Two Traps

Although Wen Zhong appeared to be in his fifties, he had studied under Golden Spirit Mother in Biyou Palace for fifty years, making his actual age far greater than his appearance suggested.

Having seen and heard much, with extensive knowledge of various esoteric divine abilities, he could make a guess after a moment's thought when Lady Yunxiao inquired about the matter. He couldn't help but feel a sense of shock.

"Could it be that the person used a secret technique to break through the art of deduction?"

It was known that breaking through the art of deduction was almost equivalent to concealing the will of heaven. It not only required a great price but also extremely high divine abilities. Ordinary people of the Taoist path absolutely could not achieve this.

Even Lord Tongtian had to pay a price when he used the art of deduction. Therefore, under normal circumstances, this sect leader rarely performed deductions for others.

Deduction was also a form of prying into the will of heaven. Unless it was an extremely important matter, it was why Lady Yunxiao personally made the trip to Biyou Palace. If it were someone else, Lord Tongtian might not have acted at all!

Lady Yunxiao nodded gently, "That's right, fellow Daoist Wen, your guess is correct. However, according to the sect leader, there is another possibility where the result cannot be deduced."

Wen Zhong asked in surprise, "There's actually another possibility? Please forgive my ignorance."

Yunxiao looked in the direction of Chaoge, "Yes, the other possibility is that one person is involved. He possesses the destiny of the Human Emperor himself, allowing him to exist outside of deduction. Anything related to him cannot be deduced."

Wen Zhong gave a wry smile, "Regarding the Great King, I dare to stake my life that he cannot possess Magic Power. Is there anyone in this world who understands the Great King better than I do? His aptitude is poor. Even if he cultivated for a hundred years, he wouldn't achieve much."

At this moment, Zhao Gongming suddenly interjected, "Fellow Daoist Wen, you previously said the treasure thief might have escaped underground by earth遁. At that time, Yang Jian, a disciple under True Man Yu Ding, was present. He possesses the Heavenly Eye and had already considered this possibility. He investigated the surrounding underground areas but found no one hidden beneath the earth. His blood essence test method did indeed pinpoint the treasure thief to be nearby; this much is certain."

"Then, after the trial at Tiger Head Cliff, the Great King's suspicion should be cleared, right?" Wen Zhong was truly helpless. These elders were all senior figures from his sect, on the same generation as his master, Golden Spirit Mother. If they continued to suspect the Great King, it would be difficult for him to intervene forcefully.

Yunxiao and Zhao Gongming remained silent, both looking at Bixiao and Qiong Xiao.

Lady Bixiao pondered, "On Tiger Head Cliff, Di Xin repelled the fierce tiger and fell off the cliff. During the life-or-death moment between him and the Crown Prince, there were no signs that he possessed Magic Power. If he could truly endure that much, it would be too terrifying, to the point of disregarding his own life and his son's safety. Furthermore, we intervened at the last moment. If we had been a moment later, Di Xin would have certainly died upon the rocks. From the situation at the time, he was prepared to sacrifice his life to protect the Crown Prince. From all indications, he should be cleared of suspicion."

Wen Zhong let out a long sigh of relief, "It's good that he's completely cleared of suspicion. There's one more matter I'd like to discuss with you fellow Daoists. After the previous events, the Great King deeply feels his own weakness and wishes to gain more strength for self-preservation. This time, upon entering the palace, he asked me to teach him some cultivation methods. What do you fellow disciples think?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gongming smiled, "Fellow Daoist Wen, you don't need to ask us. You are from Golden Spirit Mother's lineage; we have no reason to overstep our bounds."

"Since none of my fellow disciples object to the Great King cultivating Taoist arts, I don't need to seek permission from my master. I can just find some rogue cultivator's manual for the Great King and pass it off, which will also avoid too much karma with our Jie Sect."

Wen Zhong agreed and then mounted his Ink Qilin, heading southeast.

"Eldest Brother, since Di Xin has been cleared of suspicion, our clues have run dry..."

Watching Wen Zhong depart, Lady Yunxiao's expression turned somewhat somber.

Zhao Gongming said, "It's not the final moment yet, so let's not jump to conclusions. For now, there's no need to make any more probing moves. Pay close attention to every move in Chaoge City. Yang Jian and Goddess Nuwa's two disciples are also trying their best to find clues."

After sending off Wen Zhong, Di Xin did not return directly to Shouxian Palace.

Instead, he went to the site of the Imperial Study to inspect the progress of the construction.

This was a place he visited once every day, demonstrating the importance he placed on the project.

"Greetings, Great King!"

You Hun, the project manager, saw the Great King arrive and hurried to greet him.

After some pleasantries, Di Xin asked, "How much more time is needed for the entire project to be completed?"

You Hun quickly replied, "Reporting to the Great King, we are working overtime during the day and resting at night. A total of eight hundred people are on site constructing the building. The plan is to complete it in two months."

"No, two months is too long."

Di Xin was displeased upon hearing this. He was waiting for Deyue Tower to be built sooner so he could have an underground secret chamber. He had some private matters he wanted to attend to in there, and two months was too long to wait.

"This is already the fastest progress!" You Hun hastily explained.

Di Xin thought for a moment and said, "If I allocate another hundred thousand gold and a thousand Imperial Guards to work day and night, how long will it take?"

"In that case... the time can be halved, to one month."

You Hun calculated and gave his answer.

"Alright, then it's one month. Go and find Prime Minister Shang with my royal decree to allocate the funds."

Di Xin immediately made the decision and spent some time giving You Hun the necessary paperwork before leaving the construction site and heading towards the Imperial Garden.

He had not yet carefully inspected the puppet materials newly rewarded by the System. Since he had nothing else to do, it was a good time.

The Imperial Garden was beautifully scenic, with fragrant flowers and birdsong, offering a cool and pleasant environment. It was also a good place to ponder matters.

The eunuch followed at a distance, while Di Xin walked alone, appearing relaxed.

Suddenly, his leisurely steps faltered, and his brow furrowed as his gaze fell upon a patch of flowers.

There, a small white head peeked out from among the blossoms, looking towards Di Xin.

Di Xin was extremely familiar with that appearance; it was the one that had bitten his finger before.

Is Yang Jian here to test me again? Di Xin's first reaction was this. Then he saw the small dog crawl out from the flowers, stand on the bluestone path, and look towards them, its small tail wagging gently and stirring the flowers.

Is Yang Jian addicted to transforming into the Sky-Howling Dog? Can't he transform into something else? Does he really think I don't know it's him? I'm the fake one, you're the real dog!

As Di Xin was contemplating how to deal with it, two options suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Option One: Turn tail and run. Mission Reward: Immortal Beast Azure Ox.]

[Option Two: Draw sword and fight the little dog. Mission Reward: High-grade Spirit Treasure Universe Ring.]

Damn it, both of these options are traps! Di Xin couldn't help but curse inwardly.