Imperial Censor Su Ming

He was a peerless expert in Jing Yang Temple, who rejected the eldest princess.

He was also the disciple of the great grandmaster, Daoist Yu Ji.

The crown prince would think of a way to deal with him.

Gao Shishan raised his head and looked at the crown prince who was sitting at the head of the table.

Most people in power had the hobby of gathering experts for their own use.

Even if he could not make use of such experts, he would not allow others to do the same.

"Third Brother thinks that he can borrow Jing Yang Temple's strength by befriending them. He's wrong.

"The Royal Hall of Worship is the foundation of our great imperial family."

Crown Prince Zhao Qian revealed a cold smile. He looked outside the hall and nonchalantly said, "Without their supreme elder, Jing Yang Temple's might is just for show."

"I suspect that this so-called peerless expert is just a trap set up by Jing Yang Temple to deal with the Gathering of Immortals."

It was not impossible.

In the hall, Gao Shishan and the others nodded slightly.

Countless masters had appeared at the Gathering of Immortals. If Jing Yang Temple could not suppress them, their state and the imperial court's status would be negatively affected.

Only a person with a high position like the crown prince could see the situation clearly, clear the fog, and secure his footing.

This was also the reason why they were willing to rely on the crown prince.

"Old Ding, find an opportunity to send someone to test this person in Jing Yang Temple." The Crown Prince turned around and said.

The old man with white hair nodded slightly. He had been standing still beside the crown prince, and everyone had been ignoring him.

Ding Cang was a servant of the crown prince's residence and a Spirit Transformation Realm grandmaster. He was in charge of all kinds of guards in the crown prince's residence. He also did some of the dirty work.

Everyone in the hall bowed and left.

...

Zhang Li slowly opened his eyes in the quiet room in Jing Yang Temple.

The last spirit light from the six spirit stones on the array disk dissipated, and the spirit energy in the quiet room was also exhausted.

He was already in the middle stage of his Level 5 Spirit Refinement Realm. The amount of spirit energy needed to condense his True Essence was not small.

One spirit stone could only support two days of breathing exercises.

At Level 1 or Level 2 of the Spirit Refinement Realm, one spirit stone could allow him to cultivate for a month.

"At the end of the day, I'm a little impatient," Zhang Li said in a low voice as he felt the swelling pain in his meridians.

The Thousand Autumns Cloud Wave Technique stressed that it should be done according to one's nature, just like the clouds and waves that naturally gathered and dispersed.

In the past 10 days, he had really pushed himself with this cultivation technique and increased his cultivation. It had been too deliberate.

Cultivation was not something that could be achieved overnight.

Being eager for quick success might backfire.

He did not lack spirit stones, resources, or time. What Zhang Li needed to do now was stabilize his mind.

He needed to remember the cultivation of the heart as well.

Zhang Li breathed a sigh of relief and opened up a blank talisman paper before him.

He dipped the brush in ink, and the runes flowed like golden light.

In just a moment, he completed a rainwater talisman that could irrigate a hundred acres of spiritual land.

Zhang Li was quite certain that he was talented in the cultivation of talismans. At least, it was not inferior to his sword path.

Zhu Yunshan had told him that the rainwater talisman would take at least a month to complete, and that he would probably waste 2,000 pieces of talisman paper.

He had only wasted less than 300 pieces in total, and he could already draw it quite well.

After he practiced drawing some other talismans, he waited for the remaining spirit energy in the quiet room to completely dissipate. Then he put away the talisman papers and brush before he walked out.

Spirit energy could not be wasted.

When he arrived at the side hall, he saw a pile of talismans on the table in front of Zhu Yunshan.

Zhang Li rudely put away the talismans.

He had bought them all with spirit stones, after all.

Zhu Yunshan put down his brush and sighed, "Cultivation really takes away your sense of time. It's been seven days."

Shaking his head, he stood up and clasped his hands behind his back. "It's easy to get carried away with these paths that involve artifacts. If you delay your cultivation, it'll be too late to turn back."

After indulging in the talisman path and wasting time, Zhu Yunshan's immortal cultivation was only at Level 2 of the Spirit Refinement Realm.

He turned his head and looked at Zhang Li.

"What have you been cultivating for the past 100 years?"

What did he cultivate?

Zhang Li's gaze fell on his waist.

There was a black two-foot-long short sword hanging there.

"The sword path?

"That isn't something ordinary cultivators can play with." Zhu Yunshan grinned.

A profound look flashed in his eyes as he whispered, "I see that you've made ample preparations to draw talismans these few days.

"Talisman papers, talisman brushes, cinnabar ink, and six spirit stones." He looked at Zhang Li and said in a low voice.

Not only had he paid off his debt to Zhang Li over these past few days, he had also earned six spirit stones.

"If I didn't know that you were a disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect, I would have thought that you were the guardian elder of this batch."

Zhang Li did not know who this year's guardian elder was.

Anyway, it was not him.

When he was on the airship, he heard that the sect in charge of this year's mission was the Spirit Controlling Sect.

The guardian elder was probably a Spirit Controlling Daoist too.

The guardian elders usually had their own missions. They would not interfere with the other guardian disciples unless their mission was too difficult to complete.

However, the vast majority of the guardian disciples were also unwilling to interact with the guardian elder.

He could return to the cultivation world after he completed his mission. The rest did not have much time left, and they could not go back, so why did they have to interact?

"Forget it. You have your secrets, and so do I." Zhu Yunshan laughed and patted Zhang Li on the shoulder.

"I don't have much longer to live, anyway. Every day of happiness in the mortal world counts."

As he spoke, he stretched and strode out of the side hall.

"It's been more than 10 days, right? It should be quiet outside, shouldn't it?

"I'll go out for a walk. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Aren't you going to bring the Blood of the Setting Sun?" Zhang Li nodded.

Zhu Yunshan waved his hand. He had arrived at the entrance of the small courtyard, and his voice began to trail off.

"No, I saw Yue's blood and spirit energy surging a few days ago. Besides, the sunflowers are blooming today. It's not a good time to drink."

Did he consider this a good thing?

Zhang Li could not help but laugh.

A moment later, a disciple on duty at the door came in to report that a guest had arrived.

"The great grandmaster's disciple, Imperial Censor Su Ming?"

Zhang Li nodded.

Wang Qinyang would not let anyone into Jing Yang Temple unless he could not refuse them.

When Su Ming walked into the small courtyard, he appeared to be in his early 30s. He had a slight beard at the corner of his lips, and he was wearing green scholar robes. He looked rather heroic.

He also had a sheathed sword at his waist, and there were jade embellishments in between the black and white design.

This gentleman's sword was an inheritance from the great grandmaster of the Zhao state, Minister Dongfang Jing.

"Mr. Zhang, I hope you don't mind me disturbing you."

When he saw Zhang Li standing before the stone steps, Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed before raising his head. "I came here to ask you about Great Grandmaster Yu Ji. How is he?"

Daoist Yu Ji?

How would he know if that man was doing well or not?

"It's alright," Zhang Li said calmly.

Good or bad? It was anybody's guess.

Su Ming looked at Zhang Li and fell silent for a moment before he nodded. "I wonder what you think of the three great grandmasters working together to suppress the demon back then, Mr. Zhang?"

'What does the demon-subduing from 100 years ago have to do with me?

'I can't be bothered to look into this.'

"It's good," Zhang Li said as he looked at Su Ming.

It looked like Su Ming did not expect Zhang Li to reply in such a manner. He stared at Zhang Li's face and fell silent.

"Is there anything else?" Zhang Li asked.

Su Ming took a deep breath and softly said, "Master Zhang, you are very knowledgeable. I want to know if there are any good demons."

"Yes, there are." Zhang Li's answer was very direct.

The stories of his previous life and the cultivation rumors in this life told him that not all demons were extremely evil.

"Thank you for informing me, Sir." A hint of joy appeared on Su Ming's face, and he bowed. "Farewell."

With that, he turned around and left.

This guy arrived at their doorstep without rhyme or reason and left just like that.

Zhang Li's expression changed slightly as he watched him leave.

Su Ming could not have come for no reason.

His topic of conversation was related to demons.

It was a pity that Zhang Li had no way of knowing what was happening outside Jing Yang Temple.

To cultivate in peace, it was not enough to just bury yourself in cultivation.

The heart would only be at ease when the body was stable.

After pondering for a while, Zhang Li walked out of the small courtyard.

He was also very curious about demons.

Coincidentally, there was a demon in Jing Yang Temple's Demon Subduing Pavilion.