At the end of the long river of blood, it seemed to be shrouded in a swirling black mist, and the water flowing out of the mist was only a trickle, and it could be cut off at any time.

Qianye flew towards the source, and vaguely saw several marks floating in the river. It was the sign of the second generation of the First Father, some still shining, while others were dim.

Every time I saw a mark, Qianye had a wonderful feeling, those marks were not just clan crests, each of them represented a method of using power, representing a path to promotion to the strong.

The imprint is either near or far from the source, and it is also large or small. Perhaps these differences are the root of the difference in strength between the second generation ancestors of the blood clan.

And he also found that the distance between the imprints is not absolute, in the slow flow of the long river, some distances are widened, some distances are reduced, and if there is enough time, perhaps their arrangement will also change.

Qianye suddenly thought of an ultimate question, at the end of the long river of blood, is there the first drop of blood in the legend?

As long as you fly to the source and pass through the fog, will this ultimate question be answered?

Qianye became excited, picked up his speed, and flew towards the black mist. However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a great danger, and he was suddenly shocked!

He looked up and saw a surge of black mist in front of him, and suddenly a monstrous beast jumped out. The beast was bizarre, ugly, and twisted, with no symmetrical parts on its body, and it looked indescribably awkward. It is like the origin of chaos and evil in the universe, and everything is an abomination.

As soon as it appeared, it went straight to the night. Qianye was frightened, at the moment he had nothing, not even a body, how could he be its opponent. He tried his best to dodge, but his speed was no faster than that fierce beast, and he was caught up in a blink of an eye, and then a big mouth full of messy sharp teeth appeared in front of Qianye and swallowed him in one gulp!

The consciousness of a thousand nights fell into darkness again.

Imperial Capital Tianji Pavilion.

A group of celestial warriors came out, everyone was solemn, but it was also obvious that they were extremely tired. The square was already waiting for the vehicle to take them away one by one.

When the crowd was almost dispersed, a woman finally walked out, with wide sleeves obliquely, long hair pulled up, and no ornaments on her body, and she was also dressed as the most simple celestial warlock, but her face was beautiful and unbelievable, it was Empress Li.

The attendant next to him came over and saluted: "Niangniang, Your Majesty is waiting for you in the 'Xia Cao Garden'." ”

Empress Li was slightly stunned, took the cloak and put it on, and said, "Okay." Then he boarded the bus and left.

"Xiacao Garden" is called Garden, in fact, it is one of the palaces with lower specifications in the imperial palace, and Emperor Hao was only one of the many princes who lived here.

After he ascended the throne, this place naturally would not be arranged for others to move in, and it was maintained all the time. Emperor Hao would occasionally go over to visit, but he never allowed any concubines and princesses to set foot in it.

However, although Empress Li had never entered, she knew that there was a room inside that was completely unchanged from when she was there. Back then, death was a taboo in the empire, so no one would touch it, even Concubine Zhao, who had always jumped the most in the harem, just didn't see this special place.

"Kasumi Grass Garden" is very cramped, and after turning the wall at the gate, the veneer is the main hall. There was no scenery in the yard, just that all the places where there was soil were covered with sunset grass. It was so dense and exuberant that it almost looked like weeds.

These are supposed to have been left on purpose, untrimmed, so that they can be rooted in every inch of the dirt on their own. At the tip of the slender peduncle, petite white flowers bloom, swaying gently in the breeze, like the stars in the sky, shining brightly.

The entire "Xia Cao Garden" was quiet, and the attendant who guided Li Hou stopped at the gate.

Empress Li walked in alone, she was born into an ancient family, and even though she had not yet had an independent yard when she was a girl, she had never lived in such a small house.

Emperor Hao is in the left side hall of the main hall, and the layout here is a study, but there is a large embroidery shed under the window, and there is a sorted needle and thread on the couch, as if the hostess will come in at any time.

Empress Li looked at the embroidery shed, a little novel. She showed great talent when she was a child, and what she learned was no different from that of the men in the family, and female celebrities and the like were not in her class schedule at all.

However, she looked at the layout of the room, obviously half of it was the man's study, and half of it was the hostess's embroidery room, and she couldn't help but feel a little trance.

Emperor Hao stood in front of a pair of calligraphy and paintings, it was a color ink painting, the composition and the inscription were all about the joy of the newlyweds, this kind of work should be made, it is really not a good product.

Empress Li walked over and saw the familiar handwriting, and couldn't help but move slightly, wasn't it the emperor's doing?

Emperor Hao said: "Master Lin's family was slightly cold when he was young, and he entered the military academy early, and his attainments in the six arts of calligraphy and painting were mediocre. Speaking of this, he chuckled and said: "I remember that back then, when he was my prince's attendant, the first thing he said was to tell me that his calligraphy was not as good as that of King Zhang." ”

Empress Li naturally smiled decently, but her heart was even more trance-like, she had never heard Lin Xitang's private affairs in Emperor Hao's mouth, and she felt very different from what she had imagined before.

Emperor Hao turned his head and said to Empress Li: "The queen has worked hard, and the affairs of Tianji Pavilion have been completed?"

Empress Li suddenly came back to her senses, and bowed and said, "The sacrifice is over." However, it is a pity that although we took advantage of the chaos to stir up the heavenly opportunities over there even more messy and did not gain more, we still cannot judge what the dark race wants in the new world. ”

Emperor Hao nodded and said, "The Demon Emperor came unexpectedly, and it was difficult to hide it from him. That's already good, the juniors' battlefield is over, and the next thing is ours. ”

Empress Li frowned slightly and said, "Since Song Zining's rise, the prophets on the side of the Eternal Night Council have obvious signs of avoiding war, and this time, the concubines feel it more clearly. ”

She paused, and then said, "The concubine also has a feeling that the heavenly machine on the side of the eternal night is extremely tightly obscured, closer than ever. In fact, there are many famous prophetic masters in the history of the Eternal Night Council, and from the normal life expectancy, not only these people are currently in the foreground. If any of those masters were asleep, it would be a terrible power to be awakened. The concubines even suspected that one of them had awakened the Great Prophet. ”

Emperor Hao nodded, "It's not surprising, this is the advantage of the immortal race. ”

He let out a long breath and said, "As soon as Master Lin heard that the Eternal Night Holy War had ended, he judged that there would be another big change within the Dark Race. It is not very strange that the dark powerhouses that have been dormant for a long time are reviving one after another. ”

Empress Li was a little surprised, "Isn't it because of the arrival of the new world?"

Emperor Hao said: "It's not just that. ”

After Empress Li was stunned for a moment, she sighed lightly: "The concubine is really far from Dazai Lin, and I can't see this so far." ”

Emperor Hao said: "This is not the Heavenly Machine Technique, the other person was still in the Heavenly Machine Pavilion at that time. ”

Empress Li listened quietly, she had only heard a little about what happened at that time, and she didn't dare to touch the Haodi Thunder Pool. But today, Emperor Hao suddenly mentioned it himself, I'm afraid there will be a later story.

Emperor Hao walked to the edge of the embroidery shed under the window, reached out and touched the half of the embroidery on it, and said: "When I was young, I hated my father's attitude towards his sons very much, and I almost watched them strangle each other with inaction. I wasn't the target at the time of the 'Court Change', but when the killing came, who bothered to distinguish who was under the sword? ”

Empress Li felt a shudder in her heart, she didn't know if she had enough concentration to keep her face calm. However, Emperor Hao did not look back at her.

"Later, when my father passed on to me, smart people came to me one after another and said to me that Master Lin was very powerful, and he deliberately saved me. Emperor Hao laughed, "It's okay for ordinary people to say this, but there are also Tianji people among them." ”

Empress Li naturally knew how ridiculous this statement was, not to mention that the Heavenly Warlock was not a god, how could he see everything in detail.

touched the corner of the heavenly machine, and the result was a leopard in the tube, and in the end, it was not that there were no mistakes, but there were more such cases, otherwise where would the empire come from the "chaos of heaven" many years ago. The reason why Lin Xitang made all the Heavenly Machine Sects shut up was also accumulated over the years, which proved that he had almost no mistakes.

Besides, the heavenly machine is immutable, just like the thread of fate of the dark race, the future is only a possibility, and the present is one of the countless possibilities realized. After all, all living beings are eager to watch the heavens, is it just to accept their fate? Not to change their lives against the heavens.

And now that he has changed his life, is the future he once saw still not the future?

"I know the events of that night best in my own heart, and I don't need anyone to teach me to see the truth. Everyone was wrong, they thought that my father let me into the small study before the palace change, which was a backhand and a cultivation. In fact, it was only at that time that he realized that he had forgotten a son, and the concubine in charge of the palace had also forgotten to arrange for me to be a waiter. ”

"Even after the palace change, my father didn't necessarily choose me as the heir, my qualifications really didn't look in his eyes, and without the power of the maternal family, it would be difficult to compete with the ancestor of the clan, and he would encounter a lot of trouble behind him. Emperor Hao straightened up and said, "It was the big position I asked for, because I saw Uncle Linjiang forcing Master Lin to kneel down and apologize to him." ”

Empress Li shuddered.

At this time, Emperor Hao turned around, still with a gentle expression, and his eyes did not change much, as if he was telling someone else's story, rather than the palace secrets he had personally experienced.

He looked at Li Hou and said, "When I sit in the seat of the main hall of Lingyun myself, I understand why my father and emperor let the battle in the harem end up in a bloody case." Interests and feelings cannot coexist. Interests are big and small, and there are weights, but are feelings also big and small, and how can they be weighted?

"For Wu Yue, for you, for all the concubines and emperors, I am not a good husband or a good father. What my father did, whom I hated back then, I myself did. Fortunately, no one who entered Weiyang Palace after Wu Yue should have simply come to talk to me about their feelings. ”

Behind every noble lady there is a family, and behind every concubine there is a contract. And Emperor Hao's maternal line is slightly cold, and when he was the prince, there were no women around him at all.

Empress Li let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the words behind her were the focus of Emperor Hao's recruitment of her here.

"I know that when you were in the boudoir, you also had ambitions and ideals, and now with your heavenly machine skills, you are fully qualified to be the head of the Royal Heavenly Machine Academy, and I will inform several heavenly kings that I will grant you this position. ”

"However, none of the princes and daughters under your name will have the right to inherit. Especially if the Li family wants to be promoted in this generation, there will never be an emperor with the blood of the Li family. And from now on, as long as the surname Li is in charge of the Royal Tianji Academy, the harem will not be a woman surnamed Li. ”

Empress Li was extremely calm at the moment, and made a formal salute: "Yes, the concubine obeys the order." ”

Emperor Hao finally said slowly: "The Imperial Heavenly King's defense adjustment, you can listen to it together, I will fight as the Heavenly King." ”

Empress Li looked up in amazement.

Emperor Hao smiled at her and said, "This dress is very good, you don't need to change into court clothes, let's go now." ”

All the attendants of the "Xiaolan Palace" stood outside the hall and were at least ten meters away from the temple door.

The side hall on the right side was originally a casual layout, with high-backed seats, soft couches, desks and piano seats, which were not suitable for talks. However, when all the Heavenly King-level characters gather together, it is particularly suitable, and there is no need to divide the seats, and everyone can find their own comfortable way.

The king of Zhiji and the king of Dingxuan sat on one side, one drank tea, and the other talked by himself, which seemed very leisurely. King Dingyue was crooked on the collapse, as if he was in a false sleep, and he was the farthest away from the Western Continent, and if it wasn't for the important matter, he would not usually come to the imperial capital.

As soon as the door curtain moved, Fang Qingkong walked in, he was wearing a civil official uniform, and his eyebrows still looked a little cold.

Facing a room of Heavenly Kings, Fang Qingkong did not have the slightest discoloration, and when he saw that everyone was doing their own thing, he did not bother, he only walked to King Dingxuan's side and whispered a few words.

King Dingxuan stopped the chess pieces in his hand, and said a little strangely: "'Valhalla'? Besides, that ship was originally made of extreme construction, and if you want to ask how to deal with it, you should also ask him, what opinion can the old man have?"

Even if the Extreme King was clear-eyed, he would not deliberately listen to Fang Qingkong's whisper to King Dingxuan, and when he heard his name mentioned, he turned his head, and when he saw Fang Qingkong's expressionless expression, he understood most of it.

Pointing to the king: "Fang Qingkong, if you have something to say, don't learn from Lin Xitang's half-hidden and half-revealing style." As he spoke, he said to King Dingxuan: "I know a little bit about this. Your great-grandson borrowed your name, pulled up the kid who didn't know which room the Zhang family side branch was, and ran to cooperate with Song Zining, intending to share the interests of Yun Yonglu. ”

King Dingxuan was stunned for a moment, "Which great-grandson?" and then asked, "Song Zining will believe it, I don't think he is so stupid, right?"

The Finger Pole King swept his long beard and glanced at Fang Qingkong meaningfully.

After Lin Xitang's death, Fang Qingkong took over from him in charge of the strategic intelligence at the highest level of the empire, of course this upstart who was already a god general was not stupid, but seeing that he dared to run to the Heavenly King to mention this matter, it really had nothing to do with whether he was stupid or not.

Fang Qingkong stood like a piece of wood at the moment, and he just didn't speak anymore.

The Finger King shook his head and smiled, knowing that Fang Qingkong was trying to force the two of them to express his position, and he didn't mind his calculation, and said to King Dingxuan: "Zi Ning came to ask me, I have already told him, no need to restrain himself, how can he be comfortable." ”

King Dingxuan didn't look different when he heard this, nodded and said, "This is the right reason." ”

Zhiji Wang said: "I also said that there is nothing to sacrifice a handful of people. ”

King Dingxuan said: "You have said everything, and you still come to block me?" Those juniors just think that the rest are mediocre, only they have outstanding talents, so they will not be given up by the family. If they think that the old man's exploits on the battlefield of the New World are not enough for them, then they will earn it themselves, and if they lose their lives in the wrong way, they will not complain about others. ”

Speaking of this, King Dingxuan was a little angry, turned his head and asked Fang Qingkong, "Which one is it?"

The king said, "Don't worry, since Zining came to ask me, he should have a countermeasure, and use your name for him." ”

King Dingxuan was stunned, and after a while, he understood, and said, "It's okay, it's all dark races over there, so it's okay for him to have a town in Zhangzhi Town." ”

At this time, Emperor Hao and Empress Li came in together and saluted the kings of heaven, and King Beiyue also got up from the couch.

Everyone was already short of time, so they immediately went straight to the point, and Fang Qingkong reported the recent situation in the camp.

After the end of the Battle of the Black Sun Valley, in the process of reviewing military merits, the Council began to arrest some Eternal Night nobles, and they were the upper nobles of the four major races.

This is a rare thing, in the past, although the parliament had a resolution, but the parliamentary forces were generally directly involved in other small races, and the four major races were all on their own.

Regardless of their crimes, whenever it comes to the nobles, this kind of arrest inevitably involves the issue of force, and the parliament has actually dispatched many unnamed machines, which have never appeared on the battlefield of the camp.

After Fang Qingkong got the map and description, he felt something, and went to the royal library to consult the oldest batch of archives, so that he could vaguely find the source of some of the equipment.

Fang Qingkong said: "When Lin Shuai heard that the Holy War of the Eternal Night had ended, he asserted that there had been great changes within the Dark Race. It was when the New World opened its doors and those changes were obscured, and it was difficult for us to monitor the exact situation. ”

"However, Taizu and Emperor Wu have both pointed out that if the four dark clans are united, our clan will be overturned, but even if there is the Eternal Night Council, they will not really join forces, this is the space for our clan's development. However, such a strategic space cannot be extended indefinitely, and our clan must always be vigilant against the changes in the balance of power between the four dark clans, once the balance is broken, the crisis will come immediately. ”

"During the founding period of Great Qin, the practice of the four dark clans was that each clan maintained the combat power of four maharajas, and there were two maharajas in the active period who were on duty with the clan, and they could be rotated by the other two at any time, as for the number of maharajas who could be awakened at the same time, it has always been the top secret of each clan, we have not obtained it, and they do not estimate each other. ”

"However, in the last few hundred years, since the dark race no longer directly attacked the empire's native continent, the number of rotating princes of the four races has decreased significantly. ”

"And in the past thousand years, the Holy War of the Blood Clan against the Werewolves has completely erased twenty-three percent of the werewolves' clan totems, and the other fifteen percent of the clan population has been reduced to less than half, and the impact on the servant army is not obvious, but we have no specific data on the quality of the servant army. In addition, in the past thousand years, the werewolf has never come out of the Holy Mountain Supreme. ”

"With such a record, the Blood Clan has also constantly challenged the authority of the Demon Descendants. Thousands of years ago, during the Dawn War, the Daedrics were far superior to their current level in the history books, and we always thought that their demographics were causing the decline of technology. ”

"So for a long time, both the higher-ups and research institutes believed that the final leader of the eternal night to break the balance would be the Bloods, and once they annexed the werewolves, they would try to attack the empire again. Because the current population plundering and trading through various channels of gray still cannot meet the needs of their low-level members, which is also the fundamental reason for suppressing the blood clan from building a large number of servant armies like werewolves and spider demons. ”

"And because the appearance of the high-level blood clan is most similar to ours, the proportion of blood and human descendants among the half-breeds in the gray area is extremely high, and the blood clan can transform our race. So all along, it was they who most actively came to infiltrate the empire. Especially in the battle of the floating land, the one who connected with the Immortal King was a Grand Duke of the Blood Clan, and he has since disappeared, and we are not sure whether he is at the behest of the Lightless King Medanzo or the Crown of Fire Habs. ”

"Since the opening of the doors of the New World, we have been preparing for all-out war. Now a series of movements on the side of the eternal night also prove that the final crisis predicted by the ancestors is coming. These actions of the Council of the Eternal Night show that a powerful authority has emerged. ”

But Wei Chen was suddenly unsure who the other party's leader was, the blood clan or the demon descendant. ”

There was silence in the room for a moment, and Li Hou said: "The heavenly machine on the side of the eternal night is extremely tightly covered, and it is completely undisturbed, even if our side has an action of spying or even invading, they will only expel and never pursue. And the core of the new world is still shrouded in darkness. ”

The Finger King pondered for a moment and said, "Is there a full map of the capture of the Eternal Night Council?"

Fang Qingkong shook his head and said, "After the Eternal Night Holy War ended, the intelligence work was several times more difficult, and the news obtained this time was extremely sporadic. The reason why there is one more detailed one is because it takes place in the dark occupation zone of the Western Continent, and only that one has a little more content. ”

"Western Continent. King Beiyue frowned, "Does Zhao Valve know the news?"

Fang Qingkong said: "It has been reported. There is no news yet of an invasion of the Empire, but we must begin to implement a nationwide vigilance. ”

The Finger King nodded and said, "Agreed." ”

Emperor Hao and the rest of the kings agreed.

Fang Qingkong said again: "Since the current situation is very close to the trigger conditions of a full-scale war, while the Heavenly Kings are present, we still need to determine the strategic contraction plan. ”

Strategic retrenchment refers to the plan of shrinking the front to protect the core territory in the event of an invasion of the empire mainland and the general situation is unfavorable. The last time the Empire initiated this program was during the "Bloody Funeral" after the fall of the Immortal King.

Fang Qingkong flipped through the pages of the document in his hand and said, "The empire currently occupies the smallest proportion of land in the Western Continent, except for Zhao Valve, there are only three families on it, and the Western Continent was built relatively late, so it was originally the weakest place for continent-level defense. ”

"However, during the last invasion of the Alien Beast Legion, Yue Lu was greatly damaged, and the recovery and construction of the destroyed city was also very slow, especially after the rise of the Alien Beast Legion, many families invested their main forces and resources there. ”

"Therefore, judging from the current comparison of forces in the living war, the land is the best point of contraction. Moreover, the Alien Beast Legion only destroyed the ground facilities, but in the face of those continent-level war facilities in the Void, it should still be able to activate. ”

King Dingxuan first said, "Agreed." Then he turned to the king of the pole and said, "You and I always have to go out to defend the strategic contraction point, this time it's me." ”

The Finger Pole King was silent for a moment and said, "Okay." Of course, King Beiyue also seconded it.

Emperor Hao said at this time: "King Zhang is recuperating from his injuries, so let's let me maneuver." ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes were focused on Emperor Hao. Most of the emperors of the Great Qin Dynasty were good at civil and martial arts, but after the situation on the mainland stabilized, except for very few cases, they rarely went to the battlefield outside of Qin and Lu. But the kings did not immediately raise objections and listened to what was to come.

Emperor Hao said: "The injury that King Zhang suffered in the new world this time is already relatively difficult to deal with, so it is best to have more time to recuperate and remove all future troubles." Uncle Wang of Linjiang is from the same origin as me, and there will be no problem for him to take charge of the 'King's Domain' of the imperial capital. At the same time, King Zhang stayed in the imperial capital to assist in the defense, which can ensure that my Great Qin will not be lost at all. ”

The Finger King said slowly: "Your Majesty, do you know that this is a big matter?"

Emperor Hao said: "The queen is in charge of the Royal Heavenly Machine Academy, and all the princes and princesses under the queen's name are not allowed to establish princes." The prince of the Li family is not allowed to establish a prince. From now on, whoever is in charge of the Heavenly Machine Academy, the women of the family will not enter the harem. ”

For a while, the house was silent.

After a while, the king said, "The old man agrees." However, the Heavenly King-level defense adjustment must be unanimously passed, and Qingyang's opinion needs to be sought. The other kings nodded their heads together.

Emperor Hao said: "This is natural, I will personally go to visit King Zhang. ”

And so end the meeting.