Chapter 2402 - 2092: What?! The Tianxuan Palace People Are Gone?
After the Tianxuan Palace’s dispersal plan was set, it was immediately put into action.
The disciples of the Tianxuan Palace descended the mountain, leaving the place where they had lived for many years.
Once most of the Earth Realm disciples had left, the senior members of Tianxuan Palace gradually departed, and soon the entire palace was left with only an empty mountain gate.
Seeing that the elders and disciples of Tianxuan Palace had mostly left, Chu Qingli brought two Earth Realm elders to Guangling City.
To avoid detection by the Great Zhou Dynasty, Chu Qingli disguised herself as a commoner and blended into a merchant caravan headed for Guangling City.
Chen Min and Pei Shuhua had no idea that Chu Qingli had already learned of their plan and managed to disperse the large Tianxuan Palace in such a short time, with even Chu Qingli herself quietly heading to Guangling City.
After gathering fourteen Earth Realm strong persons, the Great Zhou Dynasty, led by Chen Min, went to Tianxuan Palace to eliminate it.
However, when they arrived at Tianxuan Palace, they only found an empty mountain gate.
Seeing the Tianxuan Palace’s territory devoid of any disciples, Chen Min’s expression instantly turned cold.
They had been very cautious, how could there have been any leaks?
Chen Min immediately went to Qinyang City, not far from Tianxuan Palace, to gather information about the palace, while she herself sought out the Qinyang County Magistrate.
Li Mansion.
Li Fu looked at the group of Earth Realm spirit warriors before him, trembling all over.
With a murderous look, Chen Min stared at Li Fu and asked, "Where did those people from Tianxuan Palace go?"
Li Fu trembled and answered, "My lady, I really don’t know."
Chen Min continued, "Tianxuan Palace is so close to Qinyang County, how could you know nothing?"
"Didn’t you notice at all when so many people left Tianxuan Palace? As the magistrate of Qinyang County, you didn’t detect a thing?"
Li Fu immediately knelt and said, "If I had known anything unusual about Tianxuan Palace, I would have definitely reported it to the Imperial Court. I truly don’t know when those people left."
Seeing Li Fu’s frightened demeanor, Chen Min realized he was probably telling the truth.
However, given that Li Fu, as County Magistrate of Qinyang, was unaware of Tianxuan Palace’s departure, Chen Min was displeased.
As a disciple of the Holy Land, Chen Min never considered the natives of the Border Wilderness as humans.
Li Fu had ruined her plans, filling her with anger; she immediately drew her longsword and beheaded Li Fu.
Still not satisfied, Chen Min then ordered the soldiers behind her, "Kill them all, leave no one alive!"
The next moment, heartrending screams echoed throughout the Li Mansion, and chaos ensued.
Chen Min quickly calmed down, contemplating where the people of Tianxuan Palace could have gone.
Chen Min soon realized that the Zhen Nan Prince Manor was most likely capable of opposing the Great Zhou Dynasty, especially since the Palace Master had recently visited the manor; Tianxuan Palace might have started its preparations to leave Qinyang County then.
As for where Tianxuan Palace could have moved, Guangling County was the most likely place.
However, with so many people, their departure to Guangling County would surely attract the attention of those spies she had placed.
Why, until now, haven’t those spies reported or anyone discovered the Tianxuan Palace’s group?
Where on earth did Tianxuan Palace disappear to?
If they could vanish without a trace, it meant Tianxuan Palace had detected the movements of the Great Zhou Dynasty and had left quietly in advance.
For such a large power as Tianxuan Palace, a move would certainly cause a stir; such silence was unlikely since even the nearby county folks were unaware.
Chen Min immediately ordered her subordinates to search for traces of Tianxuan Palace, while she returned to the Capital City.
Capital city, Imperial Palace.
Empress Dowager’s sleeping quarters.
"What? The people of Tianxuan Palace disappeared?"
"How is this possible? Tianxuan Palace has at least a thousand people, how could they vanish into thin air?"
Upon hearing Chen Min’s report, Pei Shuhua was incredulous.
Chen Min said, "I’m surprised myself."
"But now the Tianxuan Palace is indeed empty, I’ve sent people to search, I don’t believe we won’t find any of the numerous Tianxuan Palace disciples."
"Even if they left Tianxuan Palace, they’re likely still within Dazhou."
Pei Shuhua walked to the window, pondering as she said, "Could it be that Tianxuan Palace sensed our actions in advance, and so hid themselves?"
Chen Min replied, "Most likely someone tipped them off."
Pei Shuhua sighed lightly, "It figures, if you can gather intelligence on Tianxuan Palace, they must have planted spies in the capital, probably watching every move we make."
Saying so, Pei Shuhua’s jade hand gently tapped on the window sill.
They once planned to eliminate a potential threat, but instead, they forced Tianxuan Palace into hiding. An enemy in the shadows is harder to guard against than one in the open; no one knows what Tianxuan Palace might do from the dark.
Fortunately, their Qionghua Holy Land securely governs the Great Zhou Dynasty; as long as Tianxuan Palace hasn’t left Dazhou, they can rely on the dynasty’s power to uncover the hidden Tianxuan Palace.
At this moment, Pei Shuhua suddenly thought of something and said, "Is it possible that Tianxuan Palace moved to Guangling County?"
Chen Min said, "I also suspect they went to Guangling County, but our people haven’t seen them, maybe they’re disguised as merchants. I’ve sent people to investigate in Guangling County."
"If Tianxuan Palace’s people appear in Guangling County, the spies would report immediately."
Pei Shuhua frowned deeply.
She now somewhat regretted not dealing harshly with the Zhen Nan Prince Manor initially; they procrastinated, resulting in the manor becoming so powerful.
If she had known that the Zhen Nan Prince Manor could one day rival the Great Zhou Dynasty, she would have had Lu Chen, the manor’s sole heir, eliminated.
However, there was no point worrying now; the priority was to find out where Tianxuan Palace had gone, since they couldn’t touch the Zhen Nan Prince Manor for now, at least until the Border Wilderness restriction was lifted.
Another major issue was that, according to intelligence from Qionghua Holy Land, there might have been an appearance of a Heavenly Realm Spirit Warrior in Cloud Cliff City, possibly from the Zhen Nan Prince Manor.
This information hasn’t been confirmed, but based on Tianxuan Palace’s actions, the manor likely has a Heavenly Realm presence.
The current trouble is that if Tianxuan Palace encourages this Heavenly Realm to attack Qionghua Holy Land, they probably couldn’t withstand it.
Pei Shuhua worried that the Heavenly Realm might suddenly storm the Imperial Palace and kill her with one blow.
The biggest threat is this Heavenly Realm, and they have no means of counteraction.
With that in mind, Pei Shuhua asked, "Haven’t you sent people to Guangling County to learn about this Heavenly Realm? Did you gather any clues?"
Chen Min said, "No, just some rumors."
"It’s said that one night, the entire sky over Guangling County was shrouded in a spiritual evil, possibly the work of a Heavenly Realm."
Pei Shuhua thought for a moment; she knew about this event.
Shortly after, the Pei Family captured some remnants of the Yellow Springs Sect and learned about the incident in Guangling City from them.