Infiltrating the Dungeon

"You don't trust him?" Chen Xuan asked as they walked.

Traveling using the invisibility technique was a novel but unpleasant experience, especially on the bumpy, muddy country roads. Although Chinon was also called the Royal Fortress, and Charles VII used it as his temporary residence before occupying Paris, it was essentially still a rural town. Aside from the solidly built castle, the rest of the place had a very "pastoral" feel.

Without being able to see where their feet were landing, they couldn't make fine adjustments, so stepping too high or too low, or even into a mud puddle, was common. Before even reaching the castle, he felt like his toes were stuck together.

"I don't trust anyone here. They don't even look like they're from my own race," Liu Shuyue replied frankly. "If people like this appeared in Great Qi, they might not even be considered human."

"That makes some sense."

"Of course, even if he were from Great Qi, I wouldn't want to bring him into danger. In a crisis, an untrustworthy companion would only become a huge hidden threat. As the saying goes, a wise man does not stand under a tottering wall; it's better to eliminate this threat from the start."

Chen Xuan found her words comforting.

The implication was that he was already a trustworthy person.

"What level of enemies might we encounter? Do you have any estimates?" Liu Shuyue asked.

How would he know?

If Joan of Arc was the benchmark for combat power, then a cultivator should be overwhelmingly superior. But he hadn't actually seen Liu Shuyue display her strength, and Joan of Arc's power increased significantly after obtaining the Spirit Sword Technique. He really couldn't judge the average level of this world.

As for that witch, Mad Judy, although she sounded crazy and arrogant, she never directly confronted Joan of Arc. Instead, she used public opinion and royal authority to push the latter into a corner. So, in terms of raw strength, she should still be inferior to Joan of Arc.

"Good question. This is my first time in this region, and I haven't gathered any intelligence yet," he replied truthfully. "How do you usually assess such situations?"

"If I need to eliminate a monster I've never seen before, I'd either ask the nearby residents about its habits or circulate the Heavenly Cloud Skill, releasing the energy in a sweep to sense the strength of nearby individuals. At my previous level, I could scan up to twenty li. Now, starting over, my scanning range has dropped to about a hundred paces."

"Oh? The Heavenly Cloud Skill has that kind of function?"

"You haven't used it before?" Liu Shuyue sounded slightly surprised. "Any cultivation method can detect auras, but the range and accuracy vary. Of course... powerful individuals can also use detection to disguise themselves or deceive others. It depends on the level of skill in the contest between them."

Chen Xuan really hadn't used it.

It was like buying a new car; he could drive it easily but didn't guarantee he knew every function on the center console. The dealership would give him a thick manual, and he'd only think of flipping through it when a problem arose.

Abilities were the same.

When he obtained a cultivation method, he focused more on its ability to strengthen the body and boost techniques—in simple terms, how many buffs it could provide. He hadn't paid much attention to these kinds of active, minor skills.

After all, what threats could there be in a residential area that required such caution?

"I'll try it now."

Chen Xuan activated the Heavenly Cloud Skill, evenly dispersing the gathered energy. Even though he had never done it before, the first attempt felt as natural and easy as eating or drinking. However, he could only exert the LV2 level of the cultivation method, and the detection range was nowhere near as exaggerated as Liu Shuyue described.

The first strong reaction point appeared.

It was Liu Shuyue, walking ahead of him.

In that instant, Chen Xuan felt an involuntary chill run down his spine, causing him to shiver. Without needing to read the "manual," he knew it wasn't fear of her, but rather his cultivation method telling him that the person before him was not to be trifled with.

As the detection circle expanded, he captured more auras, but they were mostly weak reactions. It wasn't until the castle not far away was included in the scan that he quickly sensed four or five more noticeable reaction points. One of them appeared as a warm, bright golden color in his subconscious, located motionless beneath the castle.

He had to admit, using this cultivation method was incredibly convenient, almost like having X-ray vision and thermal imaging.

Chen Xuan praised it inwardly.

Even if someone were hundreds of meters away, he could determine their location in advance. No wonder Liu Shuyue could find the mountain bandits' camp in the pitch-black night.

"Checked. There's no one stronger than you and me."

There were stronger individuals, but combined, they were the ceiling.

"That's good," Liu Shuyue didn't quibble over his wording. "But don't let your guard down. Sometimes, being too safe is a trap."

Chen Xuan nodded in agreement.

He also noticed that Liu Shuyue mentioned she was re-cultivating the Heavenly Cloud Skill, which confirmed a previous guess of his: ability trading wasn't a one-time deal of "you have it, I don't." Abilities acquired through personal learning could be relearned through talent and effort even after being lost.

The castle was built next to a lake.

The naturally introduced water formed a moat, and visitors needed to cross a retractable drawbridge to enter.

The towering stone walls were manned by many soldiers. A direct assault without ten times the manpower and large siege weapons would likely not be able to capture this fortress.

But the guards would never dream that two people would simply walk through the gate and brazenly enter the fortress.

"I heard... the Saintess is to be executed tomorrow?"

"What Saintess? The tribunal has already declared her a blasphemous witch."

"But can a witch lead an army to defeat the English? She's still the hero who liberated Orléans and Reims..."

"Who knows? Maybe it's all the devil's trickery."

Such hushed conversations could be heard everywhere.

Even these royal guards serving the King had heard of Joan of Arc's great deeds. Some felt she was wronged, while others were overjoyed to have eliminated a witch. Regardless, Joan of Arc's prestige here was clearly not as prominent as it was on the front lines.

"It seems Gilles de Rais's information was correct," Chen Xuan said quietly. "My guest has been unjustly slandered."

Even if the English hadn't put her on trial, her fate seemed unavoidable.

"Isn't it common throughout history for good people to be wronged and villains to succeed?" Liu Shuyue sighed softly. "It's her good fortune to have met you before this happened. Can you sense her location?"

"She should be in the castle's basement. We can go down from the east tower."

With a clear map of the temporary residence and the long-range sensing ability of the Heavenly Cloud Skill, finding someone was not difficult. Using the invisibility technique, the two of them infiltrated the underground area from the castle entrance in less than half an hour, with no obstacles along the way. The prison was adjacent to the storeroom, and the key hung on the stone wall.

It wasn't clear what spell Liu Shuyue had cast, but the prison guards at the entrance were visibly growing drowsy. In less than thirty seconds, they had all closed their eyes.

"The sleep charms only last for about half an hour, so we need to hurry," she reminded him.

Chen Xuan took the key, unlocked the prison gate, and walked inside. The layout here was a bit like a hotel, with a narrow straight path in the middle and cages made of wooden bars on either side.

Finding Joan of Arc's cage was easier than he'd expected.

It was because there were four armored guards still standing in front of only one cage.

They're guarding this place pretty tightly, he muttered to himself. Through the guards, he confirmed Joan of Arc's presence—she had been stripped of all her armor, wearing only a black burlap prisoner's tunic to cover herself. Both her feet were bound with chains and iron balls, and she wore a wooden yoke on her hands. However, aside from the strict restriction of her movement, there weren't many signs of external injuries on her.

"Can you make these guys fall asleep too?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the guards began to sway.

"Suddenly so sleepy..."

"Hey, don't fall asleep here."

"No... is this sleeping powder?! Guard, guard..."

The last one forced himself to take two steps forward before collapsing with a thud.

The clatter of armor caught Joan of Arc's attention.

"What's wrong with you all?" she looked up, even showing concern for these people, "Guard, come here quickly—"

She stopped mid-sentence, a look of shock on her face.

At this moment, Chen Xuan slowly emerged from the shadows and walked step by step to the cage.

"Divine Envoy... Your Excellency?"

"Hmm? Is she that guest... Why does she seem so respectful towards you?" Liu Shuyue's whisper drifted from behind him, "I thought we were your most respected guests."