The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

"You...what do you want?"

"It's very simple."

Jiang Xuan said calmly.

"From now on, you will stay by my side obediently and follow my instructions. Once I have safely left Huanglong City, I will naturally give you the antidote and restore your freedom."

"Stay...stay by your side?"

Lu Shaoyun was almost in tears. Following such a wicked star, wasn't his life in danger at any moment?

But his life was in someone else's hands at that moment, and he dared not resist. He could only ask with a mournful face and a last glimmer of hope.

"Great...Great hero, are you mistaken? I...I can get my father to give you a lot of money! Lots and lots of money! Please, let me go!"

Jiang Xuan merely glanced at him coldly, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards Huanglong City.

Seeing that his pleas were useless, Lu Shaoyun felt both fear and hatred, but he was helpless. He could only follow Jiang Xuan dejectedly and limping behind him like a wilted eggplant.

Along the way, he looked at Jiang Xuan's indifferent back and wanted to ask questions or curse him several times.

But the words were swallowed back by an invisible fear, leaving him to bury his endless resentment and despair deep in his heart.

This feeling of not being able to control his own life and death caused him great torment.

As dusk fell, Jiang Xuan, with a dejected Lu Shaoyun in tow, followed the crowd into Huanglong City.

The town's streets are wide and bustling with traffic. Shops line both sides, brightly lit, and filled with lively chatter, creating a vibrant and prosperous scene that far surpasses that of Qingliu Town.

Beneath this facade of prosperity, undercurrents are already stirring.

Almost the instant Jiang Xuan stepped through the city gate, several subtle gazes locked onto them from different corners.

Some people quickly left to report the news, while others began to secretly investigate the background of the young man with a bruised and swollen face, dressed in fine clothes but looking disheveled, who was following Jiang Xuan.

Jiang Xuan seemed completely unaware of this and went straight to a rather grand inn in the city called "Juxiang".

He booked two adjacent superior rooms, tossed the key to one of them to Lu Shaoyun, and spoke in a calm tone that carried an undeniable warning.

"I need to go into seclusion for a few days. You must stay in your room and not go anywhere. Don't forget, the 'poison' in your body will take effect faster if you run around, and then even a god can't save you."

Lu Shaoyun took the key, his hand trembling slightly. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Jiang Xuan, and murmured in response.

"Yes...yes...I dare not..."

Jiang Xuan ignored him, turned around and went into his room, closing the door behind him.

Hearing the door next door close, the fear on Lu Shaoyun's face was gradually replaced by resentment and unwillingness.

How could he possibly sit idly by and wait to die?

He is the son of the elder in charge of the Stone Cauldron Hall in the Forbidden City!

He quietly opened the door and looked around, just in time to see an innkeeper passing by.

He quickly pulled the waiter into the room, stuffed a shiny gold coin into his hand, and then scribbled a note down his throat, speaking urgently.

"Quickly! Deliver this letter to the Shidingzhai branch in the west of the city and personally hand it to Manager Li Tianbao!"
Tell them Lu Shaoyun is in trouble and to come to his rescue immediately! A great reward will be given upon completion!

The waiter's eyes lit up when he saw the gold coins.

Hearing that it was a message to the owner of Shidingzhai, he dared not delay and hurriedly nodded and bowed in agreement, then carefully put the note away and left in a hurry.

Lu Shaoyun closed the door and paced anxiously around the room, feeling both hopeful and apprehensive as he awaited the arrival of reinforcements.

Time passed little by little.

About half an hour later, a commotion arose downstairs at the inn.

Lu Shaoyun was overjoyed and quickly went to the window to look down.

A middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes, slightly overweight, with an anxious expression, led four or five other men in brocade robes with sharp eyes and a strong presence into the inn.

It was Li Tianbao, the manager of Shidingzhai in Huanglongcheng, and his personal bodyguard!
"Uncle Li! I'm here!"

Lu Shaoyun excitedly lowered his voice and shouted.

Upon hearing the sound, Li Tianbao looked up and saw Lu Shaoyun's bruised and swollen face at the window. His expression changed, and he immediately led his men upstairs.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xuan's room next door was already empty.

Only on the floor near the corner of the wall was there an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible mark from the opening and closing.

But soon, the mark was quietly restored with a barely audible mechanical sound, as if it had never existed.

Li Tianbao rushed into Lu Shaoyun's room with his guards and was both shocked and furious to see his miserable state.

"Young Master Shaoyun! What happened to you? Who injured you like this?"

As if seeing a relative, Lu Shaoyun grabbed Li Tianbao's arm and said in a tearful voice.

"Uncle Li! You must do me justice! It's a brat named Jiang Xuan! He not only beat me, but also poisoned me and imprisoned me here! He lives next door!"

"What? That makes no sense!"

Li Tianbao was furious and immediately signaled his guards to check the next room.

The guards quickly reported back.

"Shopkeeper, there's no one in the next room!"

"no one?"

Lu Shaoyun was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth.

"He must be hiding! Or he's run away! Uncle Li, quickly send men to search the entire city for him!"
We must get the antidote!

Li Tianbao looked at Lu Shaoyun, his brows furrowed, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke.

"Don't worry, young master. Now that we're in Huanglong City, it's our territory. I'll immediately send people to secretly search for that kid's whereabouts! You come back to the branch with me to settle in first, and then I'll ask the best doctor to treat you and detoxify you."

Although Lu Shaoyun was unwilling to accept that he had failed to capture Jiang Xuan immediately.

But upon hearing that he could leave this awful place and receive medical treatment, he quickly nodded in agreement.

The group quickly left Juxiang Inn.

Lu Shaoyun sat in the comfortable carriage brought by Li Tianbao.

Thinking about his imminent escape and revenge against Jiang Xuan, a smug smile appeared on his face, and he even couldn't help but take out the wine flask he carried with him and take a sip.

……

Across from Juxiang Inn, there is a private room on the second floor of a seemingly ordinary teahouse.

A man wearing a straw hat and exuding a cold aura was watching Li Tianbao and his group leave through a crack in the window.

A subordinate whispered a report in his ear.

"Chief, we've found out. The young man who was taken hostage is Lu Shaoyun, the only son of Lu Mingyuan, the elder in charge of the Shidingzhai in the Forbidden City. The person who just arrived is Li Tianbao, the manager of the Shidingzhai in Huanglong City. It seems that Lu Shaoyun secretly requested help from him."

Upon hearing this, the man in the straw hat's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he sneered in a hoarse voice.

"Lu Shaoyun? Shi Dingzhai? Hmph! What audacity! How dare they interfere in the affairs of our Chi family? And they even want to help Jiang Xuan against us? It seems the Lu family is tired of living!"

He mistakenly believed that Lu Shaoyun's plea for help was to assist Jiang Xuan in fighting against their encirclement.

"Send the order!"

The man in the bamboo hat said coldly, "Send more men to closely monitor the Juxiang Inn and the Shidingzhai branch in Huanglong City! Find a way to infiltrate the inn as servants and find out Jiang Xuan's exact movements and room details! Also, immediately use the Wind Shadow Hawk to send this message back to the Forbidden City and report to the young lady! The Lu family... needs a warning!"

"Yes!"

The subordinate accepted the order and quickly withdrew.

……

The study of the Chi family residence in the Forbidden City.

The atmosphere was so heavy it was almost palpable.

Chi Cangmei's face was as cold as frost. He slammed his hand on the table with a loud "bang," which startled several of his deputies.

"waste!
A bunch of trash! "

Chi Cangmei's voice was icy and chilling.

"So many people were deployed in Qingliu Town, even the Ziying warship was used, and that kid still managed to escape? And so many of your men were lost! What kind of work are you doing?!"

A deputy, bracing himself, offered a hesitant and trembling explanation.

"Young Miss, please calm down! It's not that we haven't been diligent, but that Jiang Xuan... is just too strange! He has the cultivation of a Human Gang Realm cultivator, yet he possesses combat power comparable to a Heaven Gang Realm cultivator, and he's as cunning as a fox... This... this is completely beyond the realm of common sense!"

"Beyond common sense?"

Chi Cangmei sneered.

"Is this your reason for failure?"

Just then, there was a knock on the study door, and a guard strode in, kneeling on one knee to report.

"Young Miss, urgent news from Huanglong City! The target, Jiang Xuan, has entered Huanglong City and is staying at Juxiang Inn. But... he has someone with him, and it is... Lu Shaoyun, the son of Lu Mingyuan, the elder of my Shidingzhai! It is reported that Lu Shaoyun secretly sought help from the Huanglong City branch, and Li Tianbao has led men to meet him!"

This news instantly caused an uproar in the study!

"What?! Lu Shaoyun?!"

"How did he get involved with Jiang Xuan?"

"Could the Lu family dare to secretly help that kid?!"

"They've rebelled! They've really rebelled!"

The deputies were both shocked and furious, and they all spoke up to rebuke him.

Upon hearing this news, Chi Cangmei's anger gradually subsided, replaced by a cold contemplation.

She raised her hand to stop the noise, her sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present, and slowly began to speak.

“Lu Shaoyun…Lu Mingyuan’s son…this matter is probably not that simple.”

She hesitated for a moment, then gave the order to the guard.

"Immediately issue an oral decree in my name to the Lu clan of the Forbidden City. Inquire whether Lu Shaoyun, a member of the Lu clan, was instructed by the Lu clan to contact the target Jiang Xuan in Huanglong City and attempt to mobilize the power of Shidingzhai to intervene in this matter. If so, what is their intention? Make them give me a clear answer as soon as possible!"

Chi Zangmei's decisive action of putting pressure on the Lu clan in the name of the Chi family invigorated the previously somewhat fearful deputies in the study, as if they had found their backbone.

"Young Miss is wise! In this way, the Lu family will surely punish that ignorant Lu Shaoyun severely in order to quell the anger of my Chi family!"

"That's right! Let's see if they dare to interfere in our affairs again!"

One of his deputies seemed to have thought of something and added with a hint of concern.

"However... Lu Shaoyun is, after all, a member of Shi Ding Zhai. What if Shi Ding Zhai..."

Chi Cangmei glanced coldly at the deputy, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"Shi Dingzhai? Do you think Shi Dingzhai would completely break ties with my Chi family for the sake of a spoiled brat? Merchants value profit above all else."

Faced with absolute power and risk, they will know how to make the right choice.

Her words were filled with the arrogance and confidence of a top-tier aristocratic family, which completely reassured her deputies.

Chi Cangmei's next order, however, made everyone's hearts jump again.

"Pass on my order! Immediately mobilize all available forces around Huanglong City! I want to create an impenetrable fortress around Huanglong City! At the same time, send a message to the Imperial Air Cavalry Battalion stationed nearby, requesting... no, demanding that they, in the name of the Chi family, transfer all five remaining Ziying warships to the airspace over Huanglong City to cooperate with ground forces in a joint encirclement and suppression operation!"

Upon hearing this order, a collective gasp filled the study!
"Young Miss...isn't this...isn't this going a bit too far?"

"A deputy said, his voice trembling. Mobilizing all forces, even requesting the military to deploy all remaining Ziying warships—this is practically waging a small-scale war outside Huanglong City!"
If it gets out of control, the consequences will be unimaginable!

Chi Cangmei suddenly stood up, her beautiful face shrouded in frost and determination. Her gaze swept over the crowd, and her voice was resolute.

"How many chances do you think we have left? Huanglong City is less than seven days' journey from the Forbidden City! After Huanglong City, the route is lined with prosperous cities and major transportation routes guarded by the Imperial Guards. It will be as difficult as climbing to heaven for us to organize such a large-scale encirclement and annihilation! We must settle things with him outside Huanglong City! This is a do-or-die situation, a battle to achieve our goal! Only success is allowed, failure is not an option!"

Her words revealed a desperate, madness.

But it also carries an unquestionable decisiveness.

The deputies exchanged bewildered glances, though they felt the move was extremely risky and bordering on insanity.

But upon closer examination, if such a massive force could truly be mobilized to form an inescapable net, the success rate would indeed increase significantly!

Thinking of the repeated failures and humiliations brought by Jiang Xuan, a fierce look gradually replaced his hesitation.

"Yes, Your subordinates obey!"

Everyone answered the order in unison, their eyes blazing with a desperate, all-or-nothing spirit.

Chi Cangmei said no more and turned to leave the study.

She did not ride in a carriage, but walked alone through the quiet streets and alleys of the Forbidden City late at night.

The cool moonlight shone on her, outlining her slender yet lonely figure.

She looked up and gazed northward, towards Huanglong City, the very path the boy who had repeatedly thwarted her plans had taken.

"Jiang Xuan... who exactly are you? Why do you want to be an enemy of my Chi family? Who... is standing behind you?"

A series of questions swirled in her mind.

She knew that this decisive battle outside Huanglong City would determine many things.

If they win, the hidden danger is eliminated; if they lose... the Chi family will lose face, and it may even trigger a chain reaction.

But in any case, she had no way out.

……

Under the same night sky, inside Huanglong City.

A figure wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, concealing his face, silently arrived in front of a building in the west of the city with a plaque that read "Spirit Pattern Master Commune".

This person was none other than Jiang Xuan.

He showed a badge that indicated his status as a junior spirit pattern master, and was soon respectfully led inside by the Night Watchers and arranged to a secluded meditation room.

As soon as he entered Juxiang Inn, Jiang Xuan's keen senses had already detected the covert surveillance.

He deliberately brought Lu Shaoyun, this "troublesome" person, around the city and checked into an inn, precisely to attract the enemy's attention.

He himself used the tools and rune techniques he had prepared in advance.

They secretly carved a short passage through the room, leading to a small alley behind the inn, and slipped away unnoticed.

The choice of the Spirit Pattern Master Commune as the location for seclusion was made after careful consideration. (End of Chapter)