Chapter 9: The Golden Carp is Not a Creature of the Pond

Upon raising his head again, he saw the Seventh Prince, whom he regarded as a good-for-nothing, gazing down at him.

Eunuch Mei: "The Ghost Tribe has summoned three thousand Frost Giants to launch a surprise attack on a snowy night, which is how the Crown Prince met his demise"

Eunuch Mei had no reservations, as the Emperor had already taken important royal relatives away from the imperial capital. These royals included the Empress, Consort Wan, the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, and various princesses, among others. They should have already met up with the fifty thousand troops outside the city and headed south directly. Therefore, he stated plainly: "The Crown Prince has died in battle."

The eunuch was left dumbfounded, unable to react for a moment.

Xia Ji slightly tilted her head

Xia Ji asked again: "What about the Crown Prince?"

If there are no unforeseen circumstances, the prince will scream in the next moment

Xia Ji smiled and asked: "What situation?"

Because he only feels that his spiritual world has undergone a qualitative change, reaching a new level, a realm that has not been attained by the previously separate "Tathāgata Zen," "Randal Zen," and "Maitreya Zen"

The sound of hooves from the front lines surged into the imperial capital, and urgent battle reports covering a distance of three thousand miles also arrived at the palace overnight

But Master Mei did not hear any screams of agony

A series of explosions

Xia Ji asked again: "What about the Crown Prince's elite troops of 100,000?"

His claw, which harbors the chilling true energy, has already grasped the shoulder bone of the Seventh Prince

The circumstances are all a matter of fate

Xia Ji was unaware of what the red skill orb represented, but it was certainly not weak

However, Eunuch Mei is still quite strange. He has been in the company of this seventh prince for two years, who is nothing more than a spineless person, submissive and reciting scriptures. But today... this prince seems a bit unusual

Xia Ji smiled and said, "How simple is it?"

The entire palace is unusually noisy, with frequent movements of the guards and the incessant sound of items being moved.

Master Mei would not utter such shameless words as "you are just a scapegoat". After all, he is a person of the palace, and one must still pay attention to face and reputation when speaking. He merely wore a mocking expression and said no more, raising his hand to directly seize the prince, not allowing this prince to think he truly was some great general commanding the armies of the world.

The powerful Jiuyang True Qi dissolved the icy energy, shooting into the meridians of Grandfather Mei, and then directly burst his meridians, as well as the blood vessels and bones in his palm

In the afternoon, one bronze chariot after another hurriedly exited the imperial palace

The golden skill orb "Future Maitreya Zen" indeed reacted with the other two orbs, "Past Lamp Zen" and "Present Tathagata Zen," merging into a single entity and transforming into a red skill orb—Three-World Buddha Zen

After Xia Ji obtained these powers, it was his first time engaging in combat with another person. He assessed the strength of this master from the imperial court in his heart, and then suddenly, a blazing sun appeared on his shoulder, with scorching true energy surging forth along the five fingers gripping his shoulder bone.

One could see that the five fingers of Lord Mei suddenly swelled several times, as if the water flow in a thin pipe had surged dramatically.

But for everyone, this was just an ordinary winter night, as they were unaware of this battle report

Suddenly, a line of poetry burst into his mind: "The golden unicorn is not merely a creature of the pond; when it encounters the wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon"

Bang bang bang bang bang

After Master Mei finished reading, he expected to see the ecstatic expression of the prince, but he saw nothing at all

Eunuch Mei chuckled and said, "I believe the Seventh Prince still has not recognized the situation clearly."

Lord Mei felt a heart-wrenching pain spreading throughout his body, and upon looking at his right hand, he found it utterly mangled and shattered.

Xia Ji asked again: "Where are my authority seal and tiger talisman?"

He screamed in agony, his eyes wide open, feeling an unimaginable shock as the intense pain in his body mixed with the tremors in his heart, causing him to forget what he was doing. He instinctively knelt down on the ground.

And this Zen has directly reached the ninth level

He subconsciously let out a sneer: "Our family has accompanied you for two years, yet we did not know you were so tough."

Hahaha ... ...

Xia Ji threw his head back and laughed a few times

Last night he finished reading the "Future Maitreya Sutra" and early this morning he gave the scripture to Xiao Su, who then went back to the mountains

The prince's face had become utterly unfamiliar, and the gentleness that once resided in his pupils had completely vanished. With his left and right hands outstretched, he displayed nine blazing suns aligned in a row, casting a radiant light that exerted immense pressure, leaving Eunuch Mei gasping for breath as if he were drowning.

Thinking of Xia Xiaosu, he continued to ask: "What about the Ninth Princess?"

The door was pushed open

Da da da ... ...

Eunuch Mei chuckled and said: "The Grand Controller believes that the Seventh Prince does not need these matters, so he has entrusted them to him. As the prince guards the national gate, our Great Shang will not lose face, and what the Seventh Prince needs to do is very simple"

Xia Jidao: "Then take me to see the Chief Steward."

He stood in this world the size of a "palm", surrounded by three enormous manifestations of the Buddha. The statues stood in a dignified manner, all bowing their heads in reverence towards him, appearing in an instant, yet vanishing back into nothingness just as quickly.

It seems that his fate is not ordinary after all

However, there were no unexpected events

The next day

Master Mei said: "It is sufficient to stand on the city wall and boost morale."

An indescribable oddity

Xia Ji asked, "Where is the Son of Heaven?"

He cast a strange glance at the prince in the courtyard; the prince seemed somewhat unusual today, but he did not pay much attention to it and simply emphasized once more: "Receive the decree!"

As Xia Ji walked into the courtyard of the Sutra Repository and looked up, he observed that in the deep winter of December, the winds and clouds were in constant flux, and the circumstances were all dictated by fate

Xia Ji turned around, neither bowing nor kneeling, calmly looking at him, and softly said: "Xuan."

The Emperor naturally does not reside in a perilous city

This claw stirs up waves of cold air, revealing a ghostly blue hue between the bones, infused with a sinister inner strength

Eunuch Mei burst in holding a scroll of imperial edict and sharply announced: "Seventh Prince Xia Ji, receive the edict"

Once struck by this claw, the insidious internal energy will invade the body, rendering one unable to seek life or death. At that time, will the Seventh Prince not obediently comply?

Master Mei: "To be frank with you, the Grand Steward is currently waiting for the Ninth Princess. As soon as she returns, she will be escorted south to catch up with the main army, after all, the Ninth Princess is engaged to the Turkic alliance."

With this grasp, the cold and sinister energy directly found its outlet and surged wildly into the youth's body

... ...

The Grand Eunuch Mei, seeing his attitude, let out a sarcastic hum, said nothing more, and directly opened the imperial edict to read: "By the grace of heaven and the mandate of the Emperor, it is hereby decreed that, as the Ghost Tribe invades our Central Plains, the Seventh Prince Xia Ji is specially appointed as the Grand Marshal of the Imperial Army, to guard the Imperial City and resist the foreign tribes. Thus it is decreed."

His spiritual world is akin to that of a Buddha walking among men, which is not an exaggeration

Moreover, when he sees Xia Xiaosu again, he can also use this opportunity to tease her, saying, "Look, you said the Crown Prince would lead an army of 100,000 to confront the Ghost Tribe, clad in golden armor, exuding unmatched majesty, and that all the ministers in the court were optimistic, believing this was a chance to achieve immortal merit. And what happened? You still claim you are not a jinx?"

Xia Ji asked: "How did he die?"

Eunuch Mei has also made up his mind; he is not afraid that the Seventh Prince will understand that his situation is that of a scapegoat, and he directly stated: "They are all dead"

He spread his five fingers, and the palm of his hand fell into a newly fallen snowflake, yet the snowflake did not melt at all. With a casual wave of his hand, the snow drifted away again