In the palace of Wu Dynasty's Imperial City, the Empress, Xia Zhuyuan, sat high up in the grand hall.
"Your Majesty, the Tianmo Sect has ordered all the devil sects in the world to unite and conquer the Wu Dynasty. Their army will arrive soon. What should we do?"
"Your Majesty, I heard that the four Holy Lands and the eight ancient kingdoms are also getting restless. They seem to want to get a share from the war on the Wu Dynasty this time."
"Your Majesty..."
The previous emperor had passed away suddenly. Xia Zhuyuan thus had to shoulder the fate of the Wu Dynasty and ascend the throne, becoming the first Emperess of the Wu Dynasty.
Unfortunately, the imperial court was unstable. As a matter of fact, she had long gotten used to the chaotic situation just like today.
"Everyone knows that the Tianmo Sect is going to attack the Wu Dynasty, but who can come up with a good plan for me?" Xia Zhushang asked.
The ministers immediately looked at Prime Minister Qin Gang, who sat at the head of the hall.
Qin Gang cleared his throat and asked perfunctorily, "The Tang and Yan Kingdoms have been on good terms with the Wu Dynasty for generations. Have our envoys sent replies that the two kingdoms are willing to send troops?"
"Prime Minister, the Tang and Yan Kingdoms are afraid of the Tianmo Sect, and they have sent the envoys back," one of the ministers replied.
"What about Fuyao Holy Land?" Qin Gang asked, "The previous emperor once helped them. Are they willing to resolve the crisis of the Wu Dynasty?"
"The Fuyao Holy Land is too far away." Another official replied, "Water from afar can't possibly put out a fire nearby."
With that, the Prime Minister flew into a rage. "This won't do, that won't do. Are we just going to sit and wait for death?"
"I have a plan!"
At this moment, an old minister walked out with his hands in his sleeves and said in a sad voice, "Your Majesty, everyone knows that the Devil Emperor of the Tianmo Sect, Jing Daotian, is interested in you. I'm risking my life to present this advice, but please marry the Devil Emperor and solve the crisis of the Wu Dynasty!"
"How dare you!" Qin Gang shouted angrily, "How can Her Majesty marry the Devil Emperor of the Tianmo Sect?"
The old minister had no scruples and said bluntly, "We have to sacrifice one person for the benefit of the millions of people in the Wu Dynasty. As the Empress of the Wu Dynasty, Her Majesty must be concerned about the people and prevent war from happening in the Wu Dynasty."
"Is there no other way?" Qin Gang asked.
Seeing that no one answered, Qin Gang turned to the throne. "Your Majesty, what do you think?"
"Do you also want me to marry Jing Daotian?" Xia Zhuyuan glanced at him.
"I wouldn't dare."
"Then why are you putting on this show?"
Xia Zhuyuan put away her lazy appearance and became dignified, "Elder Wu, seeing that you are saying all this for the sake of the Wu Dynasty, I will not punish you for your rudeness. Resign from your position and go back to your hometown."
"Your Majesty, please reconsider."
"Nightingale."
The group of officials still wanted to speak, but the commander of the Embroidery Pavilion, Nightingale, had already appeared with a murderous aura.
The ministers immediately shut up.
...
After the meeting was dismissed, the Empress returned to Yangxin Palace while a group of ministers was still pleading outside.
"Sigh, Her Majesty is still so reckless. I wonder what the future of the Wu Dynasty will be like."
"Elder Wu's suggestion might be the only solution to the problem, but Her Majesty is not willing to let herself suffer. Does she really want the people to suffer because of her?"
"We can't just let it go like this. Let's all go to Her Majesty and submit a petition!"
"Even if she kills us, we're doing this for the good of the Wu Dynasty!"
"Yes, let's go submit a petition."
They wanted to submit a collective petition for the Empress to marry the Devil Emperor to resolve the crisis of the Wu Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, those people simply don't know when to back off. Should I go and kill a few?"
Nightingale was full of killing intent.
"Forget about that. The Wu Dynasty, after all, still needs to be ruled by those people."
Xia Zhuyuan had a headache about Nightingale's aggressive behavior.
"Right now, we should think about how to solve this crisis. Although I have broken through to the Martial God realm, there is still a gap between Jing Daotian and me. I am not afraid of his entire sect coming to attack. However, if we fight, the millions of people of the Wu Dynasty will be in deep waters."
"Your Majesty, I performed a divination."
At this moment, a handsome man in a Daoist robe embroidered with stars and moon came forward.
This person's name was Zhang Mu.
He was the holy envoy of the Wu Dynasty's Astrology Observatory and the second person the Empress trusted after Nightingale.
"Hurry up and tell me," Xia Zhuyuan urged.
"Your Majesty, I've observed the stars recently. The Ziwei Imperial Star is blocked by Yinghuo, and the sky is dark, with only a trace of light left in the north. According to the divination result, I've come to the conclusion that there's an expert in the north who can resolve the Wu Dynasty's crisis!" Zhang Mu pointed at the divination and said.
"There's an expert in the north!"
Xia Zhuyuan's body trembled slightly, and she took out the well-preserved sanitary napkin.
"The senior who saved me and gave me this magic item, Angelic Wings... Doesn't he live in the Guizu Mountain to the north of the imperial capital?"
"Angelic Wings" was the name that Xia Zhuyuan had given to the sanitary pad.
Seeing that the Empress was deep in thought, Zhang Mu asked, "Your Majesty, have you thought of someone?"
"Yes. There's no time to lose. The two of you, follow me to the north!" Xia Zhuyuan said.
...
At the same time, in the north of the imperial capital, Tianyou County.
"Wahahaha, I, Dugu Sheng, have been in closed-door cultivation for a hundred years. Today, I've finally reemerged in this world!" A voice resounded through the sky.
The entire Tianyou County was shaken.
Countless experts flew over, and when they saw the white-haired old man, all of them gasped.
"Senior Dugu Sheng has come out of seclusion!"
"My God, this old senior was already a Martial God a hundred years ago. Now that he's come out of seclusion, what kind of terrifying realm is he in?"
Dugu Sheng, on the other hand, looked down arrogantly and called over a junior of his clan.
He asked, "What year is it now? Has anything major happened?"
"Patriarch, it's been a hundred years. The Tianmo Sect is about to invade the Wu Dynasty. Currently, the entire Wu Dynasty is in grave danger. We didn't expect you to come out of seclusion so soon."
"Haha!" Dugu Sheng laughed when he heard this. "When I was in seclusion, a voice called out to me and woke me up! It seems the Wu Dynasty is destined to live on. Today, I've entered the Dao and stepped into the Celestial God realm. With me around, the Wu Dynasty will not be destroyed!"
"Wu Dynasty is destined to continue prospering!"
"Patriarch Dugu, please come with us to stop the devils from Tianmo Sect."
The people who originally had no thoughts of participating in the war were immediately all gusto when they saw that Dugu Sheng had come out of seclusion.
"There's no rush. Who is the current Emperor?" Dugu Sheng asked.
"The Empress, Xia Zhuyuan," someone replied.
"A little girl?" Dugu Sheng's eyes were filled with contempt. "Then, let the Empress come over and invite me."
"Indeed." The group of people chimed in, "Senior Dugu is no longer a mortal. The Empress should come personally to invite him."
For cultivators of the Martial Dao, there were nine tiers in total, namely Martial Apprentice, Martial Artist, Martial Warrior, Martial Spirit, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Venerable, Martial Saint, and Martial God.
However, even a tier-9 Martial God was still a mortal.
They were only mortals comparable to gods.
Only by crossing the threshold beyond the tier-9 Martial God realm could one be considered a true Celestial God.
Dugu Sheng was now a Dao Entry realm celestial, a realm above the tier-9 Martial God realm. He could control the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, so it wasn't a big deal for him to want the Empress to come personally and invite him over.
The next day, a member of the Dugu clan quickly came to report, "Reporting to the patriarch. We have heard that the Empress has left the capital and is heading in the direction of Tianyou County."
"Oh." Dugu Sheng laughed. "It seems that the Empress has learned that I've come out of seclusion. She should be coming here to invite me to help her protect the kingdom."
Although he had been in seclusion for a hundred years, it seemed that the emperors of the Wu Dynasty still valued him.
Since this newly appointed Empress had personally come to invite him out of retirement, the respect the former had given was enough.
"After I help the Empress to defeat the Tianmo Sect, I'll ask for some benefits for my descendants. I'll ask for the position of King or Duke for the clan leader. As for myself, I'll settle for the honorary title of 'National War God'," Gudu Sheng thought.
However, what he didn't know was that the Empress was indeed heading north, but her destination wasn't Tianyou County where he was at.
Instead, it was Guizu Mountain that was hundreds of miles away from the imperial capital.