Chapter 420: The Fifth Prince

Ten days later.

Li Rui stood quietly with Ning Zhongtian and several others at the path leading to the Spirit Mine, as if waiting for someone.

A mountain breeze blew.

His clothes fluttered, but Li Rui merely gazed calmly ahead.

Ning Zhongtian looked up at the sky.

He muttered discontentedly.

"What time is it already? Still no sign."

But remembering the identity of the one arriving, he said no more.

They could only wait.

Another hour passed.

A caravan slowly approached the group.

The most eye-catching was

the carriage in the center of the procession, as large as a room, carried by nine massive elephant-like demonic beasts; its surface was engraved with intricate, masterful patterns—upon closer inspection, they were four-clawed python motifs.

His identity was obvious: a member of the imperial family.

Such a grand entourage

was rare in Yu State.

Li Rui stepped forward quickly and bowed deeply: "Your servant greets Prince Wei."

He saw several delicate hands part the carriage curtains.

First, four or five beautiful maids stepped out gracefully; the escorting guards laid down the footstool, then a noble and martial man emerged from the carriage.

His yellow python robe proclaimed his exalted status.

This man was the fifth son of the reigning Emperor, Zhu Gan.

The Emperor had seven sons, all enfeoffed as princes; the fifth prince, Zhu Gan, was Prince Wei.

The Spirit Mine was of critical importance.

It could not possibly be left under Li Rui's sole guard; someone trustworthy would be sent.

Who could be more reliable than one's own son?

In truth, Li Rui was merely one of the mine's guardians.

Zhu Gan, as a prince, had been personally appointed by the Emperor as Provincial Governor, dispatched specifically to oversee all matters of the Spirit Mine.

In addition,

he brought three other guardians.

To jointly manage the mine's daily affairs with Li Rui.

Among the crowd, Li Rui immediately spotted Yuan Xiong.

The two merely nodded slightly in greeting.

Li Rui saw Zhu Gan walk up to him.

"Master Li, first show me the Spirit Mine."

With that,

Zhu Gan strode ahead, escorted by a retinue of fairy-like palace maids along the path.

Seeing such absurd pomp,

Ning Zhongtian subtly sneered.

Li Rui simply followed quietly behind.

Soon, the group arrived at the Spirit Mine.

The mine had changed utterly from its former state; the Qingwei Sect's illusionary array had been dismantled, and a majestic peak stood tall, with towering walls rising from the mountainside.

After deliberation,

Yu State was granted mining rights to the northern portion of the mine.

The very next day after the agreement was finalized,

Li Rui ordered the troops of Annan Town to construct walls, separating the mine from Wu State and the Qingwei Sect.

Gazing at the walls,

Prince Wei Zhu Gan frowned in dissatisfaction and sneered at another guardian beside him: "Pathetic. Take your men and reinforce them."

"Yes!"

The man bowed and led his men away.

Zhu Gan walked while scolding.

Though he did not name names,

since Li Rui had handled all mine affairs before, the rebukes clearly targeted him.

Li Rui's expression remained calm as he followed.

Only when Zhu Gan entered the grand courtyard built specially for him did the scolding cease.

Zhu Gan entered the courtyard surrounded by a throng of palace maids.

Only then did Li Rui walk away side by side with Yuan Xiong.

"Big Brother Li, don't take it to heart. I've heard Prince Wei is always arrogant and reckless, and he's never gotten along with Master Gu."

Yuan Xiong comforted him.

Li Rui smiled and waved his hand: "Brother Yuan, don't worry—I'm easygoing."

It was said Prince Wei once tried to interfere in the Enthronement of the Demon God, but was publicly rebuked by Gu Changsheng at court and scolded by the Emperor.

It would be strange if he treated Li Rui kindly.

Li Rui had prepared for this.

Of the four guardians, he alone was not required to remain stationed at the mine permanently.

In other words,

he would spend little time under Zhu Gan's direct command.

So he wouldn't have to endure daily humiliation.

The mine affairs were temporarily settled.

Li Rui returned to Changqing Peak.

Days passed one by one.

Mining spirit stones was difficult; daily output was limited.

Spirit stones were divided into four grades: low, medium, high, and supreme.

The higher the grade, the rarer they were.

Low-grade stones made up nearly eighty percent, medium-grade nearly twenty percent; high-grade and supreme-grade stones were rarely seen.

Once unearthed,

they were immediately sent as tribute to the capital.

Ordinary people had no chance to enjoy them.

Men die for wealth, birds die for food—Li Rui often heard of miners secretly hoarding spirit stones to cultivate, only to be beaten to death by Prince Wei Zhu Gan as punishment.

Though brutal, the method was undeniably effective in the short term.

Of course,

none of this concerned Li Rui.

He had long passed the stage where he needed to mine for cultivation; otherwise, all his years of climbing would have been wasted.

At this moment,

ten or so medium-grade spirit stones sat before his knees, even one high-grade stone.

This was the advantage of being close to the source.

Though Prince Wei disliked him, he could not oppose him on every matter; as a guardian, Li Rui had no trouble securing these stones.

Li Rui subtly shifted his intent.

The Changqing Qi within him enveloped the stones before him.

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

The spirit stones shattered with a pop.

Abundant spiritual energy instantly engulfed him.

The Eternal Greening Art activated, drawing the energy into his body; his entire form, even the Dao Embryo in his dantian, turned crystalline in an instant.

After roughly fifteen minutes,

the spiritual energy was fully absorbed, leaving only piles of stone residue.

Li Rui slowly opened his eyes, feeling unsatisfied.

Cultivating with spirit stones was vastly more efficient than absorbing ambient spiritual energy.

Unfortunately,

at his current cultivation base, low-grade stones were useless.

Medium-grade stones were far too expensive, and high-grade ones made him wince—he couldn't have them daily.

Li Rui was not greedy.

To have obtained these stones already surpassed the wealth of most Tongxuan Realm cultivators in Yu State.

This is also one of the perks of guarding the spirit mine.

"At most five years, I should be able to break through."

Li Rui pondered silently.

Although his Eternal Green Qi Art emphasizes steady progress, with enough spirit stones, it could still advance quickly.

Hmm.

Steady and fast.

Li Rui exhaled slowly, then stood up and stepped out through the door.

Today was the day for inspection.

As one of the four guardians of the spirit mine, he couldn't stay at Qingwei Sect forever.

"Fourth brother, come with me to the spirit mine."

"Got it."

Ning Zhongtian, who was practicing, responded.

The two immediately descended from Changqing Peak; Li Rui directly rode his immortal blade, Zhanjiao, carrying Ning Zhongtian across hundreds of miles, and in no time at all, they arrived at the spirit mine.

Ning Zhongtian gazed with envy at the blade returning automatically to its sheath at Li Rui's waist.

Li Rui possessed an immortal blade—this was no secret.

Along with this immortal blade, the swordsmith Tie Kuang of Divine Weapon Manor had also gained fame.

Ning Zhongtian envied not just the immortal blade, but Li Rui's mastery in controlling it.

It was nearly indistinguishable from a cultivator's magic treasure.

Li Rui and Ning Zhongtian walked toward a large courtyard.

There were five such courtyards in total.

The largest, of course, was reserved for the Fifth Prince Zhu Gan; the other four guardians each had one.

Compared to the other four, Li Rui's courtyard was noticeably quieter.

The vast three-compound mansion was only guarded daily by three soldiers from Annan Town.

Two soldiers stationed at the gate had been sitting on the threshold chatting idly.

When they saw Li Rui appear,

they scrambled to their feet, nearly knocking their helmets off, stammering as they bowed: "L-Lord Li, you've come!"

Li Rui hadn't visited the spirit mine in three months.

They silently cursed their bad luck.

They'd been caught slacking off.

If Li Rui flew into a rage, they might end up hauling waste in logistics.

But Li Rui said: "Carry on."

He walked into the mansion without even glancing at them.

Though he hadn't come in three months, the mansion was still reasonably clean.

Ning Zhongtian: "Big brother, how long will we stay here?"

"A month."

Li Rui said: "Fourth brother, pick a room for yourself. These next few days, work hard and patrol the mine more often."

"Got it."

Ning Zhongtian gladly agreed.

As a guardian and a third-rank official, Li Rui personally patrolling would be beneath his station.

That's why he brought Ning Zhongtian along.

Ning Zhongtian's presence was enough to show he'd fulfilled his duty.

That alone would silence any gossip.

Li Rui walked slowly through the courtyard, hands behind his back, but when he reached a large willow tree, his expression changed slightly.

Ning Zhongtian noticed the shift in Li Rui's gaze.

"What's wrong, big brother?"

Li Rui said nothing, drew his immortal blade Zhanjiao, and stabbed the ground beneath the willow.

To Ning Zhongtian's astonishment,

Li Rui lifted from the soil a thick, fat maggot as large as an arm.

Even though it wasn't quite dead, it writhed violently on the blade's tip.

Ning Zhongtian widened his eyes: "This—"

Li Rui's gaze turned cold.

"It's a dark array."

Immortal arts had dark variants; arrays certainly did too.

Someone had planted an extremely potent dark array inside Li Rui's residence.

Only because Li Rui himself was a fifth-rank array master could he detect it.

Li Rui closed his eyes and carefully sensed.

He quickly confirmed: this dark array was the legendary Puppet Array.

Its effect was to subtly influence a person's mind; over time, the one within the array would become a puppet, entirely controlled by the array's creator.

The Puppet Array was a third-rank array!

Who had gone to such lengths to target him?

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of cold light passing through.

"What a vicious tactic."

The man hadn't sought to kill him directly, but to turn him into a puppet—this was deeply suspicious.

Ning Zhongtian's face was filled with murderous intent.

"Big brother, what do we do now?"

To his surprise, Li Rui placed the giant maggot back into the ground, his expression calm: "Act as if you saw nothing. Carry on as usual."

Ning Zhongtian was stunned.

But he never questioned Li Rui's decisions.

Li Rui casually dropped a small stone on the ground, then returned to his room.

Just now, he had set up a Minor Five Elements Array.

Though it couldn't block the Puppet Array, it would slow it down.

He could stay here for ten or twenty days without issue.

The one who planted the Puppet Array was extremely patient; turning a Tongxuan Master into a puppet required at least ten years within the array.

Added to the fact that he rarely came here,

fifty years wasn't out of the question.

Yet even so, the man had still gone to great lengths to set up such a grand array.

Li Rui sat cross-legged on his bed.

His inner killing intent grew stronger.

(End of Chapter)