Peng Xiaochuan saw the divine aberration fall into the net and came striding over the waves toward Fang Heng.
"Your Highness, please hand the divine aberration over to me. With severe interrogation, I will surely get to the bottom of this case."
Peng Xiaochuan looked at the divine soul with eager interest, itching to make a move.
"Battalion Commander Peng, can't we directly use a soul-searching technique?" Fang Heng asked in return.
"Your Highness may not know this, but divine aberrations cultivate divinity, which originates from evil gods. If a soul-searching method is used, the soul of the one conducting the search will be contaminated by that divinity."
Peng Xiaochuan patiently explained it to Fang Heng.
"I see."
"Since that is the case, I'll leave the divine aberration's soul to you, Battalion Commander Peng."
After Fang Heng and Battalion Commander Peng completed the handover, he raised his head and looked toward the river.
He saw the divinity permeating the river surface being continuously drained away by the God Slaying Grand Array above Yujing City.
Seeing the curious expression on Fang Heng's face, Peng Xiaochuan said with a smile.
"Your Highness, divinity cannot be destroyed. It can only be transferred."
"This divinity on the river is a tremendous tonic to other divine aberrations."
"If it is not dealt with, it will surely draw countless divine aberrations here."
"Besides surveillance and suppression, the greatest use of the God Slaying Grand Array above Yujing City is sealing divinity."
"Then the God Slaying Grand Array must contain countless sealed portions of divinity. I fear quite a few divine aberrations have their eyes on them."
"Hahaha—Your Highness is correct."
"Divine aberrations coveting the God Slaying Grand Array are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river."
"However, those who truly dared to act had long since become dead souls beneath the God Slaying Grand Array."
While Fang Heng and Peng Xiaochuan were speaking.
Yin Tingshu helped up the young fisherman, who had lost too much blood. After giving him a medicinal pill, the youth's breathing gradually steadied.
He also ordered someone to send the youth home.
Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Eunuch Su entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation with utmost respect.
The reverent expression on his face bore none of the imposing dominance he had displayed before the divine aberration.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the divine aberration has been captured. The God Slaying Department is currently interrogating it." Eunuch Su reported.
"Tell me the details."
Emperor Yuanchu spoke indifferently without raising his head, his gaze remaining fixed on the memorial in his hand.
Eunuch Su recounted everything, from delivering the imperial decree to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to capturing the divine aberration on the river.
He gave the account in every detail, concealing nothing and adding none of his own opinions.
"That old bastard, the Director of Imperial Astronomical Bureau, finally allowed his closed-door disciple to act?" Emperor Yuanchu said with a smile, before abruptly changing the subject.
"Is Heng'er's attainment in lightning arts truly as formidable as you claimed?"
"How would this old servant dare deceive Your Majesty?"
"If this old servant has spoken even half a false word, may heaven strike me with thunder and lightning."
Eunuch Su's oath-like manner amused Emperor Yuanchu.
"In merely a little over a month, Heng'er has attained such skill in lightning arts. Daoist Xuanqing deserves great credit."
"Your Majesty, Daoist Xuanqing's contribution cannot compare to yours."
"Oh?"
"How so?"
"If the Ninth Prince were a stubborn stone, then no matter how skilled the craftsman, he could not carve it into fine jade."
"The Ninth Prince possesses such astonishing talent in lightning arts because he is Your Majesty's descendant."
"Hahaha—Well said!"
Eunuch Su's words had struck straight at Emperor Yuanchu's heart.
Heng'er was my seed.
How could he possibly be inferior?
Clink, clink, clink—
The sound of scales colliding came from outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
"Your Majesty, Battalion Commander Peng requests an audience."
"Looks like there are results. Let Peng Xiaochuan enter."
"This subject, Peng Xiaochuan, pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand upon ten thousand years."
Peng Xiaochuan dropped to one knee and performed a grand salute.
"Rise." Emperor Yuanchu spoke unhurriedly. "Has the case been thoroughly investigated?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject has uncovered the Blood Sea divine aberration's scheme."
"Several days ago, the Blood Venerable issued a divine decree ordering the Blood Sea divine aberrations to use the spread of Sacred Emperor Rice to make blood lotuses bloom across the Divine Land."
The moment Emperor Yuanchu heard this, he immediately understood and sneered repeatedly.
"So the Blood Venerable was plotting this."
Hide blood seeds within the seeds of Sacred Emperor Rice.
As Sacred Emperor Rice was planted throughout the Seventy-Two Commanderies of Great Qian, the Blood Venerable's blood lotuses could bloom throughout all Seventy-Two Commanderies as well.
What a fine scheme.
"You may leave."
"This subject takes his leave."
After Peng Xiaochuan departed, Emperor Yuanchu fell into deep thought.
After pondering for a while, he finally made his decision.
"Have Elder Huang secretly protect Heng'er."
"Understood, Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing Emperor Yuanchu's order, a tempestuous storm rose within Eunuch Su's heart.
His Majesty was actually assigning Elder Huang as the Ninth Prince's guardian Daoist.
Guardian Daoists were exceedingly difficult to find.
Not only did they need formidable strength, they also had to be unwaveringly loyal.
Most importantly, they had to be willing to serve as guardian Daoists and protect the younger generation.
There was certainly no shortage of powerful experts.
Yet such powerful experts either immersed themselves in cultivation, focusing single-mindedly on immortality.
Or they immersed themselves in pleasure, becoming local tyrants and throwing their weight around.
Experts willing to protect the younger generation were few and far between.
Among meritorious and aristocratic clans, only the eldest legitimate son or the most gifted member of the younger generation would generally have a guardian Daoist secretly protecting them.
Even within the imperial family, not every prince had a guardian Daoist.
The Ninth Prince is probably more than merely favored by His Majesty, Eunuch Su thought to himself.
Prince's Residence.
"Your Highness, Her Highness has sent someone to deliver the extraordinary item, the Exquisite Umbrella," Yun Menglan said softly.
Fang Heng played with the small yellow umbrella in his hand, and his dark eyes lit up.
One look was enough to confirm it. She was truly his birth mother.
After Consort Ning learned that he had been targeted by a divine aberration, she immediately sent him the extraordinary item, the Exquisite Umbrella.
Daoist School Magic Tools were divided into five tiers.
Magic Tools, extraordinary items, treasured artifacts, spirit treasures, and the legendary immortal treasures.
Magic Tools were the most common treasures among Daoist School cultivators.
They could be used after reaching the Object Manipulation Realm.
As long as one was not excessively impoverished, one would carry one or two Magic Tools for protection.
Extraordinary items, on the other hand, were exceedingly rare. Evergreen Temple possessed fewer than thirty in total.
Other than the temple master and several elders, only core disciples could receive one.
As for treasured artifacts, Evergreen Temple possessed fewer than could be counted on one hand.
Moreover, treasured artifacts possessed spirits. To refine one, a cultivator also needed to gain the approval of its Artifact Spirit.
As for spirit treasures, throughout the Divine Land, every single one was renowned far and wide.
Whenever a spirit treasure emerged, it would stir up a bloody storm and fierce battles between dragons and tigers.
The extraordinary Exquisite Umbrella Consort Ning had sent differed from the extraordinary Spirit Calming Pearl gifted by the Left Prime Minister.
The Exquisite Umbrella was a defensive extraordinary item capable of blocking attacks below the sixth realm.
Unfortunately, Fang Heng was currently only at the Object Manipulation Realm, so using the Exquisite Umbrella consumed considerable amounts of his mana.
If he used it twice in succession, the mana in his body would be completely depleted.
Evergreen Temple.
The flames of seven glazed lamps patterned with chi dragons flickered.
The silver needles in Fang Heng's back trembled continuously.
Only after a full quarter of an hour did they finally stop.
"Thank you, Master!"
Fang Heng opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.
Daoist Xuanqing glanced at Fang Heng, a faint teasing note in his voice.
"There are still a few traces of a woman's aura in your dantian that have yet to be refined."
"You are still young. Take it easy."
"Cough, cough!"
"This disciple understands!"
Fang Heng coughed twice, his old face reddening as Daoist Xuanqing's words left him somewhat embarrassed.
Ever since taking Aunt Yun into his chambers, he had indeed been rather indulgent these past few days.
Having tasted the marrow, he could not stop, day or night.
"Disciple, your master has thought for a long time today."
"The Ten Absolute Poisons in your body may not necessarily be incurable."
Daoist Xuanqing stroked his beard and spoke slowly.
Fang Heng's eyes immediately brightened, joy rising to his brows.
Although he had already embarked upon the path of cultivation.
The Ten Absolute Poisons were ultimately a hidden danger.
No one knew when they might erupt.
"Please guide me, Master!"
"Disciple, do you know the origins of our Evergreen Temple lineage?"
Rather than directly state the solution, Daoist Xuanqing changed the subject.
"I have heard it is connected to the ancient Azure Emperor!"
"That is correct!"
"Back then, after our founding patriarch stepped onto the Dao Path, he and four friends accidentally entered Five Emperors Valley, where each obtained a legacy."
"What our patriarch received was the Azure Emperor's legacy. Only then did our Evergreen Temple lineage come to be."
"Besides Evergreen Temple, the patriarch's friends also established sects."
"The other four lineages are Burning Heaven Valley, Seven Kill Pavilion, Profound Nether Hall, and Thick Earth Sect."
"The founders of the five sects were originally friends, so our five sects are considered branches from the same breath, connected by the same qi."
"They agreed to open Five Emperors Valley once every ten years, allowing their disciples to enter and seek opportunities."
"The patriarch left behind last words that, when he entered Five Emperors Valley, he had seen an immortal lotus with the miraculous effect of remolding one's fleshly body."
"If you can obtain that immortal lotus, disciple, you may abandon your original body and use the immortal lotus as your body, living another life."
"Without your original body, the Ten Absolute Poisons will naturally be cured without medicine."
Daoist Xuanqing's line of thought was truly unconventional.
Since the poison could not be cured, he might as well simply replace the body.
After hearing Daoist Xuanqing's method, Fang Heng could not help thinking of Nezha.
This was asking him to follow Nezha's path!
Fang Heng committed this method to memory.
"Thank you for your guidance, Master."
"However, disciple, entering Five Emperors Valley will not be so easy for you."
"Five Emperors Valley opens once every ten years, and the places are limited to five hundred each time."
"The allocation of those five hundred places is decided by the Five Emperors Dharma Assembly."
Hearing this, Fang Heng immediately understood.
"So the Five Emperors Dharma Assembly involves competitions?"
"That is right!"
"The Five Emperors Dharma Assembly tests not only spell combat, but also pill refinement, talisman crafting, artifact forging, puppetry, and more."
"Though you are my disciple, your master cannot open a back door for you."
"Only by standing out from the crowd at the Five Emperors Dharma Assembly can you obtain a place."
"And to enter Five Emperors Valley, one must possess at least Fifth Realm strength."
Fang Heng blurted out the question.
"Master, when will the next Five Emperors Dharma Assembly be held?"
"One year from now!"
Daoist Xuanqing explained at length.
Reach the Fifth Realm within a year.
If it were anyone else, he would surely think it was the ravings of a madman.
But this monstrous disciple of his could not be measured by ordinary standards.
Perhaps he truly could do it.
After hearing this, Fang Heng nodded slightly.
Reach the Fifth Realm within a year.
And stand out at the Five Emperors Dharma Assembly.
Enter Five Emperors Valley and search for the immortal lotus.
Though it would be difficult, Fang Heng was still confident that he could obtain the immortal lotus.
After putting on his shirt and regulating his breath for a moment,
Daoist Xuanqing said to Fang Heng, "Come with me to the sword practice ground."
"Master is finally planning to teach me swordsmanship?!"
Fang Heng's eyes lit up.
A moment later.
The two arrived at the sword practice ground within Evergreen Temple.
Besides the two of them, their eldest senior brother Lin Yichen was also standing nearby, holding a green longsword and carrying the air of a wandering swordsman.
Clearly, teaching one was teaching, and teaching two was teaching.
Daoist Xuanqing intended to teach both martial brothers together.
"Greetings, Eldest Senior Brother."
"Little Junior Brother, how is your body?"
"So-so. Fortunately, after entering the Dao, I can live a few more years."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Daoist Xuanqing interrupted them and said calmly.
"Heng'er, today I will teach you one of our temple's four ultimate arts: the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword."
With that, Daoist Xuanqing brought two fingers together, using them in place of a sword.
A strand of Sword Qi shot out from his fingertips.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
The sound of tearing air rang through the sword practice ground.
Using his fingers in place of a sword, Daoist Xuanqing demonstrated the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword for Fang Heng and Lin Yichen.
Sword Qi crisscrossed the air, turning the entire sword practice ground into a sea of Sword Qi in the blink of an eye.
Lin Yichen watched the sword technique his master displayed and nodded faintly.
Though it was not his first time receiving his master's instruction, every time he watched his master perform the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword, he gained new insights.
The Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword was a sword technique derived from the Big Dipper.
The seven stars of the Big Dipper guarded the Purple Star.
Thus, where the Purple Star lay was also the formation eye of the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword.
The Purple Star was the emperor; the Big Dipper was the general.
Only by having the emperor command the general could its full power be brought forth.
A quarter of an hour later.
The Sword Qi drew back in.
The Sword Qi across the practice ground vanished completely in a flash, as swift as lightning and sparks.
As though it had never existed at all.
Daoist Xuanqing stood with his hands behind his back, swordlike brows above starry eyes, looking toward Fang Heng.
"Did you understand it?"
"I understood seven or eight parts out of ten."
Fang Heng rubbed his chin, nodded, and murmured as he recalled the sword technique his master had just displayed.
"Perform it once for me to see."
Daoist Xuanqing's gaze upon Fang Heng was filled with anticipation and hope.
The last time he had imparted a technique, Fang Heng's talent in lightning arts had been so terrifying that it had stunned Daoist Xuanqing.
He hoped Fang Heng also possessed talent in swordsmanship.
Even if it could not compare to his talent for lightning arts, seven or eight tenths of that would be enough for him to become a first-rate sword immortal in the world.
Fang Heng did not flinch either. He cupped his hands toward Daoist Xuanqing and his eldest senior brother.
"Please offer your guidance, Master and Senior Brother."
With a tap of his toes, his body became light as a swallow.
Fang Heng arrived at the sword practice ground and casually picked up a wooden sword.
These wooden swords were used by Evergreen Temple disciples when practicing swordsmanship with stance training.
Even if something went wrong, they were unlikely to cost anyone their life.
"Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword!"
Fang Heng stepped through the Heavenly Gang footwork, his sword transforming into the seven stars.
The Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword flowed from his hand like drifting clouds and running water, without the slightest trace of awkwardness.
He looked nothing like someone practicing it for the first time.
Daoist Xuanqing watched and nodded faintly.
As expected of me. I taught him well!
Lin Yichen clicked his tongue as he watched Fang Heng tread the Heavenly Gang footwork.
He had long heard that his little junior brother's talent was somewhat freakish.
Now that he saw it for himself, the reputation was well deserved.
A quarter of an hour later.
Fang Heng finished demonstrating the sword technique, yet still looked as though he had not had his fill.
"Master, may I duel swords with you?"
A sword duel was a form of civilized contest within Evergreen Temple.
Both sides suppressed their cultivation to the same realm and competed purely in swordsmanship.
Daoist Xuanqing was somewhat tempted, but the moment he remembered the loss he had suffered when teaching lightning arts last time, his thoughts of dueling Fang Heng immediately went cold.
This disciple of his could not be judged by ordinary standards.
Yichen was here too. What if... I stumbled and fell.
That would damage a master's dignity.
No, no, that would not do!
"Yichen, you accompany Heng'er in a sword duel."
Lin Yichen did not think much of it. He leaped straight onto the sword practice ground, took a wooden sword, and cupped his hands toward Fang Heng.
"Junior Brother, be careful."
"Senior Brother, please!"
In an instant, both moved at once.
They stepped through the Heavenly Gang footwork, their swords transforming into the seven stars.
The same sword technique unfolded from both their hands at once.
Clearly, it was the same sword technique, yet it gave off two entirely different styles.
Lin Yichen's sword momentum surged on without end, like the rolling waters of a great river, its later force inexhaustible and its end nowhere in sight.
Fang Heng's sword momentum was broad and sweeping, like the blazing sun hanging high in the heavens. No matter how many paths you came by, I would go by one path alone.
Two utterly different styles of the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword collided head-on upon the sword practice ground.
Sword Qi fell like rain, like shooting stars.
Clang—
Clang—
Clang—
Sword Qi collided without pause.
Then annihilated itself in the air.
At a glance, the two appeared evenly matched.
But outsiders watched the excitement, while experts watched the subtleties.
Fang Heng and Lin Yichen had kept their realms at the same level.
A clash of Sword Qi alone could not determine victory or defeat.
In an internal battle of the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword, the deciding move lay in fighting for the Purple Star Emperor Position.
The Big Dipper was the general; the Purple Star was the emperor.
Only by seizing the Purple Star Emperor Position could one gain the upper hand.
On the sword practice ground, Fang Heng and Lin Yichen's figures flickered.
The Heavenly Gang footwork beneath their feet shifted without cease.
It appeared chaotic and disordered, but in truth, both were fighting over the Purple Star Emperor Position.
After battling for a while.
Lin Yichen suddenly made his move.
The Heavenly Gang footwork beneath his feet changed, and in an instant, it was as though he had grown nine legs.
He moved so swiftly that afterimages were left in the air.
He had seized the Purple Star Emperor Position.
Lin Yichen's Heavenly Gang footwork came down upon the position of the Purple Star Emperor Position, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
He had won this battle.
In a contest of the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword, seizing the Purple Star Emperor Position was equivalent to victory.
Unless other means were used, there was absolutely no possibility of overturning the outcome.
"Little Junior Brother, you let me win!" Lin Yichen said with a smile.
"Senior Brother, victory and defeat have yet to be decided."
Fang Heng remained calm, showing no discouragement whatsoever despite Lin Yichen having forcibly taken the Purple Star Emperor Position a step ahead of him.
Instead, he still looked ready to continue the duel.
Seeing that Fang Heng refused to concede, Lin Yichen did not hold back either.
He raised the wooden sword in his hand toward the sky.
Countless strands of Sword Qi surged forth like swimming fish.
Sword Qi like a raging storm poured down upon Fang Heng, blotting out the sky and covering the earth.
It was as though it intended to drown Fang Heng completely.
If one looked down from high above, one would see that Lin Yichen's Sword Qi formed the shape of the Big Dipper.
And the place where he stood was where the Purple Star lay.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Sharp Sword Qi descended.
Sword light fell like rain, Sword Qi arced like rainbows.
Just as the Sword Qi was about to swallow him.
The footwork beneath Fang Heng's feet suddenly changed.
Immediately afterward, the sword technique he displayed underwent an earth-shaking transformation.
The Southern Dipper governed life; the Northern Dipper governed death!
As his sword momentum changed, Fang Heng's figure suddenly vanished before Lin Yichen's eyes.
Daoist Xuanqing, watching from the side, had two sharp lights burst from his eyes.
"This is the Southern Dipper Rebirth Sword that the Patriarch never managed to perfect."
"Heng'er actually comprehended it on his own."
On the sword practice ground.
Lin Yichen only felt his vision blur before Fang Heng vanished without a trace.
Before he could react, the tip of a wooden sword pressed against his back.
He had lost!
He had lost!
Lost to his little junior brother, who was practicing the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword for the first time.
Most crucially, that final sword strike from his little junior brother had been so stunning that it left him speechless.
The Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Sword could be used like this too?
Before you continue