"Pfft!"
Xin Lie's breath suddenly beca unstable, and then he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
"Immortal, what's wrong with you?" Emperor Dugu Jingtian was greatly surprised and hurriedly stepped forward to support the staggering Xin Lie.
"It's infuriating..." Xin Lie said weakly, "It was just a little bit short... just a little bit... Just when success was within reach, who knew I would suffer a backlash at the last mont..."
"How could it fail?" Dugu Jingtian asked, "Is there anyone in this space who could cause an Immortal like you to suffer a loss?"
"I'm also puzzled." After resting for a mont, Xin Lie's complexion beca slightly better, and he spoke with more energy, "At first, everything went smoothly, and I had already sensed the existence of the stele. But when I tried to determine the specific location of the stele, it suddenly lost contact, and then I suffered a backlash from the secret technique. If I hadn't reacted quickly and stopped casting spells in ti, I might already be dead."
"It doesn't matter." Dugu Jingtian consoled, "Once the Immortal has recuperated, just execute the secret technique again."
"Easy for you to say." Xin Lie snorted lightly, "Just executing the secret technique once nearly cost my life, how could I dare to attempt it a second ti?" After saying this, Xin Lie added, "Besides, if soone can give a setback once, they could do so twice. Without clarifying the details about the other party, I would not dare to act rashly." It's embarrassing to talk about. An Immortal from the Immortal Realm, suffering a great loss in the space of re mortals—if this were to get out, wouldn't people laugh their heads off?
"What should we do next?" Dugu Jingtian asked cautiously.
"Dispatch more people to search in the southeast direction, go house to house, don't leave any place unchecked, everyone must be investigated!" Xin Lie pondered for a mont and then said, "I don't care how you do it, but you must find the stele! If you find the stele, I will take you to the Immortal Realm, but if not... hmph..." As he spoke, Xin Lie let out a cold laugh, "Then don't bla for turning heartless."
Dugu Jingtian nodded hastily, "Rest assured, Immortal, even if I have to move heaven and earth, I will find the stele."
"Do not disappoint ," Xin Lie said coldly.
...
In the afternoon.
Bai Daqing suddenly found Gao Fei, with a grave expression on his face, and said, "I just got news from His Majesty the Emperor; the whereabouts of the stele have been discovered."
"Ah?" Gao Fei's pupils suddenly constricted, "The stele... where is it?"
"Southeast region."
"Southeast region? Can you be more specific?"
"For now, we only know that the stele is in the southeast region; the exact position is still under investigation."
"...How did His Majesty the Emperor learn that the stele is in the southeast region? Can His Majesty foresee the future?"
"His Majesty certainly does not possess the ability to foresee the future. It was the Immortal who discovered it," Bai Daqing shook his head.
"The Immortal?" Gao Fei's eyebrows twitched a few tis, "How did the Immortal find out?"
"Here's what happened." Bai Daqing trusted Gao Fei very much and shared everything he knew, "So days ago, soone discovered a mysterious island, on which stood eighteen mountain peaks, and traces of the stele's existence were found on the peaks. This person then reported the news to His Majesty the Emperor, and thereafter His Majesty led the Immortal to investigate..."
Gao Fei appeared calm on the surface, but inside, a tumultuous wave was turning. The mysterious island had been discovered? With this developnt, the secrets of the stele could no longer be kept.
"It was just such a coincidence," Bai Daqing continued, "The Immortal who arrived at the mysterious island beca extrely agitated. The eighteen steles lost on the mountaintop were exactly what he was searching for."
Gao Fei's mouth twitched a few tis as he forced a smile and said, "That is indeed quite coincidental."
"That Immortal is quite formidable, actually capable of casting a secret technique to search for the whereabouts of the stele," Bai Daqing remarked admiringly.
"Secret technique?" Gao Fei's eyelids twitched. He finally understood what was going on, so it was really related to that Immortal! It was that Immortal who used the secret technique to investigate the location of the stele, and then the stele started behaving strangely! With that thought, Gao Fei broke out in a cold sweat; that was too close, if he had been slower in reacting, he might have been discovered.
Once discovered, the outco would certainly have been extrely tragic.
"Unfortunately, in the end, he failed," Bai Daqing sighed, "To be precise, he failed halfway. The Immortal already knows that the stele is hidden in the Southeast Region, but the exact location remains unknown."
"The Southeast Region is vast and rich in resources; searching for a few steles is no easy task," Gao Fei comnted nonchalantly.
Bai Daqing nodded, "The Emperor has issued an imperial order for a thorough inspection of the Southeast Region. They're searching every ho without exception, inspecting everyone. Whoever dares obstruct the search will be beheaded on the spot."
"This approach doesn't seem quite appropriate," Gao Fei's mouth twitched violently, "It could easily provoke chaos."
"It was an order personally given by the Emperor, who would dare disobey?" Bai Daqing said with a bitter smile, "Let tell you sothing else. Just keep it to yourself, and don't spread it around."
"What is it?" Gao Fei asked, puzzled.
"The Immortal made a promise to the Emperor. As long as the Emperor finds the stele, the Immortal will take him to the Immortal Realm," Bai Daqing said slowly.
"To the Immortal Realm?" Gao Fei curled his lips, "No wonder the Emperor is so concerned about the matter of the stele. It turns out it's for the sake of going to the Immortal Realm."
"Not only the Emperor, but anyone would be moved, you and I included," Bai Daqing said, "Any cultivator would dream of going to the Immortal Realm."
Gao Fei nodded, "You're right! Everyone dreams of Becoming an Immortal, to possess endless life."
"Official internal scrutiny will start first, and after finishing that, they'll move on to search the others," Bai Daqing said, causing Gao Fei's face to change.
"Internal scrutiny? How will that be done?" Gao Fei inquired, "Such actions by the Emperor will dishearten the people below!"
"Right now, the Emperor has only the Immortal Realm on his mind and cares little for anything else. His eyes are on that Immortal, and as for us... we're rely his subordinates, a little grievance won't concern him," Bai Daqing said, evidently dissatisfied with the Emperor's recent actions. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken ill of the Emperor. Bai Daqing was usually very loyal to the Emperor, and if he hadn't been pushed to the limit, he wouldn't have criticized the Emperor like this.
"So... when will the internal scrutiny start?" Gao Fei asked.
"Probably in the next few days," Bai Daqing answered, "We will be very busy then and probably won't even have ti to rest. You should go back and get organized. Return to the barracks tomorrow, and as soon as the order cos from above, I'll let you know what to do." By doing this, Bai Daqing was already breaking the rules. Informing Gao Fei in advance was his way of allowing Gao Fei to prepare and avoid trouble when the ti ca. Who didn't have a secret or two? Without preparation, a surprise inspection might very well reveal those secrets.
Gao Fei, being a clever man, clearly understood Bai Daqing's good intentions. He nodded in thanks, "Thank you, Lord Mayor, for the reminder. I'll go and prepare right away." After saying this, Gao Fei turned and left.
"Sigh..."
Bai Daqing slowly exhaled a pent-up breath, murmuring to himself, "At this rate, the Human Territory will eventually descend into chaos."
Reviews
All reviews (0)