Ten Directions Secret Prison

The Dark Prison of the Princess's Residence lay beneath the Golden Scale Pool Pavilion. It was also known as the Ten Directions Secret Prison.

Heavily guarded and riddled with mechanisms, it was as difficult to escape as Lijing Prison at the Court of Judicial Review, once controlled by Lai Junchen-a place where more than a dozen renowned Li Tang generals had been unjustly put to death, beyond rescue even by their resourceful former subordinates!

As the Dark Prison of the Plum Blossom Guards, the Ten Directions Secret Prison was no less formidable.

The three followed the secret passage downward until they reached the Dark Prison beneath Golden Scale Pool.

The farther they descended, the damper and colder it grew.

Expressionless, Fu Rong led the way with a palace lantern in hand. Qing Dai followed close behind Lu Changfeng, guarding against any unforeseen danger.

The three of them passed through several iron doors, each closely guarded by the Inner Guard and fitted with hidden mechanisms, before finally reaching an area deep within the secret prison.

Unlike the thick, heavy bars of the other cells, the cells here were cast from solid slabs of cold iron. Lu Changfeng naturally assumed their occupants must be subjected to cruel torture, yet when the cell door opened, he unexpectedly found the interior clean and almost elegant.

The spacious cell had been furnished with dry straw and felt rugs. In one corner stood a wooden bed, along with a clean table and chairs.

On the table, a bean-sized flame illuminated several plates of fine dishes, a jug of wine, and a figure pouring and drinking alone.

The man sat with his back to the door. He was lean, dressed in gray cloth robes, his hair loosely secured with a wooden hairpin. Despite his imprisonment, he appeared perfectly at ease.

Hearing the door open, he raised his hand and poured himself another cup of wine. His voice was flat and untroubled. "Today's meal has arrived a little early."

Fu Rong stepped aside and told Lu Changfeng quietly, "Master Lu, this is Su Bonian."

Lu Changfeng entered the cell and looked around. Clean surroundings, attentive provision of food and drink-apart from his lack of freedom, Su Bonian was treated less like a prisoner than a recluse under house arrest.

Su Bonian turned around.

He looked younger than Lu Changfeng had imagined, perhaps around forty. He glanced first at Lu Changfeng, then at Fu Rong and Qing Dai behind him, before lifting his cup and taking a small sip.

"So, another new method..."

Su Bonian smiled faintly. "The night before last, it was a Yin-Yang Sorcerer skilled in mind reading. Last night, it was a high adept of the Daoist Order who knew Nine Palaces Soul Transfer. Today's visitor hardly looks... accomplished in the mystical arts. Far too young."

Lu Changfeng did not respond. He calmly approached the table and sat opposite Su Bonian, carefully studying the complexion of his face and hands.

"I am a physician."

Lu Changfeng came straight to the point.

Su Bonian paused, then shook his head with a sigh. "So they really have changed tactics. Unfortunately, this is even worse than the last two..."

He looked up at Lu Changfeng. "Do you know what poison is in my body?"

"Hearing is no proof," Lu Changfeng said. "I will have to examine you before I know."

Su Bonian smiled. "There is no need. I can tell you plainly: it is the Great Vehicle Sect's Immeasurable Seal, a kind of qi poison! Since the princess sent you, your medical skills must be exceptional. You should have heard the name."

Lu Changfeng's expression shifted slightly. "No wonder you refuse to speak even in the face of death, holding out for the Great Vehicle Sect to rescue you."

"Yes."

Su Bonian nodded. "You are well-read indeed. Much better than those useless fools at the Prince of Liang's Residence. They have barely read a few medical books, yet dare call themselves divine physicians, every one of them boasting without shame! The Immeasurable Seal is a closely guarded secret of the Great Vehicle Sect, created through its supreme sect art, the Three Vows of Longhua Art. Once implanted in the body, without the antidote, its victim suffers constantly from Karmic Fire Scorching the Body and Karmic Realm Reincarnation!

"The Great Vehicle Sect went to every effort to place me at Zhang Yizhi's side. Naturally, they took precautions against my stealing the treasures and escaping. So... I can repeat to you what I told the Prince of Liang back then. Relieve my suffering, and of course I can tell you. If you cannot, contact the Great Vehicle Sect as soon as possible and have them send the antidote... There are only a few days until the next attack."

Su Bonian leisurely took another sip of wine.

Lu Changfeng finally understood why the Great Vehicle Sect had been able to rescue Su Bonian from the Prince of Liang's Residence, and why the Prince of Liang had not dared pursue them far after discovering the Inner Guard...

Like the Life-and-Death Talisman, the Immeasurable Seal was a qi poison created from a unique form of true qi. As long as the cultivation art remained secret, no one could neutralize it!

If the Prince of Liang wanted the Two Zhang Treasures, he had to keep Su Bonian alive. But only the Great Vehicle Sect possessed the antidote to Su Bonian's poison, which inevitably forced him into dealings with them-and that created an opening...

Su Bonian had to keep his lips firmly sealed so the Prince of Liang would not let him die, allowing him to obtain the antidote. Only by protecting the secret could he also ensure that the Great Vehicle Sect would spare no effort to rescue him...

It had become a vicious circle.

At this rate, never mind three years-they could spend a lifetime trying to pry his mouth open and still fail. Once he lost his value, he was certain to die! Speaking meant certain death; silence offered a chance to live.

For Lu Changfeng, however, this made the problem simpler.

With the situation clear, Lu Changfeng relaxed completely and smiled. "There are only two ways to neutralize qi poison. One is to extract it using the corresponding true qi and a specific method. The other is to expel it with a more profound cultivation art that counters it..."

Su Bonian sighed. "The Three Vows of Longhua Art was created by Faqing. It is an upper-grade Fifth Tier art, a peerless divine art! It stands just below Divine Wandering-level cultivation arts. There are indeed several Sixth Tier arts in this world, but unfortunately, not one can be called Longhua's nemesis... Only the sect masters of successive generations are permitted to cultivate this art, so stealing it is impossible... It is not that I refuse to speak. I truly cannot! You should keep trying to pry open my skull instead. Do not waste your efforts on curing the poison."

He shook his head, unwilling to say more.

Lu Changfeng picked up the wine jug and poured himself a cup instead. "How do you know there is no nemesis of Longhua among the Sixth Tier arts?" he asked quietly.

"..."

Su Bonian's hand stopped. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Lu Changfeng. "If there were, the Prince of Liang would have hired someone to act long ago!"

Lu Changfeng smiled. "Does his lack of one prove that no one else has one?"

Su Bonian slowly set down his wine cup. For the first time, he truly scrutinized the excessively young physician before him.

"You..."

A barely perceptible tension entered his voice. "Do you know what you are saying? The Three Vows of Longhua Art originated from the Pure Land Sect's Lotus Sutra. Supremely forceful and supremely insidious, it combines the outward compassion of Buddhism with tyrannical malevolence. Its qi poison clings like an abscess to the bone and is extraordinarily difficult to remove! Ordinary supreme cultivation arts may forcibly suppress it, but that treats the symptoms, not the root! Only an art whose nature counters it completely and whose tier utterly overwhelms it can accomplish this!"

He stared at Lu Changfeng, as though searching his face for the slightest trace of bluffing. "Among the few universally recognized Sixth Tier arts of this age, the Purple Tenuity Heavenly Heart Formula is ineffably exalted and contains the power of the stars; the Imperial Pole World-Reordering Art floods the body with dragon qi and is unrivaled in its dominance; the Great Void World-Transcending Sword Canon possesses peerless sharpness and focuses on slaughter; the Great Sun Vajra Sutra is supremely yang and unyielding, forging an indestructible golden body... They may temporarily ease the suffering, but none is a true nemesis! Young man, I have no interest in your empty claims!"

Lu Changfeng met his gaze, his expression still calm, and spoke unhurriedly. "Master Su, your breadth of knowledge and remarkable memory command my admiration. But with the world so vast and martial learning so profound, how could anyone know it all? Those the Prince of Liang cannot enlist may still be enlisted by the Princess's Residence. A method the Prince of Liang cannot find does not necessarily... cease to exist."

He paused, then continued, "The Great Sun Vajra Sutra and the Great Void World-Transcending Sword Canon you mentioned are indeed supreme arts of our age, and neither is truly Longhua's nemesis... But suppose there is an art whose power is neither fierce and domineering nor sharp and murderous, but supremely gentle and pure, containing an inexhaustible force of life that nourishes all things and transforms malevolence into harmony? Could that be called Longhua's nemesis?"

Su Bonian froze. "You mean Medicine King Valley... But the Divine Farmer Formula cannot..."

Suddenly, his pupils contracted as he recalled Wu Sansi's and Wu Lingyun's strange behavior over the past few days! Upon hearing some news, they had first been ecstatic, then soon afterward furious... A name he had overheard by chance flashed into his mind!

"Could it be! Could it be..."

Su Bonian began trembling all over. His eyes fixed on Lu Changfeng as he asked in overwhelming excitement, "Was what they said true? Does the Shennong Glazed Glass Art really exist?!"

[Noble Physician's Canon activated.]

[Target: Su Bonian. Identity: former associate of Zhang Yizhi, person tied to the treasure's karma, one of the Great Vehicle Sect's Eight-Leaf Protectors. Overall value: three and a half stars.]

[Ailment: Immeasurable Seal (latent phase).]

[Success reward: Huayang Needle Technique (including Huayang Needles).]

[Failure penalty: none.]

A person tied to the treasure's karma...

It seems the Noble Physician's Canon does not judge someone's "nobility" solely by power and influence. He holds no office, yet he is more "noble" than Xue Chongyin. Could it also depend on importance?

As the thought passed through his mind, Lu Changfeng rose. "How many days until the next attack?"

Su Bonian's pupils abruptly contracted. His fingers tightened around his wine cup until they turned slightly white, and he stared intently at Lu Changfeng. "There are... there are seven days left... You..."

"I will return in six days."

With that, Lu Changfeng strode straight out of the cell and told Fu Rong, "Inform the princess that I can cure his poison. There is no need to find him an antidote. Give me six days to break through to Xiantian."

Then he headed straight back the way they had come.

Inside the cell, Su Bonian's hand trembled. Outside it, Fu Rong stood stunned.

Cure the Immeasurable Seal?

Wait six days?

Break through to Xiantian?

Any one of those three statements alone would have raised towering waves among those who understood their significance!

As the female official in charge of punishment, she knew just how troublesome the Immeasurable Seal was. Otherwise, the princess would not have specifically invited experts in mind reading and soul transfer to make Su Bonian reveal his secret. So many extraordinary talents had been helpless, while the Prince of Liang's Residence had wasted three full years to no avail. Yet this Lu Changfeng... after meeting him just once, he actually dared promise a cure!

Did he truly possess that ability, or had his arrogance reached the point of madness? Yet the composure he had shown while speaking with Su Bonian in the cell was nothing like that of an idle braggart...

And what was this Shennong Glazed Glass Art...?

Fu Rong's thoughts churned violently before finally settling into a solemn resolve.

She had to report this to the princess at once, exactly as it had happened. This Lu Changfeng was even more... unfathomable than they had expected!

Qing Dai's response, meanwhile, was much simpler.

She followed half a step behind Lu Changfeng, looking up at his calm profile. Scenes of their joint battle against Gao Lu kept flashing through her mind: one attacking, the other lying in ambush, turning defeat into victory. She missed that unspoken understanding.

"Master..."

She could not help calling softly, "The Immeasurable Seal is extraordinarily dangerous. Are you... are you truly confident? Breaking through to Xiantian is no easy matter either. Is six days perhaps..."

Lu Changfeng did not stop walking. He turned his head to glance at her and smiled. "Success depends on human effort. Besides, do we not still have the red ginseng? Come on. Let us head back and prepare."

Watching his relaxed, assured figure, Qing Dai swallowed the caution on the tip of her tongue. In its place came an inexplicable trust.

She nodded firmly and hurried after him.