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Chapter 224: Beacon of Light

Just as King Jùlù's thoughts churned with uncertainty, a servant from the Jùlù Manor hurriedly approached and knelt on one knee before him.

"Wǔ'ān, why are you here?" King Jùlù's eyes widened in surprise.

"Your Highness, terrible news! Jùlù Manor has been raided, and the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror has been stolen," Wǔ'ān reported.

"What?!" King Jùlù's eyes bulged with shock.

"The Wànchéng Treasured Mirror... it's gone!" Wǔ'ān reiterated.

King Jùlù, eyes filled with a mix of fear and anger, scanned the surroundings. His gaze fell upon Emperor Nàlán and the Great Virtuous Dragon Bodhisattva, standing across the two ends of the sea.

"Let's go, back to the city," King Jùlù ordered in a fury.

Jùlù Manor

At the manor, the once grand floating island had collapsed into a pile of rubble. The ground was strewn with debris, and a nearby mountain had been severed in half. King Jùlù frantically sifted through the ruins, accompanied by numerous officers who assisted in the cleanup. Huìguāng Luóhàn stood silently at a distance, kept at bay by the guards.

Amidst the wreckage of the floating island, a large circle of soldiers stood guard around a single individual.

It was Yì Yǎn.

Clad in a simple green hemp robe, Yì Yǎn bent down, picked up a handful of crushed stone, and squeezed it into fine powder, letting it fall through his fingers with a frown.

"Search, search everywhere! Search outside the city and alert the nearby towns. Mobilize all soldiers immediately," King Jùlù roared in anger.

"King Jùlù!" Yì Yǎn's calm voice suddenly called out.

In his rage, King Jùlù had nearly forgotten the significance of the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror. The emperor had entrusted it to him because of his loyalty, asking him to decipher its mysteries. Yet, in the brief moment he left the city, it had been stolen? No, it had been robbed—brazenly, in broad daylight! The mighty Jùlù Manor, raided by thieves! How could he explain this to the emperor?

Adding insult to injury, he had no idea who had taken it. The thieves had left no trace, even amidst the ruins he had combed through. It was maddening, humiliating. How would he face the emperor now?

Just then, Yì Yǎn's voice broke through his thoughts.

Fueled by anger, King Jùlù strode over to Yì Yǎn, glaring at him. Did Yì Yǎn come here to mock him?

"King Jùlù, is it true that the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror has been stolen?" Yì Yǎn asked, his tone unperturbed.

"Yes!" King Jùlù, seething with frustration, glared at Yì Yǎn, suspecting that he had come to ridicule him.

"May I ask, has Princess Qiānyōu or her entourage been seen near the Heavenly Prison?" Yì Yǎn inquired calmly.

"The Heavenly Prison? Of course! It must be Princess Qiānyōu and her people," King Jùlù finally identified the culprits.

"Summon the warden of the Heavenly Prison at once, and find out if Wú Wànlǐ is still there!" King Jùlù commanded one of his subordinates.

"Yes, Your Highness," the man responded promptly.

"King Jùlù, for anyone from the Great Luo Dynasty to enter the Heavenly Prison, they need your or my explicit permission. Did you not pay attention when they entered?" Yì Yǎn sighed as he looked at King Jùlù.

"Princess Qiānyōu and her entourage only visited the Heavenly City once, and that was after the grand banquet at Jùlù Manor," King Jùlù fumed. "Every word they said was recorded. How was I to know they had plotted this long before coming here?"

"Once is enough," Yì Yǎn replied with a wry smile. "If they went there every day, wouldn't that have drawn your attention?"

"So, what now? Are you sure it was Princess Qiānyōu?" King Jùlù, still enraged, asked again.

"At the Stormy Coast, Princess Qiānyōu and her group have already fled. They must have returned to the Heavenly City. If you don't believe me, just ask the prison warden," Yì Yǎn said, shaking his head.

"In any case, the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror cannot be stored in a storage bracelet. It must be held in hand, and it emits a constant aura of menace. I will immediately order all city troops to search outside the city. As long as the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror is within the range of our divine sense, we will quickly locate it," King Jùlù declared.

"Agreed," Yì Yǎn nodded.

"City officials of the four great cities, inform all the cities using the 'Beacon Light'. Within the Dàyǔ Kingdom, implement war preparedness. No one is to leave, and mobilize the troops to search in all directions. Any suspicious individuals must be apprehended. Use divine sense to scan the area. Anyone who discovers the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror will be rewarded with 200,000 top-grade spirit stones, and anyone who retrieves it will receive 2,000,000 top-grade spirit stones and a promotion by one rank without exception," King Jùlù ordered.

"Understood," the city officials swiftly dispersed to execute the orders.

Shortly thereafter, atop the city walls of the Heavenly City, a crimson beam with a diameter of three meters shot rapidly toward the south.

The beam, cutting through clouds and fog, traveled unimpeded and appeared thousands of miles away in an instant, its speed increasing as it streaked through the sky.

Simultaneously, eight other beams of light shot out from different sections of the city walls, each one traveling an infinite distance in a blink.

Moments later, in a city far to the south, a red light suddenly pierced through the sky and hit the top of the city wall, casting a glow on a white surface.

The red light illuminated the wall, revealing small characters in its glow. It was King Jùlù's command.

This was the 'Beacon Light', a method of communication between cities separated by short distances. It required special construction between the cities to function, a technology unique to the imperial cities of the Heavenly Empire and introduced to the Dàyǔ Empire after modifications by Wú Wànlǐ.

The message spread rapidly to surrounding cities. Numerous troops began to leave the cities, searching in all directions for suspicious individuals and using divine sense to scan for the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror. The cities received the message and went into war readiness mode, with no one allowed to move without orders.

Back in the Heavenly City.

The prison warden knelt before King Jùlù and Yì Yǎn, recounting every detail of Zhōng Shān and Lord Qián's visit to the prison.

"It was them! It was definitely them!" King Jùlù raged.

"Wú Wànlǐ is dead?" Yì Yǎn narrowed his eyes.

"Investigate! Find out where they have been in the past few months and whom they have met," King Jùlù ordered.

"Yes," the subordinates responded immediately.

"King Jùlù, I think our priority now should be to recover the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror," Yì Yǎn suggested with a frown.

"Indeed. We must retrieve the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror. Wǔ'ān, come here. Tell me, which direction did Princess Qiānyōu and her group head last?" King Jùlù demanded.

"Your Highness, after His Majesty left and the Heavenly City was undefended, they headed south," Wǔ'ān reported.

"The Southern Route? The Southern Route?" King Jùlù murmured in doubt. He couldn't determine if Princess Qiānyōu's party had deliberately created a diversion or if they genuinely headed south. Finally, out of options, he turned to Yì Yǎn.

At that moment, Yì Yǎn was crouching down, drawing lines on the ground with a small twig. He sketched out a map that made little sense to anyone else, then squinted his eyes and said, "They should be heading north."

"North?" King Jùlù stared at Yì Yǎn intently.

"Yes. With the beacon lights signaling and tens of thousands of troops deployed for a search, the north provides the best route for concealment and escape," Yì Yǎn said with conviction.

"Very well, there's no time to lose. We must pursue them quickly," King Jùlù agreed.

"Your Highness, allow me to accompany you. Princess Qiānyōu poisoned me not long ago; I must seek justice," Huìguāng Luóhàn stepped forward and requested.

Upon hearing this, King Jùlù furrowed his brow. However, Yì Yǎn merely smiled slightly and said, "Since Huìguāng Luóhàn wishes to go, Your Highness might as well take him along."

King Jùlù glanced at Yì Yǎn with a frown. Seeing Yì Yǎn's peculiar expression, King Jùlù's heart tightened. He immediately understood what was happening. Yì Yǎn was once again acting against the emperor's orders, but King Jùlù wisely decided not to voice this aloud. In fact, he thought it might be beneficial.

"Very well, I appreciate your assistance, Huìguāng Luóhàn," King Jùlù said.

"Thank you!" Huìguāng Luóhàn replied—

Far to the north of the Heavenly City, at an infinite distance.

On the peak of a mountain.

Zhōng Shān, Gǔ Lín, Shuǐ Jìng, Princess Qiānyōu, and her guards, ā Dà and ā èr, had gathered once again. Gǔ Lín was holding a green jade slab about a foot long and wide, which was emitting wisps of green aura.

"Gǔ Lín, Mr. Shuǐ Jìng, we part ways here," Princess Qiānyōu said, looking at the two of them.

"Qiānyōu, you..." Gǔ Lín's eyes flashed with reluctance.

"Yì Yǎn has likely deduced that we headed north. Troops from the surrounding cities have already been dispatched to search for us. We will divert the pursuers while you take the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror back. With Mr. Shuǐ Jìng's protection, you should be safe. As for us, don't worry. No one can stop us. Apart from the slight restriction on Mr. Shuǐ Jìng, there's no danger. Just follow the plan," Princess Qiānyōu said firmly.

"Alright," Gǔ Lín sighed softly.

Gǔ Lín knew that only two people could carry the Wànchéng Treasured Mirror—either Princess Qiānyōu or himself. Since Princess Qiānyōu was to lead the pursuers away, he had to carry it.

Then, Princess Qiānyōu, along with ā Dà, ā èr, and Zhōng Shān, headed west, while Gǔ Lín and Mr. Shuǐ Jìng continued north, following their plan.

"Sir, do you think Yì Yǎn's troops are already pursuing us to the north?" On the way, Princess Qiānyōu asked Zhōng Shān for confirmation.

"Why ask when you already know the answer?" Zhōng Shān, sitting on a white cloud, replied with a smile.

"I just worry that Yì Yǎn's troops might move at a slow and steady pace, waiting for us to slip up," Princess Qiānyōu said with a smile.

"Yes, Yì Yǎn's greatest flaw is his excessive caution. Being overly cautious has its advantages and disadvantages. During the last battle at Misty Lake, he had the upper hand and could afford to act without caution for once. However, this time he is on the defensive, and he will undoubtedly maintain his cautious approach. As long as we stick to my plan, we will certainly evade them and reach the safest location safely," Zhōng Shān said with great confidence.