Chapter 229: Aftermath of the Major Event (Combined)

Hoo~

The cold wind blew away the paper ash.

"..."

Gong Gong Jiuchuan looked somewhat disheveled, glanced down at the remaining paper ash in his hand, and said, "Where is he?!"

"Where is he?!"

Gong Gong Jiuchuan nearly jumped up; for this letter, he had even left his own token to that boy.

"Uncle-Grandmaster must have stayed in Dechang Prefecture..."

Outside the temple door, Yu Yu Xuanfeng poked his head in to look, his face full of envy.

Given Uncle-Grandmaster's memory, for him to actively remember someone, one could imagine how much he valued that boy—no, that Junior Uncle.

"Do I need you to say it?!"

Gong Gong Jiuchuan's face darkened, and a sense of oppression rose in his chest.

So this old rascal had ordered him to run around in circles, covering thousands of li, just to deliver a letter to that boy?

"Can Uncle-Grandmaster's True Qi leave this letter?"

Yu Yu Xuanji's focus differed from the two; she came from a good background and had a famous master to guide her, so she understood some of the Grandmaster's methods.

Those with internal strength project force one foot; martial artists who transform their form project Qi three zhang; at the Pulse-Opening realm, internal Qi is so full it can cover the body's surface, transforming into a beast form to augment oneself.

But even for a martial artist with a fragment of a supreme art and a perfected Pulse-Opening cultivation, when their Qi erupts, it cannot exceed ten zhang; no matter how refined the internal Qi, it is still Qi.

Gathering and scattering without form, staying intact ten zhang away from the body, this is already a technique reserved for supreme arts.

But after internal Qi transforms into True Qi, the True Qi subtly contends with heaven and earth; not only can it cover the body's surface to block blades, fire, and water, but it can also break the ten-zhang limit.

Grandmasters penetrate the changes of Yin and Yang, unite body and spirit, and unite Qi and spirit; thus, True Qi can travel hundreds or even thousands of li.

Yet she remembered that even a Grandmaster could at most split off one True Qi to take human form, and it must rely on a medium to travel hundreds or thousands of li...

"Paying some price, True Qi can transfer to a medium, but it shouldn't be like this; why would he stay on that boy?"

Gong Gong Jiuchuan frowned tightly.

Although he had not undergone blood replacement, he had already succeeded in marrow refinement and touched upon the transformation of body and spirit; he knew True Qi could change its medium, but the price was not small.

"Perhaps Uncle-Grandmaster sensed something?"

Yu Yu Xuanji guessed.

"A mere Dechang Prefecture, what could happen there? Nothing more than someone like Brother Huangfu Kun."

Gong Gong Jiuchuan took the Xiong Zhang handed to him by Yu Yu Xuanfeng, skewered it on a wooden stick, and placed it over the fire: "Han Han Chuijun wears divine armor, fully capable of handling it; not to mention there is also Lord Master Gongyang Yu..."

"Lord Master Gongyang Yu?"

Yu Yu Xuanfeng squatted by the fire, roasting another Xiong Zhang: "Although this man is the Master of the Divine Weapon Valley, he falls far short of Han Han Chuijun, who has been recognized by the divine armor; he isn't much of a figure, is he?"

"Lord Master Gongyang Yu was born with thirteen great dragon forms; his bone structure is no worse than mine; who are you to look down on him?"

Gong Gong Jiuchuan swept a cold glance over, frightening Yu Yu Xuanfeng into immediately lowering his head.

"The imperial court is powerful and unified; sects are scattered and discordant with one another; how is it that for over a thousand years, they have always been able to stand as equals against the imperial court?"

Gong Gong Jiuchuan flipped the Xiong Zhang on the fire:

"Whether noble families or the royal house, they value bloodlines too much; but we sects respect the strong; the master of a sect is never weak!"

Bloodlines...

Yu Yu Xuanji glanced at Yu Yu Xuanfeng; both siblings immediately lowered their heads.

These words were clearly a reprimand for them; after all, the Yu family had always considered itself a great family of Dao City...

"Your bone structures are good, your talents passable, and you were fortunate enough to join Bairudao Sect, but do not look down on everyone in the world, especially you!"

Gong Gong Jiuchuan glared at Yu Yu Xuanfeng.

What is a family's talent compared to the talent of the world? The Yu family is proof enough.

The Yu family's ancestor was once the Master of Hun Tian, a Zhun Sect Grandmaster level who had perfected blood replacement; but after no more than seven or eight generations, among thousands of clan members, only this brother and sister's talents were considered passable.

But it was merely talent; if not for the Yu family's connections, he would not have taken Yu Yu Xuanfeng in.

"If you continue to be ambitious yet incompetent and blindly arrogant, who knows on which desolate hillside you will die one day!"

"Disciple remembers!"

Yu Yu Xuanfeng's head lowered even further.

Yu Yu Xuanji changed the subject and asked, "Master, should we return to find Uncle-Grandmaster?"

"Let me think..."

Gong Gong Jiuchuan frowned slightly, his thoughts churning in his mind.

The Master of the Star-Picking Tower failed to assassinate Di Qian, but he also thoroughly angered the imperial court; the King of Suppressing Warriors ordered the entire world to hunt down the Star-Picking Tower; as Hengshandao Sect, the Dragon-Tiger Temple bears an inescapable responsibility.

But...

After pondering for a moment, he raised his head:

"Yu Xuanji, ride a fast horse back to Dechang to find your Uncle-Grandmaster and explain the pros and cons... I am going to Huizhou City; afterward, we will meet at Huailong Palace!"

"Yes!"

Yu Yu Xuanji bowed to accept the order, snatched the Xiong Zhang from her own brother's hand, quickly walked out the door, and mounted a horse to leave.

"My Xiong Zhang..."

Yu Yu Xuanfeng's face turned bitter; he sighed and went to the courtyard to cut meat.

"Di Qian, the Star-Picking Tower..."

Inside the ruined temple, Gong Gong Jiuchuan took a secret letter from his robes, read it carefully once, and stuffed it into the fire.

"A disaster without cause."

Rubbing his temples, Gong Gong Jiuchuan sighed in his heart.

The Five Dao and Nineteen Provinces of the world are vast and boundless; why did the Master of the Star-Picking Tower flee specifically to Mount Hengshan Dao...

Having taken the Dragon and Tiger Sect Master Token, Lord Master Gongyang Yu left the Divine Guard Army's encampment.

Li Yuan wanted to follow and see, but Elder Ku Yue escorted him all the way back to his courtyard, drove away Liu Zheng from the neighboring courtyard, and settled in himself.

It was as if he intended to provide close protection.

In fact, it wasn't just Ku Yue; Long Yin, Ba Ba Wanli, Fang Fang Bao Luo, Qiu Qiu Changying, Long Sheng, Feng Feng Zhongyi, and other True Disciple Elders, along with Yi Xing veteran soldiers like Yu Jin from within the sect, had almost all moved to the vicinity of his courtyard.

With a single glance, Li Yuan could see a familiar glint of weapons; unconsciously, his status in the Divine Weapon Valley had suddenly soared higher than even the Valley Master's.

"Really no need, this is too much..."

Unable to refuse, Li Yuan returned to his room with a bitter smile.

Elder Ku Yue had long ago achieved great mastery in channel opening; relying on his skill with the Heavenly Cicada Sword, he was one of the few experts in the Hiding Dragon Mansion, but...

"You really might not be able to defeat me."

Li Yuan certainly wouldn't say such a hurtful thing; instead, before entering the room, he took out several gold notes and handed them to Liu Zheng, who was carrying bedding and looked utterly bewildered.

He asked him to go buy some things.

In these nearly two months, Li Yuan had spent money like water; various pills, weapons, and boots cost over ten thousand taels of silver, not counting the purchases needed for the incense burners.

The commercial atmosphere in Dechang Mansion was thick; many temples were willing to accept donations and also willing to return incense burners to devout believers.

If real gold and silver had been spent, how could one not count as a devout believer?

Glancing at the three large incense burners in the courtyard, Li Yuan closed the door.

"The entire sect's effort."

Through the door, Li Yuan looked at the familiar glint of weapons, his heart stirred.

Except for Old Han, Old Lei, and Old Jing Tou, all the experts of the Divine Weapon Valley had gathered near his courtyard; this level of protection was likely unprecedented within the valley.

"These people from the Xieshen Sect are too annoying... I just want to practice Wu Gong properly!"

Sighing, Li Yuan looked at the little mouse tugging at his pant leg; this little creature had been coming to ask for pills whenever it could these past few days, much more diligent than before.

Throwing a few pills over, Li Yuan sat down and poured a cup of water.

"Xieshen Sect... when this Daoist's Wu Gong reaches perfection, I will surely uproot you all!"

Li Yuan felt truly vexed in his heart.

If not for Huang Fu Kun's lingering ghost, he would have only attended a dozen or twenty banquets, then taken the resources subsidized by the Divine Weapon Valley to go to Longhu Temple to become a disciple.

He had held the Splitting Sea Black Whale Hammer for so long yet still couldn't master it; his heart was very anxious.

"Hah!"

Moments later, Li Yuan suppressed his vexation and took out a scroll of Fundamental Diagrams from his robes.

These were the Fundamental Diagrams he had just obtained with Elder Ku Yue; as the Divine Weapon Valley relocated, books and weapons were the Top priority, and several months before the move, they had secretly sent them in batches to Dechang Mansion.

"Mandarin Duck Footwork, Snake and Python Great Grasp, Eight Steps Chasing Cicada, Python Coiling Body, Flower Swallow Double Flight, Dragonfly Touching Water, Flying Over Grass..."

Placing the obtained manuals and Fundamental Diagrams one by one on the table, Li Yuan murmured to himself.

There were thirteen Fundamental Diagrams and six manuals, all Fine quality among them from the Library Tower; except for the lightness skill 'Flying Over Grass', which was a Zhong Cheng Wu Gong, all the rest were Zhong Cheng Wu Gong.

For anyone else besides him, including Inner Disciple Elders, it would be impossible to borrow nearly twenty Zhong Cheng Wu Gong at once.

"Twelve weapon-striking Wu Gong, one grappling art; these are Fundamental Diagrams. Lightness skills have no matching weapons, so the Fundamental Diagrams are useless; I can only use the manuals to practice myself."

After a brief count, Li Yuan stored most of the manuals into his Weapon-Commanding Space; adding the Zhong Cheng Wu Gong Fundamental Diagrams he had obtained earlier in Gao Liu County, he wouldn't have to worry about Fundamental Diagrams for two years.

"Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound!"

The only thing left on the table was a single manual, a Fine quality among them from the Secret Tower, and the Wu Gong that must be practiced for the 'Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon' created by Old Han.

"The spiritual forms of the Tiger and Leopard, plus the Thunder form."

Li Yuan flipped through it.

All Wu Gong in the world are formed and created by emulating heaven and earth, but the vast majority of Wu Gong emulate common beasts; Wu Gong capable of altering spiritual forms are mostly Zhong Cheng Wu Gong.

Those emulating the forms of heaven and earth are even rarer.

"Wu Gong realized amidst thunderstorms when spring thunder explodes..."

This was a Wu Gong created by Han Han Chuijun; in a sense, it could also be considered the core of the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon.

"Vibrating the bones with internal qi to emit the sound of tigers and leopards within; internal qi drives it out through the mouth, that is Thunder Sound... it is Yin Bo Wu Gong."

Li Yuan flipped through it once, very seriously.

For Wu Gong unrelated to weapons, he could only practice slowly himself; this Wu Gong is not easy to enter, mainly requiring practice listening to thunder sounds during thunderstorms.

How many thunderstorms are there in a year?

"How many years did Old Han endure to create this Wu Gong?"

Li Yuan was somewhat speechless; after flipping through it a few times, he put it away, then commanded the Fundamental Diagrams to practice fist and hammer within the square inch of the room.

After a long time, Li Yuan tore off his sweat-soaked clothes; after washing, he didn't change, wearing only a pair of specially made shorts.

"Once the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon is formed, my bone alteration speed is faster, but altering spiritual form bones is still difficult; one book takes at least a little over a month, and pills are also needed in great quantities..."

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Li Yuan gently urged the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon.

Vroom~

Li Yuan closed his eyes slightly, feeling his skin and membranes scorching like fire; the internal qi within his body instantly erupted, like ignited fuel oil, burning Xiong Xiong.

Erupting with explosive power far stronger than normal.

Li Yuan opened his eyes; before him appeared a spiderweb hanging below the roof beam.

Under the violent urging of internal qi, he felt his strength surge more than double; beneath the crimson skin and membranes, tendons were like pythons, meridians like snakes, intertwined and knotted together; with a slight movement, the muscles rippled like water.

Overwhelming!

This was not the first time Li Yuan activated the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon, yet his heart still trembled slightly.

Having shattered the human limit three times, and with his body transformed nearly thirty times, his innate strength far surpassed that of peers by an incalculable margin—even the naturally godlike strength of Baywanli paled in comparison.

Even while activating the Thunder Dragon Body, he could still unleash double the power.

"When activating the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon Body, internal Qi burns, organs shake, blood and Qi boil, instantly unleashing strength and speed far beyond normal limits…"

Li Yuan tilted his head slightly, and every tendon and bone in his body emitted a series of "crack-crack" sounds.

"Pity—without the Thunder Form, strength surges, but speed does not."

Li Yuan was satisfied; each time he activated the Thunder Dragon Body, he felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration, the only regret being its excessive size.

"It's unsightly!"

Li Yuan looked down.

Before his eyes appeared a divine statue forged of tempered steel and cast with molten bronze—every inch of muscle and bone exquisitely crafted, without a single flaw.

Neither bulky nor frail.

"Must be eight feet five inches?"

Li Yuan exhaled deeply; his breath was scorching, like a hundred kettles boiling at once—the room instantly filled with mist, and the tiny mice in the rat holes choked and squealed in panic as they fled.

"Truly not of human origin."

Li Yuan spread his fingers, feeling the air glide through them like flowing water.

Non-human strength and speed required a non-human physique to endure—even in his normal state, the power he contained was enough to terrify ordinary people to death.

Feeling the explosive power, Li Yuan finally felt at ease.

"In my past life, if I had this strength and speed, I wouldn't just have been able to gain official status—I could have worn the purple robe whenever I wanted, torn it off whenever I pleased…"

He released his internal Qi, his form returning to normal; the taut tendons relaxed with a sound like a drawn bowstring snapping back.

Only then did he put on his clothes.

His shorts were specially made, even woven with crimson gold thread, capable of withstanding the explosive growth of his body during Thunder Dragon activation—but his robes could not.

"Once I settle down, I must have several fine Dao robes made."

After all that, Li Yuan's inner gloom had dissipated; he even thought he should make more of his own clothing and shorts.

After a long while, his depleted internal Qi replenished, and Li Yuan finally looked down at his feet—his left foot's sole.

"Divine Sole…"

Li Yuan squinted slightly.

With his spiritual power greatly enhanced, he could now faintly sense the flow of blood and internal force within his body—no longer needing the Five-Step Spirit Snake Belt.

Now that his mind was still, he could even hear a "thump-thump" sound coming from within his left foot, as if a second heart had formed—strong, rhythmic, each beat pulling at his entire internal Qi.

"The ultimate Dao is not complicated—maintain the true essence; the hundred joints of the skull all harbor spirits… There truly are 'spirits' here."

Li Yuan swallowed a pill, lit incense, then closed his eyes and summoned the Spirit Snake Belt and the Spirit Fire Ox Bone Ring—items that enhanced spiritual power—onto his palms.

First, within the Spirit Light Realm, he visualized his "Spirit Self."

Then, he split his focus—sensing the pulse in his left foot while guiding his "Spirit Self" out of the Spirit Light Realm…

The Spirit Self was merely an imagined "false body," not truly existing—it could not genuinely leave the Spirit Light Realm; this was the practice of the Worship-and-Contemplate Method.

More precisely, it was "Seeking the Spirit."

Hum~

Li Yuan kept his eyes shut, as if he truly felt a faint coolness flowing from his third eye, tracing the path of his major Qi circulation downward toward his soles.

The sensation was neither wholly real nor wholly illusory; Li Yuan focused intently, and gradually, that coolness returned to his brow—yet the connection between the two points became distinctly clearer.

"After Seeking the Spirit comes Seeing the Spirit, then Sculpting the Spirit… The Divine Sole Scripture is severely incomplete—I must not risk attempting further."

Li Yuan's mind stirred—he suddenly thought of the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing.

"Inside the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing, my body is formed from Whale Qi—I fear neither death, so qi deviation shouldn't be too dangerous, right?"

Li Yuan's thoughts turned agile, and his resolve was firm.

He opened his eyes, rose, lit the "Spirit Concentration Incense" and other spiritual incenses, then placed several pills in his mouth before sitting cross-legged, preparing to enter the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing to attempt "Seeking the Spirit" and "Seeing the Spirit."

Squeak~

Suddenly, from the corner of the wall, the tiny mouse let out a piercing shriek.

"Hmm?"

Li Yuan's eyelid twitched—the mouse leapt upward, and he caught it in one hand.

Amid the swirling scent of spiritual incense, the creature emitted a faint, ghostly white light…

"This is…"

Li Yuan flung the mouse onto the bed and sprang to his feet.

From the mouse's terrified eyes, thin strands of white light emerged, slowly weaving into the shape of a small monk dressed in a Dao robe, with red lips and white teeth.

"Master?"

Li Yuan's heart leapt in shock, then retreated a few steps—yet he could not suppress a surge of joy:

"When did you arrive?"

Gazing at the seemingly illusory yet undeniably present Long Xi Xiang, Li Yuan was both startled and delighted.

He had assumed Long Xi Xiang had departed with Gong Gong Jiuchuan—never imagining he still lingered, and worse, had attached himself to this tiny mouse?

Amid his joy, he also felt unease.

From these few encounters, a Grandmaster-level martial artist seemed an entirely different species from a Form-Transforming martial artist—appearing and vanishing without trace, never carrying weapons, yet even hiding beside him, he had remained utterly undetected.

This was too terrifying.

"Huh!"

Amid the drifting pale light, Long Xi Xiang yawned, then stared at the boy in the Dao robe—and froze slightly.

"Who are you?"

"..."

Li Yuan's pleasant surprise instantly froze on his face, but he quickly recovered:

"This disciple is Li Yuan, the disciple you just took in."

"Oh? My disciple?"

Long Xi Xiang was a little groggy from his long sleep.

"Have you forgotten, Elder? Wang Lao Fuzi sent you a letter recommending a disciple…"

Li Yuan reacted quickly, hurriedly recounting the whole story from beginning to end, including the scene when they had previously met, only omitting the two words 'nominal disciple.'

"Wang Fuzi…"

"Wang Wang Wenyuan."

"Oh, that old fellow."

Long Xi Xiang finally seemed to understand a little, then raised a hand and felt Li Yuan's shoulder.

*Tap—*

Li Yuan clenched his teeth slightly as true Qi spread through his whole body like an electric current, then quickly withdrew.

"Bone age nineteen, Body Transformation… thirty?!"

Long Xi Xiang's half-open eyes suddenly flew open, and he looked Li Yuan up and down: "That old fellow didn't take you as his disciple?"

"..."

This forgetfulness is way too severe.

Li Yuan explained with a bitter smile, suspicious in his heart.

This isn't simple absent-mindedness at all—no matter how absent-minded, it shouldn't be this bad. Could it be that his brain is injured, or rather, his spirit?

He turned the thought over in his mind and felt it was very likely.

Visualization techniques aren't rare; any top-tier Wu Gong comes with a matching visualization technique. Before he had even begun learning the God-Worshipping Visualization, he didn't understand it well, but now he naturally knew that visualization techniques might be tied to yin-yang cultivation.

Unity of body and spirit—perhaps that's what brings about the unity between me and my body?

Long Xi Xiang reached out and felt around, but didn't feel anything, and only then slightly furrowed his brow:

"Bring paper and brush!"

Li Yuan turned and fetched paper and brush, watching his cheap master, who was barely a chi tall, scribble furiously—this scene had happened just a few days ago.

Could it be that every meeting from now on will have to go like this?

"Li, Li…"

Raising his head and then lowering it to glance at the paper, Long Xi Xiang muttered: "Li Yuan, my newly taken disciple?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Li Yuan nodded repeatedly.

"Mm… bone age not yet twenty, yet bearing thirty Body Transformations—this talent does qualify you to enter my tutelage, but the specifics, we'll discuss once we return to Huishan."

Long Xi Xiang racked his brains but still had no impression at all, and there was more or less some doubt in his words.

"…This disciple understands."

Li Yuan sighed inwardly. He had previously wondered how anyone inside Dragon Tiger Temple would dare covet a Yizun Sect master's inheritance, but now he understood.

With his cheap master's forgetfulness like this, if you really offended him, you wouldn't need a day before he'd completely forget…

Glancing at the slip of paper in his hand with his own name written on it, Li Yuan finally understood why he had to attach himself to Wang Wang Wenyuan's letter.

Both absent-minded and suspicious…

'This old man won't be easy to serve!'

"Mm…"

Li Yuan said nothing, and Long Xi Xiang fell silent as well.

Inside the room, master and disciple stared at each other. After quite a while, it was Li Yuan who spoke first, tentatively inquiring:

"Elder, on this trip, didn't you bring any letter or anything like that?"

"Letter?"

Long Xi Xiang froze, racked his brains for a good while, then still shook his head, indicating he hadn't brought any at all.

Li Yuan asked many more questions, and he just shook his head to all of them—his style was answering three 'don't knows' to every question—and his gaze toward Li Yuan grew increasingly doubtful.

His own disciple—how could he not remember?

"…Elder, what do you still remember?"

Li Yuan was getting a little nervous. Would this old Monk slap him to death?

"I still remember, I still remember… mm, Gong Gong Jiuchuan, you…"

Crap, the token isn't on me.

Li Yuan's scalp went numb, until he heard Gong Gong Yangyu's voice from San Yuan Wai, and felt as if pardoned from death.

"This disciple will go fetch it right now, Elder, please wait a moment."

Li Yuan wiped his sweat, cast a sympathetic glance at the little mouse lying on the bed too scared to move, then turned and quickly left the room.

"Li-shizhi."

Outside the courtyard, Gong Gong Yangyu nodded slightly and handed over the Dragon Tiger Elder Token: "You don't look well?"

"Maybe I didn't sleep well last night?"

Li Yuan took the token. By now the sky had already grown somewhat dark, and nearby there were already Divine Guardian Army disciples patrolling.

"Shibo, any news?"

Li Yuan changed the subject.

"The Yunshu Tower has already released a carrier pigeon, it should be only a few days before there's news."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu's mood improved slightly.

The Yunshu Tower is not easy to deal with. If not for this token, let alone contacting Dragon Tiger Temple, even those pieces of intelligence he wanted would never have been sold to him.

"Senior Uncle's worry that the Wutang and the Xieshen Sect are joining forces — it shouldn't be just a guess, right?"

Li Yuan swept his peripheral gaze around, and asked softly.

"There's some intelligence…"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu's voice grew quieter, switching to transmitted sound:

"The one who assassinated Emperor Qian, is suspected to be the master of the Star-Plucking Tower… After the assassination, the whole court boiled with fury. Emperor Qian raged, and issued warrants to hunt down the Star-Plucking Tower. Regardless of identity, regardless of method, anyone connected to the Star-Plucking Tower may be killed!"

Mentioning this matter, Lord Master Gongyang Yu's heart grew heavy.

The Star-Plucking Tower — he and several of the Divine Armament Valley's elders, including himself, are all assassins of the Star-Plucking Tower. He himself even carries a gold medal. Hearing this news, how could he not be shocked?

But there was truly no way to explain it. He couldn't exactly drag the sect's true disciples into the Star-Plucking Tower as well, could he?

"This…"

Li Yuan glanced at him, and felt a sudden realization in his heart, immediately understanding why Lord Master Gongyang Yu was so worried and wanted to migrate once again.

"The Star-Plucking Tower has assassinated kings and emperors many times. This time the court was shaken. The Town Martial King even personally sent letters to the great sects of the various Dao and prefectures, his words forceful, with every sign of washing the jianghu in blood at the slightest disagreement…"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu's brows knit tightly. Comparing it with the intelligence from the Yunshu Tower, he only felt grateful that he had not yet taken over Dechang Prefecture, that all his disciples were present, and that migrating again would be much more convenient.

"This truly is a disaster out of nowhere."

From Lord Master Gongyang Yu's expression, Li Yuan could sense that the situation was very serious.

In fact, the Star-Plucking Tower had assassinated kings and emperors many times, and the Emperor of the Great Fate had once become a high-risk profession. If he were Emperor Qian, he would likely muster every soldier under heaven to hunt down and kill that Star-Plucking Tower master.

"It's getting late. You should rest early. Once your master returns, we'll discuss it again."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu said no more.

"Old… cough, master went to rendezvous with Elder Lei and the others. Nothing will happen, right?"

Li Yuan felt a little worried in his heart.

"Your master is wearing the Jia Armor. Even that Huang Fu Kun couldn't do anything to him. He should be…"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu's words paused, as he thought of Shen Tu Hong.

Li Yuan's brows furrowed; he too had thought of it.

"This matter, you need not concern yourself with it."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu turned and left.

"Troubled times indeed."

Li Yuan sighed, turned and went back into the room.

With this Dragon Tiger Elder Token in hand, Long Xi Xiang's doubts vanished at once, and even his expression eased considerably:

"The Star-Plucking Tower master assassinated Emperor Qian? Who is Emperor Qian? Isn't the current Emperor Emperor Kang?"

"Emperor Kang died over forty years ago… Emperor Qian is the current Emperor."

Li Yuan even felt mentally exhausted. This conversation was a trial.

"Wants to exterminate the Star-Plucking Tower? This young Emperor has quite the nerve!"

Long Xi Xiang snorted coldly, then immediately sensed something was off, and gave a light cough: "Dares to order the Wudadao Sect to cooperate — does this young Emperor think he's the Great Fate's Grand Ancestor Pang Pang Wenlong?"

"Mm?"

It would have been better if he hadn't explained. With this explanation, Li Yuan's heart stirred involuntarily. The letter from Wang Wang Wenyuan did mention that over forty years ago, the two of them had traveled to the Imperial Capital together?

Traveling to the Imperial Capital together with a Heaven-ranked assassin of the Star-Plucking Tower, during the very period when Emperor Kang was assassinated…

"Enough, this old man is going to sleep. Don't bother me if there's nothing!"

Long Xi Xiang yawned, transformed into true Qi, and sank into the body of the little mouse whose eyes were full of terror.

"Squeak squeak~"

The little mouse called out weakly a few times, then collapsed on the bed.

"It's fine, he'll be gone in a few days."

Li Yuan picked up the little mouse, comforted it for a while, and looking at the little thing with its drooping eyes, his heart stirred involuntarily.

With such a Grandmaster by his side, wouldn't the crisis of the Divine Armament Valley be solved at once?

"Mm, it's not impossible."

His gaze flickered. Li Yuan tucked the little mouse into his sleeve, and his thoughts became active. The slight nervousness and worry were swept away in an instant, and his sense of security greatly increased.

He blew out the spirit incense in the room and put it away.

Li Yuan waited until dark, then quietly went out. With a Grandmaster at his side, his confidence was full.