Chapter 399: A Meeting with Mei Wu

Chapter 399: A Meeting with Mei Wu

As soon as they heard the word "spy," the Great Yue Emperor's face darkened. Those sent by the Qimen Court and the Dan Yi Court were highly trusted individuals.

And yet, one of them was a spy. How many more spies were there in the Great Yue Empire?

How many more were lurking in his inner circle? Just the thought sent a chill down his spine.

"Your Majesty, we are not spies. We..."

The hearts of the Di Ying members sank.

Their infiltration techniques were top-notch, and it had taken them years to get to this point.

Now that they were suspected, a thorough investigation would surely reveal the truth. There was no way they could hide it from the Immortal Celestial Lords.

"Whether it's true or not will be known soon enough!"

The Great Yue Emperor's eyes turned cold.

He trusted the guidance of the senior experts implicitly.

Cheng Zhan and the leader of the Tian Wu School felt their hearts sink. One of the sect warriors stationed here was a high-ranking member of the sect.

If even such individuals were spies, they dared not imagine how deeply their sects had been infiltrated.

"Your Imperial Majesty, this matter is of great importance. I must report it to the sect master. Before that, we cannot leak any information."

Cheng Zhan said in a low voice.

"This Emperor understands."

The Great Yue Emperor nodded.

Seeing this, the Di Ying members knew that their cover was blown, and with the Great Yue Emperor and Feng Yan, two Immortal Celestial Lords, present, they had no chance of escape.

If they were subjected to further scrutiny, there was a possibility that they would expose the faction to which they belonged.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the group's auras withered, their spirits dispersed, and they died on the spot, their decision swift and resolute.

Even the Great Yue Emperor, an Immortal Celestial Lord, was unable to stop them.

Their method of self-destruction was extremely overbearing. Once initiated, their bodies and spirits would instantly crumble, leaving no room for reversal.

In addition to the dissipation of their spirits and the loss of vitality, their corpses also rapidly withered, as if they had been dried out.

All traces of their existence vanished.

Their goal was to leave absolutely no clues behind!

At this point, their identities as spies had been confirmed.

Cheng Zhan and the leader of the Tian Wu School could no longer sit still. They personally returned to their sects to conduct secret investigations and root out any other infiltrators.

"Thank you, Senior, for your guidance!"

The Great Yue Emperor bowed respectfully in the direction of Li Xuan.

After that, he began to investigate the imperial capital of the Great Yue Empire. Before doing so, the Great Yue Emperor and Sui Hongwu personally inspected their confidants and bodyguards, ensuring that there were no issues before dispatching them to conduct secret searches.

"Master, how did you know they were spies?"

Suling Xiu asked curiously.

Fang Hao also nodded, equally intrigued.

"Nothing can escape my eyes."

Li Xuan smiled and added, "If you cultivate the Minor Heavenly Dao Eye, you will be able to discover such things as well."

"The Minor Heavenly Dao Eye is too profound. I have some enlightenment, but I'm still lacking."

Suling Xiu sighed helplessly.

The Minor Heavenly Dao Eye was incredibly abstruse, and she had not yet fully comprehended it.

"Then let Master guide you further."

Li Xuan feigned a helpless expression.

Now that he had achieved the Minor Heavenly Dao Eye himself, he couldn't pretend anymore. He truly understood how to cultivate it.

Thus, Li Xuan guided Suling Xiu and Fang Hao on how to cultivate the Minor Heavenly Dao Eye.

However, he only provided guidance and did not directly impart the method, as he wanted Suling Xiu to comprehend it herself. Perhaps her version of the Minor Heavenly Dao Eye would be somewhat different?

A unique Minor Heavenly Dao Eye for the Dan Yi and Wu Dao.

After guiding Suling Xiu and Fang Hao, the two returned to their cultivation to continue their enlightenment. It was unknown when they would be able to comprehend and cultivate it successfully.

Li Xuan continued to memorize the Taicang Book Dao Rules, while reducing the time spent on creating the Shen Tong Wu Dian. He allocated more time to perfecting the system of the Spirit Martial Arts, as well as perfecting the Martial Arts above the Heaven and Earth Realm.

At Jiu Shan Realm, Meng Chong emerged from a Tiankeng, having evaded the encirclement and hiding in a secluded place to settle down.

"It's not a force from Qing Hua Realm, nor is it one of the major forces in Jiu Shan Realm. Who exactly is targeting me?"

Meng Chong was puzzled.

Those masked people had a wide range of methods and were vicious and ruthless. Many of the forces in Jiu Shan Realm had members of their group infiltrated within.

After several attempts on his life, Meng Chong felt that the next time, these masked people would probably try to block him inside a Tiankeng.

"I can't go to the Tiankeng for now."

Meng Chong pondered, knowing that he had to find a way to investigate the identity of his attackers.

"The senior brother appeared at Da Gai Shan before. I'll go to Da Gai Shan and see if I can meet him."

Meng Chong made a decision and set off for Da Gai Shan, concealing his presence along the way.

...

"I finally broke through."

Xu Yan emerged from his secluded cultivation, his expression relaxed.

He had broken through to the Shen Xiang Realm.

Upon entering the Shen Xiang Realm, his strength had increased significantly once more.

With a single thought, a Shen Xiang appeared, and the power of the heavenly dao rules transformed into a landscape of mountains and rivers, with a golden dragon coiling within.

Hum!

The Yin Yang Undying Sword manifested, enveloping him like the mountains and rivers. At this moment, Xu Yan's figure was hidden within the Shen Xiang, and only the powerful Shen Xiang stood tall in the heavens and the earth.

"The fusion of the Shen Xiang and the Shen Tong is truly profound. To injure me, the first step is to break through my Shen Xiang. And after breaking the Shen Xiang, one would then face my true body.

"The power of the Shen Xiang, fused with the heavenly dao rules, is similar in some ways to the unity of the Immortal Celestial Lords with the heavens and the earth."

Xu Yan assessed his current strength. The Shen Xiang, combined with the Yin Yang Undying Sword, formed a formidable defense that ordinary Immortal Celestial Lords could not breach.

"However, if I were to encounter a powerful Immortal Celestial Lord like the Great Yue Emperor, I would still be crushed in one strike. But against weaker Immortal Celestial Lords like Sui Hongwu and Feng Yan, I am no longer afraid."

Xu Yan's confidence soared.

Below the Immortal Celestial Lords, he was invincible.

And this was just the beginning of the Shen Xiang Realm.

There were very few Immortal Celestial Lord powerhouses like the Great Yue Emperor, even in the Jiu Shan Realm.

Of course, there were those who were weaker than the Great Yue Emperor but stronger than Feng Yan, and they still posed a significant threat to Xu Yan.

However, with this breakthrough, even if he couldn't win, he now had the confidence to escape.

"Once I reach the perfection of the Shen Xiang Realm, even an Immortal Celestial Lord like the Great Yue Emperor will be nothing to fear. They won't be able to do anything to me."

The Great Yue Emperor was indeed a strong Immortal Celestial Lord, but he was not at the very pinnacle. Even he was aware of that fact.

"Once I enter the Broken Void Realm, even the Immortal Celestial Lords will no longer be a threat."

Only by breaking through to the Broken Void Realm could he truly ignore the threat of the Immortal Celestial Lords.

The power of the Broken Void Realm could pierce through the space of the heavens and the earth, and in some ways, it could counter the power of the Immortal Celestial Lords' unity with the heavens and the earth.

It was like wielding the power to control the heavenly dao of a domain.

"Mei Wu is at Qian Die Shan. Should I go and take a look? With my current strength, I should be able to handle it."

Xu Yan hesitated for a moment before deciding to go to Qian Die Shan to investigate the situation.

However, before heading to Qian Die Shan, Xu Yan sent a message to Wan Tianlin to inquire about the progress of his investigation into the mastermind behind the scenes.

"If they come after me, then it'll be easy. I can just use the Heavenly Will to control their spiritual consciousness and naturally find out who's behind all this."

"However, for True King Venerables in the latter stages or peak of their cultivation, I'll need to weaken them first before I can control them with the Heavenly Will." Xu Yan pondered.

Even though his Heavenly Will's power had increased significantly after his breakthrough, controlling True King Venerables in the latter stages or peak of their power was still challenging, as they could easily break free from its influence.

"The Heavenly Will is indeed powerful, but my mastery of it is not yet profound enough. I'll need to spend some time improving this ability."

After all, abilities that involved controlling the spiritual consciousness were inherently difficult to use across different cultivation levels.

"If the Fifth Junior Brother had some insight into the Extreme Soul Martial Arts, his extreme soul power would make him much more effective at using such abilities!" Xu Yan thought of Jiang Buling, who cultivated the Extreme Soul Martial Arts, a path of extreme soul refinement. Abilities related to the soul and spiritual consciousness were naturally stronger for him.

"Extreme Soul Martial Arts..." Xu Yan fell into deep thought. Could he also draw inspiration from the Extreme Soul Martial Arts and transform his primordial spirit, making it purer?

If his primordial spirit could truly become pure and inviolable, it would undoubtedly be a kind of metamorphosis.

Xu Yan felt a flash of insight.

"Haven't you found him yet?"

At the border between Da Gai Shan and Qian Die Shan, two True King Venerables met.

"No!" came the gloomy reply.

Xu Yan was exceptionally good at hiding. Once he disappeared, it was as if he had vanished without a trace.

"If we can't find him, how are we supposed to complete our mission? How are we going to lure him into the Celestial Grotto?"

To draw Xu Yan into the Celestial Grotto, they had even prepared a Seven Wonders Spirit Flower, a true treasure of heaven and earth. Even True King Venerables would covet it, let alone Immortal Venerables.

If they failed to lure Xu Yan into the Celestial Grotto and couldn't accomplish their task, they would be considered useless. Not only would they miss out on a reward, but they might also lose their lives.

"Should we spread the news about the treasure? If Xu Yan finds out about it, he'll definitely enter the Celestial Grotto."

"What kind of treasure is it? If news of it gets out, even Immortal Venerables will come. How are we going to carry out our plan then?"

The two True Kings wore worried expressions.

Suddenly, one of the True King Venerables' eyes lit up. "Is that Xu Yan?"

"Yes, it is! He seems to be heading towards Qian Die Shan. Let's go, and don't let him notice us. Now that he's shown himself, things will be much easier!"

The two True Kings were overjoyed.

Without revealing their intentions, they pretended to be passing by, whispering to each other as they continued on their way.

"It seems there's a heavenly treasure hidden in the Celestial Grotto of the Wu Mo. I wonder if it's true?"

"Yes, it's true. It's said to be a Seven Wonders Spirit Flower, a heavenly treasure that enhances the soul and purifies the foundation of martial arts. It helps one to calm the mind and comprehend the profundity of martial arts. Even Immortal Venerables would covet it."

"With such a treasure, our chance to break through to the Immortal Venerable realm has come."

"Exactly, but we must keep this a secret. Not many people pay attention to this small Celestial Grotto anyway..."

The two True King Venerables pretended not to have noticed Xu Yan's presence, whispering to each other as they walked.

Unbeknownst to them, they had just revealed the existence of the Seven Wonders Spirit Flower in the Wu Mo Celestial Grotto.

"The Celestial Grotto at Qian Die Shan? Is Mei Wu there?"

Xu Yan moved silently, having already spotted the two True King Venerables. He deliberately revealed his presence to see how they would react.

To his surprise, they leaked the information about the treasure to lure him into the Celestial Grotto.

"Seven Wonders Spirit Flower..."

Xu Yan's heart stirred. This flower was obviously something special. While enhancing his soul was secondary, what truly interested him was the flower's ability to help martial artists comprehend the profundity of martial arts.

Even Immortal Venerables would be tempted, indicating that the flower's grade was not low and could be of significant benefit to him at this stage.

The Blood Heart Fruit could help one comprehend a technique more easily in a short period, and the Seven Wonders Spirit Flower was of a higher grade. Perhaps it could even help him understand the Heavenly Earth Realm martial arts.

"Even if I can't fully comprehend the Heavenly Earth Realm techniques, I can still use it to organize my martial arts, comprehend my own martial path, and even cultivate more powerful abilities..."

Xu Yan was tempted. He silently followed the two True Kings from a distance.

The two True Kings whispered to each other, their eyes secretly communicating as they wondered if Xu Yan had overheard their "secret."

After all, Xu Yan was exceptionally stealthy, and they would not have noticed him if not for a coincidental glance.

The two men took advantage of this, letting Xu Yan believe that he had remained undetected and unintentionally overheard their secret.

"Be careful not to let others hear you," one of them finally said, as if suddenly becoming cautious and checking their surroundings.

"Don't worry. Unless it's an Immortal Venerable, who can escape our notice?"

"Makes sense!"

However, they secretly transmitted their thoughts to each other: "Where's Xu Yan?"

"I don't see him. Do you think he heard our conversation?"

"Impossible. If we didn't detect him, then with Xu Yan's abilities, he must have noticed us."

The two True Kings were anxious. What if Xu Yan hadn't heard their secret? Or what if he wasn't interested?

Their hearts were heavy, but they dared not stop, as they had to keep moving to avoid arousing Xu Yan's suspicion.

"Hey, something feels a little off," one of the True Kings suddenly said, his expression changing.

He didn't know why, but he felt as if he had entered a new world.

"Not good!"

His expression changed drastically, but it was too late. Waves rippled, and heavenly dao rules surrounded him, with a golden dragon coiling within the mountains and rivers.

In that instant, a hand pressed down on his head.

Hum! In a daze, his soul trembled, and the heavenly will was irresistible.

Xu Yan finally decided to take action. Although Mei Wu posed a significant threat, the Seven Wonders Spirit Flower was too precious to pass up, and it might even be a heavenly treasure from beyond the heavens.

Since Mei Wu wanted to give it to him, how could he refuse?

He would pay Mei Wu a visit! But first, he needed to make some preparations, such as controlling these two True King Venerables.

The strength of a True King Venerable in the latter stages was not weak, so Xu Yan would need to use some means to control them.

Xu Yan's Mountain River Sword Intent merged with the environment, and as soon as the two True Kings entered, he struck, catching them off guard.

In the first moment, Xu Yan used the Heavenly Will to control one of the True King Venerables. The other True King Venerable noticed something amiss and roared, his power erupting as he tried to break free from the restraint of the Mountain River Sword Intent.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end