CHAPTER 178: CHAPTER 153: UNDERCURRENTS SURGE

With a seductive yet sorrowful expression, Su Mei returned to the Imperial Concubine Palace.

"Everyone, leave." Dismissing the maids and eunuchs below, Su Mei coldly demanded, "Won’t you come out now?"

"Truly a formidable contingency plan left by the Triple Sect. Even a mere Returning to Void cultivator could detect my presence." A pitch-black shadow emerged from the corner.

Facing the unsightly old man before her, Su Mei said disdainfully, "Blood Sea Elder, have you lived too long and now wish for death? The new State Preceptor is still in the Imperial Palace."

"HAHAHA! Even Yan Wen, that old fool, didn’t notice me. How could this newcomer possibly detect me?" Blood Sea Elder arrogantly boasted.

He was not one of those inferior Demon Cultivators. The Cultivation Technique he practiced had exceptional concealing abilities; no ordinary Mahayana cultivator could possibly detect him.

Su Mei sneered twice but didn’t take the bait. Instead, she retorted, "What do you want from me?"

"Obviously, to collaborate. The Triple Sect has now completely retreated to the Infinite Star Sea. You all must have been abandoned," Blood Sea Elder said with a smug expression.

"So, you underground worms have come seeking a partnership with me?" Su Mei said with disdain.

"I remember you’ve been in the Imperial Palace for about a hundred years now, and you’ve changed identities several times. It seems that Yan Wen has never laid a hand on you," Blood Sea Elder mocked.

Su Mei clenched her fists. That darned Yan Wen! A known lecher, yet he surprisingly never approached me. I had thought it was because he discovered my identity, but it turned out he considered me too licentious and was using me to temper his Dao Heart.

Now, he has even handed me over to the new State Preceptor. Utterly shameless!

"Since you disagree, then, Noble Concubine, take some time to consider it carefully."

"Think about what would happen if your identity as a disciple of the Triple Sect were discovered by someone from the Myriad Beasts Sect?" Blood Sea Elder chuckled sinisterly.

Standing in the great hall, Su Mei’s expression fluctuated uncertainly. Rapidly, she came to two conclusions: First, I could collaborate with Blood Sea Elder. Although I’m unsure of his motives, they surely aren’t benevolent. However, there might be a chance to escape, but doing so would mean I become a Demon Cultivator.

Second, I could seduce this disciple from the Myriad Beasts Sect. If he agrees to form a Daoist couple with me, then there won’t be much of an issue. After all, compared to other top forces in the Heavenly Realm, the Myriad Beasts Sect is relatively mild, which is why the Triple Sect had designs on the Myriad Beasts Sect previously.

Should I continue to hide and evade, or should I sacrifice my charms?

Su Mei was very conflicted; neither option seemed appealing. In fact, there’s a third option—becoming a Loose Cultivator. However, with my beauty, becoming a Loose Cultivator would likely mean ending up as some prominent figure’s maid. The very thought is unbearable.

「 」

Although Chen Jiuge was unaware of the happenings within Su Mei’s Imperial Concubine Palace, he still sensed an unusual aura.

Huh, a strange Mahayana cultivator? This aura is filled with a bloody stench and a chilling coldness. Could it be a Demon Cultivator? A Demon Cultivator in the Imperial Palace? Chen Jiuge was somewhat surprised.

That’s quite interesting. Didn’t Senior Brother Yan notice before? Or did he deliberately leave this as a test? Chen Jiuge wondered with interest, stroking his chin.

The owner of the aura wasn’t particularly strong. To make a comparison, their strength was roughly equivalent to an ordinary Mahayana cultivator from the Demon Clan’s servant troops. Demon Cultivators might be slightly more cunning, but to Chen Jiuge, it made no difference; there was no danger.

Forget it, I’ll look into it later. It hasn’t caused any harm for now. I’ll catch them when I have time. Such a weak Mahayana cultivator really isn’t of much interest to me. I might as well let Yue Li handle it. It just broke through recently, so this will give it something to do.

「 」

Meanwhile, after leaving the Imperial Palace, Blood Sea Elder went to an underground cavern within the Imperial City.

Besides the newly arrived Blood Sea Elder, there were three others in the cavern: Withered Eye Elder, Thousand Hands Granny, and Reverend Hundred Infants.

The strongest among them, Reverend Hundred Infants, spoke first, "Blood Sea, what did the disciple from the Triple Sect say? Will she cooperate?"

Blood Sea Elder shook his head. "It’s not that simple. After all, she used to be a disciple of a Major Sect. However, I think after a few more persuasive attempts, she will agree. The Triple Sect no longer has a foothold in the Heavenly Realm."

"True. How are things on your end, Withered Eye?"

"Everything is proceeding smoothly. The descendants left behind by that old fool Yan Wen are no good. Upon learning that becoming a Demon Cultivator can grant them cultivation, most of them have already defected to us," Withered Eye said with a cold laugh.

"Good. Thousand Hands, don’t make a move yet. We’ll contact the remaining Triple Sect disciples later. Let’s wait until Su Mei, their leader from the Triple Sect, agrees."

"No problem," Thousand Hands Granny nodded in agreement.

"You all know the strength of the Myriad Beasts Sect disciples. We must first ascertain the locations of the Essences of the Ten Fierce Beasts. Then we will strike together to kill one of them, and then retreat as planned. Remember, there must be no mistakes, and you must restrain yourselves from hunting mortals recently," Reverend Hundred Infants said with a sinister look.

「 」

「In the Imperial Palace,」

Cai He entered a secret chamber within the palace. Looking at the blood-red figure before him roaring skywards, a smirk of excitement formed on his lips. "Soon, very soon! State Preceptor, Immortal... HMPH! This Great Cheng Dynasty can only belong to my Cai family! All you outsiders must die!"

The owner of the blood-red figure was one of the Ten Fierce Beasts—Hou.

「 」

Chen Jiuge was unaware that in such a short span of time, ludicrous events had erupted across the Great Cheng Dynasty. At that moment, he was searching for information about the Fierce Beast that had once appeared in this land.

The records in the Imperial Palace’s Scripture Pavilion lacked detailed information about the Fierce Beast. They merely contained a brief note: a mighty and brutal Fierce Beast once roamed this land, devouring humans at will and rendering the area uninhabitable. This continued until an Immortal arrived, slew the Fierce Beast, and established the Great Cheng Dynasty.

So, this Immortal should be the Cai family ancestor, True Immortal Elder Cai of Xuanwu Peak? Chen Jiuge mused. But that doesn’t seem right. Given the capabilities of one of the Ten Fierce Beasts, could a True Immortal really kill it? Even if this True Immortal was from the Myriad Beasts Sect, it wouldn’t have been feasible.

The Ten Fierce Beasts are called so precisely because of their unmatched strength and brutal nature. If any cultivator of the same tier could easily kill them, why call them the Ten Fierce Beasts? They might as well be called the Ten Beasts!

Chen Jiuge felt this record was unreliable. He needed to find other accounts.

「 」

"Miss, dressed like that, aren’t you cold?" Chen Jiuge asked, looking at the young girl whose lips were pale from the cold.

"Thank you for your concern, State Preceptor. I am not cold." Seeing the girl stubbornly preparing to dance again, Chen Jiuge waved his hand, casting a Rejuvenation Technique on her before gently fixing her onto another chair.

Noticing the girl’s complexion turn rosy, Chen Jiuge asked, "Do you know where I can find records about the Fierce Beast that once ravaged this land?"

The girl struggled slightly. Realizing she couldn’t leave the chair, she looked a little disappointed. Upon hearing Chen Jiuge’s question, she asked curiously, "State Preceptor, are you looking for books about the Hou?"

Hou? Chen Jiuge was pleasantly surprised; it seemed the girl knew something.

"Yes! The Fierce Beast that once appeared in this land was called Hou. It’s said to have killed many, many people and even had a human-like face. It was terrifying!" the girl said, a touch of fear in her voice.

"What’s your name, and where did you learn these things?"

"My family name is Yan, and my given name is Hanyan. I am from the Yan Family," Yan Hanyan introduced herself. "I saw this information in the journal of an old ancestor in my family."

Her family’s old ancestor... wouldn’t happen to be Senior Brother Yan, would he? Chen Jiuge felt a bead of sweat.

"Indeed, the former State Preceptor," Yan Hanyan nodded.

Chen Jiuge was dumbfounded. This Yan family member is a descendant of Senior Brother Yan, and they sent a young girl over? What are they thinking? Do they have no sense of propriety?

"Go and bring me your ancestor’s journal. If anyone tries to stop you, show them my seal and tell them I require it," Chen Jiuge said, tossing her the State Preceptor’s seal.

"Oh, and take this bottle of Elixirs as your reward. I see you’ve already achieved Energy Introduction. Although your aptitude is poor, it’s not impossible for you to cultivate. When you cultivate, just scrape off a tiny bit each time. If you consume too much, you might explode," Chen Jiuge added, making an exploding gesture with his hands.

Yan Hanyan shivered, seemingly frightened by Chen Jiuge, and nodded repeatedly.

Chen Jiuge was quite satisfied. He released the restriction on her, allowing her to leave.

My luck is pretty good, finding a clue so quickly. I almost suspect I’m the Son of Destiny, Chen Jiuge mused somewhat narcissistically.

The Silver King, conserving its Spiritual Energy and shrunken to the size of an ordinary eagle, watched the narcissistic Chen Jiuge. It dearly wished it could pull out a Spirit Stone to record Chen Jiuge’s current appearance on an Imprint Stone.

Unfortunately, with too few Spirit Stones and being a hawk of limited means, it could only reluctantly abandon this tempting idea.

「 」

Returning to the Yan Family estate, Yan Hanyan was summoned by the Family Head, Yan Kuan.

"How did it go? Did you succeed?" Yan Kuan scrutinized the girl, then said with disappointment, "Failed, huh?"

"Who said that? Look, what is this?" Yan Hanyan, showing little respect for the Family Head before her, produced the State Preceptor’s seal with a triumphant expression.

"The State Preceptor’s seal! You really did it?" Yan Kuan was somewhat astonished. Although this girl possessed fine features, she was a far cry from Su Mei, the Noble Concubine their ancestor had mentioned. Perhaps the State Preceptor prefers a more innocent type?

Watching the increasingly lecherous look in the Family Head’s eyes, Yan Hanyan said with dissatisfaction, "The State Preceptor asked me to bring him our ancestor’s journal about the Fierce Beast."

"Alright, no problem. Our Yan family... Wait, Fierce Beast journal?" Yan Kuan’s expression turned stern.

"Yes. The State Preceptor seems to value this Fierce Beast journal highly," Yan Hanyan reminded him.

Yan Kuan frowned, then instructed, "The Fierce Beast journal can be given to the State Preceptor. However, when you deliver it, you must tell him that this information did not originate from our Yan Family and was not spread by us."

Although Yan Hanyan didn’t understand why, she still agreed.

"You’ve earned merit this time as well. As long as you foster a good relationship with the State Preceptor, one of the Elixirs left by our ancestor will be given to you," Yan Kuan said with a kind expression.

Yan Hanyan feigned happiness and repeatedly expressed her gratitude.

Upon leaving the study, her expression turned disdainful. Who cares about your single Elixir? The State Preceptor gave me an entire bottle! Once I achieve Foundation Establishment, HMPH HMPH HMPH, I’ll show all of you how formidable I can be!