However, the Wanli Emperor's voice seemed unheard by the imperial concubines and palace maids. They continued to walk forward, with only Consort Liu Zhao stopping.

Only now did Consort Liu Zhao realize that something was amiss. She was about to say something when her face suddenly turned deathly pale.

The Wanli Emperor and the others cried out in alarm, for the two consorts, Zhou and Xu, were each holding the hand of a delicate and pretty child.

"What are you holding? Let go at once!"

The Wanli Emperor rebuked them, but the two consorts had empty gazes and only asked in confusion:

"Holding what? They are our children."

The palace maids and eunuchs of the West Six Palaces turned their heads stiffly. Their eyes held only a ball of flame, without pupils, and light shone from their seven orifices. Su Dan Novel Network

Whoosh!

From the seven orifices of each of these palace maids and eunuchs of the West Six Palaces burst raging flames!

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, let's play together!"

"We, with Your Majesty!"

These people spoke with the voices of children, and the Wanli Emperor felt every hair on his body stand on end!

Looking at these ghostly things, the Wanli Emperor's thoughts were instantly transported back to when he was three years old!

That was in the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign. The Jiajing Emperor was still in the palace, already on his deathbed, but still hid away every day, claiming to be refining elixirs. At that time, the Wanli Emperor was still very young. Once, he accidentally entered the Xuanji Treasure Hall and saw his grandfather, the Jiajing Emperor, using talismans and mystical objects, which could also emit similar childlike voices… just like now.

The Wanli Emperor didn't understand at the time and only thought he had seen ghosts. He was terribly frightened, stunned the whole way, and didn't speak. He only burst into tears after returning to his residence.

His childhood trauma resurfaced, and the Wanli Emperor's face first lost its color, then filled with rage!

"Fiends!"

The Ming Emperor's voice carried vast imperial authority, and the fire spirits were immediately shaken, crying out in panic. The palace maids and eunuchs dropped the torches in their hands and groveled on the ground, their fire nearly scattered.

Just then, two small children suddenly appeared before Consorts Zhou and Xu, one dressed in red and the other in white. The red-clothed child held a red embroidered ball in his hands.

The red-clothed child drove away the fire spirits: "If you appear rashly and approach His Majesty, you will be shattered by His Majesty's voice."

"And Your Majesty, if you go any further, you will die a very painful death."

Of the two children, the white-clothed child pointed to the North Gate in the distance, the Xizi Gate, where some palace maids had already retreated to the side.

The palace maids were starting fires.

Two palace maids outside the gate suddenly burst into flames, instantly falling to the ground. Their charred corpses merged into one, gradually growing larger, transforming into a massive, monstrous ghost that spewed blazing torches, its shape like a huge tree!

The Wanli Emperor heard the white-clothed child's voice:

"Your Majesty, do not be afraid of it. You are the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, with immense imperial authority. No one is greater than you. At your command, we, the deities who are not true gods, are stopped from acting. That is why we must rely on the bodies of mortals to approach you."

"But we are also fire spirits personally appointed by you, having received your grace. Therefore, you cannot simply kill us with a loud shout."

"We cannot harm you. The flames that will burn you next are all flames set by mortals."

"If you can attain enlightenment in the flames, you will become Unknowing Karma Fire, one with Zhu Tian."

A great fire blazed around the Wanli Emperor.

The West Six Palaces had been set ablaze by the palace maids.

The divine monsters could not personally set fires, so they chose to possess people, using their hands to overturn braziers and discard lamp palaces, setting the palace ablaze.

The corridors and gates of the West Six Palaces were sealed off by the flames, and no one could escape!

——

In front of the Tai'an Gate (already burned down).

Zhuo Deyuan and Shi Xiang settled the bodies of their Jinyiwei ( Embroidered Uniform Guard) comrades inside the Longde Hall courtyard. After Song Wuji died, the flames on the bodies also extinguished, clearly showing that the divine monsters' fire rose and fell with their lives.

After Song Wuji died, his true form turned into a fireball and dissipated, but under the yellow talisman, a thin, charred corpse remained. The two Jinyiwei carried the charred corpse to the side of the wall.

The charred corpse was curled up, unrecognizable.

But they accidentally saw that the lower body of the charred corpse seemed to be...

"A eunuch?"

"Look for a yapai (identity tag)!"

The two Jinyiwei searched and found a yapai stuck to the rotten flesh of the thigh. The two carefully identified it, and their faces changed drastically!

"Cui Wensheng?!"

Consort Zheng's personal eunuch!

Zhuo Deyuan and Shi Xiang exchanged glances, both feeling alarmed. As members of the Jinyiwei, they naturally knew what it meant to discover this yapai.

Could it be that the divine monsters entered the palace to assassinate the emperor in connection with Consort Zheng?

Combining this with the long-standing "National Foundation Dispute" incident, was Consort Zheng trying to kill the Wanli Emperor and then promote her son to the throne?

The so-called National Foundation Dispute refers to the court officials, following the Ming Dynasty's principle of establishing the eldest son as the crown prince, supporting the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Changluo, as the crown prince. However, the Ming Shenzong Emperor did not like the eldest son born to Consort Wang, but instead favored Consort Zheng and intended to establish her son, the third prince Zhu Changxun, as the crown prince, which was strongly opposed by the officials and the Empress Dowager Cisheng.

The Ming Shenzong Emperor had been arguing with his ministers about this matter for eleven years! Countless officials and imperial relatives were involved!

The two low-ranking officers were sweating on their foreheads, feeling that they had been drawn into a huge political storm.

Handing this over would implicate many people. Regardless of whether Consort Zheng was innocent in this matter or truly involved, perhaps after this incident, the National Foundation Dispute would truly come to an end.

This small yapai was originally just an identity tag used by the palace attendants to confirm their identities, but now, it had become an important piece of evidence to confirm the future direction of the Ming Dynasty!

Just as the two Jinyiwei put away the yapai, two palace maids came to the corner of the corridor, claiming to be looking for "Lord Song" after seeing them.

"Song?"

The two Jinyiwei felt a strong sense of alarm. The divine monster in the fire who had just died seemed to be surnamed... Song!

Petty Officer Zhuo Deyuan raised his saber forward, pointed at the two palace maids, and said fiercely, "Who sent you here!"

The two palace maids stared straight at the closed Longde Hall door, completely unafraid of the blade, and walked forward. Flames suddenly burst from their seven orifices, rotating and heading towards Zhuo Deyuan's seven orifices!

Shi Xiang beside him pulled him back. The two retreated quickly, while the two palace maids in front of them had already turned into burning fire people!

"Why isn't Lord Song here?"

The burning mouths of the two palace maids uttered terrifying and eerie sounds. At this moment, the door of Longde Hall opened with a bang!

A gust of wind blew, and the two palace maids looked up, seeing Ji Xiang walking out of Longde Hall!

In Ji Xiang's inner vision, words appeared on the blank divine tablet!

[A Lian: A type of fire spirit, often appearing in groups at night, transforming into the appearance of children, gathering fire for play, its original form like a wheel.]

[This type of fire spirit, not having become a true god, steals a small amount of incense from the true gods, relying on the human body to seize the seven po (corporeal souls) and replace them. Imperial authority is useless when they are not manifested, but imperial authority can be used to deter them when they manifest.]

[Dipping an arrow in blood and shouting 'Shoot my A Lian's head' when releasing the arrow can kill them.]

Ji Xiang, having obtained the strategy, sneered at the two fire spirits:

"There is no Lord Song here!"

"There is only a dead Song Wuji!"

Ji Xiang, bearing the imperial authority of the Great Ming, glared fiercely at this moment. With just one look, the two fire monsters felt the heavens collapse, and they heard only a loud roar that nearly shattered the two spirits' souls!