Start cultivating immortality by slacking off and posting ads

Chapter 158 The fake Ninth Brother is no match for him; the real Ninth Brother, with his golden mask and sword, wields it [Two-in-One]

"Ninth Brother!"

Tang Hao smiled and waved to him from afar.

Helian Chengyu's face was also full of surprise, and he waved to him, saying, "Xianzhi, why are you back at this time? Come on up!"

"Hey! You're here." Hearing the other person's address, Tang Hao was taken aback at first, then happily responded, turned around, and went into the restaurant.

The moment he was out of sight, the smile on his face vanished.

Something feels off!

It wasn't a matter of address; the reason he was stunned just now was simply because he hadn't reacted in time.

"Xianzhi" was the original owner's courtesy name. Noble men usually took their courtesy names at a young age, and he had taken his courtesy name before leaving home for the sect.

What struck him as odd was the other person's behavior after their unexpected encounter.

'I'm sure I didn't see wrong just now. When I followed my gaze and found him, his initial expression was definitely one of surprise and regret, as if he hadn't expected my intuition to be so sharp.' Tang Hao frowned.

He was somewhat puzzled: 'In my memory, my relationship with this Ninth Brother was closer than that of blood brothers. He always greeted me directly when he saw me, unlike this time, where he seemed to be observing me from the shadows until I spotted him, at which point he smiled and raised his glass as a cover.'

They walked up the stairs with a "thump, thump, thump," where a guard was already waiting.

Upon seeing him, the guard immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Your Highness. His Highness is over there. Please come with me!"

"It's Xuan Ying! Long time no see!" Tang Hao recognized him immediately at a glance and greeted him with a smile.

The guard Xuan Ying gestured for them to proceed, returning the gesture with a smile: "Your Highness, it's been a long time. You're even more dashing than before."

"Haha, you really know how to talk."

Xuan Ying was Helian Chengyu's personal bodyguard, having been by his side since childhood, and was naturally very familiar with him.

As they arrived at the table by the railing, Helian Chengyu had already instructed someone to set out bowls and chopsticks.

Seeing him come over, he smiled and invited, "Xianzhi, please sit down. We are brothers. It's been almost a year since we last met. I've missed you terribly, brother."

“Ninth Brother adapted to my courtesy name quite quickly.” Tang Hao sat down as instructed, shaking his head with a smile. “I almost didn’t realize you were calling me just now.”

"Hahaha!"

Helian Chengyu was pouring him wine when he heard this and immediately laughed heartily, "That's normal. You took a courtesy name and left Shengjing. I'm afraid only the Duke called you that a couple of times?"

The two clinked glasses first, and then began to eat and chat.

The diners at the next table noticed what was happening and began to speak in hushed tones.

"Hiss, who is that? He's chatting and laughing with the Ninth Prince, and His Highness even poured him wine." One of them asked his companion with a look of surprise, "He calls the Ninth Prince 'Ninth Brother,' could he also be a prince?"

His companion quickly tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Shh! Keep your voice down. That's Tang Hao, the heir of the Duke of Rong. He and the Ninth Prince have been friends since childhood."

"The heir of the Duke of Rongguo?"

The man suddenly realized: "Is he the one who wanted to get engaged to the Second Miss Shen of the General's Mansion, but the Second Miss Shen joined a cultivation sect and he was unwilling to go after her and become a servant?"

"Yes, that's him."

"Why did he come back at this time of year, neither a holiday nor a festival? Could it be that Miss Shen disliked him and the Qinghua Sect kicked him out?"

"Damn it, if you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

What the other party said before was all true, and even if it was overheard, it wouldn't be a big problem. But what came after that was just baseless speculation.

His companion, hearing him go on and on, turned around in surprise and saw the prince looking in their direction. His face turned pale, and he abandoned his companion, leaving behind the money for the meal and running away.

"Hey, wait for me." The man finally panicked, dared not linger, and hurriedly followed with his head down.

Xuan Ying asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, Your Highness, shall I go and teach them a lesson?"

"Never mind." Seeing Helian Chengyu looking at him questioningly, Tang Hao waved his hand helplessly. 'The sins committed by the original owner will ultimately have to be borne by me!'

"Speaking of which, Xianzhi, you haven't told your brother yet why you're returning to Shengjing at this time?" Helian Chengyu asked him with some concern.

Tang Hao was both amused and exasperated: "Ninth Brother wouldn't have believed that person's nonsense, would he? I was planning to come back at the end of the year, but I was held up by other things and only now have I had the time."

"That's good." Helian Chengyu breathed a sigh of relief, then asked with some surprise, "Miscellaneous disciples are not allowed to leave the sect easily. Has he already advanced to the outer sect?"

"That's right, you entered the outer sect before the New Year." Tang Hao smiled, but felt even more puzzled inside.

Helian Chengyu possessed extraordinary talent and had already broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm two years earlier.

Although he concealed his true strength at this moment, and did not deliberately reveal his cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining, a Foundation Establishment cultivator should have been able to easily detect the realm he simulated.

The current situation is that Helian Chengyu seems completely unaware of his own cultivation level.

Upon hearing this, the other party pressed further, "So, you and Miss Shen are now both outer disciples? Then what about you two?"

"I have no connection with her anymore. I've only met her two or three times in the sect." Tang Hao observed her calmly. "Didn't Ninth Brother always look down on her?"

"Hey! I'm just concerned about you, Xianzhi." An unnatural look flashed across Helian Chengyu's face as he called out to him, "Come on, have some food."

"Something's not right. Ninth Brother has always disliked Shen Mengyao. After she rejected the engagement and went to the sect to cultivate, he would curse her whenever she was mentioned. Given his personality, shouldn't he be applauding what I've said?"

These anomalies convinced Tang Hao to investigate further.

'Judging by Ninth Brother's talent and the timeline, his cultivation level should be slightly higher than mine at this moment. If I were to use my divine sense to investigate, I would definitely be detected, but…'

He pondered to himself, then gritted his teeth and said, "So what if they find out? Given our relationship, it's probably not a big deal."

Before embarking on the path of cultivation, the original owner did not know much about cultivation. He only knew that Helian Chengyu was at the Foundation Establishment stage, but he had no idea which stage he was at.

While eating, drinking, and chatting, he secretly released his divine sense. After examining the situation, he immediately frowned.

'He's undoubtedly in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, so why isn't he showing any reaction?'

"What's wrong, Xianzhi?" Helian Chengyu asked with concern when he saw him frowning.

Tang Hao chuckled and said, "I accidentally mistook ginger for meat."

“You’re a cultivator, yet you’re still fooled by a piece of ginger.” Helian Chengyu shook his head and put a piece of food on his plate.

Tang Hao's divine sense did not detect anything unusual, but he also possessed two special detection methods.

He immediately activated the Nightmare Butterfly and the Five Elements Lotus in turn, and with these two methods, he immediately saw some problems.

Helian Chengyu did not join any sect, but cultivated the Dongling royal family's techniques. Although it is unknown which specific technique it was, most royal family techniques are related to the imperial dragon energy.

"However, under the secret technique's vision, Ninth Brother's radiance appears crimson. In my experience, this should be the typical characteristic of a fire-based cultivator." Tang Hao's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

The investigation by the [Five Elements Lotus] revealed even more serious problems: 'My ninth brother, a cultivation fanatic who is averse to women and devoted to the path of cultivation, actually suffers from a deficiency of vital essence? Are you kidding me?'

'This Helian Chengyu in front of me is a fake!' Tang Hao came to his final conclusion.

A strange feeling arose in his heart: 'I just impersonated Ninth Brother in the desolate sea, and I've only just returned to Shengjing, and I've already encountered another imposter. This is really something.'

He glanced discreetly at Xuan Ying, who was waiting to the side; there was nothing wrong.

Then he noticed a group of people at a table in the distance. They were eating and drinking in silence, their eyes darting around the restaurant from time to time, looking wary. They were clearly not ordinary diners.

These people all look familiar. What's going on?

There were no problems with the people around Helian Chengyu, but the person in question was replaced.

'Ninth Brother is no ordinary prince; he doesn't participate in the struggle for the throne. How could someone go to such lengths to replace him, especially since those around Xuan Ying seem completely unaware?'

As he was pondering this, Helian Chengyu, seeing that they had almost finished eating, suggested, "Since Xianzhi has just returned to Shengjing, why don't you go home and visit the Duke first? We can make another appointment later."

“There’s no rush. We’ll have to go back sooner or later anyway. Let’s find a quiet place to have some tea and catch up. I also have some questions about cultivation to ask Ninth Brother,” Tang Hao said, his eyes flashing.

"That's it!"

Helian Chengyu paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Let's go to my private residence. It's quiet there and no one will bother us."

The group then got up and left the restaurant, while Tang Hao secretly notified Yao Guang and the others who were loitering nearby to follow.

The private residence wasn't far from the restaurant, and they arrived in no time. On the way, Tang Hao probed in various ways, his words often touching on past events, many of which were known only to the two of them, with perhaps Xuan Ying added to the mix.

After sitting down in a tea room in the private residence, the probing continued.

'There were some things he couldn't answer, so he changed the subject; others, his reaction was a little slower, clearly Xuan Ying was transmitting his voice to help him deal with.'

Tang Hao was startled: 'Xuan Ying has likely betrayed us; Ninth Brother is in danger.'

Helian Chengyu helped him and the Tang family a great deal. Although the friendship was with the original owner, the karma was all left to him.

"Following Master's teachings, the further one progresses in cultivation, the less one should be entangled in karma, so that when I encounter problems, I can repay kindness with kindness and avenge wrongs as soon as possible."

He recalled what True Lord Jingguang had said at the apprenticeship banquet. Although he hadn't said it explicitly, he had subtly hinted that it was related to advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

He couldn't help but think to himself, 'If Ninth Brother dies, and he has no children, the karma left behind by the original owner will transfer to the Eastern Mausoleum royal family, which will be even more troublesome.'

The longer the delay, the greater the danger for Helian Chengyu.

Having made up his mind, Tang Hao no longer hesitated and sent a telepathic message to the nine women nearby: "Don't kill them, do it!"

Upon receiving the order, he took the lead.

The spiritual pressure of the late Foundation Establishment stage suddenly erupted, and the hazy magical power burst out of his body.

Frost instantly condensed on Helian Chengyu's body, transforming into ice armor in the blink of an eye.

Under the influence of the crystal-white halo, the opponent was completely powerless and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

'This is also late-stage Foundation Establishment? That's too weak!' Tang Hao smiled contemptuously, focusing his main energy on dealing with Xuan Ying.

"Clang" sound.

Holding a magical longsword in his hand, enveloped in a hazy sword light, he slashed at Xuan Ying.

At the same time, sounds of fighting could be heard outside the teahouse.

"Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Xuan Ying was shocked by Tang Hao's strength and also stunned by Tang Hao's sudden attack.

But he was, after all, a veteran Foundation Establishment cultivator, and in terms of cultivation level alone, he was a level above Tang Hao.

Despite the sudden turn of events, he still managed to summon a magical shield in time.

He cried out, "Wait! The world..."

He didn't have time to say the next words.

"boom!"

Faced with the powerful and heavy sword strike, the shield was struck as if by lightning, hitting Xuan Ying's chest with a loud thud, and Xuan Ying immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

But this was not Tang Hao's main offensive tactic.

A five-colored lotus flower bloomed beneath Xuan Ying's feet as he blocked the longsword.

Xuan Ying rapidly formed hand seals while chanting incantations.

A giant, transparent, earth-yellow egg covered in cracks appeared, enveloping him and easily blocking the longsword that was about to strike again, while also keeping the lotus flower out.

A long sword was drawn, and the sound of swords clashing against each other was deafening.

Having finally gotten a chance, Xuan Ying was about to speak.

The five-colored lotus flower was already spinning rapidly, and a strange wave rippled outwards.

The giant, earthen-yellow egg was showing signs of disintegration.

Left with no other choice, he had to once again perform hand seals and chant incantations to rouse his magical power and maintain the giant egg's existence.

"Xuan Ying!" A sudden shout rang out.

Xuan Ying subconsciously looked up.

Suddenly, a scroll appeared in front of Tang Hao.

The scroll unfurled with a "whoosh," revealing a lifelike female figure to him.

The alluring woman moved with the grace of a living person.

For a moment, Wu's robes fluttered in the wind, and his eyes fell into a daze.

Without his continued magical power to sustain it, with a "crack" sound, the earthen-yellow giant egg collapsed and turned into earthen-yellow spiritual energy, which was completely absorbed by the five-colored lotus.

Tang Hao snorted coldly, and his hand seals changed.

Thick vines emerged from the lotus flowers and quickly climbed up Xuan Ying's legs.

In the blink of an eye, after binding him, a crystal-white halo appeared.

Xuan Ying could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Young master, the people outside have been dealt with; they've all been knocked unconscious."

The tea room door was pushed open, and Yao Guang's little head peeked in. He glanced at the two people on the ground, smiled, and began to report.

The highest cultivation level among this group of guards is Xuan Ying, who is in the late Foundation Establishment stage; the others are mostly in the early stage, with a few in the middle stage.

Facing nine women, all of whom possessed late-stage Foundation Establishment strength, and who launched a sneak attack, the group had virtually no chance to resist.

"Very good. Gather them together for interrogation later."

With a series of hand seals, Tang Hao rolled up the [Flying Goddess Picture], but did not put it into his ring, ready to summon the goddess to aid him in battle at any time.

He cautioned, "Be careful, there might be a Core Formation cultivator hiding in the shadows."

"Yes!" Yao Guang replied and left.

'Strange, where are Ninth Brother's protectors?' he wondered, 'Have they been secretly dealt with by the person behind the scenes?'

Although the royal family of Dongling Kingdom is far inferior to the major clans of the Northern Region, their direct descendants can still send Nascent Soul cultivators to protect them, but they can still afford to send a Core Formation cultivator.

Tang Hao was muttering to himself, preparing to wake Xuan Ying and interrogate him about Helian Chengyu's whereabouts.

A voice filled with murderous intent suddenly came from outside.

"Who are you people? How dare you attack the royal family in Shengjing? You're courting death!"

Upon hearing the noise, Tang Hao immediately stopped what he was doing and, in a flash, arrived in the courtyard.

"Young Master!" the nine women exclaimed in unison as they saw him emerge. "Another one has arrived."

Tang Hao nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the circle of people they surrounded.

The newcomer wore a golden mask and carried a purple longsword. Judging from his aura, he was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Take him down!" Tang Hao waved his hand and gave the order.

The nine women were about to make their move.

"and many more!"

Upon seeing him, the man immediately let out a loud shout, causing Yao Guang and the others to pause in their actions.

"Xianzhi?"

Before Tang Hao could even speak, the other person had already taken off his mask and looked at him with an incredulous expression.

Beneath the mask was a familiar face; he had just beaten one of them to the ground.

Tang Hao looked puzzled and exclaimed in surprise:

"Ninth Brother?"

(End of this chapter)