Star Trace Gate

In the imperial prison.

Ren Ye listened to Wang Anquan's words and asked with great doubt, "This Martial Monk Supervisor's Office not only houses Niu Dali's personal guards, but it is also the highest-level military stronghold in Beifeng Town. On weekdays, civil officials, clerks, and military officers all work and even stay here. Add to that the families of various military officers, servants, and other personnel, and there are at least several hundred people inside and outside. In such a crowded and chaotic place, how could there be a perfectly safe location for you to hide a huge amount of star resources?"

Wang Anquan smiled slightly and replied with a hint of pride, "Hehe, you don't know this, but the predecessor of this Martial Monk's Mansion was the Protectorate of the Divine Court. What is the Protectorate? It's a place where the Divine Court would specially select some cultivators of extremely high cultivation levels from the Ministry of War to reside permanently in Beifeng Town. If war or a major upheaval occurred in the city, these protectors could sacrifice themselves to ensure the safety of Beifeng Town. The Protectorate was their permanent residence, allowing them to live a normal life undisturbed. To put it bluntly, this place is the strongest foundation of Beifeng Town, and it houses many experts at the Condensation of Intent level."

"A year ago, only twelve guardians were permanently stationed in Beifeng Town. One of them, the head of the Dao Pavilion, was a sixth-rank Dao-touching expert, while the rest were all fifth-rank experts. Later, the situation around Tiandu began to deteriorate, and Beifeng Town was also in danger. Therefore, the Divine Court sent twelve more people and established the position of dual Dao Pavilion heads to jointly lead twenty-two guardians to be stationed here permanently in order to strengthen defenses. These people do not need to take orders from the garrison, but they will not get involved in military and political affairs. They will only appear when they are needed."

"Among these two Daoist officials, the one who arrived first was named Daoist Qingfeng. He was a sixth-rank Daoist level Feng Shui master who had been stationed in Beifeng Town for eight years. He was eccentric and taciturn, but we were very close friends. I was also quite interested in Feng Shui secrets and had helped him a few times, so we became close friends despite our age difference. He used to live in the east courtyard of the Daoist Pavilion, and he rarely went out and had little contact with outsiders. When I had nothing to do, I would often go over to keep him company, play chess with him, drink and chat, and study Feng Shui secrets together."

"Brother Qingfeng's obsession with feng shui secrets has reached a point of utter madness. In addition, since he is stationed in Beifeng Town and has nothing to do on weekdays, he took the entire landscape of Beifeng Town as the base and the location of the Guardian Pavilion as the center, and personally buried many rare treasures, artificially altering the feng shui pattern of the place. Afterwards, he secretly dug a large well in his residence to store spiritual energy and gather fortune, so that he could better understand the Dao and comprehend the heavens."

"That well is located on the first floor of the Yangxin Xiaozhu (Nourishing the Mind Pavilion) in the east courtyard of the Dao Pavilion, in the first private room on the left. That private room was originally Brother Qingfeng's study. Upon entering, one will see the calligraphy and painting 'Dreamlike Landscape'. Outsiders must carefully perceive that calligraphy and painting to see the large well hidden inside the room, and then jump in to enter the cultivation place deep underground where spiritual energy gathers and accumulates. This place is extremely secretive; even the guardians who came with Brother Qingfeng did not know of its existence. After all, privately altering the feng shui of this place just to gather spiritual energy for oneself... that sounds rather selfish. Therefore... only I have been to that place... no outsider knows about it."

"After that, Brother Qingfeng's term of service ended, and he left Beifeng Town to seek a glimmer of hope in his own advancement secret realm. He was already over three hundred years old and a sixth-rank cultivator at the Touching Dao level. For him to break through the shackles and ascend to the Divine Forbidden Realm was harder than climbing to heaven. Before he left, he had a premonition that he probably wouldn't be able to return this time, so he entrusted me with managing the Spirit Hiding Ground of Dreamy Mountains and Rivers. But actually... there weren't any valuable items in his Daoist temple, just some flowers and plants he cultivated... He couldn't bear to part with them, so he instructed me to take care of them in my spare time."

At this point, Wang Anquan emphasized again, "When I surrendered the city, I intentionally revealed to the Protectorate Pavilion that Beifeng Town was about to fall, allowing them to prepare in advance. Then, as soon as the monk soldiers entered the city, they knew the situation was hopeless, so they chose to preserve themselves and fled first. After the place was deserted, I felt safer, so I hid that enormous amount of star energy in Brother Qingfeng's Dreamland Mountain and Water Dojo. After Niu Dali occupied the Protectorate Pavilion, the Martial Monk's Mansion turned the east courtyard of the pavilion into a file repository, and hardly anyone goes there. So, you just need to find a way to sneak into the Martial Monk's Mansion courtyard, find the well as I told you, enter the Dreamland Mountain and Water area, and you will see that star energy. Remember, you must first sense the painting before you can see the well. If you search randomly… it will trigger the forbidden technique of the Dreamland Mountain and Water illusion, causing the painting to spontaneously combust. Without the aura from the painting, the wellhead will collapse, and the illusion will cease to exist."

After listening carefully to the other party's explanation, Ren let out a long sigh: "Oh, if it is a Taoist temple set up by a sixth-grade Touch Dao Feng Shui master, then it is indeed very safe."

“That’s for sure. Only I’ve been to that place, and only I know how to find the wellhead. As a result, this place is even safer than the consciousness space of ordinary cultivators.” Wang Anquan nodded in agreement.

Ren also looked at him and asked bluntly, "Can you tell me the exact amount of that Star Source now?"

“Two hundred and eighty million.” Wang Anquan said in a low voice, “This huge sum of Star Source was allocated by the Divine Court in four installments. It was originally intended for the construction of the city defenses of Beifeng Town, the collection of rare materials to create an unparalleled super-grade city protection array, and for boosting the morale of the army during wartime. But unexpectedly… Tianzhao Temple acted much faster than we thought. Before this Star Source could even be spent, I surrendered.”

"Holy crap, 280 million?! I can take all the beauties in the world home...!" Ren Ye muttered in shock, "If I can get this Star Source, I can use it to expand the territory of Qingliang Prefecture, so I can quickly advance to the fifth rank. Hiss... Thinking about it this way, this Star Source seems to have been prepared for me. I have quite a connection with it."

"However, such a massive amount of star energy appeared within the secret realm of the Heavenly Dao's evolution. I wonder if the Heavenly Dao will allow individual travelers to obtain this enormous sum. If it's just a story and can't be taken away at all, then I can only say... Heavenly Dao, Heavenly Dao, you're such an idiot! You show it to people but don't let them do anything with it, how despicable!"

After a moment of excited daydreaming, Ren Ye whispered to Wang Anquan, "Did you also hide those precious materials for repairing the great formation in the Dreamland Illusion?"

“No, in such a life-or-death situation, how could I put all my eggs in one basket?” Wang Anquan shook his head: “Some of the precious materials for repairing the great formation are in my consciousness space, and some are hidden behind the underground secret room where Jiuzhi used to live… There is a dark room there, which is where the previous guard kept his embezzled wealth. Only I know about it.”

"Okay, that's good." Ren Ye nodded emphatically. "That's settled then. I won't come looking for you again for a while, because sneaking into the prison is just too dangerous. After I leave, I'll carefully consider a solution, and I'll come back to discuss it with you once the plan is complete. I'll also try to find out about that Star Source... Just relax for now, focus on your prison sentence, make sure you're not in any life-or-death situation, and then give me some time to plan the whole thing."

“Alright.” Wang Anquan nodded firmly, his eyes pleading. “I’ve given you all my cards… I don’t expect you to actually rescue me. I only hope that when the plan is implemented, you can ensure that the women and children in my family can safely escape back to Tiandu. Over the years… while I can’t claim to be an incorruptible official, I have absolutely never taken a single penny that I wouldn’t have done. My wife has worn one of her finest dresses for seven or eight years… My family members have followed me, and apart from fighting in the north and south, they haven’t really enjoyed any happiness. They shouldn’t be dying here…!”

"I'll do my best." Ren Ye looked at him sincerely and nodded emphatically.

"Okay, that's it...!"

After chatting for a while, Ren Ye used his escape technique to leave the cell. He then returned to the latrine of the Heavenly Prison, placed the body of the alien female corpse in the gray bead given to him by Master Chu, and then extracted the soul and left.

After his soul returned to the body, the young monk Zhenyi woke up in an alley near the Heavenly Prison, with Master Chu, his protector, right next to him.

"How did your talk with Wang Anquan go? Did you gain anything?" Chu Daoye asked urgently when he saw that he had woken up.

"Yes, a great discovery." Ren smiled. "The truth is far more convoluted and exciting than I initially thought... Do you know? That huge sum of Star Source was taken by Wang Anquan, a full 280 million...!"

Upon hearing the number 280 million, Master Chu's mouth immediately watered, and his eyes glazed over as he kept asking, "Quickly, where is the 280 million? I'll risk my life to get it back for you... Where is it? Where is it?!"

As Ren walked towards the supply depot, he explained the whole story to him in detail.

After listening, Master Chu couldn't help but exclaim, "Wang Anquan is truly a great talent! Moreover, he is unparalleled in loyalty and righteousness... I think you should consider killing him and bringing him to Qingliang Prefecture. This man is skilled in leading troops and has rich experience in officialdom. If he can join forces with your old man Huang, they will surely forge a legend of unparalleled literary and martial prowess...!"

Upon hearing this, Ren paused slightly: "Sigh, I always feel that Wang Anquan is a very contradictory person, there's something about him that's hard to explain. Let's wait and see... If he really does what he says, then what's wrong with me using another bodyguard slot?"

"Hmm. So, what are you planning to do next?!" Master Chu asked.

“Use the second code to contact the young marquis and have him investigate the Dreamland Mountain and Water area within the Martial Monk's Mansion. Remember, if he can sneak into the underground dojo undetected, we can verify the amount of Star Source; but if doing so is dangerous, then don't rush. Prioritize your safety first, and then slowly look for an opportunity.” Ren Ye frowned and replied, “The young marquis's position is more important than the two of us right now. Think about it, someone like Niu Dali, a madman, unpredictable and capricious, won't easily trust anyone. Only someone with a similarly peculiar way of thinking like the young marquis can get along with him. If used well, this could be an absolute killing move at crucial moments…!”

"Okay." Master Chu glanced at the brightening sky and said with a serious work ethic, "I'm not going to sleep this morning. I'll go and inform him in a bit."

……

Ren also values ​​the young marquis highly because the forces in Beifeng Town, both overt and covert, have already surfaced. Currently, the civil official group led by Moro and the military official group led by Niu Dali are secretly competing and fighting.

Therefore, as long as they can keep a close eye on Moro and figure out his purpose and motives, while the young marquis is secretly gathering information and clues by sticking close to Niu Dali, their three-person team can take the initiative in terms of information and inside information.

The young marquis has only just become Niu Dali's lackey, so he absolutely cannot be out every day, frequently meeting with Ren Ye and Master Chu. If this continues for too long, he will inevitably arouse suspicion. Moreover, once he is being watched, not only will the young marquis be exposed, but his identity as a spy for the Divine Court may also be discovered.

Therefore, he had to minimize the risk of the young marquis being exposed no matter what. So, after his first meeting with the young marquis, he established a professional rendezvous method for anti-fraud personnel, as well as numerous counter-surveillance measures.

It was past 7:30 AM.

The young marquis and several guards from the martial monks' mansion went to a breakfast shop opposite the government office for a meal. During the meal, everyone chatted and laughed, getting along very well. After all, the young marquis had saved Niu Dali's life, so in the eyes of the ordinary guards, he was a favorite of the highest-ranking military officer and someone they needed to curry favor with.

The monks' quarters did have their own kitchen, but because there were so many people eating there, the food wasn't very refined; it was all communal cooking and didn't taste very good. So, it wasn't unusual for the guards with a little money to eat all three meals outside.