Hearing this, the orange cat’s face showed a humanlike expression of relief.
“With the Gathering Essence Pill, my cultivation will recover in a matter of days,” the orange cat spoke in human language, its tone nonchalant.
In a place like the capital, it was dangerous to lack self-protection abilities. One could be discovered by the court’s watchdogs or encounter other hidden predators lurking in the city.
The Gathering Essence Pill is that effective? Great! If the Daoist Master recovers, we’ll be able to private chat in the Earth Book chat group… Xu Qi An thought excitedly while asking curiously:
“Both are from the Dao sect, why does Master need to ask the Human Faction for pills? Is the Earth Faction not skilled in alchemy?”
The orange cat fell silent for a moment, then answered without emotion: “The cost of a Gathering Essence Pill is about 100 taels of gold. And some herbs can’t be bought even with silver.”
It’s not that our Earth Faction is inferior, it’s that the Human Faction is obscenely rich… What a sad story! Xu Qi An wanted to laugh but held back.
“Did you gain any insights today?” The orange cat leaped onto the table, crouching beside the oil lamp. Its golden eyes looked eerily frightening in the dim room.
Xu Qi An shared the information he obtained from Prince Yu’s mansion, as well as his deductions.
The orange cat listened with a serious expression. It unconsciously raised its front paw to lick but resisted, putting it down casually, and said:
“Your analysis is correct. The elopement of Monk Henghui and Princess Pingyang involves court factions… But I don’t understand why Henghui, if still alive, didn’t appear earlier or later, but chose to emerge after the Sangbo case. Moreover, with his strength and skill, he’s not qualified to be involved in the Sangbo case.”
Although it was a question, there was no confusion in its eyes.
Xu Qi An nodded in understanding: “There must be forces behind him. I originally thought it was the Northern King… If it wasn’t for rebellion, what was the purpose of releasing the sealed entity? All this trouble just to eliminate Earl Pingyuan… Master, could it be Prince Yu’s doing, releasing the sealed entity to kill his enemies?”
“You mean Princess Pingyang is already dead, and Prince Yu is avenging her… This possibility is low. If Prince Yu knew about this, with his status as a prince, he wouldn’t need to go to such extremes for revenge,” the orange cat shook its head:
“Why do your thoughts always revolve around the royal family?”
Xu Qi An said dejectedly: “The Northern King’s suspicion is diminishing. I feel like a wife threatening divorce… Alas.”
“A wife threatening divorce?” The orange cat tilted its head.
“All efforts wasted,” Xu Qi An replied.
The orange cat’s expression froze for a moment, “You have quite a way with words.”
If Henghui hadn’t appeared and the sealed entity remained hidden, Xu Qi An would have retained his suspicion of the Northern King, believing he was planning something big.
But Henghui’s current actions didn’t match the caliber of the sealed entity.
He could at least try to assassinate the emperor.
However, Xu Qi An hadn’t completely abandoned his suspicions. The Sangbo case was still shrouded in mystery; he had barely uncovered half of it. The other half remained impenetrable, no matter how hard Xu Qi An strained his 24K titanium alloy dog eyes.
The orange cat’s tail swayed gently as it offered its view: “This poor Daoist thinks you might have entered a misconception.”
Xu Qi An frowned: “What do you mean, Master?”
“Be it the Northern King or Prince Yu, they’re all royal family members. You suspect them because only Emperor Yuanjing knew about the sealed entity under Sangbo, right?”
Xu Qi An nodded.
The orange cat continued: “Excluding the Watcher and Emperor Yuanjing, the Buddhist sect also knows.”
Xu Qi An shook his head: “The Buddhist sect was one of the main participants back then. After the Sangbo seal was broken, Abbot Panshu of the Azure Dragon Temple went westward, showing their concern about this matter.”
The orange cat said: “The demon race.”
These two simple words suddenly hit Xu Qi An like a revelation.
I’ve been limiting the mastermind to the royal family. If the sealed entity was the first Watcher, this guess would make sense… But what if it wasn’t the first Watcher? Then those who know about the Sangbo seal wouldn’t be limited to Emperor Yuanjing, the Watcher, and the Buddhist sect. There’s another force I’ve overlooked.
That is the force to which the sealed entity originally belonged…
To remain undiminished after 500 years of sealing, it must be an extremely formidable top-tier expert. Such a figure wouldn’t be a rogue cultivator… Could it be from the demon race? Hmm, this point needs verification.
Xu Qi An took out a porcelain bottle and placed it beside the orange cat, casually saying: “I met the Imperial Preceptor today. Well, she was different from what I imagined.”
The orange cat gave him a fleeting side glance: “Not the unworldly immortal you expected.”
Xu Qi An was about to nod when the orange cat added: “Probably even more alluring than the women in the entertainment district, making you drool.”
Not at all, I just couldn’t help wanting to give someone a handle… Xu Qi An suddenly realized: “She indeed has something unusual about her.”
With beauties like Aunt at Home, the clear and pretty Lingyu, the lively and adorable Chu Caiwei, the charming and passionate nightclub queen Biaobiao, and the cold and proud ice beauty Princess Huaiqing… Xu Qi An had seen many beautiful women.
But he had never lost control, with his mind full of thoughts about the color of banana peels.
This could only be due to the Imperial Preceptor herself.
The orange cat didn’t answer directly, instead asking: “Why do you think the Human Faction is called the Human Faction? Why does Luo Yuheng want to be the Imperial Preceptor?”
After a pause, it continued: “Luo Yuheng is the daughter of the former Human Faction Dao leader.”
Why are you telling me this? Are you implying that a woman is available? Xu Qi An smiled outwardly:
“As far as I know, among the three Dao sects, only the Heaven Faction renounces emotions and desires. The Human Faction and Earth Faction can marry normally. Master, do you have any offspring?”
The orange cat shook its head, “In my youth, I did consider it. But as my age increased, I grew indifferent to emotions. As for the affairs between men and women, they’re utterly vulgar.”
Is it vulgar, or is it just middle-aged helplessness, with wolfberries steeping in a thermos? Xu Qi An sighed:
“Master has transcended base interests, truly admirable.”
If all men in the world were like you, I’d be overjoyed… he added inwardly.
…
Deep in the night, the streets of the inner city were empty and desolate. The cold wind howled as it swept through the treetops.
The rhythmic sound of footsteps came from afar. A line of city patrol guards appeared at the end of the street. After last night’s massacre of Earl Pingyuan’s family, the security forces in the inner city had increased severalfold.
A dark figure moved through the inner city, traversing streets and alleys. He seemed not to avoid the patrolling night watchmen and the palace guards, but whenever a gaze turned his way, it was always blocked by some obstacle, sometimes a wall, sometimes an eave.
He arrived at the residence of the Minister of War without incident. Looking up at the plaque, the lower half of his face visible under the hood revealed a sinister smile on his purple, demonic lips.
“Who goes there?”
The gate guards finally noticed the black-robed man, shouting while drawing their regulation swords.
The black-robed man raised his right arm from under the cloak, revealing skin of bright red with protruding blue veins, like the arm of a devil.
He aimed his palm at the guards and the gate, suddenly clenching his fist.
Boom!
The gate turned to dust, the guards turned to dust, and the shockwave of energy rippled out like waves, turning the surrounding walls and everything else to dust.
In the Minister of War’s residence, lamps lit up one after another, with cries of terror and shouts rising in succession.
The household guards rushed towards the gate with swords drawn.
With no obstacles in sight, the black-robed man strode into the Minister’s residence. The deep black pupils under his hood coldly and eerily gazed at the lights within.
Suddenly, as he entered the residence, the surroundings changed abruptly. The face under the black robe turned slightly, surveying the environment.
He found himself in a desolate area of the city, with dilapidated streets, withered yellow weeds all around, and vague signs of shabby houses in the far distance.
This was an area so desolate even beggars wouldn’t bother coming. The Great Sui capital had no shortage of such places, but the city was so vast that the court chose to selectively forget about these areas.
“I set up a teleportation array in the Minister of War’s residence,” someone said calmly.
The black-robed man turned around to see a figure in white robes standing about fifty paces away, with his back turned, hands clasped behind him, long hair, and white robes fluttering.
His demeanor was extraordinary, giving a sense of being out of the ordinary.
“Who are you?” asked the black-robed man in a hoarse voice.
“In the capital, there’s someone who doesn’t know who I am. Man, you’ve successfully caught my attention,” said the white-robed man.
The black-robed man snorted coldly, raised his right arm, and gently clenched his fist towards the white-robed man.
Amidst the explosion of energy, the white-robed man’s figure dispersed like a reflection in water.
“You thought I was there, but I’m here,” the white-robed man appeared in another direction, still with his back turned to the black-robed man.
“A fourth-grade spiritualist?” the black-robed man murmured, then laughed coldly: “Mere fourth grade, yet you dare to obstruct me.”
His tone was extremely arrogant, not putting high-grade experts in his eyes.
Mere fourth grade yet you dare to obstruct me… The white-robed man muttered a few words, then praised: “Well said, very spirited words, giving me great inspiration.”
After a pause, he said with a laugh: “You mere fourth-grade warriors, how dare you stand by and watch in my presence?”
The black-robed man was stunned, not understanding his meaning, but he soon found out. From the east, west, south, and north, four-night watchmen appeared, each wearing black official robes with short capes and golden gongs embroidered on their chests.
The golden gong from the east had a stern face, expressionless; the one from the west was as beautiful as a woman, with a cold smile on his lips; the one from the north held a long sword instead of the regulation long knife; the one from the south had a sharp gaze, with fine crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes.
Click, click, click… The sound of mechanisms came from the white-robed man’s left, where rows of automatic crossbows had appeared, loading themselves.
On the right were small cannons.
Twang, twang, twang… Boom, boom, boom…
Arrows and cannonballs were fired simultaneously, concentrating on the black-robed man.
The cannonballs encountered an invisible energy wall, exploding in mid-air and creating brilliant waves of fire along the wall.
Taking advantage of the vibrations in the energy wall caused by the cannons, the runes carved on the arrows lit up, easily penetrating the wall and shooting towards the black-robed man.
The arrows themselves were part of a small formation.
The black-robed man remained calm, raising his right arm, letting the arrows shatter upon impact.
His cloak turned to shreds, revealing the true form of the black-robed man—a handsome but sinister young monk. His right arm was a circle thicker than normal, ugly and terrifying.
“…Bronze skin and iron bones?” the white-robed man, still with his back turned, said in surprise.
At this moment, the four golden gongs attacked simultaneously. Sharp spear and sword intents erupted, striking at the black-robed man first. Nangong Qianrou and Jiang Lüzhong didn’t use weapons, opting for close-quarters combat.
“Buddha says, be compassionate,” the black-robed man put his palms together and chanted a Buddhist phrase.
The sharp spear and sword intents hesitated for a moment, becoming less keen, but returned to normal in an instant.
The black-robed man took advantage of this critical moment to repeatedly strike with his right arm, defeating the unavoidable and unstoppable spear intent, as well as the all-penetrating sword intent.
Then, he twisted his waist and counterattacked, clashing with Jiang Lüzhong’s unparalleled fist intent.
Jiang Lüzhong grunted, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth as he staggered backward.
The black-robed man took the opportunity to turn and punch Nangong Qianrou in the chest. Poof… the short cape on his back exploded into fragments.
Whoosh… In the terrifying suction, Nangong Qianrou’s face gradually turned pale.
A crimson light surged in Nangong Qianrou’s eyes, his handsome face contorting. He let out an inhuman roar from his throat and headbutted the black-robed man in the face.
Both men retreated, then, unwilling to admit defeat, clashed again in fierce combat.
Four warriors and one mysterious monster battled in the desolate urban area, turning everywhere they went into ruins.
Energy explosions erupted one after another, stirring up terrifying hurricanes that swept across several miles.
The white-robed spiritualist maintained a distance that was neither too far nor too close. In close combat, warriors were undoubtedly invincible among those of the same realm.
The battle of a spiritualist is naturally more elegant and dignified… The white-robed spiritualist stamped his foot on the ground and called out loudly: “Earth unleashes killing intent!”
Formation patterns spread from beneath his feet, encompassing the battling warriors. The already devastated ground suddenly began to shake, condensing into a terrifying force.
The white-robed spiritualist stamped the ground again: “Heaven unleashes killing intent!”
Suddenly, dark clouds rolled in the night sky, with lightning snakes flickering in and out, and thunder gathering.
“Man unleashes killing intent!”
As the white-robed spiritualist’s words fell, the forces of heaven, earth, and man condensed into one, crushing down upon the black-robed man.
Placing him in a situation where the whole world was his enemy.
That hideous and terrifying right arm seemed to be stimulated, actively awakening. An indescribable and terrifying pressure erupted, and the protruding blood vessels suddenly lit up.
The handsome but sinister monk grinned as he clenched his fist.
Boom… The explosion of energy engulfed everything.