In Yuzhou province.

On the bustling streets, Yuanjun Bingyi led her unruly disciple Li Miaozhen into an inn, drawing curious glances from passersby. A nine-petaled lotus was painted on the wall outside the inn.

Li Miaozhen was led into the inn, and Yuanjun Bingyi paused in the lobby, her pale eyes slowly scanning the second floor as if searching for something. Moments later, she guided her disciple through the lobby and up the stairs.

“Knock knock!”

Yuanjun Bingyi purposefully knocked on a specific door.

The door opened silently, and Li Miaozhen immediately saw the scene inside. The room was sparsely furnished, with a middle-aged Daoist priest sitting cross-legged on the bed. He had a thin face, with a blue beard reaching down to his chest…

“Senior Brother Xuancheng,” Yuanjun Bingyi greeted coldly.

“Uncle-Master Xuancheng!” Li Miaozhen’s face remained impassive, her tone devoid of any emotion.

Daoist Xuancheng opened his eyes, his emotionless gaze sweeping over the master and disciple pair before finally resting on Li Miaozhen.

He nodded slightly, “Not bad. You’ve already entered the Fourth Realm and stabilized your foundation.”

Stabilizing the foundation meant she had at least reached the mid-stage of the Fourth Realm.

“Thank you for your praise, Uncle Master,” Li Miaozhen’s expression remained unchanged as if such a trivial matter wasn’t enough to elicit any emotional response from her.

Daoist Xuancheng immediately turned to Yuanjun Bingyi and said, “Compared to when she left the mountain, her temperament has changed significantly. Quite impressive. Could the Tianzun’s intelligence be mistaken?”

Yuanjun Bingyi replied flatly, “It’s all an act.”

Li Miaozhen’s facade crumbled in an instant, transforming from an ice queen to a lively young beauty. She rolled her eyes and said, “Master, becoming a great hero is just a phase in my journey towards the Supreme Forgetfulness. I’m sure I’ll achieve Supreme Forgetfulness in the future, so please let me go. If I return to the sect, how am I supposed to experience the mortal world and achieve Supreme Forgetfulness?”

Ignoring her, Yuanjun Bingyi sat down at the table and asked, “Any news of the Holy Son?”

“According to information from his lover in the Gu Clan of the Southern Borderlands, he has been with the two Palace Masters of the East Sea Dragon Palace, a jianghu faction from the East Sea Commandery, for the past half year of his disappearance,” Daoist Xuancheng said calmly. “I went to the East Sea Commandery but couldn’t find him. After inquiring with the disciples of the East Sea Dragon Palace, I learned that Li Lingsu had been taken away by the two Palace Masters to Leizhou not long ago.”

Yuanjun Bingyi nodded and asked, “Is the Tianzun’s intelligence accurate?”

Daoist Xuancheng was silent for a moment before nodding, “It’s more than accurate.”

The two Daoists fell into silence. After a while, Yuanjun Bingyi suggested, “It’s not difficult to resolve. The mortal dynasties have castration as a punishment. Men who have lost their roots will no longer have thoughts of male-female relations. Partial disability won’t affect cultivation.”

Li Miaozhen coldly agreed, “I think that’s an excellent idea.”

Daoist Xuancheng slowly said, “Let’s bring him back to the sect first and let the Tianzun decide.”

In the inn room.

A dark golden pagoda sat on the table.

Only Mu Nanzhi and the little white fox were in the room. The former was arranging poisonous herbs and drugs on the floor, as well as a large water vat behind the screen.

The latter sat on the square table, munching on sweet and sour jujube, occasionally licking some flower tea.

“Auntie, why does the flower tea you brew have spiritual energy?” the little white fox asked, eyes narrowed in the enjoyment of the fragrance on its lips and teeth.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m too beautiful,” Mu Nanzhi casually replied.

Inside the Pagoda of Maitreya, Xu Qi’an held onto his ankle shackle with the orange cat in his arms. He spoke to the severed arm of Shenshu in the distance:

“Master, do you know the incantation to unlock the Demon Sealing Nails?”

“Come closer, and I’ll tell you,” Shenshu’s voice replied, full of malice.

“Alright!” Xu Qi’an tossed the orange cat, controlling it to walk up to the formation. The cat spoke with a human voice, “Master, can you tell me now?”

The severed arm was silent for a moment before coldly laughing, “You little thing, quite cunning. Come here yourself.”

Xu Qi’an controlled the orange cat to say:

“I’m not a member of the Buddhist sect, yet I’ve stolen the Pagoda of Maitreya. You should understand what this means. For you, this is a heaven-sent opportunity. But what about you? Unable to control your inner malice, your mind filled with thoughts of ‘eating’ me. Heh, an evil being without wisdom, no matter how powerful, is beneath contempt.

“Is this the kind of foolish being that the Buddhist sect went to great lengths to seal? Or do you understand all this, but simply can’t control your malice?”

Shenshu’s severed arm snorted coldly, “Such a low-level attempt at provocation.”

Xu Qi’an took out a fragment of the Earth Book and poured out a small black sword that seemed to be made of iron but wasn’t quite iron.

The moment this sword appeared, Shenshu’s severed arm stopped shouting, and the pagoda spirit, the old monk, opened his eyes and looked over.

This sword, given to him by Sun Xuanji, was specifically designed to break seals.

The day he invaded the Pagoda of Maitreya was to compete for the Dragon Qi and unlock the seal on Shenshu’s remnant. The tool had been prepared long ago; otherwise, how could he break Shenshu’s seal?

He hadn’t taken it out last time because Xu Qi’an felt the left arm was too evil, and instinctively resisted breaking the seal.

“If you don’t want to come out, I’ll leave now and never bother you again, Master,” Xu Qi’an said, his expression calm, even a bit stern.

This time, Shenshu didn’t mock or disdain. It remained silent for a long time before speaking with a voice full of malice:

“There are nine Demon Sealing Nails, and each nail requires a different incantation to remove. I only remember two: one is ‘Qihai’, and the other is ‘Baihui’.”

Qihai is the dantian, and Baihui is at the top of the head, sealing the primordial spirit… Xu Qi’an’s eyes lit up.

If I can unlock these two seals, part of my battle power will be unsealed. Combined with the abilities of the Seven Deadly Gu… Woo-hoo!

Xu Qi’an turned to look at the pagoda spirit, the old monk. The latter put his palms together and confirmed, “Nine Demon Sealing Nails, each requiring a different incantation.”

Although this information was correct, the pagoda spirit didn’t know the unsealing incantations. There was no guarantee that Shenshu wasn’t trying to deceive him… Hmm, I’ll keep this as a reserve option for now…

Xu Qi’an suppressed his inner excitement and said, “Thank you for telling me. Shortly, I will trade with you.”

Then he turned to the old monk and asked, “Master, will you stop me?”

The pagoda spirit shook his head.

Phew! The old monk is unexpectedly laid back… Xu Qi’an secretly rejoiced.

At the Chai Mansion.

Li Lingsu lay on the bed, legs crossed, hands behind his head, pondering the intelligence he had gathered today.

“On the day of the incident, many of the Chai Mansion’s experts sensed the fluctuation in qi and rushed to find the family head murdered in his bedroom by Chai Xian. Seeing his evil deed exposed, Chai Xian manipulated an iron corpse and fought his way out.

“Here, Xinger and Chai Xian’s accounts differ slightly. Chai Xian claims that Xinger and the Chai family immediately assumed he was the murderer and tried to apprehend him. Xinger’s version is that Chai Xian went berserk and killed his way out of the Chai Mansion.

“The Chai family’s account aligns with Xinger’s. Regarding this point, there are only three possibilities: One, Xinger and the people in the mansion coordinated their stories; Two, Chai Xian is lying; Three, Xinger has an accomplice who disguised themselves as Chai Xian, and killed Chai Jianyuan, and then committed multiple murders around Zhangzhou to frame Chai Xian.

“Chai Lan has disappeared, vanishing on the night Chai Jianyuan was killed. Chai Xian says someone framed him, and that person must be skilled in corpse manipulation and isn’t Xinger herself.”

Could it be Chai Lan?

Once this idea entered Li Lingsu’s mind, it became unstoppable.

“Hmm, there’s no evidence though, this won’t do…”

Just then, a maid from the mansion came in to serve hot tea. She was a pretty young maid with a slender figure and a small but round bottom.

She carried a steaming long-spouted teapot, opened the lid of the porcelain pot on the table, and poured hot water into it.

Li Lingsu casually asked, “What’s your name?”

The little maid replied softly, “Reporting to the young master, this humble girl is called Dujuan.”

She lowered her head slightly, not daring to look at Li Lingsu’s face.

“Raise your head when speaking,” Li Lingsu said.

Maid Dujuan hesitated slightly, then raised her head, bravely meeting Li Lingsu’s gaze.

“How many years have you been in the mansion?”

“This servant was sold to the mansion as a child.”

Li Lingsu immediately sat up on the bed and looked at the little maid:

“Then let me ask you, what’s the relationship like between the young miss and the family head?”