Great Tang.
Early morning.
A streak of golden light shot across the western horizon.
It tore through the sea of clouds and dove straight into Chang'an.
When the golden light faded, a young girl's figure appeared on the roof of a tall building in Chang'an City.
Two figures followed closely behind and landed.
As soon as they stood firm,
Running Ox impatiently lowered his head and gently pulled open the front of his robes.
A featherless fledgling poked out its bald head.
"Big Sister, look, this is the capital of Great Tang, called Chang'an."
The fledgling blinked, her eyes filled with curiosity.
As the noble Demon Emperor of the Great Marsh, she had not allowed Running Ox to run around in the past, and she herself rarely left the Great Marsh.
She had even fewer dealings with Human Race Cultivators.
But now,
Before her was a vast city with blue bricks, gray tiles, and curling wisps of cooking smoke.
It lacked the aloof Immortal Qi of a Dao Lineage's mountain gate, but possessed an indescribable, vibrant liveliness.
The fledgling twisted her bald neck, actually becoming somewhat mesmerized by the sight.
Beside her, Tiger Cuihua's eyes were fixed straight ahead.
At this moment, its two paws gripped the railing as its large head craned out far.
After a long time,
It finally murmured: "A thousand homes like a Go board, twelve streets like vegetable plots..."
It swayed its head back and forth, and even its tail behind it began to wag unconsciously.
"In the past, this small demon only saw descriptions of the mortal world's prosperity in books, and always thought the Human Race was just flattering themselves with exaggerated boasts."
"Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, I realize this mortal world's mundane atmosphere is even more flourishing than what was written in those books."
This bit of literary flair might have drawn some echoes of agreement if spoken among scholars and poets.
But it happened to fall upon Running Ox's ears.
The black ox rolled his eyes grandly: "Tch."
"If you haven't seen the world, look more and talk less. Stop spouting those sour phrases; they make my old ox teeth ache."
Tiger Cuihua was quite choked by this 'country bumpkin' remark.
It turned its head and glared fiercely at this black ox who knew nothing of elegance.
But because the other was a whole major Realm higher, it ultimately didn't dare to talk back.
It could only awkwardly withdraw its gaze and continue looking at the scenery.
Jiang Yuechu stood with her hands behind her back at the very edge of the flying eaves.
The rising morning sun spilled over her black robes.
Ignoring the bickering of the two demons behind her, her gaze crossed over the layers of market districts and landed in the distance.
Several familiar auras were sweeping toward them at extreme speed.
The person in the lead was none other than White Jade Tower.
Having not seen him for several days, the aura of decay and decline on this Demon Suppression Division Commander-in-Chief had completely vanished.
His figure came to a steady halt on the ground below the building.
White Jade Tower looked up, gazing at the figure in black robes above.
Without any redundant pleasantries, he cupped his fists and spoke in a deep voice: "Welcome back to the capital, Grand Princess Your Highness."
Immediately following,
Several more figures landed one after another.
You Wujiang, Gu Wanlan, and several members of the Demon Suppression Division.
"Welcome back, Grand Princess Your Highness!"
Jiang Yuechu tapped her toes lightly, her figure floating down like a falling leaf.
She landed steadily in front of everyone.
Her gaze calmly swept over You Wujiang and Gu Wanlan.
It was indeed as she had expected; the Incense Path was of immense help to these Martial Artists who were already Prodigies.
In just a short time, You Wujiang had already reached the late stage of the Mountain Gazing Realm.
Gu Wanlan even showed signs of an imminent breakthrough.
Withdrawing her gaze, she nodded slightly to the old man before her: "Dispense with the formalities."
White Jade Tower straightened his body, but his gaze involuntarily fell upon the two demons who had descended with the girl.
He had seen the black ox before...
But that tiger demon... Her Highness had gone out once and actually brought back another demon?
White Jade Tower felt a slight chill in his heart, but he didn't ask a single question.
"Have the people from the Pill Cauldron Sect been properly settled?"
Jiang Yuechu asked casually.
White Jade Tower quickly collected his thoughts and reported respectfully: "To answer Your Highness, His Majesty has settled all eight hundred-plus members of the Pill Cauldron Sect in the west of the city. The Cauldrons and medicinal ingredients required for Alchemy have also been moved into the warehouse."
"Mhm... Tell Zhou Xuan to come find me when he's free."
Jiang Yuechu nodded. Having looted so many things from Wuxiang Mountain this time, she needed someone to help categorize them.
"Yes."
While talking, the group walked along the street toward the Imperial City.
The commoners on both sides retreated to the roadside, bowing their heads in salute with expressions of awe.
Tiger Cuihua followed behind Running Ox with its neck pulled in.
It carefully sensed the lurking auras within the city... but the more it sensed, the more horrified it became.
Though this capital of Great Tang was magnificent and its prosperity far exceeded what it had seen in books,
The cultivation levels of the Martial Artists and Cultivators coming and going throughout the city were simply appallingly low.
Never mind great experts of the Denglou Realm;
It seemed it couldn't even find half a person who could trade a few blows with it.
The highest were merely these few in front of it...
Tiger Cuihua swallowed hard.
As everyone knew, talent was certainly important on the path of cultivation.
But with talent alone, without a massive amount of resources, without a famous teacher's guidance, and without the Spiritual Qi nourishment of a blessed land,
Even a piece of peerless jade would likely end up as an ordinary person amidst the wasting of years.
Method, wealth, companionship, and land—none could be missing.
Where in this world was there such a thing as becoming invincible for no reason?
Why could the high and mighty Twenty-Five Lineages become the top powers of the Eastern Region, controlling the path to heaven?
Was it because the current The Main Seats of the Dao Lineages all rose from nothing and fought their way up solely with talent?
Naturally not.
A Dao Lineage was a Dao Lineage because, while it initially relied on strength when founding the Sect... having been passed down to this day, it had long ceased to rely on the martial power of a single individual.
Instead, it relied on the supreme foundation accumulated over countless years.
With these, even a pig could be fed until it became a Demon Emperor.
But now,
This Great Tang Dynasty was clearly a backwater that didn't even have a single Denglou Realm expert.
Its foundation was pitifully thin, and it was dirt poor.
How could it possibly raise this peerless, fierce god who could cross Realms to kill those 'chess players' at the Denglou level?
Tiger Cuihua was utterly baffled.
Could it be... Bizarre plots from storybooks suddenly flashed through Tiger Cuihua's mind.
It sucked in a breath of cold air.
Could it be that this Highness is actually the illegitimate daughter of some Dao Lineage The Main Seat in the Eastern Region?
Because of her lowly birth, she wasn't accepted by the Sect's primary wife and was thus exiled to this mundane Dynasty to suffer.
Now that her cultivation has reached Major Achievement, she intends to rely on these iron fists to carve out a world for herself.
So that one day she can kill her way back to her original Sect and trample all those who looked down on her under her feet.
Playing out a grand drama of 'thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west.'
The more Tiger Cuihua thought, the more reasonable it seemed.
The gaze it directed at the back of the figure in black robes became increasingly reverent, even carrying a hint of worship.
This is a proper storybook protagonist...
Ahead,
Jiang Yuechu paid no mind to the wild imaginings of the tiger demon behind her.
She walked slowly along the road.
White Jade Tower trailed half a step behind, following closely, looking like he wanted to speak but hesitated: "Regarding Your Highness's trip, the side of Spirit Mountain..."
Although the purpose of Jiang Yuechu's trip had been deliberately suppressed, it was no secret among the high-level officials.
The entire Demon Suppression Division had been on high alert; though they knew Jiang Yuechu likely wouldn't need their help,
If by any chance Her Highness and the opponent fought to a mutual injury, and it just so happened they needed someone to step forward and chop off the opponent's head...
If at that time, Great Tang couldn't even send a single person, how disappointed would Her Highness be...