There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 42 Ruthless Enough!

The night rain fell like woven silk, and a misty haze hung in the air.

Chen Qing sped through the crisscrossing alleyways, danger lurking like a bone-deep wound behind him. The treasure pavilion was far away, but pursuers could appear at any moment.

“The princess’s villa is surrounded, and my old subordinates are probably already under surveillance. I no longer have a stable place to stay in Yujing. Moreover, with the Sixth Prince’s power and cultivation, it would not be difficult for him to find my whereabouts. The west of the city, Tingyu Lane, Lü Feng… Since the princess asked me to find this person, she must have some arrangements and it will not be easy for others to figure it out.”

Silently reciting the princess's last words, he struggled to extend his spiritual sense in the rain. His internal energy was nearly depleted, and his primordial harmony was excessively depleted, making even the simple act of probing with his spiritual sense extremely difficult.

The lights in the west of the city were noticeably sparser than elsewhere.

Pretending to appreciate the rain, Chen Qing tricked several drunkards into revealing the route, eventually arriving at the depths of Listening to the Rain Alley.

A small courtyard covered with withered vines stood quietly in the rain, with an old plaque hanging on the half-closed gate, bearing the ancient and mottled four characters "Jiaowei Qinlu".

He pushed open the door and entered, the crisp scent of pine wood wafting towards him.

The main room door was open, and the interior was simply furnished: a small table, a couch, and a zither.

An old man in hemp clothing sat cross-legged on the couch, his eyes vacant, holding a stringless zither in his arms, his withered fingers lightly pressing on the instrument.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly looked over.

"Why have you come, guest?" The hoarse voice sounded like a rusty knife being sharpened on a whetstone.

Chen Qing took out the jade whistle from his bosom and placed it on the zither table, which was covered with a thin layer of dust.

"despair."

The jade whistle fell to the table, its soft sound exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

The old musician Lü Feng remained silent for a few moments, then his withered lips moved slightly: "You must have seen Her Highness. Is she alright in Qingwu?"

Chen Qing then said, "The demonic appearance is about to be revealed."

"Crack!"

Lu Feng's guqin was actually cracked by him pressing it!
He fumbled for the jade whistle, his empty eye sockets turning to Chen Qing, and said, "His Highness sent you here to have this old man escort you out of the city?"

Chen Qing nodded: "That's what the princess plans to do, but there are some things I want to figure out first!" From Li Xiao's words, it seems that there is some malice lurking in the shadows, waiting for the princess to fall into trouble before dealing with him. If he doesn't figure this out, even if he leaves now, he may not be able to cultivate in peace and give back to the world. On the contrary, he might be captured one day and waste his life.

"With your cultivation level, without any help, it will be difficult for you to figure out what's going on in Jade Capital City," Lü Feng said bluntly. "Dingbo and Zhengshuang are trapped in the East Sea Returning Void Formation, and that woman Qingluan was captured and sealed off three days ago! The Princess's trusted confidants have long been eliminated! Where are you going to find any help in Jade Capital City?"

Chen Qing was also taken aback upon hearing this. He had known that the situation was dangerous, but he did not expect it to have reached such a desperate point!
As expected of the Celestial Dynasty, wielding immense power, they suppressed a princess of the dynasty as easily as brushing away dust.

Lu Feng pushed the jade whistle back, his hoarse voice filled with helplessness: "Let me send you out of the city first. In this situation, let alone you, even I am powerless to change it. We can only wait for that person in the Nine Heavens Palace to emerge from seclusion..."

“I have a pill formula,” Chen Qing said, knowing full well that leaving the city would only be safe for the time being. “This pill can suppress bloodline mutation and even reverse the demonic appearance. If the princess’s bloodline mutation crisis is resolved, those people will find it difficult to use the demonic appearance bloodline as an excuse.”

Lu Feng's empty eye sockets twitched slightly: "Oh?"

"This formula is called 'Taiyin Cleansing Powder'." Chen Qing didn't wait for the other party to ask any more questions, and said slowly and deliberately, "It uses a thousand-year-old snow lotus as a guide, Xuan Yin Cold Marrow to calm the meridians, and Nine-Turn Rejuvenating Grass..."

Each time he named a medicinal herb, the sound of Lü Feng's zither became clearer and more melodious. When he mentioned "Red-veined Stone," the zither itself rang three times.

"Using Crimson Stone to harmonize Yin and Yang, and Profound Yin Cold Marrow to suppress restlessness... it is indeed unique. Although the materials are precious, it's not entirely without a clue, but some of them may be difficult to obtain, and there's also the matter of alchemy. You wait here, this old man needs to go out for a while." He was about to get up when he suddenly remembered something, "I have already used a chaotic sound array to conceal your tracks, but the great beings of Jade Capital have profound divine senses, and they will sense when their names are mentioned, so you must not be careless."

"You sense something just by mentioning a name?" Chen Qing was startled at first, then a thought struck him. "Does it happen anytime, anywhere?"

Lu Feng was taken aback before saying, "That's true, but it's often overlooked in casual conversation unless it's mentioned deliberately in an important setting. Since you were entrusted here by the princess, you must have gotten into some trouble, right? Therefore, you need to be careful."

At this point, he remembered something and asked, "How should I address you, young friend?"

“Chen Xu.” Chen Qing was pondering the information the other party had revealed when he vaguely grasped an idea: “In that case, the more important or famous a place is to mention the name, the more likely it is to be noticed by the relevant people.”

"You are Chen Xu?" Lü Feng looked surprised.

Chen Qing was not surprised by this reaction, assuming that the other party was also surprised by the matter of "offering advice to pacify the people".

Unexpectedly, Lü Feng immediately followed up, saying, "My brother asked me to find the whereabouts of your spirit bones. I found some clues a few days ago, but I didn't expect to run into you today."

Chen Qing's pupils constricted sharply: "My spirit bone? You found it? Where is it?"

Lü Feng raised his hand and pointed to the sky.

Meanwhile, in the south of the city, at the Sixth Prince's villa, "Shuyu Pavilion".

Inside the elegant room, the air was filled with the gentle fragrance of incense.

"Oh!"

The rosewood table was smashed to pieces by a single hand!
Yin Kui Shangren, dressed in a black robe, stood in front of the table, his topknot disheveled and his face as pale as paper. Where was the sinister arrogance he had shown at Qingwu Villa?
"waste!"

At the head of the table, a middle-aged scholar in a black python robe spoke coldly, his eyes sharp as knives. He was none other than Zhao Yuanji, the sixth prince's trusted advisor.

"You can't even handle such a small matter. What use are you to His Highness?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Kui Shangren was first terrified, then his eyes filled with resentment: "Those mad dogs attacked me in the street without a word! They said I used demonic arts to attack the Heavenly Mirror Bureau and wreak havoc in the Jade Capital! They're just spouting nonsense!"

"Slanderous accusations?" Zhao Yuanji sneered. "The Twelve-Sided God-Locking Banner is mostly shattered, your Yin Spirit is injured, and your Dao foundation is shaken. If it weren't for Your Highness's leniency, you would be wailing in the Soul-Suppressing Tower right now!"

Yin Kui Shangren shuddered, as if plunged into an ice cave, then quickly discerned, "Someone has framed me!" He had figured it out when he arrived, "It's Chen Xu! The Sky Patrol Guards came from the Senluo Pavilion, and Chen Xu..."

"Where's the evidence?" Zhao Yuanji interrupted sharply, "The source of evil energy that the Myriad Manifestations Mirror ultimately pinpointed is you!"

Yin Kui Shangren was struck dumb, finally realizing that he had become a pawn!

The Sixth Prince would never risk a direct confrontation with the Tianjian Division, which holds supreme power over the Jade Capital, for the sake of a subordinate who has been "incompetent" and "caused a terrible disaster"!

"Mr. Zhao, please consider this humble monk's..."

Zhao Yuanji's eyes were indifferent: "Your Highness, please have mercy and I will give you two options."

"First, hand over the general outline of the Yin Puppet Manual, cripple your cultivation, and go to the Northern Frontier to await your death."

Yin Kui Shangren suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot.

"Second, I'll send you on your way now, so the Sky Patrol Guard won't come looking for you again!"

Dead silence.

Yin Kui Shangren stared intently at Zhao Yuanji, veins bulging on the back of his hand, black energy swirling around him, before finally collapsing in defeat.

Trembling, he pulled out a jet-black jade slip and a blood-red domino, then knelt heavily on the ground.

"This humble Taoist priest will choose the first option..."

He knew that by handing over these things, he would completely lose his value and wouldn't even be qualified to be a watchdog.

The northern frontier is bitterly cold; if one's cultivation is completely destroyed, what difference is there between that and death?

Zhao Yuanji accepted it indifferently, then turned and flicked his sleeve: "Drag him away."

Two chilling, black-armored warriors appeared silently and dragged Yin Kui Shangren away like a dead dog.

Zhao Yuanji flipped the blood-red domino between his fingers, its swirling aura casting an unsettling shadow over his eyes.

"I underestimated him."

He knew the truth behind the changes at Senluo Pavilion.

"Trapped in a desperate situation, yet able to borrow the Heavenly Observation Division's Blade-Slaying God-Locking Array and draw the Heavenly Patrol Guard's Thunder-Breaking Yin Puppet Banner! A mere second realm cultivator, yet stirring up a storm," Zhao Yuanji's fingertips tightened, and the dominoes emitted a piercing shriek, "and afterwards, not even a trace was left!"

A sneer came from the shadows: "This person's cultivation is low, he's nothing, just an ant..."

"Fool!"

Zhao Yuanji turned around abruptly, his gaze sharp as a hawk's.

"Feinting to the east while attacking in the west shows courage! Shifting the blame eastward shows resourcefulness! Shedding one's skin like a cicada shows quick wit! But the most remarkable thing is that ruthlessness! Ruthless towards the enemy, and even more ruthless towards oneself! As if one doesn't care about one's own life at all!"

He looked out the window and murmured, "Yin Kui's downfall was not unjust, but I wonder who will ultimately hold this excellent pawn..."

　I got home too late and haven't eaten yet, so I'm revising this post first... Chapter Two is coming soon...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)