Chapter 1019
: Dividing the Army into Three Routes
Seeing this person's expression, Saito silently opened the metal capsule next to him, which had been closed.
"Stop, stop, brother... can you give me some time to catch my breath?"
"Don't be in such a hurry, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Saito released his grip, revealing an embarrassed smile.
Jonathan knelt on the ground, his hands supporting him as he cried and tried to hold back his sobs as he spoke:
"Okay, this ring's ability is to turn lead into gold."
"Wear it on your index finger, and then you can use your internal energy."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zilong didn't say much and put it on directly, then touched the white porcelain bowl on the table with his fingers.
next moment.
From the point where your finger touches the white porcelain bowl, a tiny point of gold appears and then quickly envelops the entire bowl.
Chen Zilong grabbed the bowl and let go.
The sound of the golden bowl falling to the ground has changed.
Seeing this, Li Xiao flicked his finger, and a mini version of the vacuum slash flew out, instantly splitting the golden bowl in two.
Cheng Xiao picked it up immediately and tapped it.
"Not only the outside, but the inside has changed too. The texture and feel are definitely gold, this..."
"This...this doesn't seem to be of any use either."
Cheng Xiao, who was initially amazed, stammered for a long time before he realized what use this "turning stone into gold" technique was to them.
Seeing the expressions on the faces of the Zhongzhou team members.
Jonathan pounded his chest with his fist.
"Waaaaah, it doesn't work for you, but it works for me!!!"
Do you know how you've spent this time?
"I'm so afraid of being discovered that I don't dare use it at all. I can only hold it and feel happy for a while in the middle of the night, sob sob..."
"Waaaaah..."
Seeing the man crying his heart out, Li Xiao and the others were speechless.
Zhu Wen then grabbed the four items and entered the Demon Refining Pot.
After doing all that, Li Xiao rubbed his scalp, pushed up his non-existent glasses on his nose, completely ignoring Jonathan and looking out the window.
"I didn't expect it to be dawn already. A lot has happened last night. Let's all rest here for the day."
"We'll discuss the mission after Chu Xuan has finished studying these five items that came out of the ancient tomb."
"And if I'm not mistaken, the imperial court should already be on their way."
Zhang Jie had already cleared out all the guests from the entire sixth floor from the very beginning.
So after Li Xiao finished speaking, everyone found a room to rest.
It's called a rest, but really it's about calming down.
After all, even Chu Xuan needed time to think about all this incredible information he had learned in such a short period of time.
Not to mention others.
Everyone responds differently to this kind of information.
Saito Hajime chose to go straight out, finish the hotel breakfast, ask for the location of the nearest bookstore, and then head over there.
Zhang Jie and Cheng Xiao stayed in the room and started sleeping.
Zhao Yingkong, the young girl, was still holding a book, maintaining a steady reading pace.
Zhu Wen and Chen Zilong also left the hotel, and even changed their clothes.
As they walked, they asked passersby simple questions, looking like tourists from out of town.
At midnight, they found Shanghai's most bustling nightclub.
It was obvious that everyone on the Zhongzhou team knew the answer.
Once Chu Xuan's research results are released, they will likely not have such leisure time anymore.
in the hotel.
"How did you know that officials from the imperial court were looking for us?"
Li Xiao looked at the girl next to the French windows who didn't even look up and said with a smile.
"It's very simple. Since Jonathan said that the Buddha statue has the special property of levitation, and the two of them were chased all the way from the mainland to Shanghai by the Yellow Turban Warriors."
"Furthermore, with the disappearance of Ziyuan and General Guo, the existence of a suspended tomb must have been exposed long ago, and certain forces have long been eyeing the people who excavated this ancient tomb or were related to it."
"I think that's why Jonathan has never dared to use these magical artifacts."
"Otherwise, given his money-grubbing nature, he would have taken advantage of the rising gold prices during the world war to sell his gold."
Upon hearing Li Xiao's words, even the usually aloof Zhao Yingkong revealed a knowing smile.
There's no way around it, this guy last night was just too interesting.
"So why don't he and Imhotep cooperate directly with the imperial court?"
"Instead, they drove all the way to Shanghai and were waiting for us?"
Li Xiao patted Jonathan, who was fast asleep next to him.
“Our friend isn’t stupid either; the premise of cooperation is that both parties are of equal strength.”
“If Ziyuan, General Guo, O’Connor, and Evelyn were all outside, Jonathan would probably have joined them and worked with them to excavate this ancient tomb.”
"But now that we're only left with him and Imhotep, the only outcome is that he'll be completely taken advantage of and then thrown out."
“But things changed after we came along…”
After Li Xiao finished speaking, she pretended to remember something and touched her stomach.
"Let's go. I'm starving after talking for so long."
"I've heard that Shanghai cuisine is good, how about we go and try it together?"
Zhao Yingkong put away the book and stood up.
Seeing this, Li Xiao quickly followed.
The sun sets.
Needless to say, the members of the Zhongzhou team gathered together again, exchanging the intelligence they had collected and some interesting anecdotes.
Chen Zilong and Cheng Xiao seemed to have discussed something, and then led Jonathan, who looked like a little chick, directly out of the living room.
Li Xiao could still hear them chatting on the road.
"This ring consumes internal energy, so Jonathan, you've cultivated internal energy?"
"Hehe, I learned from O'Connor and only managed to master a little bit."
"It's alright, I'll show you a real gem later, as compensation for your loss yesterday."
"No, no, no, that's not necessary."
"Don't mention it, we're friends after all."
Li Xiao shook his head, looked at Imhotep, and then took out Zheng Zha's heart and the illusory nascent soul of Xiao Honglu.
After all, this was a highly learned high priest in Egyptian civilization; who knows, he might have some methods.
However, to Li Xiao's disappointment, Imhotep gave the same answer as Chu Xuan after his examination.
Although their situations were different, the final result was the same: they both needed time to recover.
Imhotep even said that their condition would resist anything external, and that they would need a certain trigger to awaken.
Li Xiao couldn't say for sure about Zheng Zha's situation, but after Imhotep's explanation...
Li Xiao, Zhao Yingkong, and the others all believed that this suspended pavilion left behind by the yellow-skinned cultivators was probably the opportunity that Xiao Honglu needed.
After all, they are both part of the cultivation system, and who knows what might happen if a Nascent Soul cultivator enters.
The next morning.
Chu Xuan finally emerged from the Demon Refining Pot.
Without asking, this person stood still and spoke directly.
"The combination of runes on the Guanyin pendant is more than twice as many as that on the protective jade pendant. After experiments, based on its defensive capabilities and spirit protection characteristics, it is comparable to a B-level side quest item in the Main God Space, and it does not require a bond with a master."
"The jade slip contains a magic technique called 'Turning Stone into Gold'."
"As for the pill, I divided it into ten portions. After experimenting with each portion, I determined that it is a drug that can enhance mental strength, but the degree of enhancement is very small."
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be a kind of pill called Moon Essence Pill from the Main God Space, worth two hundred reward points."
Seeing the strange looks from some people, Chu Xuan continued indifferently:
"Based on these things and Jonathan's description, I think that the suspended ancient tomb is most likely a temporary camp where the cultivators who created the God Space lived."
"Similar to a military outpost, although the people have left, they left behind a lot of things." "So those yellow-skinned cultivators simply made use of the waste and transformed this place into a ruin."
“You can assume that Jonathan only entered one tent in the camp, and the cultivator in that tent must have been very fond of gold, which is why he left behind a ring and a jade slip containing the magic of turning stone into gold.”
Li Xiao nodded: "So next we'll..."
Chu Xuan didn't know why, but he was unusually decisive today.
"We split into two groups. One group, with Imhotep and Jonathan, went directly to Shanxi to find Yan Xishan to determine the location of the other parts of the Buddha statue, and also to find the Buddha's head."
"Given that Jonathan will attract the Yellow Turban Warriors' constant attacks, Li Xiao, Zhang Jie, Chen Zilong, and Saito Hajime, you are the first team."
"The remaining Zhao Yingkong, Cheng Xiao, Zhu Wen, and Lingdian will form a second team to contact the imperial court, that is, the government, and use their power to find the remaining parts of the Buddha statue."
"Putting both plans on the same footing offers the highest margin for error and the best chance of gathering all the Buddha statues within the next six days."
The hotel's breakfast restaurant was transformed into a private space with a snap of Zhang Jie's fingers.
In response to Chu Xuan's team's statement, Zhang Jie asked curiously:
"Why split into teams? Couldn't we just go to Shanxi together?"
Chu Xuan shook his head: "No, the Buddha head is the key item. To avoid unnecessary conflicts and accidents, we should focus on getting the Buddha head first."
Although no one knew how Chu Xuan made this judgment, no one questioned or even inquired about it.
"The second team's task is not only to cooperate with them, but also to keep their attention in Shanghai."
Zhang Jie and Chen Zilong then understood Chu Xuan's plan; wasn't this a feint?
Zhu Wen asked, "Then how can we get them to help us find the other parts of the Buddha statue?"
"Should we just say their emperor and empress are in a suspended ancient tomb?"
"Wait for them to come to the rescue?"
Li Xiao, who was opposite, took something out of his spatial bag and threw it to Chu Xuan.
At the same time, he said, "No, use this."
Chu Xuan caught it.
Only then did everyone see clearly what it was.
It is a banner-shaped scroll, about 33 centimeters long and the size of a fist.
The scroll head is made entirely of black jade inlaid with gold dust.
The scroll itself is made of a seven-colored brocade with bright yellow as the main color.
Although it hasn't been unfolded yet, the auspicious clouds and dragon patterns on the back are still clearly visible.
Upon seeing this thing again, Saito immediately began to stammer.
Although it was the first time Zhu Wen and Zhang Jie had seen it, they had a vague idea of what it was.
Saito looked at Li Xiao.
"So, there weren't just one imperial edict back then, but two?"
Li Xiao shrugged.
"It's not two, it seems like there are seven or eight."
"At that time, this person had just been resurrected, and perhaps because he was in a good mood, he gave them a few more."
However, what surprised them was yet to come.
Chu Xuan took the imperial edict, unfolded it, and placed it on the table.
Curious, everyone crowded around and discovered something amazing: it was an imperial edict stamped with a red jade seal, but with no contents.
Chu Xuan was not surprised by this at all, and took out the brush he had prepared beforehand to start writing.
Li Xiao thought for a moment and then took out two more identical bills and handed them to Zhao Yingkong:
"Just in case, prepare two extra."
"With the Dragon Emperor absent, this is the highest order. I think he won't mind this when he comes out."
Zhao Yingkong accepted it and nodded.
It was at this moment that Zhang Jie suddenly spoke:
“A special person came and stood outside the hotel. It was as if he could see my spirit.”
"Wearing a bright red robe like an NPC, he must be an official."
Hearing this, Li Xiao nodded and stood up: "In that case, let's go!"
"I'll leave the liaison with the authorities to you."
As they spoke, the group gathered around and stood in a line, looking at Imhotep.
The next moment, yellow sand churned up.
When the doorbell rings.
Li Xiao and his companions had vanished without a trace.
Zhu Wen opened the restaurant door.
To her surprise, there was no large entourage or groups of soldiers outside the door.
Instead, it was just one person, an ancient person wearing a red brocade robe.
This ancient person doesn't seem to be from this era; he seems to be from several hundred years ago.
The middle-aged man in the official robe had regular features and an upright posture.
After seeing Zhu Wen, his gaze continued backward until he saw Chu Xuan, at which point his gaze stopped.
Support yourself with both hands in front.
"Your humble servant Dongfang greets you all!"
In the restaurant, Zhu Wen didn't understand.
But Zhao Yingkong seemed to recall something.
"Are you the Hanlin Academician from back then?"
Dongfang looked at Zhao Yingkong and was momentarily dazed.
Chu Xuan said he was a young man.
But now, decades have passed in the blink of an eye, and that little girl from back then hasn't changed at all.
This made him realize that this person was definitely not a little girl.
He might be an immortal like the Imperial Advisor.
Thinking this in his heart, Dongfang respectfully bowed:
"It's down."
Chu Xuan's indifferent gaze swept over them.
He then spoke.
"Please come in."
Before Dongfang could even sit down, he saw the imperial edict on the table, the ink still wet.
To Zhu Wen's surprise, this person showed no astonishment whatsoever.
Even knowing that they wrote the imperial edict, they didn't react at all.
After sitting down, Dongfang glanced out the window discreetly before looking directly at Chu Xuan.
He spoke first, without waiting for the other party to speak.
"His Majesty has disappeared, and the position of the Three Dukes remains undecided."
Thirty years ago, the Imperial Preceptor and the Chief Physician mysteriously disappeared on their way back to the capital and have not been heard from since.
"But I know they went abroad to help you, and now you are appearing so openly in Shanghai, you must have something to ask of them."
As he spoke, his gaze finally fell upon the imperial edict.
No one else knows what Chu Xuan is thinking.
However, Zhao Yingkong, Lingdian, and Zhu Wen realized that this person was a smart person similar to Xiao Honglu.
Even if he is not as smart as Xiao Honglu, he is about the same as Zhan Lan.
Chu Xuan was also very direct, rolling up the imperial edict and picking it up.
Then I handed it over.
-
"So, you're no longer a Hanlin Academician? You've been promoted?"
Looking at Zhu Wen who asked the question, Dongfang replied:
"It is a great blessing that I have been favored by His Majesty and promoted three ranks, and now I am appointed as a court official."
Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Zhu Wen didn't react for a moment.
Fortunately, Dongfang understood and quickly explained. (End of Chapter)