The Heavenly Mystery Palace of the Demonic Sect

Jiang Nihuang is the eldest daughter of Emperor Jiang Yin of the current Daqian Dynasty, and she is exceptionally talented.

He is only twenty-five years old today, and he is already a Transcendent Realm expert, one of the top experts in the world.

Gu Qingxuan truly hadn't expected that Wu Dingbang was actually backed by her.

Jiang Nihuang's status is somewhat special.

She was devoted to martial arts and had little interest in worldly power. She could even casually give the Phoenix Pavilion, which she had built herself, to her younger sister as a toy.

The emperor bestowed upon her the title of Princess Zhenguo, a rank equivalent to a prince, and granted her the right to establish her own residence. She did not respond, as she spent most of her time in seclusion at the princess's residence. She was respected by everyone and held extremely high prestige, but strictly speaking, she did not have any real power.

If Wu Dingbang really wanted to climb the ranks, he actually had many more options.

Jiang Nihuang is too high-ranking, so high that she seems otherworldly. Working under her, it's actually very difficult to get promoted.

Because she didn't see the needs of ordinary people.

Seeing that he understood, Wu Dingbang suppressed his smile and said seriously, "It seems you guessed it too. Now there is an opportunity. If you can help Her Highness the Princess overcome this difficulty, not to mention Marquis Dingyuan, even the Imperial Preceptor Fang Shiyi would not dare to openly do anything to you."

Gu Qingxuan's expression shifted slightly.

Wu Dingbang's reminder reminded him that there was still a "fate of a frozen dog" hanging over his head—that was a fate personally bestowed by Fang Shiyi in front of the whole world, a life of a paper body, a rat's gall, and a frozen dog's fate.

A divine physiognomist's word carries greater weight than nine tripods.

This concerns the reputation of the physiognomy lineage. If it doesn't come true, it will be a slap in the face to Fang Shiyi!

Therefore, the Divine Physiognomist lineage will definitely do everything in their power to make those prophecies come true.

Gu Qingxuan, now possessing the physique of a dragon and the audacity of an elephant, has already broken two rules—his paper body is shattered and his courage is broken. If the fortune tellers knew about this, they would likely make him "fulfill" the last rule immediately: to die like a frozen dog, and to ruin his predictions before he even became famous!

He really needs a big tree that even Fang Shiyi can't move.

Jiang Nihuang is a good fit.

Gu Qingxuan didn't want to be someone else's dog, and it just so happened that this big tree was detached from worldly affairs—she was about to become an immortal and was too lazy to order her subordinates around. Others didn't dare to touch her people out of respect for her.

This is only beneficial to him, with no drawbacks.

"What opportunity?" he asked.

Wu Dingbang asked, "Have you ever heard of the 'Ziwei Guiyuan Method'?"

Gu Qingxuan thought for a moment: "It seems to be a unique skill that can absorb people's internal energy."

"That's right, this is the supreme technique of the Heavenly Mystery Palace, the foremost of the Seven Absolute Techniques!"

Wu Dingbang slowly said, "The first half is the method of gathering and controlling Qi, and the second half is the method of transforming and circulating Qi. The eldest princess is exceptionally talented. After obtaining the first half, she made rapid progress and crossed the Innate Realm before the age of thirty, directly entering the Profound Realm. However, this technique is extremely domineering. Without the Qi transformation method in the second half, the foreign true Qi in her body will eventually backfire!"

At this point, his voice deepened slightly: "The princess has already followed the clues hidden in the first half of the cultivation technique and found the Heavenly Mystery Palace's heirloom, the Heavenly Mystery Token. The second half of the method lies within the token, but so far no one has been able to decipher its mysteries. If you can unlock the secrets of the Heavenly Mystery Token, Her Highness the princess will surely protect you!"

I see……

Gu Qingxuan nodded knowingly, indicating that he understood: "I can give it a try."

He agreed immediately, then added, "But I have one more condition."

Wu Dingbang said, "Go ahead and speak."

Gu Qingxuan said, "No matter what method you use, take Qingluo out of the Marquis's mansion and remove her from the slave status."

Once the Marquis's mansion thoroughly investigates the reasons for his change, Qingluo will definitely suffer!

These words surprised Wu Dingbang and Shen Xiaoxiao.

Gu Qingxuan is now a rare commodity, and he can ask for an exorbitant price, exchanging it for any wealth and glory.

Unexpectedly, it was only to protect a maid.

Wu Dingbang couldn't help but take another look at him; this person always managed to surprise him.

He readily agreed and turned to say, "Commander Shen, go and bring her here."

Shen Xiaoxiao responded with a "Yes," and then vanished in a flash.

Wu Dingbang stood up, straightened his robes, and said to Gu Qingxuan, "You wait here, I will immediately send a message to Her Highness the Princess."

Gu Qingxuan nodded.

Wu Dingbang strode out of the duty room, his footsteps fading into the distance along the corridor.

at the same time.

The Marquis of Dingyuan's residence was in complete chaos.

The only legitimate daughter had died, and Madam Li was still wailing in the main hall. Several maids and servants tried to comfort her, but to no avail. Her cries could be heard clearly even from several courtyards away.

After returning from the Zhenfu Division, He Juncheng had a gloomy face. On one hand, he sent someone by carrier pigeon to urgently inform the Marquis, and on the other hand, he began to thoroughly investigate the reason for Gu Qingxuan's change.

This good-for-nothing has been under house arrest in the west courtyard for more than half a month. Normally, not even a fly can get in. How did he suddenly transform overnight?

Someone must be helping us in secret!

He summoned the guards who had been crippled by Gu Qingxuan to a side hall and questioned them one by one.

Several guards, some with slings, some with crutches, and some with blood-soaked bandages wrapped around their heads, knelt on the ground and recounted the events of the past few days in a cacophony of voices.

He Juncheng's brows furrowed more and more as he listened, until someone mentioned the maid—the changes that had occurred after she delivered the food. His face darkened completely, and he roared, "Bring that wretched woman here!" Before the guards could act, he changed his mind, "No, I'll go myself!"

The group, filled with murderous intent, rushed towards the backyard where the servants lived.

Qingluo sat in the backyard waiting room where the maids lived. The room was small, with a row of beds along the wall, the bedding neatly folded. Several maids behind her were chattering.

They were originally maids who served the "son-in-laws," but later, except for Qingluo, they all found their own way and went to other places.

When the news of Gu Qingxuan's escape reached this place, Qingluo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is he really the son-in-law? That... son-in-law who's too shy to even speak to people? He actually dared to hit someone?"

"It wasn't just beating people; I heard that Chief Qin, who chased after them, is dead at his hands!"

"What? How is this possible! Him? He's really turned his life around, from a nobody to a phoenix."

"Sigh, if only I had stayed in the West Wing, maybe I could have benefited from it..."

"Come on, you ran away faster than anyone else back then, saying things like 'following him would ruin my life,' and now you're making sarcastic remarks."

"And you're the one talking! Don't you always complain that he's useless and a good-for-nothing?"

The maid blushed and couldn't speak.

After a moment of silence, the group realized that following him might not necessarily bring them any benefit... Wasn't there a fool in the house who was helping him? Not only were they not taken out of the mansion, but they might also be implicated.

The group looked at Qingluo with pity.

Someone asked, "Qingluo, what kind of person is the son-in-law?"

Qingluo simply shook her head gently and said nothing.

She sat upright, as if waiting for something.

soon.

The courtyard gate was kicked open, and more than a dozen guards rushed in with torches, completely surrounding the side room.

The maids screamed in fright and shrank back into the corner, their faces pale with fright.

Two burly guards rushed in, grabbed Qingluo, and dragged her into the courtyard like a chick, throwing her at He Juncheng's feet.

The torchlight illuminated the courtyard brightly, casting long, messy shadows on the ground.

He Juncheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the thin little maid on the ground, his gaze like two awls, piercing her.

"explain!"

Qingluo lowered her head slightly and remained silent.

Snapped!

He Juncheng slapped her hard across the face, sending Qingluo flying. She crashed into a stone pillar in the courtyard, her face swelling up instantly and a trickle of blood oozing from the corner of her mouth.

She tried to stand up by bracing herself against the ground, but He Juncheng's five fingers made a grasping motion, and an invisible suction force lifted her into the air and pulled her in front of him.

His hand gripped her slender neck, his fingers tightening, lifting her feet off the ground.

"Who would have thought that this son-in-law, having fallen to such a state, would still be able to raise a loyal follower!"

He Juncheng leaned closer to her face, his tone full of mockery: "You wretched servant, you really are! He didn't care about you when he left the manor, he just ran away on his own, but you're quite loyal."

Qingluo was being choked until she could hardly breathe, her face flushed red, but she remained silent.

He Juncheng squinted and suddenly noticed something. The torchlight flickered on her face, which was strangely dark, not like her natural skin tone, but as if she had applied some kind of coating.

He sneered and reached behind him: "The handkerchief, soak it."

A guard hurriedly ran into the side room, scooped half a ladle of water from the water vat, soaked a coarse cloth in his pocket, and jogged over to hand it to him.

He Juncheng took it, pressed it against Qingluo's face, and wiped it hard.

The dark gray stains were wiped away with a damp cloth, revealing a patch of fair skin. He wiped it a second time, and a third time. The stains on the cloth became darker and darker, but his face became whiter and whiter. He wore no makeup, and his features were delicate. In the torchlight, he had an indescribable clean and beautiful appearance.

The guards in the courtyard were all stunned.

Is this still that lowly maid who always keeps her head down and has a face as black as the bottom of a pot?

He Juncheng tossed the dirty handkerchief to the ground and sneered, "So she's a beauty after all. A real hidden talent. Too bad—" He tossed Qingluo behind him and said to the guards, "What I hate most now is someone who's truly unassuming! You're all in here. Find out the reason!"

The guards, their eyes gleaming with lust, asked slyly, "Head Steward, are any methods acceptable?"

"Anything is fine."

Without turning his head, He Juncheng said, "We must get her to talk."

The guards nodded with lewd grins, and one of them rubbed his hands together and said, "Don't worry, Steward, I'm the best at getting people to talk, whether it's horizontal, vertical, above, or below."

The crowd burst into laughter and surrounded Qingluo.

Qingluo's eyes were filled with tears, but she remained silent, her hands gripping her sleeves tightly.

Just as a guard reached out his hand, a throwing knife suddenly flew from the darkness, flashing cold light, and embedded itself in the back of his hand. The blade pierced through his palm, with half an inch of the tip protruding from the back of his hand!

The man screamed and staggered backward, blood dripping from the tip of the knife onto the blue brick floor.

More than twenty guards descended from the sky, landing steadily at the four corners of the courtyard, surrounding everyone.

The leader was dressed in silver flying fish attire, with a slender figure and a cold, beautiful face; it was none other than Shen Xiaoxiao.

He Juncheng's expression changed, but he quickly suppressed his anger and cupped his hands, saying, "So it's Commander Shen. May I ask what brings Commander Shen here without prior notice?"

Shen Xiaoxiao took out a Xie Zhi token from her bosom and held it high.

The firelight reflected on the bronze plaque, and the Xie Zhi's eyes blazed like torches: "Commander of the Northern Garrison, arrest the accomplice of the wanted criminal Gu Qingxuan, maid Qingluo, men, take her back to me."

Two guards stepped forward, helped Qingluo up from the ground, and carried her behind Shen Xiaoxiao.

Qingluo stared blankly at everything before her, still in a daze.

He Juncheng's face instantly darkened.

This excuse is utterly careless—Wu Dingbang just accused Gu Qingxuan of "violating curfew and disturbing government offices," so where did this accomplice come from?!

The Zhenfu Division's repeated interference in the Marquis's residence is clearly a slap in the face.

He spoke coldly, "The Garrison Command is the Emperor's personal army, holding a transcendent position, but don't forget, it's divided into North and South! The Northern Garrison Command acts so arrogantly, repeatedly treating my Marquis's residence as nothing, disregarding the law. Aren't they afraid the Southern Garrison Command will come knocking to investigate? Don't forget! Wu Dingbang is a former subordinate of Gu Dingyuan, but Duan Beilou, the Garrison Commander of the Southern Garrison Command, is also a comrade-in-arms of the Marquis!"

"You don't need to say these things to me."

Shen Xiaoxiao remained unfazed, retrieving the token from her pocket and saying calmly, "I'm here solely to arrest someone. If you want to sue, go ahead. Take him away!"

The imperial guards, carrying Qingluo, leaped onto the rooftop and vanished into the night in an instant.

He Juncheng was so angry that his face turned red, and his fists clenched so tightly that his bones cracked, but he didn't dare to stop him.

Shen Xiaoxiao is not as strong as Wu Dingbang, but he is the successor of Master Mingxuan and is not to be trifled with either.

He Juncheng could only stare intently at Shen Xiaoxiao's retreating figure, forcing out through gritted teeth, "Fine, fine! You wait here! I'll go find someone—the Southern Garrison Commander will definitely want to seize this opportunity to cause trouble for Wu Dingbang! Guard the mansion well!"

"yes!"

He Juncheng leaped out of the Marquis's residence.