Chapter 209: Lord Li Dao Scales Eaves and Walks Walls

Inside the private room, Li Yuan flipped through the miscellaneous records.

Reading word by word, he formed a general impression of Longhu Temple and saw the apprehension of Yunshu Lou between the lines.

This miscellaneous record was truly just a collection; Yunshu Lou had summarized various Jianghu rumors and hearsay without adding anything else.

The main point was simply, "None of my business."

"The two major factions, Monk Long and Daoist Tiger, with the Daoist line leading the merger of Dragon and Tiger... three lineages, six halls, nine fleets; it's somewhat complex."

Li Yuan closed the miscellaneous records and pondered in his heart.

Longhu Temple was far more vast than the Divine Weapon Valley; if the latter resembled a Jianghu sect, the former already had the flavor of a small imperial court.

Inner and outer gates, each hall and fleet had its own duties, clearly distinct yet mutually restraining.

"It is still too vague, but more detailed information cannot be found within the prefecture at least; the provincial capital might be more detailed, but I estimate it would still be limited."

After reading this miscellaneous record, what Li Yuan felt most deeply was the intimidation of Longhu Temple.

For ordinary commoners, the existence of Longhu Temple was relatively faint, but the more powerful the sect, the more one could truly feel the terror.

Controlling the Four Provinces, then commanding the prefectures, governing all counties, towns, and villages—a true nation within a nation, a colossal entity.

Just a rumor of potentially accepting disciples was enough to intimidate the provincial government; even the mighty Huailong Palace had to restrain itself.

"If the Divine Weapon Valley is comparable to a minor vassal state, then Longhu Temple must be a hegemon, a true entity standing in opposition to the imperial court."

Li Yuan turned these thoughts over in his mind.

The Dragon and Tiger armies were far more elite than the Divine Guard Army; if the three thousand of the Divine Guard could expand to thirty thousand, the Dragon and Tiger armies naturally could as well.

The Dragon and Tiger armies had eleven hundred thousand elites...

"The heart of that Great Yun Founding Emperor was truly as broad as the sea."

Li Yuan felt some emotion in his heart again.

Within the borders of the country, there were such colossal entities, and there were five of them; if he were the Emperor, he would probably not be able to sleep or eat in peace.

"No wonder the Emperors were assassinated many times..."

Li Yuan's thoughts drifted, feeling that the struggle between the imperial court and the sects was likely far more intense than imagined.

Those who assassinated the Emperor were not necessarily truly the Star-Picking Tower...

Recalling the dozens of supreme arts and divine skills Wang Wenyan had listed that day, Li Yuan felt that the Star-Picking Tower having such broad connections was not without reason.

"It is very complex."

Inside the private room, Li Yuan pondered for a long time; after the wine and dishes were served, he ate heartily, then went out and headed to the pharmacy in the city.

The elixirs in Dechang Prefecture were more expensive than in Zhelong Prefecture, mainly due to the previous sect war.

As everyone knows, raising prices is easy, but lowering them is hard.

Lord Li Dao, who had just received a windfall, also felt a bit of heartache; the Pill King's Spirit-Nourishing Small Return Pill in Zhelong Prefecture cost a thousand taels of silver here for a single pill.

The silver on Linghu Linghu Baiwan's person bought only two pills, and adding a few Blood-Enhancing, Bone-Strengthening, and Sinew-Changing Pills spent almost all of it.

"Elixirs are truly high-profit."

Li Yuan did not buy too many; it was not that he had no money, but having just arrived in Dechang Prefecture, spending too lavishly would attract too much attention.

He still had an assassination bounty on his head.

Wandering along the street for a while, Li Yuan sensed someone tracking him; his heart stirred slightly, but he showed no outward change, returning to the Divine Guard Army headquarters as dusk fell.

Qiu Qiu Changying was still practicing martial arts in the training ground, with many Divine Guard disciples strengthening their Qi and wielding blades and spears nearby.

Li Yuan watched for a while, mainly feeling envious of the longbow on Qiu Qiu Changying's person; only after being glared at by the latter did he turn and leave.

"Old Jing still has no news."

Li Yuan missed his own top-grade, famous-artifact-level treasure bow.

Returning to the small courtyard, Li Yuan pulled out the little rat; this little thing squeaked a few times, and a string of big rats darted out from the corner to test the elixirs for it.

Having only been in Dechang Prefecture for two days, this little fellow had already tamed a large batch of 'subordinates' and no longer needed to test the elixirs itself.

"Squeak squeak!"

The little rat strutted proudly, pointing at a group of big rats; these rats were all glossy and shiny, each several sizes larger than it, looking as if they were elites?

"... Rewarding the elites, is it?"

Li Yuan's mouth twitched; this little rat's spiritual intelligence was increasing more and more.

The little fellow had many 'subordinates'; in no time, they finished testing the elixirs, and Li Yuan, as usual, rewarded the little fellow with one pill.

"Go play."

Li Yuan stroked the little fellow's smooth fur; watching it grow, he felt a sense of satisfaction from raising it.

"Legend says some spiritual beasts are extremely intelligent; there are even ape-like monkeys that can learn martial arts; I wonder if this little rat can?"

Li Yuan thought.

Compared to ordinary wild beasts, spiritual beasts are few in number, but looking across the world, their numbers are not small; this can be seen from the various spiritual beast rankings of Yunshu Lou.

Spiritual beasts come in many types, and among them are quite a few with extraordinary talents.

In Qiu Qiu Changying's family, there were several spiritual eagles; not only were they extremely fast, but they could also be ridden to fly among the clouds and sky, though he had never seen them.

Furthermore, according to that miscellaneous record, Longhu Temple kept flood dragons and fierce tigers, suspected to be the descendants of the pair of dragon and tiger ridden by the Dragon Seal Holy Monk and Pure Yang Daoist back then.

"Huff!"

In the small courtyard, Li Yuan practiced the Xu Tui Soldier Body Stance; after not even a few sets, Wang Wang Peiyao came looking for him.

"Eh?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred, immediately put away his stance, and looked at the several pairs of boots she was carrying.

【Spirit Ox Boots (Third Tier)】

【Top-grade boots made from Spirit Ox leather soaked in medicinal broth for several years...】

【Mastery Condition: Mastery of any Lightness Art or Leap Technique】

【Control Effect: Tier 4 (Green): Steady Steps, Rooted to the Ground】

Tier 3 boots?

Li Yuan was somewhat surprised; this was the first time he had seen Tier 3 boots, and the Control Effect was Tier 4, which was even rarer.

"I bought these few pairs of boots from a roadside stall; this pair is a bit damaged, it seems someone has worn them..."

Wang Wang Peiyao felt a bit of heartache: "One hundred and eighty taels of silver."

Worn, damaged boots; if Li Yuan hadn't instructed her beforehand, Wang Wang Peiyao wouldn't have even glanced at them, let alone spent so much silver to buy them.

"Spirit beast leather is rare; whether it is damaged or not is of little consequence."

Li Yuan took the boots; Tier 3 boots, even for one thousand taels of silver, would be worth every penny.

"I have ordered some boots from several leather shops in the city, but the output may not be much; after the destruction of Qianjun Cave, the best shops are empty; those who didn't flee lack the skill."

Wang Wang Peiyao stayed for a while, and as she was leaving, she paused slightly: "By the way, Brother Li, those two maids of yours actually came to Dechang Prefecture..."

"Maids? You mean Pan Yi and Yu Xiang? They are not my maids."

Li Yuan corrected her.

"Heh."

Wang Wang Peiyao rolled her eyes at him: "Earlier, they came looking for you, found you were not here, and went back to rest."

"Hmm, help them find a better room."

Li Yuan's mind was on those cowhide boots; Tier 3 boots were rare, and his two pairs were both forged by the Divine Fire Combined Weapon Furnace.

"Hmm."

Seeing him completely engrossed in fiddling with the boots, Wang Wang Peiyao felt somewhat speechless in her heart.

However, thinking of the quirks of those geniuses in the rumors, liking to play with shoes was not considered much of anything.

"Hoo!"

Li Yuan put away the boots and continued practicing martial arts, focusing his spirit and calming his breath.

Li Yuan was very busy.

After practicing martial arts, nurturing his Qi, and altering his bone structure as usual, the night had grown deep.

Swiftly changing clothes and putting on a mask, Li Yuan left the courtyard, vanishing into the night with the wind, coming and going without a sound.

"Hoo!"

In the night wind, Li Yuan's figure rose and fell as he attempted to simultaneously control three pairs of Tier 3 boots.

Whoosh!

Wind rose beneath Li Yuan's feet; his body shot up like a kestrel to a wine house along the road whose lights were not yet extinguished; his feet lightly tapped, stepping several times on the outer wall.

"Rooted to the Ground!"

Li Yuan's eyes brightened; as his feet landed on the wall, he felt a sucking and pulling sensation as if stepping in mud.

"Interesting."

Li Yuan crossed his feet and actually climbed to the rooftop as if walking on flat ground!

"This works too?"

Standing on the rooftop, Li Yuan looked down at the city interwoven with light and shadow, feeling very pleased.

Hoo!

He leaped, sweeping horizontally dozens of meters with the wind; with a single tap of his feet, he borrowed force to rise again, shuttling through the city's shadows; the night wind blew gently, and he felt extremely exhilarated.

"This is true flying over eaves and walking on walls!"

The effect of controlling the cowhide boots was outstanding; between rising and falling, no matter how steep the wall, as long as his feet touched it, he could smoothly climb to the rooftop, then dive down again.

Sweeping horizontally across more than half the city district, he almost never touched the ground!

Whoosh, whoosh~

In the night wind, Li Yuan looked around; blades' glints entered his eyes; he could easily avoid the patrolling Constables; from forty meters away, he could bypass the patrols.

With this, he could even detect the distribution of experts in the city.

"Over forty Famous Artifacts, three Top-grade Famous Artifacts... Hmm, it seems there aren't many experts in Dechang Prefecture; that makes sense; after the destruction of Qianjun Cave, many fled."

Li Yuan muttered to himself; shuttling freely through the city's shadows without being discovered by anyone gave him an indescribable sense of pleasure in his heart.

"Awesome!"

Li Yuan was in high spirits; soon, he arrived at the place where he had interrogated Linghu Linghu Baiwan the day before; he did not approach directly but circled around a few times.

Several streets near the alley were empty; no traps or ambushes were set, but Linghu Linghu Baiwan was not seen either.

"He really didn't come?"

Li Yuan sneered inwardly, but he had expected this; leaving that curved blade behind was to guard against him breaking his word.

Hoo~

With a tap of his foot, he moved along the street.

The Tier 6 Weapon Control Talisman allowed him to sense the glints of blades within a forty-meter radius; Li Yuan's speed was incredibly fast; in no time, he had landed on the rooftop of a wine house.

Separated by six floors, he sensed the familiar glint of blades inside a third-floor private room.

"Here!"

Li Yuan's gaze slightly condensed; inside the third-floor private room, there was more than one blade glint.

Besides Linghu Linghu Baiwan's Top-grade Famous Artifact curved blade, there were two other Top-grade Famous Artifact blades and swords; furthermore, there were actually three Peak-grade Famous Artifacts!

"Mighty God Knuckle Dusters? One of them is that An San Yuan Wu?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly; last night, while following Linghu Linghu Baiwan, he had heard An San Yuan Wu and others conversing through the wall and naturally memorized their weapons.

His knuckle dusters were of a decent grade, but compared to the other two, they were inferior, especially one of the swords.

【Crimson Dragon Sword (Sixth Rank)】