Chapter 1106: The Shaoji Palace in the Night

The Shaoji Palace in the night was brightly lit.

Walking within it, Xu Qing's thoughts could not help but drift to the journey he had shared with the Immortal Lord Jiguang.

On the road there, Jiguang's identity was that of the Lord of the Xiangong.

Before the Nine Shores Cave Heaven, Jiguang's identity was that of a father.

In the desert of time and space, Jiguang's identity was that of a lonely man who had lost his beloved.

Until the moment the night turned black, after returning to the Xiangong, he seemed to have become the Immortal Lord once more.

Yet before this, for Xu Qing, Immortal Lord Jiguang had been nothing more than a symbol.

Although that little person who emerged from the second layer of the world claimed to be the lingering thought of Immortal Lord Jiguang, whether it was true or not remained to be verified.

From beginning to end, Xu Qing had not fully believed it.

Therefore, the four characters "Immortal Lord Jiguang" were just four characters.

But after the different scenes along this journey and the different identities that appeared were woven together, the Immortal Lord Jiguang reflected in Xu Qing's mind had, unknowingly, gained flesh, blood, and color.

"He clearly had a premonition about what would happen a month later..."

Xu Qing murmured in his heart.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain the entrusting of his child before the Nine Shores Cave Heaven, nor the instructions given in the desert of time and space.

Yet, as this realization rose in Xu Qing's heart, a greater doubt spread along with it.

"Immortal Lord Jiguang himself possesses the Constitution of Time and Space, and he has walked very deep into it, so it is not surprising that he knows about future events."

"However, what exactly happened a month later that caused the Immortal Venerable to take action?"

"Is it really the 'betrayal of the Dao' recorded in history?"

"And what is the reason why Black Night cannot go to see him? Is it related to the ferocious figure in black under the Ice Lake?"

Xu Qing pondered.

"Furthermore, since he had already made preparations and entrusted his child, why did this Young Master whose body I inhabit still die a month later?"

"And what died along with him were all the people in this entire Xiangong."

"Why did the Immortal Venerable want to wipe out every existence in this Xiangong..."

"And after wiping them out, why did he still preserve this place throughout the long years..."

Too many doubts flowed through Xu Qing's mind.

In the end, there were no answers.

"A month later, all will be revealed!"

Xu Qing looked up at the moon in the night sky, walked into the main hall of the Shaoji Palace, and sat down cross-legged.

He stopped thinking about Immortal Lord Jiguang and instead began to deduce in his heart how to create ripples in time and space within this fourth layer of the world.

In the eyes of others, this space-time was merely people and scenery.

But in the perception of Xu Qing, who possessed the Constitution of Time and Space, it was completely different.

In his perception, this space-time was as if solidified, like a pool of stagnant water, or frozen.

It was calm, without fluctuations, and it was very difficult to stir up ripples, let alone waves.

To shake it directly with Xu Qing's Constitution of Time and Space was impossible.

"Therefore, I need more triggers, to form one pebble after another, and throw them all into this stagnant water..."

Xu Qing murmured in his heart.

Time passed.

In the dark night, the sound of music and the giggling of women drifted out from the Hundred Flowers Palace.

The soft, lingering sounds within merged into the night and drifted away.

Even Xu Qing, sitting cross-legged in the main hall of the Shaoji Palace, could still hear them faintly.

Especially the laughter of the Fox Beauty inside.

Clearly, whether Xu Qing was there or not, the Fox Beauty was very happy.

Until dawn.

The sun rose, and the sunlight spilled down.

The lingering sounds had just faded when new voices came from outside the hall.

"Respectfully welcoming the Young Master back to the palace!"

Following the voice was the figure of his study companion, Zhong Chi.

He took a few quick steps, entered the hall, and bowed to Xu Qing, his heart filled with many guesses, as he had not seen the Young Master's figure for the entire day yesterday.

He had searched the entire Shaoji Palace.

This aroused some curiosity in his heart; he did not know where the person before him had gone yesterday.

Although he knew the history of this period, he only knew the general outline and could not understand the details; naturally, it was impossible for him to know every detail of what happened each day.

"You bowed too late; I returned last night."

Xu Qing looked up, glanced at Zhong Chi, and spoke indifferently.

Hearing this, Zhong Chi asked cautiously.

"Young Master, where were you yesterday?"

Xu Qing's expression remained as usual; he did not enlighten Zhong Chi but stood up and spoke casually.

"Accompany me to the Pavilion of Transmitted Dharma."

Saying this, Xu Qing walked out of the main hall.

Since he had come to this space-time of history, Xu Qing naturally had to go to the Xiangong's Pavilion of Transmitted Dharma to see the techniques of this era.

Hearing this, Zhong Chi hurriedly followed behind.

Just like that, stepping on the early sun, Xu Qing's figure walked through the Xiangong in the morning.

Along the way, any cultivator who encountered him, although they did not value this Young Master highly in their hearts, still had to bow in respect due to his noble status.

And along the way, Zhong Chi, following behind, hesitated to speak several times.

So, when the Pavilion of Transmitted Dharma came into view, Xu Qing spoke calmly.

"Zhong Chi, your words and actions recently are somewhat different from the past."

These words, falling into Zhong Chi's ears, made him instantly alert, but on the surface, he put on a silly smile.

"Young Master is wise; indeed, whenever I have something on my mind, I cannot hide it. Once I try to hide it, my words and actions are seen through by the Young Master at a glance."

"What is it?" Xu Qing asked indifferently.

Zhong Chi spoke hurriedly.

"It is that Li Tianjiao!"

"Young Master, it is not that I am tattling, but this Li Tianjiao is truly shameful."

"Didn't you tell him to go to the Ten Thousand Beasts Garden the day before yesterday? Not only did he not go, but he even hid himself away; even the school couldn't find him."

Hearing this, Xu Qing's expression did not change at all; he just turned his head and glanced at Zhong Chi.

"Give me the conclusion."

This glance made Zhong Chi's heart tremble. He had actually finished investigating; the reason he hadn't said it immediately was that he couldn't grasp the Young Master's attitude toward this matter, and he also had the idea of seeing how the Young Master would react.

Now, being swept by Xu Qing's gaze, a sense of palpitation suddenly rose in him, so he dared not hide it.

"I heard that after he returned to the school that day, he had a conflict with one of the teachers."

"Afterward, he was punished by the teacher to go into seclusion for three months."

Zhong Chi said in a low voice.

The reason he wanted to tell Xu Qing these things was due to his own selfish motives.

He had seen that Li Tianjiao was, in all likelihood, an outsider like himself. Although he didn't know his specific identity, the other party's goal was to attempt to change history.

This had similarities with his own goal.

So, fundamentally, he hoped the other party would succeed; only then could he learn from and observe him.

And this Li Tianjiao had indeed achieved a part of it; in history, he was originally supposed to go into seclusion after being defeated, but before that, it had changed to him being the caretaker of the Young Master's Ten Thousand Beasts Garden.

But clearly, someone had taken action to correct all of this using other methods.

The Li Tianjiao in history went into seclusion during this time, and the Li Tianjiao in this space-time was the same.

Different causes, same result.

As for who the person who took action was, the first person Zhong Chi thought of was the Fourth True Monarch!

It was just that the other party's status was too high, and the advantage they occupied was too great.

This time they could make Li Tianjiao fail, and next time they could make him fail as well.

Therefore, he wanted to use this Young Master Jiguang to try to shake things up.

If this were the real Young Master Jiguang, due to a lack of important knowledge, he would not be able to understand the truth, but for Xu Qing, his comprehensive knowledge made him clear about all of this.

"Li Mengtu is trying to borrow my strength."

"And regarding the matter of Li Tianjiao, although it hasn't completely returned to history, at least in this period of history, it can be considered to have been steered back onto the right track."

"That person who inhabits the Fourth Senior Brother does indeed have some means."

Xu Qing was thoughtful.

In fact, he and the other party had previously played a game against each other in the dark, using the Li Tianjiao affair.

Each had their own wins and losses.

"However, I cannot interfere in this matter anymore. Regarding Li Tianjiao, I have already placed my piece, so there is no need to start anything immediately."

"After all, relatively speaking, hiding my identity well is the key to this stroke of fortune."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and walked toward the Pavilion of Transmitted Dharma.

He soon entered it, flipping through the techniques inside while pondering in his heart.

"My identity is very important, and under my observation, whether it is Zhong Chi, Li Tianjiao, the daughter of the Nine Shores, or the Fourth Senior Brother, they seem to have no doubts about this identity."

"It is as if, in their knowledge, this identity of mine is impossible to be inhabited."

"Besides that, those who can come to this fourth layer of the world, apart from quasi-immortals, are only those who possess a Constitution or a Constitution Treasure."

"Then, setting aside those few known ones, there should be no fewer than four or five, or even more, outsiders hidden among the people of this Xiangong."

"And among them, there should be some who are similar to Li Tianjiao, using the ripples of time and space to achieve their own goals."

"They are my pebbles!"

Xu Qing put down the jade slip in his hand, walked to the other end, picked up a new jade slip, and while continuing to check, his thoughts were constant.

"So, this can actually be seen as a game."

"The Fourth Senior Brother wants to suppress the violators, and I... want to secretly incite and protect these violators, while these pebbles themselves must also protect themselves well."

"And Li Tianjiao's failure was precisely because he was a bit too impatient. Of course, this was also determined by his identity. If he hadn't done that that day, he would have had no chance."

"However, these people are all hidden too deeply, so it is very difficult for me to find them, and I cannot incite or protect them."

"Then, how did the Fourth Senior Brother find them?"

Xu Qing pondered.

And time passed quickly with his reading and pondering.

When the sunset was evaporating its remaining light on the horizon, Xu Qing left the Pavilion of Transmitted Dharma. After returning to the Shaoji Palace, he had a method in his heart.

"I don't need to find all the pebbles; I just need to make them more cautious, or even become vigilant and raise their sense of crisis."

"As for the Fourth Senior Brother..."

"I am in the dark, and he is in the light, but this light is not thorough. In that case, let his light become more thorough. If I can make him fall into self-verification, it would be even more perfect!"

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, closed them in the main hall of the Shaoji Palace, and in his heart, sent a divine thought to the one in the Hundred Flowers Palace.

In the Hundred Flowers Palace, the Fox Beauty, who was lazily lying there chatting with the surrounding beauties, raised her eyebrows and gave a coquettish sound in her heart.

"Bad man, your wings have hardened now, actually ordering me to do things... But, why does this overbearing look make people like you even more?"

The Fox Beauty licked her lips and chuckled.

A few days later, in the originally peaceful Jiguang Xiangong, two rumors became a storm in a short period of time.

The first rumor was that there were outsiders who had seized the bodies of the cultivators of the Xiangong, hiding within the palace, plotting mischief, and there were quite a few of them!

The second rumor pointed its finger at the Fourth True Monarch.

Its content was...

"The Fourth True Monarch is the leader of the outsiders who have seized bodies!"