Chapter 274: Tianshan Snow Lotus, Increase in Internal Force, and

"Trash! Trash! You are all a bunch of trash! The Black-Clad Arrow Squad, composed of a hundred men, not only failed to capture and kill Yu Liancheng, but were instead beaten by him until they were scattered and fled in terror."

In the main hall of the Eastern Depot, the usually smiling Cao Zhengchun was full of rage, his chest heaving continuously like a volcano about to erupt.

"That would be one thing, but now, after searching for five days, we can't even find a shadow of Yu Liancheng. How did you guarantee this to me, the Grand Overseer, in the beginning? Didn't you say that as long as he was in the Capital, even a fly could be found? But where is he now!! Where is he!!"

The more Cao Zhengchun spoke, the angrier he became, and the louder his voice grew, even containing a trace of profound Internal Force that made the entire hall hum and tremble.

Several Eastern Depot leaders did not even dare to raise their heads, fearing they would be caught in the Grand Overseer's thunderous rage. Even the agents patrolling and guarding outside were as silent as cicadas in winter.

Since they joined the Eastern Depot, they had never seen the Grand Overseer this angry.

Yet, it was not entirely incomprehensible.

The Chief Archivist and Second Archivist had acted together, with the Black-Clad Arrow Squad of several hundred men under their command, yet they were slaughtered until the blood flowed like a river, and both Archivists died.

And now, after searching for five full days and nights, having almost turned the entire Capital upside down, they still had not found the other party's whereabouts. It would be strange if Grand Overseer Cao were not angry.

After Cao Zhengchun had vented his rage, one leader cautiously said: "Could it be that Yu Liancheng has already left the city?"

"Impossible, the city gates are guarded by my brothers, even a fl—we have strictly inspected every person entering and leaving, he must still be in the Capital."

"Heh, as the Demon Sect Leader, how could Yu Liancheng not know the art of disguise? Furthermore, his martial arts are profound; it would not be strange for him to leap directly over the city wall. You can guard the city gates, but can you guard every inch of the wall?"

"Bullshit, it is clearly your incompetence, and you are just pushing the blame onto me..."

"Enough, all of you shut your mouths for this Grand Overseer." Watching his subordinates shirk responsibility, Cao Zhengchun's anger, which had just begun to subside, suddenly flared up again. He slammed the table, and the entire table instantly shattered into pieces, making the group of subordinates tremble once more.

"This Grand Overseer has a premonition that Yu Liancheng must still be in the Capital. All of you go and find him for me; dig three feet into the ground if you have to, I do not believe he can just vanish into thin air."

"Yes, yes..."

After the subordinates retreated, Cao Zhengchun frowned, revealing a trace of worry: "The Eastern Depot has already turned the entire Capital upside down. The few remaining places left to check are nothing more than the Dragon Protection Villa, the Number One Villa in the World, the State Guest House, and the Imperial Palace... Moreover, this person's martial arts are too high; even if I can find him, dealing with him will not be easy."

"Someone, bring the Five Poisons of Western Hunan, the couple Luo Jusheng, the Yin Yang Ghost Child..."

……

…………

The Imperial Palace.

Inside a certain Lenggong.

Yu Liancheng was sitting cross-legged. His figure, though not tall, gave one a sense of majesty, as if he could support the firmament.

And upon his skin was a brilliant Jinguang, giving his entire being an aura that was sacred and extraordinary, like a God or Buddha descended to earth, suppressing all evil.

Liusheng Piaoxu was also in the room, her beautiful eyes curiously watching Yu Liancheng.

Indeed, these past few days, they had been hiding in the Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace was, of course, heavily guarded, but some of its halls were quite desolate. Two great experts intentionally hiding would be impossible to track down unless a top-tier expert like Cao Zhengchun personally patrolled.

Liusheng Piaoxu finally could not resist her curiosity and poked Yu Liancheng's cheek with her long, fair finger, only to feel it was hard, as if it were the toughest Iron.

"So hard!"

She pressed with a little force, only to find she could not move it at all. She did not dare to continue using force, fearing she would disturb Yu Liancheng's cultivation and cause him to suffer a deviation.

Liusheng Piaoxu sat back down on the stool, flipped her delicate hand, and a pearl the size of a longan appeared in her palm. She muttered to herself: "Why did Yu Liancheng ask me to steal this pearl? Although it is valuable, I imagine it shouldn't be something he would care about."

Previously, Yu Liancheng had asked her to steal a pearl from a Princess's room.

—The Mermaid Pearl.

The Imperial Palace was heavily guarded, and stealing something from a Princess was not easy.

It was just that for some reason, the guards and eunuchs around that Princess intentionally stayed far away from her residence, as if a demon from hell were locked inside that room, so she had easily obtained this pearl.

Besides this, next to Liusheng Piaoxu was a box, and inside the box was the Tianshan Snow Lotus that Yu Liancheng had obtained from the Bath Virtue Pool.

Hum hum~

Just at this moment, a sound similar to metal clashing emanated from Yu Liancheng's body, and a golden ripple spread in all directions. As the vases and teacups in the room collided with this ripple, they instantly turned into powder.

Fortunately, this ripple quickly dissipated into nothingness, otherwise Liusheng Piaoxu would have worried about whether it would alert the Imperial Guard and the Eastern Depot agents.

At the same time, the Jinguang on Yu Liancheng's body was slowly receding from bottom to top.

The lower half of his body had returned to its original skin, white as jade, while the upper half was still shining with Jinguang.

Before long, there was not a trace of Jinguang left on Yu Liancheng's skin; it seemed he had exited the Vajra Indestructible Body, but that majestic and sacred feeling had not faded by even half.

Suddenly, Yu Liancheng opened his eyes.

The moment he opened them, Jinguang flared brilliantly, spilling across the entire room, making the originally dim room look as if it were carved from gold, causing even Liusheng Piaoxu to be dazzled.

A moment later, the Jinguang dissipated, but Yu Liancheng's pair of eyes had turned golden. Swept by his gaze, anyone would feel a sense of having nowhere to hide.

"Your eyes, what happened to them?" Liusheng Piaoxu asked curiously.

Yu Liancheng rubbed his brow and exhaled, saying: "The Diamond Indestructible Divine Skill requires turning oneself into a little Golden Man; it is truly too blinding, so I managed to condense all the Jinguang into my eyes. Only when one day I can refine the Jinguang in my eyes until it vanishes, can this martial art be considered truly perfected."

Liusheng Piaoxu seemed to think of something and suddenly chuckled: "Actually, your state as a Golden Man just now was quite... quite interesting."

Yu Liancheng gave Liusheng Piaoxu a sideways glance: "So that's why you were poking my face with your finger."

Liusheng Piaoxu's pretty face flushed red: "You noticed?"

"Isn't that obvious? I just couldn't be bothered to pay you any mind at the time." Yu Liancheng suddenly reached out and pulled, and with a soft cry, Liusheng Piaoxu fell into his arms.

He pinched Liusheng Piaoxu's chin and smiled: "You poked my face just now, so shouldn't I return the favor and poke your cheeks?"

As he spoke, he used his finger to poke her delicate, flawless cheeks, leaving a faint red fingerprint on her fair skin.

"By the way, the thing you asked me to find has been obtained." A blush drifted across Liusheng Piaoxu's face, and she hurriedly took out the "Mermaid Pearl" to change the subject: "This pearl is not exactly a rare item, why did you insist on getting your hands on it?"

Yu Liancheng held Liusheng Piaoxu's slender waist with one hand and took the Mermaid Pearl with the other. He exhaled a burst of True Qi into his palm, and the surface of the pearl instantly turned into powder and drifted away, revealing an object inside that looked like a cardamom seed.

"This is?" Liusheng Piaoxu's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.

Yu Liancheng said calmly: "This is the legendary Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom."

As strands of his True Qi invaded the shell of the cardamom, he could already clearly feel a boundless, surging vitality.

Because of the obstruction of the shell, this vitality had not faded with the passage of time.

"Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom, so this is the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom?" Liusheng Piaoxu took the cardamom from Yu Liancheng's hand and examined it curiously, though there was nothing particularly strange or surprising about it.

"Mm, this is the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom that can bring the dead back to life. Since I have already promised Gu Santong to save Suxin, I naturally cannot go back on my word," Yu Liancheng said indifferently.

"Then where is the last Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom?"

Yu Liancheng said, "It is in the hands of Cao Zhengchun."

"Cao Zhengchun?" Liusheng Piaoxu's brows furrowed slightly, and she said, "That will be troublesome. The Eastern Depot is currently under martial law, and Cao Zhengchun has recalled all the experts from outside the Eastern Depot. It seems he is determined to deal with you."

Yu Liancheng gently stroked Liusheng Piaoxu's long hair, brought it to the tip of his nose to sniff, and said, "Now that my Diamond Indestructible Divine Skill has reached a small success, once I absorb the power within the Tianshan Snow Lotus and my Internal Force increases, it will be the perfect time to go to the Eastern Depot and retrieve the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom."

"Tianshan Snow Lotus?" Liusheng Piaoxu pressed down on Yu Liancheng's hand, which was gradually reaching downward, and said with a slight gasp, "Are you talking about that snow lotus you found in the Bath Virtue Pool?"

Yu Liancheng kissed her glistening earlobe, rolled his sleeve, and the box opened with a "snap." A crystal-clear snow lotus, still emitting a biting chill, flew into his palm.

Liusheng Piaoxu said, "Is this item helpful to you?"

Yu Liancheng smiled and said, "The Tianshan Snow Lotus can not only neutralize a hundred poisons but also enhance one's cultivation."

In the original timeline, Cheng Shifei was plotted against by the Five Poisons, and after consuming the Tianshan Snow Lotus, he not only neutralized the poison but his cultivation also saw a significant increase.

One must know that he had obtained the entirety of Gu Santong's formidable cultivation, and there were very few people in the world who could surpass him in Internal Force. Yet, after consuming the snow lotus, his cultivation still saw a clear increase, which shows how extraordinary this snow lotus is.

Nowadays, although Yu Liancheng has practiced the "Ten Thousand Phenomena Returning to Origin Art" and his internal energy progress is astonishing—not inferior to those long-renowned martial arts masters—he is still quite a bit behind compared to Zhu Tiedan.

As for the Great Art of Absorbing Power, although it can significantly boost his Internal Force in a short time, it is ultimately not the righteous path and will contaminate his own spirit, Qi and Blood, and True Essence. Therefore, unless in special circumstances, he will not use the Great Art of Absorbing Power to absorb others' Internal Force.

Absorbing the Tianshan Snow Lotus is a heaven-sent treasure; although it has certain drawbacks, compared to the Great Art of Absorbing Power, they can be ignored.

"But how should this be consumed? Does it need to be refined into a medicinal pill?" Liusheng Piaoxu looked at the Tianshan Snow Lotus, revealing a trace of confusion.

Yu Liancheng smiled and said, "I stayed at Wuchen Gongzi's Taohua Shanzhuang for a period of time, and in my spare time, I flipped through an ancient book on alchemy, so I do know how to handle this Tianshan Snow Lotus."

The medicinal power of the Tianshan Snow Lotus is extremely astonishing. Cheng Shifei was poisoned and unconscious, and it was Yunluo Gongzhu who fed it to him mouth-to-mouth. Although this caused much of the medicinal power to be lost, it still made Cheng Shifei become full of vitality.

But Yu Liancheng adopted an extremely simple method.

He found a container, poured a pot of wine into it, and then threw the Tianshan Snow Lotus into the wine petal by petal.

This snow lotus actually emitted a biting cold air, and in an instant, it froze a thin layer of ice on top of the wine.

Yu Liancheng placed his hand on the container and channeled his supreme Yang and rigid True Qi. The thin ice quickly melted, and the entire liquid began to rise in temperature, becoming boiling hot.

The Tianshan Snow Lotus gradually melted in the wine, merging into one with the liquid.

A quarter of an hour later, the entire liquid was boiling, bubbling away, and a clear fragrance overflowed. Just smelling this scent made one feel intoxicated and refreshed.

Yu Liancheng took out a wine cup, filled it, and drank it in one gulp. He immediately felt a surging hot current flowing down his throat, scouring his internal organs. Yet, within the hot current, there was a cold, clear energy. With the cold and warmth intermingling, one felt their pores open, and they couldn't help but shiver.

"I have melted all the medicinal power of the Tianshan Snow Lotus into the wine. Drinking this wine can not only increase your cultivation but also improve your resistance to poison. You should try it too, but don't be greedy and get drunk." Yu Liancheng smiled and made a gesture of invitation to Liusheng Piaoxu.

"Okay." Liusheng Piaoxu's beautiful eyes shone brightly. She did not stand on ceremony, poured herself a cup, and drank it slowly.

"Remember to circulate your True Qi while drinking to refine the medicinal power in the wine, otherwise it will be wasted for nothing." Yu Liancheng drank another cup.

"Mm, I know."

The two of them drank cup after cup, never stopping.

After drinking more than ten cups, Liusheng Piaoxu stopped. She looked tipsy and barely managed to sit cross-legged to absorb the surging medicinal power within her body.

Yu Liancheng had already finished the wine. Golden light flowed in his eyes, and heat radiated from his whole body. He was like a furnace for melting gold and iron, and he quickly refined the medicinal power, causing the True Qi within his body to increase significantly.

However, at this moment, he had no heart to pay attention to the extra True Qi; his slightly drunken eyes stared straight at Liusheng Piaoxu.

At this time, Liusheng Piaoxu was concentrating on dissolving the medicinal power in her body. Fragrant sweat drenched her close-fitting clothes, revealing her infinitely beautiful figure. Her cold face was flushed, and she gasped slightly, looking more charming and cute than usual.

Yu Liancheng leaned over, sniffed the scent of wine, pulled aside her clothes, and reached out to stroke her still-tight and smooth waist.

Liusheng Piaoxu subconsciously twisted her waist, opened her drunken, hazy eyes, and muttered, "What are you doing?" This appearance of wanting to refuse but still welcoming made her look even more moving, cute, and full of temptation.

"You are dissolving the medicinal power too slowly; let me help you."

Yu Liancheng bit Liusheng Piaoxu's glistening earlobe, his palm exuding surging heat to help her dissolve the medicinal power, though his hand kept moving upward.

Suddenly, he gripped.

"Mmph..."