knife

Chapter 273 Curiosity
Li Dachui was very curious about his mother.

I'm also very curious about the demonic cult in the south.

However, they couldn't get any useful information from Zhou Zhi.

This made Li Dachui very suspicious. Zhou Zhi's relationship with the Demonic Sect was not very good, and his understanding of the Demonic Sect was only fragmented information he had heard from his mother.

In fact, the old man didn't understand the deeper aspects of the Demonic Cult.

Thinking about what Princess Chang Le told him about his mother's background, Li Dachui was impressed by the Demonic Sect's patience and planning in scheming for decades.

First, cultivate a person to become an official of the Qin Dynasty, and then over several years, work hard to accumulate merits for this person, allowing him to rise step by step.

Once you reach a certain stage, the opportunities to meet with higher-ups naturally increase significantly.

And then, a woman as outstanding as He Qingqiu appeared at just the right time.

If Li Anze had succeeded in ascending to the throne back then, the Empress of Qin would have been the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect.

That's really amazing.

Furthermore, the martial arts foundation of this demonic sect is also remarkable.

Whether it's the Phoenix Fire born from the primordial energy of heaven and earth or the Moonlight Weak Water, both are top-tier skills in this world.

As for the Qi of Heaven and Earth, in the advanced martial arts that Li Dachui knows, none can compare to it.

Whether it's Xiao Changche's Heaven-Slaying Technique or the Sea-Condensing Technique practiced by the Tiele, they are far inferior to the Universe Qi.

The Heaven-Slaying Technique damages the brain, and the Sea-Condensing Technique damages the body; both have significant drawbacks.

Even Duanmu Miaomiao's Blood Jade Skill, her father's Mad Blade, or the Chang family's inherited martial arts are all a level below Qiankun Yiqi.

Therefore, Li Dachui has always wanted to learn more about the Demonic Cult.

However, this organization is too mysterious.

Even if you manage to catch one of those guys on the periphery, it's very difficult to get anything useful out of them.

The fact that Lin Quan is able to cultivate Moon Essence Weak Water already indicates that he is of high status.

To refine the Moon Essence Weak Water to the ninth rank of the Profound Origin realm would definitely place someone at the highest level of the Demonic Sect.

If someone like this comes knocking on your door, how can you not thoroughly investigate the Demonic Sect before they travel all this way to offer their lives?

"Someone, quickly go and fetch my master!" Li Dachui shouted excitedly.

Trying to get the truth out of this kind of person is basically a waste of time. Li Dachui guesses that once Lin Quan's poison is cured and he arrives, all he'll hear from him will be a bunch of lies.

Li Dachui wanted to hear the truth, so he naturally had to resort to various means.

To deal with someone with a Xuan Yuan Ninth Grade cultivation level, I need to consult with my master carefully.

Even small tricks should be used.

Li Dachui is skilled in hypnosis, and with the aid of appropriate drugs, those who are hypnotized will basically reveal their deepest secrets in a daze.

In Tai'an City, Li Dachui and Fu Cheng conducted numerous experiments, and many martial arts masters fell victim to their tricks without even realizing it.

Of course, there were also failures.

For example, Li Dachui once tried to put Gu Xiaoman to sleep.

Gu Xiaoman was indeed hypnotized, but whenever the most crucial question was asked, Gu Xiaoman would shut up and remain silent.

This also shows that this kind of hypnosis is very ineffective on people with strong willpower.

This hypnosis technique has now been put into use in the Chi Qiu Institute, and the effects vary from person to person, but overall it is considered a successful interrogation method.

“This Lin Quan grew up in the Demonic Sect and has cultivated the Moon Essence Weak Water technique to the ninth rank of the Profound Origin, which is even more powerful than Gu Xiaoman. Do you think you can put him to sleep without him even realizing it?” Fu Qin expressed his doubt.

“Normally, it probably wouldn’t work!” Li Dachui chuckled. “But now he’s deeply poisoned, and his whole body will be affected. Besides, Master, do you think he’ll be shocked to see me?”

"What startled you?" Fu Cheng was taken aback, but then he immediately realized: "You are now a martial arts master! A martial arts master at the age of twenty-six, that will indeed be a great shock to this guy."

"Break through his psychological defenses when he's at his weakest, then strike while he's vulnerable!" Li Dachui said. "If that doesn't work, then I'll have to admit defeat. Maybe I'll have to resort to force!"

“As far as I know, the members of the Demonic Sect are all very tough. You can’t use soft tactics, and you probably can’t use hard tactics either!” Fu Cheng said.

"Master, how about we increase the dosage of the medicine a little more?"

“No, it’s already at its peak. Adding more will only backfire!” Fu Cheng shook his head. “For the past two years, we’ve been meticulously studying this thing you created, and we all feel that it has reached its limit and it’s difficult to go any further.”

If the medicine is right, the illness will heal very quickly. After getting the antidote from Li Dachui, they returned to the calligraphy and painting shop and gave it to Lin Yunqi. In less than the time it takes to eat a meal, Lin Yunqi was already able to sit at the table to eat. Although he was still a little listless, he seemed to be fine.

"Minister, is there anything wrong with the medicine? To be honest, I was very nervous when I fed it to you!" Zhu Chi said, "I was afraid that there was something wrong with the antidote, but if I didn't give it to you, I could only watch the poison worsen!"

“This Li Dachui seems to be an extremely arrogant person!” Lin Yunqi put down his bowl. “He wants to see me, and I also want to see him to test his true strength!”

“Minister, you must be careful. Great reputations are not undeserved. Although Li Dachui is young, in my opinion, he is one of the most formidable figures in the world!” Zhu Chi said.

"Don't worry, I can handle the Empress Dowager with ease. He's just a local tyrant on the frontier. Even if he has some schemes, how could he be more capable than the Empress Dowager?"

When it comes to the Empress Dowager, Zhu Chi has nothing to say.

Empress Dowager Jiang Qian of Southern Chu was indeed the most formidable person Zhu Chi had ever met.
The pressure Zhu Chi felt in front of Jiang Qian was something that only those who were there could truly understand.

"I'll go with you tomorrow!" Zhu Chi said. "But, Vice Minister, is it really that important that Li Kaixin refined the Phoenix Flame?"

“Li Kaixin is unimportant, just a eunuch!” Lin Yunqi shook his head and said, “But now I’ve confirmed that this Li Kaixin must have been someone close to He Qingqiu back then, and the Phoenix Flame must have been passed down to him by He Qingqiu. So, is Zhou Zhi He Qingqiu’s close friend Zhou Xingxing? If so, who is this Li Dachui?”

Zhu Chi swallowed hard: "Does the Empress Dowager suspect that Li Dachui and He Qingqiu have some kind of connection?"

Lin Yunqi nodded: "Back when the Chang'an Incident happened, He Qingqiu was six months pregnant. Did that child really die?"

"No way?" Zhu Chi was startled by Lin Yunqi's bold guess.

"Make bold guesses, but verify carefully!" Lin Yunqi said, "He Qingqiu is the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect, and the only person in the Demonic Sect in the last few hundred years to reach the Divine Travel Realm. So we must be extremely careful if anything is related to her."

"Understood!" Zhu Chi said, "Even now, I'm afraid He Qingqiu still has a large number of followers within the Demonic Sect. If this Li Dachui is really He Qingqiu's descendant, then I'm afraid many more troubles will arise."

"That's right!" Lin Yunqi sighed. "Zhu Chi, don't be fooled by the current chaos in Great Qin, where it's a battleground for warlords. Our Great Chu isn't having an easy time either. At the beginning of this year, the Empress Dowager thwarted the rebellion launched by His Majesty's biological father, and the Demonic Sect has started uprisings in many places, taking advantage of natural disasters and man-made calamities. The barbarians in the south are unruly and cause trouble every now and then. If the Demonic Sect suddenly finds a leader, we'll be in big trouble."

"I was too naive. No wonder the Empress Dowager was afraid of your arrival, Vice Minister!" Zhu Chi nodded repeatedly. "This year's auspicious year is not good. The floods in the four southern prefectures must be causing the court a great deal of trouble, right?"

"Fortunately, the Maritime Silk Road you opened up has yielded very good results," Lin Yunqi said. "The national treasury has finally gained some confidence, and those big merchants and wealthy families are also willing to lend us money."

"The Empress Dowager is too polite to them!" Zhu Chi said through gritted teeth.

Lin Yunqi laughed. The Zhu family used to be a powerful and influential family, but they were brought down because they chose the wrong side. As for the big merchants and powerful families who supported the Empress Dowager in the past, the Empress Dowager naturally can't do anything about them now, otherwise the political situation of the Great Chu, which has just stabilized a bit, will fall into chaos again.

The Empress Dowager originally intended to take advantage of the internal strife in the Qin Dynasty to seize all the good places like Jingxiang and Ezhou in one fell swoop, but a great flood in the four southern prefectures disrupted all her plans.

The money and supplies originally intended for war had to be used for disaster relief first.

Sometimes, bad luck is just something you can't help.

Ever since the Empress Dowager defeated He Qiku in Xiangcheng, it seems that her luck has run out, and for the past two years, she has only encountered trouble.

The imperial court was plagued with troubles.
The Demonic Sect is facing constant internal troubles.

Now even God is causing trouble.

It seems that they can't stand seeing Nan Chu taking advantage of this rare opportunity to move forward, and they insist on creating many obstacles to hinder it. It's truly a helpless situation.

"You go first, I'll rest for a bit and recharge before I go see this Li Dachui!" Lin Yunqi took a breath, feeling the true energy gathering within his body, and felt a little more confident.

That damn fat guy is truly despicable.

They're already at the ninth rank of the Xuan Yuan realm, yet they still commit such insidious acts.

I was competing with him openly and fairly.

Next time I have the chance, I'll let him taste my methods. I'm not incapable of these underhanded tricks!

After a full day of rest, Lin Yunqi finally felt that he had recovered about 70-80% of his health. However, two groups of people from the Protectorate had already come to urge him on, and their impatience was becoming more and more obvious with each visit.

Accompanied by Zhu Chi, Lin Yunqi stepped into the gate of the Protectorate.

The fat man stood with his arms crossed by the moon gate leading to the inner courtyard, his murderous eyes staring straight at Lin Yunqi.

Lin Yunqi smiled slightly, "Butler Li, please step aside!"

"I'll have to ask you for advice later!" Li Kaixin said.

"I'm ready anytime!" Lin Yunqi retorted without backing down an inch. "But Steward Li, we know our own situation best. The difference between our martial arts is like heaven and earth."

"The next time we meet, you might be just one step away from being together!"

"We'll see!"

(End of this chapter)