The stolen magic is a bit magical

Song Yuncang felt the anger of this group of people, and his own anger was also rising, but he held back.

Because if he were to argue with Lin Xiaosu about this matter again, he would still be met with a rebuff.

Lin Xiaosu's Extinction Heart Pavilion is based on the "Great Wilderness Law".

Song Yuncang pleaded for mercy, and Lin Xiaosu bought his favor, saving 127 lives from the executioner's blade. However, Lin Xiaosu only promised not to harm any lives, but not to destroy any cultivation.

In the path of cultivation, abandoning one's cultivation level is the most serious matter.

However, the imperial laws were quite lenient; a single phrase, "using force to break the law, one's cultivation will be abolished," could explain everything.

With the law of the land before him and the entire city in his presence, no matter how angry Song Yuncang was, he couldn't muster a single drop of anger in front of this lowly fourth-rank official.

His face darkened, and with a wave of his hand, the chief constable of the prefectural government rushed over in a carriage to take the group of elders away.

After the elders had all left, Song Yuncang's gaze slowly fell on Lin Xiaosu's face: "Lord Su is preoccupied with official business, and it is inconvenient for this prefecture to disturb you any further. I will take my leave now!"

"Farewell, Lord Song!" Lin Xiaosu bowed.

Song Yuncang felt a jolt beneath his feet as he returned to the prefectural government office.

Lin Xiaosu squinted, staring at his back.

He slowly turned around and walked to the coffee table on the deck.

Fu Fu quickly brought him a cup of tea.

He didn't need to personally intervene in the battle below; everyone was very familiar with the process. Once the Heart Pavilion was destroyed, the treasury would be opened, and the resources inside would be packaged up. This was quite important because that was what His Majesty cared about most. He didn't care how many people the sect had killed; he only cared about how much money they had taken from the sect's treasury.

The Xinge Pavilion in Huzhou, operating in the Jiangnan region under the guise of solving difficult problems, must have amassed a considerable fortune through extortion.

Zhang Tao approached Lin Xiaosu, and a voice reached Lin Xiaosu's ears: "My lord, this prefect is definitely suspicious!"

"No need to transmit your voice, just speak!" Lin Xiaosu flicked her finger, and a drop of tea flew up from the teacup with a soft hum, forming a soundproof wall around them.

This wall isolates true energy while also incorporating spatial attributes.

Previously, Lin Xiaosu was unable to control it because he lacked true essence; now, he can!
He was finally freed from the predicament of needing to transmit his voice during conversations and constantly being wary of being overheard, just like the great power of this world, who could create soundproof walls at any time.

Zhang Tao's eyes gleamed. He had just returned from the capital this morning, and as soon as he got back, he heard from Kuang Lang that the master had broken through the barrier.

Now he feels it.

The soundproofing ring created by the adults is truly ingenious.

Then you can talk to each other with peace of mind.

“This prefect is the son-in-law of Zhou He, the Left Grand Master. Zhou He is a man of the former Crown Prince Hong Ding,” Zhang Tao said.

Lin Xiaosu smiled: "When Zhang Yiran, the prefect of Xijiang Prefecture, became the top scholar in the imperial examination, Zhou He offered his daughter to marry him. Was that the wife of this prefect?"

"Yes!" Zhang Tao also laughed: "Zhang Yiran did not accept Zhou He's offer to be his son-in-law. Zhou He then gave him to Song Yuncang, who was a fellow Jinshi at the time. Then, Song Yuncang rose rapidly in rank, while Zhang Yiran was demoted again and again, and thus became Song Yuncang's direct subordinate. Judging from his attitude, even if he tramples Zhang Yiran to the position of prefect, it is not his end."

Lin Xiaosu picked up her teacup: "Zhou He is giving a live demonstration of the 'those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish' principle in officialdom. Unfortunately, today, I'm going to break his scheme."

"Break his trap?" Zhang Tao's expression suddenly changed.

Zhou He was a first-rank Left Grand Master, whose status was equal to that of the Prime Minister. Since the incident at Xin Ge in the capital, this old fellow had been very quick to shrink back and very quick to move forward. He immediately pledged his loyalty to His Majesty. Out of a desire to stabilize the overall situation and in accordance with the basic principle of not escalating the court turmoil as much as possible, His Majesty spared the positions of high-ranking officials who had not been found to have committed any crimes.

The current political landscape has been largely stabilized.

Zhou He's position was not affected in any way.

With the position of prime minister vacant, he was practically acting as prime minister.

When you, Lord Su, went to the south of the Yangtze River, your spearhead was actually aimed at this acting prime minister?

"Breaking his trap doesn't mean the focus should be on this acting prime minister!" Lin Xiaosu seemed to see right through his thoughts: "My focus is on this prefect!"

"This prefect..." Zhang Tao licked his lips, "Your Excellency has discovered his misdeeds?"

"Is there any need to investigate?" Lin Xiaosu said, "Those prefects who have ties with various sects were all promoted by him. Would those people dare not offer the wealth they plundered from the people to this prefect? ​​The Heart Pavilion in Huzhou is clearly the central axis connecting Jiangnan Circuit to resist the imperial army. Our army surrounded this pavilion like this, and the prefect jumped out impatiently. You can see that he has a problem. How could he not have a problem?"

“What you say, sir, is all reasonable. However, sir, I must say something discouraging: even if we know that this prefect has problems, we are probably helpless.”

"You mean, the charge of acting as a protector for a sect is simply not enough to bring down this second-rank official, a powerful regional governor?"

"Exactly! It's common for local officials to collude with local sects all over the world. A mere prefect can be replaced, but when it comes to a second-rank prefect, a powerful regional official, His Majesty would never make a big fuss over such a trivial matter."

Lin Xiaosu nodded gently: "That's true. Local officials colluding with sects to oppress the people is not enough to arouse His Majesty's murderous intent... But what if it were another crime?"

"What crime?"

Lin Xiaosu said, "For example... colluding with the Heart Gate?"

Collusion between the inner circle?

Zhang Tao was terrified.

He knew about the Xin Ge case in the capital. His Majesty's pacification of Xin Ge and the deposition of the Crown Prince caused a nationwide uproar and sparked wild speculation.

Zhang Tao, who came from a background of collecting information, knew very well that behind the Heart Pavilion was the Heart Gate. The Heart Gate was one of the nine gates in the world, with unparalleled power. It had already shown deep infiltration into various dynasties. His Majesty had taken action to eliminate the Heart Pavilion in the capital, but had not eliminated the other seven pavilions in the Great Wilderness. This reflected His Majesty's extremely complex and contradictory psychology towards the "Heart Gate".

On the one hand, His Majesty must have already seen through Xinmen's ambitions toward the dynasty.

On the other hand, because the Heart Gate's power is immense, His Majesty is also deeply wary of it—otherwise, he would have already issued an edict to eliminate all seven Heart Pavilions within the Great Wilderness.

It's normal for local officials to have connections with Xinge.

Almost everyone had some degree of acquaintance with each other, which was not enough to stir His Majesty's most sensitive nerves.

However, if a local official colludes with the Heart Gate, the nature of the situation is completely different—the Heart Pavilion is a local institution, while the Heart Gate is an external force. What is it similar to? It's like a consulting firm based in the Great Xia region. Everyone knows this company has ties to the Eagle Feather Kingdom's intelligence agency. It's not surprising that local officials are somewhat familiar with this company. However, if this official has direct connections with the Eagle Feather Kingdom's intelligence agency, try and see who can tolerate that?

"My lord, does Song Yuncang really dare to collude with the Heart Gate?" Zhang Tao asked in a low voice.

Lin Xiaosu looked up but did not answer.

Zhang Tao took a deep breath: "If there really is an affair, it must be extremely secretive. Under the current circumstances, he would absolutely not dare to expose it. How can we verify it?"

Lin Xiaosu smiled: "What was originally a difficult matter has found a breakthrough today!"

"Today? Breakthrough point?" Zhang Tao didn't understand: "Sir, what is this breakthrough point?"

"It was he who, with tremendous effort, personally rescued these 127 people!"

Zhang Tao's eyes were still glazed over: "These hundred-plus people, are they a trap that the adults dug for him?"

Haha ...

Lin Xiaosu laughed: "Otherwise what? Do you think he's really that powerful, able to take the Heart Pavilion Elders away from me so easily?"

As soon as the laughter subsided, Lin Xiaosu dropped her teacup.

The outer perimeter of the containment zone has dissipated.

A guard bowed outside the circle: "My lord, the Heart Pavilion treasury has been ransacked. There are a total of seventeen million pieces of barren gold. There are countless treasures, paintings, and antiques, as well as millions of various kinds of elemental crystals."

Zhang Tao's eyes lit up: "What a Xin Pavilion! Such a small place in Jiangnan, yet it has plundered so much."

Lin Xiaosu smiled: "Captain Zhang, I'm sorry to trouble you again!"

"Running errands for Your Majesty and sharing His Majesty's burdens, how dare I complain of hardship?" Zhang Tao showed no sign of hardship, his whole being as energetic as a fully charged Xiaomi Mi 7.

"After delivering this batch of waste gold to His Majesty upon arriving in the capital, I will go to the Ministry of Justice..."

The voice following Lin Xiaosu was transmitted secretly.

Zhang Tao's eyes lit up: "As you command!"

He took the familiar large box from the guard, stood up, and set off.

He had just left when another guard rose up from below and landed in front of Lin Xiaosu: "My lord, there are many people imprisoned in the Heart Pavilion dungeon. Among them is a very special person. He said that he is your fellow disciple."

"Fellow disciples?" Lin Xiaosu's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that a hidden dragon has infiltrated this world and fallen into the hands of the Heart Pavilion?

This is entirely possible.

Fu Fu was also surprised: "Your senior sister?"

From her perspective, the only fellow disciple she could think of was her senior sister. She had gone to Qingqiu with her senior sister that day, and now that her senior sister was not by her side, and someone in the Heart Pavilion had appeared who claimed to be "her fellow disciple," who else could it be but her senior sister? After all, there was no other person from the ancient sect in the entire Great Wilderness.

However, the guard said, "No! It's a man."

It's a man!
Lin Xiaosu said, "Bring him to see me!"

"Yes!"

With a whoosh, the guards leaped down, and moments later, two figures rose from the valley below.

One of them was the same guard from before, while the other was someone Lin Xiaosu didn't recognize at all...

This person looks refined and handsome, but upon closer inspection, there's something inexplicably strange about him.

He was dressed in a scholar's robe, his hair was styled in a scholar's cap, and he had a folding fan in his hand. His first impression was that of a dashing scholar.

However, under Lin Xiaosu's Heavenly Dao Wisdom Eye, countless vortexes could be clearly seen on his exposed skin.

These cyclones are not chaotic, but rather the ancient "Four Symbols": Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise!
Protected by the Four Symbols, a primordial deity!
People of the Ancient Gate!

And they are definitely not ordinary members of the ancient sects!

When members of ancient sects achieve success in their cultivation, divine and demonic energy permeates their bodies, forming divine beast totems. However, these totems cannot be the Four Symbols.

Only one type of person can exhibit such extraordinary behavior: those with an innate divine or demonic physique. In ancient sects, this innate divine or demonic physique is called the Imperial Lineage.

These unusual physical signs are generally not noticeable to the average person.

Perhaps only someone like Lin Xiaosu, who possesses the wisdom of the heavens, could see it clearly at a glance.

His public identity is Gu Men Su Lin.

The origin of the name "Ancient Gate" was something that the Holy Maiden Qianling made up on the spot.

The creation of this identity demonstrates the wisdom and crisis management capabilities of the ancient and powerful Thousand Spirit Saintess.

The fundamental reason is that the Ancient Gate is a force of the Primordial Divine Ruins, which is 300,000 miles away from the Great Wilderness. Its footprints are almost never set foot on the Great Wilderness's territory. It is not easy to be exposed by pretending to be a direct disciple of the Ancient Gate.

Today, a person is imprisoned in the dungeon of Xin Ge, who is none other than a genuine disciple of the Ancient Sect.

"My lord, Young Master Gu has arrived!" The guard bowed before Lin Xiaosu.

The dashing young man's gaze fell on Lin Xiaosu's face. After looking at her for three seconds, he bowed and said, "Gu Suixin of the Gu Clan greets Lord Su!"

Lin Xiaosu stood up, her face beaming: "We are both from the ancient sect, so there's no need for worldly formalities. How about we address each other as fellow disciples?"

Gu Suixin smiled and said, "That's wonderful! I'm only seventy-three years old, so I'll call you Senior Brother!"

Lin Xiaosu's smile froze for a few milliseconds...

You are 73 years old (actual age), and I am 26 years old (traditional age)...

Alright, the age gap is less than half a century, so you can call me senior brother if you want!

"Junior brother, please have a seat!"

"Brother, please!"

The two sat down beside the coffee table.

Fu Fu poured him a cup of tea, which Gu Suixin accepted with both hands, showing considerable humility.

"How did Junior Brother Gu end up as a prisoner of the Heart Pavilion?" Lin Xiaosu cut to the chase.

"I am truly ashamed to tell you this. Three months ago, I entered Ningcheng and was captivated by the exquisite music of the Immortal Music Pavilion. I was reluctant to leave and spent more than two months there, enjoying myself immensely. However, just half a month ago, I was ambushed and captured, imprisoned in the Heart Pavilion dungeon, and sealed off with an array. They tried every means to find out my background and whereabouts..."

Lin Xiaosu felt a slight ripple in her heart, and for a moment she sighed at the impermanence of life.

This is a consequence of the "nationwide search for the descendants of the ancient clan" order issued that day.

He killed Li Chengnian, the steward of Xin Pavilion, and disguised himself as Li Chengnian to return to Xin Pavilion and report to the chief steward. He was then hunted down by the Ancient Sect. The chief steward issued an order to search for the disciples of the Ancient Sect throughout the territory. Unexpectedly, Gu Suixin, who was standing in front of him, was caught in the crossfire for no reason.

He was imprisoned in the dungeon, where he was subjected to all sorts of tortures to force him to reveal the origins and whereabouts of his fictitious fellow disciple, "Su Lin"...

Do you think this is an injustice?

"Junior Brother's misfortune is entirely due to your foolish brother, and I will take the blame for you!" Lin Xiaosu raised his teacup: "I will offer you a cup of tea instead of wine."

Gu Suixin raised his teacup and smiled: "I wouldn't say I was wronged. They only used petty tricks like whipping, stabbing, and deep-frying, which were nothing to me. Later, they used some methods that I couldn't resist, and I finally gave in. Unfortunately, I didn't know my senior brother's background or whereabouts, so I just made up a story to steer their attention to the Desolate Grave River and Chaotic Cloud Valley. I guess that's how they lost a few elders."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the guards nearby widened in surprise.

What are tricks like whipping, stabbing, and deep-frying?
Are these punishments really just child's play for him?
What does it mean to give in once you're subjected to certain tactics?
What exactly is this?

Lin Xiaosu was also somewhat curious: "What methods did they use to make you submit?"

"It's nothing more than a honey trap. The first time they tried, I confessed. The second time, I confessed to some more. The third time, I wanted to confess, but no one came..."

Lin Xiaosu almost spat out the mouthful of tea he had just taken a sip of, but he managed to swallow it down. He turned his gaze to Gu Suixin and said, "Junior brother, I really want to know how they managed to ambush you!"

The person sitting in front of me possesses the innate divine and demonic physique.

He was truly invulnerable to blades and bullets, and immune to all poisons. Moreover, judging from the aura emanating from his body, even Lin Xiaosu could sense his power at this moment.

In other words, even if a master of Wugui personally intervened, it would be impossible for him to assassinate him.

“There is someone, Senior Brother, I wonder if you have heard of him!” Gu Suixin said, “This person’s name is ‘Night Lord’.”

"Night Lord?" Lin Xiaosu frowned slightly, and the guards beside her, as well as Mad Wolf who had already come to the deck, were all greatly shocked.

Ye Jun is an indispensable figure on the Jiangnan Road.

None of them had ever seen this person's true face. In fact, not only them, but very few people in the entire Jiangnan region knew his true face.

However, this name is widely known.

After the destruction of the Dongxuan Sect, they knew that this person had been in contact with Jiangnan Dao.

After the destruction of the Eight Pan Sect, they knew clearly that the Eight Pan Sect originally wanted to compromise, but this person gave them an idea, pointing out the true weakness of this army: the formation!

The Eight Pan Sect had a renewed illusion, which led to their stubborn resistance against the Eight Pan Ancient Formation, and thus the greatest crisis the entire army had faced since marching south of the Yangtze River. If Lin Xiaosu could not find the core of the Eight Pan Ancient Formation and break it in the ever-changing battlefield, their army might suffer the heaviest losses.

The same goes for the Qingxuan Sect!
It was this same person who gave the advice from behind, blocking off the sky and using a decisive method to break the formation.

No one knows who is behind this person.

However, he was always at odds with Lin Xiaosu when they went to Jiangnan.

"Night Lord... could he really plot against you?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

His focus is different from others.

He was focused on cultivation level.

Ye Jun went to such lengths to scheme and unite one sect after another, all to fight against me. Clearly, his cultivation level is not at the Dao-holding stage, but at most at the level of the Rule-comprehension stage.

Otherwise, with his legendary ability to appear and disappear without a trace, beheading me amidst a thousand troops wouldn't be that difficult. Why would he go to such lengths to orchestrate this? Right now, whether the Dao-Mastering Realm can kill me with a single blow is an unknown, but before I break through to the Enlightenment Realm, the Dao-Mastering Realm can definitely take my head amidst a thousand troops (which is why he's in such a hurry to break through).

Gu Suixin sighed deeply: "This can be considered a stain on my cultivation path. It's very frustrating to think about. If my Xuanjia armor were still intact, he wouldn't have had a chance! It's precisely because my Xuanjia armor is missing that I have this weakness. He used 'Shadow Technique' to invade through this weakness, and that's how he took advantage of me."

There are two key points in this passage.

One of them is Xuanjia!
Lin Xiaosu raised her Heavenly Eyes and, with the help of her primordial spirit, probed deeper, and was slightly surprised.

His entire body was protected by the Four Symbols, except for a gap in his vest on his back.

This gap is still a fresh wound.

That's his weakness.

He is an innate deity, protected by the Four Symbols. Unless one's cultivation surpasses his by an entire level, no one can break through his Four Symbols protective divine power. All other methods are ineffective against him.

But with this gap, he has a weakness.

This is the first key point.

The second key point is shadow magic!
Shadow magic is an unorthodox and extremely obscure art.

Ordinary unorthodox techniques mean they are not high-end, but this is quite the opposite; it is extremely high-end!

What exactly is it?

It is a secondary divine art's split-spirit technique.

Yes, not only can the primordial spirit have the ability to split its spirit, but the secondary spirit can also have the ability to split its spirit.

The Sub-God Divination Technique does not have the same stringent conditions as the Primordial God Divination Technique—it must be built upon a perfect foundation.

However, it takes an unconventional approach, and its use of magic is truly imaginative.

The secondary god split into two: one main body remained in the physical body, while the other merged into its shadow, separating the shadow from the main body to act independently, with one brain controlling both.

It's like a practitioner having an extra avatar, one that is invisible and intangible, and immune to physical harm.

Lin Xiaosu had actually encountered one such avatar in the early days, namely the Shadowless King of Hydra. However, the Shadowless King used bloodline manipulation instead of demigod techniques to create an avatar, which was a world apart from the level of this Night Lord.

Lin Xiaosu's mind raced, and her gaze slowly shifted from Gu Suixin: "Junior Brother, why is your back armor missing?"

"This matter has profoundly taught me a profound truth: beauty is a curse!" Gu Suixin sighed deeply. "Two years ago, I was traveling through the Demon Ruins when I met a beautiful woman and fell deeply in love. But alas, a demon is still a demon. She took advantage of our love to betray me, stripping me of my vest armor, and then fled far away. My current journey into the Great Wilderness is actually to find her and reclaim the armor she stole..."

"Has this demon entered the Great Wilderness?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

"I don't actually know where she went. I just heard that there are a few other talented people in the Great Wilderness who are similar to her in their ways, so I thought I'd come and see if it was her. But it wasn't!" Gu Suixin said sadly.

"Junior brother, are you still planning to search for her in all directions?"

"This is my biggest dilemma!" Gu Suixin said, "The vest armor is irreplaceable. If I can't find it, my divine magic, which I've cultivated for over seventy years, will be lost. And if I want to find it, in this vast sea of ​​people, where can I even look?"

Lin Xiaosu pondered for a long time: "Junior brother, it is fate that we met in the Great Wilderness. After I finish my business here, how about I lend you a hand?"

Gu Suixin's eyes widened suddenly: "Senior brother wants to help me?"

“Among fellow disciples, sharing weal and woe is only right and proper,” Lin Xiaosu said.

Gu Suixin shook his head: "I will always remember your kindness, senior brother. But how can you help me?"

"I have a secret skill, I am good at tracking. Instead of wandering around the martial world like a headless fly, why don't you trust me this time? I might really be able to find her."

A glint flashed in Gu Suixin's eyes: "Senior brother is actually proficient in tracking techniques?"

Lin Xiaosu smiled: "Junior brother might not believe it, so how about we verify it together on the spot?"

How can this be verified?

"For example, you and I will go and capture Night Lord right now!" (End of Chapter)