My Wife Turns Out to be an Empress of the Dynasty

Whether or not it would pose a problem was uncertain, but Zhongren felt that this matter was not simple. He immediately relayed the specific locations of the three spatial rifts where the malevolent aura had erupted to Daoist Yunlong. Daoist Yunlong committed these locations to memory and instructed Zhongren to return to the Ancestry Land to continue his study of the celestial mechanisms.

He himself left the Tianji Ancestry Land and headed towards the Jing Nation Capital City.

At that moment, in the Jing Nation Capital City's palace, the return of the Empress had brought great joy to all civil and military officials. They gathered early before the Jinluan Palace in eager anticipation.

"Enter the hall!" The voice of the chief eunuch in charge of ceremonies echoed through the air.

Upon hearing this, the officials, each holding their name plaques, began to file into the Jinluan Palace, their faces beaming with happiness. Sima Qin led the officials, his white hair betraying his age, but his eyes shone with vigor. In recent days, he had been the one managing the affairs of the court.

His granddaughter, Sima Jingwen, had also passed the imperial examinations and joined the court, assisting with many administrative duties. Now, Jing Nation was a magnet for countries seeking to merge into it, hoping for a brighter future. Including these smaller nations' territories, Jing Nation now controlled over half of the human realm.

Every official in Jing Nation took immense pride in this. Even with the increased workload, there was no complaint. Although Yong Le, the young princess, had been acting as the regent, Sima Qin had become well-acquainted with managing court affairs. Nonetheless, certain major decisions still required Mu Yuyan's personal attention.

As the officials gathered in the hall and stood at attention, Mu Yuyan, clad in her black and gold imperial robe, slowly emerged from behind the hall. Despite her restrained demeanor, her commanding presence immediately weighed heavily on the officials' minds.

Having been away from Jing Nation for a time, Mu Yuyan's imperial aura had not diminished; instead, it had grown stronger. With the nation's fortune supporting her, her imperial majesty had reached new heights. Many civil officials didn't even dare to raise their heads.

"Long live the Emperor!" Sima Qin immediately knelt in respect as Mu Yuyan seated herself on the dragon throne.

The rest of the officials quickly followed suit, all kneeling in unison. Only then did they feel some relief from the oppressive imperial presence.

"Rise," Mu Yuyan commanded softly, looking down at the assembly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The officials expressed their gratitude and slowly stood up.

Mu Yuyan said little and, with a wave of her hand, the chief eunuch brought several imperial edicts forward.

"Great Chancellor, receive the decree!"

"I am ready to receive the decree!" Sima Qin, who had just stood up, prepared to kneel once more.

"There is no need for further formalities, Great Chancellor. You have managed the affairs of the state commendably and have served Jing Nation well," Mu Yuyan said, indicating for him to remain standing.

The chief eunuch then proceeded to read aloud the imperial commendation and rewards for Sima Qin. Having reached the position of Great Chancellor, there were no higher offices to bestow upon him. Thus, Mu Yuyan's rewards focused more on his virtuous reputation and resources for his cultivation, which were exactly what Sima Qin valued most.

As the Great Chancellor, Sima Qin aspired to leave a lasting legacy. As a Confucian cultivator, he yearned to advance further in his cultivation. The two rewards Mu Yuyan bestowed upon him were precisely what he most desired. Seeing this, the other civil and military officials in the court were filled with admiration and envy.

A civil official achieving what Sima Qin had, under the reign of such an enlightened Empress, was a stroke of unparalleled fortune.

"Your servant thanks Your Majesty for your boundless grace!" Sima Qin's eyes glistened with tears as he knelt to accept the decree.

Despite Sima Qin's insistence on such a formal gesture of gratitude, none of the officials found it inappropriate. Serving under such a wise ruler was a blessing, deserving of such formal acknowledgment.

The ceremony of bestowing honors continued within the court.

Outside the imperial palace, in a nearby residence, Gu Lan was also busy meeting with various Demon Clan masters. At this moment, these Demon Clan masters were all gathered around a massive array diagram, their eyes gleaming with fascination.

"Such an ingenious array! Truly unprecedented!"

"Heaven, Earth, and Humanity all form the array! Every element of the cosmos becomes a node! Marvelous! Simply marvelous!"

While the master artifact forgers from the Demon Clan found the array remarkable but couldn't fully comprehend it, the array masters were utterly captivated, their eyes glazing over with obsession, murmuring incessantly to themselves.

"This array," Gu Lan explained with a smile, standing before the array masters, "is a blueprint for a formation that will encompass the entire human realm. Masters, are you interested in creating such an array?"

The Demon Clan masters were speechless, their shock evident. While the human realm was not as vast as the Demon Realm, it was still a world in its own right, its expanse beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Constructing a protective array for a single city like Moyun City had already taken the Bull Demon Clan a thousand years. Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire

How much time and effort would it take to set up an array that protected an entire realm?

If anyone else had proposed this, the array masters might have dismissed it as ludicrous. But coming from Gu Lan, a prodigy whose mastery of arrays far surpassed theirs, they had to take it seriously. The grand blueprint before them also lent credibility to the proposal, making them believe it was indeed feasible.

"I once served as a ferryman in the Lower Realm. The spiritual energy density of this human realm is indeed higher than that of typical human realms," remarked an Enchanting Demon Clan female array master. Though her level in array arts wasn't the highest, her perspective, backed by the Enchanting Demon Clan's heritage, was among the best in the Demon Realm.

Her words were silently acknowledged by all the Demon Clan masters, who nodded in agreement. Their eyes began to gleam with eagerness. Participating in setting up such a vast protective array would greatly enhance their understanding of array arts, especially with guidance from Gu Lan.

Subsequently, each Demon Clan master started to express their own views.

"To set up this array, there's a crucial prerequisite: we must have at least three core nodes to sustain the array's operation. Choosing these core nodes is of utmost importance and cannot be done haphazardly," one master pointed out.

"Apart from the core nodes, we can use hidden realms as auxiliary nodes to strengthen the array," another master added.

Upon hearing the mention of hidden realms as auxiliary nodes, Gu Lan nodded with a satisfied smile. His grand vision had indeed captivated these Demon Clan masters.

As for the selection of core nodes, Gu Lan, with his expertise in arrays, was fully aware of the challenges involved. While the exact locations for the three core nodes were yet to be finalized, he had already prepared hidden realms to serve as auxiliary nodes. These were ready for the Demon Clan masters to practice their craft on.

Gu Lan then outlined the plan for using the Primordial Cave in the Molten Plains as an auxiliary node, giving the Demon Clan masters a preliminary task to test their skills.

He would personally search for the core nodes.

The Demon Clan masters eagerly agreed, their excitement palpable. They believed that undertaking such a project in the Lower Realm was undoubtedly worthwhile. Completing such a protective array within a century would make them renowned throughout the Six Realms.

Watching the enthusiastic Demon Clan masters, Gu Lan left, satisfied. He planned to visit the Tianji Pavilion to consult their archives and identify suitable locations for the core nodes. Given the vastness of the human realm, searching for these nodes without guidance would be time-consuming, even for someone of his cultivation level.