Master of the masters, hidden dragon.

As soon as Xuan Cheng and her maid appeared before the opulent doors of the palace, there was a black board carved with tiny details of mythical flowers, and there was a title written with gold paint in such breathtaking calligraphy that one could tell that each stroke was made with patience.

"Thousand Springs and Autumns." Huan read it out loud, mesmerized by the magnificent door. Their eyes could see a glimpse of the interior, since the door was open. A maid came out and greeted the eunuch. Not recognizing him, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

Apparently, she was a low rank maid assigned menial tasks, but her sweet and friendly bearing made it easy for them to talk. Xuan Cheng remained quiet as she continued to study the palace, her lips twisted in a tiny smile hardly visible. As is her usual habit, she wanted to capture the essence of the moment and engrave a picture of the present in her heart.

"She is the sister of newly promoted Commander Yong. She wishes to show her gratitude to Her Majesty," he responded. Xuan Cheng had asked him to bring it to the Grand Empress Dowager, and he just did his job, not knowing that would raise suspicions in his account.

"Shouldn't you take her to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager? Or the Empress? May be the Imperial Noble Consort? I have been working here for five years, and I have never seen anyone from noble families come to express gratitude for any reason. Besides, the promotion must be a decision by His Majesties, what's the use of expressing your gratitude here?" She bombarded him with questions, directing them all to Xuan Cheng.

"Sister, may you inform Her Majesty of our arrivals, if she isn't willing to see us, we will return," Huan threw a big smile and drew closer to the maid. The eunuch was shocked to see the completely different shade of Huan. A while ago, she had scolded her for not having manners, and now she talked as if she had lived in the palace for years.

"It is my duty, I must inform. Please stay here." The maid was persuaded after a little conversation that the eunuch didn't understand. Xuan Cheng continued admiring the beauty of the palace.

She had walked from door to door, passage to passage, and palace to palace, she had come across more than seven groups of maids and eunuchs rushing for their work, and as her eyes ran from the bricks of the walls to the leaves of the trees, they had a dark and gloomy aura.

Xuan Cheng had expected such a thing since it is the imperial palace, even with no lingering evil spirit, she is bound to witness and experience such depressing and degenerating energy.

Everyone in palace is struggling to live and survive, strict rules and merciless schemes make it worse. Everyone is each other's pawn and trump card, it's only a matter of time before one realizes how they have been used and manipulated, including the emperor himself.

Aura of hatred and envy, vile and ill intentions plaguing every bit of their minds, it is very rare to find a person who is not the victim of cruel fate. Xuan Cheng herself held grudges against those who wronged her grandmother.

However, she could sense a place of tranquillity—a tiny portion where a relaxing tune of silence waved in the atmosphere. That place wasn't without negativity, but a strange aura lingered over everything. She could sense it because of her extremely heightened level of cultivation. Unfortunately, this strange place isn't the palace she was about to enter.

"Please come in," The maid came out after a long while and spoke. Xuan Cheng then shifted her gaze and entered the palace. As she ran her eyes, awestruck, the flora of the garden began to tell her the story, each one having a unique beginning.

As the sole princess of the Xuan Family raised by her grandparents, she had inherited Jade Eyes, the skill that allows her to see through one's memory, however, her grandmother had locked it. Simply because she had assumed, Xuan Cheng, lacked cultivation, and it would surely haunt her, especially when she goes back to the capital city. It would bring chaos if she could read everyone's past and predict what the future holds.

Since she detested being able to read someone else's memories, even after reaching the Tian Limit, she had not yet gained control of Jade Eyes. However, it also worked against her, as she is seeking retribution.

Besides, she was still the only powerful cultivator who held the ability to protect all weaklings. Even her grandparents never reached that level of cultivation. If she wished, she could all alone restore the realm of cultivators in just four more years of cultivation in the Forest of Angels.

The Seven Cultivations of her grandfather, which Xuan Cheng had inherited, gave rise to her extraordinary abilities. She practiced perfection in seclusion, reaching the point where she could cultivate as she breathed, while her grandfather, a busy man who was afraid of the Evil Lord, never did.

She felt immediate relief from the strangely sweet aura that the energy in the garden had. She entered the woman's main courtyard after passing through the garden, and a smile spread across her face as she did so.

The Grand Empress Dowager is the biological mother of the late Heavenly Jade Princess Shu, but she is not the emperor's father's biological mother. However, since she raised him, the former Emperor, he had conferred the title that should have been reserved for his biological mother upon her.

Xuan Cheng was slightly nervous, as she had thought about it several times. She was clear that her grandfather had cultivated it from his low level of qi, following the guides in his book. However, she often wondered why her grandmother has Jade eyes; it is one of the most dangerous and rare abilities that one cannot attain only through qi cultivation. It is unpredictable, unlike the Seven Cultivations.

Thus, she made several assumptions, and one of them, close to the truth, is that her great grandmother, whom she was about to meet, could be one of those remnants of a strong cult and passed down her Jade Eyes to her grandmother, eventually inherited by her. She was going to meet the master of the masters.