"Hahaha, I should do this more," Hengsheng laughed in amusement as he looked at his palm, a cloud of Chaos Qi swirling above it.
At the center of the swirling cloud, an image was projected, showing what was happening to those whose minds had been trapped inside the labyrinth.
Then he raised his head slightly and saw a dozen royal guards standing still. Their eyes were empty, clearly showing the absence of their minds.
They had been put in this state by Hengsheng's technique the moment Xia Zhenxue entered the dark chamber. He had known from the start that they would act with hostility toward him.
So, he rendered them mindless from the beginning—just to avoid the kind of nuisance now unfolding within the labyrinth.
The Chaos Mind Labyrinth was a Heaven Grade technique he had obtained from the daily sign-in reward on the next milestone day after acquiring his seventh spirit ring—the Ring of Chaos—years ago.
It was a mind technique that utilized the power of Chaos Qi to create a labyrinth of the mind, trapping one or more opponents' consciousness within the chaotic mind realm.
This was an extremely powerful mind-entrapment technique, especially against those with weaker minds and souls than his; they would be trapped forever without realizing that their consciousness had been trapped unless he released them.
Even opponents with equal or stronger minds and souls would have a hard time against this technique; they still needed to struggle to find the exit hidden within the mind realm in order to break free from the labyrinth.
To break this labyrinth by force alone, they would need to have a mind and soul strength that could overpower him, which is rare in the same cultivation realm as him, possible only for those whose entire cultivation path focuses on refining the mind or soul.
Hengsheng enjoyed using it. Inside the labyrinth, he experienced a feeling similar to when he was inside the previous form of the System World: The Endless White Space, The Mind Realm.
A realm of pure imagination—completely under his rule.
Hengsheng's eyes shifted again from these mindless royal guards to the mind labyrinth, which was the chaos cloud above his palm. This was the first time he had trapped so many Spirit Integration experts all at once.
It worked perfectly. He saw that these guys had already noticed something was wrong, but had yet to figure out they were trapped in the mind realm.
He could not blame them for being so clueless, after all, how could they imagine that all of them had been mind-trapped in the mind realm by a True Body realm cultivator? This is absurd for them.
"You guys stay here for now, in my hand…" Hengsheng whispered to those who were inside the labyrinth above his palm. Of course, they could not hear him—he merely wanted to act mysterious, like a real supervillain.
"I have other things to take care of," Hengsheng murmured with a smirk.
Then his attention shifted to something else. He opened the system display; it showed the scene of Xia Zhenxue after being led by one of the royal guards.
Hengsheng observed the scene closely. He was waiting for the right moment for him to make a grand entrance.
…
Xia Zhenxue followed the royal servant into the dark chamber. Shielded by a multiple-powerful formation, the chamber was completely unobservable from the outside. Such heavy protection existed because the chamber contained a secret within it.
The royal servant stepped aside, allowing Xia Zhenxue to see a glowing light circle and pattern on the floor—a teleportation formation.
The teleportation formation was a rare, Rank 7 formation.
Most teleportation formations' existence and locations were kept secret—only those used for trade purposes were known to others.
It was considered a strategic weapon by top factions such as the Xia Clan and other great dynasties. Imagine teleporting directly to the opponent's strategic point—it would be terrifying for the other party.
Even though there are formations that could prevent such actions, such as spatial stabilization formations, those are also as rare as teleportation formations.
It was difficult to find a Rank 7 formation master capable of constructing these formations in the Seventh Heaven. This was why they were so valuable—only the top-tier factions could possess them.
Xia Zhenxue's gaze turned annoyed, and she sighed helplessly, thinking that a troublesome situation was about to start the moment she stepped into that circle.
She just wanted to cultivate and drink wine peacefully, but her status as the Xia Clan princess and the holder of the True Snow Phoenix Bloodline did not allow her to do whatever she wanted.
She hoped that after the Chairman fulfilled his agreement and helped her clan reclaim the north, it would distract their attention from her, and she would finally be free from the burden.
Xia Zhenxue took a deep breath and stepped fully into the glowing circle. The teleportation formation hummed softly, its light swirling faster and faster until the world around her blurred and twisted.
Moments later, she found herself standing in a grand frozen chamber, with icy pillars and a shallow staircase leading to the frozen throne at the end.
The chamber was currently filled with a dozen Xia Clan elders seated on either side—and on the throne sat an imposing figure, the patriarch of the Xia Clan. Their eyes flickered coldly as they regarded her presence.
She spotted her father and mother among them; their eyes, in contrast, were filled with warmth as they looked at her. She wanted to approach them immediately—she had missed them dearly after so long apart—but this was not the time. Not yet.
Xia Zhenxue stepped forward with a composed expression, her voice steady as it echoed through the cold chamber.
"I, Xia Zhenxue, greet the Patriarch and the esteemed elders." She clasped her fists and gave a deep bow of respect. Her posture was formal, fitting for the chamber's strict atmosphere, yet her eyes held a calm determination.
One of the elders on the left side narrowed his eyes slightly, observing her presence carefully.
"Zhenxue… you've reached the Seventh Gate…" he said. He was shocked by Xia Zhenxue's cultivation speed. He remembered the last time Xia Zhenxue returned to the clan a hundred years ago, she had just entered the Third Gate.
Normally, a cultivator would take roughly a hundred years to advance to a higher gate, but Xia Zhenxue took only a hundred years to skip four whole gates. Her cultivation speed was astonishing.
"Indeed. The aura around you… It's different from before. Stable, refined." Another elder chimed in.
"It hasn't been that long, yet your cultivation has already reached the late stage of the True Body Realm. Such rapid advancement—did you encounter a great fortune?" The elder on the right side said.
"I encountered an opportunity during my journey in the south," Xia Zhenxue said with a light nod, not wishing to reveal any details just yet.
The questions and answers between Xia Zhenxue and the elders continued. Most of them maintained a good stance toward her—not out of goodwill, but due to hidden intentions. It was the same reason other factions had tried to capture her.
She possessed the True Snow Phoenix Bloodline. Unlike everyone else in the clan, who only carried a diluted version of the bloodline, her bloodline was purer and stronger. They wanted her to marry one of their sons or descendants to elevate their own family's status within the Xia Clan.
Her whole life, everyone had tried to take advantage of her bloodline in one way or another. She was tired of it all.
The Patriarch on the frozen throne finally spoke.
"Speak, Zhenxue. Why have you called for the council before the appointed time?" he asked, his voice deep and slow.
Xia Zhenxue swallowed nervously. In the Xia Clan, the person she revered most was the Patriarch.
The Xia Clan Patriarch, Xia Zhenhai.
Once a prince of the Xia Dynasty, he had lived for more than 50,000 years. He was among the few who still remained—those who had watched the glory of the Xia Dynasty collapse before their very eyes.
Strangely, despite his ancient age, he had never fathered any children.
When she was born, the Patriarch foresaw that her fate would not be a bright one, so he placed his protection over her.
It was because of him that the powerful elders could not force her to marry their sons or descendants.
Her parents and their family couldn't protect her either, as their branch of the clan was only of mid-tier status.
Without the Patriarch's protection, her fate would have been far more miserable.
Despite the gratitude she felt toward the Patriarch, she had to say something he might not like. But today, she had to speak for herself.
Xia Zhenxue took a deep breath, then stepped forward.
"I know this may not be what the council wishes to hear. But I believe the time has come for the Xia Clan to launch a major campaign against the Blood Fiend Palace," she began, her voice steady.
"I request the full might of the clan be mobilized—to reclaim the north, and to restore what was once ours!" Her words echoed through the frozen chamber.
The elders were stunned by Xia Zhenxue's words. Some shouted at her, calling her crazy, while murmurs echoed throughout the hall.
They were afraid of what she had suggested—everyone knew the terror of the demonic cultivators.
No one noticed the slight upward curve of the Xia Clan Patriarch's lips.