Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Celestial Palace
"A minor boost?"
Jiang Ran scratched his head. "There’s a function for that?"
The notification flashed and then vanished without waiting for Jiang Ran’s confirmation.
But when he opened his system interface, a character for "one" had appeared in the top-left corner.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Ran closed the system interface.
He let out a soft breath.
For a moment, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of this reward.
Fifteen years of Inner Strength, a pair of strange hands, and a martial art that enhanced his physical power.
The most valuable among them was probably the Blood Cauldron Scripture, one of the Eighteen Celestial Demon Records.
Unfortunately, no matter how he thought about it, Jiang Ran felt he shouldn’t get involved with it.
’In any case, just the fifteen years of Inner Strength alone is pretty good.’
’If I keep this up, achieving a thousand years of power in the future is just a matter of time.’
He got up from the bed and packed his belongings.
After carefully considering the situation in Cangzhou Prefecture and confirming there was nothing else to attend to, he grabbed his saber, slung his bundle over his back, and left the guest room.
He settled his bill in silver with the Shopkeeper and stepped out into the streets and alleys of Cangzhou Prefecture.
Ye Jingshuang had gone to Red Maple Mountain with Tong Wanli. No matter how fast they were, they wouldn’t be back yet.
Jiang Ran didn’t waste his time going to the Tong Mansion. He had intended to head straight for the South City Gate, but as he walked, he looked up and found himself standing before the main entrance of the Tang family’s estate.
The main gate was padlocked, and it was silent inside.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Ran found a hidden corner and leaped over the wall.
The place was still empty. Following the path inward, he soon arrived at the Tang family’s main hall.
He peered inside and froze.
"Where’s the painting?"
...
...
Another downpour, another temple.
As Jiang Ran gnawed on the roasted chicken leftover from noon, he felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
If not for the lack of a shattered stone tablet by the entrance, the scene felt like it had been copied and pasted.
He just couldn’t figure it out. Why did he always find a dilapidated temple whenever it rained?
’Are all these temples dedicated to the Rain God?’
After complaining wildly in his head, Jiang Ran settled down to read.
He was reading the book on the Celestial Palace that Guo Chong had given him.
According to the records within, the Celestial Palace had a "Grand Master" with a bounty as high as one hundred thousand gold taels.
Unfortunately, all information about this person—their name, age, and gender—was completely unknown.
Nothing was known besides the two words "Grand Master."
Below the Grand Master were the "Two Venerables," divided into Left and Right. The Left was superior, a figure second only to one person and above all others in the entire Celestial Palace.
Compared to the Grand Master, the Right Venerable at least had a name in the book: Qi Tianyue.
However, aside from the name, nothing else was known.
Still, the Left Venerable was worth sixty thousand gold taels, and the Right Venerable was worth forty thousand.
Together, they were worth as much as the Grand Master.
After these three important figures came the so-called structure of the "Five Gates and Three Departments."
The Five Gates were Chi, Black, Cyan, Blue, and White.
The Three Departments were Wind, Cloud, and Thunder.
The Five Gates each had their own heritage and duties, operating in secret. According to the Celestial Palace’s records, this group even had many connections to the Demon Sect of old.
The Wind, Cloud, and Thunder Departments, on the other hand, commanded numerous experts, forming a powerful horde. They represented the main combat strength of the Celestial Palace.
The group that had recently come to Cangzhou Prefecture was from the "Cloud Department," one of the three.
Their token was the Cloud Beast Pendant.
It was just unexpected that they would perish before their mission could even begin, and so silently at that.
Further down in the book were some cases involving the Celestial Palace from recent years.
It provided some clues so that anyone wanting to investigate wouldn’t be running around like a headless chicken.
Jiang Ran casually flipped through it, mostly to relieve his boredom in the dilapidated temple.
As for following the clues to track them down... it really wasn’t worth the trouble.
’There are so many wanted criminals in the world; there’s no need to get tangled up with such a dangerous organization.’
’However, that Sword Holding Department Guo Chong mentioned earlier does sound interesting.’
Just as he thought of this, he heard footsteps approaching through the rainy night—more than one person.
Jiang Ran’s brow furrowed. He stuffed the roasted chicken into his bundle, slung it over his shoulder, and gripped his saber, glancing at the campfire in front of him.
Cycling the inner breath of the Creation’s True Heart Scripture, he took a sudden, deep breath and then exhaled.
His breath was like a gust of wind. The flames roared as it swept over them, and in a mere moment, he had forcibly blown out the entire fire as if it were a single candle.
Immediately after, with a flick of his sleeve—WHOOSH—the extinguished firewood was pulverized, turning into a cloud of dust.
With that, not a single trace was left on the ground.
With a light tap of his foot, his figure flickered, and he was already behind the temple’s idol.
Jiang Ran had just steadied himself.
The group had already arrived at the temple, stepping inside through the curtain of rain.
Jiang Ran looked closely. Three people had arrived.
One was a big, bald, fat man, at least in his fifties, carrying a large hammer.
The other two were an elderly couple.
They looked to be at least in their seventies or eighties.
The old woman was hunched over, trembling with every step, as if she might fall to the ground and feign an injury at any moment.
And yet, when she had used her Lightweight Technique just moments before, her movements had been quite nimble.
The old man, in contrast, stood ramrod straight.
His old face was covered in wrinkles, but his eyes held an indescribable arrogance.
It was worth noting that both members of the elderly couple were missing an arm.
Rather symmetrically, too—one was missing their left arm, the other their right.
The old man’s gaze swept across the dilapidated temple, and he snorted.
"Whatever. A roof over our heads is better than being soaked in the rain."
"Tie Cheng, are you certain what you said earlier wasn’t a lie?"
"Did that old monster... really appear in Benma County?"
’Tie Cheng?’
Jiang Ran froze when he heard the name.
’This fat man is Tie Cheng?’
When he had been looking through the case files in the Cangzhou Prefecture Government Office, he had seen records about this man.
The man’s nickname was "Blood Butcher," and he was a Monk.
But he was different from Dao Zhen.
Dao Zhen was a disgraced monk from Luo Hua Temple.
Blood Butcher, however, was a fake monk who used dilapidated temples as his base to prey on travelers who came to worship or seek shelter.
He originally knew no martial arts.
According to rumors, an expert once sought shelter in his temple, only to be poisoned by him through the wine and die an inglorious death.
He found a secret manual on the expert’s body and cultivated for many years, finally mastering his skills.
He earned the name "Blood Butcher" because of his despicable and cruel methods.
The Court’s bounty for him was the same as Zuo Kuangge’s: three thousand silver taels!
A system notification had already popped up in front of Jiang Ran.
But he didn’t accept it.
Because the infamous Blood Butcher was currently bowing and scraping before the old couple, saying with a sycophantic smile:
"This junior would not dare speak a single false word."
"The Manor Lord of Heterodox Manor sent word that the old monster appeared in Benma County over half a month ago."
"This is the first time he has shown himself in twenty years!"
...
...
PS: A shoutout for a friend!
Book Title: I Became a Being of Light in an American Comic
Using Telekinesis to push back tsunamis, light beams to detonate planets, capable of faster-than-light interstellar travel—a miraculous giant of light.
Superman: "He is a progressive ideal, a brilliant light that shines through the darkness."
Wonder Woman: "He is a glorious warrior."
Batman says nothing and silently creates a new file: "Ultraman Rampage Contingency Plan."
Desert Wolf (crawling back to the Apocalypse Star with difficulty): "It’s no use! Ultraman is too strong!"
Shen You: "Don’t listen to their nonsense. I’m just an ordinary scientist from the Land of Light. I don’t have their kind of power."
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