By the end of the first month, the atmosphere in Chang'an City had become even more oppressive. Earlier, because of the haunting case, many people had spread rumors, drawing an iron-blooded crackdown from the authorities. At the same time, both the court and the government had entered a state where every blade of grass and tree looked like an enemy; at the slightest rustle of wind, they would suspect it was deliberate.
As the Succession Ceremony drew ever nearer, that state of heightened vigilance became even more apparent. Countless people were arrested and investigated every day. Constables and soldiers patrolling the city could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys. Stepping outside meant being searched at any moment.
Even Gu Mo was affected.
It was not that this atmosphere oppressed him, but that Ye Jinglan and Su Ziyou took turns oppressing him.
Because the two of them were begging Gu Mo for help.
The two had been so busy lately that their feet barely touched the ground. It was not only the matter of the Succession Ceremony; more importantly, they still had not found the Cold Mountain Treasury. The Poison Bead left behind by the Plague God remained a constant threat to Chang'an City.
Yet this matter had made no progress at all.
With the Succession Ceremony about to be held, the two of them were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
They both knew the Poison Bead was being controlled by someone. They feared that Qi Miaoxuan, hidden in the shadows, might suddenly have a whim and detonate it. If that happened, all of Chang'an City would suffer a great disaster.
Even if they could evacuate the civil and military officials, Gan Country's popular sentiment would still be shaken. The consequences that followed could bring about the destruction of all Gan Country, and the Succession Ceremony would be out of the question.
Even a haunting incident could give rise to rumors that the Crown Prince lacked moral character. If a massive plague broke out as well, people would likely say the Crown Prince's sins were so heinous that even Heaven could not bear to watch, and had sent down Divine Punishment.
Gu Mo had a Poison Bead in his possession, one from the same lineage.
Gu Mo had also said that he could try using the aura of their shared lineage to sense the other Poison Bead.
But it required time.
Amid this urgent situation,
the date arrived at the first day of the Second Month.
Only one day remained until the Succession Ceremony. Su Ziyou was so anxious that he had not slept all night, because Ye Jinglan and Gu Mo had told him that Qi Miaoxuan was an ancient undying monster who had lived for over a thousand years.
Thus, in his analysis,
Qi Miaoxuan's thinking had long since departed from any goal-oriented pursuit. He was simply dry and bored, taking pleasure in entertaining the masses. The more Su Ziyou thought about it, the more likely he found it that the man would detonate the Poison Bead on the day of the Succession Ceremony.
That way, the mysterious legend he could create and the storm of events he could stir up would be even greater.
The more he thought, the more worried he became. Before dawn, he arrived at Ye Jinglan's Manor, then found Ye Jinglan, who was equally worried and unable to sleep.
Both looked utterly listless. Su Ziyou in particular looked as if all his Yang Qi had been drained away, while Ye Jinglan was merely under great mental pressure. Physically, he felt nothing. With his cultivation, going ten days or half a month without sleep would have no effect on him.
"Brother Gu, how is it? Have you found a way?"
The moment Gu Mo got out of bed, Su Ziyou and Ye Jinglan blocked him at the door.
Seeing the hopeful expressions on their faces, Gu Mo helplessly shrugged and said, "There has been no response at all. If nothing unexpected happens, that old undying Qi Miaoxuan must have taken precautions and set up restrictions in advance. Given enough time, I can find it. But in the short term, I'll say what I said before: you'd better find a way to obtain those eight Treasure Maps."
Su Ziyou said solemnly, "The length of time does not matter. What worries us now is that Qi Miaoxuan might deliberately detonate the Poison Bead during tomorrow's Succession Ceremony just because it would be more entertaining. If that happens, we'll be in serious trouble."
Gu Mo nodded slightly. Naturally, he understood that if the Poison Bead exploded during the Succession Ceremony—or even sometime in the near future—then, even with him here to contain the damage as much as possible, it would still cause a plague.
At that time, Chu Kingdom would only need to make slight use of it and send people to spread rumors that the Crown Prince was deficient in some way. The people's hearts would surely collapse, shaking the national foundation.
Still,
Gu Mo could only say that he was powerless to help.
If Qi Miaoxuan truly intended to cause trouble tomorrow, even Gu Mo had no way to stop him. Not to mention that Qi Miaoxuan was hiding so carefully that Gu Mo could not find him— even if Qi Miaoxuan did not hide, Gu Mo was not absolutely certain he could defeat him.
Ye Jinglan sat on the stone steps by the doorway and said, "I've been investigating those eight Treasure Maps with all my strength lately. I already had one myself, and I've found solid leads on the other seven. Four are in Ye Chen's hands. I'm not worried about those four; as long as Brother Gu asks, Ye Chen will definitely give them to you.
The most important thing is the other three, which came from Yue Kingdom, Northern Zhou, and Later Qin. I finally tracked down the people from those three countries who possessed the Treasure Maps, but just as we were preparing to arrange for someone to intercept them, someone beat us to it."
Gu Mo asked, "You couldn't find out who made the move?"
"No," Ye Jinglan said. "It was too Mysterious. The three people from Northern Zhou, Yue Kingdom, and Later Qin who possessed the Treasure Maps were all experts. Each of them was a Grandmaster-level expert.
Yet yesterday, almost at the same time, all three were attacked separately. There was no ambush—it was a straightforward, fair fight, one against one. And their opponents defeated the three Grandmasters with ease before taking the Treasure Maps.
Most importantly, the three people who seized the Treasure Maps were all women, and they seemed quite young. Even more absurdly, they vanished within Chang'an City despite the combined efforts of the Imperial City Division, Six Doors, and Night Division. No trace of them remained. They were like three Peerless Masters who had suddenly popped out of the ground."
Gu Mo asked doubtfully, "That can't be right. Anyone who can defeat a Grandmaster must also be a Grandmaster. A person can disguise their face, but their martial arts should leave some trace, shouldn't they?"
Ye Jinglan shook his head. "Their martial arts revealed no style at all. Moreover, all three disappeared after blending into crowds inside encirclements. If it were merely disguise, they should not have escaped so easily."
Gu Mo said, "So in short, there are no leads now."
Ye Jinglan nodded. "If we could find out what faction those three experts who intercepted the Treasure Maps belonged to, things would be easier."
For a moment, the three fell silent.
Ye Jinglan's investigation had lost its trail. Gu Mo could not find the Poison Bead in the short term, and Su Ziyou had no good solution either.
After quite a while,
Gu Mo patted Ye Jinglan's shoulder and said, "Brother Ye, do all that man can and leave the rest to fate. Many matters in this world have no solution. Not every question has an answer. If you have given it your all and still cannot resolve it, then it cannot be blamed on you."
Su Ziyou shook his head and said, "Brother Ye, Brother Gu is right. If we cannot find the best answer, then we can only settle for the next best thing and make the mistake smaller. If there truly is no way to stop the Poison Bead from erupting, we can only find a way to reduce its impact to the minimum. That is also a kind of victory!"
Ye Jinglan looked helpless. Raising his head to the sky, he let out a long sigh and said, "Then we can only ask Heaven to bless us..."
Before Ye Jinglan could finish speaking, a shadow suddenly appeared before him, blocking his line of sight. It was Ye Chen, whom they had not seen for several days. Without even greeting them, he had used a Movement Technique to fly in and was now standing atop the wall.
Ever since returning from the Clay Figurine Shop that day, Ye Chen had been recuperating. Though he had not suffered much injury that day, being pulled into the mirror had drained a great deal of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Added to the shock from the brothel incident, he had been listless. So he had spent several days sleeping in Honglu Temple without even stepping out the door.
Now, standing atop the wall, Ye Chen smugly fiddled with his hair and said in an outrageously flamboyant tone, "I, Ye Chen, Chosen One, have returned! Big Brother, Ye Jinglan, did you miss me?"
Ye Jinglan curled his lip. "What, did you visit another free brothel?"
Ye Chen's expression immediately froze as he recalled that deeply unpleasant experience. "Can you stop bringing up the pot that refuses to boil?"
With a speechless expression, Ye Chen flew down from the wall and cupped his hands toward Su Ziyou.
At the Clay Figurine Shop that day, he and Su Ziyou had met face to face. They could barely be considered acquainted, but they were not familiar, so proper etiquette was still necessary.
Su Ziyou returned the gesture.
Gu Mo smiled and asked, "Why didn't you come through the main gate? What kind of business is climbing over walls?"
Ye Chen gave a heh heh laugh. "Big Brother, I'm a man of the jianghu, all right? A jianghu man needs jianghu spirit."
"Careful someone doesn't break your legs," Gu Mo teased.
Ye Chen waved a hand. "Relax. There aren't many people in the world today who can break my legs. How could I be that unlucky?"
Gu Mo smiled. Ye Chen's words sounded somewhat boastful, but there truly were not many who could defeat him. After all, he was third on Chu Kingdom's Heavenly Rankings, firmly among the first echelon of experts beneath the Top Ten Under Heaven.
Moreover, considering Ye Chen's unique fate and destiny, even if he encountered an expert among the Top Ten Under Heaven, they might not be able to do anything to him.
"What are you doing here so early?" Gu Mo asked.
Ye Chen grinned. "I came to pay my respects to Big Brother, of course. Mm, and incidentally to ask—Big Brother, do you want a treasury?"
"The Cold Mountain Treasury?" Gu Mo asked doubtfully.
Ye Chen said, "Yes, the Cold Mountain Treasury that has had the jianghu in an uproar recently!"
Ye Jinglan and Su Ziyou exchanged a glance.
The two had investigated it before and knew that Ye Chen possessed half the Treasure Maps. They had planned to ask Gu Mo to approach Ye Chen for them once they found the other three maps that had gone missing outside. They had not expected Ye Chen to bring it up proactively.
But unfortunately,
those three maps had lost their trail.
Gu Mo said, "I heard that you have four Treasure Maps, but that is useless. All eight Treasure Maps must be gathered together before the Cold Mountain Treasury can be found."
Ye Chen chuckled. "Big Brother, your information is outdated. I don't just have four Treasure Maps—I have seven. The last one is in your Gan Country Imperial Palace, isn't it? Just ask the Emperor for it, and won't that complete the set?"
The moment he said this, Ye Jinglan, Su Ziyou, and Gu Mo all showed astonishment.
Ye Jinglan hurriedly asked, "Were those three mysterious experts yesterday your people?"
Ye Chen looked blank. "What mysterious experts?"
"You don't know?" Ye Jinglan asked suspiciously. "Yesterday, the three experts from Later Qin, Northern Zhou, and Yue Kingdom who held the Treasure Maps had their maps seized by three mysterious people. If it was not you, how did the Treasure Maps end up in your hands?"
Ye Chen said in surprise, "Something like that happened? I had no idea. Haven't I been lying around in Honglu Temple for several days? Yesterday, I felt much better, so I went out to get some air.
Not long after I left, I was about to buy two candied hawthorn skewers on a street when a pretty young lady passing by me reached out and touched me for no reason.
With my martial arts, I definitely could have dodged. But I thought, such a beautiful young lady could not possibly touch me for no reason; she must have been trying to steal money. And a girl that beautiful could not possibly steal money for no reason; she must have had some hardship. So I did not dodge.
I swear, I had no other thoughts whatsoever. I simply felt I could not let such a beautiful young lady go down the wrong path. I planned to let her steal my money, then follow her and see what hardship she had. I absolutely would not use her hardship to force her into anything. I only thought that for such a beautiful girl, we should use love to reform her.
But what I did not expect was that the young lady did not steal my money. She merely wanted to touch me, and she even left a piece of paper in my robes. She must have been drawn in by my handsome appearance and extraordinary bearing. But young ladies are always reserved, and it is hard for them to say such things aloud, so she must have written me a letter asking to meet..."
Ye Jinglan curled his lip and said, "You do not need to describe all those imagined details. Just get to the point."
Ye Chen said, "I took out the paper and looked. It was actually a palm-sized piece of sheepskin parchment. I knew this thing well—it was a Treasure Map for the Cold Mountain Treasury. It was not fake; it was genuine. Since I already had four, I could tell the difference.
At the time, I thought that young lady must have been too excited and accidentally mixed up her letter inviting me out with this Treasure Map, then gave me the wrong one by mistake. So I hurriedly chased after her, but the moment she turned, she disappeared.
I searched for ages and chased down two streets without finding her. I could only lament that we were fated to meet but not destined to be together. After all, the Treasure Map did not leave an address for us to meet. But someone as handsome as me would immediately find a second wonderful fate even after Missing one.
Just as I was feeling dejected, amid the vast sea of people, I met the second young lady. Our gazes crossed in that flowing tide of people. In that moment, we both knew the other was the fated person we had been seeking.
But young ladies are still reserved. She lowered her head shyly, pretended to brush past me, and secretly slipped a Token of Love into my robes as well..."
The corner of Ye Jinglan's mouth twitched. "Don't tell me it was another Treasure Map?"
"Of course it was," Ye Chen said. "I never expected this second young lady to be so careless too, giving me the wrong Token of Love.
So I chased after her as well, but again I did not catch her. I grew even more dejected. I was heartbroken. Two beautiful fated encounters had both slipped away through such twists of fate. Was I to suffer such torment on the road of love simply because I was handsome?
Perhaps Heaven heard my inner voice. As I turned a corner, I encountered my third fate. That young lady was fiery with passion, running straight toward me and throwing herself directly into my arms.
I held her, and she leaned against me. The two of us spun around that little alley two and a half times. Then she left shyly. Yet though she was so bashful, she did not forget to leave me a token before departing. Only, this young lady was somewhat careless too—she gave me the wrong token and stuffed another Treasure Map into my robes!
I missed another love and another fated encounter. That hateful Heaven insists on making a beautiful man like me endure such a bumpy and rugged road of romance!"
As he spoke,
Ye Chen clasped his hands behind his back, gazed up at the heavens at a forty-five-degree angle, and wore an expression of profound sorrow.
Gu Mo: "..."
Ye Jinglan said nothing, merely silently clenched his fists.
Su Ziyou lightly patted Ye Jinglan's shoulder and whispered, "Forget it, forget it. He is your Heaven!"
Ye Jinglan: "..."
He had indeed just asked Heaven to bless them, and then Ye Chen had appeared.
"Big Brother," Ye Chen said, "I waited an entire night at Honglu Temple, but those three young ladies never came looking for me. I knew then that I had surely missed all three fated encounters."
As he spoke,
he took out three pieces of sheepskin parchment from his robes and said, "Though these three romances ended without going anywhere, these three tokens are witnesses. They carry great sentimental value, commemorating my lost love. So I'll give them to you!"
Gu Mo curled his lip. "Perfectly good Treasure Maps, and after you put it that way, I suddenly feel they have been defiled. They feel a little dirty!"
Ye Jinglan hurriedly asked, "Where are your other four?"
"I gave them away," Ye Chen said. "But don't panic. I remember those maps clearly, and I can redraw them at any time. I guarantee there will be no errors. As for the final map, you'll have to find a way yourselves."
"No problem," Ye Jinglan said hurriedly. "I'll enter the palace to get it right now."
At once,
Ye Jinglan and Su Ziyou hurried out.
Once they left Ye Manor, Su Ziyou asked doubtfully, "Brother Ye, do you think there is something wrong with this Ye Chen? He cannot possibly not know the value of these Treasure Maps, yet he simply gave them to Brother Gu for nothing?
You mentioned before that Ye Chen acknowledged Brother Gu as his big brother because he thought Brother Gu was bad luck for him. In theory, shouldn't he be hiding as far away as possible now? Why would he spend such a great cost getting close? Surely Ye Chen is not genuinely willing to be Brother Gu's lackey merely because of a few words back then?"
Ye Jinglan smiled. "Brother Su, you do not cultivate, so you do not understand. Ye Chen may not be some old fox, but he is still a clever man.
At first, when he acknowledged Brother Gu as his big brother, he was certainly frightened by his bad luck and, like a patient in desperate need, grabbed at any doctor he could find. But after the Clay Figurine incident, he must have become willing to be a lackey."
"Why?" Su Ziyou asked doubtfully.
Ye Jinglan said, "Because the higher one's martial arts, the more one understands how unfathomable Brother Gu is. If Ye Chen's Great Sun Demonic Art truly has a problem, then when that problem erupts, Brother Gu will be the only person in the world who can help him!"
Meanwhile,
within Prince Qi's Manor in Chang'an City, Prince Qi Li Zhongyi was flying into a rage in his study. Brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were scattered across the floor, while three beautiful women stood before him.
If Ye Chen had been present, he would certainly have recognized them as the three young ladies he had encountered yesterday.
"Three useless fools!"
Li Zhongyi pointed at the three women and cursed, "The three of you were all fooled by the same man! Do you have pig brains?"
The three women remained silent and quietly endured the scolding.
The more Li Zhongyi thought about it, the angrier he became. Just then, the door suddenly opened, and a young woman appeared in the doorway. Her temperament was transcendent, like that of an Immortal. She was clearly stunningly beautiful, with a graceful figure and alluring curves, yet Li Zhongyi, a normal man, did not feel the slightest urge to profane her. Her aura was simply too holy.
This woman was none other than Xiaobai from Penglai Island.
The instant he saw her, Li Zhongyi's anger abruptly vanished. He hurriedly bowed and said, "Immortal Aunt Bai, why have you come?"
Xiaobai said calmly, "I had nothing to do, so I was wandering about. I heard you were flying into a rage and came to see. Did something happen?"
Li Zhongyi pointed to the three women with lowered heads and said, "It is all because of these three. Yesterday, I sent them to intercept the Treasure Maps for the Cold Mountain Treasury. They had clearly succeeded, yet in the end, all three were fooled by the same person and had the Treasure Maps taken from them. All our efforts came to nothing."
Xiaobai was somewhat puzzled. "What happened?"
These three women were three experts she had cultivated after arriving in Chang'an City, using the abilities of White Jade Capital. In terms of thought, they differed from Normal People only in lacking emotions. Their martial arts might not match those of top Great Grandmasters, but they far surpassed ordinary Grandmasters, and their ability to handle affairs was not weak.
"You tell her yourselves!" Li Zhongyi shouted angrily.
The first woman said, "When I took the Treasure Map away, I was tracked and surrounded by the Imperial City Division. Although I discarded my human-skin mask, the Imperial City Division was not easy to fool, and Ye Jinglan was present as well. In my urgency, I could only transfer the Treasure Map onto someone else to avoid being searched.
At the time, I happened to see a fool. He was already in his twenties or thirties, yet he could still drool just staring at candied hawthorn skewers. I thought that if I put the Treasure Map on him, he might not notice he had gained something for half a day to a day. I never expected him to be Ye Chen, the renowned Chosen One of the jianghu."
The second woman said, "My situation was similar. Wang Zhen'ge of Six Doors personally pursued me, so I also decided to transfer the Treasure Map away. At just that moment, I saw someone grinning foolishly at me. One look told me he was a fool, so I thought he was the perfect choice. I never expected him to be Ye Chen."
The third woman said, "The same for me. I thought he was a fool too. Ye Chen must have done it deliberately—he was far too deceptive. He kept grinning foolishly and looked utterly simple-minded. I thought if I put something on him, he definitely would not notice it for a while, and I could easily retrieve it later."
After hearing this, Xiaobai looked bewildered and said, "Who is this Ye Chen? His methods are actually so brilliant? He played all three of you around in the palm of his hand by himself. I fear he had been watching you in secret all along, planning each step in advance, which is why there were so many coincidences. Without lifting a finger, he obtained everything and would not even draw the court's attention. This man's mind is demonic!"
Li Zhongyi said, "He is Chu Kingdom's Third Master, known in the jianghu as the Chosen One. He already possessed four Treasure Maps, and now, out of all eight, he has seven!"
Xiaobai looked as if she had expected it. "Your Highness Prince Qi, this proves that he must be the kind of person who plans within the command tent and wins victories a thousand li away. It is only normal that the three of them were deceived, so do not punish them!"
Li Zhongyi felt that something was off, but he could not put his finger on it. He cupped his hands and said, "Since Immortal Aunt Bai is pleading for them, then let it be."
Xiaobai said, "Right now, the most urgent matter is finding a way to obtain the Treasure Maps from Ye Chen. Since he possesses seven maps, he will surely plan for the eighth. His mind is demonic; he calculates a hundred steps ahead for every step he takes. The eighth map will certainly already be within his grasp. We can wait until he gathers all the Treasure Maps, then seize him directly!"
"I'm afraid that will not work," Li Zhongyi said. "Immortal Aunt Bai, the eighth Treasure Map is in my imperial father's hands. This morning, when I learned that Ye Chen was the one who took the Treasure Maps yesterday, I had actually intended to arrange an ambush for him. But I do not know whether it was coincidence or something he planned in advance—early in the morning, he went to Ye Jinglan's Manor. Not long afterward, Ye Jinglan entered the palace. I suspect he handed the Treasure Maps to Ye Jinglan in order to cooperate with my imperial father."
Xiaobai said, "It definitely was not coincidence. Ye Chen is too clever. He sees things very clearly. As a man of the jianghu, what he would find most useful and want most from the Cold Mountain Treasury must be its martial arts inheritance, while what your imperial father wants must be wealth.
They each take what they need, so naturally they can cooperate—and do so happily. There is no conflict between them, and he can even gain your imperial father's friendship. It kills several birds with one stone. This man is not only extraordinarily intelligent, but also highly rational. Your Highness Prince Qi, you must not offend him. If you do, you must kill him in a single strike!"
Li Zhongyi said gravely, "By doing this, Ye Chen will not only receive the protection of the most powerful person in Chang'an City, but also the protection of Gu Mo, the Number One Under Heaven. No one in Chang'an City can touch him."
Xiaobai asked doubtfully, "Gu Mo is in Chang'an City too?"
"Yes." Li Zhongyi asked, puzzled, "Immortal Aunt Bai, do you know Gu Mo?"
"I know him. We have a private grudge." Xiaobai said, "He is the Number One Under Heaven, worthy of the name. I am still no match for him. Your Highness, since he is in the Capital City, abandon the Cold Mountain Treasury. Once tomorrow's Succession Ceremony is over, leave the Capital City at once and go to your fief. Do not linger any longer!"
Li Zhongyi was greatly shocked. He had always regarded the methods of Immortal Aunt Bai before him as astonishing beyond measure.
Last year, Immortal Aunt Bai suddenly approached him seeking cooperation, claiming to be an overseas earthly Immortal who needed to assist someone with the Serpent Fate to ascend the throne and become Emperor, borrowing the momentum of transforming into a dragon to ascend as a Heavenly Immortal.
At first, he had scoffed at her. He only engaged with her because of her extraordinary bearing, but after they had interacted, he was swiftly won over by Immortal Aunt Bai's miraculous methods. The most direct example was his three Maids. They had originally been merely Normal People, yet after less than a month of training under Immortal Aunt Bai, they had all become supreme experts.
Yet,
Immortal Aunt Bai, who in his eyes was no different from an Immortal or God, was actually afraid of Gu Mo.
He knew Gu Mo was very powerful, Number One Under Heaven, capable of ignoring even an army. Yet he had always felt that although Gu Mo was Number One Under Heaven, he surely could not compare to an Immortal like Immortal Aunt Bai.
But now, it seemed that was not the case.
"Immortal Aunt," Li Zhongyi asked in confusion, "is Gu Mo really that strong? You're an Immortal, after all?"
Xiaobai said, "I came from the Earth Immortal Realm to undergo a Mortal Tribulation in this human world. Many of my methods cannot be used for a short while. I need time to adapt. At most one year, and a mere Gu Mo will be beneath my notice!"
Li Zhongyi suddenly understood, and his heart settled completely. "With those words from you, Immortal Aunt, I can rest easy. What I fear most is Gu Mo intercepting me when I raise an army in the future. He is very close to Ye Jinglan, Zhuo Qingfeng, Su Ziyou, and the rest of those from the Second Prince Faction. If I raise an army, he will surely aid the Second Prince, and he can practically ignore an army."
Xiaobai waved her hand. "There is no need to worry. Once you reach your fief, I will give you many Martial Arts Manuals. Gather talented people far and wide then. Do not begrudge money or manuals, and I can cultivate countless experts for you."
Li Zhongyi was thrilled. Pointing at the three women, he asked, "Like how you cultivated those three?"
Xiaobai nodded.
For her, cultivating ordinary experts was simple. White Jade Capital's stores contained many fast-track martial arts. The simplest was the ordinary Complete Taotie Divine Skill, which could directly absorb another person's inner force for one's own use.
Then, after killing someone, she could extract the other party's Nascent Soul and use White Jade Capital's power to cleanse it, retaining only the Martial Dao Will and basic consciousness. Then she only needed to find a compatible physical body and fuse them together to obtain an expert with powerful Martial Dao Will and inner force.
Although those cultivated this way were little different from puppets, far inferior to the people on Penglai Island back then, who could cultivate and grow independently, the ones she created now all possessed consciousness—but it was implanted. They could only operate according to fixed consciousness and could not grow.
But Xiaobai did not care.
The path she walked now differed from that of the Great Island Master and Second Island Master. Back then, the Great Island Master and Second Island Master had taken the elite route. Every Nascent Soul they accepted had stood at the very pinnacle of an era, after which the various Nascent Souls developed freely.
But she was different. She walked the path of embracing all rivers into the sea, fusing all consciousness into one, then borrowing the power of a nation and the power of the world to push her will to a higher level.
The Great Island Master and Second Island Master of old did not understand the wonderful use of worldly power, but she understood it very well. That was why she wanted to support Li Zhongyi in becoming emperor.
Chang'an City, Ye Manor.
Ye Jinglan swiftly found the final Treasure Map in the Imperial Palace. Then, combining it with the four Treasure Maps drawn by Ye Chen, the complete map to the Cold Mountain Treasury finally came into being.
When combined, it was not a map, but a poem.
After Su Ziyou deciphered it, they quickly locked onto the location of the Cold Mountain Treasury: a lake within Chang'an City.
At once, Ye Jinglan mobilized the Imperial City Division's army and sealed off the entire lake district so tightly that not even water could pass through.
Gu Mo stood on the shore, his fingertips brushing across the lake's icy ripples. His inner force quietly probed into the lake bottom. A moment later, he lifted his eyes toward Ye Jinglan. "There are fluctuations from an array at the lake bottom. That should be the entrance."
Ye Jinglan had long been unable to restrain himself. He immediately gave Su Ziyou a few instructions, leaving him to command the Imperial City Division's army, then plunged headfirst into the lake.
Ye Chen and Gu Mo exchanged a glance. Both of them gathered their breath and stepped across the water, their figures shooting into the emerald waves like arrows.
Deep in the lake, undercurrents surged with aquatic grass. A faint glow rose from Gu Mo's palm, cutting through the murk and lifting away mud fully two zhang deep. On the rock wall at the lake bottom was carved half a Bagua diagram—the very proof of the poem's line, "Qian Hexagram Hidden in Water."
Clinging to the rock wall, Ye Chen poked blindly at the grooves of the Hexagram Symbol with his fingertips. Suddenly, with a click, a crack opened in the rock wall, leaking a dim green light.
The three entered one after another. Then the stone slab closed, sealing out the lake water.
The passage was wet, slippery, and narrow. At its end, the view suddenly opened up—a white jade Underground Palace appeared before them. Luminous Pearls were embedded in the dome, illuminating the chamber until its gold and silver glittered brilliantly. Among heaps of treasures and jade artifacts lay ancient sword cases, silk scrolls, and bamboo slips. This was the true face of the Cold Mountain Treasury.
"Found it!"
Ye Jinglan's gaze sharpened as he pointed toward the Black Iron Altar at the center of the Underground Palace.
Above the altar, a pitch-black bead floated and rotated, strands of Black Qi winding around it. It was the Poison Bead left behind by that Plague God, identical to the one in Gu Mo's possession.
Gu Mo had studied the Poison Bead deeply. He immediately stepped forward, condensing pale golden true qi at his fingertips and steadily extracting the Poison Bead as though with tweezers. The Black Qi instantly drew back.
"Something's wrong!" Gu Mo suddenly said.
Ye Jinglan asked doubtfully, "What is wrong?"
Gu Mo said, "When I was outside, I clearly sensed a special restriction in this Underground Palace that blocked my perception. But now it is gone. If there had been no restriction, I would not have spent days tinkering around without sensing this Poison Bead."
Ye Jinglan said in a deep voice, "The construction of this Underground Palace is not particularly exquisite. Without a restriction, it truly could not have been hidden so well. However, that restriction should be linked to the Underground Palace's array. We should look around. We may find something."
Gu Mo gave a slight nod. "Qi Miaoxuan was no ordinary person. If his restriction is not dealt with, trouble may arise later. When we let those Soldiers outside come in to move the valuables, they may encounter danger they cannot resist."
Ye Jinglan nodded repeatedly. "We definitely need to search carefully."
The moment Ye Chen heard this, he knew it would not do. Recently, his luck had swung from misfortune to fortune and back again. Even Gu Mo took this so-called restriction so seriously; its danger was surely great. Ye Chen had no desire to repeat the disaster of the Clay Figurine Shop.
Ye Chen immediately said, "Big Brother, you and Ye Jinglan can search. I won't get involved. My luck is good one moment and bad the next—I'd better not drag you down!"
Gu Mo understood Ye Chen's predicament and nodded. "Then just find somewhere to rest. There are plenty of treasures here. See whether there is anything you like, and pick some to take back."
"That, I can get behind. Heh heh!"
Ye Chen immediately went off happily to open the chests and make his selections, while Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan both sent their inner force into the cracks of the stone walls in search of the hidden restriction's core.
Worried about encountering something unlucky, Ye Chen deliberately avoided things like wall arrays. He focused on the large chests in the middle, searching for treasure. When he opened the third chest, he suddenly caught sight of an old scroll painting rolled up amid the golden light.
He blew the dust from the painting and unfurled it. It depicted a woman in a Seven-Colored Dress, smiling softly. Her brows and eyes were like peach blossoms steeped in Morning Dew; the shifting ripples in her gaze seemed to conceal shattered reflections of a galaxy. Her vermilion lips were rosy without paint, and when the corners of her mouth curled slightly, it seemed as if honey might flow from them.
The Seven-Colored Dress shimmered with flowing radiance. Cloud patterns embroidered in Golden Thread appeared and vanished with her movements. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, jade ornaments amid her hair swaying lightly. With every gesture, she seemed to have kneaded all the springtime light around her into fragments.
"Tsk, tsk, she really is beautiful!" Ye Chen marveled, his fingers unconsciously brushing over the painted woman's skirt. "It would be perfect if she were real. She's so beautiful..."
Before his words had even faded, the corners of the woman's lips in the painting actually curved upward, revealing a smile.
Ye Chen praised her lavishly. "She's even prettier when she smiles..."
Hm? She smiled!!
Oh, my mother, why was it me again!!
Ye Chen's expression changed as he cried out, "Big Brother..."
At that very instant,
A gleam flashed through the painted woman's eyes, and Ye Chen suddenly froze where he stood.
Hearing Ye Chen's cry, Gu Mo hurried over and asked, "What happened?"
Ye Chen scratched his head, pointed at the painting in his hands, and asked with a lewd grin, "Big Brother, is she pretty?"
Gu Mo: "??"
Ye Jinglan was also drawn over by Ye Chen's shout, thinking they had found something, only to hear Ye Chen's question.
Ye Jinglan said speechlessly, "That's what you were shouting about?"
"I want this painting."
Ye Jinglan mocked, "What, are you taking it back to sleep with it?"
"Mm."
Ye Jinglan: "??"
Before you continue