Chapter 241: The Countenance of an Immortal

The banquet ended, and the county office grew quiet, with only a few servants cleaning up the aftermath.

In a corner room, two shadows were cast against the wall.

"Can you see anything?"

Zhuang Renhe gazed at Fu Huai.

Fu Huai was officially his advisor, and during the banquet, he had stood silently in the corner, observing the attending officials.

This was a rare opportunity.

Nearly every prominent official in the city was gathered here—perhaps the person they sought was among them.

Fu Huai shook his head: "I noticed nothing unusual."

Zhuang Renhe slightly narrowed his eyes, smiling faintly at Fu Huai: "What about the Anning Guard?"

"Nothing."

Seeing Fu Huai's confident expression.

Zhuang Renhe could press no further; his smile turned cold: "Master Fu, if we're to work together, honesty is better than deceit."

Fu Huai: "You're overthinking, Master Zhuang."

Zhuang Renhe snorted, turned, and walked out of the room.

Once Zhuang Renhe was far away, Fu Huai's eyes flickered thoughtfully, recalling the scenes he had just witnessed.

As a Qi-Seer, one is almost always born with an extraordinary eye, able to perceive what ordinary people cannot.

At this banquet, two individuals had caught his attention.

One was Jiang Lin.

In his eyes, Jiang Lin was a sword already drawn, a divine blade suppressing the four corners—remarkable enough.

But the old official was even more extraordinary: a divine dragon coiled in repose, with a hidden presence lurking nearby—mysterious, vast, and majestic—an undiscovered vein of potential.

Immortal potential!

His high standing in the Ghost Ming Cult came from his skill in Qi-Seeing; he had seen countless peak figures, each with remarkable auras—but none greater than this old official's, not even in his wildest dreams.

"Could he be the one the Immortal Lord seeks?"

The Immortal Lord had tasked him with finding someone with Exiled Immortal potential.

By that standard, both Jiang Lin and the Li official met the criteria.

"Need further confirmation."

This concerns the Immortal Lord—no room for carelessness.

Moreover, the targets are all high-ranking Anning Guard officers, even Jiang Lin; the chance to act comes only once, and no mistake is allowed.

"Investigate first."

Another New Year's Day had come.

Before he knew it.

Li Rui was nearing eighty, and even Yang Yong was seventy.

Tie Kuang had not returned since leaving for Divine Weapon Manor.

Liu Tiezhu had left the forge and returned to Li's residence.

Liang He had also long since returned home from the Heaven-Earth Alliance.

They would celebrate the New Year together.

The courtyard now brimmed with the scent of the holiday.

Yang Yong was too worn out to organize the New Year's Eve feast; Li Rui simply ordered a full banquet from Zui Xian Restaurant—a table piled high with dishes, enough to stir anyone's appetite.

The group gathered in the courtyard to eat the New Year's Eve meal.

Then they all stayed outside to keep watch through the night.

This had always been the custom at Li's residence.

That night, Yang Yong spoke a great deal.

Mostly, he boasted about his youth guarding the Zhu family, and about having made Li Rui his friend.

As he spoke, he fell asleep.

He didn't even make it past midnight.

In the end, Liang He and the others carried him into the room.

Wang Zhao gazed at Yang Yong, asleep in bed, and worried: "Master, is Uncle Yang alright?"

Li Rui smiled: "He'll be fine."

But inwardly, he sighed.

He had experienced Yang Yong's condition himself—even in his previous life, where medical care was superior, most people considered seventy or eighty the natural end of life.

Once past seventy, every household kept a coffin at home.

They simply waited to die.

Once it was him; now it was Yang Yong—they were both at the age of waiting for death.

For this,

Li Rui could do nothing.

The Immortal Qi could preserve Yang Yong's health, but when the Underworld's soul-snatchers came, no one could stop them.

What could he do?

Only let nature take its course.

Yang Yong, perhaps, had sensed it deep within; these days, he had gone out far less often.

After the New Year,

the third day.

Visitors from the Anning Guard, the Weiheshimao Office, and the Heaven-Earth Alliance nearly trampled the gate down.

Li Rui received them all.

Others showed respect—he would return it.

And wasn't the New Year about joy and celebration?

Just after the fifth day,

a special guest arrived at Li's residence.

"Old Tie?"

Liu Tiezhu, opening the door, froze at the sight of the familiar old man—he had thought it was another visitor bringing gifts.

He saw Old Tie carrying a lot of items.

Visiting was a pretense; gift-giving was the real purpose.

Liu Tiezhu quickly turned and shouted loudly: "Master! Old Tie's here!"

Hearing the call,

Li Rui stepped out immediately to greet him.

"Senior Tie, you've traveled far—I was just about to visit Divine Weapon Manor to pay my New Year respects."

Before he finished speaking,

Tie Kuang snorted: "Don't flatter me, boy. Take these. If you can open your Qi Sea before Lantern Festival, consider it your late New Year offering."

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Li Rui was speechless.

It was already the sixth day—only eight or nine days until Lantern Festival.

Open a Qi Sea?

Does he think Qi Seas are turnips?

But failing to deliver didn't stop him from accepting gifts.

He gave Liu Tiezhu a glance; Liu Tiezhu immediately grinned and snatched the two bulging sacks from Tie Kuang's hands.

Tie Kuang rolled his eyes.

But the gifts were meant for Li Rui anyway—he didn't care.

"Senior, come inside and sit."

Seeing Liu Tiezhu growing more perceptive, Li Rui grew even more satisfied with his second disciple.

He took Tie Kuang's arm and led him toward the house.

Tie Kuang waved him off: "I've wasted too long getting your things—I must return to the forge."

Then he glared at Liu Tiezhu: "If I don't see you at the forge tonight, don't bother coming back."

Clearly, he was displeased with Liu Tiezhu's ungrateful behavior just now.

Liu Tiezhu chuckled foolishly: "Old Tie, don't worry—I'll be there."

Tie Kuang muttered: "Idiot."

Then, as swiftly as he came, he vanished without a trace.

Liu Tiezhu carried the packages into the room.

Li Rui opened the sacks first.

His breath caught.

Who in their right mind packs sixth-rank elixirs in a sack?

Indeed, Tie Kuang's entire sack was filled with elixirs—Qi-replenishing, body-strengthening, all of them.

The rich, exotic aroma of pills flooded his nose and mouth in an instant.

So many pills—enough to supply an entire sect.

He eats them all himself?

Li Rui never imagined he'd actually fulfill his dream of eating pills like candy.

Among a pile of sixth-rank pills.

He even spotted several vials of fifth-rank pills.

But what shocked Li Rui was that among them were two fourth-rank spiritual pills!

"Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill."

Li Rui recognized this fourth-rank spiritual pill—it was the favorite for breaking through the Ocean-Viewing realm, and now Tie Kuang was using it to open his dantian.

This wasn't just using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken—it was using a butcher's knife to swat a mosquito. Li Rui turned his gaze to the other bundle.

It was hard, and felt jagged to the touch.

When he unwrapped it, he found a large iron hammer, about an arm's length, with a letter inside.

"This hammer is called the Divine Fire Scorching Heaven Hammer. Use it daily with the Hammer Qi Art to enhance your true qi."

Divine Fire Scorching Heaven Hammer?

Li Rui sucked in a sharp breath.

"The Divine Fire Scorching Heaven Hammer—the legendary weapon of Divine Weapon Manor?"

This hammer was famed throughout Yunzhou.

It was hailed as Yunzhou's number one weapon.

Dubbed the greatest hammer beneath a celestial weapon, it belonged to the master of Divine Weapon Manor.

He never expected Old Tie had brought such a divine artifact all the way from Divine Weapon Manor to Qinghe—no wonder Old Tie had traveled so far; he must have come for this.

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Li Rui's heart warmed slightly.

Though Tie Kuang helped him cultivate for the sake of forging a celestial weapon, he had gone to great lengths.

One could imagine that even with Tie Kuang's status, borrowing the Divine Fire Scorching Heaven Hammer was no small feat.

He couldn't waste such heartfelt effort.

Though opening a dantian before Yuanxiao was a fantasy, doing so within a year was still very possible.

Li Rui immediately gripped the handle of the Divine Fire Scorching Heaven Hammer and activated the Hammer Qi Art.

Qi sank into his dantian.

He bent his arms, raised the hammer over his head, and swung it down with full force.

BOOM!

Dust flew everywhere.

"What happened?"

"What the hell just happened?!"

"Why is the wall cracked?!"

The loud crash drew attention from the courtyard. When Yang Yong, Wang Zhao, Liu Tiezhu, and Liang He rushed over, they saw a massive crack running vertically through Li Rui's house wall.

The four burst into the room, thinking it was an attack.

Then they saw Li Rui holding the hammer, looking embarrassed.

Li Rui hadn't touched anything when he swung—he hadn't even released any true qi.

Yet the sheer power of the Divine Fire Scorching Heaven Hammer alone was devastating.

'No wonder it's called Yunzhou's number one weapon—it's truly extraordinary.'

Helpless.

Until the house was repaired, he had to move to a room in the back courtyard.

"Guess I'll need to find a more open space to practice with the hammer."

County Ya.

Zhuang Renhe returned to his quarters after a day's work.

Unlike other county magistrates whose rooms were filled with soft scents and comforts.

Zhuang Renhe's sleeping chamber was stark and empty—not a single concubine or maid.

Did he dislike women?

Of course not.

He had too many secrets—he couldn't risk anyone discovering them.

Zhuang Renhe walked to a wooden shelf in the southeast corner of the room, where porcelain ware was displayed, and reached out to grasp a small emerald-green porcelain bowl. He turned it slightly with force.

The shelf began to rotate silently.

A pitch-black opening appeared before him.

Zhuang Renhe showed no surprise; his expression blank, he stepped backward into the hidden passage.

As soon as he entered, the shelf began turning slowly again, sealing shut until no trace remained of the hidden chamber.

Behind the shelf lay a long, narrow tunnel descending underground.

After walking about fifteen minutes,

Zhuang Renhe stood in a square chamber roughly five zhang on each side.

Inside the chamber,

A short, stout man was chained by iron bands through his shoulder blades, utterly immobilized.

His hands and feet had vanished.

He was a living human pig.

Zhuang Renhe stepped before the stout man and sneered: "Have you decided? Tell me what the Blood Shadow Ancestor is investigating, and I'll let you die quickly."

The stout man lifted his head and stared at Zhuang Renhe: "Pah! Traitorous dog! When the Ancestor finds out, he'll feed you to blood worms!"

Zhuang Renhe didn't care. "The Ancestor?"

"The Ancestor thinks his precious disciple, Blood Picker, is already dead—he'll never know!"

Zhuang Renhe's smile was utterly brazen.

Correct.

The man locked in this chamber was none other than Blood Picker, one of the Twelve Blood Disciples.

Blood Picker and Thousand-Faced Rakshasa Liu Jiaoniang arrived in Qinghe together.

Later, the Qi clan of the Southern Wastes' layout in Qinghe was exposed by the Wu Kingdom's Dao Mo, and crushed.

The world believed Blood Picker and Thousand-Faced Rakshasa both died at Dao Mo's hands.

Yet no one knew.

That night, Blood Picker had already escaped Qinghe—but Zhuang Renhe set an ambush and captured him alive, imprisoning him ever since in a secret chamber beneath the county office.

No one would ever imagine Zhuang Renhe had the audacity to kidnap one of the Ghost Ming Cult's Twelve Blood Disciples.

Blood Picker's face darkened.

He knew well—if Zhuang Renhe dared capture him, he'd already prepared a plan.

He couldn't count on the Ghost Ming Cult to rescue him—he had to save himself.

His earlier words were merely meant to distract Zhuang Renhe.

As Zhuang Renhe laughed wildly,

Blood Picker's lips twitched.

PUFF!

A blood arrow, no longer than a finger, shot toward Zhuang Renhe's forehead like lightning.

A killing strike.

Zhuang Renhe's sneer froze.

The expected scene—blood arrow piercing Zhuang Renhe's skull, ending his life—never came.

Before the arrow even touched him, an invisible force halted it cold, preventing even an inch of progress until its power was fully spent, dissolving into a pool of blood on the floor.

"You think this can kill me?"

Zhuang Renhe sneered at Blood Picker.

Blood Picker's face turned deathly pale after firing the arrow; he sighed inwardly:

'This Zhuang guy's got a turtle shell—he's truly unkillable.'

He knew he couldn't survive—but he'd hoped to drag Zhuang Renhe down with him.

Clearly,

His plan had failed.

"Still had to try."

Blood Picker spoke without expression.

As one of the few among the Twelve Blood Disciples whom the Blood Shadow Ancestor trusted most, he had long since accepted death.

And as long as he didn't speak, Zhuang Renhe wouldn't kill him.

Zhuang Renhe stared coldly at Blood Picker.

"I know your kind have hard bones."

"To this end, I've thought of many methods."

"Today, I'll test one."

As he spoke, he pulled a small porcelain bottle from his robe, inverted it, and a fat worm no larger than a fingernail appeared in his hand.

"This thing is called the Truth-Spitting Worm; I went to great lengths to obtain it from the Southern Frontier."

"Perfect—I'll test it on you."

Tiao Xuejiang's expression changed for the first time since his imprisonment.

Seeing Tiao Xuejiang's reaction, Zhuang Renhe's face twisted: "What trash is the Ghost Ming Sect?!"

"How dare you treat me like a dog? Look at yourself—do you even deserve to?"

"It's too late to speak now."

He gripped Tiao Xuejiang's chin and shoved the Truth-Spitting Worm into his mouth.

"Ahh!"

"Ahh!"

A chorus of agonized screams echoed through the secret chamber.

Zhuang Renhe's voice rang out: "Once the Truth-Spitting Worm enters the body, it travels through the blood vessels to the brain, then slowly, slowly devours it until nothing remains. Before it finishes, it controls your consciousness—you will answer every question I ask, with no resistance."

"Now tell me—what did Blood Shadow Ancestor hide from me?!"

(End of Chapter)