It could be said that this was one of the necessary conditions for walking the Saint Heart Path.
Although Lin Yue had tempered his will with the Three Thousand Hell Body, five years ago when he tried, he was still lacking.
Over the past five years, he had often found ways to temper his Dao Heart Will, and the Human Ancestor in the Illusion Realm had used various methods to help him temper his Dao Heart. He considered that he had made considerable progress in his Dao Heart Will.
"Seventeenth Prince, please enter."
After lighting a stick of incense, the Royal Family Tributor guarding the Heart Palace respectfully opened the palace doors for Lin Yue.
Lin Yue did not waste time and immediately walked into the pitch-black interior of the hall.
Inside the hall, one could see winding labyrinthine pathways.
Whispers seemed to emerge intermittently by his ears, telling him how to navigate the labyrinth.
Lin Yue walked calmly forward.
The Heart Demon Maze purely tested the Dao Heart. The labyrinth pathways he saw before his eyes and the whispers of guidance he heard by his ears were all illusions.
The weaker the Dao Heart, the more forks there were in the maze, and the more influencing the whispers became.
It was unrelated to speed or path, it only depended on how long it took for the Dao Heart to see through the illusion.
It was unknown how long had passed.
Lin Yue walked out of the Heart Palace’s door with a calm expression, this time it was indeed much easier than five years ago, and he smoothly passed through the Heart Demon Maze.
"Congratulations, Seventeenth Prince."
The Royal Family Tributor guarding the Heart Palace glanced at the incense on the table, which had burned less than halfway, and said, "The Illusion Incense burned only about forty percent when Your Highness emerged."
"Forty percent?" Lin Yue thought to himself, "It seems that my Dao Heart Will is outstanding among Great Cultivators."
Being able to emerge before the Illusion Incense burned fully was already a considerable level amongst Great Cultivators.
"What about the other princes? What rank am I?" Lin Yue suddenly asked.
The Royal Family Tributor respectfully said, "Among the twenty-two princes and princesses who have attempted, the Seventeenth Prince ranks fifteenth."
"Fifteenth, that’s alright." Lin Yue raised his eyebrows slightly, not minding.
The princes and princesses were all reincarnations of Great Powers, and their Dao Hearts were incredibly strong. Even if they only awakened a portion of the Four Symbols Level memory, they were still much stronger than ordinary people; his ranking was already quite good.
"In the Heart Demon Maze trial, Your Highness surpassed nine princes and princesses, earning five thousand Earth Merit." The Royal Family Tributor immediately recorded it down.
Lin Yue nodded slightly; five thousand Earth Merit was already quite good.
After leaving the Heart Palace, he did not hurry to leave the palace but instead took Baili Fengzhi to Yao Shen Lake and rowed a boat to the central lake island, sitting down in a pavilion on the island.
"Is Your Highness waiting for someone?" Baili Fengzhi asked.
Lin Yue nodded slightly and said, "I haven’t brought you here before, but the scenery of Yao Shen Lake is quite nice, isn’t it?"
"It is quite nice." Baili Fengzhi nodded slightly.
The waters of Yao Shen Lake were veiled with a faint mist, and the lake surface glimmered with scattered light, appearing as a mystically beautiful fairy lake.
Since the previous dynasty, Great Yu designated this city as the Imperial City, Yao Shen Lake had always belonged to the Imperial Family.
Back then, the Imperial City was called Chonghua City, not Di Hong City.
Lin Yue also wondered if the Imperial Mausoleum from the previous dynasty was hidden beneath Yao Shen Lake.
After a moment, a female official dressed in vermillion official robes glided through the veil of mist across the lake, approaching and stopping before Lin Yue. Bowing, she said, "The Empress sent me to inquire whether there is something for which the Seventeenth Prince is waiting here today."
"What else could it be?"
Lin Yue shook his head slightly and said, "Naturally, it’s still the old matter."
"The Empress said that if it is the old matter, there is currently nothing she can do," the female official said. "Even the Empress cannot easily approach that clan-safeguarding treasure, it requires the right timing; Your Highness is requested to wait patiently."
Lin Yue contemplated briefly and said, "Go back and report to the Empress, within a year or two, I will have broken through the Three Talents Heaven Barrier, don’t let me wait too long."
The female official hesitated for a brief moment but then bowed her head and said, "Yes."
With that, she retreated across the lake, her figure disappearing into Yao Shen Lake’s boundless mist.
"Really..." Lin Yue shook his head slightly.
Baili Fengzhi couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, "Your Highness, that female official’s uniform seemed to be of the Upper Three Grade, only Great Cultivators could possibly become Upper Three Grade female officials. I remember that only those serving the Imperial Concubine or even the Empress have Upper Three Grade female officials by their side, correct?"
Lin Yue chuckled and said casually, "She is First Grade, a palace official."
"Beside the Empress?" Baili Fengzhi couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback.
When did Your Highness come into contact with the Empress?
Lin Yue shook his head and said no more.