Ruthless Enough!

The night rain wove like thread, and spiritual mist swirled.

Chen Qing sped through the intersecting alleys, danger clinging to him like a festering wound. The Treasure Pavilion was far behind, but pursuers could appear at any moment.

The Princess's detached residence is surrounded, and her old subordinates are likely already cornered. I have no stable place to stay in Jade Capital. Moreover, with the Sixth Prince's power and cultivation, tracking me down shouldn't be difficult. West of the city, Tingyu Alley, Lu Feng... The Princess asked me to find this person, so she must have made some arrangements. He shouldn't be easily tracked.

Muttering the Princess's final instructions, he struggled to extend his spiritual sense through the rain. His internal energy was nearly depleted, and his Supreme Harmony Qi was excessively consumed. Even merely probing with his spiritual sense was incredibly difficult.

The lights in the western part of the city were significantly sparser than elsewhere.

Chen Qing pretended to admire the rain and extracted the path from a few drunkards, finally reaching the depths of Tingyu Alley.

A small courtyard covered in withered vines stood silently in the rain. A slightly ajar gate hung an old plaque, its characters "Jiaowei Qin Lu" ancient and weathered.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside, a crisp scent of pine wood greeting him.

The door to the main house was open. The interior was simply furnished: a table, a couch, and a zither.

An old man in coarse hemp clothes sat cross-legged on the couch, his eyes vacant. He held a stringless Jiaowei zither in his arms, his withered fingers hovering over the instrument.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly "looked" over.

"Why has the guest come?" his hoarse voice rasped like a rusty knife grinding stone.

Chen Qing took out the Green Jade Whistle from his embrace and placed it on the zither table, which was covered in a thin layer of dust.

"Clink."

The jade whistle landed on the table, its light sound exceptionally clear in the silent room.

The old zither master, Lu Feng, remained silent for a few breaths. His dry lips moved, "You must have seen His Highness. She is in Qingwu. Is she well?"

Chen Qing replied, "The Yao manifestation is about to appear."

"Crack!"

The ancient zither in Lu Feng's arms cracked under his grip!

He fumbled to pick up the Green Jade Whistle, his vacant eyes turning to Chen Qing. "His Highness sent you here to have me escort you out of the city?"

Chen Qing nodded. "The Princess made that plan, but there are some things I want to clarify first!" From Li Xiao's words, it seemed there was malice hidden in the shadows, waiting for the Princess to fall into trouble before dealing with me. If I don't clarify this matter, even if I leave now, I fear I won't be able to cultivate peacefully. If I return to the world, I might be captured one day and waste my life.

"With your cultivation, without assistance, it will be difficult to clarify anything in Jade Capital," Lu Feng stated bluntly. "Ding Bo and Zheng Shuang are trapped in the East Sea's Guixu Formation. That shrew Qingluan was captured and sealed three days ago! The Princess's Estate's confidantes have all been eliminated! In this Jade Capital, where are there any helpers?"

Chen Qing couldn't help but be taken aback. He knew the situation was perilous, but he hadn't expected it to be so dire!

Indeed, this was the might of the Immortal Dynasty. With their power, suppressing a princess of the dynasty was like brushing away a speck of dust.

Lu Feng pushed the Green Jade Whistle back. His dry, hoarse voice carried a hint of helplessness. "I'll escort you out of the city first. In this situation, let alone you, even I am powerless to turn the tide. We can only wait for the one in the Nine-Layered Palaces to emerge from seclusion..."

"I have a pill recipe," Chen Qing said, knowing that leaving the city was only a temporary safety measure. "This pill can suppress bloodline mutation and even reverse the Yao manifestation. Those people used the bloodline mutation as an excuse. If the Princess's bloodline mutation crisis is resolved, those people will have no grounds to make trouble."

Lu Feng's vacant eyes flickered slightly. "Oh?"

"This recipe is called 'Taiyin Pure Filth Powder'," Chen Qing stated, not waiting for a further question. He enunciated each word. "Using Thousand Year Snow Lotus as a guide, Profound Yin Cold Marrow to stabilize the meridians, Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Grass..."

With each medicinal ingredient he named, the zither music under Lu Feng's fingers became clearer. When he mentioned "Red Vein Stone," the zither itself chimed thrice.

"Using Red Vein Stone to harmonize Yin and Yang, and Profound Yin Cold Marrow to suppress restlessness... It certainly has unique aspects. Although the materials are precious, it's not entirely without leads. However, some items might be difficult to obtain, and there's also the matter of refining the pills. Wait here. I need to go out." He started to get up, then remembered something. "I've used the Chaotic Sound Formation to conceal your tracks, but the divine senses of powerful beings in Jade Capital are profound. Mentioning a name will trigger a response. Be careful."

"Mentioning a name triggers a response?" Chen Qing was startled at first, then his heart stirred. "A response anytime, anywhere?"

Lu Feng paused, then said, "Of course. However, ordinary conversations are often overlooked, unless deliberately mentioned in important places. Since the Princess entrusted you to come here, you must have stirred up some trouble, right? So you need to be cautious."

Speaking of this, he remembered something and asked, "What is your name, young friend?"

"Chen Xu." Chen Qing was pondering the information Lu Feng had revealed, vaguely grasping an idea. "So, the more you mention a name in an important place, a famous location, the more likely it is to alert the relevant people."

"You are Chen Xu?" Lu Feng's expression showed surprise.

Chen Qing was not surprised by this reaction, assuming the other party was also surprised by the "offering advice for the people" matter.

Unexpectedly, Lu Feng followed up immediately, "My brother asked me to investigate the whereabouts of your Spiritual Bone. I found some clues a few days ago. I didn't expect to meet you today."

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

Lu Feng raised his hand and pointed to the sky.

At the same time.

South of the city, in the Sixth Prince's detached villa, "Shuyu Xuan."

Incense curled in the elegant chamber.

"Bang!"

The rosewood table was shattered by a palm!

Yin Kui Shangren, dressed in black robes, stood before the table. His hair was disheveled, and his face was as pale as paper. Where was the sinister arrogance he had in Qingwu Manor?

"Trash!"

From the main seat, a middle-aged scholar in a dark python robe spoke coldly, his eyes like knives. He was the Sixth Prince's trusted strategist, Zhao Yuanji.

"You messed up such a small matter. What use are you to His Highness?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Kui Shangren first showed fear, then his eyes filled with venom. "Those mad dogs attacked me on the street without question! They said I used demonic arts to attack the Heavenly Inspection Department and sow chaos in Jade Capital! What slander!"

"Slander?" Zhao Yuanji sneered. "More than half of the twelve Locking God Main Banners were shattered, your Yin God was injured, and your Dao Foundation was shaken. If His Highness wasn't sentimental, you'd be wailing in the Soul Suppressing Tower right now!"

Yin Kui Shangren trembled all over, as if plunged into an ice cave, then he retorted, "Someone is framing me!" He had figured this out when he arrived, "It's Chen Xu! The Sky Patrol Guard came from Senluo Pavilion, and Chen Xu..."

"Where is the evidence?" Zhao Yuanji interrupted sternly, "The Myriad Manifestations Mirror's final lock on the source of the evil energy was you!"

Yin Kui Shangren was struck as if by lightning, finally understanding that he had become a discarded pawn!

The Sixth Prince would never confront the Heavenly Inspection Department, which held the power of oversight in the Jade Capital, for a subordinate who "failed to perform his duties" and "caused immense disaster"!

"Mr. Zhao, for the sake of this Taoist priest..."

Zhao Yuanji's eyes were indifferent, "His Highness has shown mercy and given you two paths."

"One, hand over the general outline of the Yin Kui Secret Codex, cripple your own cultivation, and go to the northern frontier to await death."

Yin Kui Shangren looked up abruptly, his eyes bloodshot.

"Two, I will send you on your way right now, so the Sky Patrol Guard doesn't have to come asking for you again!"

Dead silence.

Yin Kui Shangren stared intently at Zhao Yuanji, veins bulging on the back of his hand, black energy swirling, and finally, he slumped in defeat.

Trembling, he produced a pitch-black Jade Slip and a blood-colored bone token, then knelt heavily on the ground.

"This Taoist priest chooses the first path..."

He knew that by handing these over, he would be completely worthless, not even qualified to be a watchdog.

The northern frontier was harsh and cold, and with his cultivation crippled, was that any different from death?

Zhao Yuanji indifferently accepted them and turned, flicking his sleeve, "Drag him away."

Two black-armored warriors with chilling auras appeared silently and dragged Yin Kui Shangren out as if he were a dead dog.

Zhao Yuanji flipped the blood-colored bone token between his fingers, yin energy coiling around it, casting his eyes in a gloomy, uncertain light.

"I underestimated him."

He knew the truth of the incident at Senluo Pavilion.

"Trapped in a desperate situation, yet he could use the Heavenly Inspection Department's blade to cut the God-Locking Formation, and lure the Sky Patrol Guard's lightning to break the Yin Kui Banner! A mere second-realm cultivator, stirring up such a storm," Zhao Yuanji's fingers tightened, and the bone token let out a piercing shriek, "and after it all, not even a trace was left behind!"

A sneer echoed from the shadows, "This person's cultivation is low, he's nothing, just an ant..."

"Utterly foolish!"

Zhao Yuanji turned abruptly, his gaze as sharp as a falcon's.

"Feinting to the east while attacking to the west shows courage! Diverting disaster eastward is adaptability! The golden cicada shedding its shell is quick-wittedness! The most ruthless is that ruthlessness! Ruthless to the enemy, even more so to himself! As if he didn't care about his own life at all!"

He looked out the window and murmured, "Yin Kui's downfall was not unjust. I just wonder whose hands this excellent chess piece will eventually fall into..."

I got home too late and hadn't eaten yet, so I'll edit and post this first... The second chapter will be here soon