Invitation

The newcomer was tall and thin, with an aged face and a goatee beneath his chin. His face was tense and stern.

"This person is... Lu Ding?"

Yu Ci recognized him. Like Lu Yang, Lu Ding was also a steward in the mansion, known for his strictness and harshness. While Lu Yang managed the daily operations, Lu Ding was in charge of miscellaneous affairs, ranking last among the stewards. Yu Ci remembered him clearly because Lu Ding was responsible for the external acquisition of Shrimp Whisker Grass. It was he who had decided yesterday to send people to track and investigate Yu Ci's background. Of course, all of this had been captured by the Zhaoshen Map, allowing Yu Ci to be aware of it.

Lu Ding was a sycophant who bullied those below him and enjoyed putting on airs. Once they were away from the meeting hall, he beckoned a nearby servant to summon someone. He then slowed his pace, walking leisurely with his hands behind his back, unaware that an invisible demonic eye in the void was observing his every move.

Before long, the leader of the mansion's warriors and the attending deacons arrived to receive orders. Lu Ding sat down on a rock by the roadside and began to speak slowly. Yu Ci watched him with great clarity, and the first sentence made him chuckle.

Lu Ding said, "The Mansion Lord has ordered a city-wide lockdown, with the city gates sealed. We are to detain the person who exchanged four Three Yang Talisman Swords within the city and find their whereabouts. We should invite them if possible, and if not, we must still 'invite' them to the mansion as a guest!"

The warrior leader acknowledged the order and left. The deacon beside him, accustomed to Lu Ding, was familiar with the situation and couldn't help but wonder, "Why the sudden mobilization? Although four thousand stalks of Shrimp Whisker Grass are a lot, if we were to resort to a ruthless, no-cost transaction, gathering them wouldn't be too difficult."

Lu Ding glanced at his subordinate and stroked his beard, smiling. "If it were ordinary, let alone four thousand stalks, even forty thousand wouldn't be a big deal. But what kind of discernment does the Mansion Lord have? He said that out of four thousand stalks, three were successfully cultivated, indicating that the 'herbs' this person picked were not only of excellent quality but also sufficiently potent. Their medicinal power is much greater than usual, which is why this result occurred. Usually, dozens of such 'herbs' are considered good, but unexpectedly, over a thousand appeared at once... Heh heh, who would believe that this person doesn't have a special harvesting location or method?"

As if I saw it myself, truly a brilliant idea!

Yu Ci, in his inn room, almost applauded. The deacon also looked enlightened, which greatly pleased Lu Ding. He continued, "Now, inside and outside the city, there are many ambitious individuals who are envious of the mansion's 'exclusive' rights, which is quite bothersome. You all who handle affairs must be more cautious and diligent to share the Mansion Lord's worries..."

The deacon nodded repeatedly, and Lu Ding, quite satisfied, turned to give further instructions. "Either tonight or tomorrow, the Mansion Lord will be going out. Prepare food and water for ten people as usual, and do not make any mistakes."

The deacon understood and turned to carry out the task. Clearly, as Lu Ding had said, this was a routine matter that didn't require further explanation.

Yu Ci, in the inn, was curious. Jin Huan had just returned, where was he going again?

He stood up and put away the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror. No matter how much he disdained the methods of Bai Ri Mansion, he couldn't ignore the danger within. Juebi City was the only sizable settlement within a radius of ten thousand miles. Although there were hundreds of thousands of residents, strangers were truly few. For a local power like Bai Ri Mansion, it wouldn't take much effort to identify newcomers in the city within a short period. They hadn't done so before simply to maintain a semblance of decorum.

Now, with Jin Huan's command, that pretense had been stripped away.

It was clearly no longer safe to stay in the city. Yu Ci slowly walked out of the inn. Although his pace was slow, his direction was unwavering. He headed towards the East Gate, the closest to the inn. He gradually increased his speed along the way. Juebi City had city walls and gates, but there were no guards stationed inside or outside the gates. This was because the city-state had no external enemies, and even if it did, the walls wouldn't be a significant obstacle. The construction of the walls was primarily to defend against fierce beasts from the mountains. Bai Ri Mansion had also organized some civilians into armed formations, forming garrisons responsible for maintaining order within the city and occasionally assisting Bai Ri Mansion with certain tasks. Things like city-wide lockdowns and sealing the gates...

However, when Yu Ci passed the East Gate garrison post, there was no sign of any activity yet. Yu Ci smiled slightly and walked out of the city gate with ease, leaving Juebi City behind.

After walking a few miles outside the city gate, Yu Ci was somewhat surprised. The area was unusually lively. Pedestrians were as numerous as weaving threads, with many well-off families from the city out for an outing. The cries of small vendors along the roadside were incessant, unlike in the previous two days.

He casually stopped someone to ask. The person was good-tempered and didn't get angry when stopped. He simply looked Yu Ci up and down for a long time before smiling and saying, "Today is the Insight Day of the Immortal Xuan Yin. You, a Taoist, should go pay respects to the Three Pure Ones. Do you also need to pay homage to Immortal Xuan Yin?"

Yu Ci immediately understood. So it was the Xuan Yin Sect. Twenty miles west of the West Gate was the "Youqiu Palace," where the golden statue of Immortal Xuan Yin was enshrined. He knew this.

The Xuan Yin Sect had only recently established a foothold in Juebi City in the past decade, but their development had been extremely rapid, quickly becoming a force that could not be ignored in the vicinity of Juebi City. The reason for their rapid expansion was, to some extent, related to Bai Ri Mansion's large-scale acquisition of Shrimp Whisker Grass. This sect was rumored to be a branch of ancient sorcery, possessing methods for driving away beasts and ghosts. If one could join the sect and obtain a talisman blessed by a sect immortal master, they could avoid danger. It was said to be very effective.

More than half of the city's residents who went to Sky Rift Valley to collect herbs believed in the Xuan Yin Sect. Furthermore, the Xuan Yin Sect offered special treatment to female believers, and most of the sect's immortal masters were women. Therefore, many women in the city believed in this sect. After receiving blessings, their families benefited, further increasing the incense offerings to Immortal Xuan Yin.

However, in the eyes of cultivators like Yu Ci, things were different.

The Xuan Yin Sect had become a major power in Juebi City within ten years and preached freely within the city. This was largely due to Bai Ri Mansion's indulgence. Yu Ci had heard rumors within the mansion that this sect had a deep background, rumored to be a branch of a major sect from the Eastern Extremes. Even separated by millions of miles, Bai Ri Mansion showed it great respect. Moreover, the Xuan Yin Sect was content with developing civilian followers and never gathered elite cultivators, thus posing no threat to Bai Ri Mansion, which was also an important reason.

Speaking of which, Yu Ci was genuinely interested in visiting Youqiu Palace. Unfortunately, at this moment, there was some commotion near the West Gate. It was likely that Bai Ri Mansion's order had finally arrived, but it was meaningless now, merely disturbing the peace of mind. Yu Ci sneered inwardly and, following the flow of incense-offering believers, quickly disappeared into the distance.

By the time Yu Ci unfolded the Zhaoshen Map again, the sky was already darkening.

The location Yu Ci chose was thirty miles west of the city. Although it couldn't capture the entire panorama of Juebi City, it perfectly encompassed Dan Cliff. The search operation within the city was destined to be fruitless, and the grand ceremony for Immortal Xuan Yin's Insight was destined to end in disappointment. Yu Ci could guess that there would be some friction between the two sides as a result of this. The Zhaoshen Map couldn't reveal such matters, but Yu Ci could infer them. He chuckled at this.

In line with Bai Ri Mansion's attitude, Yu Ci consciously adjusted his own position. The cultivators and immortal masters in Bai Ri Mansion were unaware of this outcome. Even if they knew, after a laugh of "overestimating themselves," they wouldn't have any further concerns. They were still methodically making preparations for departure and tidying up the aftermath in the city. Of course, such matters were left to their subordinates. Stewards like Lu Yang only needed to wait in the courtyard for departure.

When Yu Ci shifted his focus back to Lu Yang's courtyard, the scene within the courtyard surprised him.

In the small open space of only two zhang square within the single courtyard, two people were sparring. It wasn't exactly sparring, as they were a full zhang apart. They were merely moving their sleeves, lifting their legs, and occasionally changing their orientation. Although the gang wind came and went with whistling sounds, the rhythm was distinct. It looked like they were testing each other or practicing.

One of the two sparring was Lu Yang. The other person was similar in build but had a round face and a very amiable, smiling demeanor even when making moves. Yu Ci had also seen him; this person was another steward of the mansion, Kuang Zheng. He was also the biological uncle of Lu Yang's disciple. These two stewards had connected through this young man, forming an alliance and controlling a significant portion of the mansion's influence.

Lu Yang's disciple was named Kuang Yanqi. Besides being the link between the two stewards' alliance, he also had considerable merit in himself. Six months ago, at the age of only twenty, he had entered the Spirit 통 realm, progressing far beyond his peers, and his talent was truly astonishing.

Lu Yang was very fond of this disciple, viewing him as his greatest hope for passing on his legacy. He had been diligently teaching him knowledge related to the Spirit 통 realm. Even a few words from their lessons could greatly benefit Yu Ci, who was "nearby." This was why Yu Ci enjoyed coming here so much. A large part of his lip-reading skill improvement had been honed in this courtyard.

Standing under the eaves of the courtyard was Kuang Yanqi. At this moment, the young man stood amidst the residual gang wind, squinting as if he were experiencing something.

"It's different when you have a teacher to guide you..."

Yu Ci did not hide his envy. However, when he looked back at Lu Yang and Kuang Zheng, he felt his "eyes" blur. He initially thought he was tired from watching, but when he compared the light and shadow colors in the courtyard with those under the eaves, he realized it wasn't his problem. It was that the image from the Zhaoshen Map in this area was not as clear as in the surroundings.

Yu Ci steadied himself, gathered his breath, and exerted his strength before looking again. Strangely, this time, with his focus heightened, as his gaze touched the shifting scene, the void before his eyes suddenly flickered, as if a layer of light gauze had been draped over it and then removed. After this change, the world in his eyes was different.

In the Zhaoshen Map, the two were still fighting. However, in his eyes, Lu Yang's head had become transparent!

Of course, it wasn't true transparency, but a layer of light was emanating from within his skull. It was orange-red in color. Neither his skin, flesh, nor bones could block the penetration of this light. Through this light, he vaguely saw a blurry light source residing within his brain, a most bizarre scene.

Looking again, Kuang Zheng was in a similar situation, except that the light emanating from his skull was not orange-red but a circle of faint purple radiance. This light was less penetrating than the former, and Yu Ci couldn't see what was inside his skull.

Yu Ci had spent the past few days wandering around Bai Ri Mansion and had gained some understanding of the two stewards' backgrounds. He knew that both of them had reached the Great Perfection of Yin God and were capable of soul projection and wandering. If that was the case, then the glowing object was their Yin God?

So, it was possible to see even through flesh and blood.

Yu Ci suddenly realized that his previous understanding might have been slightly flawed.