Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

Compared to carrying stones and sheep, the bumpy journey was nothing.

After resting for a while...

Xu Qing walked straight towards Mount Li.

The Yin-Yang School is not located on the summit of Mount Li, but hidden in a valley on the shady side of Mount Li.

Unlike the Taoist school, which stands atop Zhongnan Mountain, the Yin-Yang school is hidden deep underground.

The valley is secluded and gloomy, seemingly cold and desolate, but in reality, it is not so. Deep underground, there is earth fire. As the saying goes, yin gives rise to yang. The place where the Yin and Yang masters live is a place where yin and yang meet.

Xu Fu was Yun Zhongjun of the Yin-Yang School. Although he had lived in the State of Qi for many years, he was not unfamiliar with this place.

His return caused some ripples within the Yin-Yang School.

After all, news had already come back from the State of Qi, and the higher-ups of the Yin-Yang School knew that Yun Zhongjun had encountered trouble in the State of Qi.

In order to rescue Yun Zhongjun and find out what happened in Qi, the Yin-Yang School also sent Shao Siming there.

The problem is that Shao Siming disappeared without a trace afterward.

Now, Yun Zhongjun has returned, but Shao Siming has not.

What exactly happened in the State of Qi?

Within the Yin-Yang School, many people are very curious about this.

In particular, the sect leader Donghuang Taiyi also considered using the stars to predict the affairs of the Qi Kingdom.

However, all they saw were dark clouds.

Dark clouds obscuring the stars represent chaos.

"Lord of the Clouds, His Majesty the Eastern Emperor is already waiting for you."

The Moon Goddess looked at Xu Fu and spoke softly.

She could naturally see that the current Yun Zhongjun was just an empty shell, and all his internal power had disappeared.

Combined with the fact that Shao Siming has disappeared without a trace, and the messages previously sent back from Qi, it is clear that Yun Zhongjun has encountered some bad things.

"Thank you for informing me, Moon Goddess!"

Yun Zhongjun was humble.

Or rather, because he has lost his power, he has long since put away his former arrogance. Even when facing Yin Yang School members who are of lower status than him, he no longer has the arrogance he once had.

After all, one has to bow one's head when under someone's roof, unless he can regain his power.

Whether or not he can regain his cultivation depends on His Majesty the Eastern Emperor's attitude.

Thinking of this, Yun Zhongjun felt extremely uneasy.

But he still chose to head towards where Donghuang Taiyi was, passing through a long corridor and arriving at a bronze door.

He took a deep breath and then pushed open the bronze door.

Inside the main gate was an extremely spacious hall.

Above the dome at the top of the main hall, there are countless stars, but if you look closely, you will find that they are pearls, imitating the stars in the sky. The pearls shimmer with light, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, and fall to the ground, gathering into starlight. In the center of the main hall, there is a nine-story platform, like the nine heavens.

Standing atop the nine heavens is the Lord of the Heavens—Donghuang Taiyi!

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Eastern Emperor!"

Lord Yunzhong bowed his head, performing an ancient and incomparably respectful gesture.

Donghuang Taiyi's voice was ethereal, and due to the unique environment, he appeared even more extraordinary and mysterious.

"Lord Yunzhong, tell me about what happened to you in Qi..."

Donghuang Taiyi did not directly ask Yun Zhongjun why he had lost all his power or where Shao Siming had gone. Instead, he let Yun Zhongjun speak for himself.

Yun Zhongjun naturally dared not hide anything, so he told the story of his experience.

The first half was relatively normal. He attracted the attention of the King of Qi by playing tricks in Langya and was subsequently summoned to Linzi. However, things went wrong after that.

Xu Fu was specifically targeted by Hou Sheng, whose retainer "Mr. Qing" deliberately caused trouble, ultimately leading to Xu Fu's imprisonment.

"Looks like someone's got their eye on you!"

Donghuang Taiyi easily came to a conclusion.

Chapter 213 The Mystery of Qi, the Eastern Lord is About to Depart

The flowing light, like scattered gold, swirled and swirld within the deep hall, making the silhouette of the dark figure atop the nine-story platform appear even longer.

The voice of Donghuang Taiyi seemed to come from beyond the heavens, carrying an ethereal and majestic quality that pierced the heart. Every word seemed to fall on Xu Fu's heart, making his already tense nerves even more chilled.

Xu Fu kept his head bowed, his hair falling across his forehead and obscuring the complex emotions in his eyes. He only managed a muffled response from his throat, acknowledging the Eastern Emperor's conjecture: "Afterwards, I thought so too."

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to have unloaded some heavy burden and slowly recounted what happened next.

His tone was filled with undisguised bitterness, as if the humiliation of the past was still burning his pride: "If I had only become a prisoner and had all my martial arts skills destroyed, it would have been a clean break. But what I experienced was far more cruel than that."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing as if recalling that dark and hopeless time: "After being imprisoned for only a few days, a mysterious man in a black robe quietly appeared in the cell. The man seemed to be able to see through all my past, and he immediately revealed my identity. His words were full of the implication of taking advantage of my kindness, clearly wanting to use me to gain benefits."

At this moment, Xu Fu deliberately concealed the truth that he had revealed all the secrets and defense strategies of the Yin-Yang School to the other party in order to protect himself. He only chose a respectable way of speaking: "I knew that this matter concerned the reputation of the Yin-Yang School, so I forced myself to deal with that person for a long time. Only with a bit of wit was I able to barely gain his trust."

His voice suddenly lowered, tinged with resentment: "However, the night before I planned to escape under cover of night, the person who had framed me and imprisoned me somehow sensed something was amiss and transferred me to a remote livestock farm overnight. From then on, I could only wear coarse prison clothes and spend my days with cattle and sheep, barely surviving in the mud and dung."

As he said this, his body trembled slightly, as if he were feeling that despair again.

But soon he continued, "It was also during the days of lying low in the livestock farm that a second mysterious person appeared. Unlike the first person who tried to take advantage of the situation, this person exuded a chilling murderous aura and said directly that he had come to seek revenge against the Yin Yang School."

His voice grew increasingly cautious, as if he were carefully choosing each word, afraid of offending Donghuang Taiyi on the high platform: "...From what I've observed, that person seems to be related to those of our Yin-Yang School who are operating outside the region, but I'm not sure..."

On the nine-story platform, Donghuang Taiyi remained silent.

Only the shimmering light remained in the hall, and this silence was more suffocating to Xu Fu than any rebuke.

He could clearly feel the gaze from the high platform falling on him as if it were a physical object, as if it wanted to dissect him thoroughly from the inside out.

Xu Fu was well aware that his explanation was full of holes.

Within a short period of time, two mysterious people with different purposes appeared one after another. Apart from having his powers crippled at the beginning, he survived unharmed and was even able to return to the Yin Yang School safely. The fact that he was "alive" is the biggest mystery.

But Xu Fu also had something to say.

Is it wrong for me to want to live? I just want to preserve my life in this chaotic world, what's wrong with that!

Just as Xu Fu's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of his chest, Donghuang Taiyi finally spoke.

The voice remained ethereal, yet carried an undeniable scrutiny: "According to you, there are far too many mysterious figures in the State of Qi!"

Xu Fu's heart sank. Sure enough, His Majesty the Eastern Emperor had noticed the flaw in his words.

He quickly raised his head, his eyes filled with an urgent explanation: "Although this matter may sound unbelievable, every word is based on my personal experience, and there is absolutely no exaggeration!"

He may have been hiding something, but he was certain that he hadn't lied, at least not about the "encounter"—he was telling the truth.

Thinking of this, his tense nerves relaxed slightly, and his mind became more at ease.

Donghuang Taiyi was fully aware of Xu Fu's change in mindset, but he did not expose or verify it.

In his view, verbal explanations are meaningless; he has more direct and accurate methods to obtain the truth.

The next instant, Donghuang Taiyi slowly raised his right hand.

A powerful suction force suddenly erupted from his palm, like an invisible giant hand, gripping Xu Fu's body tightly and pulling him towards the high platform.

Xu Fu's face turned deathly pale instantly, his eyes filled with terror.

He struggled to speak, his voice trembling noticeably: "Your Excellency Donghuang! I am still useful! Although I have temporarily lost my power, as long as you give me some resources and some time, I will definitely recover and serve the Yin Yang School!"

He wanted to beg for mercy and prove his worth, but Donghuang Taiyi didn't give him that chance at all.

Before he finished speaking, Xu Fu's body was lifted off the ground uncontrollably, like a kite with a broken string, and floated towards the nine-story platform. In an instant, he was already hovering in front of Donghuang Taiyi.

At close range, the black mask on Donghuang Taiyi's face became even clearer under the reflection of the flowing light.

The eyes behind the mask seemed to hold endless coldness, which made Xu Fu's heart tremble and an uncontrollable regret surge into his heart.

After leaving the State of Qi, he did consider taking the opportunity to leave the Yin-Yang School.

But after considering the Yin-Yang School's cruel methods and how they treated traitors, he ultimately gave up.

On the contrary, the safest way to restore one's power is to return to the Yin-Yang School and seek resources from them.

In addition, it is also due to the general trend of the world.

Xu Fu never imagined that while he was imprisoned in the livestock farm of the State of Qi, the State of Han would be destroyed.

This means that the Yin-Yang School's choice was correct.

The Qin state will surely destroy the other states and establish an unprecedented power.

In this situation, if the Yin-Yang School could obtain assistance from the Qin State, it would surely surpass its past achievements and reach an unprecedented peak.

As Yun Zhongjun, one of the five elders of the Yin-Yang School, as long as he can recover his power, he can board the great ship of the Yin-Yang School and gain a foothold in the chaotic world.

He originally thought that with his eloquence and former status, he would be able to persuade Donghuang Taiyi to give him a chance.

But at this moment, he finally realized that he had never truly understood Donghuang Taiyi.

This person's coldness and ruthlessness were far greater than he had imagined.

He tried to get away with lies and scheming, but in the end he only pushed himself to the brink of death.

Just as Xu Fu was overwhelmed by despair and filled with resentment, the long sword hanging at his waist suddenly emitted a clear hum.

Before he could react, the longsword was drawn automatically, carrying a sharp and piercing sword light, and went straight for Donghuang Taiyi's face.

The sword light was as swift as lightning, and its cold gleam caused the temperature inside the hall to drop several degrees.

A barely perceptible look of surprise flashed in Donghuang Taiyi's eyes. He raised his left hand slightly and waved it seemingly casually, and an invisible force swept out.

"Om!!"

The sword light vanished instantly upon contact with that power, like ice and snow melting away. The entire sword's spirit was severely damaged in an instant, and the blade trembled violently as it flew backward, landing on the ground with a dull thud before falling silent again.

Having resolved the issue of the longsword's unusual movement, Donghuang Taiyi's gaze returned to Xu Fu.

To Xu Fu's surprise, Donghuang Taiyi did not kill him immediately. Instead, he maintained Xu Fu's floating posture, keeping him in front of him.

Xu Fu was taken aback at first, his eyes filled with confusion, but he quickly realized what was happening. A deeper fear gripped him. He knew that Donghuang Taiyi was going to read his memories. Within the Yin Yang School, there were quite a few methods for invading other people's minds.