In this sky full of flowing light, which is spread over almost every corner of the imperial capital, there are hidden soul-refining masters from various sects, newly promoted geniuses in the transformation of spirits, and Qi-refining monks who are trying to seize the opportunity.

Rays of light streaked across the sky and rushed towards the dark, empty sun, like moths flying towards the sun.

General Silver-Armored was furious when he saw this scene. Even with 30,000 elite soldiers cooperating with the imperial capital's formation, they were still unable to suppress the spiritual masters in the paradise, not to mention the cultivators spread all over the imperial capital.

Unless Emperor Xia is willing to use the power of humanity to suppress them regardless of the consequences, he will never be able to stop these practitioners from going to the Fang Cun Secret Realm.

Thinking of this, General Silver Armor looked towards the direction of the imperial city with a deep gaze, his eyes flickering and no one knew what he was thinking.

As many cultivators broke into the Fang Cun Secret Realm, the underworld residence, which had been silent for several days, finally responded.

A ghost king with sharp horns on his head and a huge body appeared in the imperial capital.

The Ghost King carries a huge and quiet temple on his back, on which one can vaguely see hundreds of ghosts and gods in the God Transformation Stage sitting in charge. The ghost den launched since the ancient temple has temporarily isolated itself from the suppression of the backlash from heaven and earth.

The air of the underworld rose into the sky, and the Ghost King stepped into the dark sun step by step through the void.

With the departure of the Ghost King, the ghostly aura that had been lingering in the underworld mansion had disappeared at this moment, and only two ghosts in the God Transformation Stage who were stationed around the mansion were left.

Such a scene is enough to prove that the ghosts and gods in the underworld have come out in full force.

Blessed places, the netherworld, and hermit cultivators are all seeking to enter the secret realm to fight for the opportunity, but the host Great Xia court is indifferent.

It's not that the Great Xia court is unwilling to fight for the Fang Cun secret realm, but that the Great Xia court does not have the heritage of the blessed land that has been passed down since the last spiritual tide era.

The strength of Daxia lies in its status as an orthodox humanitarian dynasty, its control over the secular world, and its influence on the entire territory of Daxia.

In the present Jingzhou, relying on the destiny of humanity, Daxia can still suppress powerful enemies.

But in the secret realm, it was impossible to mobilize the destiny of humanity, and Daxia lost its greatest reliance.

Da Xia might have secretly cultivated several geniuses who had reached the state of God Transformation, but when faced with this secret realm where the True Spirit Refiner had set foot, the mere state of God Transformation was simply not enough.

Even because of its identity as the court of Great Xia, it might bring some unnecessary crises.

Everyone in the Great Xia court was aware of this. Apart from reaching an agreement with the underworld to prevent other practitioners from setting foot in the secret realm as much as possible, they had no plans to enter the secret realm.

Having said that, many officials still couldn't help feeling a little regretful when they saw so many cultivators entering the Fang Cun Secret Realm to compete for opportunities.

Being in the imperial capital but unable to be controlled by Daxia is a shame for Daxia.

Inside the palace hall, many officials were discussing the changes in the outside world, but Emperor Xia, who was sitting on the dragon throne, had a calm and composed look.

“Let’s get started!”

Xia Di's indifferent voice sounded.

All the officials in the court were stunned, their eyes revealing deep doubts that were difficult to conceal.

"What starts?"

"What does your majesty mean?"

Before everyone understood, Xu Yankuan, the head of the Nine Ministers, stepped forward, holding the imperial edict and reading aloud:

“Since the spiritual energy tide, disasters have continued to occur in Daxia, and the people are living in misery.

Today's solar eclipse is all caused by the chaos in Daxia. Only by stabilizing the situation in Daxia can we put an end to the chaos and restore order to the world."

"The underworld has formed an alliance with Daxia. We should re-establish the City God and build a place of incense and fire to restore the dignity of Daxia.

From now on, Daxia will establish the City God Department to spread the laws of the Emperor throughout the world.

All states, counties and prefectures should burn incense in the city god temples and rebuild the incense and law area! "

When Xu Yankuan said this, all the civil and military officials in the court were stunned.

The underworld and Daxia had reached an agreement three days ago, and all the officials in the court naturally knew this.

In their eyes, re-establishing the city gods is an extremely long process and cannot be accomplished overnight, and Emperor Xia should be cautious and careful not to make any mistakes.

From forming an alliance with the underworld to establishing the City God, there should have been at least a few grand court meetings for the emperor and his ministers to discuss matters.

But who would have thought that Emperor Xia did not even discuss it with his ministers, but directly threw out the matter of re-establishing the City God. Judging from Xu Yankuan's attitude, it seemed that he had been planning this for a long time.

Xu Yankuan vaguely sensed the unfriendly gazes of the ministers, and gritted his teeth and spoke:

"Since the underworld has agreed to establish the City God, there is no need to discuss the matter again.

The biggest obstacle to re-establishing the City God is the many blessed places outside the imperial capital. Now that the secret realm of Fangcun has been opened, the eyes of the strong from all sides are focused on the secret realm. This is the perfect time to re-establish the City God."

The ministers immediately raised objections:

“Establishing a city god is not something that can be accomplished simply by issuing an imperial decree. Once the major cave paradises have completed their journey to the secret realms, they will inevitably face a more intense counterattack when they learn of Daxia’s actions.

Even the underworld that has entered the secret realm may have some opinions about Daxia."

“Please rest assured, your Majesty ordered all prefectures, counties and towns to secretly repair the city god temples more than a month ago.

The vast majority of areas within Daxia still retain the belief in the City God, and at that time it will only be necessary to rekindle the faith through the decree of the Emperor of Man.

This matter has been handed over to the City God Division to monitor various places within Daxia, and they will strive to implement the re-establishment of the City God as quickly as possible.

As long as the City God incense is lit, all that remains is the Grand City God Ceremony, and by then the incense domain will be able to cover Daxia."

Upon hearing this, all the officials in the court were stunned at first, and then looked horrified.

Although Xu Yankuan's words sound nice, if you think about it carefully, you will realize how big the loophole is.

Although the Fangcun Secret Realm is magical, it is just a secret realm after all. Normally, the trial in a secret realm can last as long as one month or as short as ten days.

It is almost an impossible task to light up thousands of city god temples in Daxia in the shortest time of only ten days.

Because the prerequisite for lighting incense in the City God Temple is to select the City God.

The City God often undergoes multiple examinations, and his character must be verified before his position can be established. This is definitely not something that can be accomplished by simply offering sacrifices to anyone.

The selection of the City God often involves the interests of local nobles and the Great Xia court. Even with pressure from the City God Office, it is impossible to make a decision in one go, so it is bound to be a long process.

There was only one possibility for Xu Yankuan to be able to confidently burn down all the City God temples within ten days, and that was that the Great Xia court gave up the right to decide on the candidate for the City God and handed the position of City God to the local aristocratic families in exchange for support.

With the support of local noble families, the task of lighting the City God Temple can be completed in the shortest possible time.

Although the City Gods could not disobey the orders of the City God Department and Emperor Xia, and there was no risk of betrayal, the City Gods were, after all, worship gods and ghosts. If their natures could not be confirmed, they could easily develop evil thoughts under the erosion of the faith and cause chaos among the gods and ghosts.

This method is to exchange the future safety of Daxia for the opportunity to quickly build the incense and fire domain in a short period of time.

"Your Majesty, this move is sowing disaster for Daxia!"

"Xu Yankuan's lies are misleading, Your Majesty, please execute Xu Yankuan to restore order!"

"Once the evil spirits and gods start to cause trouble, Xu Yankuan will become the sinner of Daxia!"

Emperor Xia, who was sitting on the dragon throne, watched all this with cold eyes and said in a cold voice:

"How dare you!" "This matter was approved by me, it is not the responsibility of Xu Taichang alone."

"The spiritual energy tide is a time of great contention. What Da Xia is fighting for now is the opportunity to regain control of the situation. There is no room for any delay.

The positions of all the city gods are controlled by me alone. Even if there are demons and gods causing trouble, I will suppress them. You, my dear ministers, do not need to worry. "

“The matter has been decided. The monks from the City God Division have already gone to various places in Daxia to prepare to light up the City God Temple.

From now on, the Imperial Capital's great formation will be activated to suppress all disturbances. Seven days later will be an auspicious day, when we will offer sacrifices to the City God to control the Great Xia incense and magic domain!"

Emperor Xia stood up and left, leaving all the ministers in the hall looking at each other in bewilderment.

Inside the Yangxin Palace, Xu Yankuan stood in the empty hall, looking at the emperor hidden in the shadows on the dragon throne.

Since when, the Imperial Observatory no longer attended court or entered the palace. Even the person who entered the Yangxin Palace to discuss important matters was replaced by Xu Yankuan, the newly appointed Minister of Rites.

This should have been a supreme honor in the eyes of others, but while in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Xu Yankuan felt inexplicably frightened for some reason.

"What has my Princess Tianxing been doing these days?"

Emperor Xia's voice sounded slowly, with an indescribable hoarseness in its majesty, as if the sound was not coming from the throat.

Xu Yankuan was startled and quickly lowered his head and responded:

"Since the meeting at the Underworld Residence, Princess Tianxing has been reading books about the Great Ceremony of Humanity, seemingly preparing for the grand ceremony of the alliance between the imperial court and the Underworld."

"A great gift of humanity?"

Emperor Xia's voice was tinged with sarcasm, but when his eyes hidden in the shadows saw the fire of humanity rising into the sky from Wuxuan Pavilion, the anger in his eyes became more intense.

"Tell me, what would happen if Xia Yunqiu was deposed from her position as Princess Tianxing and thrown into the Heavenly Prison at this time on the grounds of impoliteness?"

Xu Yankuan was startled suddenly and quickly knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty! Although the date for the grand ceremony to worship the City God has been set, this matter still requires the assistance of the underworld.

The alliance between Daxia and the underworld has not yet been fully completed. If we take action against Xia Yunqiu at this moment, I am afraid that the underworld will be dissatisfied, and it may even ruin your majesty's plan."

Upon hearing this, the anger in Emperor Xia's eyes gradually dissipated.

"Then wait for some time."

Then, Emperor Xia turned his gaze in another direction.

"Among those who went to Fang Cun Secret Realm, have you ever seen the figure of the Supreme Daoist?"

"In the Xue Mansion, apart from the Supreme Daoist, only Xue Mingzhi is qualified to go to the Fang Cun Secret Realm, but there is no movement in the Xue Mansion at the moment."

Emperor Xia's gaze became increasingly serious.

"Supreme Daoist, what on earth is he doing?"

In the entire imperial capital, only the unfathomable Supreme Taoist could make him so cautious.

The next moment, Emperor Xia's gaze suddenly paused, and he saw two beams of light suddenly rising into the sky from the Xue Mansion and flying towards the dark sun.

The feeling of uneasiness that had been lingering in Emperor Xia's heart completely dissipated. The Supreme Taoist's entry into the Fangcun Secret Realm meant that the other party would not be able to interfere in the affairs of the imperial capital in a short period of time, which made Emperor Xia immediately look happy.

"good!"

With a distortion of space, the dark scene in front of my eyes changed and was replaced by an unfamiliar desert.

Xue Mingzhi looked around, but found that in this secret space, both his divine sense and other secret methods of spying were suppressed, and even his vision was restricted by the space.

All I could see was a golden desert all around me and a few rays of light falling in the distance.

Looking up at the sky, I saw a big sun occupying half of the sky. The golden sunlight has never been so dazzling, and the scorching heat seems to burn people to death.

"Is this the Fangcun Secret Realm?"

“Isn’t it said that secret realms are usually small, and the rules are incomplete and can only operate according to a specific logic?

Why is the secret realm in front of me almost the same as the outside world? "

Xue Mingzhi wiped the sweat that was beginning to gather on his forehead, stared at the sun and said:

“Even this sun is no different from the sun in the outside world. Because it is confined within the secret realm, the true meaning of the sun it carries is far more blazing than the sun in the Xuanhuang Realm.

Could this be the trace left by the legendary Emperor Donghua Shaoyang?"

As he spoke, Xue Mingzhi subconsciously looked at Shen Yuan beside him.

Facing the approaching Sun, Shen Yuan in white remained calm and composed, completely ignoring the Sun.

Before this, Shen Yuan had been staying in Langhuan Garden and seemed to have no intention of exploring the secret realm of Fangcun.

It was not until he took the initiative to invite Langhuan Garden that Shen Yuan accepted his invitation and stepped into the secret realm.

Remembering that Shen Yuan came to explore this secret realm at his invitation, Xue Mingzhi bowed slightly and asked Shen Yuan curiously:

"Sir, have you ever heard of the name of Fang Cun Secret Realm?"

There was a strange look on Shen Yuan's face.

“I have heard a little bit about it.”

Xue Mingzhi's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked curiously:

"Sir, do you know what is so magical about this small secret place that caused the underworld to give up the incense and faith of several states and the position of the city god?"

"Emperor Donghua Shaoyang, Emperor Fengdu, Taoist Tianzun, and the strongest person who created the Fangcun Secret Realm by reversing the chaos of time and space, are these true?"

Listening to Xue Mingzhi's words, Shen Yuan couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly.

In order to better promote the Fangcun Secret Realm, Shen Yuan was determined to exaggerate it to death, and put all the Daluo titles he could think of into it, which indeed fooled quite a few people.

But now he couldn't tell Xue Mingzhi that Emperor Donghua Shaoyang, Emperor Fengdu, Taoist Tianzun, and the Creator of the Secret Realm were all the same person, right?

His eyelids twitched slightly, Shen Yuan coughed dryly and said casually:

"You will know once the trial begins."

"Trial?"

Xue Mingzhi didn't understand.

At this moment, the light of the stars gathered in the sky of the Fang Cun Secret Realm and turned into a series of Taoist texts imprinted on the sky.

"Detected that the number of secret realm practitioners exceeds one thousand, the secret realm trial is started."

“After the secret realm trial begins, the square inch secret realm will gradually be swallowed by the endless void, and practitioners must escape to a safe area within a limited time.

Practitioners who fall into the endless void or suffer serious injuries during the journey can choose to withdraw voluntarily. After losing the qualification for the trial, the secret realm will teleport them to the outside world.

Random areas in the secret realm will erupt with Dao Mark disasters left by the Emperor and Dao Master. After the disaster, the true meaning of the Dao can be nurtured. Risks and benefits coexist. If you accidentally enter the Dao Mark disaster, you cannot exit voluntarily. Please practice according to your ability.

The secret realm will gradually shrink, and eventually only one person will be the winner."