After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 372 Negotiation
The head manager of the Jubao Chamber of Commerce, looking slightly dazed, glanced at Zhao Muning, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened. His expression shifted slightly as he said:

"Your Highness, you should leave as soon as possible. This is not something you can interfere with."

After saying that, he turned around and left on his own, slowly disappearing into the night outside the Great Xuan Imperial Palace.

Zhao Muning watched the other person's back, her expression shifting, but she did not stop him.

Just then, two figures broke through the darkness of the night sky and arrived. Soon, the two old women landed beside Zhao Muning in the blink of an eye.

"Princess……"

One of the old women was about to ask a question, but Zhao Muning stopped her with a gesture, saying:

“My two senior uncles, this is not the place to talk. Let’s go back to the manor first.”

Upon hearing this, the two old women exchanged a glance. Seeing that Zhao Mu Ning was unharmed, they immediately took her and flew away.

……

At the same time, Li Musheng returned to the inn with Daoist Qingyu.

Li Musheng woke up the waiter who was fast asleep behind the counter and asked for a guest room for Daoist Qingyu. He then ignored the waiter and planned to return to his own room to rest.

However, at this moment, the big black cat suddenly darted out of the darkness, clearly having sensed Li Musheng's return.

The big black cat meowed and rubbed against Li Musheng's robes, while its bright green eyes darted around, looking him up and down.

It only lingered on Qingyu Daoist for a moment before withdrawing its gaze, seemingly knowing that this must be the person Li Musheng had saved that night, and showing no interest whatsoever.

What it was more interested in was whether Li Musheng had brought back any spoils of war after his trip to the Great Xuan Emperor Palace.

However, the big black cat circled around Li Musheng but found nothing.

Immediately, it stretched out its paws and pointed, meowing incessantly, clearly asking Li Musheng if he had brought back any good things from the palace so it could broaden its horizons.

According to the big black cat's idea, after going to such a big palace, he couldn't possibly come back empty-handed.

"This cat is very interesting."

Seeing this, Master Qingyu stared at the large, glossy black cat with a strange look in his eyes.

Li Musheng glanced at the big black cat, pushed it aside to keep it out of his way, and then walked upstairs on his own.

Seeing this, the big black cat wagged its tail, then wagged its tail again, its cat face beaming, and followed closely behind.

Having spent so much time with Li Musheng, the big black cat had already figured out his temperament.

It knew that Li Musheng was rarely angry, and even when he was in a bad mood, he was at most just a little impatient.

As long as it doesn't make any fundamental mistakes, Li Musheng won't kill the cat.

Just then, the big black cat following behind Li Musheng suddenly twitched its ears, then opened its mouth wide and bit forward, directly catching something Li Musheng had thrown at it.

"Here you go, take it and play with it."

When Li Musheng's voice came, he stopped paying attention to the big black cat.

The big black cat spat what was in its mouth onto the ground, looked at it, and realized that it had seen this thing before; it was the demonic essence that Bai Xiaotang had stolen.

At the same time, Master Qingyu, who was not far away, saw this scene and his originally calm gaze showed a clear change.

Even a barely perceptible glint of greed flashed deep in his eyes.

However, Master Qingyu ultimately did nothing, simply following the waiter to his room with a calm expression.

The big black cat moved its head, glanced at Li Musheng and Daoist Qingyu who had left, and then used its paws to paw at the demonic energy in front of it.

At this moment, it realized that Li Musheng had truly gained nothing from his trip to the Great Xuan Imperial Palace; otherwise, he wouldn't have used this as a way to appease it.

Thinking of this, the big black cat suddenly lost interest. However, it then thought that all the demonic cultivators in Tai Xuan City were probably looking for the Demonic Essence.

The thing in front of it was undoubtedly highly sought after and certainly worth a lot of money. If it sold it, it could probably get a lot of gold in return.

Thinking to himself, the big black cat picked up the demonic energy again, pondering how to sell it for gold, while leaping towards the roof beam of the inn.

……

Nothing happened all night.

The next morning, the innkeeper stood behind the counter calculating the accounts, but the look in his eyes was not very pleasant.

After the head of the Hidden Intelligence Bureau left last night and did not return, he naturally guessed that something had probably happened to him.

However, when he looked at Li Musheng and the others who were having dinner in the lobby, he couldn't help but frown.

It's clear that Li Musheng has rescued the person he was supposed to save, but the problem now is that although the person has been rescued, the head of the Hidden Intelligence Bureau has disappeared.

To be honest, given the current situation, he didn't know what to do and could only choose to remain inactive for the time being.

At that moment, a waiter quickly ran to the shopkeeper's side and whispered a few words to him. Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's expression immediately turned to surprise.

Meanwhile, news spread throughout Tai Xuan City that the Great Xuan Emperor had passed away, and the entire city was under martial law in mourning, with the whole country in mourning and all gatherings prohibited.

Throughout the capital of the Great Xuan Dynasty, the streets and alleys, which were already deserted due to the city's lockdown, have become even more desolate today. Apart from the patrolling imperial soldiers, there are hardly any carriages or pedestrians to be seen.

Since learning this news, the innkeeper's occasional glances at Li Musheng have become extremely suspicious and uncertain.

He had a hunch that the death of the Great Xuan Emperor was most likely related to the other party, but he really couldn't understand how the other party could have killed the Great Xuan Emperor when he was just going to the palace to save someone.

Now that Master Qingyu has been rescued, Li Musheng's next task is to wait for Daoist Qingye to arrive in Taixuan City and exchange Master Qingyu for the key to the Heavenly Revelation Treasure in the latter's possession.

As for how long they will have to wait in Tai Xuan City? Based on the distance, it shouldn't exceed ten days. In addition, given Qingye Daoist's eagerness to save his senior sister, this time will likely be greatly shortened.

However, this is contingent on the Taoist Qingye obtaining the key to the Heavenly Revelation Treasure.

Of course, Li Musheng's waiting days were not boring, since he still had a lot of demonic scriptures and techniques to study, enough to pass the time.

At the dining table, a large black cat lay on a chair, yawning incessantly. It had been busy all night, but hadn't been able to sell the magic core. The biggest problem was that it simply couldn't find a buyer.

After all, those who want demonic essence are undoubtedly members of the demonic path, but to be honest, it's really not easy to find a member of the demonic path in the currently sealed-off Great Xuan Imperial Capital.

Under the current circumstances, the members of the demonic cult in the city have long since hidden themselves and will not show themselves at all.

Therefore, this annoyed the big black cat, and its idea of ​​exchanging magic energy for gold suffered a great setback.

As a result, he barely ate any breakfast.

Li Musheng glanced at the big black cat, then patted it on the head and said:

"Just wander around the neighborhood, don't go too far."

Upon hearing this, the big black cat meowed, while the Taoist priest Qingyu, who was sitting to the side, ate a few bites of vegetarian food and then took his leave to return to his room.

After Master Qingyu left, the groom Cao Gaoshan hesitated for a moment, then curiously whispered to Li Musheng:

"Young Master, when you entered the Great Xuan Imperial Palace last night, did you see the Great Xuan's national treasure, which is said to be unparalleled in defense?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue, who were standing nearby, also turned their gazes towards him.

Cang Yinyue, in particular, already possessed the Great Li national treasure, the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword, and was naturally curious about the Great Xuan weapon, which was also a national treasure.

Li Musheng shook his head. He hadn't seen anyone in the Great Xuan Imperial Palace use any divine artifacts last night.

Of course, even if someone were to use that artifact to stop him, it wouldn't make a difference.

However, Li Musheng glanced at the three people and the cat, then narrowed his eyes slightly and said:
"If you are really interested in that weapon, I'll take you to see it next time."

Upon hearing this, the big black cat, who was pondering how to exchange demonic energy for gold, immediately perked up and meowed a few times. Its meaning was clear: just looking at it wasn't enough; the important thing was to seize that Great Xuan National Treasure.

After all, it knew that Li Musheng had even stolen his own Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword, so stealing the Great Xuan's national treasure was just a piece of cake for him.

Once Li Musheng seizes the Great Xuan National Treasure, it might even shamelessly ask Li Musheng for it to play with.

Li Musheng ignored it and sent a telepathic message to Cao Gaoshan, instructing him to have someone keep watch at the place where he had arranged to meet Qingye Daoist. He then returned to his room to study Qingyu Daoist's demonic scripture and the demonic ancestral master's inherited techniques obtained by the Great Xuan Emperor.

Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue had planned to stroll around Taixuan City, but now the streets were almost deserted and most shops were closed.

They had no need to wander around, and all returned to their rooms to cultivate.

Especially for Cang Yinyue, after obtaining the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword, although this divine artifact was not as amazing as the legends said, which could instantly allow people to break through to the Celestial Realm.

However, the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword lived up to its name as a divine weapon. For its owner, it greatly enhanced her martial arts cultivation, allowing her to progress almost by leaps and bounds in her martial arts training.

Cang Yinyue had a feeling that it wouldn't take more than two or three months for her to break through to the Celestial Realm.

After all, the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword had been sealed at the bottom of Shangyang City Lake for many years without a master, and the sword power accumulated within the sword was still quite considerable.

At this moment, seeing Li Musheng and the others leave one after another, the big black cat stretched and prepared to take a nap during the day to make up for the sleep it had missed the night before.

But then it thought again that it would be safer to sell the demonic energy as soon as possible and exchange it for gold.

So the big black cat perked up and leaped onto the roof of the inn, ready to go out and try its luck to see if it could encounter a few easy-to-manage members of the demonic path.

……

The innkeeper was also busy, secretly contacting the spies of the Dali Secret Intelligence Bureau in Taixuan City to search for the missing head of the Secret Intelligence Bureau.

Meanwhile, deep underground in an inconspicuous courtyard in a market town in Tai Xuan City, secret passages crisscrossed and were brightly lit.

Some of the demonic experts from the three major demonic sects gathered here, clearly intending to jointly plan and discuss a major event that would require the three demonic sects to join forces.

"Why was the matter of the Demonic Yuan leaked so quickly and learned by those imperial henchmen? This must be because there is a traitor within our demonic path."

A burly man in a red robe bared his teeth, which were stained with bright red blood, and spoke menacingly to the elders and protectors from the three major demonic sects around him.

The burly man in red robes came from the Blood River Demon Sect. He held a bamboo tube in his hand, which contained little blood from killings. He drank from it only occasionally, being extremely frugal.

Because the Great Xuan Dynasty had sealed off Tai Xuan City, these demonic cultivators were constantly hampered and dared not make any big fuss, lest they leave a trace and be tracked down by the Great Xuan Dynasty.

"The matter of the traitor must be resolved as soon as possible. Originally, we chose Tai Xuan City not only because the leader of the Sun Moon Demon Sect possessed four Demon Yuan, but also because we intended to keep things under wraps and deceive the spies of the Great Xuan Dynasty and the seven major sects."

An old man with a withered face, from the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, spoke with a sinister tone, saying in a stern voice:
"But right now, we have undoubtedly walked into a trap and become sitting ducks. If we don't find the traitor, we will probably be wiped out by the Great Xuan Dynasty very soon."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the surrounding demonic experts all darkened. At this moment, a protector from the Sun Moon Demonic Sect surveyed the crowd and said in a deep voice:
"The three religious leaders will all arrive in person later and will surely discuss how to handle this matter. There is no point in us discussing this now. We would rather spend more time thinking about who around us has been acting strangely recently."

As he spoke, the protector in black robes let out a cold laugh and said confidently:
"To be honest, before today, our Holy Church had already conducted a self-examination and investigation, thoroughly examining all members who knew about the plots of the three sects."

"Anyone who acts suspiciously during this period, regardless of whether they are a real traitor, will be executed on the orders of the leader. Our Sun Moon Divine Cult is now completely innocent and the least likely to have any traitors."

"Therefore, in my opinion, the traitor who truly leaked our plans must be one of your two factions."

Upon hearing this, many powerful demonic cultivators in the underground space frowned and remained silent.

Among the three major demonic sects in the Great Xuan Jianghu, the Sun Moon Demonic Sect is undoubtedly the most audacious.

The reason is simple: the other side actually set up the main altar of their sect directly in Tai Xuan City, and so many years have passed without the Great Xuan Dynasty and the seven major sects discovering it.

To be honest, the followers of the other two major demonic sects both envied and admired the Sun Moon Demonic Sect.

Although there are some shady dealings between the three major demonic sects and the Great Xuan Dynasty, the latter basically turns a blind eye to the development of the demonic sects.

However, they still dared not even think about something as audacious as the Sun Moon Demonic Sect, which directly confronted the Great Xuan Imperial Capital.

"What Protector Han said makes sense. Our two sects will thoroughly investigate all members within our sects and give everyone a satisfactory explanation."

A demonic expert from the Blood River Demon Sect spoke up, and others echoed his sentiments.

After all, the location where they are gathering is provided by the Sun Moon Demonic Sect. If the other party really had a problem, they would probably have been wiped out by the Great Xuan Dynasty long ago.

(End of this chapter)