Chapter 924: Opportunity

After killing that commander, Nangong Jie did not linger long and left directly by Flight.

After all, his tracks had already been exposed, and slaughtering these mortals would be of no help.

Furthermore, if he were to start a massacre, he might attract those Sword Heroes and Sword Immortals from the Righteous Sects!

Only these soldiers and the Zhao Family remained, their faces filled with expressions of collapse.

"Monster... a monster!"

Finally, a maid's scream broke this silence.

Many soldiers who had lost their officers were in chaos, showing signs of breaking down.

Even if they were quite brave and strong, they could not risk their lives against a monster!

And Aaron, at this moment, also saw the changes in that piece of jade pendant and could not help but be lost in thought: "Tongxin Taoist's opportunity is likely indeed meant to be here... but Heavenly Intent plays tricks on people; without strength, an opportunity is just a trap that leads to death."

How could Li Yao have imagined that this young woman was still hiding a sword on the bed?

Even though his reaction was extremely fast and he leaned back rapidly, he still felt a chill on his chest; his clothes were slashed open by the short sword, and he had almost been disemboweled.

The baleful aura converged, revealing one of the people, who was none other than Nangong Jie!

This Demon Sect Disciple had actually not gone far at all; after circling around, he had snuck back into Qimeng Courtyard!

At this moment, he opened his large hand and unceremoniously picked up the two pieces of Residual Jade from Li Yao, muttering: "So the treasure is this..."

"Miss Zhao, please do not misunderstand; I am not a lecher."

Yet he had not expected that this short sword would not be used to deal with Nangong Jie, but instead would draw blood from Li Yao first.

"In the future, even if you see a treasure right before your eyes, you must think carefully about whether it is a trap!"

Zhao Feifeng rose with a smile, not caring about her exposed skin, and laughed: "This is my unique Rotten Heart Poison; do you know the taste of it now?"

As for Li Yao, he was merely an extra.

Just at this moment, an unexpected change occurred!

A low laugh, like that of a night owl, came from outside the house.

It actually took quite a bit of effort for Li Yao and the officials who arrived later to stabilize the situation.

The next moment, a five-colored brilliance erupted from within the house!

Li Yao stared blankly at this scene, only to see that monster-man joyfully let the two pieces of jade pendant merge, drive his Dharma Power, and then... it dissolved?

The jade pendant released a circle of five-colored Mysterious Light, and with just one sweep, Nangong Jie turned into a puddle of blood.

Li Yao was originally an upright gentleman, but this Residual Jade involved his Master's lifelong wish and might be his hope for extending his life, so he had to break his bottom line for once.

"The old man went deep into the mountains to gather herbs, got lost for a few days, and nothing major happened."

And immediately after, dense text, like a projection, was cast onto the walls of the room, among which were vivid little figures performing various movements.

A servant boy ran over and shouted: "It's bad... the young lady says she has no face to see anyone and has jumped into the well to commit suicide!"

Banxian Hall.

"Can the young lady trust me?" Li Yao gave a bitter smile: "My family also has half a piece of Residual Jade; if they are joined as one and the secret within is deciphered, I am willing to share it with you..."

While executing his light-body technique, he was still recalling: 'Testing Old Master Zhao today... he actually seems to really not know what treasure his family has.'

He looked over in surprise, only to see Zhao Feifeng open her eyes and stare at him coldly: "Good... another lecher, I'll fight you to the death!"

It was unknown whether it was a one-time item or because it lacked the injection of True Qi and Dharma Power...

This piece of Residual Jade was actually extremely similar to the one on his daughter's neck; it might be the other missing half!

Before long, an old man in brocade robes forced himself to remain calm, stepped forward, and bowed: "This old man thanks the benefactor for saving my life; if not for the benefactor, this old man would not have known that Steward Nangong was actually a monster!"

Aaron's fingers were calculating rapidly, and after a long while, he sighed again: "... So that's how it is!"

This young girl was also trying hard to memorize the text and diagrams released by the jade pendant, but her aptitude was poor, and she only remembered a mere two or three tenths, and was constantly forgetting.

Even if it were Li Xiao who encountered danger this time, he would not intervene again.

After pondering with concentration for a moment, he was somewhat moved:

"This 'Hundred Yang Illustrated Record', although it only has two realms, Post-Heaven and Innate, has a solid foundation and is of the Orthodox Xuan Sect. After breaking through to the Innate realm, what is refined is a strand of 'Dry Yang True Qi'. This True Qi ranks third among the Nine Grades of True Qi!"

Only a few 'pfft' sounds were heard; those maids and matrons leaned against the wall or fell to the ground, all falling into a deep sleep.

While sighing, Aaron left Yuanjia City, found a random deep mountain forest, and picked some herbs.

Li Yao subconsciously defended himself, then felt a bit ashamed; although he was not a lecher, he was a petty thief stealing things!

"Sure enough... this is the other half."

At this thought, he could not help but be even more cautious.

Seeing Zhao Feifeng's expression, as if she wished she could bite a piece of flesh off him, Nangong Jie could not help but laugh loudly: "I just like riding fiery horses... you just wait, when I get this treasure, I will battle you for three hundred rounds again!"

While speaking, he brought the gaps of the two pieces of Residual Jade together.

Aaron looked at those little figures and immediately knew it was a quite brilliant cultivation technique, and furthermore... it was of the top-tier Orthodox Xuan Sect.

Li Yao gave a bitter smile and pulled down his mask: "Miss Zhao, I am really not a lecher... I came here entirely for this Ancient Jade. There is a great secret on this jade, which might be the reason why that monster was lurking here."

At this thought, Li Yao was about to struggle to leave, but he did not anticipate that Zhao Feifeng would suddenly draw a short sword from the bed, its cold light like a star, and stab at him!

Li Yao circulated his internal energy three times, but could not stop the poison from attacking his heart. He could not help but become anxious and took out the Residual Jade he had taken from his daughter's neck from his bosom.

Li Yao smiled, holding a few pebbles in his hand, and threw them out one by one, striking their sleep acupoints.

"Looking at it this way... the difficulty of me wanting to join the Orthodox Xuan Sect has become even greater..."

The very first line was, shockingly: 'My inheritance shall not be obtained by the Evil Path or Demon Sect'!

Aaron pinched his fingers to calculate and immediately understood: "There is a Forbidden Technique within this jade pendant. Once the person who opens it possesses True Qi from the Side Door or even the Demonic Dao... it will immediately counterattack? This Forbidden Technique... is truly sinister!"

Zhao Feifeng did not know what she was thinking, but her face was somewhat flushed. She tossed over a jade bottle and snapped: "Since that is the case, this young lady will trust you for now; this is the antidote for three days!"

The web of cause and effect in this world is tight, and it emphasizes a sense of predestined affinity!

As long as there is affinity, cultivation methods and treasures will come to one of their own accord.

Li Yao pushed open the door, entered the room, and came before Zhao Feifeng's bed; after saying "pardon me," he lifted the brocade quilt and saw the Residual Jade on Zhao Feifeng's neck.

"I killed Shen Xuexing, and it seems like nothing happened... but in reality, the karma of all his admirers is all on me! A Taoist practitioner of several decades is not so easily killed..."

Furthermore, when Nangong Jie made his move back then, he did not even intervene.

'Only because the Zhao Family themselves do not know, could it remain hidden for so many years under the noses of those skilled in Daoist Technique...'

Li Yao picked up the jade pendant, only to find that it no longer possessed its previous mysterious quality.

Strange to say!

When these two pieces of Residual Jade were joined together, they actually fit perfectly, and a layer of white Light gradually began to shine, with what appeared to be countless tadpole-like characters swimming within!

Even though Li Yao's cultivation was much higher than Zhao Feifeng's, he suffered the same fate.

At the very end, there was also a line of text—

When he held that piece of Residual Jade in his hand, he suddenly felt his wrist tighten.

"Eh? It really seems to be the case!"

On the roof, Aaron was quietly watching the show.

Li Yao, however, was dressed in night-traveling clothes and slipped directly into the Qimeng Courtyard.

"However, for Tongxin Taoist, the Wutong Temple Mental Method is crude; if one could obtain the Hundred Yang Illustrated Record, it would be a tremendous stroke of luck, at least advancing to the Innate realm would be no problem at all!"

"It's a deal."

Zhao Feifeng saw Li Yao's handsome face; she was stunned for a moment, then immediately became somewhat dazed.

If there is no affinity, yet one insists on forcing it... that is the fate of Tongxin Taoist!

"The Li Family is blessed with good fortune, which is why they obtained the Hundred Yang Illustrated Record... if it were Nangong Jie, he would be in for terrible luck."

Li Yao, not knowing what he was thinking, followed him in; catching a glimpse, he saw the Residual Jade hanging on Zhao Feifeng's neck, and his pupils contracted slightly.

Fortunately, Nangong Jie had been quite merciful during his previous attack, likely still wanting to keep Zhao Feifeng to toy with.

Even when untying it, his palms were trembling.

The Zhao Mansion was in an uproar for a day; everyone was exhausted and fell asleep.

Although the Golden Snake Hook was inside his sleeve, and he reckoned that whether by the art of the Flying Sword or by a sneak attack with the colorless and odorless Hundred Poisons Sha Qi, he had a high chance of winning, Aaron still chose to wait and see.

"What is going on?"

'If I obtain it and unlock the mechanism, I can just compensate the Zhao Family a little in the future.'

The Head of the Family of the Zhao Family roared angrily.

Clang!

"Of course, one cannot force it, but one can form an affinity... for example, this Hundred Yang Illustrated Record was originally the Li Family's opportunity, but I formed an affinity with the Li Family and have acted on their behalf, so do I also have the affinity to catch a glimpse of it? The young lady of the Zhao Family is the same..."

"Not only that, it can perfectly integrate with any cultivation method; even for some major sects of the Orthodox Xuan Sect, their Disciples' foundational cultivation methods may not be as good as this. It is truly worthy of being the number one foundational method."

Zhao Feifeng's eyes went straight when she saw the other half of the Residual Jade.

"My Hundred Poisons True Qi... counts at most as Ninth Rank, which is a world of difference compared to the Third Rank Dry Yang True Qi. It truly makes one tempted to abandon their cultivation and start over..."

Although Li Yao had the intention to probe for the treasures of the Zhao Mansion, he found it difficult to bring it up at this moment and could only hold back, exchanging a few polite words with the Head of the Family of the Zhao Family.

He glanced at Zhao Feifeng and could not help but feel deeply annoyed, cursing: "This thing was right on you; I've looked at it no less than eight hundred times, if not a thousand... how did I miss it? It must be that divine objects conceal their own brilliance..."

Even so, a bloodstain appeared on his chest.

"This jade?"

He had instantaneous memory and never forgot what he saw, so he memorized the entire text of three hundred and sixty-five movements, as well as the over ten thousand characters of the mental method incantation.

"It is actually like this?"

After all, if a flaw in one's foundation could be fixed by abandoning one's cultivation, why would so many experts need to reincarnate?

"This is mostly because their lifespan is insufficient to abandon their cultivation and start over... and even if they do abandon it, the foundation remains somewhat damaged!"

Suddenly, another scream came from the mansion.

When Nangong Jie left, perhaps stimulated too much, Zhao Feifeng recalled all that had happened before, and truly ashamed and furious to the point of wanting to die, she directly chose to commit suicide!

The old master of the Zhao Family hurried to the house and saw his daughter being carried out, her clothes completely soaked, but fortunately, she still had a breath.

His Judge Pen martial arts were peerless, and his ability to identify acupuncture points was extremely precise, so such a matter was naturally easy for him.

His Daoist attainment was even higher than Nangong Jie's, so Nangong Jie could not discover him at all.

She had always worn this jade close to her body; what secret could it have?

"If the young lady does not believe me, please look!"

Inside the room, Li Yao tried hard to memorize, but could only remember fifty or sixty percent of the diagrams and text.

Fang Xi came out to greet him, and seeing her old father's appearance, she felt both heartache and resentment.

Only then did he return to the appearance of Fang Yuan, chose a morning, and returned to Yukan Town.

"Eh?"

Above the roof.

'Hundred Yang Illustrated Record, number one for foundation, left for those with affinity—Cang Hezi!'

Even along with the bloodstain, a sensation of numbness and itching spread, causing Li Yao's expression to change drastically: "Is there poison on the sword?"

He held the jade pendant in his hand, looked at Zhao Feifeng, and said: "This item... let us consider it shared between our two families, how about that?"

He climbed over the courtyard wall and snuck into Zhao Feifeng's boudoir.

Aaron chuckled, pretending to be stubborn, and poured out the herbs from the medicine basket: "Look at this Polygonum Multiflorum, it has at least eighty years of potency..."

However, Aaron was not prepared to abandon his cultivation right now.

Late at night.

Suddenly, he felt his body could move, so he hurriedly swallowed the antidote first, then looked at Zhao Feifeng.

Immediately, that jade pendant floated silently in mid-air, and suddenly changed again, projecting countless characters...

After all, his friendship with the Li Family was mainly through Li Xiao and Li Erniang, and he had already helped them once before.

"That is correct!"

She had a fierce temper and had hidden a sword in her bed, naturally thinking that if Nangong Jie came again, she would risk her life to stab him with it!

As for whether she could succeed, or even whether she could injure the other party, she did not think about that at all.

This fiery young woman, who had already sought death once, was currently in a deep sleep after the doctor had administered a sedative; there were still a few maidservants and matrons in the room taking care of her.

'The Zhao Mansion does not know about this Ancient Jade either, so it may not be their property... Back then, that wandering Daoist stole half of it, and the other half remains here...'

Through this matter, he could not help but have a more profound understanding of the causal threads and even the operating rules of this world: "The treasures and inheritances of this world are not so easy to take... once taken, there is karma!"

"Even back then, the half-piece of the jade pendant was right in front of me, and I had played with it countless times, yet I failed to recognize it when I saw it..."

The windows and doors were wide open, and a mass of black Qi burst in!

Zhao Feifeng had just wanted to thrust her sword forward, but her mind was bewitched by the black Qi, and she fell straight to the ground, with only her eyeballs still able to move.

Zhao Feifeng cried out in praise, and upon seeing Li Yao's true face and such high moral character, her heart could not help but stir, and she actually developed a bit of affection...

After all, who knows what kind of opportunity this Secret treasure might be?

'That's right... if he really knew, he would have long since been captured by the evildoers and subjected to severe interrogation; under the three types of torture, what could they not extract?'

"Father? Where have you been these past few days?"

Fang Xi's gaze was immediately drawn over, and he clicked his tongue in wonder, just like that, he was fooled by Aaron...

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(End of this chapter)