Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill

Yangshi Street, Black Water Gang headquarters.

"What did you say?! Wang Xiu was causing trouble in the street and got slaughtered by the Imperial Guards?"

"That rebellious disciple! Of all times to stir up trouble, he had to do it at this critical juncture."

"He ruined the gang's grand plans! His crime deserved ten thousand deaths!"

Peng Chun flew into a towering rage, smashing the table into splinters with one palm. Violent true qi erupted without end, making every disciple nearby feel their legs go weak and their throats go dry, unable to utter a single word.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in splendid red robes emerged from the side of the room, a slender sword with a red hilt hanging at his waist. He was Liu Siyu, deputy gang leader of the Black Water Gang and one of the elders who had lain in ambush outside the tunnel.

"Gang Leader, don't be hasty. First rein in your Spring Numbness true qi. These disciples can barely endure it."

Seeing the disciples sprawled all over the place, Peng Chun snorted coldly.

"A bunch of wine sacks and rice bags. They can't even hold on for this little while!"

Still, Peng Chun withdrew his true qi. Only then did the disciples hurriedly flee outside, greedily gulping in air.

Peng Chun looked at Liu Siyu, his tone filled with dissatisfaction.

"I told you long ago that your disciple had a rotten temper and would cause trouble sooner or later, but you insisted on keeping him."

"Now look what happened! He even ruined the gang's grand plans."

Liu Siyu narrowed his eyes.

"At least we know where the treasure is now, don't we?"

Peng Chun looked at the sinister smile on Liu Siyu's face.

"What do you mean?"

"Before coming here, I made a point of asking around. Shen Qing, the centurion of the Western District Hundred Households Office, is merely an Acting Centurion who was just transferred up from some backwater place."

"If we go and take the treasure back, can that centurion stop us?"

Peng Chun's expression stiffened. "You want to force your way into the Hundred Households Office?"

Liu Siyu shook his head. "We'll only take the treasure. We won't hurt anyone."

Peng Chun's heart skipped a beat. If it were some ordinary government office, that would be one thing, but this was the Imperial Guards. Provoking them could truly get people killed.

Yet gradually, he began to bolster his own courage.

He was only an Acting Centurion. At most, he had just entered the Xiantian Realm, while we had two veteran Xiantian Realm experts. The advantage was ours!

It seemed worth trying.

Most importantly, he knew what that treasure was!

Hundred Households Office.

Shen Qing had already retrieved that page of golden paper from Wang Xiu's corpse.

It had to be said that Sun Yun truly had some skill. He had actually hidden the golden paper inside the lining of Wang Xiu's clothes without anyone noticing.

By the light of the oil lamp in the room, Shen Qing carefully examined the page of golden paper. Though small, it was packed with dense characters no bigger than ants. Counting both sides, there were tens of thousands of words.

Shen Qing muttered, "Why write the characters so small? Couldn't afford paper?"

The next moment, two beams of light shot from Shen Qing's eyes.

"This is..."

"The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill?"

Shen Qing's gaze flickered. The Shen Family's Scripture Repository in the Capital City was already among the very best, yet it did not contain the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill. As far as he knew, even the Scripture Repository in the imperial palace did not have it.

That was because this strongest body-refining art had been lost a thousand years ago.

He had never expected it to surface in a remote corner like Yongning Commandery. Clearly, though, Sun Yun did not know the value of this technique.

Otherwise, he would never have sold it to him so cheaply for four thousand taels.

But after all that back and forth, Shen Qing had gained an enormous bargain.

In the Capital City, without ten thousand taels of gold, one would not even be qualified to glance at this technique.

The most original version of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill took an exceedingly long time to cultivate. In theory, one needed a thousand years to reach the thirteenth level.

Later generations had innovated and refined it, creating several formulas that could drastically shorten the cultivation time.

If the copy in his hands was the original version, then it was better left unpracticed.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author instead. Perhaps it was merely renamed!

Shen Qing continued reading, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward. The technique recorded several densely written formulas; it truly was an improved version.

The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill was the strongest body-refining technique in Great Wu, while the Shen Family's Tyrant series techniques were the strongest arts in Great Wu for cultivating true qi.

Although the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill's body refinement could not directly raise one's realm, every increment of bodily strength increased the speed of true qi cultivation.

Shen Qing could once again use his left foot to step on his right foot.

Now, his left hand held the strongest body-refining technique, while his right held the strongest true qi cultivation technique.

I lack nothing now!

Shen Qing picked up a brush and wrote down several medicinal ingredients on paper.

"Scholar, come in for a moment."

"Coming, Boss."

Shen Qing handed the paper to Scholar. "Tomorrow, take a walk around Luoshui City and see if you can buy these medicinal ingredients."

"Got it." Scholar swiftly took the paper and glanced over it. "Codonopsis root, fifty jin..."

Scholar froze, then rubbed his eyes.

He read it word by word. In the end, he discovered that fifty jin of codonopsis root was considered a small amount; some of the ingredients required several hundred jin.

There were even several rare treasures among them. One was called Mysterious Jade Green Lotus, and he had never even heard of it.

"Boss, all this together will probably cost twenty thousand taels of silver, not to mention these rare treasures. They're priceless and impossible to find on the market. We..."

"Don't worry about the money." Shen Qing directly took out twenty banknotes worth a thousand taels each and placed them on the table. "Just go look for them. Luoshui City probably won't have enough medicinal ingredients, so search the surrounding areas as well."

Scholar's eyes widened like bells, and suspicion rose in his heart. How much had Boss embezzled? But on second thought, that could not be right. Even if he wanted to embezzle, there had to be somewhere to embezzle from.

Even if they had pocketed every tael seized from those household raids these past days, it would not have amounted to ten thousand taels.

Soon, however, Scholar spotted a large Wu character in the lower left corner of the banknotes. It was the identifying mark on the notes.

That meant these banknotes had all come from the Capital City.

Scholar secretly glanced at Shen Qing, who was lowering his head to study the golden paper, and his heart pounded wildly.

He suddenly realized something: he had never known where his boss came from.

Now, it seemed there was no need to guess. His boss's background might be terrifyingly vast, perhaps he was the offspring of some high official.

At that thought, Scholar's mouth kept curling upward. The little boat he had boarded seemed to have transformed in an instant into a colossal vessel that could shake heaven and earth,

ready to hang its cloud-like sails high and cross the vast sea.

Shen Qing raised his head, glanced at the ceiling, then looked at Scholar grinning foolishly. "What? Did you eat bee droppings? Why are you so happy? Hurry up and get out."

"Got it, Boss!" Scholar said with a smile as he walked out and closed the door.

Shen Qing put away the golden paper and hid it close to his body. With a flick of his finger, the oil lamp in the room went out. Gripping Qing He, Shen Qing vanished into the darkness.

Not long afterward, two shadows crept stealthily onto the roof.

Liu Siyu said in a low voice, "The treasure wasn't found on Wang Xiu's corpse, so that centurion must have taken it."

"This should be that centurion's room, right?"

Peng Chun nodded. "That's right. Although I've never entered the Western District Hundred Households Office, I know something of its layout. The Hundred Households Offices throughout Yongning Commandery are basically built the same way. This room is the centurion's quarters."

Liu Siyu licked his lips. "Then let's move. The light is out now, so that centurion must be resting. We'll make this quick."

Peng Chun's steps paused. "Do you think that centurion discovered us and deliberately put out the lamp to wait for us to walk into his trap?"

Liu Siyu turned back with a scornful expression. "No, aren't you being a little too suspicious?"

"If you were talking about those veteran centurions in the Pacification Bureau, I truly wouldn't dare act recklessly before them. But a mere Acting Centurion? I don't take him seriously at all!"

"If you don't dare go, I'll go in alone."

With that, he gave a light leap and slipped silently into the room. Seeing no reaction, Peng Chun also snuck inside.

Liu Siyu laughed confidently. "See? What danger could there possibly be?"

"I'll search this side, and you search that side. If we still can't find it, then the treasure must be on the centurion himself."

"Then there's only one way left—take it!"

Peng Chun said nothing. He merely walked toward a corner of the room and began searching. The instant he entered, he had become certain of one thing: the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill had to be in this room, because he could smell the medicinal powder.

"Where is it? Where is it? I clearly smelled it. It's right around here..." Peng Chun muttered as he rummaged through chests and cabinets in the corner.

Suddenly, Peng Chun rubbed his nose, his brow slightly furrowed. He asked in confusion, "Why can't I find it? Could there be a hidden compartment?"

As he spoke, he increased his strength, pulling at the entire cabinet until it rattled and clattered.

Shen Qing patted Peng Chun on the shoulder. "Hey, what are you looking for? Want me to help you find it?"

"Keep it down. Don't wreck my cabinet."