The demon attendant was at a loss for words.
On the opposite side, Qi Yu and Feng Mingqi were finally pulled apart by the subordinates of the demon palace.
Qi Yu's hair was disheveled, her hairpin had fallen off, and Feng Mingqi was no better off; both looked equally disheveled.
Yu Zhen walked towards them, "You two have worked hard. I've already had my demon palace mostly torn down. Why don't you stop here and come in for a seat?"
Qi Yu didn't speak. She spun around, used her spiritual power to tidy herself up, bowed to Yu Zhen, and walked past.
Feng Mingqi could only tidy his appearance as well, then walked in beside Yu Zhen with indignation.
Inside the demon palace.
A maid served tea to Feng Mingqi and Qi Yu.
Qi Yu looked up and thanked her, while Feng Mingqi snorted coldly.
Yu Zhen looked at the two indignant little brats before her and smiled. She turned to ask Qi Yu, "May I ask the esteemed owner's surname?"
She couldn't keep calling this little girl the楼主 of Mingcang Tower or esteemed owner.
"My humble surname is Cang (zàng)," Qi Yu replied with a smile to Yu Zhen.
Yu Zhen nodded, feeling a bit impressed with this楼主 Cang, thinking she was truly skilled at changing her demeanor.
Just moments ago, she was fighting Feng Mingqi to the death, and now she was smiling radiantly at herself.
Feng Mingqi saw that Yu Zhen's attitude was so gentle, not at all like someone who was going to settle scores, and couldn't help but speak, "Mother, shouldn't you speak up for me?"
"Speak up for you about what? You, a grown young man, can't even defeat a girl. What do you expect me to say?" Yu Zhen sighed.
"Damn it, I was letting her win!" Feng Mingqi rolled up his sleeves.
"Heh," Qi Yu sneered.
Yu Zhen looked at the two little brats about to fight again, and helplessly put her hand to her forehead. She quickly intervened, "Hey, don't fight, don't argue. What exactly are you two fighting about? Mingqi, you're the Crown Prince, don't always bully young girls."
"It's all because of you," Feng Mingqi accused Yu Zhen with a solemn expression, misinterpreting his and Qi Yu's innocent relationship.
"And then this Crown Prince started talking about reputation," Qi Yu cut in before Feng Mingqi could finish, "I think His Highness the Crown Prince is overthinking things. He was just misunderstood by his own mother, and it's enough to explain clearly. The one whose reputation is truly damaged should be me, and then His Highness the Crown Prince started fighting with me."
Feng Mingqi pointed at Qi Yu, speechless.
Yu Zhen was amused and exasperated, "Ah, so that's what happened. Yes, it's all my fault. Now I know you two are innocent."
Feng Mingqi snorted.
Yu Zhen's expression turned serious again, "Then did you find anything in the room?"
"Reporting to the Demon Lord, I did find a lot of useful information," Qi Yu also regained her serious demeanor. "The Anshui Fa Zhou in His Highness's sleeping quarters conflicts with the operation of our Mingcang Tower's magical artifacts, which is the reason for His Highness's loss of spiritual power. However... there is one point that puzzles me."
Qi Yu looked at Feng Mingqi, "Your Highness, did you cast the Anshui Fa Zhou yourself?"
"Sometimes it's me, and sometimes the demon attendants responsible for taking care of me set up the Anshui Fa Zhou formation in advance." Feng Mingqi looked at Qi Yu, "This time it was the demon attendant."
"..." Qi Yu nodded and looked at Yu Zhen, "Normal Anshui Fa Zhou would not conflict with the operation of our Mingcang Tower's magical artifacts. Of course, I haven't seen the problematic artifact from Mingcang Tower yet, so I can't be entirely sure of the cause of the problem right now."
In fact, Qi Yu was already completely certain that the Anshui Fa Zhou was the problem.
After all, Feng Mingqi had only used the magical artifact once, while the Anshui Fa Zhou had likely been used several times.
Moreover, the magical artifacts from her Mingcang Tower were all replicated by her through mirrors, each bearing her spiritual mark. If something went wrong and someone tampered with them, she would be the first to know.
But if she said this, wouldn't it be equivalent to telling the Demon Lord that there was a problem with the people around his son?
Whether in the mortal world or the demon realm, problems with people serving the Crown Prince were no small matter, and in any case, it wasn't something an outsider like her should point out.
Yu Zhen naturally understood Qi Yu's unspoken meaning.
She raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "If that's the case, Mingqi, then have someone check everything. Especially the Anshui Fa Zhou. The items you use, it's time for them to be replaced."
Feng Mingqi nodded, looking indifferent.
Qi Yu stood up and bowed to Yu Zhen, "Then, Esteemed Lord, I shall take my leave."
If she didn't leave now, she would miss the morning class at Beiyuan Sect.
"Alright, then I won't see off楼主 Cang," Yu Zhen stood up. "By the way,楼主 Cang, in a few days, I want to send my son to Beiyuan Sect. Do you have any magical artifacts that can conceal demonic energy?"
Qi Yu almost spat out a mouthful of blood, "Beiyuan Sect? Uh, why is His Highness the Crown Prince going to Beiyuan Sect?"
"It's nothing. Mainly, I think that as the Crown Prince of the demon realm, Mingqi should accumulate more knowledge. Not just demonic cultivation, but also learn other things. Even if he can't cultivate immortality, he can learn more about the immortal cultivation world to know oneself and the enemy." After speaking, Yu Zhen took a sip of tea with a serious expression, secretly thinking that she couldn't say that because her four children were all disciples of Li Yu, the sect leader of Beiyuan Sect, she wanted to try letting her children cultivate both immortal and demonic arts.
While cultivating both immortal and demonic arts depended on bloodline talent, her four children had more demonic bloodline in their bodies, so they had to form a demonic core first before cultivating both.
Among her four children, her eldest son Feng Mian had not yet formed a core, and her third and fourth daughters, the twins, had not yet formed a core. Only Feng Mingqi had formed a core first.
She could only let him go first.
Qi Yu looked enlightened, praising Yu Zhen's "foresight as a Demon Lord" while secretly scoffing in her heart.
*Mistress, admit it, you just want your son to cultivate both immortal and demonic arts.*
She didn't expose it. After helping to retrieve items that concealed demonic energy from Mingcang Tower, she bowed and left to bury herself in work at Mingcang Tower for a long time.
Only then did she extricate herself and return to Beiyuan Sect.
Inside Beiyuan Sect.
When Qi Yu returned, Si Qing was like a neglected cabbage, squatting on the ground with a dejected expression.
"Oh, what's wrong? Punished for doing something wrong?" Qi Yu said as she walked towards him, handing Si Qing the dragon beard candy and dried meat she had bought in the mortal world on her way back from the demon realm.
"Hmph," Si Qing took the snacks, his mood improving slightly, but he still grumbled, "Brother, you've changed. Brother, you went out to play without calling me. It's too much."
"Oh, it wasn't going out to play. A friend asked for my help, and I was in too much of a hurry, so I didn't call you," Qi Yu explained, then turned and noticed people everywhere near the main hall, and became curious, "What's going on over there?"
"Master has taken another disciple," Si Qing said, chewing on the dragon beard candy as he walked over. "He just arrived today."
Qi Yu peeked over.
Oh ho, the new disciple kneeling in the center of the formation, awakening his water spiritual root, wasn't that Feng Mingqi?
Considering the time, she had been busy with official duties at Mingcang Tower for four or five days. It wasn't strange that he appeared at Beiyuan Sect before her.
Minglou stood nearby, resting his chin on one hand, watching Feng Mingqi's discipleship ceremony with a puzzled expression. "Speaking of which, this Feng Mingqi has a water-element heavenly spiritual root, his talents are in the guqin and hidden weapons, and his conditions are not bad. Why did he only want to be an inner disciple just now and not a direct disciple?"
"So, is he an inner disciple or a direct disciple now?" Qi Yu looked back at Minglou.
"A direct disciple, because Master thinks the water spiritual root talent is very good, so he promoted him," Minglou said, shrugging. "I just find it strange, why would someone refuse to be a direct disciple and choose to be an inner disciple? It's such a disadvantage..."
Qi Yu raised an eyebrow, "How do you know it's a disadvantage?"
"Yeah, how do you know it's a disadvantage?" Si Qing also raised an eyebrow.
Minglou cast a puzzled look at them.
Qi Yu and Si Qing didn't reply. They stared in Feng Mingqi's direction, thinking in unison:
This is the biological son of Master (Father) and Mistress (Mother).
In the sect, there is no one more suitable than him.
Inside the room.
Feng Mingqi's discipleship was complete.
Qi Yu and Si Qing entered one after another.
They stared at Feng Mingqi and said in unison, "Call us Senior Brother."
Feng Mingqi: "...Senior Brother."
After he spoke, he squinted at Qi Yu's face, secretly wondering...
Strange, have I seen this person somewhere before?