Though somewhat surprised, Feng Miaojun still smiled and greeted him.

Lu Ming returned the smile but appeared rather preoccupied. He placed a porcelain bottle on the table: “The State Preceptor instructed that there are two spiritual pills here, refined from the blood and flesh essence of the Sea King Whale. You should take one pill daily to fully restore your physical strength.”

Sea King Whale? Feng Miaojun was slightly moved. It was an enormous whale from the distant ocean. She had seen one while sailing through the Sea of Curses. It was several times larger than the blue whales of another world, with adult specimens reaching nearly fifty zhang (160 meters) in length. The life force contained within such a massive creature was astonishingly abundant, but similarly, the energy and spiritual qi it consumed was astronomical. With the current density of spiritual qi in the world, it was already difficult to sustain such ancient beings, so their numbers were few and rarely seen by ordinary people. They were often protected by sea demons, and no one could easily set their sights on hunting them.

These two pills in Yun Ya’s possession, regardless of how much Sea King Whale blood and flesh they contained, could fetch an astronomical price if thrown into the auction house.

As she took the bottle, Feng Miaojun felt it was almost too hot to handle: “Where is Yun Ya?” It was a miraculous medicine that could resurrect the dead and regenerate flesh, yet Yun Ya had given it to her merely to replenish her energy—this was far too extravagant.

“The State Preceptor is very busy.” Lu Ming suddenly lowered his voice, “An… no, I should call you Queen now. After you took Yinzi City and the Yao Kingdom, our lord was burning with rage and several times wanted to plot revenge, but each time the State Preceptor stopped him, persuading him to consider the bigger picture. After many such instances, the King has become somewhat displeased with the State Preceptor.”

Although Wei and Xia had an agreement of mutual non-aggression, any treaty had loopholes, and Feng Miaojun’s acquisition of Yao territory took advantage of one such gap. Naturally, Xiao Yan would want to vent his anger and could follow the same example. He couldn’t launch a large-scale war, but small-scale retaliation was still possible.

She also understood that the longer Xiao Yan held power, the less he could tolerate any grain of sand in his eye, and the less he would allow others or other nations to challenge his authority. Faced with such an enraged monarch, even if Yun Ya tried to reason with him, he would still incur Xiao Yan’s wrath and implication.

Her lips felt somewhat dry, and she unconsciously licked them: “They haven’t fallen out with each other, have they?”

“The relationship between the lord and the State Preceptor is no ordinary one; they won’t easily fall out.” Lu Ming said softly, “However, word has already spread in the court that the State Preceptor is bewitched by the Queen’s beauty, which is why the Wei Kingdom easily lost Yao territory. The State Preceptor already had many enemies in court, and in these past months, he has been continuously impeached. If this continues, the King’s heart may become biased.”

Xiao Yan was also a ruler of a nation and had to accept the admonitions of his hundred officials. Even if his friendship with Yun Ya was strong, if people were constantly whispering in his ear about Yun Ya’s faults, and if memorials impeaching the State Preceptor kept piling up, even if he initially had no prejudice against Yun Ya, he would develop some by now.

Moreover, Yun Ya was arrogant and aloof by nature, not well-liked, and had long been infamous for bewitching the sovereign and secretly controlling court politics. Those in the court willing to kick him while he was down were certainly not few.

Lu Ming looked out the window, or more precisely, toward the outside of the tiny bottle: “This time, the State Preceptor brought us to Yinggong City to rescue Yu Haizhen at our King’s request, and he had no choice but to comply. If he fails, the King will certainly be enraged.”

The mutual trust between Yun Ya and Xiao Yan represented the delicate balance between Wei Kingdom’s practitioners and royal power. Neither side wanted to break this balance. Xiao Yan shielded Yun Ya from many troubles in the royal court, and return, Yun Ya had to do his best to rescue the woman Xiao Yan loved.

Regardless of his original identity, sometimes one had to bow before the power of a nation.

Xiao Yan loved Yu Haizhen so much that he was willing to risk his own State Preceptor. If Yun Ya’s rescue mission failed, would cracks form in Xiao Yan’s heart? It was hard to say.

Feng Miaojun’s gaze flickered, then turned to Lu Ming: “Why are you telling me all this?”

With just a frown from her, an invisible pressure descended. Lu Ming was not as comfortable facing her as before, but he still said: “The State Preceptor has played in the mortal realm for many years, but I have never seen him care so deeply, whether for power or women. I ask the Queen to please be considerate of him.”

Feng Miaojun remained silent, then after a good while, murmured: “Care deeply?”

Lu Ming glanced outside again before speaking softly: “After the Wei army withdrew, the State Preceptor brought us back to Yinggong City secretly to make some arrangements. Though he didn’t explicitly say so, I could sense that his purpose wasn’t just to rescue Yu Haizhen. But—”

He took a light breath: “But regardless of the State Preceptor’s original intentions, since you, Queen, appeared on the battlefield, he seems to have abandoned his original plan. Now he only intends to search for Yu Haizhen’s whereabouts a few more times before returning to Wei.”

He described it lightly, but in Feng Miaojun’s mind, there was a resounding “boom” as everything suddenly became clear:

Yes, the Sovereignty Artifact!

Yun Ya had mentioned before that fragments of the Realm God’s treasure had fallen into the mortal world, and some pieces had been picked up by human kingdoms to make Sovereignty Artifacts, including the Xi Kingdom!

If King Yan’s reason for attacking the Xi Kingdom was for the Sovereignty Artifact, then what about Yun Ya?

The reason Yun Ya risked staying in Yinggong City was not merely to meet Xiao Yan’s request, not merely to bring back Yu Haizhen. His gaze had always been on the Xi Kingdom’s Sovereignty Artifact!

Feng Miaojun nodded and said hoarsely: “He did it to save me.” He had originally planned to take the Sovereignty Artifact from the Xi King before it fell into King Yan’s hands. But at this critical moment, she appeared and was being pursued by King Yan and Nü Ba, in a dangerous predicament.

Yun Ya couldn’t help but save her, but in doing so, he lost the best opportunity to sneak into the upper city and seize the Sovereignty Artifact.

Now, the item had fallen into King Yan’s hands, and it wouldn’t be so easy for Yun Ya to reclaim it.

Feng Miaojun bit her lip and asked: “Where is Yun Ya now?”

“Everyone has been sent out, except for me.” Lu Ming’s expression was solemn, “King Yan seems to have some suspicions and has ordered mystical arrays to be set up on the city walls and gates. It would take considerable effort to sneak out quietly. Additionally, Yan Kingdom has required cultivators in Yinggong City to register, and they must report within the next two days, or else they will be treated as spies if caught. This means…”

“We must leave in the next few days.” Feng Miaojun interrupted him, “What does King Yan suspect?”

“According to the State Preceptor, King Yan can release a mystical power similar to a domain, called ‘Strolling in the Garden,’ but this is one of his ultimate techniques, rarely displayed publicly, and others find it impossible to break.”

Domain was a range-based mystical technique that only ancient immortals could master. It would affect enemies within the area, and its effects depended on the principles the immortal had comprehended. From this perspective, the range-based mystical technique that King Yan used twice during the Land Bridge Battle was indeed very similar to a domain. Though its name sounded pleasant, it could slow the movements of others.