Granny Sun's words made everyone at the banquet lower their heads, concealing their expressions.
This was because some people were taboo and couldn't be mentioned.
Princess Anhai's eyes also revealed a strange glint. She understood her wet nurse and knew that when the other party was young, not only did she have a wide network of connections, but she also had extraordinary skills.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to be both her and the fifth prince's wet nurse.
It was even more impossible for her to survive in the palace until now and be rewarded by the Human Emperor to retire.
All of this meant that the wet nurse was wise and loyal to the Human Emperor.
Hence, with Granny Sun's experience, she naturally knew that words were often both a weapon and an attitude. Any sentence wasn't just the meaning expressed on the surface.
In that case, the words she said earlier held deep meaning.
Princess Anhai, lost in thought, couldn't help but glance at her kindly wet nurse beside her. Regarding the background before the latter entered the palace, she couldn't find any traces or information, with no way of knowing or searching for it.
She only knew that the other party had a daughter who unfortunately died prematurely. Later, upon her mother's request, the woman was arranged to enter the palace and became her wet nurse.
The wet nurse of the royal family wasn't just someone who simply breastfed; they also held a special status.
In order to prevent the politics in the harem from affecting the dignity of the imperial family, the imperial court often employed various methods to weaken the relationship between the princes and their birth mothers, and the wet nurses played a role in this process.
They were in charge of the lives of the princes and princesses, accompanying them, guiding them in the early stages until they reached adulthood.
They replaced the role of the mother and accompanied them day and night. Hence, the formation of the princes' outlook on life and values would be affected by the wet nurse. The wet nurse would directly affect the princes' attitude when he did things in the future and his methods of dealing with some things.
Hence, in the imperial family, the wet nurse was a mother as well as a teacher.
While Princess Anhai was deep in thought, Granny Sun gently patted her arm. Princess Anhai hurriedly lifted her head and instinctively smiled as she looked at Ning Yan.
Ning Yan's expression was a little complicated.
Granny Sun's words reminded him of his mother. What followed was the melancholy in his heart and the memories buried deep in his mind.
He couldn't remember his mother's appearance clearly.
As for his mother's name, it had become a taboo in the imperial city. No one dared to mention it. In his memory, this was the first time he heard someone mention his mother after she passed away.
Hence, Ning Yan took a deep breath and stood up to walk in front of Granny Sun. He then cupped his fists and bowed.
Granny Sun looked at Ning Yan and maintained a kind smile as she summoned him to the other side of her.
She even placed Ning Yan's palm in her hand.
However, she sighed inwardly. She naturally knew the purpose of Anhai bringing Ning Yan here. However, after she left the imperial city, she wasn't too willing to participate in imperial politics.
After all, the death of King Tian Lan and the Human Emperor's decree implied that there might be a storm of succession that was about to sweep through the Imperial City.
Another important point was Ning Yan…
The younger generation didn't know about the history that had once been suppressed, but she had personally seen the rise of Ning Yan's mother and her peerless talent. She had also witnessed the blood tragedy overnight and the death of another prince.
That was Ning Yan's twin brother.
From that day onwards, Ning Yan was intentionally distanced from others.
Hence, when she treated Ning Yan and Xu Qing previously, she was cold but didn't harbor any malice. They minded their own business and stayed in their own lane.
However, the arrival of the Spirit Aura Emperor made everything different.
Although she wouldn't gamble everything on someone, she still had to take appropriate care of him. Hence, there was that sentence from before and her current actions.
Behind everyone at the banquet, there were countless connections with the Imperial City.
Her words and actions would probably be known by some thoughtful people very soon.
This was enough.
Just like that, when the banquet continued until the bright moon was in the sky, the Spirit Aura Emperor stretched and stood up to leave. Xu Qing also stood up and bade farewell to Granny Sun.
Looking at Xu Qing, a hint of deep meaning appeared in Granny Sun's eyes. After some thought, she took out three jade tokens and handed them to Ning Yan.
After Ning Yan arrived at the Imperial Capital, he would send them to her three old friends on her behalf.
Ning Yan instinctively looked at Xu Qing. Xu Qing nodded slightly. Hence, Ning Yan took a deep breath and solemnly took them.
After that, they left.
On the way back to the teleportation array, under the moonlight, Ning Yan was clearly reminded of the past. His mood was low as he silently followed beside Xu Qing.
Halfway there, Xu Qing patted Ning Yan's shoulder.
"It's fine. No matter what, you're still a Sword Holder of Fenghai County."
When Xu Qing's words landed in Ning Yan's ears, warmth rose in his heart. He let out a long breath and spoke softly.
"Thank you, Boss."
"Actually, it's nothing much. I'm just afraid of embarrassing you. As a prince, I actually don't have much status in the Imperial City. I'm marginalized and no one comes into contact with me."
"I know the reason. It's because of my mother. She's a taboo in the Imperial City…"
"I originally had a big brother. We were twins. His personality was more decisive than mine and he was smarter than me. He was better at everything than me. Although he was taciturn, nothing seemed to be able to stump him."
"He treated me extremely well. I was a bit timid when I was a child, and he protected me. But he died, too. The day after my mother's death, he passed away. Everyone in the mansion died together, except for the most useless one – me."
"After that, I was at a loss and helpless in the Imperial City. I had to tread carefully, all alone."
"The huge imperial city…"
Ning Yan shook his head bitterly.
"It was only a few years later that I received a decree from my father. He instructed me to go to Fenghai County, to live there incognito, and silently record everything."
"After that, I met you, Boss."
Ning Yan looked at Xu Qing. Under the moonlight, in the wilderness, he revealed something he never told outsiders. This was because on his way here, unknowingly, Xu Qing was becoming more and more similar to his elder brother.
Xu Qing lifted his head and looked at the sky. No one knew who he was thinking of… After a long time, he lifted his hand and ruffled Ning Yan's hair.
"After we go to the Imperial City, if you're unhappy, we'll return to Fenghai County together."
"Mm!" Ning Yan nodded vigorously.
Xu Qing smiled and continued forward.
They strolled further and further away until they disappeared into the horizon.
A few days later, the ancient teleportation array was activated. Xu Qing and the others left through the teleportation array, and there was someone else with them.
That was Princess Anhai.
She arrived before the teleportation array was activated and headed to the Grand Imperial Capital Region with Xu Qing and the others.
As the light of the array formation disappeared, on a vast land separated by three regions from the Gray Sea, in an array formation that occupied a huge area, light shone.
The size of this array formation far surpassed all the teleportation ancient arrays Xu Qing had seen on the way. It was three times larger and the materials were even more astonishing. They were all forged from high-grade spirit stones. Moreover, there were countless gigantic rocks around the teleportation array.
Every one of them was engraved with runes that emitted terrifying fluctuations.
Further away, there was a military camp.
Their duty was to guard the teleportation array. There were human soldiers patrolling the surroundings at all times.
There wasn't only one of such an array formation on this land. There were others in different areas and they had their own guards.
As for this land, it was ring-shaped!
It was like a ring with a large range that was similar to many smaller regions.
However, this place was only a portion of the human race's Grand Imperial Capital Region.
Within this ring-shaped land, separated by expanses of abyss, there was another ring-shaped land. Even deeper within, such circular lands were nested, one after another, numbering to a total of a hundred.
At the center of the encirclement of these hundred rings, there was a huge star. It was majestic and astonishing. Even from afar, one could faintly see its shadow.
It wasn't formed from soil, and was gaseous!
Clouds and fog lingered above. From time to time, vortices would appear like a storm. Accompanied by lightning, rumbling sounds echoed in all directions.
This was a gigantic and astonishing gaseous star.
The rings around the planet were ring-shaped lands.
Below this huge planet was a pitch-black abyss.
"This is the Grand Imperial Capital Region!"
"The entire Grand Imperial Capital Region can actually be seen as floating in the air. Below the Grand Imperial Capital Region is an abyss that is bottomless. Very few people know what really exists inside. However, there are legends that that place leads to a place called Brilliant Heaven."
"As for the appearance of the Grand Imperial Capital Region, it is an astonishing gaseous star. It was refined by the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether countless years ago from beyond this world and used as his palace. It is now the ancestral land of our human race."
"Even the descendants of the imperial family aren't qualified to enter the gaseous planet. Only the Human Emperor and the future crown monarch are qualified to enter the planet to worship their ancestors."
"The 100-layer rings around this gaseous planet is where our people live. The outermost layer is under our feet. This place looks like the ground but it's actually formed by light after it was solidified by divine abilities."
"These rings go from the outside to the inside. The closer one is to the gaseous star, the higher the living requirements and level. As for the innermost level… it's the imperial city of our human race."
On the outermost ring of the gaseous star, as the teleportation array shone, Xu Qing and the others appeared together with Princess Anhai.
The moment she appeared, Princess Anhai's voice rang out.
Everyone from Fenghai County was shocked by the vast scene in front of them. Even though they couldn't see too much due to their cultivation, Princess Anhai's utterances created a scene in the minds of every Fenghai County cultivator.
However, the captain curled his lips and didn't care. As for Zi Xuan, she stared at the shadow of the planet with confusion in her eyes.
Although the others were shocked, they quickly suppressed the waves in their minds and recovered. They were all silent. Xu Qing also retracted his gaze and glanced at Princess Anhai, nodding slightly.
Princess Anhai's expression was calm, but she was surprised inwardly. She understood that because the human race's Grand Imperial Capital Region was the first Wanggu Region built by the ancient sovereign, it was different from ordinary large regions. It was very difficult for anyone to be calm when they first saw it. The cultivators of Fenghai County were the same previously, but their recovery speed was too fast.
However, she quickly suppressed her surprise and continued to travel with Xu Qing and the others. Just like that, several days passed. Under Princess Anhai's arrangements, they teleported all the way to the imperial city in the innermost ring.
As they got closer and closer, the gigantic gaseous planet became clearer and clearer in everyone's eyes.
As the clouds flowed, the planet that was surrounded by clouds would occasionally reveal a vast and astonishing statue of the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether.
That statue sat cross-legged and meditated on this star. Although it was dead, its expression was lifelike and its aura towered into the sky.
