Heir of the Blood God Palace

"Congratulations, Sister Zhou Muxi, on further advancing your cultivation."

Mo Tianxiao and the others arrived at Zhou Muxi's residence. The aura radiating from her was several times stronger than before she went into secluded cultivation—clearly, she had broken through successfully.

Zhou Muxi walked over to Mo Tianxiao and studied him carefully, a curious look in her eyes as she asked, "How long was I in seclusion?"

Sensing his cultivation base at the peak of the Transcendence Tribulation stage, she frowned slightly, wondering if she had overestimated her own seclusion time. She had originally planned to break through her bottleneck in just a few years—had her estimate been wrong?

Mo Tianxiao calculated the time and replied calmly, "About ten years or so."

Zhou Muxi nodded and pressed further, "Then, dear sister, would you mind explaining this? If I recall correctly, ten years ago, you were only a Primordial Soul cultivator, weren't you?"

He waved it off, unfazed. "Don't dwell on the small details—just a few minor lucky encounters, good accumulation, and the fact that I'm an alchemist. Breaking through faster is perfectly normal."

He then shifted the topic, "More importantly, now that you've emerged, I assume you've summoned us because you have a plan?"

Hearing this, Zhou Muxi fixed a deep gaze on him. She found herself increasingly puzzled by this younger "sister" of hers. The moment she closed herself off for cultivation, the other had already stepped half a foot into the Saint realm. If she went into seclusion for a few more years, would Mo Tianxiao become a Saint realm expert?

But now was clearly not the time to linger on such matters. Everyone had their secrets—curious as she was, she had no interest in prying into others' private matters.

"You guessed right. You know my identity, so you've probably surmised my goal as well," she said.

Zhou Muxi walked a few steps away, lifting her head slightly, and spoke with a tone laced with resolve: "I want to restore the Great Zhou Dynasty to its most glorious days."

"That’s why I’m determined to claim the Righteous Qi Sect. Even if they don’t secure the top spot this time, I’ll find other ways to get Patriarch Yue to hand the sect over to me."

As one of the top sects within the Great Zhou Dynasty’s borders, bringing the Righteous Qi Sect under the dynasty's wing as a subordinate faction would instantly make the Great Zhou the most powerful force in the Central Plains.

Mo Tianxiao stared at her back, puzzled. "If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean your goal is already achieved? Shouldn’t the Great Zhou Dynasty’s own power combined with the Righteous Qi Sect be enough to restore it to peak strength?"

Zhou Muxi turned around, a faint gleam in her eyes. "Not enough!"

"The combination of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Righteous Qi Sect is strong, but it’s still far from the dynasty’s prime. If I could also take control of the Blood God Palace, then—only then—would the Great Zhou truly become powerful."

With the dynasty’s royal court and the Righteous Qi Sect serving as its unbreakable shield on the inside, and the Blood God Palace as its sharpest spear on the outside, the Great Zhou of that era would be truly formidable. Even if it couldn’t recreate the glory of old, it would still stand unrivaled in the current Xuanhuang Realm.

Mo Tianxiao exchanged glances with his two companions, their expressions slightly stunned.

"Sister Zhou Muxi, you really are ambitious," he remarked.

"But I like your ambition."

He turned to look at her, clearly excited, and said, "So, what do you need us to help with?"

Zhou Muxi calmed herself and focused on the three of them. "The Blood God Palace has three Blood Sons in total. I am only one of them. The Western Domain and Eastern Domain branches each have one Blood Son as well."

"In the end, the one who controls the entire Blood God Palace will be chosen from among the three of us."

"Only three? I knew there was no branch in the Ten Thousand Mountains, but shouldn’t the Demon Prefecture have one? Wouldn’t that make four Blood Sons?"

Mo Tianxiao bristled a little. Why didn’t his Demon Prefecture, vast as it was, have a Blood Son? Were they looking down on a demon cultivator’s turf?

Zhou Muxi glanced at him and said flatly, "The Demon Prefecture did have a Blood Son—until a little over a hundred years ago, when he was ambushed and killed by local demon cultivators who mistook him for an outsider raiding for treasures. Since then, no Blood Son has been willing to risk developing a branch there."

"In fact, that’s probably why the Blood God Palace agreed to take the assassination contract on the demon sect's heir. Raising a Blood Son costs an astronomical amount of resources. Losing a carefully nurtured future leader so pointlessly is no small loss for any organization."

Mo Tianxiao fell silent.

So that’s the story. That Blood Son was really unlucky to have caught the attention of the demon cultivators of the Demon Prefecture—poor guy probably suffered something terrible.

"Then, Sister Zhou Muxi, what’s the plan? Eliminate the other two? That kind of job seems beyond us, doesn’t it?"

After all, if all Blood Sons were roughly equal in cultivation and probably all at the Saint King realm, their own cultivation levels wouldn't be enough to contend with them.

"If it were as simple as killing them, the problem would be easy," she replied.

"But as I just said, every Blood Son is a rare asset to the Blood God Palace, all with the potential to reach the quasi-emperor realm. Naturally, the Palace doesn’t want us to kill each other. No matter which of us dies, it’s a loss to the Blood God Palace."

She went on, "The succession contest in the Blood God Palace has two main phases. The first phase is simpler—finding suitable successors, the next generation of Blood Sons. What I plan to do is make you my heir."

She clarified, "Of course, this is merely a formality necessary for me to overcome the other Blood Sons. The Blood God Palace has lasted this long by ensuring that after one generation of competition, there are always new Blood Sons to rival each other.

Originally, I intended to stall for time to let you improve your cultivation before starting the first phase. But now it seems there’s no need to wait any longer."

"What do you mean?" Mo Tianxiao asked curiously.

Zhou Muxi explained, "Only when all Blood Sons have reached the Saint King realm does the Palace trigger the final contest between the successors."

"And that contest also involves the next-generation Blood Sons chosen by each of us. A candidate’s strength must not exceed the Saint realm, which means they ideally should be at the Transcendence Tribulation stage—that’s the best way for them to help me succeed."

"Originally, I wanted to delay sending a message to the headquarters. But now, it seems all conditions are ready."

Mo Tianxiao’s eyes flickered with interest. "Are we going to the Blood God Palace headquarters?"

He hadn’t forgotten his original goal: to find out where the headquarters was located.

Zhou Muxi nodded. "I’ll make sure the three of you become core assassins of the Blood God Palace. Then you can join me at headquarters and take part in the Blood God Trial to compete for the throne of the Blood God."

"Sister Zhou Muxi, let me be clear," Mo Tianxiao said. "As your ally, I’ll do my best to help you win the throne. But you must guarantee our safety, no matter how things turn out."

"Of course. The first phase of the trial mainly involves battles between the next-generation Blood Sons chosen by heirs. There’s little danger involved. The truly dangerous part is the second phase, but that’s strictly between the heirs themselves."

Mo Tianxiao nodded. "Good."