Therefore, no matter which prince has a problem with the new emperor, he must first consider whether he can withstand the wrath of the previous emperor before he abdicates.

Nie Feiyan thus became Empress in a grand and legitimate manner. Not long after her ascension to the throne, she came to the West Cave Villa to express her gratitude to her father, the Emperor. This was a customary practice for emperors who had been deposed and ascended the throne, so the West Cave Villa did not refuse her entry.

However, she only saw the founding emperor of the Scorpio Kingdom, her great-grandfather, grandfather, and father, but not the Xuan Yuan Two Saints or Dongfang Bubai.

Moreover, she felt that the environment she entered this time was somewhat different from the one she entered last time. The mountain forest, waterfall, and springs she visited last time seemed to have much better air quality and more pleasant scenery than this place.

After noticing her enter, the old emperor began to secretly observe her surroundings, scanning every nook and cranny. He asked, "Yan'er, are you looking for that Mr. Dongfang?"

Nie Feiyan smiled shyly and said, "Father has already figured it out?"

She keenly noticed that her father used to think of Dongfang Bubai as just a musician and didn't value him much, but now his tone when mentioning him had changed, revealing respect.

The old emperor said, "Although we belong to the West Cave Villa, the Three Saints live in seclusion in the nearby Green Bamboo Forest and do not live with us."

Nie Feiyan was somewhat disappointed and said, "So, I won't be able to see Master Dongfang today." In her heart, however, she was shocked: Master Dongfang had actually been included among the two saints and become the third saint?

The old emperor thought for a moment and then said, "Let me beg my ancestor to see if he is willing to report to the Three Sages of Xuan Yuan on your behalf."

Nie Feiyan was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, Father Emperor."

The old emperor returned shortly after and said, "Our ancestor said that since you received guidance from Master Dongfang and have now successfully ascended the throne, you should go and express your gratitude to Master Dongfang, regardless of whether he sees you or not."

Nie Feiyan exclaimed with ecstasy, "So, our ancestor has agreed to report this to us?!"

"Come with me!" the old emperor nodded and said, then ordered Nie Feiyan's many followers: "You all wait here and do not come with us. The Three Sages do not like to be disturbed, and if you all go with us, you will anger the Three Sages."

No one dared to disobey, and they all respectfully replied "Yes" in unison, obediently waiting in place.

Nie Feiyan followed the old emperor into the inner courtyard of the West Cave Villa. She had already paid her respects to several ancestors before she arrived, and now she was only here to see the founding emperor, Nie Bang.

Although he was nearly 315 years old, his cultivation made him appear decades younger than the old emperor. Nie Feiyan and the old emperor followed him respectfully, heading together towards the bamboo forest the old emperor had mentioned earlier.

On the way, Nie Bang gave the two men a long lecture, telling them to just bow and greet them when they arrived, and not to say, look, or do anything else. The two men replied, "Yes."

Before long, they arrived at the edge of a bamboo forest. Nie Bang turned to the two of them and said, "This bamboo forest is an ancient and wondrous formation. If the three saints do not activate the formation, no one without a token can enter. You two wait outside while I go in and report."

The father and daughter were astonished, never expecting that such an ordinary bamboo grove could be described as an "unparalleled formation" by their ancestor. It should be noted that this ancestor of the Nie family was a legendary figure with extraordinary insight and knowledge; for him to make such a assessment, it must be an extraordinary formation.

However, the two of them also knew that the Xuan Yuan Two Saints were ancient elders who had lived for thousands of years, and as for Dongfang Bubai, he now seemed very mysterious and unpredictable in their eyes. It was perfectly normal for the three of them to live together and create such a formation to avoid outside disturbances.

Nie Bang went inside and didn't come out for a while. He said, "Come with me!"

Nie Feiyan turned to look at the old emperor with delight, and the old emperor nodded and smiled back at her. The father and daughter were clearly very happy.

But when the two of them turned to look at Nie Bang again, they were surprised to see that the bamboo forest behind Nie Bang seemed to come alive, and suddenly moved to both sides, revealing a stone path.

The two were extremely surprised.

Nie Bang said, "This is because Mr. Dongfang has already opened the Green Bamboo Formation to make it easier for us to enter. You should know that if this formation hadn't been opened, even if I had entered with my token, I might still have gotten lost inside." He couldn't help but smile wryly as he said this.

Nie Feiyan asked curiously, "How come Mr. Dongfang can also control this Green Bamboo Formation?"

Nie Bang pondered for a moment and said, "This formation was designed by a female fox spirit named Hu Tiantian, who is under Mr. Dongfang's command. He is naturally able to control it."

"A female fox spirit?" Nie Feiyan asked in surprise.

Nie Bangdao said, "That's right. That fox spirit was born with a seductive nature and was exceptionally alluring and beautiful. She was one of Master Dongfang's slave beasts. Master Dongfang also had another slave beast, which was a bird with golden feathers all over its body. It was incredibly powerful and omnipotent." He couldn't help but marvel at this.

Nie Feiyan exclaimed in surprise, "I think I saw that bird that our ancestor mentioned before outside the Qin House. It could even speak human language. My uncle told me back then that it was a divine beast."

Nie Bang laughed and said, "Little Fifteen has seen this bird before! He's very proud, so you should be more respectful if you see him."

As the old emperor walked, he listened to their conversation, his heart filled with astonishment. He called Dongfang Bubai the "Three Saints," a title he adopted from the ancestors of the Nie family, and his respect stemmed from their reverence for this "Three Saints of the East." He never imagined that this Mr. Dongfang would be such a remarkable figure.

He finally asked, puzzled, "Ancestor, I heard that Mr. Dongfang is only a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. How can he command strange beasts with all kinds of supernatural powers?"

Nie Bang said with a wistful look, "A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy is just a shell. However, the wonder of the soul is something that people like you and me understand far too little."

Nie Feiyan said, "Ancestral master, are you saying that Mr. Dongfang's extraordinary abilities are due to the wonder of his soul?"

Nie Bangdao said, "It is said that he was born from a different soul. Because he was destined to be extraordinary, his life was too tough, and he killed his mother right after he was born."

Nie Feiyan said, "I have indeed heard that his mother passed away shortly after he was born."

The emperor said, "His fate is somewhat similar to yours. Do you remember what he said about you? Because your star is too bright, many stars around you will be extinguished."

With red eyes, Nie Feiyan said, "Father, do you think my mother was killed by me?"

The emperor said with some grief, "Even if that is true, your mother loves you more than her own life. Even if she were still alive, she would surely do anything to fulfill your wishes."

The three walked and talked, already deep into the bamboo forest. However, outside the West Cave Courtyard, Ye Xiao had secretly followed them, having learned that the new emperor would come to express his gratitude to the late emperor.