Xianxia Pass is the most important pass connecting the Eastern Continent and the Northern Continent.

Two hundred and ninety years ago, Mu Chen, the prince of Chaoyan, led his troops here to meet the 100,000 army of Lieyang, and took the life of Jiuyu, the king of Lieyang, with a fire lotus. Since then, Lieyang withdrew his troops to the north and collapsed.

To this day, people in the towns near the border between Chaoyan and Lieyang still talk about this fierce battle. Prince Chaoyan's white clothes fluttering, and the proud Danfeng Fire Lotus have become the most legendary story in the teahouse storyteller.

Qing Ling sat in the largest teahouse in Guanwu Town, with his elbows propped on the table, his chin in his palm, and he listened seriously to the storyteller's spit after finishing the battle of Xianxia, and smiled at Mu Chen beside him, "Is what he said true?" You burned thirty percent of Lieyang's soldiers and horses with a wave of your hand? ”

She has slightly transformed her facial features, and sitting in the teahouse, she is not very noticeable.

Mu Chen also turned into an ordinary scholar in white, who was lightly raising his wrist to add tea to Qingling, and smiled when he heard this, and said, "How can the rumors in the market be true? If I really have that ability, why do I have to stay in Xianxia Pass for more than a month? ”

"And how did you do it?" Qing Ling asked.

"It took me more than a month to gather the power of hundreds of fire spirit masters to design a formation. Although there are also generals under Jiu Yu's command who are proficient in formations, they didn't expect that I would use myself as an eye for the formation. ”

Qing Ling was stunned: "What? Do you use yourself as an eye? ”

Mu Chen nodded, "The folk customs of the Northern Continent are different from those of the Eastern Continent, for tens of thousands of years, different races can freely intermarry, because of this, even though the natural environment is very harsh, the population growth has gradually surpassed that of the Eastern Continent. If it was only a competition of manpower and soldiers and horses, Chaoyan would not be Lieyang's opponent. Jiu Yu's subordinates did not have a master of the Protoss with strong spiritual power like us, but he could also guess that in this case, we would defend by arranging a formation. So if you want to win them, you can only rely on surprise. ”

When Qing Ling was learning the art of arranging the formation with his master, he had heard that it was an extremely dangerous thing to use his flesh and blood as the eyes of the formation, if it wasn't for the very strong divine power, he would probably lose his life when he activated the formation.

She couldn't help but stretch out her hand and cover the back of Mu Chen's hand, "There must be something else to do by surprise!" Why would you risk your life? ”

Mu Chen pulled the corners of his mouth and held Qing Ling's hand in the palm of his hand with his backhand, "Since I did that, I am completely sure." Besides, why should you worry about the past? ”

They have been on the border for months.

Mu Chen has been cultivating for several months, and he has refined nearly half of the divine power of the Red Soul Bead, and his own divine power has basically recovered as before. Now, in addition to being diligent in cultivation, he often locked himself in his room with his subordinates, discussing and discussing all day long. Occasionally, she would hear them mention words like "strategy", "trap", "risk", and many other names she didn't recognize. Sometimes, Xun will take advantage of the night to quietly leave Guanwu Town with his subordinates, and he doesn't know where he is going, and he will be gone for a few days.

Qing Ling once asked Mu Chen about his plans, and Mu Chen replied in a slightly general way -

"You guessed right, I do intend to use this opportunity to seek a place for myself to return to the royal family. I won't put Chaoyan in danger, but I also need to wait for the moment. ”

"That'...... What are you going to do if what you are trying to do fails? Qing Ling asked.

"What's the defeat?"

"Let's say...... The armies of Lieyang and Jiuqiu attacked Chaoyan. ”

Mu Chen's face was indifferent, "This is indeed the most chaotic situation, but it is not the worst outcome for me. The troubled times are the most abundant opportunities and heroes, and I think I will take the opportunity to gather strength and revive Xutu. ”

"That'...... What if you helped Chaoyan defend Xianxia Pass, but Emperor Hao still wanted to kill you? ”

Mu Chen was silent, but he didn't avoid Qing Ling's gaze, "As an emperor, there will be a lot of last resort. He has a last resort to kill me, and he has a last resort to keep me. ”

Mu Chen's answer was really too difficult for Qing Ling to understand at this time. She has lived in Chongwu for more than 300 years, and everyone around her is simple-minded, whether it is Li Zhong, who loves to speak sarcastically, Ling Feng, who likes to reprimand harshly, senior brother, second senior brother, and fourth senior brother, all of them speak directly and clearly, the reasons are simple, and there is nothing difficult to understand.

And the treacherous battle between dynasties is a drama she has never seen or heard, esoteric and complex, she can't see the routine, and she can't guess the ending.

She only knew that no matter what Mu Chen planned to do, she would stay by his side......

In the teahouse, the discussion of several people next to him gradually became louder.

"Wouldn't it? Emperor Hao really intends to hold Chongwu Holy Monarch accountable? This is unprecedented! ”

Another said, "Isn't it? Speaking of which, although this Red Soul Bead was stolen from Mo Qian's hands, it is Chongwu's own treasure after all, what is the matter with Emperor Guan Hao? ”

Guanwu Town is only separated by a mountain from Lieyang, and there are often traders passing between the two countries in the town, so everyone talks about the Chaoyan royal family in the teahouse restaurant, and they are not as cautious as the Central Plains people.

An elderly tea guest took over and said, "In the past few hundred years, Chaoyan's ambition to unify the Eastern Continent has also been obvious. In the past, those small countries were just fine, but now even Yuzhong and Yanye, which were once rich and powerful, have been suppressed into vassal states that are like fiefdoms. In my opinion, during the reign of Emperor Hao of this generation, Chaoyan will sooner or later destroy Jiuqiu, annex Yuzhong and Yanye, and unify the Eastern Continent! ”

The listener next to him was quite puzzled, "My brother's words make sense." But what does this have to do with Emperor Hao's accountability to the Holy Monarch? ”

"Why is it okay?"

The old brother took a piece of snack and put it to the corner of his mouth and chewed, "What does Chongwu mean in Donglu?" That's a place that young people in the world yearn for! Even a character like us, when it comes to the name of the Holy Monarch of Moqian, which one of them doesn't have a little admiration in his heart? Emperor Hao wants to be the overlord of the world, where can he tolerate heroes who are more popular than himself? ”

Someone nodded in agreement, "I think that's a good thing to say!" At the beginning, Emperor Hao had to torture the eldest prince, but it was also out of this psychology that he was afraid of his son's prestige and covered his limelight. ”

"That's right. Besides, there are many secret treasures hidden in Chongwu Mountain, who can not be blushing? It is also possible to take the opportunity to occupy Chongwu and take things for himself! ”

Someone else said, "Ahem, you also say that the king of a country is too stingy, right?" He has sat on the throne of the emperor, and he still cares about what other people do? And the eldest prince was punished because he rebelled against the usurper and suffered on his own. ”

"You kid don't understand this, do you? The higher the position, the more worried about falling! Look at the big rich people in the town, all of them have built their courtyard walls high, lest thieves take advantage of them. On the contrary, a house like me is empty, and I don't even bother to shut the door. If I had been a thief, the thief might have sympathized with me! ”

Everyone laughed when they heard this, and then they began to talk about some news in the town, and gradually changed the subject.

Qing Ling, who was sitting next to him, had a solemn face.

She didn't ask Mu Chen about the process of being deposed by Emperor Hao, but she heard a lot from others in a scattered way, and she probably understood the whole story.

The eldest prince, who was talented when he was young, is the son of the prince of Fanye, who is known for his bloodline, identity, talent, beauty and beauty, before Mu Han was born, he has always been the best choice for the prince in the hearts of the courtiers. In court politics, he is benevolent, righteous, wise, and relaxed, and on the battlefield, he is also brave and calm, witty and resourceful.

Emperor Hao naturally attached great importance to such a son, and repeatedly entrusted him with important tasks. The relationship between father and son, although it does not have the intimacy in ordinary people's homes, can be regarded as filial piety.

After Queen Fangshan gave birth to a pair of twin sons, the situation in the court gradually changed. Fang Shan's wealth in Lingxiao City was prominent, and he made friends with courtiers and raised people abroad, and through the relationship between the queen, he grasped the emperor's mind very accurately, and was good at picketing remarks contrary to him. At first, the courtiers who supported Mu Chen were participated in one after another, and later, Mu Chen's own words and deeds also became the target of impeachment.

Emperor Hao was ambitious, on the surface of virtue to the princes, the order of the world, but in fact, Taoguang and obscurity, looking forward to the day to destroy the southern countries and unify the Eastern Continent. The queen grasped this mentality, but Fan Muchen and his close ministers showed a little softness, so they secretly sent their henchmen to participate in the performance, saying, "The prince's biological mother was born in Fanye, and I am afraid that he will take care of his mother's family after all, and he will not put the interests of Chaoyan first in everything." ”

Mu Chen has studied a lot of Lieyang Kingdom, and once said that Lieyang abandons the distinction of races and clans, and allows free intermarriage, so the population is prosperous, the national strength is increasing, and young people are not restricted by origin, they can join the army, display their ambitions, and contribute to the country, which is a good policy. So some people immediately made a big fuss about this, saying that the eldest prince had the intention to change the class pattern of the Eastern Continent, suppress the wealthy families of the world, and support the commoners, once he ascended the throne, he would definitely weaken the rights and interests of the family!

For more than two hundred years, the continuous criticism, impeachment, and slander have accumulated little by little to reveal the "truth", which not only caused Mu Chen to have an estrangement from Emperor Hao, but also lost the support of some of the families that originally supported him. More than half of the official positions in the DPRK and China were also taken up by the cronies of the Fang Shan clan. So when Mo Nan'an Mountain took out the letter that colluded with the generals of the clan and wanted to transfer troops to Beijing to seize the throne, no one could stand up and say a word for him.

Although the Fang Shan clan played the most vicious role in this, the attitude of Emperor Hao himself was the key. If it is said that the master abandoned her in Gan Yuan that day and let Mu Han be poisoned, which was the result of his own willful and reckless blame, then Emperor Hao did not distinguish between right and wrong, listened to slander, and personally ordered the execution of his son, which made people feel even more chilling.

Qing Ling is really full of resentment towards this emperor he has never met.

At this moment, listening to the tea guests say that he is so insidious, the anxiety in his eyes cannot be hidden, "Are they telling the truth?" Will Emperor Hao really find an excuse to punish my master? ”

Mu Chen comforted her and said: "For an emperor, the most taboo is not the person who has the ability and ability, but the person who has the ability but is not loyal enough to himself. Your master is indifferent to fame and fortune, although he has never deliberately stammered with the Chaoyan royal family, but the due courtesy and respect have always been there, even if his father wants to give him a dismount, he will not really punish him. ”

Xun has been arranging for people to keep an eye on Chongwu's movements, and although the ban has not yet been lifted, he has never heard of any punishment that Emperor Hao has inflicted on Chongwu.

Qingling was full of worries and was silent.

Emperor Hao was ruthless to his own son, he must be a ruthless person, maybe even more terrifying than that Luo Heng in Jiuqiu!

She looked at Mu Chen with earnest eyes, and finally asked the words that had been hidden in her heart for a long time: "Can you ...... Have you ever thought about simply not going back to Chaoyan! Anyway, you've recovered your divine power now...... Why don't we go all the way north to a sparsely populated place and live in seclusion? Otherwise, you can go to the West Continent as well! I'm so old that I haven't been on a boat yet......"

Mu Chen and Qing Ling looked at each other for a moment, then lowered their eyes slightly, "I have to go back." ”

The curvature of the corners of his lips revealed a hint of bitterness and determination, "That day in the Misty Valley Ganyuan, I made up my mind that if I could survive, I would not live a miserable life!" It is easy to escape, but with the crime of rebellion and usurpation all his life, and he is always worried about being hunted down and killed by the royal family and the people of the Fang Shan clan, even if he can survive incognito, what is the point? For more than a year, many of my mother's people had to gamble their wealth, their future, and even their lives in order to save my life. Returning to Soaring City is not only to realize my ambitions and ideals, but also to live up to those who stand behind me. ”