How Ruthless!

Night rain wove through the darkness, and spiritual mist swirled.

Chen Qing raced through the crisscrossing alleys, danger clinging to him like a bone-deep parasite. The Treasure Pavilion was far behind, but pursuers could appear at any moment.

"The Princess's estate is surrounded. Her former subordinates have probably been watched for some time. I have nowhere stable to stay in Yujing anymore, and with the Sixth Prince's power and cultivation, it can't be hard for him to track me down. West City, Listening Rain Alley, Lu Feng... The Princess told me to find this man, so she must have made some arrangements. He shouldn't be easy for anyone to track down."

He silently recalled the Princess's final instructions as his spiritual sense struggled to spread through the rain. The inner breath in his body had nearly run dry, and he had expended far too much Supreme Harmony Qi. Even probing with his spiritual sense had become exceptionally difficult.

The lights in West City were noticeably sparser than elsewhere.

Chen Qing pretended to admire the rain and coaxed directions out of a few drunkards, eventually reaching the depths of Listening Rain Alley.

A small courtyard overgrown with dead vines stood silently in the rain. An old plaque hung above its half-open gate, the four ancient, mottled characters reading "Jiaowei Qin Lu."

He pushed open the gate, and a crisp pinewood scent washed over him.

The main room's door stood open. Inside, the furnishings were plain: a table, a couch, and a zither.

An old man in hemp robes sat cross-legged on the couch, his eyes hollow. He held a stringless Jiaowei zither in his arms, his gaunt fingers poised above its body.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly "looked" over.

"Why have you come, guest?" His hoarse voice sounded like a rusty knife grinding against stone.

Chen Qing took out the Green Jade Whistle from his robe and set it on the dust-covered zither table.

"Tap."

The jade whistle touched the tabletop with a soft sound that rang out clearly in the silent room.

The old zither master, Lu Feng, fell silent for several breaths. His dry lips moved. "You must have seen Her Highness. Is she safe in Qingwu?"

Chen Qing answered, "The demon manifestation is about to emerge."

"Crack!"

Lu Feng pressed down so hard that he split the ancient zither in his arms!

Feeling around, he picked up the Green Jade Whistle. His empty eye sockets turned toward Chen Qing as he asked, "Did Her Highness send you here so this old man could help you leave the city?"

Chen Qing nodded. "That was the Princess's plan, but there are some things I want to figure out first." From what Li Xiao had said, it seemed there was a hidden malice directed at him, waiting for the Princess to fall into trouble before dealing with him. If he didn't get to the bottom of it, even if he left now, he might not find peace to cultivate and send feedback to the present world. He could even be captured one day, wasting this body.

"With your cultivation, you'll find it hard to get to the bottom of anything in Yujing without help," Lu Feng said bluntly. "Dingbo and Zhengshuang are trapped in the East Sea's Return to Ruins Formation, and that woman Qingluan was captured and sealed three days ago! The Princess's trusted aides have all been purged! Who could possibly help you in Yujing now?"

Chen Qing couldn't help being taken aback. He'd known the situation was dangerous, but he hadn't expected it to have reached such a desperate dead end!

Such was the might of the Immortal Dynasty. With power in hand, suppressing a princess of the dynasty was as easy as brushing away dust.

Lu Feng pushed the Green Jade Whistle back toward him. His hoarse voice carried a note of helplessness. "I'll get you out of the city first. In this situation, forget you—even I can't turn things around. We can only wait for the one in the Ninefold Palace to emerge from seclusion..."

"I have a pill formula," Chen Qing said, knowing that leaving the city would only keep him safe for the time being. "It can suppress bloodline mutation, and even reverse the demon manifestation. Those people are using the demonic bloodline as their excuse. If the danger of the Princess's bloodline mutating is resolved, they'll have no grounds to make trouble."

Lu Feng's empty eye sockets shifted slightly. "Oh?"

"This formula is called 'Taiyin Pure Filth Powder.'" Chen Qing didn't wait for him to ask again, but recited it one ingredient at a time. "It uses Thousand Year Snow Lotus as its catalyst, Profound Yin Cold Marrow to stabilize the meridians, and Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Grass..."

With every medicinal ingredient he named, the zither notes beneath Lu Feng's fingers grew clearer. When he reached "Red Vein Stone," the zither sounded three notes on its own.

"Red Vein Stone to harmonize yin and yang, Profound Yin Cold Marrow to suppress agitation... It's certainly a distinctive formula. The ingredients are precious, but not entirely impossible to find. A few may be difficult to obtain, though, and there's the matter of refining the pill. Wait here. This old man must go out for a while." He started to rise, then recalled something. "I've used a dissonance formation to conceal your tracks, but the mighty cultivators of Yujing have divine senses that reach the heavens. They sense it when their names are mentioned, so don't let your guard down."

"They can sense it when their names are mentioned?" Chen Qing was startled, then a thought stirred in his mind. "At any time and place?"

Lu Feng paused before answering, "Naturally. But ordinary conversation is usually ignored, unless someone deliberately mentions a name in an important place. Since the Princess sent you here, you must have gotten yourself into some trouble, so you need to be careful."

At that, he remembered to ask, "What should I call you, young friend?"

"Chen Xu." Chen Qing was still thinking about what Lu Feng had revealed, and had nearly grasped an idea. "So the more important or famous the place, the more likely it is that mentioning a name there will alert the people connected to it."

"You're Chen Xu?" Lu Feng looked surprised.

Chen Qing wasn't surprised by his reaction. He assumed Lu Feng was startled by the matter of "offering a plan to calm the people."

Instead, Lu Feng immediately added, "My brother asked me to investigate the whereabouts of your Spiritual Bone. I happened to find some leads a few days ago. I never expected to meet you today."

Chen Qing's pupils contracted. "My Spiritual Bone? You found it? Where is it?"

Lu Feng raised a hand and pointed skyward.

At the same time.

South City, at the Sixth Prince's estate, Shuyu Xuan.

Incense drifted through the private chamber.

"Bang!"

A palm smashed the red sandalwood desk to pieces!

The black-robed Yin Kui Shangren stood before the desk, his topknot disheveled and his face as pale as paper. There was none of the sinister arrogance he'd shown at the Qingwu villa.

"Useless!"

From the seat of honor, a middle-aged scholar in a dark python robe spoke coldly, his gaze sharp as a blade. He was Zhao Yuanji, the Sixth Prince's trusted adviser.

"You can't even handle this little task. What use are you to His Highness?"

Yin Kui Shangren first flinched in fear, then his eyes filled with venom. "Those rabid dogs attacked me in broad daylight without so much as a word! They claimed I'd used demonic arts to attack the Heavenly Inspection Department and stir up chaos in Yujing! It's a blatant lie!"

"A blatant lie?" Zhao Yuanji sneered. "Most of the twelve Locking God Main Banners are destroyed, your yin spirit is wounded, and your Dao foundation is shaken. If His Highness didn't feel some old affection for you, you'd be wailing in the Soul Suppressing Tower right now!"

Yin Kui Shangren shuddered as if he'd fallen into an ice cave, then tried to explain, "Someone framed me!" He'd already figured it out on his way here. "It was that Chen Xu! The Sky Patrol Guard came from Senluo Pavilion, and Chen Xu..."

"Where's your proof?" Zhao Yuanji snapped, cutting him off. "The Myriad Manifestations Mirror traced the source of the evil aura straight to you!"

Yin Kui Shangren was struck as if by lightning. At last, he understood: he'd become a discarded pawn!

The Sixth Prince would never risk clashing with the Heavenly Inspection Department, which held the power to oversee Yujing, for a subordinate who'd "botched a task" and "caused a calamitous disaster"!

"Master Zhao, for the sake of my..."

Zhao Yuanji's gaze was indifferent. "His Highness will show you mercy and give you two choices."

"First, hand over the main compendium of the Yin Kui Secret Codex, cripple your own cultivation, and crawl off to the Northern Frontier to die."

Yin Kui Shangren jerked his head up, bloodshot veins filling his eyes.

"Second, I'll send you on your way right now, so the Sky Patrol Guard won't have to come back for you!"

Silence fell.

Yin Kui Shangren glared at Zhao Yuanji, the veins on the back of his hand bulging as black qi curled around it. In the end, it all faded away in defeat.

Trembling, he took out a pitch-black jade slip and a blood-red bone token, then knelt heavily on the ground.

"I... choose the first option."

He knew that once he handed these over, he'd lose all value. He wouldn't even be fit to serve as a watchdog anymore.

The Northern Frontier was bitterly cold, and with his cultivation crippled, how was that any different from death?

Zhao Yuanji took the items without expression and turned away with a sweep of his sleeve. "Drag him away."

Two black-armored warriors with chilling auras appeared without a sound and hauled Yin Kui Shangren away like a dead dog.

Zhao Yuanji rolled the blood-red bone token between his fingers. Yin energy coiled around it, casting a murky glow in his eyes.

"I underestimated him."

He knew the truth behind the upheaval at Senluo Pavilion.

"Trapped in a desperate corner, yet he used the Heavenly Inspection Department's blade to cut down the Locking God Formation and drew the Sky Patrol Guard's thunder to smash the yin puppets' banners! A mere second-realm cultivator, stirring up a storm..." Zhao Yuanji tightened his fingers, and the bone token let out a piercing shriek. "And afterward, he left not a trace!"

A derisive laugh came from the shadows. "His cultivation is low. He's nothing to worry about, just another ant—"

"How utterly foolish!"

Zhao Yuanji wheeled around, his gaze sharp as a hawk's.

"Sending the enemy east while striking west takes nerve! Shifting the blame takes cunning! Slipping away like a golden cicada sheds its shell takes quick thinking! But the most remarkable thing is his ruthlessness! Ruthless to his enemies, even more ruthless to himself! As if his own life means nothing to him!"

He looked out the window and murmured, "Yin Kui's fall was no surprise. I wonder whose hands this outstanding pawn will end up in..."

I got home too late and still haven't eaten. I'll revise and post first... The second update is coming right up...