Wait a minute, where is my master?

"You said Mr. Li Li Mi is injured!" Xia Yunzhao exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, and it's serious. Mr. Li has already reported it to the higher-ups."

Xu Qian spoke respectfully.

The woman in white in front of him had already clarified her identity as the Seventh Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty,

The night watchmen were part of the Imperial Family, which made this akin to a minor employee meeting the chairman's daughter.

He had no choice but to be respectful.

"Mr. Li himself is a formidable Eighth Layer cultivator in the Void Refinement Realm and, with the Dynasty's national destiny aiding him, can even contend against Divinity Transformation. How could he be injured?"

Xia Yunzhao was very puzzled.

"Well, according to Mr. Li, it was because the City Protection Array was breached unexpectedly, and the national destiny couldn't be consolidated momentarily. Plus, that cultivator from the Demon Path used some Evil Skill, temporarily possessing the power of Divinity Transformation, which led to his defeat."

After Xu Qian finished speaking, he stealthily glanced at Jin Xu, the Taoist on the cushion.

Jin Xu: "????"

"Then your trip to Shangjing City?"

Xia Yunzhao continued to inquire.

"Your Highness, it's like this." He explained.

According to Xu Qian's knowledge, Mr. Li had already deduced months ago from the frequent cases of demons and evil cultivators attacking people near Gusu City that something big was about to happen.

And the City Lord of Gusu City was in seclusion, breaking through and hadn't shown himself for a long while.

Being the only one in the city with Void Refinement combat power made him feel slightly uneasy, so he sent a message to the headquarters of the night watchmen in Shangjing City, expressing his concerns and hoping for additional manpower.

Unexpectedly, not only did the headquarters not send people, but they also reassigned all his fifth-grade and sixth-grade subordinates, and if he hadn't insisted on staying, he would probably have been called back to Shangjing City as well.

The recent traces of the Demon Sect and the appearance of the Transformation Fruit, along with the blatant murders by a cultivator of the Demon Path near Gusu City last night, further reinforced his suspicions.

Thus, he called Xu Qian back overnight and sent him to Shangjing City to see his teacher, Prime Minister Qin, to explain the situation in person.

The first was to ask his teacher to investigate if there was any issue within the night watchmen.

The second was to see if it was possible, based on the relationship between teacher and student, to bring some assistance.

Their teacher-student relationship was formed back at Qingmu Academy, and it's worth mentioning that the Great Xia Dynasty had close ties with Qingmu Academy. It is said that Xia Xuanmin was able to defeat the Shang and Jin Dynasties with considerable help from the academy.

After the rise of the Great Xia Dynasty, many scholars from Qingmu Academy also entered the court as officials, taking advantage of the Dynasty's destiny for cultivation.

The two were mutually supportive and took what they needed from each other.

"Originally Mr. Li wanted to go himself but he was worried about the safety of Gusu City and was injured, so he had me take this trip on his behalf."

Xu Qian shared everything he knew with the two of them.

As for why not use a jade token for the message, naturally, the Prime Minister wouldn't rush over just because of one message; there are matters that need to be seen in person.

...

After hearing all this, Xia Yunzhao decided she needed to visit Gusu City herself.

Xu Qian also bid farewell to Jin Xu and embarked on his journey to Shangjing City.

"Oh, and Little Taoist, I've left some things for you in the room, remember to check them," said the Seventh Princess as she stepped out of the great hall's threshold, then turned back, and quickly walked out of Xuanxu Temple.

"Eh..." The little Taoist wanted to ask what was left, but Xia Yunzhao had already run off without a trace.

Jin Xu got up, closed the temple's front door, and returned to the back courtyard.

He pushed open the door to the room where Xia Yunzhao had stayed the night before, looked around it from top to bottom, and noticed two white jade slips on the wooden table.

The little Taoist walked over, picked up one, and fiddled with it, channeling golden spiritual power into it.

!!!

A gleam of joy appeared in his eyes; the jade slips actually contained a cultivation technique for enhancing Spiritual Sense.

"Dongxuan Spirit Skill" is a cultivation technique that concentrates on refining the Sea of Consciousness and perceiving the true essence of all things.

That's how the introduction of the technique described itself.

However, in practice, mastering this technique initially allows only preliminary use of Spiritual Sense to explore, attack, and defend.

At any rate, that was typical for cultivators.

If one wished to perceive the true essence of all things, it was necessary to learn the subsequent "Dongxuan Spirit Vision."

But "Dongxuan Spirit Vision" was a secret technique not passed on outside the Imperial Family of Great Xia, and Xia Yunzhao did not dare to go against the decision of her ancestors and teach it to outsiders.

Last night, she overheard a conversation between the elders and the Taoist, and she pulled out this "Dongxuan Spirit Skill" from her storage ring.

Of course, keeping it was just an excuse; her main purpose was the second jade slip, which bore her messaging seal. In Xia Yunzhao's mind, Jin Xu was so mysterious that surely he wouldn't need her cultivation technique, so she left both jade slips behind.

She thought the Taoist would understand her intentions.

...

Jin Xu retracted his Spiritual Power and picked up the other jade slip from the table to check.

Oh, it was Xia Yunzhao's messaging seal.

Casually tossing it into the Mystic Treasure Pearl, he took the "Dongxuan Spirit Skill" back to his room, planning to give the cultivation a try.

Yesterday, after listening to senior Guan Ling, the young Taoist had sifted through a pile of ancient books in his master's room for a long time.

As a result, apart from either "Ruyi Jun Biography" or "Deng Cao Monk," busy as he was, Jin Xu emerged looking rather flushed and embarrassed.

There was no book on cultivation at all!

He had not been hopeful to begin with.

Yet today, he found this pleasant surprise in Xia Yunzhao's room.

The young Taoist returned to his room, grasped the jade slip, and settled into a lotus position on the bed to begin his cultivation.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea,

Jin Xu experienced a very peculiar sensation; within his Sea of Consciousness, the Spiritual Power was as easy to direct as his own limbs.

Using his Spiritual Sense, he penetrated the walls, passed through the Taoist temple, and enveloped the entire Little Platform Mountain.

Although his eyes remained closed, he could clearly see all the scenes within the forests and the temple—everything was reflected in his mind.

Withdrawing his Spiritual Sense, the young Taoist opened his eyes and muttered to himself,

"That's not right, the jade slip said that successful cultivation should allow one to perceive the true nature of all things, yet I can only see them. It seems I need to cultivate further."

Jin Xu was always someone who held himself to high standards, so he closed his eyes again and immersed himself in cultivation.

Half a stick of incense later, he had done it!

This time, when Jin Xu released his Spiritual Power, besides the scenery, he also saw various colors of Qi.

The Spiritual Sense swept over, revealing two very conspicuous places in the backyard.

The first was an ancient well emitting bursts of silvery-white Qi, while the second was a Big Willow Tree with thick green Qi, but it was interspersed with much black, which didn't look very healthy.

"No wonder senior Guan Ling sleeps all day," the young Taoist said to himself.

The Spiritual Sense continued to expand, sweeping past Little White by the front gate who had stationed two watchdog wolves, their Qi greyish-white.

Later, his Spiritual Power spread towards Da An Village and Gusu City.

Hmm? He also saw a familiar figure, Xia Yunzhao flying with her hairpin.

As his Spiritual Sense swept over her, Jin Xu noticed that the Qi around this woman was of a deep gold color, extremely dense.

With continuous observation, Jin Xu realized that the Qi of ordinary people and animals was mostly greyish-white, occasionally mixed with black, red, yellow, and green depending on their personal circumstances. The Qi of cultivators was light gold and gold, but deep gold was found only in Xia Yunzhao.

Retracting his Spiritual Sense, this sweep had barely covered Gusu City, not because the young Taoist's Sea of Consciousness couldn't take it, but because he noticed two strangers approaching the gate.

Indeed, as soon as he stepped out of his room, he heard a knock at the front courtyard.

"Excuse me, is Taoist Jin here?"

ps: The matter of Qi colors is something the author checked and then devised based on their own understanding. My dear readers, please don't nitpick, just treat it as a setting of this book.