This Was It? He Left Already?

"Which demon dares trespass on the Heavenly Inspection Department's grounds!"

The instant that imposing shout rang out, an invisible spike shredded Chen Qing's spiritual sense!

At almost the same moment...

"Boom!"

Seven figures clad in black armor came striding through the void. Wrapped in gale-force winds that tore through the air, they appeared outside the Treasure Pavilion's main gate in an instant. Their heavy footfalls shook the tower until it trembled.

"Something's wrong! Why are the Sky Patrol Guard here?"

The Sixth Prince's spies keeping watch nearby immediately grew tense and uneasy, their eyes fixed on the squad of Sky Patrol Guard that had appeared out of nowhere!

The Sky Patrol Guard commander at the head was a towering man. Engraved on the chest of his black armor was an emblem depicting a vertical eye!

Purple lightning coiled around the halberd in his hands. He pointed its tip at the enormous bronze doors. "By order of the Heavenly Inspection Department! Evil aura within the Treasure Pavilion has struck the Heaven Mirror. Open the treasury at once. The Sky Patrol Guard will search inside!"

His voice crashed down with the might of Heaven. The two golden-armored strongmen turned deathly pale, and their armor groaned under the unbearable pressure.

"This..." said the strongman on the left. "Commander, this is Sixth Highness's—"

"Hmm?!" The commander gave a cold snort and raised his halberd slightly. "Anyone who dares obstruct us will be killed without mercy!"

The terrifying pressure came crashing down like a mountain collapsing, choking off the strongman's remaining words!

Cold sweat streamed down the forehead of the strongman on the right. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Open the gate! Hurry!"

Each of them pulled a bronze token from his robes. Muttering an incantation, they thrust the tokens into a sunken seal at the center of the doors!

"Click-click-click..."

As the heavy gears turned, the massive bronze doors slowly swung inward!

"They're here!"

The moment the doors opened a crack, a sharp glint flashed in Chen Qing's eyes!

The Ninth-grade Green Lotus Platform, which he had kept ready, bloomed in an instant. Green light poured down like a waterfall, enveloping him from head to toe. As the petals turned, Supreme Harmony Qi poured wildly from his body, and more than half of it was drained in an instant!

And the instant the protective barrier formed...

"Go!"

Chen Qing snapped two fingers forward. A thousand drops of Drunken Immortal Brew burst from the Bronze Wine Goblet, pouring down like a rainstorm and instantly filling the passage through the newly opened gate!

"So there really is a fiend!" The Sky Patrol Guard commander glared furiously as purple lightning surged around his halberd!

He reacted swiftly. After all, he had come to capture a demon and had been on guard from the start. Purple lightning formed a web around him, while another bolt shot straight into the building!

Yet the rain of wine seeped through every gap, turning to vapor on contact. Even when the lightning vaporized it into wine mist, it still seeped into the mind!

An irresistible drunkenness erupted from the depths of the soul, and the scene before the commander's eyes instantly twisted and spun!

"Thud! Thud!"

The two golden-armored strongmen were the first to succumb. They began waving their arms and dancing at empty air, while the six elite soldiers in black armor staggered back, surrounded by a riot of illusions!

Relying on his formidable cultivation and divine weapon, the commander managed to hold on for half a breath. But his vision had already become a kaleidoscope of bizarre sights. Countless celestial maidens seemed to dance before him, heavenly music poured into his ears, and the halberd clenched in his hand grew heavier and heavier...

Just as his mind was about to sink completely!

Crack!

The bolt of lightning that had shot into the building dissipated before Chen Qing, but his expression didn't change in the slightest. He flicked a finger again!

A stream of corrosive energy shot out and mingled with the thick cloud of Drunken Immortal Brew. Like cold water poured into boiling oil, it was magnified by the rampant drunken power and spread in an instant!

"Hmm?!" The commander's last shred of clarity caught that aura!

"Old Daoist Yin Kui?!"

At once, he remembered the black-robed Daoist at Qingwu Villa, who had used the Sixth Prince's name to throw his weight around and repeatedly obstruct the Sky Patrol Guard's investigations!

That bizarre technique had to be the work of that scoundrel!

His towering rage mingled with his drunkenness, and he roared like a wild beast. "Demonic Daoist Yin Kui! I'll kill you—" Before he could finish, his tall frame finally staggered and toppled to the side.

"His cultivation is formidable! He'll probably wake up any moment. We've only got one chance! Move!"

In a flash, green light pierced the air!

Wrapped in the image of the lotus, Chen Qing shot out like an arrow loosed from its bow, charging straight through the sprawled-out Sky Patrol Guard.

The gap in the doors was only three feet wide, yet the green flash had already shot a hundred yards away!

His life hung by a thread!

If anyone so much as made a move now, he'd be dead for sure!

"Whoosh—"

A fierce wind struck his face, and the cool night air of Yujing City rushed into his lungs!

Chen Qing drew a deep breath without slowing down. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as his right hand settled on the Bronze Wine Goblet!

"Splash—"

The wine inside sprang out like a living thing, becoming several shimmering arrows that shot through the air!

The Sixth Prince's spies were still reeling from the upheaval at the Treasure Pavilion. When Chen Qing burst out, they started to move, but the wine arrows had already reached their faces!

"Not good!"

The gray- and purple-robed cultivators at the front had just raised their protective spiritual light when the wine pierced through the barrier and shot straight into their mouths and noses. Their eyes immediately went vacant, and dreamy smiles spread across their faces. They bowed to empty air. "Your Highness... This subordinate... hic!"

The others fared even worse. The moment the wine touched them, they collapsed, snoring like thunder.

Chen Qing didn't even look back. He poured what remained of his Supreme Harmony Qi into his legs and raced for his life, following his hazy recollection of Yujing City's layout from the fragments of memory!

He knew full well that although the wine in the goblet was fearsome, his cultivation was too low to unleash its full power. The Sky Patrol Guard and the Sixth Prince's men would need only a moment to regain consciousness!

His time was measured in breaths!

Every breath was another lap around the underworld!

"Stop him!"

A shadow on a distant rooftop shouted sharply.

Before the words had even left his mouth, Chen Qing flicked his hand behind him. A few drops of amber liquid shot from the goblet and burst into mist in midair.

The shadow hurriedly held his breath and retreated, only to see Chen Qing abruptly veer off in another direction!

"After him!"

Three more figures sprang from the shadows, but after chasing him for barely a hundred yards, their legs suddenly went weak. Looking down, they saw faint wine-scented vapor seeping between the flagstones, though they had no idea when it had appeared...

"Damn!"

"That's the wine mist!"

"We've been had!"

The three hurriedly circulated their cultivation to force out the poison. But when they looked up again, the far end of the long street was already empty.

Deep inside the Treasure Pavilion, amid the shadows.

Elder Jiang's hand, holding a teacup, froze in midair. The ripples in the tea had yet to settle.

"He's gone already?"

He had watched the young man summon the lotus to shield himself, turn the wine into rain, pin the blame on his enemies, then use the chaos to break out... The whole sequence had flowed as smoothly as water, each move ruthless and decisive. He hardly seemed like a down-and-out cultivator who had been trapped for days with his Spiritual Bone stolen.

"Good lad!" Elder Jiang slowly lowered his teacup, undisguised astonishment and admiration in his eyes. "A feint to the east, then the flood sent west; the cicada slips its shell—all in one seamless stroke! Such courage, such quick thinking... I truly underestimated you! If this were before the Immortal Dynasty, I'd have been tempted to take you as a disciple for your wits alone!"

His gaze swept over the Sky Patrol Guard and golden-armored strongmen sprawled outside, all of them dead drunk. He sighed. "Every step this fellow took was on the edge of life and death, yet he moved as smoothly as flowing water. A rare talent! Heaven helps those who help themselves. Very well, I'd like to see what this upheaval in the world is leading to, so I'll lend you a hand..."

Elder Jiang gently waved the horsetail whisk in his hand toward the Treasure Pavilion's main gate. An invisible, profoundly mysterious ripple quietly spread, instantly enveloping the entire pavilion and the area before its doors.

The lingering traces of Chen Qing's aura melted away like snow. Divine sense probing from every direction was gently deflected before it could reach the pavilion doors.

Then he reached out and grabbed.

Rrrip—

The area seemed to double, as if two images had fallen out of alignment. Everything connected to Chen Qing over the past few days—including that very day's images, sounds, and traces—was peeled away and turned into a painting in Elder Jiang's hand.

Afterward, his figure slowly faded.

"I'd like to see where this dragon from the abyss, driven into a dead end, will swim once he stirs up this pool of stagnant water..."

Plip!

Outside the tower, raindrops began to fall, growing steadily heavier.

Two more chapters for you! If you enjoyed this, please add it to your collection and follow along! This newbie thanks you!