The Key

"Great Qi?"

Little Anzi cried out in alarm.

Great Qi had been destroyed for over a century. Now five nations vied for supremacy under heaven, so where had this Northern Qi Meditation Qi technique, which should have long since vanished, come from?

"Could it be remnants of Great Qi stirring up trouble?"

Little Anzi's eyes shifted as he quickly thought of one possibility.

An Quan did not deny it. He merely stared at the young man on the ground, his brows drawn tightly together.

For a moment, he thought of the five people who had died in Aurora Pavilion.

"So it was all because of this Northern Qi Meditation Qi. It lurked within the body and killed without a trace—no wonder we found no clues."

An Quan muttered to himself. The five people who had died in Aurora Pavilion last night bore no wounds, yet had perished mysteriously.

Their Heavenly Brocade Guard had never found the cause. In the end, they could only seek help from the Imperial Secret Police, yet they had unexpectedly found the true culprit now.

An Quan suddenly turned to Little Anzi and asked in a piercing voice:

"You said this was discovered by the young master who arrived today?"

At that, Little Anzi hurriedly nodded.

"That's right. And it was that young master who specifically told me to check the Heavenly Spring Acupoint. Otherwise, I never would have discovered that black qi."

An Quan unconsciously narrowed his eyes and continued asking:

"By then, the Northern Qi Meditation Qi had already invaded your true qi and body. Was it also him who helped you disperse it?"

Little Anzi nodded again. But when he saw the extremely astonished look on An Quan's face, he asked in confusion:

"Godfather, is there a problem with this?"

"You don't understand. Northern Qi Meditation Qi exists by clinging to martial true qi and blood qi. Once a living person comes into contact with it, it will remain in the body forever unless all life is extinguished and the body's true qi and blood qi dissipate—only then will it vanish with them."

An Quan spoke solemnly. This shocked Little Anzi greatly, and he asked in bewilderment:

"But that young master was able to disperse it. Why was that?"

An Quan shook his head and pondered.

"That is what I want to know as well. As far as I know, Northern Qi Meditation Qi is almost impossible to resolve."

"Either suppress it with powerful martial cultivation, or find someone who cultivates this technique and force them to deal with the Northern Qi Meditation Qi. Other than that, there is no other way."

Hearing this, Little Anzi frowned and asked:

"Could it be that Godfather suspects that young master cultivates Northern Qi Meditation Qi?"

An Quan nodded, then shook his head again.

"I'm not sure. When something happened to those five people, he had not yet arrived at Aurora Pavilion. Besides, he had no reason to help you, because doing so would only expose himself."

As he spoke, he pondered for a moment. His peripheral vision swept over the young man on the ground before he ordered:

"Go bring me all the case files on this man and that newly arrived young master. I want to review every last one."

"Also, this matter is of great importance. I need to discuss it with the other eunuchs and Lord Commander before making a decision."

After saying that, An Quan instructed several other young eunuchs to guard the place. Then his figure moved, leaving behind an afterimage in the room as he vanished.

Li Musheng found his room, set the jade token into the groove on the door, and gave it a light twist. The door before him slowly opened by itself.

"This mechanism is quite exquisite."

Li Musheng nodded slightly. He had heard that in neighboring Great Zhou, there was a sect called the Lugo Divine Temple that had taken the art of mechanisms to its utmost limits.

Legend had it that the sect had built an enormous mechanized city, where every house, street, and city wall operated through countless mechanisms, a sight so marvelous it left people gasping in wonder.

They could even forge enormous mechanized warships, giant mechanical beasts, and mechanical men whose strength rivaled powerful martial artists...

As he thought about this, Li Musheng sat at the table in his room and took a six-sided wooden box from his robes.

On his way to Shangyang City, he had already more or less studied the Key to the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury thoroughly.

Li Musheng had discovered that this wooden box was very likely one of the genuine keys.

Hidden inside the box was an oddly shaped lodestone, one possessing an extraordinarily unique and powerful magnetic field.

Without the wooden box enclosing it, all iron and stone within a hundred meters would be drawn toward it. Even heavy iron weighing over a hundred jin could be pulled flying through the air.

"This magnetic field is unusual. Perhaps it can produce some kind of resonance with the other keys. I can carry this wooden box with me from now on. If luck is on my side, I might run into another key."

Li Musheng looked thoughtful as he put away the wooden box in his hand.

He could not possibly hang himself from a single crooked-necked tree in his search for martial transcendence. He still needed to find other methods.

Shangyang City might hold opportunities, or it might not have a single hair's worth of anything. At present, however, Li Musheng had yet to decide where to begin.

Of course, if his identity as the Seventh Prince was real, he might be able to use it to find some opportunities.

But he truly did not want to involve himself in all sorts of messy forces. That would undoubtedly be another troublesome matter.

Just then, the young eunuch from earlier came knocking at his door.

"Young Master Li, Lord Commander Yu of the Heavenly Brocade Guard has summoned everyone to the main hall on the first floor. Please proceed there."

Li Musheng opened the door, glanced at the young eunuch before him, and casually asked:

"Have you found out what that black mist on the kid's body was?"

At that, Little Anzi hesitated for a moment. He then looked around and said quietly:

"My godfather said it was Northern Qi Meditation Qi, a secret codex technique originating from the Great Qi imperial family."

As he said this, Little Anzi had been watching Li Musheng's expression. Seeing nothing unusual, he quietly asked:

"Young Master Li, you haven't cultivated this technique, have you?"

Li Musheng cast him a glance.

"I don't even know what Northern Qi Meditation Qi is. Why would I cultivate that thing?"

As he spoke, he had Little Anzi lead the way down to the main hall.

Before long, all the prospective Seventh Princes living throughout Aurora Pavilion had gathered in the main hall on the first floor.

Li Musheng stood in a corner of the hall, looking over the people around him. They were all young people about his age.

However, one person quickly caught his attention.

It was a remarkably handsome young master, with a face like white jade, red lips, white teeth, and a moon-white robe that made him stand out from the crowd.

Yet Li Musheng could clearly sense that this person was a woman.

"Interesting. The competition for the identity of the Seventh Prince is truly cranked to the limit—even a woman has slipped in to join the excitement."

Li Musheng stroked his chin. This woman must have an extraordinary background. To forge an identity and deceive the eyes of the Heavenly Brocade Guard, her methods could not be called anything less than formidable.

What puzzled him, however, was what exactly this woman had entered Aurora Pavilion to do.

Did she truly think no one would be able to see through her true nature?

One had to know that the imperial palace was filled with countless experts. Moreover, Emperor Yuanwu's martial cultivation was unfathomable. Seeing through her disguise would be effortless for him.