“Sigh, if not for these troubled times, wandering the jianghu would be quite a pleasant journey.”

Xu Qi An massaged his temples as he tucked the letter into his robes. The Great Feng Dynasty was teetering on the brink of collapse. If it fell, his life would likely be forfeit as well. The Supervisor had once told him that he carried half of the dynasty’s fate within his body—his destiny had become intertwined with that of Great Feng.

When the nation prospers, he lives. When the nation falls, he dies.

“The current priority is to restore my cultivation. Even if I can’t remove all the Demon Sealing Pins, removing a few more would help recover some of my power… That’s how I can better handle this dire situation.”

“Also, though yesterday’s wealth was spent entirely, the benefits of dual cultivation are truly remarkable. I can feel my dantian about to burst. This profound energy…”

Last night, he and Luo Yu Heng had practiced all the ancient Dao bedroom arts to completion.

Not only did knees meet shoulders, but they had attempted even bolder positions. Now when he closed his eyes, unbidden images would surface: the State Preceptor’s fair long legs, her flat stomach, her full breasts, her peach-like bottom…

While his kidneys were crying out in protest, his dantian had become as rich as a nouveau riche.

With other women, except for that cheat of a Flower Goddess, such effects would be impossible.

Dual cultivation with a Second-Rank Renzong Daoist Leader truly did accelerate one’s progress rapidly.

“If we could continue dual cultivation without interruption, within half a year at most, I could reach the level of the former Northern Duke—the peak of Third Rank,” Xu Qi An thought to himself.

However, given Luo Yu Heng’s proud and reserved nature, she would likely be unwilling to continue dual cultivation with him after these seven days.

“It’s all the fault of Lin An and the other fish for being so useless. If only they were Second-Rank…”

Li Ling Su very much wanted to see the contents of the letter, but Xu Qian deliberately kept it from him, giving him no opportunity.

“By the way, there’s something I forgot to tell you,” Xu Qi An suddenly said.

Seeing his serious expression, Li Ling Su also grew solemn: “Please speak, Senior.”

“In the coming days, if you encounter any secret signals from the Heavenly Sect, don’t respond—even if the contact claims to be your master.”

The Heavenly Sect’s secret signals? My master? These words carried tremendous implications, leaving Li Ling Su both confused and shocked.

“Senior, what do you mean by this?”

“It’s a long story,” Xu Qi An took a sip of his sweet wolfberry tea and explained slowly:

“The Heavenly Sect’s Bing Yi Immortal Lord and Daoist Xuan Cheng have descended from the mountain to capture you and Li Miao Zhen, intending to take you both back for confinement. Li Miao Zhen has already fallen into their hands.”

???

Li Ling Su’s mind was filled with question marks.

Collecting himself, he asked his questions one by one: “Why would Senior Bing Yi and my master want to capture Miao Zhen and me? How do you know about this, Senior? From what you’re saying, are they nearly at Yong Province?”

Xu Qi An answered each question:

“I’m not clear about your Heavenly Sect’s internal affairs; my intelligence network spans all of Great Feng, and your Heavenly Sect hasn’t exactly been subtle; they will arrive in Yong Province in the coming days.”

Xu Qi An believed this warning would be sufficient.

Having spent so much time together, he understood Li Ling Su’s character well. This playboy’s greatest virtue was that he listened to advice.

No matter how unbelievable something might seem, if it came from someone he trusted, Li Ling Su would take it to heart and remain vigilant.

This was a quality many young experts lacked.

“Senior, please don’t joke about this. How could the Heavenly Sect be trying to capture me and Junior Sister Miao Zhen?”

Li Ling Su’s smile was forced.

…

At the South Gate of Yong Province City.

Passersby turned their heads to look at a group of three: a cold and beautiful female Daoist, a middle-aged Daoist with a chest-length beard, and a spirited young woman.

Notably, the cold beauty was leading the spirited young woman by a rope.

The young woman’s hands were bound as she followed step by step behind the cold beauty.

How humiliating… if anyone who knows me sees this, Flying Swallow Heroine’s dignity will be destroyed… Li Miao Zhen complained as she followed behind her master:

“I won’t run away—I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Master, please remove these spirit-binding ropes.”

Bing Yi Immortal Lord maintained her cold expression and didn’t respond.

“If friends see me like this, I’ll lose all face,” Li Miao Zhen muttered.

Finally, Bing Yi Immortal Lord spoke, her tone frosty: “If you could truly achieve the Supreme Dao of forgetting emotions, you wouldn’t care about such trivial matters as losing face.”

Li Miao Zhen refused to concede and argued back: “Well then if you’re so capable, why don’t you get down on all fours and bark like a dog?”

Bing Yi Immortal Lord stopped in her tracks and fixed her cold gaze upon her disciple, her black lustrous eyes gradually turning transparent.

The next moment, Li Miao Zhen was shocked to find her mouth betraying her, letting out “woof woof” sounds.

She quickly tried to clamp her mouth shut.

“Woof woof…”

But it was useless.

“Mas-master, I was wrong, your disciple was wrong, you can’t do this to me… woof woof!”

Bing Yi Immortal Lord turned back around and continued leading her onward.

“Woof woof, woof woof!”

Li Miao Zhen walked while barking like a dog, tears of shame falling as onlookers pointed and stared.

I must have spent too much time with that dog Xu Qi An and caught his most despicable habit… Li Miao Zhen opened her mouth and barked a few more times:

“Woof woof!”

…

At the military camp in Da Jiao Square.

Ji Xuan sat in the hall with his core team members Luo Hong Mian, Jiao Ye Elder, and others flanking him on both sides.

“That’s roughly how things stand. What are your thoughts on this?” Ji Xuan looked around at everyone.

Xu Yuan Shuang pondered for a moment before speaking in her melodious voice:

“By all logic, since this person came for the martial arts tournament, he should eventually come to Da Jiao Square. But several days have passed, and I haven’t detected his presence.”

“There are two possibilities: First, he may have come while I was resting, which would be the Dragon Qi host’s good fortune.”

“Second, something may have delayed him, which would also be the Dragon Qi host’s fortune working in mysterious ways to influence events.”

As a ritual practitioner, Xu Yuan Shuang was an expert in matters of fortune and fate.

Liu Hong Mian frowned: “Didn’t you say earlier that as long as we had a Dragon Qi host in our grasp, the mutual attraction between Dragon Qi would eventually bring him to us?”

Xu Yuan Shuang’s lips curled in mockery: “Your memory serves you well. I said ‘eventually.’ But who knows when that will be? Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps much later.”

“And before that happens, if someone else captures him, all our efforts chasing from Qing Province will have been wasted,” Qi Huan Dan Xiang wrapped his colorful robes tighter and reminded everyone:

“Don’t forget, that Xu Qian is also collecting Dragon Qi. He already has two portions. Following the principle of Dragon Qi’s mutual attraction, his chances of encountering that youngster first are higher than ours.”

Jiao Ye Elder stroked his beard: “I do have a few ideas.”

Ji Xuan smiled at this: “Elder, we’ve been waiting for your input.”

In terms of jianghu experience, none present could match the Jiao Ye Elder, and experience often translated into practical solutions.

“If we let things run their course, that youngster will likely encounter Xu Qian first. Therefore, we must both obstruct Xu Qian and accelerate our search efforts. How to obstruct Xu Qian? Simple—have Buddhist high monks patrol the city. If these monks possess techniques to detect him at close range, even better.”

“As for our search, we should monitor the Gong Sun clan on one hand, and gather intelligence from innkeepers throughout the city on the other—just a matter of spending some money.”

“Qi Huan Dan Xiang can handle surveillance of the Gong Sun family—as a heart insect master, he has enough ‘manpower’ and can operate discreetly. The Heavenly Mechanism Palace spies can handle intelligence gathering.”

“Additionally, we’ll need Miss Yuan Shuang to go out more frequently to search with her fortune-viewing techniques. Best to bring our Dragon Qi host along during these excursions.”

After hearing Jiao Ye Elder’s words, everyone nodded slightly.

Just then, Xu Yuan Shuang suddenly said: “The Azure Dragon Seven Stars have arrived.”

The Azure Dragon Stars… everyone in the hall fell silent.

The State Preceptor of Hidden Dragon City had three direct forces under his command: the ritual practitioners’ organization in the city, the Twenty-Eight Constellation Stars, and the Heavenly Mechanism Palace.

Among these, the Heavenly Mechanism Palace was the most mysterious intelligence network, about which outsiders knew little.

But the ritual practitioners’ organization and Twenty-Eight Constellation Stars were well-known among Hidden Dragon City’s upper echelons.

Among the Twenty-Eight Stars, the Vermillion Bird Seven Stars held military positions, commanding an eight-thousand-strong flying beast army and excelling as scouts.

The White Tiger Seven Stars led the White Tiger Guard, serving as bodyguards to the State Preceptor’s confidants and important officials.

The Dark Turtle Seven Stars was a heavy cavalry force five thousand strong.

And the Azure Dragon Seven Stars, including the Azure Dragon himself, numbered only eight people—they were a feared hunting team.

They were also the State Preceptor’s personally crafted elite force. Through formation techniques and magical artifacts, the eight could unleash Third-Rank’s destructive power.

Third-rank experts were apex existences in any force, at any time.

The burly White Tiger laughed: “Now that Azure Dragon has arrived, nothing unexpected will happen in Yong Province City. What we should consider instead is whether the Buddhist sect might go back on their word.”

Ji Xuan shook his head: “The Heavenly Mechanism Palace has already made arrangements with the Buddhist sect. That’s not our concern.”

Xu Yuan Qai coldly snorted: “Once we catch Xu Qian, I’ll kill him myself.”

He still believed Xu Qian had defiled his sister.

Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but glance at Xu Yuan Shuang. White Tiger rumbled with laughter: “When the time comes, that person will be at Young Master Yuan Qai’s disposal.”

Qi Huan Dan Xiang said flatly: “I have many torture poisons. However, killing someone doesn’t require going beyond beheading—there’s no need for torture.”

Though this heart insect master had an extreme personality, in normal circumstances, he didn’t relish killing.

Liu Hong Mian played with her fingernails, offering no comment.

For someone of her outstanding beauty, most men weren’t worth her attention. The only men in the world who could interest her were either of extraordinary status or profound cultivation.

Among the younger generation, only Ji Xuan among those present could catch her interest.

Even someone of Xu Yuan Qai’s status didn’t meet her standards, though since he was just an inexperienced youth, she still enjoyed teasing and flirting with him.

…

In the late afternoon, as dusk approached.

Xu Qi An and Li Ling Su were returning to their inn in the orange glow of sunset.

After leaving the teahouse, they visited a dice gambling house, but it was already closed.

Considering that this matter was also being monitored by the Heavenly Mechanism Palace and even the Buddhist sect, Xu Qi An didn’t make further inquiries. He had already learned what happened from the Gong Sun family’s intelligence.

There were no witnesses at the scene, but according to Patriarch Gong Sun’s deductions and the testimony of the gambling house’s security,

That gambling house owner Chen Er had likely attempted something nefarious against the traveler after losing too much money, resulting in his being killed in self-defense.

“Notify Gong Sun Xiang Yang to keep an eye on the city’s inns—travelers always need lodging.”

Li Ling Su responded with a “mm,” his gaze fixed ahead when he suddenly saw a massive monk in yellow and red kasaya walking from the end of the street.

He stood eight feet tall, towering two or three heads above ordinary people, his height conspicuous in the crowd.

Du Nan Jin Gang!

Li Ling Su’s heart trembled, and he nearly lowered his head.

“Don’t panic, keep your composure,” Xu Qian’s voice transmission reached his ear.

As expected of a senior, so calm… Li Ling Su took a deep breath, his fearful emotions dissipating as his expression remained unchanged.

Damn, why did we have to run into Du Nan here? We absolutely can’t be discovered—my kidneys are still aching… Xu Qi An secretly grimaced.