Chapter 268: April 4th - Walking Alone

In front of the window, the man in the long robe turned around and said, "I just received news that Su Yi will depart for Yujing City on April 4th."

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "If my guess is correct, he will encounter many obstacles and assassination attempts along the way."

The woman carrying the sword and the silver-haired old man narrowed their eyes slightly.

The woman asked, "Senior Brother Lu, is the information reliable?"

"The information came from the Su family in Yujing City. It's not a secret," Lu Dongliu replied.

Lu Dongliu had a touch of white at his temples and a cold and stern expression, "There's no need to doubt it. There are bound to be many people within the Great Zhou Empire who, like us, have their eyes on the secrets that Su Yi possesses."

His name was Lu Dongliu.

He was an elder of the Inner Hall Transmission Pavilion of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect, a formidable figure who had immersed himself in the realm of the Innate Martial Ancestor for twenty years!

Strictly speaking, Lu Dongliu could be considered a true practitioner, and his strength far surpassed those in the same realm in the secular world.

The woman with the sword looked surprised and asked, "Senior Brother Lu, is the Su family intentionally spreading this information, hoping to use someone else's hand to eliminate Su Yi?"

Liao Yunliu.

She was the second elder of the Outer Sect of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect and had the title of "Sword of Severance." She was an Innate Martial Ancestor with profound achievements in the art of the sword.

Over twenty years ago, when she was only at the Martial Master Fifth Stage, she had killed an Innate Martial Ancestor in the secular world!

"That's natural. After the battle at the Gunzhou Governor's Mansion, Su Yi has completely severed ties with the Su family in Yujing City. Now, the entire Great Zhou Empire is waiting to see how the Su family will respond to this matter," Lu Dongliu explained.

The white-haired old man spoke leisurely, "In such a situation, exposing Su Yi's travel plans to Yujing City ahead of time is no different from using someone else's hand to kill him."

Li Cang.

He was the eldest elder of the Outer Sect of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect, an Innate Martial Ancestor at the Grand Perfection stage. It was rumored that one of his feet had already stepped into the threshold of the Yuan Dao, and his true strength was unfathomable.

"Now, we are faced with a choice," Lu Dongliu said calmly, "Either we take action now and kill Su Yi, in which case the secrets on his body will belong to our Hidden Dragon Sword Sect."

"Or we wait until he departs for Yujing City on April 4th and act at an opportune moment."

"These two choices have their advantages and disadvantages. I am more inclined towards the latter."

"After all, we currently have no clear understanding of how powerful Su Yi truly is or whether he possesses any unknown powerful cards. It would be unwise to rashly attack," Lu Dongliu explained.

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "When this child travels to Yujing City, he is bound to encounter many obstacles and assassination attempts along the way. This way, we can use someone else's hand to test his true strength. If the timing is right, we can deliver a fatal blow."

"The only downside to this approach is that it is highly likely that someone else might kill him, and there will be many variables when it comes to seizing the opportunities on his body."

After speaking, Lu Dongliu glanced at Li Cang and Liao Yunliu, saying, "What do you think?"

Li Cang smiled and said, "I have the same idea as Senior Brother Lu."

After hesitating for a moment, Liao Yunliu finally nodded and agreed.

Su Yi is not an ordinary Martial Master First Stage individual. He once beheaded an Innate Martial Ancestor, and no one would believe that he doesn't possess extremely terrifying trump cards.

It is precisely because of this that these three important figures from the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect are so cautious.

If it were anyone else...

They would not bother to personally make this trip, let alone take action.

"Then it's settled. On April 4th, we will depart together with Su Yi!" Lu Dongliu's eyes flashed with determination.

...

"Ling Xue, I will depart for Yujing City on April 4th. During the next period of time, you should stay in the Tianyuan Academy and not wander around," Su Yi gently instructed while sitting by the lake in the Shoushi Residence.

With that, he looked at Cha Jin and said, "You too."

Both Wen Lingxue and Cha Jin nodded.

"What about me, Uncle Su?" Zheng Muyao couldn't help but ask.

Su Yi said, "Aren't you the successor of the Tianyuan Academy?"

Zheng Muyao was momentarily stunned, but then she awkwardly smiled, "Uh, yeah, that's true."

"Young master, are you going alone?" Cha Jin asked softly, feeling somewhat worried.

Su Yi replied, "Having too many people will be troublesome."

With his cultivation, even if he encountered a life-threatening danger, he had means to resolve it.

Moreover, his journey to Yujing City was not for sightseeing, and he didn't want others to get involved. Often, it would become a burden to have others around.

...

As evening approached, Ning Yihua once again arrived riding the Azure Scale Falcon.

"Fellow Daoist, this is the gratitude gift Lan Suo prepared. Please accept it," Ning Yihua handed a jade box to Su Yi.

Su Yi said, "When I saved her, I already took a strand of the Netherflame Devil Sparrow's soul. That is already enough. You can take this jade box back."

Ning Yihua shook her head and said, "One good turn deserves another. Fellow Daoist, by taking action this time, you saved Lan Suo's life. It is only right for her to offer some gratitude. If you refuse, she would feel guilty."

Su Yi never liked to argue over trivial matters like this. Seeing Ning Yihua's firm attitude, he didn't bother saying anything further and accepted the jade box on the spot.

Ning Yihua smiled mysteriously, her eyes filled with meaning. "Fellow Daoist, don't you want to open and see the treasure in this jade box?"

Su Yi was taken aback. Could there be something special about this gratitude gift?

He casually opened the jade box, and a burst of colorful and radiant spiritual light emanated from it. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the colorful light emanated from a string of jade beads.

There were only five beads in this string, each of them of a different color: red, green, yellow, white, and black. They exuded the spiritual aura of the Bing Fire, Qing Wood, Shu Earth, Geng Metal, and Ren Water, respectively. They shimmered and complemented each other, resembling the rotation of the Five Elements, incredibly beautiful.

"The Five Essence Spirit Beads?" Su Yi couldn't help but be surprised.

In the major Daoist sects of the vast land of Jiuzhou, it was common practice to refine "Five Essence Spirit Beads" for the nurturing of the foundational cultivation of their Furnace-Nurturing Realm disciples. Although not considered rare, these treasures were undoubtedly the most suitable for cultivation for disciples at the Furnace-Nurturing Realm.

However, Su Yi didn't expect to encounter such a treasure in this worldly realm.

It should be noted that the refinement of the Five Essence Spirit Beads requires the collection of a sufficient amount of "Five Elements Spiritual Qi," followed by the personal involvement of a spiritual cultivator using secret techniques to nurture them, in order to refine such treasures.

In the Cangqing Continent, even Earthly Dao cultivators were regarded as terrestrial immortals, and they were extremely rare, let alone spiritual cultivators.

According to legend, rumors of the existence of spiritual cultivators were only present within the hegemonic "Da Xia Kingdom" in the Cangqing Continent.

Ning Yihua smiled and said, "After Lan Suo learned about Fellow Daoist's cultivation level, she specially took out this string of Five Essence Spirit Beads. If Fellow Daoist likes them, I will be relieved."

Su Yi pondered for a moment and asked, "Where did your friend obtain this treasure?"

Ning Yihua thought for a moment and replied, "Lan Suo comes from the Donghua Sword Sect, one of the three major cultivation forces of Da Qin. Her status is extremely special and noble. For others, these Five Essence Spirit Beads are considered rare treasures, but for her, obtaining them is not too difficult."

"So she is a disciple of a sect," Su Yi nodded.

He also knew that among the three secular nations of Da Zhou, Da Wei, and Da Qin, Da Qin had the most powerful national strength.

In terms of cultivation power alone, there were three major cultivation forces within the borders of Da Qin, far surpassing just the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect of Da Zhou.

This Lan Suo hailed from the Donghua Sword Sect in Da Qin, and even Ning Yihua mentioned that her status was extremely special and noble, which naturally meant that she was not an ordinary cultivator by any means.

After chatting for a while, Ning Yihua took her leave.

Before leaving, she also took Wen Lingxue with her.

From that day on, Su Yi's life finally became peaceful.

Apart from cultivation, he guided Tea Jin in his cultivation and also helped the young Red Nether Lion open its spiritual wisdom. He taught it a demonic cultivation method called the "Myriad Star Refining Technique."

Two days later, on the thirtieth day of the third month, Yuan Wutong, the head of the Yuan family, arrived with Yuan Luo Xi, Yuan Luo Yu, Feng Xiaofeng, Feng Xiaoran, and others. Huang Yunchong, the head of the Huang family in Guangling City, also personally paid a visit.

Su Yi arranged a banquet and engaged in drinking and conversation with them.

In the end, Feng Xiaofeng and Feng Xiaoran were left behind by Su Yi and sent to the Tianyuan Academy for cultivation on the same day. This was done to prevent the siblings from being coerced by their enemies again.

On the first day of the fourth month, Su Yi consumed a total of seven fourth-grade spiritual medicines in one go, pushing his cultivation from the Martial Master First Order to the peak of perfection.

The spiritual Dao light of the Bing Fire in his heart could reach a height of eight hundred zhang!

This represented a terrifying foundation of the Great Dao.

With Su Yi's past experience, he had never heard of anyone in the history of the vast land of Jiuzhou, from ancient times to the present, who had achieved this level of refining the heart's core at the Furnace-Nurturing Realm.

On the same day, Su Yi stepped into the Martial Master Second Order and began to cultivate his liver.

The liver belonged to the wood element, nurturing the Qing Wood spiritual energy. Refining this area could clear the meridians throughout the body, nourish vitality, dissolve the impurities and toxins within the body, and enhance essence, energy, and spirit.

Reaching this stage made Su Yi's strength more than twice as powerful as before.

...

the second day of april.

Su Yi received a letter from Zhou Zhili, the sixth prince of Yu Jing City.

In the letter, Zhou Zhili expressed his anxious concern and informed Su Yi that news of his journey to Yu Jing City on the fourth day of the fourth month was now widely known in Da Zhou. Many powerful forces were already plotting to intercept Su Yi on his way and seize the opportunities he carried with him.

Among them were some old guys who had been in seclusion for many years.

At the end of the letter, Zhou Zhili urged Su Yi to be cautious and, if possible, consider changing his itinerary.

After reading the letter, Su Yi smiled and dismissed it.

...

On the third day of the fourth month.

Su Yi sent Tea Jin to the Tianyuan Academy and made an arrangement with Ning Yihua to meet in the city of Jinliu, a hundred li away from the "Precious Shrine Demon Mountain."

Ning Yihua would also inform the Zhenyue King, Mu Xi, and they would all go together to the Precious Shrine Demon Mountain.

...

On the fourth day of the fourth month.

In the early morning, a drizzle fell from the sky.

Just like before, Su Yi washed up, practiced cultivation, and then changed into neat clothes. Holding an oiled paper umbrella, he left Shu Shi Residence alone.

First, he had a hearty breakfast at Xian Ding Ji in the city, and then he set off outside the city.

Just like when he left Yunhe County back then, for Su Yi, he preferred to measure the mountains, rivers, and earth with his footsteps, observing the scenery along the way with his Dao heart.

Experiencing wind and rain, dining on the breeze and drinking the dew.

Everything he saw, heard, felt, and gained along this journey was part of his cultivation.