White-Robed Chief

After both men left, Chu Li laid on the Heavenly Demonic Stone Pillow quietly to heal his wounds.

He was in awe of how terrifying the Enlightened Master was. Apparently, he had underestimated the Enlightened Master earlier and had his mind’s void obliterated before he could do anything. How wrong he was!

Chu Li assumed that after killing King An, he could withstand the Emperor’s attack, use his divine power to flee to Jian An City in the Fu Dynasty, and be safe from any danger.

Now, he realized that he was being unrealistic. An Enlightened Master could deal heavy damage to one’s inner strength and spiritual force. Even if Chu Li did not get injured in the process, his mind’s void would be obliterated. He was incapable of using his divine power and thus, escaping was out of the question.

Obviously, relying on his divine power alone was not enough to defeat the Enlightened Master. There were two more things he needed to prepare.

Firstly, he had to fortify his soul energy.

Secondly, he had to continue improving his Heavenly Demonic Power until it was at the same level as Fu Qingya, the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Demonic Sect. Even though he could not use his divine power, he could still rely on Heavenly Demonic Power to protect himself and evade the Enlightened Master’s attack.

The following evening, the warm rays of sunset painted the waterside pavilion red and the lake shimmered with a scarlet glow. It was a lovely sight to behold.

Chu Li stepped out of the pavilion and arrived at the cloister above the lake. He grasped the rails as he gazed at the fish in the lake while thinking.

His mind’s void had recovered and was much stronger than before. The continuous attacks on his mind’s void had strengthened it.

Did his mind’s void have to go through this sort of cultivation? Or was it because he cultivated the four scriptures, the Omniscient Mirror, and the Life and Death Scripture?

Nevertheless, Chu Li knew that if he wanted to withstand the Emperor’s attack, his mind’s void had to be repeatedly strengthened, until it could avoid obliteration when he approached the Enlightened Master in Chong Wen Hall.

He instinctively activated the Omniscient Mirror and was taken aback. Then, he smiled.

He did not expect the Omniscient Mirror to leave his body. Although it was said that it could observe things three feet away from one’s body, this was particularly important.

If the Omniscient Mirror could leave Chu Li’s body, it meant that his divine power could still be used and the suppression by formations and artifacts had been rendered ineffective. Unfortunately, if he wanted to use God’s Limbs, he must observe at least five miles before he could do so.

Chu Li witnessed improvement in his Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture. He was capable of overcoming formations and artifacts that suppressed his divine power. This meant that he was on the right track. It would be much easier for him to obtain the Enlightened Master’s energy if he could use his divine power in the Inner Mausoleum.

When he thought of King An, he slowly walked out of the Imperial Garden and left the Outer Mausoleum immediately.

As soon as he stepped out of the entrance to the Outer Mausoleum, he felt relaxed and at ease. Suddenly, he could see what occurred twenty miles away via the Omniscient Mirror. The entirety of Adjacent Town was within his field of observation. He saw his own residence, Xiao Qi and a beautiful woman in white in the residence.

Although the woman’s face was covered with a white veil, Chu Li recognized Lu Yurong.

He smiled and returned to Lu Xuzhou’s residence. He vanished, then reappeared inside his own residence.

Xiao Qi and Lu Yurong were sparring under the sunset’s glow. Silhouettes flickered as the flashes of light were reflected by a sword.

One used a sword while the other relied on her bare fists. Their movements were nimble and elegant. It was impossible to tell who was winning.

Chu Li was amazed by the speedy improvement in Xiao Qi’s martial arts abilities.

Lu Yurong’s Empyrean Fairy Sutra was miraculously bizarre. Furthermore, she had a high level of comprehension and attainment. It was rare to find someone who was as skillful as her and she used this to overpower Xiao Qi. Nowadays, however, she could not defeat Xiao Qi. It was not because her skills had not improved, Xiao Qi’s improvement was simply much faster.

Chu Li clapped his hands and cheered.

Lu Yurong glided away gracefully and removed the white veil from her face, revealing her attractive visage and seductive eyes.

Xiao Qi sheathed her sword.

Chu Li praised as he cupped his fists. “Miss Yurong, your palm techniques are getting better and better.”

Lu Yurong regarded Chu Li with a frown and remained silent.

She noticed a major change in Chu Li. He carried a formidable aura as if he could devour her at any time. She had a sudden urge to worship him.

Obviously, Chu Li had greatly surpassed her current abilities. Instead of having his cultivation level wrecked when he was trapped in Adjacent Town, he became mightier and was on a completely different level as compared to her. It looked like she had to go back to cultivate in isolation!

Xiao Qi carried a tray with three cups of tea and placed it on the stone table under the gazebo.

Lu Yurong sat by the stone table and sipped at her cup. She turned to Chu Li. “Did you have another fortuitous encounter?”

Chu Li smiled. “I did understand some things.”

“Can you even improve your skills here?” Lu Yurong scoffed.

Chu Li chuckled. “There aren’t matters to bother me here. I’m at peace and I can cultivate properly.”

“You also have a beauty to keep you company!” Lu Yurong snorted. “Alright, I have failed to do what you told me to do.”

“What? You failed to injure him?” Chu Li frowned.

Lu Yurong let out a snort. “Not only that, I nearly got caught by him. He’s an intimidating fellow now, and you might not be able to defeat him.”

Chu Li frowned. “What technique does he cultivate?”

“I don’t know.” Lu Yurong shook her head. “His inner strength is robust and focused. Instead of resembling something gained from a fortuitous encounter, it seems like a skill attained by a centenarian master who has cultivated for many years. He is menacing and terrifying!”

Chu Li pondered pensively.

Lu Yurong said, “There’s a huge change in his appearance, as if he has become another person. When he gets angry, he explodes in rage. It looks like he has entered some form of hysteria. I’m not sure whether it’s caused by his martial arts abilities or the instability of his inner state.”

Chu Li let out a sigh. “He’s too lucky.”

Lu Yurong smiled cheerily. “Je’s a troublesome fellow, indeed. His martial arts prowess has been crippled several times, yet he grows ever stronger. You must be frustrated, aren’t you?”

Chu Li gave her a sideways glance.

Xiao Qi asked, “Does he have any new companions?”

“The monk from the Titanium Temple is gone,” Lu Yurong replied.

Chu Li sighed. “So troublesome.”

“What’s so troublesome about that? Just slaughter him and be done with it,” Lu Yurong quipped with a wide grin.

Xiao Qi glanced at her.

Lu Yurong continued, “This fellow’s a troublemaker. Maybe, you can cripple his martial arts prowess again.”

“I can’t do that anymore.” Chu Li shook his head in disagreement. “If I cripple his prowess again, the Emperor will take action against me.”

“In that case…” Lu Yurong lowered her voice. “Is there no other way?”

“Let’s wait and see,” Chu Li replied.

Previously, he wanted to stop the madness of King An and prevent him from targeting the High Duke’s Public House. Therefore, he sought Lu Yurong’s help in assassinating King An. It was better for King An to be seriously wounded and lie in bed. At least, it would take a while for him to recover despite surviving the assassination attempt. Chu Li could take on King An again once he had obtained the Enlightened Master’s energy

He did not expect Lu Yurong to make a mistake and fail her task.

Lu Yurong’s martial arts prowess was the best of the best. The Protectors of the Tianshu Courtyard had left and the Protectors in King An’s Imperial Residence could not stop Lu Yurong, thus assassinating King An would be an easy task. However, Chu Li did not consider that King An would be capable of resisting Lu Yurong’s attack.

Most of the time, things did not go as planned. Initially, he wanted to obtain the Enlightened Master’s energy slowly. Instead, reality forced him to rush things and acquire the energy as soon as possible in order to fortify his own soul energy.

“Let her accompany you while you sightsee around Adjacent Town. I’m going out,” Chu Li spoke as he cupped his fists.

Lu Yurong rolled her eyes.

Chu Li smiled apologetically, stood up and left.

He wanted to return to the Inner Mausoleum and strengthen himself as quickly as possible.

Lu Yurong watched him as he left, then turned to Xiao Qi. “What is he going to do?”

“Cultivate,” Xiao Qi answered.

Lu Yurong said, “But he isn’t cultivating here.”

She shook her head.

She regarded Xiao Qi with furrowed brows. “What is his plan?”

“How would I know?” Xiao Qi replied.

Lu Yurong scoffed. “You’re lying. He isn’t going to take on King An on his own, is he?”

Xiao Qi shook her head.

This was a serious matter and she could not let anyone else know the truth.

Chu Li did not share a deep bond with Lu Yurong. The lines between their friendship and enmity were blurred, hence the truth could not be revealed.