Chapter 751: Chapter 750: Stumbling Upon a Conspiracy
By the time they returned to the inn, the sky had already darkened considerably, and scattered lanterns hung in front of the shops, swinging ceaselessly in the cold wind. It was the harsh winter, and few people were out on the streets.
Inside the room, the candlelight was lit, emitting a faint warmth.
Having been shaken up too much, Hua Yiyun and his two companions had already retired to rest, while Gui Fuling was whisked away by four elders of the Gui Family, probably to ask her about important matters.
Gui Zhihang poured himself four glasses of wine, and drained them all in one go.
The first to break the silence was Mu Ling: "Old Tortoise, what exactly is the origin of Liu Hanshan?"
"He is the second son of Liu Ziying, the Vice Minister of Rites Department."
Gui Zhihang only learned of this shocking news on the way back, from asking his sister.
The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
The group had some speculations based on recent events, but they didn’t expect Liu Hanshan to be of such significant background.
Shi Xiaole finally understood. No wonder Gui Fuling was so anxious about Liu Hanshan; if anything happened to him, the entire Gui Family would probably be implicated.
However, considering Liu Ziying’s position, why would he agree to a marital alliance with the Gui Family? Also, the arrangement seemed hasty, as if it had been decided suddenly.
Looking at everyone’s expressions, Shi Xiaole realized that apart from him, everyone else seemed lost in thought.
Gui Zhihang gave a bitter smile: "Brother Shi may not know this, but my sister and I were born to the legal wife, but we also have several half brothers and sisters. My elder brother is the deputy to Wei Langyi, the military commissioner of the northwest."
Hearing this, even the normally unshakeable Shi Xiaole could not help but feel shocked.
For common people, and even the martial world, the Vice Minister of Rites was already an unreachable figure. But a military commissioner was even more formidable, one whose authority they dared not offend.
This position represents the supreme military power of a specific area, controlling all its troops. Its status even surpasses that of the Transport Governor, who is in charge of administrative affairs.
There are a total of eight military commissioners in the Flying Horse Dynasty, each one influential in domestic politics. The Gui Family indeed had a significant background.
Wait a minute, with this fact, the Golden Armor Guard should be aware of this news. So why were those men so arrogant today?
Could it have been a probing effort instructed by Yan Kai?
Also, considering the Liu Family’s sudden marital connection with the Gui Family and the backgrounds of both Liu Hanshan and the Gui Family, one can’t help but wonder what’s going on behind the scenes. Does this reflect the intentions of Liu Ziying and Wei Langyi?
Thinking back on Liu Hanshan being kidnapped, Shi Xiaole was beginning to have some rough guesses.
Gui Zhihang said, "This matter is not a secret, so I may as well tell it plainly. The current emperor, for some reason, has a weak body and has gradually neglected the administration of the government in recent years. He can no longer suppress the princes under him."
"Everyone knows that Wei Langyi is on the side of the Crown Prince. Liu Ziying’s political views are similar to those of the Crown Prince, and it is rumored that the two have secretly met many times, so... "
He didn’t finish, but there was no need to.
"You suspect someone doesn’t want the Wei and Liu families to join forces, but killing Liu Hanshan alone probably won’t affect Liu Ziying; it might even deepen his hatred."
Mu Ling said.
"Yes, but over ten princes violently vie for power. How would you know who made the first move? They want us to suspect each other, stirring up trouble. Besides, with Liu Hanshan’s accident under my family’s protection, wouldn’t Liu Ziying grow resentful?"
It was clear that Gui Zhihang had already thought through the entire situation during the journey, which was why he looked so worried. No matter what, the Gui Family was now stuck in the center of the vortex, and it was uncertain how things would unfold.
The most crucial thing at the moment was to find Liu Hanshan as soon as possible. Whoever plotted this clearly left some leeway and didn’t seem to have made a kill yet.
"Brother Gui, your sister’s movements must have been very secretive, but those people were able to find out."
Shi Xiaole suddenly said something.
Gui Zhihang’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. It was another issue he worried about — there might be a traitor in the Gui Family, and they were likely in a high position!
After a few more words, the four went to rest.
Shi Xiaole returned to his room, unable to sleep.
This was the first time he truly saw the intersection of the martial world and court politics. It seemed that the strength of the court had penetrated into the martial world long before he was aware of it.
The Gui Family was not simple, but looking at the indifferent expressions of Mu Ling and Duanmu Keren, were the Carefree Unmoving City and Heaven and Earth Surprised Swan Castle any simpler?
Also, it was true that the more top-level martial forces had deeper connections with the court. Would the court allow a pure martial sect to develop freely?
It had to be remembered that the previous royal family of the Mu clan started its rise to power with the Supreme Pavilion — they wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
"One day, when my Nine Great Mountain Manors reach a certain scale, will I also reach this point? Will various forces infiltrate and I end up living under surveillance?"
Shi Xiaole curled his lips.
He suddenly thought, was Gui Zhihang indirectly hinting at him about these things?
No one liked being watched, not even if those doing the watching were the unmatched Flying Horse Dynasty. Since he had arrived in this world, Shi Xiaole had made up his mind to live a carefree and joyful life, so he could not tolerate any interference.
"Power. In order to rise above all, one must have power that transcends the mundane, a power truly invincible in the world!"
Shi Xiaole clenched his fist. For his sake, as well those depending on him, he must become stronger as quickly as possible, fearless in the face of all challenges.
Setting aside his miscellaneous thoughts, he quickly entered into a state of cultivation.
For the next several days, no one disturbed him. He was unaware that there was already upheaval in the outside world.
Apparently Yan Kai had ordered the blockade of the local Chapter of the Blade Slaves Sect and forbade any information to leak out. However, the news that the Blade Slaves Sect had appeared and might not be extinct was still discovered by someone.
It was later discovered that an elder of Gui Family had leaked the news. Yan Kai, outraged, almost forgot about Gui Family’s background, and suppressed the elder on the spot and locked him in the jail, no matter how much the Gui Family pleaded.
Every day, a great number of martial artists entered and exited Seven Stars City, causing trouble in the mountains. The local authorities were greatly troubled by fights and killings, all of which seriously disturbed the local civilians.
This situation continued until the City Lord of Seven Stars City detached the city guards, which somewhat alleviated the turmoil.
The soldiers in this world were not ordinary people. As the court controlled the Spirit Veins in various regions, even the worst of them was a martial artist from the Qi Absorption Realm, and there were many who were well into the Xuanqi Realm.
Many battle-hardened officers and generals in the martial world, familiar with martial arts, were the best of the best, some of them came directly from the martial world.
The commotion inside and outside the city lasted for a long time.
On this day, Shi Xiaole who had been closed-door practicing for several days, suddenly emanated a terrifying spiritual fluctuation from his body. It was incredibly intense yet somehow impossible to detect.
Omm omm omm...
The potted plants, furniture, and even window frames in the room distorted and transformed into all kinds of shapes. Eventually, the room itself disappeared and became barren flatland, as if it had transcended lifetimes.
"When did this scene occur?"
If you were to gaze into Shi Xiaole’s eyes at that moment, even the strongest consciousness would be dragged away instantly, entering an endless cycle of reincarnations.
The Heaven and Earth Changing Great Method, has reached perfection!
Having acquired this method for more than two years, Shi Xiaole’s progress was not slow at all. However, because his attention was diverted during that time, he only managed to fully master it today.
Of course, compared to others, his speed was deemed shocking.
"The perfected Heaven Transforming Earth Striking can seriously injure Divine Barrier Realm Fifth Tier, or even Sixth Tier experts within a short distance. I wonder how well it works now."
He got up, opened the window, and after observing for a while, Shi Xiaole finally spotted a Terrestrial Immortal. The other party was concealing himself deeply, but he could not escape Shi Xiaole’s sharp eyes.
Two invisible rays of light shot out from his pupils.
Thud!
In the crowd, an ordinary-looking man fell to the ground. Disregarding the astonished gazes from the surrounding people, he swiftly flickered, not stopping to catch his breath until he reached the edge of the city.
"That was close!"
The man was sweating coldly, he felt as if he had just witnessed his own past life. If the expert who had attacked him had intended to harm him, he wasn’t sure he could escape.
Was the other party warning him?
"What a place full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. But, enough, I better leave."
The man took one last glance at Seven Stars City before striding away.
Whether the Blade Slaves Sect reappears or not, he did not want to risk his life just for the sake of idle curiosity.
"Five hundred meters away, enough to affect a First Tier Earth Immortal in the Divine Barrier Realm, not bad."
Shi Xiaole nodded in satisfaction.
In the past, this distance was only four hundred meters. In other words, after the Heaven and Earth Changing Great Method reached perfection, its power increased by a full twenty-five percent.
Objectively speaking, the strength of the spirit isn’t directly related to one’s cultivation base. Of course, the stronger the spirit, the higher the comprehension, and the faster the cultivation base will increase.
Therefore, those with high cultivation levels generally have strong spirits.
The spiritual force Shi Xiaole could exert was already at the high level of the Divine Border Realm. With the perfected Heaven and Earth Changing Great Method, few Earth Immortals in the Divine Border Realm could resist him.
However, that does not mean that Shi Xiaole could withstand high-ranking Earth Immortals.
The Heaven and Earth Changing Great Method is special. It can keep opponents trapped temporarily but it cannot seriously damage the sea of spirits. Given Shi Xiaole’s power, he was even less capable of breaking through the Vigorous Air protecting high-ranking Earth Immortals. It was essentially useless.
No matter what, he could escape if necessary.
What was even more exciting was that after the Heaven and Earth Changing Great Method reached perfection, Shi Xiaole found that his own spiritual force could momentarily leave the body and roam freely outside.
He felt as if he was floating in the sky, coldly observing the comings and goings in Seven Stars City. All he had to do was to concentrate, and not even the slightest breeze or grass movement could escape his eyes and ears. It was as if he were personally present.
Five hundred meters.
One thousand meters.
One thousand and five hundred meters.
...
When the distance was expanded to an astonishing five thousand meters, he barely reached his limit.
Shi Xiaole didn’t know how far an Earth Immortal at their peak could inspect with their spirits, but it shouldn’t exceed three thousand and five hundred meters. In other words, when using the Heaven and Earth Changing Great Method, his own inspection power might have surpassed that of those in the Divine Barrier Realm!
Delighted, Shi Xiaole was just about to pull his spirit back when his gaze stopped. He spotted two familiar figures in a building.
"We must get it back."
The one who was talking was indeed Yang Ting from the Golden Armor Guard.
"Gui Fuling is well protected by Gui Zhihang. To get the item, we have to get past him. I can easily win over him, but it would be difficult to do without alerting others."
The elderly man on the opposite side said in a deep voice.
The chilling thing was, he was one of the four elders of the Gui Family.
Yang Ting suddenly laughed coldly and took out a porcelain bottle from his bosom.
"This is the Soul Eroding Bewildering Fragrance, a fourth-rate deadly poison. The victim will be unconscious for three days and three nights! Lord Yan ordered me to give this to you. Remember, once you get the item run and bring the Kirin along as well! Among the four nefarious beings, he has the weakest background but the greatest opportunity. He must not be let go..."
