Chapter 274: Fellow Cultivator, You Look Familiar
Royal City, Deep Within the Palace
Within the grand palace today, there was only one occupant—a stunningly beautiful young empress.
Seated at her desk, she held a dossier in her hand, yet she set it aside without reading.
At this moment, she had just synchronized with the memories sent back by her Taoist Alter Ego.
Like her Alter Ego, she too fell into deep thought.
Using some of the Taoist Sect secret technique, she had already verified the accuracy of the intelligence her Six Gates Bureau had delivered: the young man who caused a commotion outside Daybreak City, becoming a widely known figure in the area, was indeed the Holy Saint of the Demon Sect.
Speaking of this, the prior decision to include the Sword Province in the search scope had also been derived using Taoist techniques.
Thus, increasing the workload of a certain intelligence minister was entirely justified and absolutely not an act of imperial pettiness to make things difficult for a subordinate.
Besides, since Night Crow was enthusiastic about this matter, it wouldn't do to dampen a subordinate's zeal.
'However...'
The Demon Sect Holy Maiden, the prodigy of the Sword Sect, the top courtesan of the Red Blossom Pavilion... and now the Sword Sect's Peak Master as well.
The women surrounding the Holy Saint seemed to be inexplicably growing in number.
Previously, when he visited the Red Blossom Pavilion, her Mortal Alter Ego had just dismissed the idea of his fondness for women. Yet now, something about it didn't seem quite right.
A trace of peculiarity flickered in the empress's gaze, and she momentarily fell into a daze before shaking her head.
"...I've truly been influenced by Wutong and Night Crow."
She hadn't expected herself to seriously entertain the notion of selecting a consort and to care this much about a man younger than herself...
No, it should be the other way around, shouldn't it?
The dossier lightly tapped against the desk, producing a dull sound.
'Character, talent, appearance, intelligence... Among this generation, he is indeed an excellent choice and has indeed caught my attention. Coupled with our previous private meeting at that inn... it's no wonder such rumors are circulating within the city.'
The empress gently massaged her temples, her sleeve slipping slightly to reveal a bracelet inlaid with an exquisite gemstone.
Her gaze flickered as images from a certain dream surfaced in her mind.
"Forget it. I'll wait for more updates from the Taoist Alter Ego... Since confirmation has already been obtained, there shouldn't be any unexpected developments..."
"Judging by how he's leisurely lingering in Sword Province, his junior sister should also know he's safe by now... The recent stirrings from the Demon Artifact Pavilion must stem from this."
"The Sword Sect prodigy who disappeared with him remains unaccounted for, perhaps having returned to the Sword Sect... As for the Sword Sect Peak Master, did they cross paths due to the campaign against the Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter?"
"What's more intriguing is the Red Blossom Pavilion courtesan. She's been missing since that day, and there's talk that she's redeemed herself..."
Apart from these, there was also the Demon Sect Holy Saint's current ability to contend with Nascent Soul cultivators...
A faint glimmer sparkled in the Empress's eyes.
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In a mountain forest in Sword Province
A muscular man stared at the young man before him as though he were a monster.
The youth's strength had once again exceeded his imagination.
Feeling the numbness in his arms, the man's body trembled faintly.
The recent battle… well, it could barely be called one
The young man across from him barely moved at all. He simply waited for him to swing his sword, instantly deduced where the blade would land, and then used his hand to intercept.
The continuous clashing of metal reverberated through the air.
Though the youth didn't directly meet his heavy sword head-on, each time he diverted the blade with precision, preventing it from descending fully.
As the attacker, how could he not understand the force behind his own strikes?
He was, after all, an Early Nascent Soul stage cultivator whose strength ranked among the best at his level. Yet no one had ever fended off his attacks so effortlessly!
The muscular man panted heavily, staring at the youth before him, who had retreated only a few steps during the exchange.
Opposite him, Luo Wusheng casually rotated his neck, stretching his body.
"Well? Satisfied with the fight now? Or shall we continue?"
Right now, he's using the Buddhist Golden Body technique he'd just learned.
Hmm… purely in terms of physical strength, it wasn't particularly impressive. If he were to directly take a blow from the man's heavy sword, the faint golden glow around him would shatter, and he'd have to recast it.
However, by combining it with his spiritual energy and cleverly avoiding a direct clash of brute force, the technique had performed decently.
'Still, its durability leaves something to be desired… Looks like I'll have to find my dearest wife in a few days to "toughen up" a bit.'
Once he refined his dual cultivation technique, he reckoned he'd be able to absorb more golden blood next time.
With full refinement, he might not even need to use spiritual energy anymore—his body alone could easily overwhelm ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.
If he went all out at that point, he should be able to take on mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators without even using his Artifact.
As Luo Wusheng pondered this, the muscular man across from him silently sheathed his heavy sword and slung it over his back, shaking his head.
"…No more."
Continuing would be pointless. He clearly lacked the strength to force the youth into using his artifact.
But how could this youth be so powerful? Had he been holding back before? Or had he improved this much in just two days...?
Ha, impossible.
'Still, this is far beyond the strength described in Night Crow's intelligence on the Demon Sect Holy Saint… Could it be I'm overthinking?'
Was this youth not the Demon Sect Holy Saint after all?
Should he continue to confirm? And if so, how?
The Golden Ranked Member of the Six Gate Bureau, codenamed Xuan Ming, fell silent, recalling the information his colleagues had provided.
Meanwhile, Luo Wusheng yawned.
Finally, this annoyance was dealt with.
To be fair, the man's strength wasn't bad. His heavy sword was incredibly powerful, capable of splitting mountains and carving through the earth. What a waste he wasn't working as a miner.
"Well then, I have matters to attend to. I'll take my leave."
Luo Wusheng casually bid farewell.
He thought this man seemed decent enough, albeit a bit stubborn and burdened with a foolish younger brother.
Still, he'd managed to gather a fair bit of information from the man—though it wasn't anything he couldn't have gleaned elsewhere.
Truthfully, the Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter haunting Jianlin City had piqued his interest at first. After all, the Sword Emperor's broken sword clearly needed such materials, and it would've been an easy fix.
But now, just thinking about the oddities surrounding the recent string of Soulblade Specter incidents made Luo Wusheng abandon the idea.
Better not to complicate matters.
He decided to return to the capital with Little Yuli sooner rather than later, avoiding any further exposure in Sword Province that might lead to unexpected trouble.
With that, Luo Wusheng turned to leave.
From behind came the muscular man's hesitant voice.
"Wait, who are you?"
"Long Dahai, a scattered cultivator."
Without looking back, Luo Wusheng gave a casual response, not bothering to ask for the man's name—lest he get entangled further.
But just as he was about to take off, he froze mid-movement, a sudden sense of danger creeping into his heart.
The feeling vanished as quickly as it came.
A loud explosion echoed from outside the forest.
Looking in that direction, he saw a cold, moonlit figure step into view, capturing his attention entirely.
"Taoist Sect Chief Disciple, Ji Yanyao, passing through. You look somewhat familiar, fellow cultivator. May I know your name?"
The voice reached Luo Wusheng's ears.
For a moment, silence.
"…Demon Sect, Luo Wusheng?"
A hesitant reply finally escaped his lips.
Somewhere nearby, the Golden Ranked Member of the Six Gate Bureau thought: ???
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
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