Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 22: The New Earthly Fiend Method, A Capable and Virtuous Wife
Upon sensing the aura of the Supreme Sect's candidate saintess, Zhao Wuji instinctively felt surprised and threatened, worried that the other party might come directly to Yun Yuchi's side.

However, he soon discovered that this candidate saintess seemed unaware of the information that the sacred artifact was in Yunyu Pond, and was searching around Jingqing Palace as if she had no clear goal.

"Even with her highly skilled concealment and movement techniques, searching like this still carries the risk of exposure."

Zhao Wuji vaguely sensed that this candidate saintess might have some means to detect sacred artifacts.

Perhaps as long as the sacred artifact is nearby, the other party will be able to detect it quickly.

However, he had already moved the sacred bowl to the Imperial Pharmacy, so there was no way the other party could find it in Jingqing Palace.

He restrained himself from immediately flying away on his sword, and instead observed the other party's movements by observing their aura.

This woman's aura was far stronger than that of the chief eunuch guarding Jingqing Palace, comparable to the eunuch leader I had observed before; she possessed the true strength of a Grandmaster of the Returning to Truth Realm.

However, his breathing was sometimes erratic and disordered, indicating that he was still injured.

Despite the painful lesson learned from their previous defeat, the Supreme Sect's candidate saintess still braved her injuries to sneak into the palace at night, determined to find the sacred artifact. She was truly persistent.

"That sacred artifact seems to be a hot potato. I'll study it later to see if I can decipher a Fiend Technique. If it's not very useful, I'll just throw it back into the Cloud Jade Pool to avoid causing trouble."

Zhao Wuji quietly floated to the surface of the water with his sword, calmly observing from the shadows.

After a cup of tea, the candidate saintess used her superb movement technique to gracefully depart, her figure quickly disappearing into the night.

"She has a good figure, comparable to my fiancée, but she's a bit shorter than Zhixia."

Zhao Wuji commented on the departing figure of the candidate saintess, and this time his spiritual senses more clearly remembered her aura.

After leaving Yunyu Pond, Yujianwan returned to the Imperial Pharmacy.

As the soul returned to the physical body, the sky outside was slowly beginning to brighten.

As dawn breaks, the undulating roof tiles of the palace unfold like ten thousand golden scales, creating a magnificent spectacle.

Zhao Wuji glanced at the cold little bowl in his hand, put it into his medicine box, and then focused his mind on observing the Yin Pearl. The faint light flowing on the surface of the Yin Pearl had solidified into a tangible substance.

"What a great harvest! I wonder if the Yin energy in the Cloud Jade Pool can be completely absorbed and filled with the first Yin Pearl."

Zhao Wuji was very satisfied with this trip to the palace.

However, it is best to remain calm for a while and observe whether there are any unusual changes in Yunyu Pond, while also inquiring about the connection between the Imperial Observatory and this pond.

"Doctor Zhao, it's already past 5 a.m. You've worked hard. Please have some hot soup to warm your stomach!"

Just then, the pharmacist's warm greetings came from outside the door.

"Yes, you've all worked hard. Take a break and change shifts."

Zhao Wuji stepped out from behind the screen.

To everyone else, he was sitting at his desk behind the screen all night, but little did they know that he had already traveled in his mind to Jingqing Palace on a sword.

Outside the palace, a dark figure rose and fell swiftly, traversing several alleyways before drifting like a falling leaf into an ancient well inside a house.

It turned out that there was no water at the bottom of the ancient well, but there was a hidden cave with a mechanism. The dark figure fell into it and disappeared behind a wall.

"Kakakaka——"

Nan Zhixia removed the black cloth from her face, and with a surge of powerful internal energy, her body trembled, and her bones and muscles resonated.

She quickly transformed from a petite and delicate figure into a tall and slender one, with her fair skin showing through her sleeves.

She took off her coat and strolled to the dimly lit table.

While removing her makeup, she frowned and pondered, "I've explored every area of ​​Jingqing Palace except for the eunuchs' residences, and I haven't detected the presence of any sacred artifacts at all."

She suspiciously took out a palm-sized magical artifact resembling a willow-leaf knife from her waist, her eyes gleaming thoughtfully in the dim light.

The Holy Mother once said that once the Spirit Leaf Blade in her hand came within ten feet of the sacred artifact, it would naturally sense something.

Or, once the sacred artifact is activated, she can sense it within a ten-mile radius.

However, even with this knife, she still couldn't find the whereabouts of the sacred artifact in Jingqing Palace. Where exactly was the sacred artifact hidden?

Nan Zhixia gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, her eyes flickering with struggle. "Wuji, I don't want to drag you into this, but what do you know? Is the sacred artifact actually inside Jingqing Palace?"

She didn't want to use force, and she couldn't reveal her identity, but things don't always go as planned.

After completing his duties at the palace, Zhao Wuji returned to his own residence.

He hadn't slept all night, yet he was full of energy.

After returning to his residence, he instructed his servants not to disturb him and went into his cultivation room to begin studying the Supreme Sect's sacred artifact, the small bowl.

Since this object is a sacred artifact, it is clearly not an ordinary magical artifact. To be on the safe side, Zhao Wuji did not directly mobilize spiritual energy or yin-yang energy to try to activate it. Instead, he slowly deciphered the inscriptions and formulas inside the bowl, gradually revealing the third set of tadpole-like characters on the first yin bead.

However, with his limited knowledge of Qin script, he soon hit a bottleneck after a short time, and only made 20% progress on the third set of tadpole-like characters.

"You only realize how little you know when you need to use it."

Zhao Wuji put down the small bowl and shook his head slightly.

He planned to contact Li Nianwei or Liu Jianzheng of the Imperial Observatory when he had some free time, and borrow some books about Qin seal script and Zhou dynasty script to read.

After pondering for a moment, he made a hand seal and cast a guiding spell, attempting to probe the sacred artifact from the perspective of guiding techniques.

If this sacred artifact contains spiritual energy, perhaps he can draw it out for cultivation.

However, this assumption was quickly shattered.

The guiding technique failed to extract any useful energy from the small bowl, and the presence of spiritual energy could not be sensed.

"This bowl was placed there out of begging; I even tried to squeeze something out of it. We were desperate for resources, almost driven mad by poverty."

Zhao Wuji gave a self-deprecating laugh and could only continue to guide the Yin and Yang energies and condense spiritual energy for cultivation.

Fortunately, he harvested more than 300 strands of Yin energy this time, bringing the total Yin energy in the Yin Pearl to 1529 strands. Now, when he cultivates, he only needs to worry about the depletion of Yang energy.

There is no need to worry about the yin energy for the time being.

The sun and moon rotate.

More than half a month passed quickly.

The northern border of Xuan Kingdom was suddenly thrown into turmoil.

The Qianzhou cavalry roamed the border, their eagle banners fluttering, seemingly intent on provoking trouble. When the news reached the imperial city of Jinque, it caused a stir in the court.

However, the emperor, who was cultivating immortality and seeking enlightenment in the Penglai Palace, remained calm and composed, and the alchemical furnace never burned.

The memorials from civil and military officials piled up like snowflakes, but they still couldn't get the emperor back to court. The officials were so anxious that they all rushed to the Penglai Palace.

Zhao Wuji wasn't too nervous when he heard the news.

The emperor isn't worried about national affairs, but the eunuchs are; he's just a court physician, so there's nothing for him to worry about.

He saw patients during the day and practiced meditation at night, occasionally going out to collect medicinal herbs and strong liquor.

During this period, he visited the Imperial Observatory to find Director Liu and requested Qin seal script and related books from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The methods contained in the small bowl, a sacred artifact of the Supreme Sect, have been deciphered to a great extent, and sixty percent of the third set of tadpole-like characters on the first Yin Pearl have already been revealed.

But his intuition told him that the candidate saintess had not given up on finding the sacred artifact.

All he needs to do is conceal himself and the sacred artifact, and develop slowly.

Therefore, he had already moved the sacred artifact to a rented house.

I would only secretly go and handle it when I was interpreting or studying it, so as not to cause trouble.

而今半月修炼下来，他的仙道修为已达到引气一重（23/100）、武道修为则是达到11脉（79/100）的程度。

Furthermore, due to the frequent practice of spells in recent days, the proficiency of each of the Earthly Fiend Techniques has improved extremely quickly. The Spirit Communication Technique has been practiced to the level of a beginner (73/100), and is about to be promoted.

"My martial arts cultivation is almost complete, with all twelve meridians open, and I'm about to break through to the Transformation Realm. Judging by the time, I have to go to the palace for duty again tomorrow night."

"I need to focus on breaking through my martial arts barrier during this period, so I'll temporarily put aside some trivial matters."

Zhao Wuji pondered for a moment, then got up and left the cultivation room.

Now, half a month has passed, and Yun Yuchi has not shown any unusual symptoms despite absorbing a lot of Yin energy.

Zhao Wuji had already planned to make another move during this palace duty, absorbing hundreds of strands of Yin energy as a resource reserve, otherwise he would not be able to meet the needs of his spells and cultivation.

"My lord, Miss Nan has arrived. She says she has found the whereabouts of the Moon Dew Grass for you."

Just then, Xiaoyue ran over and happily reminded her.

"Oh?" Zhao Wuji stopped in surprise. "Zhi Xia is really capable. I only mentioned it briefly last time, and she was able to find a clue for me so quickly."

He quickly strode towards the front hall.

During this period, Nan Zhixia made two rare trips to his place. While chatting, she learned that he was collecting materials for the Golden Jade Pill, and promised to help him find them.

Zhao Wuji hadn't held out much hope, but his fiancée surprised him with a little something.
There will be another chapter at 11:30. Please vote with your monthly tickets! The protagonist is about to guess Zhi Xia's identity!
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(End of this chapter)