Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1578 – Imperial Palace Inner Warehouse

Marquis Chongwu, Ning Qin, had personally entered the palace to ask the king for a few treasures. He mentioned that his cultivation had reached a bottleneck and he wanted to try using other treasures to complete his breakthrough.

He had been direct in his request and the West Desolate King gave him a direct response too. With one hand, he permitted the request. However, it was not good for this event to be known of by others. The king did not use the national warehouse but instead opened the internal warehouse of the Imperial Palace. Then, he ordered some men to escort Qin Yu in.

Qin Yu bowed respectfully and his tone was grateful. All of this happened quite silently. If he wanted to get the horse to run, he had to feed it grass. Since the Imperial Clan ‘needed’ him now, it was not an issue for him to make a few requests.

This was to the point that the more he did this, the more at ease the king would feel.

The chief eunuch led Qin Yu to the internal warehouse. Back in the study, the king’s eyes flashed behind the curtains and he thought deeply.

Suddenly, he said, “What do you think of General Jinwu, Ning Qin?”

There wasn’t anyone else in the study, but after the king spoke, a feminine voice came from a corner of the room, “If Your Majesty is willing to trust him, that would be good.”

The king laughed and shook his head, “You don’t have to bootlick me. You are not good at this and are worse than Lord Chengtian. Just tell me what you think of him.”

The dark shadow was silent for a long time. Then, the feminine voice came again, “I don’t think anything is amiss. General Jinwu is loyal to Your Majesty. But I still feel like he is hiding something.

“Not even a peak-level Ruler would be able to withstand a blow from the Long River Sword. Death would be the only way out. I don’t understand how General Jinwu was able to escape unscathed.”

The king nodded behind the curtains, “You are right, this does not make sense. However, I am confident that I am able to control Ning Qin. I am fine if he hides some secrets. After all, no fish will live in clear waters.”

He stood up and paced back and forth. Suddenly, he shook his head and smiled helplessly, “Old servant, you know me too well. I can’t hide anything from you.”

A youthful-looking eunuch walked out from the darkness. His skin was white and so smooth that ladies would get jealous of him. His entire demeanor was warm and feminine. The eunuch chuckled and cupped his hands together, “I am willing to share Your Majesty’s burdens.”

The king waved his hand.

The young eunuch walked away and his shadow disappeared in an instant.

The internal warehouse of the Imperial Palace was an important place. Although this was a personal warehouse for the West Desolate King, everything in this world belonged to him and the value of the items in the warehouse was unimaginable.

The eunuch who led Qin Yu to the palace was the same person who gave the imperial decree to him. Qin Yu could be considered familiar with him. However, the eunuch was busy with other matters and he hurried over to apologize to Qin Yu. After Qin Yu pardoned him, he introduced a youthful-looking eunuch beside him as his junior who would lead Qin Yu to the internal warehouse.

Qin Yu glanced casually at the young eunuch who lowered his head in silence. He had great physical features and if he changed into a woman’s outfit, he could be considered a top beauty in the country.

“Greetings to Marquis.”

The young eunuch bowed respectfully.

Qin Yu smiled and nodded, “Are you aware of the things I need? The internal warehouse of the king is too big; I will have to trouble you to lead the way.”

The young eunuch smiled, “Marquis, don’t worry. Before Senior left, he informed me of the directions.” The first item was an unassuming black wooden stick that was as long as the arm of a grown man. Many intricate marks lined it.

It looked very ordinary and it felt like a piece of wood that would be thrown into the fireplace. Yet, upon closer inspection, one would find that the markings on the wood had many flickers of lightning that jumped continuously.

“I heard that there is a place called Sinking Thunder Lake in Dragon Stage County of the West Desolate. It is a place that naturally attracts divine lightning of the heavens to strike. A spotted laurel lives there and it is a descendant of an ancient divine tree. There are many oddities about it and it can survive being struck by lightning for ten thousand years.

“This piece of wood is a branch from the spotted laurel and it contains enough power to withstand a million lightning strikes. Lightning Withstanding Wood of the world cannot compare to this at all.

Qin Yu nodded. He could sense the supreme power coming from the piece of black wood. “Thank you for the explanation. This piece of wood does fulfill my requirements.”

The eunuch smiled and he stretched his arm forward to lead the way, “Marquis, please follow me.”

The warehouse was large but there was a strong force in the air that felt like a forbidden seal was placed here. Occasionally, its aura would leak out. It made Qin Yu’s heart clench slightly. However, the eunuch maintained a calm face and acted casually. It was either that he had grown accustomed to it or there was another reason.

His mind quickly spun and he suppressed these thoughts. The Imperial Palace was mysterious and there were hidden dangers in all corners. If something was not related to him, it was best that he avoided it in case he got dragged in.

The second item was a pair of cicada wings. They were light and thin but their surface had streaks of light circling in it like shallow waves. They were currently trapped in a bubble.

“The wings of this cicada come from a mysterious object. It was hidden in the earth for three thousand years. For the first thousand years, it lived in its egg. For the next thousand years it grew, and it took another thousand years before it could come out of the earth. Once it reached the outside world, it grew into an adult within fifteen minutes. It would have flown to the heavens as fast as lightning and it could cover a vast distance in the blink of an eye.

The eunuch smiled as he explained. He raised a finger and gently touched the bubble, startling the cicada. The light on its wings shone brightly but it disappeared the next instant. A few moments later, it appeared in another corner of the bubble.

“This is a special ability of the cicada wings. It can turn invisible in an instant and cut off its aura, thus disappearing from the world temporarily. Then, it can appear in another corner. This bubble is actually a deceased jellyfish from the deep ocean that has been dead for ten thousand years. There is another world in the bubble and it can trap the cicada inside. Otherwise, it would disappear and appear a hundred thousand kilometers away in the blink of an eye. It could teleport to any corner of the world.”

Qin Yu glanced at the cicada wings and fell silent. A few moments later, he smiled, “You are very knowledgeable, I am in awe.”

The young eunuch smiled but did not make any attempt to elaborate. He led Qin Yu to another corner of the warehouse and explained, “This last item is called Crimson Blood.”

He stopped moving and turned to look at Qin Yu, “Actually, I am curious as to how you know of its existence.”

Qin Yu thought about it and asked, “Can I refuse to answer that question?”

The eunuch smiled and nodded as he bowed, “Of course, this is your right as a marquis. I was only curious.”

He did not probe about it and continued to walk towards a deeper end of the warehouse. As Qin Yu looked at the eunuch’s back, he frowned but his expression returned to normal the next instant.

The two of them stopped. There was no other way forward and there was only a lotus in front of him.

Its roots stretched out inside the warehouse and because there were forbidden arrays aiding it, the roots manage to break through the hard floor.

It was almost as if the entire inner warehouse was giving it nutrients continuously. As such, the leaves of the lotus were lustrous and green. There was a lotus flower bud in the middle of it that had not bloomed.

The eunuch pointed his finger forward, “This lotus flower comes from a fragment from outside of this world. It traversed vast distances and when it descended on this world, it almost burnt away. It carried scorching temperatures and it caused an entire lake to evaporate when it fell. The fragment instantly disintegrated, but somehow, there was a lotus that maintained its life force.

“No one knows the real purpose of this lotus. However, we know that it is naturally a Saint level item and it can repel evil spirits in this world. As such, it was placed in the warehouse and supplied nutrients from arrays to preserve its life. This lotus was then used to seal that sphere of Crimson Blood.”

The young eunuch paused and smiled, “It is not known where this Crimson Blood came from and what it was involved in. Please forgive me, Marquis.”

Qin Yu cupped his hands together, “You have already told me a lot. I don’t dare to be dissatisfied and I have to thank you for being honest with me.”

Qin Yu’s expression was calm and he stared at the young eunuch whose aura seemed ordinary. However, Qin Yu did not know how many secrets the young eunuch was hiding. “Is there anything that I can help you with?”

The young eunuch smiled and bowed, “Marquis is wise and I shall not hide anything. What you need to do is very simple. You simply need to pluck this lotus flower and bring it out of the warehouse with you.”

Qin Yu thought about it and nodded.

The eunuch stepped to the side and gestured with his hand.

Qin Yu strode forward and stood beside the lotus flower. He reached an arm forward and grabbed the stem of the lotus. He snapped the stem and turned around, “Is this alright?”

The eunuch bowed, “Marquis, it is yours now.”

Qin Yu flipped his arm around and the lotus flower disappeared.

A few moments later, the inner warehouse was sealed shut and the eunuch left. The previous eunuch hurried over.

“I am Wei Ming, greetings to Marquis!” He bowed as he wiped the sweat on his forehead urgently. His eyes shifted from side to side and when he did not see the young eunuch, he hesitantly asked, “The young eunuch is new to the palace and he was lucky that His Majesty took him in. His Majesty requested me to lead him around. Did he do well just now? If there is anything that offended you, please forgive him.”

Wei Ming was a famous eunuch from the study of the West Desolate King who had made a name for himself. He also held the title of chief eunuch in the palace and he had a lot of influence. Many ministers had to be courteous and put on a smile for him too.

The reason why he treated Qin Yu with such a respectful attitude was not because Qin Yu was qualified enough to be let in on the top secrets of the West Desolate empire. Instead, Wei Ming knew the king well enough and he was aware of how highly the king thought of Qin Yu.

No matter how powerful eunuchs were, they were only side dogs to the king. If they were not keen in their observations, they would be killed sooner or later.

Qin Yu smiled, “The young eunuch did very well, I am very satisfied.” It seemed that Wei Ming did not know much about the young eunuch either.

This young eunuch was probably the real confidant of the king. As he thought about the two Old Four Claws who died in battle against Mister Zhou, Qin Yu shook his head.

They were different.

Wei Ming heaved a sigh of relief and put on a bright smile, “That is good. It is the young lad’s blessing to have served you.”

He patted his chest and sighed, “Sigh, I almost forgot about the real matter. His Majesty is occupied with something and he ordered me to inform you that you don’t have to thank him after you have received the items. You may return home.”

Qin Yu cupped his hands together, “I thank His Majesty’s grace. I will take my leave.”

……

Behind the curtains, the king received the report. He sipped on his tea as a helpless expression crossed his face, “I am afraid that I am not able to change my personality. Now, I am ashamed to face Marquis Chongwu.”

Although it was not uncommon for kings to break their promises, they would still feel ashamed after breaking so many promises in a row.

The young eunuch smiled as he bowed, “Your Majesty rules the world and takes care of society; you have to be careful about everything. This is the right move.”

The king scoffed coldly and laughed, “You can act dumb. I asked you to take a look but I didn’t ask you to lead the way.”

The young eunuch was not intimated and he bowed while laughing. “It is my fault. I admit to it.”

Bursting out with laughter, the king was still slightly annoyed but he waved his hand to dismiss the eunuch.

The young eunuch bowed and turned towards a corner. His figure entered the darkness and he disappeared.

Right at that moment, the king’s voice echoed through the hall again, “Search for the nine-tailed fox and give him an answer.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

……

Based on their geographical locations, Seascape City was a distance away from the capital. Even powerful cultivators would need some time to travel across such a vast distance.

However, as one of the 108 cities, there were Teleportation Portals that linked it to the capital. After obtaining permission, people could use the Teleportation Portals to enter the capital. From this angle, Seascape City was close to the capital.

There was that stone bridge in the capital of the West Desolate that had already been turned to ashes. Likewise, in Seascape City, there were many hidden flies buzzing around the seemingly peaceful landscape.

People dying was a very natural thing and the city governor would not even bat an eyelid to that. However, after the letter from the Li Family of Parasol County arrived in Seascape City, the old, cunning, and knowledgeable governor felt like a hole had appeared in his mind.

Dead people was nothing, but he had to identify the dead.

Who knew which among the dead was Li Cangzhou. However, since this person could cause the Li Family of Parasol County to be enraged, this was a serious matter.

The first thing that Chen Yuanshen did was to inform the king about this. However, before the Imperial Palace could give him a reply, three people from the Li Family of Parasol County arrived at Seascape City!

Although it wasn’t the family head, Li Chenghao, who came as the leader of the group of three, it was instead an Old Ancestor who hardly came out because he often closed himself in seclusion to cultivate. His aura was as deep as the ocean.

While Chen Yuanshen was not afraid that they would attack him, he was sweating buckets and he respectfully invited the three to the city governor manor.

“City Governer Chen, although this nephew of mine was not very outstanding, I watched him grow up. Now that he has been murdered, I have to find the real murderer and take revenge for him. Otherwise, I will not be doing justice to his parents who passed away early.”

The Old Ancestor slowly spoke in a calm voice. However, there was a strong suppressing aura around him.

Chen Yuanshen answered, “Old Ancestor, please rest assured. Since this happened in my city, I will sweep every corner of the land and find the murderer for you.”

The most splendid guest house in the city governor mansion was arranged for the Li Family.

Once the door was closed, the atmosphere turned heavy. The Old Ancestor bowed turned around and bowed, “Young Ancestors, apologies.”

Li Ge stood expressionlessly.

Li Ruhua waved her hand and smiled, “You don’t have to apologize for what we already arranged for.”

“Young Ancestors, please go ahead.”

Li Ge raised his hand and slashed it forward. The space in front of him was split apart silently and the two Young Ancestors stepped into the void.

The space healed itself.

The Old Ancestor was in wonder. Based on cultivation rank, he was still higher than the Young Ancestors. However, he definitely would not be able to execute such a move that transcended space.

The Old Ancestor could not fathom the sword in Li Ge’s hand but its powers made his heart clench…he was truly envious!

Shoosh –

Li Ge and Li Ruhua appeared beside a lake in Seascape City. There were a few houses scattered around the lake. Because it was getting dark, they could only make out a few lanterns in the distance.

Li Ruhua scanned her surroundings and could not help frowning. Soon, her expression returned to normal and she said, “That’s right. He died here.”

Li Ge calmly replied, “The Li Family of Parasol County can be considered distant relatives of us. The restriction spell in the ancestral temple is also connected to us by blood. The murderer definitely used a unique measure such that the murder was only exposed a few days after it occurred.”

Li Ruhua smiled, “We have to be careful…however, I am actually looking forward to the murderer exposing himself in front of us.”

Li Ge remained silent but he was composed. He was confident of the sword in his hand.

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