NOVPUBAs Shen Yuan followed Ji Zhaoyang into the Prince’s Mansion, he immediately felt the prying eyes from the outside world disappear.
Surveying the surroundings, although the mansion was located in the same position as the Xue Family residence, this Prince’s Mansion from ten thousand years ago was far superior to the later Earl’s residence of the Xue Family.
Within the mansion, space was forcibly expanded by formations, enlarging the original space by dozens of times. Looking around, one could only see immortal mountains and spiritual springs, with exotic and rare beasts weaving through pavilions and towers, presenting a scene straight out of a fairyland.
Passing by a pond, Shen Yuan even saw several beautiful-looking Merfolk swimming among the swirling mists. The carps in the pond had dragon whiskers and golden scales, all possessing the dragon bloodline of a True Dragon. In later times, any one of them would have been sufficient to become a Great Demon.
"These several Merfolk are born different, their tears known as luminous spiritual pearls. They were a tribute to my father from the East Sea Dragon King during the great court meeting and were later bestowed upon me by my father.
As for these Dragon Carps, they were born in the Dragon Gate region and naturally bear the True Dragon’s bloodline. However, without trials to refine them, their potential is exhausted, and they cannot transform into True Dragons, only serving as food, which was left by the Dragon Offspring of the Yellow River Dragon Palace when he visited.
The Yellow River Dragon Carps are incomparably delicious; Fellow Taoist Shen must try them later,"
Ji Zhaoyang spoke lightly, saying that the Yellow River Dragon Carp was just a food ingredient, but this was only relative to the Great Yin Imperial Family.
If anyone dared to eat Yellow River Dragon Carps in the 36 Territories outside of Jiu Province, they would inevitably suffer retaliation from the entire Yellow River Dragon Palace. Even the Void Refining True Monarch might not be able to withstand it.
Yet here, in the Great Yin Imperial Family residence, the First of the Four Waterways, the offspring of the Yellow River Dragon Palace, even took the initiative to offer Dragon Carp, making Shen Yuan somewhat emotional about the strength of Great Yin from ten thousand years past.
If such an event of eating Dragon Carps occurred within the Great Xia Imperial Family in later times, a True Dragon from the Yellow River Dragon Palace would undoubtedly come knocking the very next day.
Under Ji Zhaoyang’s lead, Shen Yuan and Ji Zhaoyang entered the mansion’s inner courtyard.
In this courtyard, flowers bloomed like a brocade, and fallen petals scattered in profusion. In the center, there was a jade table with two seats reserved.
Xu Guan and the surrounding attendants had already voluntarily stepped back, leaving only two beautifully dressed maidservant puppets to serve at their side. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
Shen Yuan glanced at the maidservant beside him and noticed that this seemingly ordinary maidservant was actually a soulless mechanical puppet. In the inner courtyard, the only real beings left were Shen Yuan and Ji Zhaoyang.
"Please sit!"
Ji Zhaoyang gestured with his right hand, then took a seat at the table.
Shen Yuan, looking calm, took his seat. Two puppet maidservants presented fruit platters and brewed Spiritual Wine, creating an atmosphere of casual elegance within this beautifully landscaped courtyard.
However, Shen Yuan was not in the mood to appreciate such beauty and asked directly,
"I am indeed curious about the real reason the Third Imperial Prince invited me to the Imperial Capital."
Ji Zhaoyang said with a faint smile, "It is naturally to repay Fellow Taoist Shen for the bestowed Primal Chaos Nifty Pagoda blessing..."
This reason wasn’t finished when Shen Yuan interrupted it outright.
"Your Highness, this excuse might deceive others, but there is no need for it with me.
There’s no one in this realm who understands the Primal Chaos Nifty Pagoda better than I do. I’m entirely aware of what the Seal of Blessing does, and it isn’t significant enough for the Third Imperial Prince to hold it in such high regard, let alone offer the quota for the All-Worlds Luotian Convention because of it."
Ji Zhaoyang’s smile receded somewhat, and he looked at Shen Yuan with a serious gaze. The air around him subtly swirled with humanity fate, revealing the formidable Status Grid of the Great Yin Prince.
An invisible oppressive force emanated from Ji Zhaoyang, not from his cultivation base or the True Spirit level, but rather from the Human Path suppression of the world itself.
Shen Yuan remained unfazed, completely ignoring Ji Zhaoyang’s actions.
In this Primal Chaos Realm of ten thousand years past, even a Void Refining True Monarch would be at a disadvantage when facing Human Path suppression, provided they were beings of the Primal Chaos Realm.
This was a result of the synergy between the prosperity of the Imperial Family and the Human Path, which no being could escape.
Yet, such power held no sway over Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan was neither a citizen of Great Yin nor belonged to this timeline. Having already foreseen the decline of the Human Path in the future, how could he be easily suppressed by its might?
Moreover, Shen Yuan held the grand influence of the Human Path, easily ignoring such minor manipulation of humanity fate.
Within Shen Yuan, Ji Zhaoyang’s actions seemed to provoke the grand influences of the Human Path residing within him. This power, rooted in the Mortal Path Origin, operated instinctively, and his Mortal Path Manifestation seemed ready to emerge at any moment, potentially taking over the will that controlled the Imperial Capital.
If Shen Yuan had not strenuously suppressed it, the reprisal from his Mortal Path Manifestation alone would have been enough to crush Ji Zhaoyang.
A flicker of admiration appeared in Ji Zhaoyang’s eyes, as he was better aware than anyone else how terrifying the Human Path pressure from the Great Yin Imperial Family was.
Shen Yuan’s ability to easily overlook it was testament to his profound foundation.
Withdrawing the released Human Path pressure, Ji Zhaoyang shook his head slightly and said,
"In fact, I was presumptuous not to ask for Fellow Taoist Shen’s opinion on this matter.
However, this matter is of great importance, and I was compelled to resort to this strategy."
His expression gradually turned grave as Ji Zhaoyang spoke earnestly,
"The reason I have invited Fellow Taoist Shen to participate in the All-Worlds Luotian Convention is not to compete for any opportunity, but simply for self-preservation."
"Self-preservation?"
"Exactly!" Ji Zhaoyang finished his Spiritual Wine in one gulp, his face showing a bitter smile.
"Although I failed in the Primal Chaos Nifty Pagoda trial, and lost the memories from the trial process, after returning to the Imperial Capital, I found that I seemed to have grown closer to the Primal Chaos Realm’s Human Path.
