Page 259

The location for the talks was quite modest, taking place within the main hall of the Nanming Prefecture Government Office. Nanming, being the capital of Jiangnan, naturally had a sizable government office, yet for a meeting of this level, the space of the main hall still seemed a bit constrained.

However, no one present was concerned with the grandeur of the setting, for the enormous protective bubble was grandiose enough.

Moreover, the other party’s attitude was quite generous; all the personal guard troops that came with them were allowed to enter the city and were permitted to station freely. They could choose to stay at the exclusive post stations arranged for them or spend their money and enjoy the inns.

This was unexpected by the various forces present.

It seemed that Chen Qing was not at all worried about the possibility of any force’s subordinates doing anything to Nan Ming Prefecture.

After all, the guy from the West Sea had living corpses of ’super-first-rank’ under his command, and if he so wished, he could transform all the common people of Nan Ming Prefecture into living corpses within half a day!

It had to be said, Chen Qing was quite bold.

But because the other side showed such a magnanimous nature, it somehow made the group of people cautious about making any rash moves, and they all quietly gathered to drink tea in the main hall.

"Good stuff..." Elder Shen from the West Sea was the first to nod as he drank the tea, "The taste is clear and pure, the aroma rich, the flavor unique; among all the teas in the world by taste, this one is second to none, and as for the effects..."

He closed his eyes to feel the rich spiritual energy brought by the tea flowing into his stomach, took a deep breath, and said, "It’s not inferior to any secret medicine from the sorcerer families, and I can’t feel any side effects at all..."

The Princess Royale glanced at Fifth Elder Shen, who also nodded along. These living corpses, controlled by worms, could sense every condition of the body at any time, and what effect any medicine would have in the body, they were much more sensitive than normal people.

The Princess Royale nodded. She was actually not surprised by this, as the food Chen Qing had sent before all had the effect of replenishing essence and energy. Now that he had produced tea leaves that could nourish spiritual power, it wasn’t unthinkable.

"I have kept everyone waiting for a long time." Chen Qing strode into the main hall, waved his hand, and closed the door directly. A bubble of light shone down from the sky, completely illuminating the annex hall.

Everyone became alert, yet their expressions did not change in the slightest.

"Lord Chen, this tea is not bad, can I take some with me when I go?" the Princess Royale said with a smile.

"Since Auntie has said so, how could your son-in-law disobey? Afterward, I will have my men prepare a shipload for Your Highness to take away."

A shipload.....

The people present looked at the clear tea in their hands. This supreme quality tea that could also replenish spiritual energy, anyone would think this was like the Capital City’s Da Hong Pao, only a few kilograms produced a year, but here someone was offering a whole ship’s load.

Minister Pang from the Imperial Court was not too surprised, as nowadays many merchants from Jiangnan had come to Capital City to make money.

Several types of tea were now bought by the sorcerer families at high prices, and the secret of the tea leaves from Chen Qing’s place was also something he had to investigate on this trip.

"Let’s talk about official matters first," Minister Pang put down his teacup, "Lord Chen, you invited us here to discuss the Ancient Dragon Palace, what’s the procedure, or shall we speak directly? After all, everyone present has been patient because of this, isn’t it?"

Everyone also put down their tea cups and looked towards Chen Qing.

Chen Qing’s invitation to all of them was not only a display of formidable strength, but more importantly, the allure of the Dragon Palace. Otherwise, at least Elder Shen from the West Sea and the Princess Royale would not have taken the bait.

"Let’s then talk about official matters," Chen Qing put down his teacup, "The Dragon Palace will open in one month’s time!!"

Everyone: "!!"

"Are you certain, Lord Chen?" Minister Pang frowned. "Where did you get this information?"

"I am sorry, I cannot disclose the source of the information. However, as to its reliability, you may inquire from the senior from the West Sea..." Chen Qing said with a smile.

Everyone looked at the scholar who was still enjoying his tea, apparently reluctant to put his cup down. Noticing everyone looking at him, he frowned slightly and then slowly put down his teacup, speaking in a gentle tone, "Well... it’s more or less accurate."

"How did you determine that?" Minister Pang looked at him, his demeanor slightly aggressive.

The atmosphere became slightly tense, but Elder Shen seemed unaffected and continued in his gentle tone, "Guarding the gate of the Dragon Palace is Nine Heavens Mirror Valley, and this array was originally used to seal the Dragon Palace. When the ancient worms invaded, the guardians took advantage of this array’s sealing properties and sealed the worms in reverse, an act which also caused the seal to loosen.

Now, the structure of the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley has problems and can no longer continuously use the energy of the Dragon Palace itself to replenish the array like before.

So... you can see, the fog here is gradually thinning out. "

"I see..." the Duke of Wei stroked his chin, "So you mean that when the fog over Jiangnan and the West Sea completely disperses, that will be the time the Dragon Palace opens, right?"

"Perhaps..." said the scholar, lifting his head to look at him, "After all, the ancient worm only reached just before the opening of the Dragon Palace; as to whether it will actually open, it did not see back then, and naturally, we wouldn’t know either."

All eyes turned to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing smiled and said, "It will open, in one month, the Nine Heavens Mirror will become completely ineffective, and the Ancient Dragon Palace that it suppresses will be completely opened!"

"So certain of this, are you a descendant of that group of guardians?" Princess Royale asked coldly.

I am their ancestor...

Chen Qing inwardly rolled his eyes, but outwardly continued with a gentle smile, "As I said earlier, I cannot reveal the source of the information.

Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you.

If you believe and are willing to cooperate, then stay, and we can discuss together how to conquer the Dragon Palace. "

Conquer?

That’s an interesting term...

Princess Royale smiled slightly, finding the term understandable but also realizing that the person before her was definitely not the King of Qin!

There had been a voice in the Capital City before, Chen Qing... perhaps was the reincarnation of the King of Qin.

But now it was clear that he was not, because she had stood by the King of Qin’s side and witnessed how he spared no expense to suppress the ancient one.

To all those who sought legacies from ancient times, even if they were loyal offspring of his own, he showed no mercy!

And the fellow before her, obviously, like her own brother, harbored ambitious designs!

"But we know nothing, isn’t it a loss for us to cooperate with you?" Minister Pang looked at Chen Qing and said, "Your position is the closest, beyond the reach of the Imperial Court, and unless you share some information, how can we believe you truly wish to cooperate?"

"That’s true..." the Duke of Wei also smiled and said, "My trip here wasn’t easy... The key point is, I had never heard of this Dragon Palace before. I don’t know what benefits are inside, and I’m taking risks to come here, I must know what I’m after, right?"

"The elders are correct..." Chen Qing nodded, waved his hand, and suddenly countless bubbles surged into the government hall, forming a massive square bubble in the air, on which a vast underwater scenery appeared.

"What is this?"

"The West Sea Spring Eye..." Chen Qing said, "This is the spring eye of the Dragon Palace in the West Sea, the only two remaining spring eye locations among the four seas. With this spring eye intact, the ocean... will never run dry."

Everyone stared intently at the water, indeed seeing a transparent spring mouth through which a continuous flow of water was drifting out, leaving everyone in astonishment.

"This spring eye has been providing water to the ocean all this time?" Princess Royale asked with a frown. "But that shouldn’t be. With such a massive supply of water over tens of thousands of years, why hasn’t the ocean flooded the world of men?"

"Hm?" Duke of Wei was taken aback: "Isn’t it obvious? It evaporated."

"Evaporated?" Princess Royale scoffed, "Evaporated water turns into rain, doesn’t it? The total amount of water has to remain consistent for the world as we know it to exist, otherwise it would be imbalanced!"

"Auntie is indeed knowledgeable." Chen Qing truly admired her. She was an ancient, yet she could deduce such things, which was quite remarkable.

"However, it’s not as you think." Chen Qing looked up at the sky, "In the high beyond.

.. there are terrifying things, consuming the water vapor from this world every day.

What maintains the constant water vapor in the world is this Dragon Palace Spring Eye.

Your Highness is only half right; water does evaporate and form clouds which fall again as rain, provided there are no monsters in the sky. .."

Princess Royale: "....."

She remembered that the King of Qin once said that beyond the heavens... there were terrifying things, much more dreadful than the demons of this world, which is why the statues of Otherworldly Demons must never be activated!

"We don’t understand this..." Duke of Wei waved his hand dismissively: "I just want to know, what’s the benefit inside the Dragon Palace?"

"Of course, there are many benefits..." Chen Qing smiled and said, "Many things I possess come from the Dragon Palace, though they are nothing but trifles from its legacy. As for the real treasures, I’ll mention just two.

.." Chen Qing held up two fingers, "First, the Dragon Palace has a rebirth medicine that can bring back the dead.

Second, the Dragon Palace possesses the Dragon Transformation Art, which can turn all creatures in the world into dragons, granting them eternal life! "

Everyone: "!!!"