Immortal Chi Yuan Goes Out to Uphold Justice

At that time and place.

The girl stood in the void, surrounded by drifting white clouds.

Looking down from below, one can see the boundless expanse of Bianjing, and faintly discern the snow, not yet completely melted, scattered throughout the city like a jade belt.

She calmed her mind and closed her eyes.

Udu-dust's illusions, in a formless and colorless manner, descended upon various parts of the Capital City like goose feather snowflakes.

Fu Hua clearly couldn't do something as domineering as manipulating and retrieving everyone's memories and consciousness.

Even without causing much of a stir, by extensively filtering and searching keywords such as [Liao Kingdom], [insider], and [serial murder case involving the offspring of military officials], she can achieve extremely high efficiency in the shortest amount of time and obtain the answers she wants.

This was originally the Eighth Herrscher's initial use of her powers. After thousands of years of mastering it, the girl naturally became highly proficient, even surpassing her in precision.

With a population of just over a million, and after excluding ordinary people who have no access to such information, selecting targets is not a difficult task.

But... an unexpected event occurred.

The girl opened her eyes and realized that in just a moment, dark clouds had rolled in nearby. The extremely thick clouds dampened her loose hair and clothes. The little Xuan floating beside her was almost swept away by the sudden howling wind and carried the scroll into the dark, deep, and thunderous Celestial Phenomenon. She clung tightly to the oil-paper umbrella, her cute face contorted with a mournful expression.

"Immortal, save me! Little Xuan is about to be eaten by the Thunder God!"

"Why is there suddenly so much Honkai Energy? It's terrifying."

Fu Hua frowned slightly. She hugged the nervously Armed Puppet to prevent the little guy from being really caught up in this fierce phenomenon formed by the condensation of the Heaven and Earth Qi.

Immediately, the Honkai Energy Domain was fully deployed.

But nothing was found.

Even the immortals could not perceive where such a rich concentration of Heaven and Earth Qi had come from.

Back then, the boy used the principles of [Stigmata] to help everyone evade the Ninth Herrscher's perception. Now, by activating [Stigmata] with his Manas consciousness, he can perform even more impressive feats than before without having to think.

Therefore, Chi Yuan naturally had no way of finding the other party's true location based on those erased traces.

Pure Honkai Energy phenomenon?

She rejected it.

This clearly fails to explain the current situation at all.

However, if it were the work of human beings or even demons, such a being should not appear in the world without reason. Moreover, this Capital City is not the kind of harsh region that has accumulated Honkai Energy for a long time, and the actual conditions are not sufficient to support such a huge Celestial Phenomenon.

The only plausible explanation is that it's a prelude to the Honkai outbreak, but even that doesn't align with past experience and logic given the current state of civilization.

Intuitively speaking, this kind of Celestial Phenomenon, which is purely constructed and condensed from the Heaven and Earth Qi, is in some ways very similar to one's own Gene Ability.

A while ago, Qingzhou was covered and shrouded by Celestial Phenomenon created by Fu Hua alone for a few breaths. Its essence was to structure and shape the Heaven and Earth Qi, and to weave out the Celestial Phenomenon.

In other words...

Generally speaking, the manipulation of Honkai Energy involved in altering Celestial Phenomenon has been elevated to a level approaching that of authority.

Gene Ability exists as a natural template and auxiliary organ.

However, replicating something entirely under one's own control is so difficult that it can be considered impossible.

Even Su Qing'an, who could replicate the Honkai chain reaction in the past, could not reach this level of precision. However, with the amplification of the Manas consciousness, he could replicate the special nature of the Gene Ability at will.

Therefore, Fu Hua did not steer her thinking towards the fact that this was the work of other humans.

After all, the pioneers who remained in this world would not have acted in this way without a reason, nor did they have the ability to condense Celestial Phenomenon.

After thinking for a while, the girl still didn't forcibly disperse them.

She has realized that this Celestial Phenomenon is a product of Honkai Energy, which is actually very similar to her own Gene Ability.

Therefore, its existence does not cause harm, and it will not even increase the Honkai Energy concentration in a region afterward.

On the contrary, a direct defeat would attract the attention of unknown entities, thus arousing vigilance and precautions. It would be better to wait and see.

With me here, nothing unexpected will happen in Bianjing.

But in just a moment, this magnificent Celestial Phenomenon vanished abruptly amidst a deafening clap of thunder.

The vast Heaven and Earth Qi seemed to have vanished without a trace, completely disappearing without a trace.

The immortal stroked a strand of her dark hair, which was tinged with a hint of cloud mist. Her slender fingertips felt the slight coolness, and for some reason, a complex emotion welled up within her. She murmured:

"The strange things happening lately are just getting weirder and weirder."

Xiao Xuan raised his head to look at her chin, thought for a moment, and said:

"Perhaps it's related to an inside agent from the Liao Kingdom."

"Let's continue searching for the bad guy, Immortal."

She held the oil-paper umbrella, which was mostly soaked, and whispered with her eyes lowered:

"Besides... I don't think it's all necessarily a bad thing."

The girl remained noncommittal upon hearing this.

She gently flicked her sleeve, and the clouds clinging to her body completely dispersed. A strong wind blew them away, pushing all the remaining wisps of cloud in the sky to the distant edge.

The sky was cloudless and a clear, deep blue.

It was indeed... a rare and beautiful sight.

The Immortal Chi Yuan withdrew his gaze and focused his attention.

Udu-dust continued to descend leisurely, beginning its search.

In the afternoon, at a tavern.

"Looking South of the Yangtze River"

"Huanxi Sha"

"Nian Nu Jiao".

"Bodhisattva's Charm."

The tavern owner looked at the plainly dressed and unremarkable man in front of him, glanced at the few pedestrians outside, slowly walked to the door, closed it, silently sat back down in his original seat, opened a hidden drawer, took out special pen, ink, paper and letter, and handed them to the other party.

The shop owner gestured with his eyes to the half-open door inside the shop, then picked up the abacus, opened the ledger, and ignored everything else.

Chen Xuanzhu picked up the letter paper and pen from the table, stepped into the half-closed door, lit an oil lamp in the back, and began to write down the information that was worth submitting to his superiors recently, using the coded information he had recorded in his mind.

Although the profession of an inside agent had gradually become safer since Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, he still habitually maintained this seemingly unnecessary caution for his own safety.

Even in the most corrupt of the Great Song, there were still people who cared for the country and its people.

Even though he was under Gao Qiu's protection and was one of his more favored retainers, he still couldn't save his life once the heinous affair of colluding with the Liao Kingdom was exposed.

This tavern was a secret operation planted by the Liao Kingdom. The wines sold there were rare items outside the Capital City, so it was not difficult for a caravan organized there to carry a letter out of the Capital City.

The person who orchestrated this scheme cleverly linked this chain of interests with Cai Jing's wealth-accumulating group, even tying them together. By leveraging the name of this powerful minister who held absolute power, the level of scrutiny became the least of their concerns.

The Liao Kingdom, having received silver as tribute from the Great Song Dynasty, then spent money again to bribe the Great Song's internal checkpoints, which is quite interesting upon closer examination.

Since Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, factional strife within the Great Song Dynasty has intensified, with various powerful ministers and their respective factions resorting to any means necessary to gain power.

The struggle for power and profit, and the sabotage of each other, are commonplace.

The tactics employed by various forces have made this Capital City, which has been embellished to appear as a place of abundance and joy, seem all show and no substance, a facade masking underlying decay.

According to common sense, no potentially damaging intelligence has been found in the Capital City recently that would be worth handing over to the enemy.

However, Chen Xuanzhu, as Gao Qiu's favorite, was able to discover the truth and reality hidden in the streets with his advanced information and keen sense of smell.

He is currently in charge of completing a task assigned by Gao Qiu.

That is, to check information about any famous figures in the martial arts world and to pay attention to whether a renowned martial artist who has mastered Qi techniques has arrived in the Capital City.

Chen Xuanzhu could clearly notice something: almost simultaneously, the rumors that had been circulating slowly only around Zhen'an Ward and among the martial arts circles, such as "[the Immortal Chi Yuan]", "[Master Su comes from a reclusive sect]", and "[Master Su needs to cultivate her heart through romantic relationships in the mortal world]", spread like wildfire and became the talk of the town within a few days.

It all started with Li Shishi, the instigator, spreading the rumors through the mouths of the girls in Zhen'an Ward.

This was essentially a scandalous rumor that needed time to ferment before gradually gaining momentum. However, soon afterward, the way the rumor spread went far beyond middlemen; other powerful forces were also fueling it.

Ultimately, this rumor gradually evolved into a different version of events outside the Capital City.

[Zhen'an Ward is interested in holding Martial Arts Gathering.]

[Master Su is using the Qi Technique of the Immortal Chi Yuan as leverage to recruit someone to assist her in cultivating her mind amidst the mortal world.]

[The renowned Courtesan Li Shishi, for the sake of her country and people, hopes to use this opportunity to recruit capable and patriotic individuals to support the increasingly tense border defenses.]

Actually, you don't need to occupy a high position. Just by sorting out the overall event flow, you can roughly discover the shady dealings and another layer of meaning.

First and foremost, the one who was used as a tool and a tool was undoubtedly the most famous Courtesan in the Capital City.

What her purpose was in spreading these rumors remains unknown.

However, judging from the possible outcome if things had followed the original trajectory, this elaborate scheme might have simply been designed to prevent the Master Su from being corrupted by ambitious and powerful figures.

This foolish woman isn't worth his attention as an inside man; continuing his research is the most important thing.

First, what exactly are the motives of the forces that amplified this rumor? And why are they using such a low-level name?

Once you understand these two questions, you'll understand what the manipulators behind the scenes are after.

The answer can be clearly seen from the last rumor.

--Recruiting soldiers and buying horses.

Furthermore, this force does not want to recruit ordinary people, but rather those extraordinary individuals who have mastered the art of Qi.

Why deliberately borrow Li Shishi's name?

To trace back to the source, to unravel the mystery step by step.

What is so special about this woman? What resources does she possess that can be exploited?

Neither the title of Courtesan nor her beauty and talent mattered in this game.

Or rather, that Master Su is part of the public opinion center, the one responsible for being a decorative figure.

Putting all that aside, Chen Xuanzhu could only think of one thing.

--The current emperor once sent someone to present him with an oil-paper umbrella with his own inscription, as a subtle expression of his attitude towards him.

Meanwhile, the incident somehow spread among the people on the day it happened, causing the emperor, who was quite concerned about public opinion, to never personally come to meet the Courtesan who had been branded by him.

Hearing this, the emperor was somewhat displeased, but under the daily urging of his powerful ministers, he continued his debauchery and pleasures in the palaces and gardens, and soon forgot about it.

Looking back now, what seems like a sudden uproar has actually been foreshadowed for some time.

Thus, even before she had much contact with the emperor, Li Shishi was regarded by the world as the emperor's woman, and her fame spread far and wide.

Therefore, the Martial Arts Gathering initiated in her name and the subtle hints of recruiting soldiers would be interpreted by outsiders as the emperor trying to recruit talent through various means.

After Emperor Zhao Ji) ascended the throne, he promulgated new laws. However, once the novelty wore off, he neglected state affairs. Even his daily entertainment and whereabouts were clearly known to the powerful ministers below him.

On the other hand, although he was born into an imperial family, his political acumen and ability to judge situations were very poor. It can be said that his talent was entirely focused on art, so even if he had discovered this matter, it would have been of no consequence.

They either used rumors to deflect the blame or pushed Li Shishi out as a scapegoat.

Given Zhao Ji's abilities, even if he dug deep, he could only find other scapegoats, and there wouldn't be much of a future problem.

Chen Xuanzhu reorganized his thoughts once more, and couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"This is a pretext to summon generals for a rebellion, under the guise of the emperor and resistance against the Liao."

"This is a rare and excellent opportunity."

After the Covenant of Chanyuan, the Song and Liao dynasties maintained peace for more than a hundred years, which was very beneficial to trade relations, people-to-people exchanges, and integration among various ethnic groups between the two countries.

However, the Liao Dynasty's strength had declined significantly. While the Song Dynasty was indeed corrupt and decadent, the Liao Dynasty was not much weaker, and it was also facing the crisis of being gradually annexed by the Jurchen Tribe.

If there had been some capable individuals within the Song Dynasty who dared to see this opportunity, break the century-old alliance, and launch an attack on the Liao Dynasty, the odds of victory would not have been low.

This is why the Liao Kingdom would actively seek out such taboo research as demons, and even deliberately break its alliance to kill many military officers and their descendants and relatives.

Even if one understands the principle that internal stability must precede external defense, the most effective approach would be to disrupt the Song Dynasty's situation prematurely, preventing it from taking advantage of the chaos and allowing for the testing of research findings, given that the demon experiments were not yet mature and no effective weapons had been developed.

Now, it is undoubtedly an opportunity to completely muddy the waters and regain one's freedom.

Chen Xuanzhu grew up in the Liao Kingdom, and all his blood relatives were in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. If he could not provide enough information to satisfy them, his father would be tortured to death, and his mother and younger sister would be sent to an institution similar to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district) to be humiliated.

On the other hand, he himself had been given a poison that would take effect after a while, and he needed to come to this tavern every month to exchange it.

If it weren't for the stroke of luck in gaining Gao Qiu's appreciation and favor through his exceptional skill in Cuju (ancient Chinese football), given his original status and position, the level of access and information he could have received would likely have prevented him from obtaining the antidote for long.

However, assuming the Liao Kingdom seizes this opportunity and the powerful figure directly above him is rewarded, it is not impossible for him to regain his freedom.

As for guilt, hesitation, sorrow, and reluctance, such emotions are meaningless to a vicious dog that is chained and constantly whipped and threatened.

He didn't care about the fate of the Song Dynasty, the future of the Liao Dynasty, or whether the rest of the people would be displaced as a result.

Chen Xuanzhu only wanted to live, to live freely.

The man blew on the ink to dry the brush, then gently ran the paper over the candle flame until the writing slowly faded away. He folded the paper and placed it in an envelope.

He placed it on the table in the tavern and then walked away into the gentle breeze that had just stopped after the rain.

The girl held an oil-paper umbrella, a few water droplets still clinging to the edge of the ink-black paper as they slowly dripped down. She gazed at the man's retreating figure, the feathers in her eyes withering and dissipating, the crimson spreading into her pupils, revealing that she had already extracted the relevant memories and finished reading them.

Although I deliberately took a roundabout approach to my intuition, I still got the answer I wanted. By using the name in that person's mind, I was able to unravel the mystery and quickly find out the origin of the demonic magic.

"Immortal, Udu-dust retrieved what you sought?"

Fu Hua responded softly:

"Yes, found it."

"A trip to the Liao Kingdom should be enough to find the mastermind behind this."

Little Xuanlong, yawning and sitting inside the scroll, rubbed her eyes and said:

"Then let's hurry back to Liao."

"If we finish this quickly, the immortal can get some rest, and many fewer people will die."

The girl read through the tavern owner's memories, thought for a moment, and said:

"Um."

"Come back here again after you've finished dealing with this."

Xiao Xuan paused for a moment, then exclaimed excitedly:

"Sigh, is the immortal planning to take a good stroll around this Capital City when the time comes?"

Fu Hua said softly:

"The tavern owner read the accomplice's letter. The Liao Kingdom wanted to disrupt the Song Dynasty's court and buy time. The best and most convenient way was to target those martial artists who had cultivated Qi techniques during the Martial Arts Gathering that day."

Xiao Xuan thought for a moment and said:

"So that means they'll be turned into Zombie, right?"

"If things get serious, and someone manages to cultivate a Martial Venerable using the body of a talented martial artist, the entire Capital City might be thrown into chaos."

"If the emperor himself were to join in the fun, things would be even worse."

Immortals do not interfere with worldly affairs.

Therefore, she will not interfere with either Chen Xuanzhu or the tavern owner, since neither of them is related to demons.

That's the rule.

However, knowing in advance where a Honkai event might occur is a different matter entirely.

Moreover... Fu Hua genuinely wanted to see for herself what was drawing her mind.

If she hadn't been fully aware of how quickly and negative the impact of such incidents could spread, she probably wouldn't have chosen to leave so soon.