Chapter 285: One City Suppresses an Immortal

"Marquis, Xu Chuan still has no news."

Yang Heng stood obediently to one side.

For these past few days, he had been ordered to investigate Xu Chuan's whereabouts.

Since Xu Chuan went to Wu Country, a full seven or eight days have passed without any word.

At first,

it was only the Marquis's chief steward who inquired, but gradually, even Marquis Yuan learned of it—not just him, but Yan Qin was also searching outside.

Marquis Yuan let out a faint "Mm."

Yang Heng muttered under his breath, silently cursing Xu Chuan.

Xu Chuan had been sent out to investigate a case, not ordered to kill the Black and White Killers outright—just to establish contact with the Wu court. Such a simple task, and yet he vanished. Yang Heng couldn't help but doubt whether the Disciple of the Guiyun Sect was truly worthy.

The worst part was that now, because of his own mishap, others had to go looking for him—Yang Heng had never had to do such humiliating tasks in his own sect.

At this moment,

Wang Li, the only two civil officials among the retainers, entered.

He was called one of two civil officials, but in truth, there was only him—the other civil official was Li Rui.

"Marquis."

Wang Li bowed to Marquis Yuan: "I've found Xu's whereabouts."

Upon hearing this,

Yang Heng turned to Wang Li with curiosity, his eyes flickering with surprise—he had searched for five full days with no leads; how could Wang Li, a man who knew no martial arts, have found anything so quickly?

Yuan Dingting still stood with his back to them, scattering fish food before the pond.

His voice drifted over:

"Speak."

Wang Li continued: "Li Jiaoxi, from Qinghe, is familiar with Wu Country. I asked him for help—Xu's son has likely been killed by the Black and White Killers."

"Xu Chuan is dead?"

Yang Heng's pupils contracted slightly.

He had considered this possibility, but hearing it confirmed still shocked him.

Wang Li glanced at Yang Heng, then nodded: "Confirmed dead. Li Jiaoxi used connections in Wu Country and Qinghe County's government to locate Xu's son's body in the mountains outside the city. The coroner has verified it was the work of the Black and White Killers."

Yang Heng understood.

No wonder Wang Li found it so fast.

He'd leveraged Li Rui's influence—two national bureaucracies searching, of course, was far faster than one man alone.

Yet he was secretly alarmed.

The Black and White Killers were truly audacious—daring to kill someone from the Annan Marquis's household.

Even if they were already wanted by the imperial court, carrying out such a reckless act was still astonishing.

For a moment,

Yang Heng felt a pang of sorrow for a fallen comrade.

He and Xu Chuan were both geniuses of their respective sects, coming to the Marquis's mansion to receive Yuan Dingting's inheritance—but now, they hadn't even become disciples, and Xu Chuan had lost his life.

Too great a cost.

Yuan Dingting's hand kept moving, his voice drifting out: "Yang Heng, go to Tian Shui Pavilion and find Yuan Xiong. Bring me the heads of the Black and White Killers."

"Yes."

Yang Heng bowed his head.

The Marquis's mansion was far too large to have only these four retainers.

In fact,

the four of them were merely selected by Marquis Yuan to uphold the estate's prestige.

The Annan Marquis's household was brimming with experts.

Not to mention, his eight adopted sons were all formidable warriors—they were the true pillars of the mansion; the retainers were merely for menial tasks.

Indeed, though Marquis Yuan had no disciples, he had taken in several adopted sons.

When real trouble arose, it was the eight adopted sons who would handle it.

Yuan Xiong of Tian Shui Pavilion wasn't originally surnamed Yuan—he changed his name after being adopted by Yuan Dingting.

A Xiantian martial cultivator.

One Xiantian going after two Xiantian was perfectly normal to Yuan Dingting—if he couldn't achieve peerless dominance at the same level, he wasn't worthy to be his adopted son.

One month later,

news arrived.

The Black and White Killers had been slain by Yuan Xiong, Yuan Dingting's eighth adopted son; their heads now hung on the walls of Yunzhou.

"No wonder he's among the top ten in the world."

Li Rui stared at the letter Wang Li had sent, murmuring in awe.

This was the might of the Military Sage.

The infamous Black and White Killers—killed as easily as swatting flies.

How mighty!

"Good riddance."

Li Rui's lips curled slightly—the Black and White Killers were dead, and with them, the last shred of evidence vanished. It was a perfect outcome.

He and Wang Li got along well enough.

But this effort was purely to cry wolf—to conceal the truth.

The killers were the Black and White Killers; the leads came from Wu Country's officials, and the body was found by Qinghe's government.

What did that have to do with him, a Cankun of the Anning Guard?

Qingzhou City, Provincial Office.

A young, beautiful woman entered the back courtyard of the office and opened a door.

There she saw Qu Chengfeng seated cross-legged on the bed in meditation.

"Master, what you requested."

The beautiful woman pulled a peculiar jade stone from her chest and handed it to Qu Chengfeng.

"Good."

Qu Chengfeng's lips curled slightly as he gazed at the Spirit-Testing Stone in his hand.

"That'll be all. Leave."

The woman looked at Qu Chengfeng with a hint of sorrow, slowly closing the door. She had served him for months, yet he refused even to touch her body.

She considered it the greatest failure of her life.

Qu Chengfeng knew her thoughts well.

But compared to bedding women, his most important goal was restoring his cultivation.

'This body is still too weak.'

He turned his gaze toward the window.

By the house's orientation, he was looking east.

On the eastern coast stood a city.

Inside lived a madman who specialized in killing exiled immortals.

"Mid-grade spiritual root."

Inside the room,

Li Rui pondered silently.

It was still decent—after all, wasn't that Han Immortal Lord himself a low-grade spiritual root to begin with? Compared to him, Li Rui was already quite fortunate.

But it wasn't enough.

Others didn't know, but he knew—the world truly still had immortals.

Why?

The system told him.

The achievement of becoming an immortal and founding a lineage couldn't lie—if immortals existed, he must become one!

Otherwise, what was the point of a seventy-year-old man risking his life?

'Methods to enhance one's spiritual root.'

Before Li Rui lay many books—ancient texts passed down, most of them unreliable, nearly indistinguishable from myths.

The truly valuable ones were surely kept in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

'Looks like I'll have to take the back door again.'

In other places, he'd be helpless.

But the Imperial Astronomical Bureau? There were still connections.

Jiang Lin was now Deputy Director there, and Yao Xue was an acquaintance—expensive items might be out of reach, but some useless ancient texts might still be obtainable.

Even if they might not work, he had to try.

What if it succeeded?

Li Rui fell silent.

Indeed, no one could achieve complete detachment—even he, after sixty years of hardship, cared for nothing but the two words: immortality.

Outside Qinghe City.

Line of carriages waiting to enter stretched nearly two li.

The city gate guards were extremely courteous.

County Magistrate Jia even set up shaded pavilions for the waiting caravans to rest.

Ordinary civilians of course did not receive such treatment.

County Magistrate Jia was Qinghe's righteous judge, not his servant—he wouldn't bother with so much. It was only because these caravans were no ordinary group.

They were all major sects from across the land.

Unlike the imperial court's earlier stance, since Marquis Yuan arrived in Yunzhou, his attitude toward major sects had been extremely open.

Just four words.

All are welcome.

Why?

Because his fist was hard enough, his strength strong enough—any major sect that caused trouble in Yunzhou would find the Duanlang Divine Spear standing atop their mountain.

It wasn't that Marquis Yuan alone was stronger than the entire imperial court.

The court governed the whole realm and couldn't possibly micromanage everything.

Applied concretely—

!. Read

That meant the Yunzhou government couldn't control those major sects.

But now things were different: Yuan Dingting alone could overpower all sects under heaven, so there was no need for caution.

Even dragons must coil; even tigers must lie down.

Major sects would behave far more properly.

By the same logic—

In Qinghe County, County Magistrate Jia had to be even more courteous.

Otherwise, if these sects complained to Marquis Yuan, he couldn't bear the consequences.

In the end, it was all about the gap in strength.

In the midst of the long caravan, a large banner fluttered, bearing two bold characters.

"Guiyun."

A splendid palanquin lifted its curtain, revealing the face of a refined middle-aged man.

A young disciple of Guiyun Sect stepped forward and whispered a few words.

The man's expression changed instantly:

"What?"

"Xu Chuan is dead?!"

The young disciple nodded timidly: "Y-yes, we just received word—he was killed by the Black and White Killers. They say those two have already been slain by Marquis Yuan's adopted son, so Xu Senior Brother's vengeance has been settled."

The man's face darkened to its worst.

Xu Chuan was a disciple the Guiyun Sect Master had placed great hopes upon.

Guiyun Sect had only just arrived in Yunzhou.

And now they received such terrible news.

The man sighed softly: "Enough. Report this to the Sect Master for his decision."

He said that—but in truth, the matter was already closed.

Xu Chuan was dead, but not killed by Marquis Yuan; he died on official duty. As a retainer, one must be prepared to sacrifice.

And Marquis Yuan had already slain the killers—vengeance was fulfilled.

By martial world custom, Guiyun Sect had no grounds to seek retribution.

Besides, Guiyun Sect couldn't possibly challenge Marquis Yuan of Annan.

They could only accept their misfortune.

'Truly, the world is capricious.'

Xu Chuan's death did not linger long in the heart of the middle-aged man, He Wanchun.

He wasn't his own disciple.

Report it, and that was enough—no need to dwell further.

Just report it and be done with it; don't overthink anything else.

He Wanchun raised his hand; the caravan moved forward slowly, as if nothing had happened.

He Wanchun lifted his hand slightly, and the convoy moved forward slowly, as if nothing had happened.

The Guiyun Sect caravan finally entered the city and soon arrived before a grand mansion.

This was Guiyun Sect's base.

"Aqing, go to Anning Guard—I wish to meet that Lord Li."

"Aqing, go to Anning Guard—I want to meet that Lord Li."

The young Guiyun disciple bowed and hurried off.

He Wanchun's lips curled slightly as he murmured a name.

He Wanchun's lips curled slightly as he spoke a name.

His name might not be widely known in Yu Kingdom, but in the beast market, it was legendary.

Guiyun Sect came to Qinghe for only two things.

Beasts. Beasts. And more beasts.

Because Guiyun Sect itself had the Beast Taming lineage, and He Wanchun was its leader.

Previously, Wu Kingdom was isolated, its paths narrow.

Their lineage had always been weak within Guiyun Sect. This time, He Wanchun came to revive the Beast Taming lineage.

Thus, Li Rui was an unavoidable presence.

Why? Because the people of Wu Kingdom had gone mad—only recognizing Li Rui's name.

'I'd like to see if he's truly as formidable as the rumors claim.'

"Master, just now a disciple from Guiyun Sect said their Elder He wishes to pay you a visit."

"Master, just now a disciple from Guiyun Sect said their Elder He wishes to pay you a visit."

"Hmm, I know."

Li Rui nodded.

Wang Zhao stood by, waiting for more—but no further words came. His eyes darted, and he instantly understood Li Rui's meaning.

Wang Zhao stood aside, waiting for what felt like an eternity without further words; he rolled his eyes, then immediately understood Li Rui's meaning.

He returned shortly: "Master, I told him you're in seclusion—you'll meet him after you emerge."

He returned shortly: "Master, I told him you're in seclusion and will meet him upon emerging."

"Xiao Zhao, you've improved."

These days, more and more sects arrived in Qinghe—throw a brick, and you might hit a sect elder.

These past few days, more and more sects have come to Qinghe; toss a brick and you might hit a sect elder.

Now, sect elders wanting to meet him were nearly lining up outside Anning Guard.

If he met them all, he'd spend his days either drinking or on the way to drink—when would he have time to cultivate?

That alone would be bad enough.

But the real issue was: he couldn't meet them.

He was a Deputy Commander of Anning Guard—meeting daily with sect elders who dealt in beast trade.

What did that suggest?

Was he really pretending to be the boss of the beast market?

Tall trees attract wind; sooner or later, he'd bring trouble upon himself.

So the wisest move now was to ignore the elders' invitations and retreat from the spotlight.

So the wisest course now is to ignore the elders' invitations and withdraw from the rush.

That also meant missing out on the rare treasures already prepared for him.

Though painful, it had to be done.

In recent days, under Li Rui's guidance, Wang Zhao's perceptiveness had improved greatly.

Watching Wang Zhao turn away and close the door behind him,

Li Rui slowly rose.

Then he opened the secret chamber and stepped inside.

Once the chamber sealed shut, he retrieved the Hundred Battles Killing Intent hidden within.

Once the secret chamber sealed completely, he retrieved the Hundred Battles' Killing Intent hidden within.

He inhaled the Hundred Battles Killing Intent into his body.

Instantly—

Li Rui's eyes turned crimson, and he nearly lost his balance. He braced his right hand against the wall to stay upright; veins bulged on his arm, and his palm pressed a deep imprint into the solid bricks.

Li Rui's eyes turned crimson, and he nearly lost his balance; he braced his right hand against the wall to keep from falling, tendons bulging on his arm, leaving a palm-shaped imprint on the hard bricks.

Huff, puff.

Heavy breathing echoed through the room.

This time was so difficult because the dosage had been increased—he had inhaled twice the amount of Battle Killing Intent.

How could anyone casually withstand the Killing Intent of the Soldier Saint?

Half an hour passed.

Only then did Li Rui gradually calm down; the mountain of corpses and sea of blood vanished, and his mind cleared.

His face was pale as death, his clothes soaked in cold sweat.

Just as Li Rui was about to open the secret chamber and step out to change into dry clothes—

The Xianxuan Qi in his dantian suddenly began to stir.

His pupils contracted slightly:

"North Heaven Gate?"

(End of Chapter)