Chapter 258

In the mansion, Qi Yi was somewhat surprised upon hearing the words.

Zhang Jian's figure vanished in a single step.

Zhao Cheng leapt up from a white wall on the side at this moment, using only a portion of martial arts techniques, without employing any spellcraft; in his view, possessing the righteous and noble Qi meant that as long as no spellcraft or mana was used, he would not be easily detected.

Throughout history, some Confucian scholars, though possessing righteous and noble Qi, generally had frail physical bodies.

Having just jumped down, his gaze swept over the surrounding mansions.

These mansions were extremely numerous; relying solely on a pair of mortal eyes without using the Yin Spirit Divine Sense, it would likely be difficult to sense where that maiden was located.

"What are you looking for? Are you looking for me, the official?"

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him; this voice immediately caused his expression to change.

Yet, he saw that at some point, beneath the pavilion beside his left hand, a figure had appeared standing with hands behind back, wearing a vermilion robe, hair bound by a jade crown, his demeanor filled with dignity, like a mundane youth official.

Only his eyes held a touch of ethereal and unworldly quality.

"Zhang Xueshi?"

Zhao Cheng's heart gave a jolt; this figure was naturally unfamiliar to him.

It was precisely the object of his inner apprehension.

Instinctively, he glanced around, but in the next instant his heart skipped a beat, for he saw that figure already appear a few steps before him.

"Answer my question?!"

Zhao Cheng's face at this moment was extremely grim, unable to help but say:

"Zhang Xueshi, if I say I took a wrong turn, do you believe it or not?"

Zhang Jian heard this and gave a hehe smile, looking Zhao Cheng up and down, his eyes revealing a faint, indifferent smile.

"I, the official, do not believe it!"

At this moment, Zhao Cheng's expression shifted slightly, and he cursed lowly: "Damn it, believe it or not!"

His figure then twisted and changed, hand forming a seal with mana, his form seeming to turn into a flowing light sinking into the shadow on the ground, about to seize the chance to escape.

"Heavenly Ghost Marvelous Technique, Escape Form Void!"

A layer of profound dark yin mana aura appeared around his body, but in an instant a palm came sweeping from the void, as if directly tearing through a layer of the dark void's legal domain.

Within the void legal domain, a figure's body circulated the aura of the Heavenly Ghost Dark Yin.

Yin Spirit radiance appeared, and another Yin Spirit technique light shadow was about to manifest!

Yet at this moment, the void's high temperature suddenly manifested, the palm breaking through space, as if the void legal domain was filled with blazing golden light of the sun, a thick red light sweeping toward him; Zhao Cheng raised his head to gaze at this thread of blazing sun, merely a glance, as if the blazing sun imprinted into his heart, the Yin Spirit violently spasming, unable to help but let out a miserable cry.

In the wail, countless red lights burst forth from his Yin Spirit body, tearing apart his Yin Spirit; a palm easily plucked him from the void legal domain.

Deep in Zhang Jian's palm, the starlight-binding soul seal transformed into a thread of starlight merging into Zhao Cheng's brow center.

A look of interest flashed in his eyes; this special Yin Spirit form capable of tearing through the void, he had never seen before.

If cultivated to great accomplishment……it might still be impossible to avoid his vast Yin Spirit Divine Sense's blockade.

Zhao Cheng was now numb.

His eyes stared in utter shock at Zhang Jian.

The terrifying methods Zhang Jian displayed were, in his eyes, completely beyond imagination.

The time he had become a Yin Spirit Venerable was not short.

The Heavenly Ghost Form was profoundly mysterious, especially the unparalleled Escape Form; he himself believed that even if he were a Yin Spirit Venerable of the fourth or fifth calamity, he might not necessarily block the Heavenly Ghost Form's innate ability to tear through the void.

It was precisely this reliance that made him regard the patrols of the gods in Hao Jing City as nothing.

Yet today he was easily captured by Zhang Jian.

He was merely a mundane official!

Zhang Jian's curious gaze was very brief; after a glance, he spoke lightly.

"Speak yourself, or shall I use means and personally interrogate you!"

Zhao Cheng spoke eagerly, immediately saying:

"I say, I will say everything!"

Gazing at those wise yet non-threatening eyes, he at this moment felt as if stared down by a fierce beast!

Hastily he reported his lineage:

"So that Zhang Xueshi may know, I am Zhao Cheng, Protector Elder of the Golden Maiden Sect, entering the sect at the end of the Chen Jin Dynasty a thousand years ago, attaining the Yin Spirit Venerable realm when the Great Qian state was founded; this time, acting under the order of the Golden Maiden Sect's Holy Maiden Liu Xin, to implant the two wicked seeds into the two maidens!"

"One of the objectives of this mission is your sister-in-law, Qi Yuzhu, Zhang Xueshi!"

He spilled his beans like pouring out beans, stating his origin and purpose one by one, speaking extremely fast, without reservation.

Beneath that icy gaze, he felt sweat all over his body; many thoughts in his Yin Spirit heart seemed unable to escape the penetration of that gaze.

Zhang Jian's expression at this moment was indifferent, merely gazing lightly at the figure before him who claimed to be the Protector Elder of the Golden Maiden Sect.

This was not his first time dealing with Daoists of the Golden Maiden Sect.

Had it not been that this Protector Elder of the Golden Maiden Sect bore no killing intent, he would almost have thought the matter of killing those two Golden Maiden Sect Daoists last time had been exposed.

His expression calm, he said:

"Good, continue speaking; if I am pleased, I will give you a chance at Yin Spirit rebirth!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said again:

"Thank you, Senior; that Liu Xin is a heavenly pride daughter of our Golden Maiden Sect, having cultivated for over five hundred years already stepped into the fifth calamity of the Yin Spirit realm, she is the disciple most valued by our Golden Light Holy Mother; now she hides in the city, this time preparing to act among the selected maidens, using the wicked seed's power to bring chaos to the palace!"

Zhang Jian, upon hearing this, his eyes moved, asking: "You speak of the wicked seed—is it the wicked seed refined by the Wicked Demon Sect?"

Zhang Jian had heard the Wicked Seed mentioned by the sect's transmission elder!

This is indeed a demonic embryonic form, nurtured in a special cauldron furnace, absorbing the fate, vital essence, and qi of one to several cauldrons, forming a special wicked demon embryo.

Implanting it into a cultivator's body can seize the other's entire vital essence, qi, cultivation, and even control them, taking over their nest.

Its secrecy, its venom.

Before the evil seed grows, in its early stage it only causes the cultivator's positive and negative emotions to gradually shift toward extremes, amplifying one emotion until it unknowingly drains the host's essence and qi, transforming into an evil infant.

The evil infant already possesses divine abilities, with greatly enhanced survivability!

Above it is the terrifying evil god.

The evil god is equivalent to the White Bone Demon God, Blood God Son, and similar horrors—this thing is formless and traceless, akin to extraterritorial demons, and is only controlled by the Evil Demon Sect's wondrous methods; it is extremely formidable.

But there is also no lack of ways to restrain it.

Namely, refining it with various powerful pure yang true fires before it takes form, or using Buddhist methods to convert and liberate it.

Zhao Cheng hurriedly replied.

"Senior, it is the evil seed of the Evil Demon Sect!"

He also disclosed his dealings with the Evil Demon Sect: "This time, I purchased five top-grade evil seeds in one go from an elder of the Evil Demon Sect; two of these evil seeds are in my hands, and the other three are in the hands of the Holy Maiden—please, Senior, see clearly!"

At this moment, Zhao Cheng called himself a junior and directly sold out the Holy Maiden Jinniang without reservation.

Seeing this, Zhang Jian's eyes moved; with a casual grab, he pulled out a magical artifact from within Zhao Cheng's body, vast magical power suppressing Zhao Cheng's body, the power directly penetrating deep into Zhao Cheng's dantian, extracting a spatial gourd.

He held this spatial gourd in his hand, glanced at it briefly, and a thread of heavenly pure fire poured in, easily refining away the mark Zhao Cheng had left within; his divine sense probed inside, and instantly he saw the gourd's interior filled with various precious spirit stones and medicine jade boxes.

As for Zhao Cheng before him, he was nothing but a fat sheep.

Zhang Jian casually reached out, and two dolls appeared deep in his palm.

These two dolls were covered in yellow turbidity, exhibiting black-red hues, with countless blood-colored lights flowing within.

He knew these were the famous evil seeds of the Evil Demon Sect in the cultivation world.

This demon seed's depths contained pure, flawless demonic light—one glance revealed its extremely high quality.

The higher the quality, the more concealed this thing is; simultaneously, the evil infant hatched from it in the future will be stronger, even having hope of ascending to become an Evil Desire Demon God.

A cluster of golden-red firelight appeared deep in Zhang Jian's palm, heavenly pure fire swallowing and exhaling; the two evil seeds were instantly burned, emitting squeaky cries of agony, filled with fear.

Instantly turned to flying ash.

This thing not only contains the control methods left behind by the Holy Maiden Jinniang, but also methods left by an elder of the Evil Demon Sect—its value is not great, so it was simply destroyed outright.

Watching Zhang Jian destroy the two evil seeds with a gesture, Zhao Cheng felt a chill in his heart, secretly sensing something amiss.

At this moment, Zhang Jian asked again.

"Since the Holy Maiden of the Jinniang Sect actively purchased evil seeds, she must have cultivated the Evil Demon Sect's foundational scripture, the 'True Classic of the Evil Sea'; do you know to what level she has cultivated this true transmission?"

"Nothing can be hidden from Senior; I have seen the Holy Maiden display the Evil Demon Sect's magic, where a Yin God Venerable was bewitched and had his essence and qi snatched away in a single glance."

Zhao Cheng recalled this, his expression still tinged with fear.

Every achievement of a Yin God Venerable is extremely hard-won—cultivating for a thousand years to attain one's magical power and Dao attainment, yet to be stripped of it in a single glance—what a terrifying existence this is.

Zhang Jian's eyes flickered, but he was not surprised.

He also understood the structure of the Jinniang Sect from within the Tongshan Dao Tong internally.

This sect is the most scattered and free; its core cohesion consists of only two people: one is the Holy Maiden Jinniang, the other is the Sect Leader of the Jinniang Sect, the Holy Mother Golden Light.

These two are both extremely formidable figures, far beyond ordinary.

Possessing such magical power is no surprise.

Zhang Jian's gaze fell again upon Zhao Cheng; seeing this, Zhao Cheng felt a chill run through his body, and he hastily shouted loudly.

"Senior, I am an honest man; whatever should be said, whatever should not be said—I have already said it all. If Senior is willing to spare my life, I can set aside the Yin God and allow Senior to implant a restriction upon me; I am willing to serve Senior with the labor of dogs and horses!"

"Moreover, my Jinniang Sect gathers periodically for mutual exchange of cultivation and even intelligence—this will certainly benefit Senior!"

Zhao Cheng actively demonstrated his own value.

At the same time, he was also seeking a chance at survival.

He is a thousand-year-old fox and has no intention of simply giving up his life here.

"Intelligence..."

It must be said, Zhao Cheng's words indeed caused Zhang Jian to feel a stir of emotion.

He resides in the court of the Great Qian Dynasty, amidst the mundane world, and the benefits are quite numerous.

As the classics he reads increase, his Dao attainment grows alongside his "experience," continuously increasing invisibly.

But in the cultivation world, he lacks understanding; many firsthand messages cannot be obtained directly, requiring passage through the Tongshan Dao Tong to become aware.

By the time it reaches his ears, it is already secondhand, even thirdhand, or having passed through many hands—this is disadvantageous for him.

Although Zhao Cheng, this Yin God Venerable, has no scruples to speak of, such a person only needs to be kept in constant awe—and may even be more useful than ordinary people.

Zhang Jian's eyes flickered, and he said: "Then speak of the intelligence exchange you mentioned!"

Seeing Zhang Jian's attitude seem to change, Zhao Cheng's eyes flashed with a glimmer of light, and he hurriedly said.

"Senior, this is our Jinniang Sect's custom! Every so often, leaders of various large and small groups will borrow the sect's supreme treasures to conduct trade, also forming alliances for mutual warmth to resist the major cultivation Dao Tong and sects!"

"Assessing fate, Golden Core, Yin God, and even Nascent Soul True Persons—there are all kinds of gatherings, all kinds of assemblies presided over secretly by the Holy Mother Sect Leader; it can be said that our Jinniang Sect is one of the most well-informed sects in the cultivation world!

At every major gathering, the sect is not lacking in participants from various major left-path sects, even powerful figures from the great orthodox Dao sects!"

Zhao Cheng finished speaking, gazing hopefully at Zhang Jian.

His face showed no concealment of his desire to survive.

Zhang Jian pondered slightly, then said after a moment: "Sparing you is not difficult, but now that two evil seeds have been destroyed, how will you explain this to her?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng's eyes brightened, and he hurriedly bowed.

"Zhao Cheng pays respects to the Sovereign; Sovereign, please rest assured—I only need to claim that a high person from the Dongguan Observatory discovered my whereabouts; even if the Holy Maiden suspects, she will not act against me!"

Seeing this, Zhang Jian shook his head, casually reached out, seized Zhao Cheng's Yin God, and simultaneously transformed his physical body into a stream of light, storing it away.

"This way will be more genuine!"

Seeing Zhang Jian directly detain his physical body, Zhao Cheng's face changed slightly.

At this moment, a thread of intense profound yin ghostly qi circulated around him; the Yin God wore the apparition of the Profound Yin Heavenly Ghost, but his form was directly exposed in the void legal realm, as if constantly suffering backlash from the Nine Nether Underworld, plus evil winds and yin fire manifesting in the void, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Zhang Jian, however, paid no heed to how Zhao Cheng felt; with a flick of his finger, another legal seal merged into Zhao Cheng's Yin God, bringing it under control.

Zhao Cheng sensed an extra green lotus deep within his yin spirit, his heart gave a faint tremor, he felt his life at this moment could be controlled at any time by Zhang Jian.

Seeing this, Zhao Cheng slightly clasped his fists, preparing to leave.

Zhang Jian's thought stirred slightly, then he called out again, asking.

"Is there a powerful figure named Meihua Zunzhe within your Golden Maiden Sect?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng quickly replied: "My lord, yes, Meihua Zunzhe is a Four Tribulations Venerable in our sect, his dojo is in North Chu, but Meihua Zunzhe has offended the lord, your subordinate may be able to trick him into coming..."

Zhang Jian waved his hand and smiled.

"That is not necessary!"

He glanced at Zhao Cheng, the Zhao Cheng before him was indeed sinister and ruthless.

"You may go!"

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, he waved his hand to let Zhao Cheng depart.

Zhao Cheng had long wanted to leave, return to the place of heartbreak beneath his feet, he quickly clasped his hands, his yin spirit transformed into a heavenly ghost form, tore through the void, and vanished in an instant.

Zhang Jian's gaze fluctuated, at this moment he looked toward what was behind him.

At this moment, a sighing voice came from inside the pavilion.

"Ayu, it seems your spiritual power has reached a realm we mundane people cannot imagine!"

Qi Yi stepped out from the pavilion, having witnessed the entire scene just now.

Seeing this, Zhang Jian merely smiled and said.

"Just a small trick!"

His expression remained unmoved, after his yin spirit had previously acquired part of the pure yang essence of the primordial spirit, his spiritual power, divine sense, and the reaction speed of various techniques indeed underwent great changes.

As for exactly how far this has gone, he is not quite clear about it compared to others.

But it is simply strong.

However, this should not yet have reached his upper limit before entering the primordial spirit realm.

He smiled and said.

"Grandfather need not worry, with me guarding Yuzhu, Yuzhu only needs to enter the palace with peace of mind!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yi's eyes showed some emotion, he nodded slightly.

"Yuzhu will be entrusted to you from now on, and only you can protect her!"

Zhang Jian gave a slight nod in acceptance.

"Yuzhu is the younger sister of Yuhua, and also my family, I naturally will not let her suffer humiliation!"

……

In the fourteenth year of Jingwu, the Jingwu Emperor selected concubines from all commanderies, met the Qi clan lady from Fanyang Commandery, took a liking to her, subsequently personally led civil and military officials to worship at the ancestral temple, and conferred the title of Empress upon the Qi clan lady; the people all said that Fanyang Commandery had finally produced another phoenix.