"Exotic Beasts of the Nine Provinces"

"After the Prince of Huai died, I took advantage of the chaos to steal the Soul Pill, brought it back to the capital, and gave it to His Majesty," Que Yongxiu's spirit answered honestly.

No wonder Yang Yan said that when the blood was sacrificed to the people, the Essence Blood rose to the surface and turned into blood pills, while the souls went underground, leaving no trace afterward. It turned out that Que Yongxiu stole them in the chaos.

Xu Qi'an suddenly realized that he had thought the Soul Pill had been taken by the leader of the Earth Sect, but he never expected it to have ended up in Emperor Yuanjing's pocket.

"So, the leader of the Earth Sect only got involved in this because of so-called 'evil.' Hmm, the Prince of Zhenbei and the leader of the Earth Sect have some cooperation. I wonder if Emperor Yuanjing is also exchanging pleasantries with the leader of the Earth Sect?"

"This is not good. If that's the case, then I need to be careful about my identity. When I fought 1v5 that day, the leader of the Earth Sect sensed that I had the aura of the Earth Book fragment."

"He knows that the mysterious expert in Chuzhou is the holder of the Earth Book fragment, so when I'm protecting the Nine-Colored Golden Lotus, I will erase all traces of ' Xu Qi'an '."

"Xu Qi'an is in Chuzhou, and a mysterious expert has appeared in Chuzhou, bearing the aura of a fragment of the Earth Book. This doesn't prove anything. But what if Xu Qi'an is also a holder of a fragment of the Earth Book? That would be too suspicious."

Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an asked again, "Did Emperor Yuanjing and the leader of the Earth Sect secretly collude?"

Que Yongxiu replied blankly, "I don't know."

What was Emperor Yuanjing doing refining Soul Pills?

"Have no idea"

"You don't know this, you don't know that, what use are you?" Xu Qi'an was somewhat angry. After pondering for a long time, he asked with utmost seriousness:

Do you have any hidden businesses or wealth?

Que Yongxiu honestly confessed, "No."

Although the Duke of Huguo's mansion was located in the capital, Que Yongxiu had been operating in Chuzhou for many years, and any private savings he had were also in Chuzhou.

"Hmm, the Duke of Huguo's mansion will definitely be raided, otherwise I won't be able to give you all an explanation. It's a pity I'm not Nightwatchers anymore, so I can't participate in the raid, otherwise I would be rich. "Xu Qi'an felt a pang of pain in his heart.

"Duke Cao, what secret businesses do you own?" Xu Qi'an asked Duke Cao again.

"I own thirteen private residences in the capital, where I keep officials and prostitutes. Three of them are vacant, and of those three, I use one to store some rare antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and silver."

"These precious antiques aren't kept at home, but outside. These things must be illicit. What a despicable corrupt official!" Xu Qi'an thought, both delighted and critical.

"Where are the land deeds and house deeds for those private residences?" Xu Qi'an asked again.

"The deeds to the house where I store my antiques and treasures are in the house itself; the rest are in the Duke's mansion," Duke Cao replied.

Damn it, twelve private residences are gone from me. Xu Qi'an's heart sank, and an indescribable sense of sorrow welled up.

At the same time, he became increasingly curious about the private residence used to store precious antiques. The fact that the house deeds and land deeds remained in the private residence, rather than in the Duke's mansion, meant that Duke Cao had completely severed ties between the private residence and himself, and between the Duke's mansion and the Duke's mansion.

No matter which side has a problem, the two sides will not be allowed to contact each other.

After finishing his questioning, to preserve some anticipation, he did not ask what treasures were in Cao Guogong's private residence.

After putting the two souls back into the sachet, Xu Qi'an left the secret room to visit his three companions from the Heaven and Earth Society, who were in different rooms.

Xu Qi'an was the first to arrive at Li Miaozhen's room and knocked on the door.

The door creaked open, revealing a stunningly beautiful face— Xu Qi'an's fictional wife.

"Smack!"

She immediately closed the door again.

A few minutes later, the door reopened, and Li Miaozhen, dressed neatly, sat at the table, Chu Caiwei was tidying up ointments, gauze, medicine pots, and other items.

Was she changing her dressing just now? Xu Qi'an glanced at Li Miaozhen discreetly and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

After Li Miaozhen nodded, he said, "Emperor Yuanjing has issued an edict of self-reproach and promised not to make things difficult for you, so you don't need to leave the capital too soon."

Even if he doesn't forgive you, you shouldn't be afraid. The Daoist Master of the Heavenly Sect is on par with the Supervisor.

Even if Emperor Yuanjing had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to actually kill you.

"It's so good to have a 'dad' backing me up," Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

No wonder when he read novels, the villains with powerful backers always liked to jump around and act arrogantly. If they hadn't been unlucky enough to run into the protagonist, ordinary people would have been helpless against them.

"Is there anything else?" Li Miaozhen asked, frowning.

Why do you look like you want to kick me out? Have I affected the overall situation of the three parties? Xu Qi'an thought to himself, and laughed:

"Soul Pill, I want to know what the Soul Pill is used for."

Upon hearing this, Li Miaozhen looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if to say: Didn't Master Jinlian already tell you?

Xu Qi'an lowered his voice, "I just communicated with Que Yongxiu's spirit, and from him I learned that it's not the leader of the Earth Sect who needs the Soul Pill, but Emperor Yuanjing."

Li Miaozhen's pupils appeared to contract.

Xu Qi'an continued, "According to what Daoist Jinlian said, the Soul Pill doesn't seem enough to make him do such a heinous thing, but that's indeed the case. Therefore, I suspect that the Soul Pill may have other, unknown uses."

Li Miaozhen pondered for a long time, then slowly shook her head.

At this moment, Chu Caiwei asked curiously, "Is it the kind of soul pill refined from soul essence?"

Xu Qi'an turned to look at her, and asked with a questioning gaze and tone, "You know?"

This is unlike Chu Caiwei; the big-eyed, cute girl doesn't seem like the type to be a studious person who reads books in other fields besides medicine.

Chu Caiwei said, "When Senior Brother Song was doing research a few days ago, he said that the Soul Pill might be able to fuse the physical body and soul that he refined, but it was just a guess. After all, the Soul Pill is too precious and the refining conditions are harsh."

"He couldn't possibly kill people to refine pills; the Supervisor would be the first to kill him. Hmm, I heard from Senior Brother Song that there are records about Soul Pills in the library on the eighth floor of the Star-Gazing Tower."

Xu Qi'an and Li Miaozhen immediately said, "Take us there."

"This"

Chu Caiwei looked troubled. "The library is a forbidden area of Bureau of Astronomy. Only disciples can enter, and they must first obtain permission from the Director of the Observatory or Senior Brother Yang. I cannot take you in, or we will be punished."

Li Miaozhen immediately felt somewhat discouraged.

Xu Qi'an stepped forward and patted Caiwei's shoulder. "Tell me what you want to eat these days, and I'll make it happen."

Chu Caiwei beamed, "I'll take you there right away."

Li Miaozhen was taken aback. "Aren't you afraid of being punished?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"."

The three people and the ghost entered the library, but Chu Caiwei couldn't remember the name of the book that recorded the Soul Pill or where it was located.

Rows of bookshelves filled the vast space, making it impossible to find any relevant records—it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"I... I'll go ask Senior Brother Song," Chu Caiwei stuck out her tongue and skipped away.

Li Miaozhen and Xu Qi'an, their faces dark, searched aimlessly.

Suddenly, Xu Qi'an's attention was drawn to an ancient book. "The Mythical Beasts of the Nine Provinces, Volume 1".

The book records that the strange beasts are descendants of ancient Gods and Devils. The number of kinds of ancient gods and demons can be glimpsed from the strange beasts of later generations.

The most numerous and widely propagated species is the "Jiao". The book mentions that the distant ancestor of the Jiao was a kind of Gods and Devils called "Dragon".

For example, there is the strange beast that appeared in the legends of Yunzhou. It came from overseas and could cause great wind and thunder and torrential rain with its breath. Its ancestor may have been Gods and Devils called "Qilin".

Xu Qi'an flipped through the pages one by one, and was surprised to find an "old friend," Linglong.

The origins of the Spirit Dragon are unknown. It was first recorded in history during the time of the High Antiquity Emperor, serving as his mount during his conquests across the land.

Braving the winds and waves, it is one of the kings of the water.

"This isn't right. Judging from the way that licking dragon was behaving, it doesn't seem like a water tyrant at all," Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

With doubt in his heart, he continued reading and saw some different information.

Huaiqing had told him that the spirit dragon loved to eat purple qi, and thus it followed the royal family, becoming their companion spirit beast. For the royal family, it was also a symbol of legitimacy in the human world.

But the book says that the dragon also has another ability: to absorb and release the dynasty's destiny, making the dynasty's reign even longer.

Everything that reaches its peak must decline; this is the will of the Unseen. When the fortunes of a dynasty are like oil being poured on a raging fire, it will inevitably decline. The dragon can absorb and release fortune; when fortune is too abundant, it will devour it, and when fortune is weak, it will expel it.

This ensures that the dynasty's fate remains relatively stable.

Air balancer?!

The word flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind.

When I first transmigrated here, I had doubts about the fate of the dynasties in this world, as it didn't match the "three-hundred-year law" I had researched from street literature.

I initially thought it was due to the existence of extraordinary power, but now it seems, could it be the existence of a spirit dragon?

Just as she was pondering, Chu Caiwei skipped back, her voice crisp and clear. "That book is called 'The Record of Miraculous Elixir,' it's in position B, the third bookshelf, the second shelf. I'll get it for you."

Xu Qi'an collected his thoughts and followed behind Chu Caiwei, watching her pull out a book from the second shelf of the third shelf in the second section: "The Record of Miraculous Elixir".

The result was disappointing. Master Jinlian had basically summarized the effects of the Soul Pill without omitting anything.

As a senior figure in the Daoist School, Master Jinlian could not possibly have overlooked the effects of the Soul Pill. That means either the Soul Pill is just a facade, or one of its effects is crucial but we haven't discovered it. Xu Qi'an pondered to himself.

He decided that if he had the chance, he would seek advice from Luo Yuheng, or at least tell her about this matter and ask her to keep an eye on Emperor Yuanjing.

Of course, he needed to ask Master Jinlian first.

"I'm not familiar with my kind aunt, so whether she can be trusted is up to Master Jinlian to decide," Xu Qi'an Qi said with relief.

Well, tomorrow I'll go to Duke Cao's private residence first, and the day after tomorrow I'll go to the Cloud Deer Academy to pick up my second uncle and aunt. Then I'll contact Master Jinlian to ask my aunt if she can believe it.

Also, the married princess needs to be brought back; we can't keep leaving her out there forever. Ugh, so much trouble.

night.

The moonlight, as white as frost, cast a soft, gentle glow on the lake's surface.

The dragon lay listlessly on the shore, occasionally snorting and slapping its tail, stirring up ripples and rippling waves.

A figure emerged from the darkness and stopped in front of the spirit dragon.

He bent down, stroked the dragon's coarse mane, and sighed, "The massacre of Huaiwang has finally been made public. I couldn't change the outcome, nor could I salvage the royal family's reputation."

The dragon lazily snorted, as if in response to the person.

He continued, "The loss of face for the royal family means the loss of popular support, and the loss of popular support means that another part of its fortune has dissipated. I do want to dissipate its fortune, but this is beyond my limit."

"I, like you, am striving to maintain a balance; not a bit more, not a bit less. But those people outside are too ignorant, and Wei Yuan is even more ignorant, repeatedly disobeying me."

He stopped stroking it, placed his palm on the dragon's brow, and said in a voice that was both gentle and cold, "Return some of the fortune I've stored here with you."

In the dragon's large, cute eyes, as black as buttons, flashed hatred and resistance, but in the end, it did nothing, letting the dragon seize its fortune.

The next day, early morning.

Zaza

As the stone door slowly opened, Xu Qi'an called out towards the dark depths of the earth, "Senior Sister Zhong, I've come to pick you up!"

Soon after, Zhong Li, dressed in a long cloth robe and with disheveled hair, slowly ascended the stone steps.

She raised her head slightly, and through her disheveled hair, her bright eyes sparkled with joy.

It has been a month and a half since Xu Qi'an went north.

"Your cultivation has improved again," Zhong Li whispered.

"But you're still the same as ever." Xu Qi'an placed his palm on her head.

Zhong Li slapped it away.

He pressed it on again.

Zhong Li slapped it open again.

"Then go back," Xu Qi'an said angrily.

Zhong Li gave in and let the man who called her "senior sister" pat her head.

He took Zhong Li, Li Miaozhen, his paper doll wife, and Chu Yuanzhen with him. The two groups of people rode on flying swords and with a whoosh, they rushed up from the Eight Trigrams Platform and flew towards the Cloud Deer Academy.

"Why are you getting involved too?" Xu Qi'an asked Chu Yuanzhen indignantly.

"Four people sharing one sword, that's too cramped. How about I give you a ride?"

Chu Yuanzhen innocently explained, "Is this person heartless? He hasn't even fully recovered from his injuries, yet he's already acting as a 'driver' to take me to the Cloud Deer Academy."

Instead of expressing gratitude, he blamed himself.

Sensing Chu Yuanzhen's displeasure, Xu Qi'an sighed, not wanting to reveal his lewd thoughts too openly, and said helplessly:

"I just wanted to relive the feeling of squeezing onto the subway; I really miss it."

What is the meaning of "brotherly iron"?

You don't need to know that.

The teachers at the Cloud Deer Academy have been quite unhappy these past two days, and some are even restless.

Because there's always that ungrateful couple who'll grab them and say, "Teach the child a lesson."

Teach your mother!!!

The gentlemen were all roaring in unison.

They knew that child; she was the youngest daughter of the Xu Household, Xu Ningyan and Xu Cijiu, and she had a knack for being infuriating.

Unexpectedly, she came to the academy to study again.

The academy had more than a dozen learned teachers who taught military strategy, classical texts, and so on. Logically speaking, wouldn't it have been a piece of cake for them to teach a young child's early education?

But some people are always exceptionally gifted; their thinking is different from that of ordinary people. The methods that work for ordinary people don't apply to them.

Xu Lingyin is the kind of child who is exceptionally gifted.

Riding the wind and with the verdant mountains beneath his feet, and the long official road leading to Clear Cloud Mountain, Xu Qi'an arrived in just a quarter of an hour.

He glanced down and saw a child lying in the withered grass near the pavilion by the academy, with his hair tied in a bun that looked like a meat bun.

"I saw Xu Lingyin, get down, get down."

Chu Yuanzhen did as instructed, lowering his flying sword and landing beside the pavilion.

Xu Lingyin lay on the ground, fast asleep, her body covered in fallen leaves and bits of grass.

Xu Qi'an went up and shook her awake, angrily saying, "If you lie here sleeping again, I'll call your mother to beat you."

"It's a big pot!"

Xu Lingyin bravely remained sprawled out, ignoring her older brother's threats.

"My master and I went out hunting, but he disappeared while we were hunting. I was tired, so I took a nap," Xu Lingyin explained clearly.

Then, with her little eyebrows raised, she added, "I'm not afraid of Mom hitting me."

Xu Qi'an sneered, "Aren't you afraid of your mother beating you? Aren't you afraid of your father whipping you with bamboo sticks?"

Xu Lingyin's eyes widened, she covered her bottom with both hands, and exclaimed in alarm, "Big brother, my bottom seems to be hurting!"

"What is a 'Tu'er'?" Xu Qi'an picked her up like a chick and headed towards the mountaintop.

"Tu'er is a butt, it's a new word I learned." The little guy finally found a chance to educate his older brother, "Do you know that now?"

That's a buttock.

"Tu'er."

"Butt!!"

"Picture." Little Douding read it aloud once. Any questions?

P. S.: I'm in a terrible state today. I'm just sitting here and can't write anything. It's not that I don't have anything to write about; there's still a lot of plot to tell. It's just that my mind is a mess, and I can't write quickly. Sorry.

If the next chapter hasn't been updated by midnight, I'll leave it for tomorrow.