Two days later.
A squad of Imperial Guards entered through the east gate of Baiyun County and headed straight for the General's Office.
Scholar lightly knocked on Shen Qing's door.
"My lord, Zhang Shan, Hundred Household Officer Zhang, has arrived."
Shen Qing briefly straightened his clothes and stepped out of his room.
Zhang Shan had come for Shen Qing as well. Shen Qing had cracked the case of the evil cultivator who harmed others, which counted as no small merit.
Of course, the main reasons were two other matters.
First was Shen Qing's Blood-Swallowing Wood Crystal Core. The moment the Luoshui Town Pacification Department heard that a crystal core had appeared, undercurrents began to stir.
The Pacification Bureau had even offered the high price of two Crimson Jade Fruits in exchange for the crystal core.
That came as a surprise to Shen Qing.
The second matter was to take away that traitorous Lieutenant Official.
The previous appearance of a traitorous Commander Official could be called an accident.
But before long, another mole had been rooted out—and this one had been sent from Luoshui City.
That made the problem serious.
It was said that the Pacification Commissioner of the commandery had flown into a rage, and news had even reached the capital.
The Imperial Guards of Yongning Commandery were about to undergo a major purge.
Shen Qing walked out into the courtyard and spotted Zhang Shan at once.
Zhang Shan was also smiling warmly as he looked at Shen Qing.
But suddenly, Zhang Shan's expression froze. He sensed that Shen Qing's aura seemed to have undergone a qualitative transformation.
"You broke through?"
Though shocked, it was still within Zhang Shan's range of acceptance. He quickly resumed his smile and cupped his hands.
"We meet again, Commander Shen."
The two exchanged another round of pleasantries.
Only then did they get to the point.
"Commander Shen, the order from Luoshui City this time is urgent. They sent me here to collect something from you and take that traitor back along the way."
"Hundred Household Officer Qin will also arrive in Baiyun County at noon to escort it with me."
Zhang Shan's eyes filled with curiosity.
"What exactly is it?"
"It's nothing much. I happened to kill a Houtian Realm blood cultivator. The harvest wasn't much either—just a Blood-Swallowing Wood Crystal Core." Shen Qing spoke blandly.
Zhang Shan froze. What the hell did he mean, just?
Was that something a human being would say?
A single Blood-Swallowing Wood Crystal Core would have been enough to keep him running around for quite some time.
He had captured plenty of blood cultivators, even several in the Xiantian Realm, yet he had never obtained such a treasure.
And here Shen Qing was, killing one Houtian Realm blood cultivator and getting one.
In an instant, the air was thick with sourness.
"Commander Shen, you truly have good fortune!"
Afterward, Zhang Shan stared closely at the Blood-Swallowing Wood Crystal Core for a few moments, inwardly hating that he never encountered such opportunities.
Still, sour as he was, he did not feel much envy.
He had encountered plenty of opportunities himself, but most had merely brushed past him before falling into the hands of his colleagues.
Take this Blood-Swallowing Wood Crystal Core, for example. When he had come to Baiyun County to deliver the Crimson Jade Fruits a few days ago, he had encountered a blood cultivator.
He had captured him casually, but because he had urgent duties to attend to, he had not pursued the matter further.
By the time he planned to deal with those blood cultivators after finishing his current work,
Shen Qing had beaten him to it.
Zhang Shan took it in stride. He believed he was merely accumulating fortune; once enough luck had piled up, he would surely soar into the heavens one day and surely encounter a benefactor.
Timing and fate!
Can't find it by searching the book title? Try searching for the author instead; perhaps it was merely renamed!
Zhang Shan withdrew his gaze, adjusted himself slightly, and brought up the second matter that had brought him to Baiyun County. His expression turned several degrees more solemn.
"I heard you uncovered another mole?"
Shen Qing nodded. "He's in the prison. The White Dragon Cult planted him here. We haven't gotten much else out of him yet."
"I'll have to trouble Hundred Household Officer Zhang to take him away later. His condition isn't very good, so don't let him die on the road."
When they had tortured him last night, Old Li had returned too late, so he had personally mashed some millet peppers for the interrogation.
The man had spent the entire night crying for his father and mother.
Hundred Household Officer Zhang frowned. "The White Dragon Cult again. They're truly annoying, always making trouble for us."
"This matter has blown up badly. I heard the Supervisory Yuan is sending people to conduct a heart-questioning test on the Imperial Guards across Yongning Commandery."
Shen Qing raised his brows.
The people in the Supervisory Yuan were personally selected by the Emperor. Their purpose was to monitor the civil and military officials and seek out those harboring ulterior loyalties.
Most of them were above the Xiantian Realm and mastered special techniques for questioning the heart.
Even the Supervisory Yuan had been mobilized this time? It seemed the matter really had alarmed the capital.
Still, let them ask. Getting everything clear would be for the best.
It would save him from having a mole here and a traitor there, only for them to stab him in the back when the time came.
Not until noon, when another Hundred Household Officer arrived in Baiyun County, did the two leave with the Blood-Swallowing Wood Crystal Core.
Inside the General's Office, Shen Qing looked contentedly at the two Crimson Jade Fruits before him.
With two Crimson Jade Fruits, Shen Qing had enough to make another breakthrough.
Shen Qing adjusted his breathing slightly, bringing himself to peak condition. Then he grabbed one Crimson Jade Fruit and stuffed it into his mouth in great bites.
The enormous energy immediately opened several acupoints like a flood, its momentum undiminished as it continued crashing toward the acupoints beyond.
With the boost of his Clear Dao Heart state, meridian damage? Such a thing simply did not exist.
Master Shen had only one thing to do: put enough force into it, and miracles would happen!!!
Master Shen only needed to supply the force; the rest could be left to miracles.
One acupoint after another connected swiftly. In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn,
Shen Qing's cultivation broke through to the seventh rank of the Houtian Realm.
Then came the eighth rank of the Houtian Realm.
Before long, Shen Qing had perfectly absorbed the energy of the first Crimson Jade Fruit, but one fruit was still far from Shen Qing's limit.
The second Crimson Jade Fruit went down immediately after. Shen Qing opened his eyes, and vital essence even spilled from them.
"Meridians, let me see where your limit lies!"
The Crimson Jade Fruit seemed to hear Master Shen's words. Compared to the last one, it was several times more violent.
The final acupoint of the eighth rank of the Houtian Realm connected, and he entered the final realm of Houtian—the ninth rank.
Until the final acupoint connected.
Then came the Xiantian Realm.
The Shen Family's cultivation arts came as a complete set.
For the Houtian Realm, there was the Overbearing Meridian Opening Art. The Xiantian Realm cultivation art was the Overbearing True Qi Art.
What it cultivated was Overbearing True Qi.
Shen Qing quietly contemplated it as the internal force continuously surging through his meridians gradually settled.
About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later,
The internal force throughout his body was activated in an instant and began surging madly toward his dantian.
His originally dim, lightless dantian was like the world being split open by Pangu, and its first ray of light appeared.
This was the Xiantian Realm.
Refine internal force into true qi; open the yin and yang of the dantian.
Within Yongning Commandery, a Xiantian Realm cultivator was already a formidable figure.
But Shen Qing came from a great clan, so his horizons naturally surpassed those of people from a remote place like Baiyun County.
Entering the Xiantian Realm was merely the beginning of the path of cultivation.
If cultivation were compared to building a house, then the Xiantian Realm was laying its foundation.
Cultivating true qi, expanding the dantian, and increasing the quantity of true qi meant enlarging that foundation.
Refining true qi and increasing its purity meant reinforcing the foundation.
Only when the foundation stood firm could one raise towering mansions upon it.
Before you continue