Chapter 31: Key

"Great Qi?"

Xiao Anzi cried out in surprise.

Great Qi was destroyed over a hundred years ago; now five nations vie for supremacy in the world, yet where did this Northern Shen Qiming Qi cultivation technique, which should have long been lost, come from?

"Could it be the remnants of Great Qi causing trouble?"

Xiao Anzi's eyes shifted, and he quickly thought of a possibility.

An Quan did not deny it with words; he simply looked at the young man on the ground and frowned tightly.

In that instant, he connected it to the five people who had died in the Aurora Pavilion.

"So everything was due to this Northern Shen Qiming Qi, hidden within the body and killing without a trace; no wonder we found no clues."

An Quan muttered to himself; the five people who died in the Aurora Pavilion last night had no injuries on their bodies yet died mysteriously and violently.

The Tianjin Guard had never found the cause and could only finally seek help from the Six Gates; they never expected to accidentally find the culprit at this moment.

An Quan suddenly turned his head to look at Xiao Anzi and asked in a sharp voice:

"You just said this matter was discovered by the Young Master who arrived today?"

Hearing this, Xiao Anzi hurriedly nodded:

"That's right, and it was that Young Master who specifically told me to check the Tianquan acupoint; otherwise, I would never have discovered that black qi."

At this moment, An Quan unconsciously squinted his eyes and continued to ask:

"At that time, the Northern Shen Qiming Qi had already invaded your true qi and body; was it him who intervened to drive it away?"

Xiao Anzi nodded again, but when he saw a look of extreme surprise appear on An Quan's face, he asked with some confusion:

"Godfather, is there something wrong with this?"

"You do not know this: the Northern Shen Qiming Qi relies on martial true qi and blood qi to exist. Once a living person is touched by it, unless their life force is completely extinguished and the true qi and blood qi in the body dissipate, this thing will dissipate with them; otherwise, it will remain in the human body forever."

An Quan spoke with a serious expression, which made Xiao Anzi's heart tremble with fear; he asked with no small amount of confusion:

"But that Young Master was able to drive it away; why is that?"

An Quan shook his head and pondered:

"This is also something I want to know; as far as I know, the Northern Shen Qiming Qi is almost unsolvable."

"Either suppress it with powerful martial cultivation, or find someone who cultivates this cultivation technique and force them to act to resolve the Northern Shen Qiming Qi; there is no other way besides these."

Hearing this, Xiao Anzi frowned and asked:

"Could it be that Godfather suspects that Young Master cultivates the Northern Shen Qiming Qi?"

Hearing this, An Quan nodded, then shook his head again and said:

"I am not sure; when those five people met with trouble, he had not yet arrived at the Aurora Pavilion, and moreover, he had no reason to act to help you, because doing so would only expose himself."

Speaking thus, he thought for a moment, his peripheral vision sweeping over the young Young Master on the ground, then gave orders:

"Go and fetch all the case files of this person and that newly arrived Young Master; I want to check them all."

"Furthermore, this matter is of great importance; I need to discuss it with the other Eunuchs and the Commandant before making a decision."

Having said this, An Quan ordered several other little eunuchs to guard this place, then his figure moved, leaving a afterimage in the room before he vanished.

Li Musheng found his room, inserted the jade tablet into the groove of the door, gave it a slight twist, and the door before him automatically opened slowly.

"This mechanism art is quite exquisite."

Li Musheng nodded slightly; it is said that in the neighboring Great Zhou, there is a sect called the Lu Gong Divine Temple that has pushed mechanism art to its extreme.

Legend has it that this sect not only built an extremely vast mechanism city, but the houses, streets, and city walls of the entire city are all operated by countless mechanisms, a sight to behold.

Moreover, they can build vast mechanism warships, giant mechanism beasts, and mechanism men with strength comparable to powerful martial artists...

Thinking thus, after Li Musheng sat down at the table in the room, he took out a six-sided wooden box from his chest.

On the way to Shangyang City, he had already thoroughly studied the key to the Great Qi secret treasure.

Li Musheng discovered that this wooden box is very likely one of the real keys.

Inside the wooden box is hidden a strangely shaped magnet; this magnet possesses an extremely unique and powerful magnetic field.

Without the wrapping of the wooden box, iron stones within a hundred meters would be attracted by it; even heavy iron weighing over a hundred jin could be sucked flying to it.

"This magnetic field is very unique; perhaps it can produce some kind of resonance with other keys. In the future, I can carry this wooden box with me at all times; if I'm lucky, I might even encounter other keys."

Li Musheng showed a thoughtful expression and put away the wooden box in his hand.

Seeking martial transcendence naturally cannot mean hanging oneself on this one crooked tree; he must find other methods.

Perhaps opportunities exist in this Shangyang City, or perhaps there isn't a single hair; but at this moment, Li Musheng has not yet thought of where to start.

Of course, if his identity as the Seventh Imperial Prince is real, he might be able to find some opportunities based on this identity.

But he truly does not want to get involved in various messy factions; this would undoubtedly be another troublesome matter.

Just at this moment, the little eunuch from before came to knock on the door:

"Young Master Li, the Commandant of the Tianjin Guard, Lord Yu, has summoned everyone to the main hall on the first floor; please proceed there."

Li Musheng pushed open the door, glanced at the little eunuch before him, and asked casually:

"Have you found out what that black mist on that boy's body is?"

Hearing this, Xiao Anzi hesitated for a moment, then looked left and right and spoke in a low voice:

"My Godfather said that is the Northern Shen Qiming Qi, originating from a secret scripture technique of the Great Qi imperial family."

While saying this, Xiao Anzi kept observing Li Musheng's expression; seeing no abnormality in him, he quietly asked:

"Young Master Li, you surely do not cultivate this cultivation technique, do you?"

Li Musheng glanced at the other party and said:

"I don't even know what the Northern Shen Qiming Qi is; why would I cultivate that thing?"

Speaking thus, he had Xiao Anzi lead the way to the main hall downstairs.

Not long after, the prospective Seventh Imperial Princes residing throughout the Aurora Pavilion all gathered in the main hall on the first floor.

Li Musheng stood in a corner of the hall, observing the people around him; they were all young men of the same age as himself.

However, his gaze was soon drawn to one person among them.

It was a young master of exceptionally handsome appearance, with a face like white jade, red lips, and white teeth, wearing a moon-white long robe that radiated brilliance.

Yet he could clearly perceive that this person was a woman.

"Interesting. The pressure and intensity of the competition for the Seventh Imperial Prince title have reached their peak; even women are sneaking in to join the fray."

Li Musheng stroked his chin; this woman must have a formidable background, for her ability to forge an identity and deceive the eyes of the Tianjin Guard was undeniably impressive.

However, what puzzled him was what exactly this woman intended to do upon entering the Aurora Pavilion?

Could she truly believe that no one could see through her true nature?

One must remember that the imperial palace is filled with countless experts, and moreover, Emperor Yuanwu's martial arts cultivation is so profound it is unfathomable; seeing through her disguise would be a trivial matter.

(End of this chapter)