, "There’s a patrol of barbaric beasts over there."

Li Rui made a decision, "Capture them."

Ten minutes later.

A group of barbaric beasts lay knocked to the ground, and just as Guan Gui was about to summon an interrogation expert from the Ministry of Justice to extract necessary information, Chongxu raised a hand to stop him.

"Jingming."

The disciple, who never wanted to meddle in the Golden Scale Royal Court matters from the start, still resisted, but unable to disobey his master’s orders, he reluctantly pulled a silver talisman paper from his sleeve, approached one of the subdued barbaric beasts, and stuck it on the beast’s forehead. Almost simultaneously, he stepped back two paces, trying to keep his distance.

Once he stood in what he deemed a safe position, he formed hand seals, causing the silver talisman to flutter erratically.

The once fierce-eyed barbaric beast suddenly began to struggle, but in an instant, its eyes turned vacant.

"What questions do you have? Go on and ask quickly," the young Daoist said.

Li Rui went up directly to ask.

"Where are the Saint Emperor’s personal troops stationed?"

The barbaric beast appeared dazed but still gave an answer.

"Within the Royal Court, by the order of the Scorching Barbarian Monarch... summoned inside."

"What has happened in the Royal Court?" Li Rui asked again, "Why is there no one outside, and why is there a shroud of gloom?"

"Several great Lords are plotting, unknown to me."

"What about the Barbarian Emperor? Why is a Barbarian Monarch issuing orders?"

"Unknown."

Li Rui frowned and asked, "Who knows?"

"The Gate General might know."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"Who is the Gate General?" Cheng Mingyue asked.

Chongxu replied, "The inner city of the Royal Court has eight gates, each led by a Gate General."

"Does it mean we must enter the city first to know what’s happening inside?"

If the inner city housed many Barbarian Monarchs, entering would clearly be dangerous. Even Chongxu wouldn’t be enough, as he could only deal with the Barbarian Emperor at best, and Li Rui and others couldn’t contend against more than one Barbarian Monarch due to the power disparity.

At this moment, Jingming spoke hesitantly, "I-I can also deal with a Barbarian Monarch."

Chongxu gave him a look, "Don’t be lazy. You’re not much worse than I am."

Li Rui and others were taken aback, not expecting this timid young Daoist to possess such formidable strength.

"But even so, it’s still unstable. Daoist, perhaps you could try to make contact? You know the Barbarian Emperor, don’t you?"

Chongxu glanced at him, "Not well."

"....."

Jingming suddenly said again, "Master, I just remembered, isn’t there an Inspector General outside the city? Perhaps he also knows. After all, he is a General."

"Makes sense."

So Chongxu personally subdued the patrol of barbaric beasts with talismans, sparing their lives for now in case they didn’t find the target and needed to ask again later.

Subsequently, the group circled around the Royal Court’s perimeter and found the patrolling Rotating General.

In the barbaric beasts’ ranks, hierarchy was strict. Generals were fully armored, easy to recognize at a glance, and often exuded a much more imposing aura.

Encountering these people was just bad luck, and when similar means were employed afterward, Li Rui began questioning again.

"What has happened in the Royal Court, and how many Thunder Generals and great Lords are inside?"

The Inspector General’s resistance was stronger, but after Chongxu cast a spell, he still confessed.

"Four great Lords and three Thunder Generals are in His Majesty’s palace, to resist the Human Race’s army."

"What do you mean? How do they resist the Human Race’s army from inside the palace?"

"For power."

"Explain clearly; what exactly are they doing?"

Though the Inspector General was hesitant, he finally revealed the truth.

"Mr. Zuo came here, sealing His Majesty’s divine power along with several great Lords, imprisoning him in the palace."

"Because Liangting has already attacked, they plan to dismember His Majesty, divide and consume his power to gain strength..."

The subsequent murmuring became barely audible, but the situation had become quite clear.

Li Rui and the others had grim faces.

Zuo Qiutian had already fled to reality but had still left behind such a mess.

No wonder Liangting’s army could advance so effortlessly to a place not far from the Royal Court—the strongest entities within the Golden Scale Royal Court had not exerted any effort whatsoever.

And now, if the Barbarian Monarchs and Thunder Generals did indeed divide his power, the tide of battle could turn again, spreading devastation.

"I see now; Golden Scale Marsh has not engaged Liangting in years. This attack, in conjunction with Dangkong Mountain, likely relates to the Barbarian Emperor’s sealing,"

Chongxu said, "I’ve met him before; his dignity is profound. He’s not naturally ruthless and probably wouldn’t start a war lightly. If it’s due to imprisonment and power being seized by Barbarian Monarchs, that makes sense."

"What exactly does Zuo Qiutian want? It feels like he’s killing just to kill," Cheng Mingyue said.

"No, he surely has what he believes is a justified purpose," Li Rui, who knew his Brother Zuo well, responded. Though he was unsure of the man’s exact intentions, he knew Zuo Qiutian had a firm belief.

"Now is not the time to pursue Zuo Qiutian’s motives; we must quickly enter the Royal Court to stop them," Chongxu said sternly.

Li Rui pointed to his own face, "We?"

Despite saying this, they were still only one more in number than the Barbarian Monarchs inside, and there were various barbaric beast generals to contend with. Even with Chongxu leading, and even without confronting the Barbarian Emperor head-on, it remained highly perilous—a challenge so great even Li Rui found it daunting to succeed.