Zheng Ya's words were concise and to the point, leaving neither Wu Zetian, nor the Emperor Emeritus, nor the Empress Dowager Yin with any rebuttal.
At this moment, the consciousness of republicanism reached a point of cooperation and resonance.
Empress Yin took out two keys and said, "Why don't you both show your keys?"
“Yes, the important thing is to collect all the keys to open the Seal Realm. I also have two keys.” The Emperor Emeritus was taken aback but understood. He took out the keys and showed them to everyone.
With thousands of people focused on the scene, the atmosphere instantly became heated.
Is the early spring sun a bit too scorching?
It seemed as if the key had ignited everyone's enthusiasm, unleashing the greatest passion.
At first glance, the pairs of fiery eyes seemed to want to melt the four keys, integrate them into their bodies and minds, and make them their own—that would be incredibly beautiful.
At this moment, the key represents the quota for ascension.
Unfortunately, no one else had the key, so they could only watch helplessly.
Envious glances shifted to Wu Wei and Zheng Ya as the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Yin inspected the palace, creating a form of indirect coercion.
Sincerity means providing the key.
Zheng Ya smiled calmly: "Alright, I also have two keys, one of which is hidden at the sea base!"
The implication is that they had been holding back before coming.
Leave behind a secret key to save your life.
The Emperor Emeritus was delighted: "Good, very good. This means we are still missing the last key. Once we collect all seven keys of Yin Yang and the Five Elements, we can open the Seal Realm, welcome the birth of the Seal, and pave the way to immortality?"
A morale-boosting remark was made, but the Empress Dowager scoffed, "The question is, who holds the final key?"
"Why are you all looking at me like that? Do you think I have the key and am just wasting time here? What am I doing here?" Wu Wei asked, looking around at everyone in annoyance.
What are you all looking at? It's giving me the creeps.
The last key is of paramount importance. If it cannot be produced, it would be tantamount to abandoning the great undertaking of opening the Seal Realm and attaining immortality. No one could remain unmoved!
Zheng Ya smiled and smoothed things over: "Alright, let's be frank and explain where each of us got our keys, and then summarize and evaluate where the last key came from."
I have two keys in my hands. One comes from the first crown prince of the Zheng royal family, and is held by the direct line of the family. It is a token that proclaims the crown prince's identity.
The other one was provided by the Xie family.
“Ah, this seems to make sense…” The Nascent Soul cultivators started discussing it heatedly, unable to find any reason why Zheng Ya was lying.
In fact, the so-called key originates from the same source as the seal.
The difference lies in their different functions.
The imperial seal is a spiritual treasure that corresponds to the rules of Heaven and sits at the center of the Heavenly Array. It is also the jade seal in the hands of the emperor of the Immortal Dynasty, symbolizing the highest authority and the only proof of commanding the world. It is the special seal used for issuing decrees.
The remaining seven keys each represent one of the five elements and yin and yang attributes, and are spiritual treasures that consolidate the Heavenly Array and cooperate with the seal to activate the Heavenly Array.
During the Immortal Dynasty, these seven keys not only represented the highest authority besides the Imperial Seal, but were also held by the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, and the Six Ministries respectively. The Ministry of Rites was concurrently held by the Imperial Seal, commanding all ministries to consolidate the Immortal Dynasty's power. They were also used to gather together the Imperial Seal Secret Realm, store the Immortal Dynasty's money, grain, treasures, and resources, and were also spiritual treasures for activating the Heavenly Array for offense and defense.
Zheng Ya produced the key held by the first crown prince and revealed a key he had seized from the Xie family, leaving everyone speechless.
Empress Yin was furious and gritted her teeth. She had missed a key that belonged to Xie Shi, which had fallen into Zheng Ya's hands. What a disgrace!
Zheng Ya caught a glimpse of her resentful gaze but remained unmoved. Wu Wei seized the opportunity to speak: "So, among everyone present, I'm the only one who didn't have a chance to access the key?"
"Yes, that's true."
"The key representing the Yin and Yang attributes among the seven keys has always been held by the emperor and empress. The fact that the vice ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works use them signifies that the world is in turmoil and a major event has occurred." The retired emperor subtly revealed the tyranny of imperial power.
This is nothing more than an implication to everyone present that during the Immortal Dynasty, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works were loyal to the Emperor and Empress's faction, which is why they were qualified to use the Yin-Yang attribute key.
After all, the Yin-Yang Key can be used in conjunction with the Seal to activate the Heavenly Array without the assistance of the Five Elements Key, although the power of activating the Heavenly Array is reduced by 20%.
However, it consolidated the emperor's power and prevented outsiders from interfering.
The key, combined with the emperor's blood essence and a unique secret technique, can sense the approximate location of the seal.
These secrets can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words.
Empress Yin, the only one in the know, echoed the Emperor Emeritus, saying, "So it seems that, apart from the Yin-Yang Key, the other four keys were all collected by the five great families..."
"Hey you old hag, you're lying through your teeth! What do you mean by that?" Zheng Ya retorted angrily. Who are you trying to trap?
The Queen Mother was furious: "Why are you so eager to argue? Do you have something to hide?"
"Haha, you old hag, you're hilarious. According to your unreasonable argument, can I accuse you of hiding a key?"
"Looking for trouble here, trying to play a murder and robbery game..."
"Alright, Empress Yin's words were unintentional. Don't take it to heart, young Zheng Ya." The Emperor Emeritus covered for Empress Yin.
The two were clearly acting, deliberately trying to trick people.
Unfortunately, they failed to extract the source of the final key, leaving many in the audience feeling disheartened.
In fact, after the collapse of the Immortal Dynasty, the strength preserved by the emperor of the Great Li Dynasty was insufficient to track down the whereabouts of the key. Therefore, he issued a mission and a secret decree appointing the patriarch of the Zhui Chu Fu clan to lead a group of assassins to track down the whereabouts of the seal.
Not telling them about the investigation of the key was an unspoken rule left to the Fu clan chief by the emperor.
Clearly, the fact that the Fu clan chief led the assassin organization to track down the key's whereabouts but failed to report it indicates that his personal desires were overwhelming, leading him to rebel.
The emperor would send his assassins to his side, and upon receiving information, the assassins would be identified and targeted for action.
For over three hundred years, the emperors have kept their activities under surveillance. From the first Fu clan patriarch to all the members of the five major families who had joined the group, the emperors have remained silent until all five key elements have been collected.
The retired emperor knew this best.
That was an inside story, originating from the dying words of each emperor, a story that even the empresses were not entitled to know.
Otherwise, the retired emperor would not have staged a self-inflicted injury for everyone under the disobedience and imprisonment of the Emperor Chengping, in order to stimulate the exposure of the Five Elements Key and then carry out the operation to close in.
Unfortunately, the favorable situation was disrupted by the return of the scheming empress.
This directly resulted in the retired emperor failing to discover the secret key held by the first crown prince.
At present, Zheng Ya has taken the initiative to conceal the whereabouts of the key for more than 500 loyal followers of the first crown prince, with the aim of delaying the birth of the seal.
The key in Zheng Ya's possession came from Fu Ying, and was accompanied by a rare treasure.
This shows that the so-called companion spirit treasure is just a trick fabricated by the Fu clan to deceive people and hide a secret key.
It's also a trick to test people's hearts and stimulate the emergence of other keys.
There were many schemes involved, and perhaps only the retired emperor at the scene truly understood them. He tacitly approved of the Fu family's underhanded tactics, all in order to gather the Five Elements Keys, keeping them hidden from view.
The Dragon Palace Secret Realm was the last resort for every emperor and empress.
Because the Dragon Palace Secret Realm contains a vast amount of cultivation resources, the Supreme Emperor and Empress Yin were eager to open the Seal Secret Realm, welcome back the Seal to align with the Heavenly Dao Rules, inherit the Seal's legacy, and secretly use the Dragon Palace's resources to achieve immortality.
The rest of the layout was a smokescreen they deliberately created.
Wu Wei was completely unaware of the situation, and was so engrossed in deceiving Zheng Ya into removing the constraints of the equal contract, while also plotting to seize treasures and resources.
In contrast, Zheng Ya had recovered some strength from the death of the first crown prince. He revealed the secret of the Dragon Palace's resource reserves through telepathy, making Zheng Ya realize the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Yin's backup plan, which was why he had concealed the fact that he had the last key from them.
Anyone can play dirty tricks, right?
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