At the same time, Xiao Yuanhuai, who was outside the Xia Kingdom Palace, also saw the strange phenomenon in the direction of Qianhuan Mountain.

Xiao Yang, who was also wearing full armor, noticed it as well.

"Master, it's in the direction of Licheng."

A glint flashed in Xiao Yuanhuai's eyes, which vanished in an instant.

"Pass down the order: the palace must be captured before midnight tonight!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Xia Kingdom was in turmoil, Emperor Xiao was critically ill, General Qi, the emperor's father-in-law, held the emperor hostage, Empress Qi controlled the government, and the second prince became a puppet crown prince, giving the impression that the Qi family was in charge.

Previously, Xiao Yuanhuai and Consort Jiang returned to the Jiang clan's territory and had no intention of returning to the Xia Kingdom's palace.

Even when news spread from the Xia Kingdom that Emperor Xiao had appointed the second prince as crown prince, Xiao Yuanhuai and Consort Jiang remained unmoved.

For Consort Jiang, Emperor Xiao was merely a stepping stone to help her clansmen.

For Xiao Yuanhuai, his cold, ruthless, and even cruel father, and the dangerous imperial palace, were irrelevant, or even something he loathed.

Although he cannot reconcile with Consort Jiang now, the warmth he received from the Jiang clan has led him to choose to stay here temporarily.

However, the Qi family was not at ease, and neither was Empress Xiao.

Consort Jiang secretly fled the palace, and Xiao Yuanhuai left on the same day as her. Their whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

Consort Jiang's identity was a major taboo in the palace; Emperor Xiao was wary of her, and Empress Xiao was even more wary of her.

Their disappearance is undoubtedly the biggest threat to them.

Eliminating these two became a must.

The assassins sent by the Qi family pursued them all the way to the Jiang clan's territory.

They even killed several members of their clan, including an infant, which directly crossed the bottom line for the Jiang clan.

The clan chief pleaded with Consort Jiang and Xiao Yuanhuai. Consort Jiang was furious, and Xiao Yuanhuai could not stand idly by.

Consort Jiang said, "You can ignore me, but you should know how your maternal grandfather and these clansmen have treated you. The current situation of Xia Kingdom is not the fault of any one person. The royal family is at fault, but how innocent are the common people?"

"Do you remember that besides the Second Prince, you have a sibling? As far as I know, Consort Mei has treated you well over the years, and the Third Prince Yuan Si has also treated you like a brother, showing you great respect. It's just that you have never given them a kind look."

"Now that the Qi family has succeeded, besides hunting us down, you should know what will happen to Consort Mei and her son."

After speaking, Consort Jiang turned to leave. She paused and said, "There are some favors you don't need to repay or keep in mind, but if you ignore some favors, that would be unrighteous and immoral."

Xiao Yuanhuai stood there, pondering Consort Jiang's words.

This was the first time Consort Jiang had given him guidance as an elder.

Before dawn the next day, Xiao Yuanhuai left the Jiang clan's territory.

Consort Jiang stood at the door for a long time without leaving.

On the day Ning Yao opened the Ning family's territory, the golden light that shone brightly across the sky was seen by people in many places.

Meanwhile, it took Ning Yao two full hours to continuously channel spiritual energy into the transparent gate in the sky.

Just as Ning Yao felt that the spiritual energy of the secret realm was about to be exhausted, the last lotus leaf was lit up.

With a loud bang, the once transparent door now became solid.

As Ning Yao withdrew her spiritual energy, the gate suddenly opened.

Ning Yao exclaimed happily, "It's done!"

Just as she was about to fly down, she felt the secret realm tremble violently and become somewhat out of control.

"Uncle Ning, Grandpa, I'll be going now! The rest of you are in my care!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ning Yao flashed into the gate and disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Yao Yao!" Madam Ning couldn't help but call out.

Ning Wenyi suppressed his excitement and said, "Madam, there's no need to worry. Yao Yao will be safe."

Ning Shaoyuan looked at Ning Que Linyu: "Ancestor, shall we go in?"

Ning Que Linyu turned and left: "Let's go."

Everyone present immediately followed suit.

Although the gate to the clan's territory has been opened, Ning Que Linyu still needs to lead the way to determine which path to take.

After wandering around for a while, Ning Shaoyuan was surprised to find that the path was actually behind the main hall.

Led by Ning Que Linyu, the Ning family members returned to their ancestral homeland after a thousand years.

Upon entering the tribe's territory, everyone felt instantly refreshed and relaxed.

The Ning family's territory is like a paradise, an enlarged version of Thousand Illusion Mountain.

Within the clan's territory, mountains rise one after another, towering into the clouds.

The entrance to the mountain gate is a huge square, which is estimated to be able to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

The black stone slabs paving the square gleamed with a faint black light.

I don't know what kind of stone slab it is, but there are no cutting marks, so it looks like it was made from a single piece of stone.

The square also features a fighting arena and a martial arts arena, with dozens of weapon racks around the perimeter. Light shines on the weapons, reflecting a cold gleam, demonstrating their sharpness.

What's even more amazing is that these weapons have not rusted for thousands of years.

Further inside, you can see nine passageways extending down from all sides, leading directly to the square.

Nine paths lead to nine mountains, each with thousands of steps. These steps serve as a training ground for the clan's members, and also for others.

When Ning Que Linyu was in charge a thousand years ago, the Ning clan was also known as the Ning Que clan.

In addition to their bloodline descendants, the clan also widely accepts disciples to cultivate their skills.

The descendants of bloodline lived on nine mountains in order of kinship.

Disciples with good aptitude who are accepted into the inner sect also have the opportunity to reside in the Nine Mountains.

The other disciples lived at the back of the square, where there was a large area for them to live.

A thousand years ago, with Ning Que Lin Yu and the support of the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm, those who wanted to cultivate could also reach the threshold.

Those with better aptitude went on to become powerful figures in their own right, laying the foundation for their family's fortunes.

At this moment, Ning Yao was in the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm, looking through the history of the Ning Que clan spanning tens of thousands of years.

The ancient history was too distant; Ning Yao only glanced at it a few times, but firmly memorized it.

She found the thousand-year history more interesting.

"It turns out that the Shen family's ancestors were actually inner disciples of the patriarch."

"The ancestors of the Xiao family, the royal family of Xia Kingdom, and the ancestors of the Shen family were fellow disciples."

"Tsk, the Li family of Sheng Kingdom are actually traitors who have fled?"

Ning Yao opened her eyes, processed the information in her mind, and found it all quite interesting.

A thousand years ago, the Ningque clan was the overlord of this world, giving rise to three dynasties.

Later, the Ning Que clan was defeated and gradually disappeared from the world's sight, vanishing into the long river of history.

Now that they have returned, they are bound to stir up trouble and disrupt peace throughout the land.

"Tsk, the Shen and Xiao families are one thing, but how come there's a traitor among them?"

When the Ning Que clan was at its peak a thousand years ago, it had hundreds of thousands of disciples both inside and outside the clan, making it a very large clan.

The most outstanding disciples all possess treasures of the Ning Que clan, which can be considered tokens of their loyalty.

If they possess the token, the Ningque clan will take care of them and their descendants.

Ning Yao raised an eyebrow: "Does it count now too?"

No one answered her, but she had already made up her mind.