From Cold Palace Princess to Celestial Empress Ch. 8

Second Prince’s Residence.

In a quiet room, the Seventh Prince lay on the bed, his breath faint and weak, like a candle flame in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

The Seventh Prince’s condition was different from Xiao Minghuang’s.

The former had his dantian forcibly shattered by external force, his foundation destroyed, and all his vital energy lost.

The latter, however, only suffered from severed meridians due to the side effects of a pill, preventing her vital energy from circulating effectively.

With his foundation completely ruined, the Seventh Prince’s injuries were far more severe than Xiao Minghuang’s.

After his cultivation was crippled, the Seventh Prince’s vital energy rapidly declined. In just half a day, he had become skin and bones, resembling a man in his sixties or seventies, as if his days were numbered.

“Second Brother, that little girl… she’s at the ninth level of Body Tempering… I was no match for her… Second Brother, you must avenge me!”

The Seventh Prince spoke in broken sentences, gasping for breath, as if he might die from his injuries at any moment.

Seeing this scene, the Second Prince’s handsome face flushed with anger, and a glint of fury flashed in his eyes.

To cripple his younger brother in public was a blatant disregard for his authority!

“Seventh Brother, don’t worry. Second Brother will definitely avenge you!”

As he spoke, he waved his hand, his expression filled with sorrow.

“Find the best doctors! We must heal Seventh Brother’s injuries!”

The Second Prince’s words were merely to comfort the Seventh Prince, as everyone knew that once one’s cultivation was crippled, there was no hope of recovery unless one possessed a legendary Heaven-grade pill.

When he returned to his study, his expression immediately darkened.

“That Ninth Princess, she completely disregards me!”

At that moment.

The door opened, and a dignified middle-aged man in a black robe entered, exuding the aura of a Divine Sea Realm cultivator. He was the second most powerful figure in the Great Xia, Prince Wu’an.

“Second Prince, I heard that the Seventh Prince challenged the Ninth Princess but had his cultivation crippled in public. Was this your doing?”

The Second Prince cupped his hands in respect.

“The Ninth Princess was suddenly rewarded by His Majesty, and I suspected something was amiss. So I sent Seventh Brother to test her, but I never expected that little girl to be so bold!”

Prince Wu’an’s gaze was calm as he asked, “Do you really think so? A mere Ninth Princess wouldn’t dare to act so brazenly.”

Hearing this, the Second Prince’s eyes narrowed. After a moment of thought, he suddenly realized, “Could it be… His Majesty?”

In an instant, many thoughts crossed his mind.

Seven days ago, the Ninth Princess had been disqualified in a competition, then sent to the cold palace. Yet, news had since spread that her cultivation had been restored.

Therefore, he had sent the Seventh Prince to test the waters, but unexpectedly…

As for why the Ninth Princess had her cultivation abolished and then recovered, even advancing further in strength, it might be because she was never truly crippled. This could all be a well-orchestrated act by the Emperor Xia.

Having figured this out, the Second Prince let out a sigh, furrowed his brows, and hesitantly said, “If it really is Father’s intention, then it’s going to be troublesome.”

No matter how powerful he and Prince Wu’an were, Emperor Xia was still the strongest in the Great Xia Dynasty. Moreover, there was still an Old Ancestor at the Spirit Seed Realm alive. If Emperor Xia was determined to support Xiao Minghuang, there was little he could do.

Seeing the Second Prince unsettled, Prince Wu’an spoke up indifferently, reminding him, “What? Are you thinking of giving up already?”

“No!”

The Second Prince instinctively replied, and after a moment, a cold expression appeared on his handsome face as he looked at Prince Wu’an.

“Grandson dares to ask Grandfather to take action and eliminate the Ninth Princess, paving the way for grandson to ascend to the throne!”

With Prince Wu’an’s cultivation at the eighth level of the Divine Sea Realm, killing Xiao Minghuang, who was at the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm, would be as easy as crushing an ant.

As long as it was done secretly and cleanly, even Emperor Xia would have no way to trace it back.

By then, with the Ninth Princess dead, no matter how furious Emperor Xia was, he would have to grit his teeth and endure it, and could only appoint him as the heir.

Hearing this, a hint of a pleased smile appeared on Prince Wu’an’s dignified face.

“The child is teachable!”

“I came here to tell you that Emperor Xia will soon enter seclusion to attempt to break through to the Spirit Seed Realm. During this time, the Great Xia Dynasty will fall into chaos, and we can take advantage of the situation. Whether it’s the Ninth Princess or anyone else, we can sweep them all away in one go!”

The Second Prince showed a puzzled expression.

Emperor Xia, who had been at the peak of the Divine Sea Realm for years, often entered seclusion to attempt to break through to the Spirit Seed Realm, but without exception, he had failed.

Although this was not publicly known, it was common knowledge within the Royal Family.

What truly confused him was the latter part of Prince Wu’an’s statement.

“With the country at peace and the people content, how could chaos arise in the Great Xia Dynasty? What does Grandfather mean by this?”

Prince Wu’an said indifferently, “You don’t need to worry about that. Prepare yourself; in a couple of days, you will go to Donglin City for training.”

“As for the matter of the Ninth Princess, leave it to me!”

As he spoke, Prince Wu’an took out a storage bag and handed it to the Second Prince.

“Take these resources and use them to break through to the Spring Realm as soon as possible.”

The Second Prince bowed his head and respectfully saluted, saying,

“Thank you, Grandfather, for your generosity. When I ascend to the throne, whatever you command, I will obey without fail!”

…

In the eastern part of the city, on a broad street.

Xiao Minghuang and her companion left the palace and headed straight for the new mansion.

Above the mansion’s gate hung a brand-new plaque with four gilded characters: “Ninth Princess’s Mansion.”

Standing outside the gate was a middle-aged man who looked like a steward, with a clean-shaven face and an aura of the Qi Refining Realm. Upon seeing Xiao Minghuang and her companion, he immediately stepped forward to greet them.

“This humble servant is Wang Er, sent by His Majesty to manage the miscellaneous affairs of the mansion for Your Highness. Welcome back to the mansion!”

“No need for formalities.”

After entering the mansion, Wang Er briefed Xiao Minghuang on the situation inside, mostly trivial matters that were of little interest.

“…In the west courtyard, there is a medicinal garden with many spiritual herbs and plants. Although their grades are not high, they can still generate a lot of spiritual energy for the mansion.”

“…In the east courtyard, there is a training room engraved with a Spirit Gathering Array. Your Highness can greatly increase the speed of absorbing spiritual energy while cultivating inside!”

Xiao Minghuang’s gaze paused, and a hint of joy flashed in her eyes.

She knew nothing about alchemy, so the medicinal garden was of little use to her, but the Spirit Gathering Array was different.

The art of array formation, like the art of alchemy, also had its own hierarchy. Arrays like the Spirit Gathering Array, which could enhance cultivation speed, although simple in their setup, required precious spirit stones as materials and couldn’t be casually deployed.

Xiao Minghuang made her way to the training room. After understanding the usage of the Spirit Gathering Array, she dismissed Wang Er, leaving only herself and Ye Ruoshui in the room.

“The Spirit Gathering Array consumes ten spirit stones every hour it operates. The current stock of spirit stones in the array can sustain continuous operation for three days. Your Highness can activate the array when you are on the verge of a breakthrough to assist in your cultivation.”

Wang Er left with these words.

The ability to operate the array continuously for three days indicated that there were three hundred and sixty spirit stones in the array, an enormous number.

But for her, who possessed one hundred mid-grade spirit stones, she could activate it without hesitation.

However, she had no intention of activating the array at the moment.

Her current cultivation had already reached the peak of the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm, just one step away from entering the Qi Refining Realm.

To guide qi into the body, a cultivation technique was needed. The newly acquired “Dragon Soul Heart Technique,” although a low-grade Earth-tier technique, if given away, would surely yield a better technique as compensation from the system.

With this in mind, Xiao Minghuang quietly awaited the arrival of the next day.

PS: Please, dear readers, give me some collections, recommendations, monthly tickets, comments, and interjections. It really means a lot to me! (^o^)／

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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