There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 40: Why would someone who helped me need to save me?
Chen Qing was slightly shaken when Princess Xi Yao pointed out his mistake.

He had only recently comprehended the method of Qi Integration and Spiritual Travel, and had never shown it in the princess's residence, let alone extended his thoughts here without even showing his face, and was still enveloped in the mellow fragrance of Drunken Immortal Wine. How could the princess recognize him at a glance?
Despite his doubts, his method of channeling spiritual energy was still in its early stages and quite rudimentary, lacking any of the legendary abilities.

Just as I was wondering, I saw the princess slightly part her lips and exhale a breath as fragrant as orchids.

The green parasol trees in the courtyard swayed without wind, and wisps of pure air fell down, enveloping his wisp of spiritual thought into a hazy spiritual body.

As the spirit entered his body, Chen Qing was immediately struck by the novelty: "How did Your Highness recognize me?" The wonder of the spirit's ability to transmit its voice amazed him even more: "To create a body out of thin air, truly mysterious!"

"It was merely borrowing the power of the earth's veins." Princess Xiyao's eyes flickered slightly. "You carry my jade whistle, not to mention Chen Qing's body is like an abyss, seemingly capable of swallowing all things, and he also possesses a unique scent that I remembered the first time I saw him. Although his spiritual bones were slightly diminished after being dug out, how many people in the world possess such innate talent?"

The phrase "body like an abyss" suddenly reminded Chen Qing of Master Taiyan's comment, and also of Li Xiao's sinister gaze when he warned him not to investigate the spirit bone.

"Could it be that these excavated bones truly hold some secret?"

Upon realizing this, he immediately asked, "Does Your Highness know of any precedents for someone with such profound talent and potential?"

Princess Xiyao said, "When I was young, I heard my father mention that in ancient times there was a body that could devour the heavens, which meant that one's bones were as deep as an abyss and could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as deeply as the sea. Unfortunately..." She sighed softly, "A body that is too domineering will eventually suffer a backlash. Historical records show that no one has ever cultivated it to the point of perfection."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing's gaze darkened slightly, but he did not press further. Instead, he revealed the purpose of his visit: "The Sixth Prince used the pretext of selecting treasures to imprison me. Before entering the treasure vault, he said that Your Highness had been summoned to the palace to study the 'Qingqiu Secret Manual,' but now..." His gaze swept over the nine jade pillars suppressing demonic energy, "...Your Highness is actually locked in your own courtyard. What is the reason for this?"

Princess Xi Yao raised her eyes, a hint of demonic light flickering in them, but her voice remained cold and clear: "The Qingqiu Secret Manual is the supreme method of the Qingqiu lineage, created specifically for pure-blooded celestial foxes. With each level of cultivation, one's bloodline becomes more intense."

She lightly stroked the jade pillar with her fingertips, forcibly suppressing the demonic energy back into her body: "But I possess human blood, and forcibly cultivating this scripture would be tantamount to setting myself on fire. The deeper I cultivate, the stronger the demonic energy will become, until my demonic form is fully revealed! And this is exactly what they want."

Chen Qing frowned: "Knowing it's harmful, why still cultivate it?"

"The Empress's words are law, this is an 'edict of grace'." The princess shook her head slightly. "The edict contains the power of regent left by my father before he went into seclusion. As a subject and a woman, how can I resist it?"

Chen Qing's eyes narrowed: "So brazenly?"

"My father is in seclusion, the Empress Dowager is in power, my maternal clan is declining, and my foundation in the court is still weak," she said calmly. "Now is the perfect time to depose me."

"Then why are you imprisoned here?"

"Beneath the Qingwu Courtyard lies a spiritual vein forcibly relocated from the ancestral land of Qingqiu." She lightly tapped the ground, causing demonic energy to surge. "In the past, it helped me suppress my demonic nature, but now the secret manual has triggered a bloodline mutation, and the power of the spiritual vein has become a death warrant! With each passing moment, my bloodline grows stronger, bringing me one step closer to losing control!"

Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Is there any way to escape?"

"You don't need to risk your life for me." The princess's tone was calm but unquestionable. "Qingwu Villa has been sealed off by the God-Locking Array, isolated from the outside world, and guarded by the Snow Soul Sable. It is difficult to break through with ordinary means. You are safe in the Treasure Pavilion. After the dust settles and you get away, you don't need to look for me. Go to Jiaowei Qinlu in Tingyu Lane in the west of the city and find a blind qin player named Lü Feng. He will take you away from Yujing."

She gazed at Chen Qing, her voice lowering: "Chen Xu, with your talent, you shouldn't have perished here. As for me... my fate is predetermined, there's no need to worry about it."

Chen Qing paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "Your Highness, I have a pill formula. If you can gather all the ingredients, it can help you suppress the bloodline mutation and wait for the Immortal Emperor to emerge from seclusion..."

Just as he was about to speak—

"boom!"

The ancient Chinese parasol tree in the corner of the courtyard suddenly trembled, its branches and leaves shaking wildly!

"What a courage!"

A cold shout rang out, and the black-robed Taoist priest guarding outside stepped in. His black claws, like ghostly shadows, shot out from his sleeves, aiming straight for Chen Qing's spirit body!

"I can't afford to offend that powerful projection, but you, a mere wandering ghost, dare to act so presumptuously here?"

"Shoot-"

The black claw tore through the air, and the hastily constructed spirit instantly collapsed!

At the critical moment——

"call--"

Princess Xiyao parted her cherry lips slightly, and a wisp of light blue aura swept by like a breeze, precisely enveloping Chen Qing's spiritual consciousness, and gently sending it away!
"Buzz!"

Chen Qing felt dizzy and disoriented. The sharp edge of the ghost claw almost grazed the tip of his spiritual consciousness. A violent gust of wind tore at his spiritual threads, and a bit of corrosive black energy clung to him like a bone-deep infection!

The next moment!
"Whoosh!"

The spirit shot backward like a meteor, instantly returning to the body!
"Uh!"

Inside the treasure vault, Chen Qing's face suddenly turned deathly pale, and he let out a muffled groan.

Although not directly hit, the aftershocks of the claw wind swept over him, and his spiritual consciousness felt as if it had been hit by a heavy hammer, with intense pain penetrating his mind!
"What a domineering claw technique! It can directly damage the essence of spiritual consciousness! If the princess hadn't intervened, this claw would probably have injured my soul and caused my cultivation to regress!"

His eyes turned cold, and with a slight lift of his fingertips, a wisp of black energy coiled around him like a venomous snake.

It was the corrosive aura left over from that Taoist's claw technique!

Inside the Qingwu Courtyard, the black-robed Taoist priest's claw missed its mark, and his expression changed drastically. He closed his eyes and concentrated, using his unique tracking technique, only to find that the wisp of spiritual energy had vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

"It can completely block it?" The Taoist suddenly opened his eyes, his cold light shooting straight at Princess Xiyao: "Your Highness, what is the meaning of this? That wandering spirit just now..."

"I cultivate the 'Qingqiu Secret Manual,' and it's just that my aura occasionally leaks out," Princess Xiyao said indifferently. "But you, Yin Kui Shangren, trespassed into the forbidden area without permission. What is your punishment?" As soon as she finished speaking, her demonic aura suddenly surged, the fox mark between her brows glowed with blood-red light, and the nine jade pillars trembled violently, emitting a hum that seemed unable to bear the weight! The Taoist's pupils shrank, and he subconsciously took a half step back.

Although the person in front of us is trapped in the formation, if he recklessly triggers the backlash of his bloodline, everyone involved will be in trouble!

"Hmph!" He suppressed his fear and said sternly, "I hope the princess will behave herself! With me here, your henchmen will not be able to cause any trouble!"

As the figure in black robes disappeared outside the formation, Princess Xiyao swayed slightly, and a streak of crimson blood slid down her lips.

The price of forcibly activating her bloodline was that the demonic energy within her body became increasingly violent, but she couldn't bother to regulate her breathing. She just stared in the direction of the treasure pavilion, her eyes filled with deep worry.

Inside the treasure pavilion, Chen Qing sat cross-legged.

The Samadhi True Fire Talisman slowly circulated in the sea of ​​consciousness, repairing the damaged spiritual consciousness.

He suddenly opened his eyes and then sighed.

"The princess told me to take refuge here, but little did she know that I was already a thorn in the side of others."

He appreciated Xi Yao's good intentions, but if he waited for the tree to fall, he would be like a fish on a chopping board.

The sixth prince appears to be courteous and respectful to scholars, but in reality, he harbors malicious intentions; the forces behind Li Xiao are also eyeing him covetously, waiting only for the princess to fall from power before they pounce and tear her apart.

"Sitting idly by and waiting for death is definitely not a good strategy! Once a person as untrustworthy as the Sixth Prince gains power, we might not even be able to stay in this Immortal Dynasty! It's just an incarnation in a dream, why hesitate and worry! At worst, we'll just lose an incarnation, and we can always make up another one with the same name and start over!"

He suddenly stood up, his eyes flashing with sharpness!

"We have to get out of here first, no matter what!"

He flicked his finger, and the wine cup trembled, the amber wine liquid turning into a river in mid-air!

"boom--"

The river of wine surged, overflowing with intoxication, crashing heavily against the pavilion door.

A burst of golden light erupted, and ancient runes flowed ceaselessly, remaining unmoved despite the onslaught of the wine waves.

"What a powerful restriction!" Chen Qing squinted.

In the shadows, the old man surnamed Jiang shook his head to himself: "With the Zhenyue Bronze as its foundation and the Zhou Tian Stars as its barrier, let alone a mere second realm, even a True Person would find it difficult to break through this gate."

But there was no sign of defeat in Chen Qing's eyes. He recalled the words of his two junior disciples when they were discussing their master's escape from danger.

"If brute force won't work, then we'll use strategy!"

He sat cross-legged, his spiritual sense as fine as silk, no longer forcefully attacking the restriction, but quietly infiltrating through the cracks in the door and the gaps in the flowing runes.

The view outside the door gradually became clearer—

Two golden-armored warriors stood guard on either side like iron towers, their giant axes gleaming with a restrained cold light, their aura perfectly integrated with the gate's restrictions.

"Chen Ceshi, save your breath!" The strongman on the left suddenly turned his head, his voice like muffled thunder, "This Zhenyue Bronze Gate is so powerful that even a true immortal couldn't break it! Stop overestimating yourself! Just stay put, and your time to leave will come eventually! Stop thinking about useless things!"

Chen Qing ignored the words outside the door and pondered a solution.

"Since it can't be opened from the inside, and there's an iron barrel guarding the outside, unless... someone with a blade that can withstand a strongman's strike can open it from the outside!"

His gaze swept over the bronze wine vessel and the nine-rank lotus platform, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind!
"Those who can open the door and help me may not necessarily be here to save me. As long as they can open the door, that's enough! According to Senior Jiang, with my cultivation level, I can even briefly interfere with cultivators at the fifth realm by activating the Drunken Immortal Brew in the bronze wine vessel. And the commander of the Sky Patrol Guard is at most close to the fifth realm, making him a top-tier fourth-realm cultivator..."

As he pondered, he flicked his fingertip, and another wisp of corrosive energy wrapped around it.

His earlier thoughts became clearer, but he did not act hastily. Instead, he gradually calmed down and began to fill in the gaps and calculate the changes.

"While there are many powerful beings in Yujing, the fact that they are even observing the princess's situation because of the Immortal Emperor's enlightenment suggests that there is an opportunity. These are minor matters and shouldn't attract any big fish. Even in the worst-case scenario, the only loss would be the loss of this life, which might not be much worse than the Sixth Prince's eventual rise to power!"

Once Chen Qing made up his mind, he had no more hesitation!

His consciousness left his body again, but this time he was no longer cautious. Instead, like an arrow released from a bow, he broke free of the treasure pavilion and sped towards the awe-inspiring vermilion building.

The headquarters of the "Tianjian Division"!
"Buzz!"

As soon as Chen Qing's spiritual sense approached the small building, the octagonal bronze mirror hanging high on the eaves instantly shone brightly!

The mirror surface was like boiling mercury, and the dazzling crimson crystalline light was like thick ink dropped into clear water, exploding with a bang!

A cold, chilling intent, imbued with the authority of oversight, like an invisible giant net, instantly traversed space and locked onto the source of the spiritual consciousness—

Treasure House!
Chen Qing's true form inside the treasure pavilion suddenly trembled, but then a smile appeared on his face.

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(End of this chapter)