Devouring Soul Emperor

Chapter 335: Chapter 335: A Strange Request

The man didn’t wait for Chu Qingyun to say anything, stepping directly into the courtyard. With a gentle wave of the hand he held behind his back, a surge of Soft Power swung the gate shut again.

Chu Qingyun, meanwhile, quietly took two steps back, his guard raised completely.

"May I ask, sir, what business brings you here so late at night?"

Chu Qingyun watched the man warily, his voice low as he asked.

He was already prepared to flee and cry for help at the first sign of trouble.

’Surely,’ he thought, ’deep within the Celestial Wind Army’s encampment, a powerful expert would quickly come to my aid.’

"You’re Chu Qingyun, right?" the man said with a small smile. "No need to be so tense. I’m a Grand Commander of the Beishuang Army, and my name is Xu Baolin."

"Grand Commander Xu," Chu Qingyun asked again, "what do you want with me?"

Xu Baolin glanced at Chu Qingyun and said slowly, "Three days ago, the Illusion Array at the Merit Assessment Office failed completely."

At these words, Chu Qingyun’s pupils contracted, and he couldn’t help the flicker of shock that crossed his face.

But in the next instant, he concealed his shock and said in a low voice, "The Illusion Array failed. Why would Grand Commander Xu come looking for me over that?"

But Chu Qingyun was feigning ignorance.

He knew perfectly well that the failure of the Merit Assessment Office’s Illusion Array was because he had taken its core—the Light Card.

Besides, the Light Card had become incredibly important to him, a crucial tool on his path of the Alchemy Dao. But even setting that aside, the incident was tied to his Devouring Martial Soul, a secret he couldn’t afford to let slip in the slightest.

Seeing Chu Qingyun’s reaction, Xu Baolin suddenly smiled.

"The Illusion Array failed completely three days ago. That bunch from the Great Xia Dragon Guard are all busy investigating everyone who entered it recently. I, however, know that someone must have tampered with it many days before that."

As Xu Baolin spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Chu Qingyun.

Chu Qingyun, however, remained expressionless and silent. He neither admitted to anything nor tried to argue or explain.

Xu Baolin smiled and continued, "The core of the Illusion Array was taken long ago. The only thing keeping it running these past few days was the residual power left in the sphere of light. It’s laughable, really. Those fools at the Merit Assessment Office never even noticed the sphere growing weaker."

"The person who took the array’s core certainly wasn’t some ordinary Trial Captain. And you, Chu Qingyun, passed the Difficult Level trial on your very first attempt. The timing... also matches up perfectly."

Xu Baolin paused for a moment. Chu Qingyun still gave no reaction.

But the smile on Xu Baolin’s face only widened. He narrowed his eyes slightly, leaned in closer, and said in a low voice, "The core of the Illusion Array is a multicolored, rectangular Light Card."

Hearing this, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help it; the corner of his eye twitched.

’This guy knows way too much!’

"Hahaha! Chu Qingyun, you don’t have to be so tense. I truly mean you no harm. I have no intention of demanding it from you or telling anyone what I know."

"I’ve known the secret of that Illusion Array for a long time. However, in all these years, I could never figure out how to retrieve its core. Since you were able to obtain it, consider it your opportunity, your good fortune."

"However, I do have one request."

Xu Baolin laughed heartily. His expression was frank and open, and he didn’t seem to be lying.

"What’s the request?"

Chu Qingyun didn’t admit to taking the Light Card. Instead, he bypassed the issue and went straight to the man’s request.

Xu Baolin mulled it over for a moment before saying, "Chu Qingyun. A Tier Four Martial Soul, with what I’d call perfect control. Exceptionally high talent in the Sword Dao, having already cultivated Sword Qi in the Martial Master Realm. Your cultivation speed is also remarkably fast. I surmise you must have had some kind of fortuitous encounter..."

"A genius like you won’t be content to languish in a backwater like the Great Xia kingdom. The Northern Domain is your true stage."

"And my request is this: take that... that Light Card, and go to the Saint Extreme Sect."

Saint Extreme Sect!

Chu Qingyun’s heart lurched.

He had heard from You Yun that the true rulers of the Northern Domain were three immensely powerful sects, and the Saint Extreme Sect was one of them.

In addition to the Saint Extreme Sect, there were the Celestial Sword Sect and the Talisman Puppet Sect.

"Why the Saint Extreme Sect?" Chu Qingyun asked with a frown.

’Honestly,’ he thought, ’if I had to choose one of the Three Major Sects, judging by the names alone, my first choice would definitely be the Celestial Sword Sect.’

’After all, I cultivate the way of the sword, and the name of the Celestial Sword Three Techniques I practice seems to hint at a connection to the Celestial Sword Sect...’

However, Xu Baolin seemed unwilling to explain. He just shook his head. "Going to the Saint Extreme Sect is absolutely the best choice for you. Bar none."

With that, Xu Baolin turned, pushed open the courtyard gate, and quickly vanished into the night.

Chu Qingyun stood alone in the courtyard, his mind reeling with questions.

’Who exactly is Xu Baolin? How does he know about the Light Card—and seemingly more about it than I do? And why is he demanding that I go to the Saint Extreme Sect? ...’

He mulled it over until his head ached, but he still couldn’t make any sense of it.

Finally, he decided to just put it all out of his mind and not worry about it.

’In any case, Xu Baolin really didn’t seem to have any malicious intent. As for going to the Saint Extreme Sect, the Celestial Sword Sect, or the Talisman Puppet Sect... that’s all a distant prospect. It’s pointless to overthink it now...’

「The next day.」

Chu Qingyun went to the Qin Family estate. He was very keen to follow up on both the Primordial Spirit Liquid and the matter of the auction.

Elder Qin happened to be out, but Qin Ya was home.

"Chu Qingyun, I waited for you all day yesterday, and you never showed up! Don’t you want that huge amount of Primordial Spirit Liquid?"

Qin Ya said, looking at Chu Qingyun with a smile.

"Haha, I got held up with some matters in the Great Xia Dragon Guard yesterday. But how much Primordial Spirit Liquid did I end up getting?" Chu Qingyun asked, very curious himself.

This time, the entire operation had been handed over to the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower and managed personally by Qin Ya, so he truly had no idea how much Primordial Spirit Liquid had been collected.

"Take a guess."

Qin Ya’s smile widened.

Chu Qingyun thought for a moment before hazarding a guess. "Six or seven thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid, maybe?"

From what he knew, the four Elders from the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower alone had bet more than ten thousand drops combined. Afterward, a dozen or so others had stood against him during the life-and-death challenge, and they had clearly placed bets as well.

Even if that dozen or so people weren’t as wealthy as the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower Elders, the minimum bet was still a thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid.

But he also had to account for the payout to those who bet correctly, which was why Chu Qingyun gave a rather conservative estimate.