"You know too much, which does you no good. I didn't come here today to make an enemy of you, I'm simply here to kill her."
The Daoist priest said in a deep voice.
"I said, let her return to Qingsong alive."
Fang Chen smiled faintly.
"Fang Chen, don't assume that just because others call you a Military God, your words are ironclad law. In the eyes of people like us, you are nothing."
The Daoist smiled. "If you try to stop me, I will make a move against you."
"Your cultivation... doesn't seem very high. Isn't it a bit too reckless of you to make a move against me?"
Fang Chen looked somewhat perplexed.
He could sense that the spiritual power within the man was on par with his own—at most Qi Refinement Level 3. That being the case, a single Violet Lightning Talisman could easily subdue him.
"Heh, it seems you are new to this path and unaware of many things. Very well, I am also quite curious as to why you suddenly possess spiritual power. Today, I'll just take you back and interrogate you thoroughly."
With that, the Daoist suddenly produced a small, palm-sized bell and struck it lightly.
Hum—
An unfathomable force rippled outward, attempting to stir Fang Chen's spirit. But it seemed not to anticipate that the spirit it was trying to move was like a massive mountain.
In the very next instant, the force backfired, and the small bell in the Daoist's hand exploded with a loud crash, reduced to scrap metal.
"Puff!"
The Daoist spewed a mouthful of blood, an expression of utter disbelief twisting his features. How could his Soul-Suppressing Bell possibly backfire against him?!
This was absolutely impossible!
The Soul-Suppressing Bell was a Dharmic Treasure personally bestowed upon him by his Master as a reward for a great service, powerful enough to suppress cultivators below Qi Refinement Level 6!
Goddess Xiao was dumbfounded. She had never expected that the Daoist with his bizarre methods would simply exchange a single glance with Fang Chen before coughing up blood—while Fang Chen hadn't even lifted a finger from beginning to end!
"Where did this petty wretch come from, daring to come and trouble the Heir? Die!"
Suddenly, a loud roar rang out, and Goddess Xiao instantly saw a giant appear behind the Daoist.
Brandishing fists the size of sand-mortals, the giant smashed into the Daoist with a single blow, shattering his bones and tendons completely.
On top of that, a sword pierced straight through the Daoist's chest, was pulled out, and thrust right through him again!
"Heir, are you unhurt?"
Tiedama sheathed his long sword and raised his fists in salute to Fang Chen.
"Heir, this Daoist has some immense nerve, actually daring to come and trouble you. He's simply courting death."
Huang Sihai spat on the Daoist and cursed angrily.
"You two, don't kill him yet. I still have questions to ask."
Fang Chen said helplessly.
"He's not dead, he's not dead! I purposely left him with a breath."
Huang Sihai immediately hoisted the Daoist, who now looked like a pile of mud, and barked, "Answer whatever the Heir asks, you hear me? If you dare pull any little tricks, I'll crush your skull."
"The Giant Spirit Dragon General... he came out of Dahua Temple?"
Seeing Huang Sihai, Goddess Xiao was stunned for a moment.
The Xiao family was extremely familiar with Huang Sihai, one of the Four Dragon Generals under Fang Chen's command, blessed with innate supernatural strength!
Then, she caught sight of Tiedama, and her trance turned into sheer astonishment, horror, followed by anger and disbelief.
"I ask you, what is your purpose in Daxia? Who ordered you to kill Goddess Xiao?"
Fang Chen walked up to the Daoist and said indifferently.
It was impossible for the man to have a sudden whim to kill Goddess Xiao; someone behind the scenes must have instructed him.
Yet within Daxia, who could possibly order a cultivator about?
Fang Chen suddenly realized that the waters of the Capital ran far deeper than he had ever imagined. He had thought he understood Daxia thoroughly, but now it seemed the truth was far from it!
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The Daoist coughed up blood continuously, his eyes filled with lingering resentment and malice. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected that he, a cultivator at Qi Refinement Level 3, would one day be beaten to death by two martial artists.
His injuries were severe; without miraculous elixirs, his days were numbered!
"F-Fang Chen, the Blood Spirit Cult will avenge me! It won't be long before you're down there to keep me company, hahaha..."
The Daoist gave a ferocious laugh, his neck went limp, and he completely breathed his last.
The Blood Spirit Cult?
Fang Chen's expression shifted slightly. This was clearly a cultivator sect!
Huang Sihai and Tiedama furrowed their brows slightly.
They had never heard of any Blood Spirit Cult.
"Tiedama, have you always been Fang Chen's man?"
Goddess Xiao suddenly spoke up.
"Mm."
Tiedama nodded indifferently.
"What a fine Military God Fang! To plant someone in our Xiao family for years without any of us noticing, even tricking my father!"
Goddess Xiao laughed out of extreme anger.
She finally understood why several crucial battles in the past had ended in defeat for the Wolf Army due to all sorts of coincidental factors.
There had been a traitor and a mole among the high command of the Wolf Army—that was the best explanation!
"Tiedama is a dormant dragon under my command. Your Xiao family has also planted plenty of dormant dragons in our Daxia, what is there to quibble about?
In a war between two nations, any and all means are fair; there's nothing to be angry about."
Fang Chen said indifferently, "You're covered in injuries, go rest first. Tomorrow I'll send someone to escort you out of the Capital."
"No, I'm not leaving. Until I figure out his background, I'm not going anywhere."
Goddess Xiao glanced at the Daoist's corpse.
"Old Huang, take her down to rest. If she tries any little tricks, break her legs."
Fang Chen instructed.
Huang Sihai gave a cheeky grin, stepped forward, and grabbed Goddess Xiao as he walked off. In his grip, Goddess Xiao was like a little chick, completely powerless to resist.
Tiedama intended to search the Daoist's remains, but Fang Chen shook his head slightly. "I'll do it. There might be some rather bizarre items on him, so we must guard against any hidden trump cards he might have left behind."
Fang Chen squatted in front of the Daoist and felt around for a moment, pulling out a small porcelain vial and a small leather pouch. The pouch was bulging, seemingly stuffed with quite a few things.
Chapter 27: The Blood Spirit Great Technique
Without opening the vial, Fang Chen first sensed it with his spiritual power, discovering a plump, white wriggling worm inside, and only then did he open it to take a look.
This worm was several times fatter and larger than the one extracted from Goddess Xiao's body; it should be the mother silkworm of the mother-child silkworm pair.
With a vibration of spiritual power in Fang Chen's palm, both the porcelain vial and the mother silkworm were reduced to fine powder together.
Only then did he open the leather pouch to inspect its contents.
First were a dozen white stones the size of thumbs, inside of which, however, rich spiritual power was contained.
"Spirit stones? These are good things."
A flicker crossed Fang Chen's eyes.
The introductory volume of the Three Thousand Dao Methods specifically mentioned spirit stones; they were essential items for cultivators' training, capable of increasing the absorption rate of spiritual power and accelerating cultivation speed.
Aside from that, spirit stones were also the currency of the cultivation world. Those pieces of gold and silver were worthless in the eyes of cultivators; only spirit stones held high value.
These dozen or so stones matched the description of low-grade spirit stones perfectly.
In addition to the dozen low-grade spirit stones, Fang Chen also found a manual with four characters written on it: The Blood Spirit Great Technique!
"His cultivation method!"
Fang Chen's eyes flickered.
After that, Fang Chen found a special token with three characters inscribed upon it: Longji Square.
"Longji Square? It looks like some kind of market, and it even comes with a special token. Perhaps it's a gathering place for cultivators, or maybe the location of the Blood Spirit Cult."
Fang Chen thought to himself inwardly.
Although the Daoist was dead, from the things he left behind, he had still managed to find some clues.
Fang Chen flipped through the Blood Spirit Great Technique and read a few lines, his expression gradually growing grave. This cultivation method clearly walked the path of the demonic Dao.
The entry requirement alone demanded preparing a hundred portions of human essence blood, after which one would condense the Blood Spirit Immortal Veins within the body!
Once one possessed the Blood Spirit Immortal Veins, they could unscrupulously absorb human essence blood, among which the essence blood of cultivators was of the highest grade!
"This Blood Spirit Cult is no benevolent entity. What on earth is its background, and why are Blood Spirit Cult cultivators lurking in the Daxia Capital?"
A cold glint flashed in Fang Chen's eyes.
Following this method of cultivation practiced by the Blood Spirit Cult, that Daoist had likely absorbed a vast amount of human essence blood over the years in the Daxia Capital!
Fang Chen could not tolerate such a thing happening within Daxia.
"Call Xu Ge here."
Fang Chen instructed.
Tiedama nodded slightly and turned to leave. He could see that the matter was not simple, otherwise Fang Chen's brow would not have remained locked in a frown.
Before long, Xu Ge hurried over. When he saw the corpse of the Daoist on the ground, a look of shock immediately appeared on his face.
"Heir, who is this person?"
Xu Ge asked in startled uncertainty.
"Remember his appearance, then spread the word. I want all the hidden guards to mobilize and find out this Daoist's identity within the Daxia Capital."
Fang Chen directed.
Xu Ge nodded immediately. "Rest assured, Heir, I will handle this matter thoroughly."
Afterward, Tiedama took charge of clearing away the Daoist's body, while Fang Chen returned to his room to toy with the spirit stones in his hand. The next moment, his spirit left his body once more, looking down over the entire Capital.
Aside from the Daxia River, the imperial palace, and a few scattered lights, everything else was shrouded in a pitch-black night veil.
Fang Chen's gaze swept across every inch of land, attempting to unearth some clues, but unfortunately, he found nothing worthy of suspicion.
Suddenly, his spirit arrived above the imperial palace.
At that exact moment, a peculiar sensation welled up in his heart—some kind of entity was faintly exuding a trace of danger, yet Fang Chen could not locate the source of this feeling.
He only vaguely sensed that something was lurking within the imperial palace!
With a thought from Fang Chen, his spirit returned to his physical body, but his gaze turned toward the direction of the imperial palace, a faint solemnity in his eyes:
"Something must be hidden inside the imperial palace."
If a Blood Spirit Cult cultivator were hiding within the palace grounds, that would spell major trouble.
Fang Chen's thoughts raced; in the end, he decided not to startle the snake in the grass just yet, but to slowly search for clues regarding the Blood Spirit Cult.
He was currently only at Qi Refinement Level 2, and even if he could craft Violet Lightning Talismans, he probably couldn't handle an entire cultivator sect.
"In these five years, I've never had such a feeling. It seems cultivation has caused a trace of change in my spirit."
Fang Chen thought to himself.
He didn't believe this was a coincidence. Why had he felt no danger emanating from the imperial palace over the past five years, yet sensed it precisely now?
This likely had a direct connection to his breakthrough to Qi Refinement Level 2.
The morning sun rose.
Fang Chen came to Goddess Xiao's room and, seeing that she was already fully dressed, said indifferently, "Later, I'll use the Fang family carriage to send you out of the Capital."
"I said before, until things are cleared up, I'm not leaving."
Goddess Xiao said.
"That Daoist has accomplices. If they find out you're here, do you think you can still leave alive?"
Fang Chen offered a cold, mocking sneer. "Besides, with your strength, even if you did discover something, you don't have the power to deal with it."
"I hear you have an exceptionally good relationship with the Third Prince. He's currently acting as a hostage in Qingsong Kingdom. You two must not have been in contact for a long time, right?"
Goddess Xiao's eyes flickered.
A cold mockery appeared in Fang Chen's eyes. "Are you using him to threaten me?"
"This isn't a threat. Just think about it: you've killed so many Qingsong martial artists. If word gets back there, how will they treat Daxia's hostage?
Now that I'm in your hands, with this concern in mind, at least my father will step forward to ensure Daxia's hostage comes to no harm."
Goddess Xiao rolled her eyes.
She wanted to stay in the Daxia Capital not just to figure out the Daoist's background, but because a legend had crossed her mind this morning.
Legend had it that in more powerful empires, there existed a power system vastly superior to martial artists, and last night, she had very likely encountered that legendary power!
"Fang Chen's sudden recovery of his cultivation must be related to this as well."
Goddess Xiao felt a surge of fervent excitement.
If she could acquire a similar power, it would be a joyous occasion for Qingsong Kingdom, and ascending to an 8th-grade empire would be just around the corner!
"Goddess Xiao, tell me... if you were to die, the Third Prince would surely be executed as well, wouldn't he?"
Fang Chen said abruptly.
A look of wariness immediately appeared on Goddess Xiao's face. "Fang Chen, don't you dare pull anything..."
"Answer me."
Fang Chen looked at Goddess Xiao.
"That's right! If I die, your Daxia hostage will definitely die!"
Goddess Xiao said in a deep voice.
"There you have it... in the Daxia Capital, who wants the Third Prince to die the most?"
Fang Chen sneered.
"You mean... that Daoist was one of the Crown Prince's men? He wanted to kill me simply to force Qingsong Kingdom to execute your hostage?"
Goddess Xiao was slightly startled.
Clearly, she was also quite well-versed in Daxia's political situation and knew a thing or two about the rivalry between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince.
"It's just a guess, but don't you think this guess is rather reasonable? The Crown Prince only just found out I recovered my cultivation, and immediately wanted to send someone to kill you—wasn't it precisely because he was afraid I would go to Qingsong and bring the Third Prince back?"
Fang Chen smiled. "I also just remembered where I've seen that Daoist before."
"It seems... your Daxia is not as simple as it looks..."
Goddess Xiao's expression turned grave.
If Daxia possessed that kind of power, why had they suffered such a crushing defeat at the Three Realms Mountain back then? A vague sense of unease gripped her.
Chapter 28: The Ceasefire Poetry Gathering
Fang Chen did not send Goddess Xiao out of the Capital; instead, he reached a certain agreement with her.
Goddess Xiao changed into a maid's attire, applied a light disguise, and, posing as Fang Chen's personal maid, accompanied him toward the banks of the Daxia River.
Today, a poetry gathering was being held here. Not only would scholars from the four nations of Guhe, Longdu, and Yizhou attend, but the young talents of the Daxia Capital and the young ladies of various noble houses would all be coming as well.
The host of this poetry gathering was none of than the Crown Prince of the Daxia Capital.
The theme of today's gathering was titled "Ceasefire."
The implication was obvious: a wish for a world free of warfare.
"Heh, the scholars of your Daxia have nothing better to do all day except compose poems and exchange couplets. Unlike us in Qingsong, when we have nothing to do, we spar and compare martial arts."
Goddess Xiao trailed behind Fang Chen, looking at the scene before her with a hint of scorn.
Fang Chen smiled and made no reply.
By the banks of the Daxia River, hundreds of scholars and young ladies had gathered in one place, occasionally venting the poetic fervor in their hearts, lamenting the magnificent mountains and rivers, or decrying the current political situation.
However, these scholars and ladies were not entirely lacking in brute strength; almost all of them practiced martial arts, though their cultivation was low, stopping at Qi Condensation. Finding even a single Qi-Bursting Martial Artist among them would be quite difficult.
Fang Chen was a newcomer and initially drew little attention, but as he slowly walked toward the center of the crowd, someone finally spotted him!
"Fang Chen!?"
"Why would he come to today's Ceasefire Poetry Gathering!?"
"What is a mere martial artist like him doing coming to a poetry gathering? Could he be here to kill people? Just a few days ago, even Li Huang died at his hands!"
"Brother Li had superb literary talent and should have had a brilliant future, yet he was cut down in his prime because he offended this butcher—what a pity, what a pity!"
The crowd whispered amongst themselves, the vast majority of scholars holding no goodwill toward Fang Chen at the moment.
When Fang Chen was defeated five years ago, they had cursed him the loudest.
Now, although Fang Chen had recovered his cultivation, he was barred from the imperial court for life, forbidden from ever leading troops again, and stripped of his former power. These scholars had lost even the last shred of awe for someone who was nothing more than a martial artist.
"Why is he here?"
Ye Qinghe looked at Fang Chen in the distance, a slight frown on his face. Standing beside him at the moment were several young talents and accomplished women, none of whom came from ordinary backgrounds.
"Today is the Ceasefire Poetry Gathering, what is Daxia's biggest war criminal doing here? He's sullying the atmosphere of the gathering!"
A youth with a face as smooth as jade sneered.
He was Tao Yu, son of the Minister of Rites, as well as a renowned talent in the Daxia Capital. He was a favorite in the Crown Prince's inner circle and, alongside Ye Qinghe, was known as one of the Crown Prince's dual civil and martial protectors.
"Brother Tao, let's go meet this fellow."
Ye Qinghe smiled.
Tao Yu gave an arrogant smile. "Alright."
With that, the group walked toward Fang Chen, and the surrounding scholars and talented women followed suit upon seeing this.
"Isn't this the Military God Fang? I never expected to have the honor of seeing Military God Fang grace today's Ceasefire Poetry Gathering."
Tao Yu walked up and immediately began mocking him. "Could Military God Fang's presence here be intended to offer us some guidance?"
The crowd instantly let out chuckles of amusement.
As everyone knew, Fang Chen had never attended a single poetry gathering, and he hadn't even spent many years studying books in his youth, having joined the army at a tender age. Anyone here could offer pointers to this Military God when it came to poetry and literature.
Hearing Tao Yu mock Fang Chen, Goddess Xiao couldn't help feeling a flicker of anticipation. How would Fang Chen handle a scene like this? Would he draw his sword and slash out, just like on the battlefield?
"It would be quite fun if he just slaughtered all these people."
A hint of amusement flashed in Goddess Xiao's eyes.
"You are?"
Fang Chen looked at Tao Yu, a pensive look in his eyes.
Tao Yu was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting that Fang Chen wouldn't even recognize him. The smile on his face instantly stiffened, and the scholars and ladies around him exchanged glances.
"Fang Chen, you don't even know Tao Yu, the Daxia Capital's foremost talent? Well, understandable—I suppose your heart is only filled with brandishing weapons and violence, without a shred of ink and brush."
Ye Qinghe smoothed things over for Tao Yu while taking a swipe at Fang Chen by the way.
"Oh, so it's the Daxia Capital's foremost talent."
Fang Chen came to a realization, then smiled. "I've been idle lately and heard the Crown Prince was hosting a poetry gathering here, so I thought I'd come join in the lively atmosphere. To occasionally bathe in the fragrance of ink and brush is rather refreshing to the spirit."
Hearing Fang Chen claim he was merely here to join the fun and bathe in the fragrance of ink and brush, the hostility in the crowd's eyes diminished somewhat. At least the man had self-awareness.
Moreover, having the former Military God participate in today's gathering made them secretly excited; the prestige of this poetry gathering had just risen tremendously.
Goddess Xiao felt somewhat disappointed, having missed the scene she was looking forward to.
"What? Are you all not welcoming me?"
Fang Chen smiled.
"How could that be? Military God Fang used to scoff at the art of poetry, but it seems after several years of quiet reflection, your perspective has changed. Then your arrival today is quite fortuitous!"
Tao Yu flickered his sleeves with a smile and said, "Military God Fang, please take a seat!"
Fang Chen smiled and casually picked a seat to sit down, looking around to the left and right: "Why hasn't the Crown Prince come?"
"The Crown Prince has gone to invite Fairy Yu."
Ye Qinghe said indifferently.
Those seated nearby all possessed extraordinary backgrounds; upon hearing the three words "Fairy Yu," their eyes instantly lit up.
Who in the Daxia Capital didn't know that the most famous talented woman was none other than the ethereal fairy aboard the Yuxian Boat?
For ordinary people, even spending their entire fortune might not secure them a single glance.
"A dusty courtesan, and she comes to attend today's poetry gathering as well?"
One of the talented women couldn't help muttering softly, expressing her dissatisfaction.