Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 72 Qixia Kingdom

After several rounds of drinks, the banquet reached its climax.

Liu Zhaoyuan put down his wine cup, dismissed the music and dance, and asked with a smile, "Envoy Zhou is young and promising. May I ask what brings you to my humble Qixia Kingdom? If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know."

Zhou Li calmly looked at Liu Zhaoyuan: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. To be honest, I am here to investigate the disappearance of my disciple Gu Heng."

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously lively atmosphere in the hall froze instantly, and the sounds of toasting stopped abruptly. Clearly, no one had expected that the envoy had come for Gu Heng.

"According to the records in the hall, Senior Brother Gu Heng was granted permission to enter the Netherworld Realm five years ago to cultivate in the Netherworld Cave, but he has been missing ever since. The sect specially sent me to find out his whereabouts."

Liu Zhaoyuan's face showed surprise: "Is that so? Fellow Daoist Gu has come to this realm to cultivate, and we have all treated him with courtesy and provided him with convenience."

"About three years ago, Fellow Daoist Gu said he needed to go into seclusion for quiet cultivation and then disappeared. We assumed he had left, but it seems he has vanished?" He turned to his left and right. "Do any of you know Fellow Daoist Gu's whereabouts?"

The two protectors, Liu Xuan and Liu Qing, both shook their heads, and the ministers at the banquet echoed their sentiments, indicating that they knew nothing about it.

Zhou Li, with his keen observation, noticed that among the members of the imperial clan sitting a little further away from Liu Zhaoyuan's questioning, some of them were avoiding eye contact, as if they were hiding something.

He remained calm and casually inquired, "Gu Heng is quite popular within the clan. I wonder who she associated with closely during her time in your country?"

Liu Zhaoyuan pondered for a moment, then looked at Liu Zhaohan: "Zhaohan, you and Fellow Daoist Gu are about the same age, have you noticed?"

Liu Zhaohan seemed surprised that Liu Zhaoyuan would ask her, and paused for a moment before saying, "Senior Brother Gu is quiet and reserved, and spends most of his time cultivating in the cave. He doesn't interact much with people in the palace."

Zhou Li knew these people were definitely trying to deceive him, but he wasn't angry at all, not even raising an eyebrow. He simply looked at them quietly, his deep eyes calm and still, like an ancient well.

Silence spread and accumulated in the hall, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Then, Zhou Li placed his right hand on the table, slightly arched his index finger, and tapped the table lightly.

"Yes."

A clear knock, so loud that a pin drop could be heard, made people's hearts skip a beat, and some even trembled almost imperceptibly.

It was not that the Liu family was cowardly. Zhou Li had come on a mission, personally conveying an imperial edict from the Situ family, who were in charge of this region. He was specially dispatched by the sect to serve as an inspector.

His status was vastly different from that of the stewards who had previously come to this place on official business, and even more so than that of Gu Heng, who came here to cultivate.

Let alone the cultivators who have already refined their Qi, even a mere mortal holds the power of life and death over the entire Qixia Kingdom, and they are absolutely not to be offended.

Zhou Li's fingers did not pause; he calmly raised them again and kowtowed.

"Yes."

The second sound was even more muffled than the first, as if the tapping had not struck a table but rather the top of the head, making everyone's brains go numb.

Before the third sound could be heard, a member of the imperial clan couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Your Excellency, Senior Brother Gu and Princess Xiyue used to get along quite well and often visited each other."

"Xi Yue?" Zhou Li raised an eyebrow and looked at Liu Zhaoyuan.

Liu Zhaoyuan's face showed a trace of helplessness and heartache: "It is my younger brother's daughter, Liu Xixi, whose title is Princess Xiyue. This child... a few years ago, due to her unruly nature, she offended the steward of your sect stationed here, and I ordered her to be exiled to the 'Ping Shui Villa' in the south of the territory to reflect on her mistakes. It is quite unexpected that she is now in contact with Fellow Daoist Gu."

"King Liu's laws are as firm as mountains, and I admire them greatly," Zhou Li bowed slightly. "I wonder where this Ping Shui Villa is? I have some questions that I need to ask Princess Xi Yue in person."

Liu Zhaoyuan immediately agreed: "That would be right. However, the journey to Jingnan is not short, and it is already late. The envoy has had a long journey, so why don't we rest in the palace for the night? Tomorrow morning, Zhaohan and I will accompany the envoy to Jingnan, how about that?"

Liu Zhaoyuan's words were exactly what Zhou Li wanted to hear. The investigation of the Netherworld Cave would take time, and it was time to delay for another day.

Therefore, he readily agreed with a cupped-hand salute, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, King Liu." This was considered a temporary settlement of the matter.

Zhou Li understood that while the King of Liu was outwardly cooperating, he was actually pushing the clues onto a princess who had been exiled. It was likely that not only was there something strange about the Netherworld Cave, but the disappearance of his disciple was also suspicious.

On the surface, Qixia Kingdom appears peaceful, but in reality, its affairs are unpredictable. Given the current unclear situation, it is not the time to delve into it.

In the royal palace, amidst the clinking of cups and toasts, Zhou Li's hand holding the cup was already slightly crooked, and he swayed, feigning that he couldn't hold his liquor.

Yangyang immediately stepped forward and offered a helping hand, but a hint of a smile, which only Zhou Li could detect, flashed in her eyes.

"Is the envoy drunk?" Liu Zhaoyuan asked with concern. "Should I order someone to prepare a hangover remedy?"

"No need," Zhou Li waved his hand, his voice muffled. "Let me... take a moment."

As he spoke, he had already withdrawn most of his spiritual energy from his body, and he had made some discoveries in the depths of the Netherworld, not far from the royal palace.

Following a wisp of bloody scent, the ant passed through a crack in the rock and discovered a huge underground cave, hundreds of feet in diameter.

In the center of the cave stood a furnace of flesh and blood, its body surrounded by countless skeletons, while dark red mist constantly rose from its top, condensing and seeping upwards along the cracks.

Zhou Li was somewhat alarmed, wondering who had the audacity to openly use the Netherworld Cave to refine blood demons.

Could it be the King of Liu? Zhou Li pondered this as he scanned the entire underground cavern.

Under the power of the Heavenly Thunder Eye, nothing could escape its sight. On the edge of an inconspicuous rock crevice, he discovered three tiny Gu worms.

The three Gu worms surrounded the furnace in a triangular formation. Although their spiritual power was weak, they were faintly connected to a pure Yin energy that extended into the darkness deep within the rock crevices, where some kind of trap was hidden.

This was not the work of the Liu family.

Zhou Li made a judgment instantly. If the Liu family possessed such exquisite Gu techniques, they wouldn't have been unable to conceal the impurity of the Xuanming Pill.

Zhou Li wanted to investigate further, but if they went any further, the human body would be out of the control of the spirit. Leaving the human body alone in the royal palace for the banquet was too dangerous, so they had to give up.

By the time the ant turned around, the banquet was over, and Liu Zhaohan personally escorted Zhou Li and Yangyang to two quiet guest rooms.

After repeatedly instructing the palace servants to take good care of her, she was about to leave when she heard Zhou Li say, "Princess, please wait."

It was already dark by then, and Zhou Li dismissed the palace servants, leaving only the two of them in the guest room.

Liu Zhaohan looked at Zhou Li somewhat nervously, took two steps back, and gave a curtsy: "If there is anything else Your Excellency needs, please feel free to send someone to prepare it. It's getting late, and I should return to the palace."

Zhou Li didn't care what she thought and went straight to the point: "I forgot to ask earlier, in what year was Princess Xiyue exiled to Jingnan?"

Seeing that he was only asking questions, Liu Zhaohan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Reporting to the envoy, Xixi went to Jingnan three years ago."

"Three years ago..." Zhou Li said thoughtfully, then asked, "I wonder what the relationship was between King Liu and Princess Xi Yue?"

Liu Zhaohan hesitated at first, but then replied, "Xixi is mischievous by nature and always gets into trouble. His Majesty often punishes her severely, so their relationship is not harmonious."

"With a heart as kind as the Eldest Princess, she must have pleaded for Princess Xiyue quite a bit, right?" Zhou Li offered a slight compliment.

"Although Xixi and I are aunt and niece, we are actually like sisters in private." Liu Zhaohan's lips unconsciously curled up slightly when he thought of Xixi, but then he thought of tomorrow's events and said with concern, "If... if Xixi does anything to offend the envoy tomorrow, I will apologize on her behalf."

Zhou Li waved his hand: "Your Highness, rest assured, as long as Princess Xiyue is willing to cooperate, I will not make things difficult for her."