The Divine Envoy glanced at them and said frankly, "These infants are all wanted by the Holy Emperor, and we would never act presumptuously on our own."
"The Holy Emperor never mentioned this to my Supreme Divinity Palace. How could he order you to do such heinous things?" a disciple of the Supreme Divinity Palace rebuked. "I think you're clearly using the Emperor's name to perform some kind of evil secret art."
"Gu Yi, don't be impatient," Su Mu soothed his fellow disciple, then looked at the Divine Worship Assembly's Divine Envoy and said, "Since this isn't the Divine Worship Assembly's intention, then let us take these infants back. We'll hand them over to the Emperor and explain the matter clearly."
"Does the Special Envoy still not understand?" The Divine Worship Assembly's Divine Envoy's gaze was obscure, and a murderous intent seemed to emerge. "Since you won't listen to our good advice, then don't blame us for not showing the Supreme Divinity Palace any face."
Having said that, the members of the Divine Worship Assembly surrounded them. Magical artifacts spun, alarming all directions.
"It seems we can only force our way through," Su Mu said calmly.
Jiang Wen smiled, his expression serious: "That's exactly what I want."
Jiang Wen and Su Mu stood shoulder to shoulder, surrounded by dozens of Divine Worship Assembly cultivators. Divine light shone through the stained glass windows at the top of the altar, casting mottled shadows on the bluestone floor.
"Special Envoy Su," the Divine Worship Assembly's Divine Envoy said with a sinister tone, "it's not too late to retreat now."
Su Mu quietly condensed spiritual power at his fingertips: "What if we insist on seeing the secrets of this altar?"
The Divine Envoy flew out a magical sword artifact from his sleeve: "Then leave your lives behind!"
Before the words were finished, Jiang Wen suddenly threw out three talismans. The paper talismans exploded in mid-air, turning into a sky full of sparks. The Divine Worship Assembly members subconsciously closed their eyes. When the golden powder dissipated, Jiang Wen and the others were nowhere to be seen.
"Chase!" The Divine Worship Assembly's Divine Envoy roared in exasperation.
At this moment, Jiang Wen was dragging Su Mu, standing on the crossbeam of the altar's dome. Below, footsteps were chaotic, and the light and shadows of torches flickered on the murals. Those murals depicted strange rituals—beings with bull heads and human bodies kneeling before pools of blood, countless infants suspended in mid-air, and a golden crack opening in the sky.
"Look here," Jiang Wen said in a breathy voice. He lightly tapped the corner of the mural with his finger, where there was a blurry figure wearing a twelve-stringed crown. It resembled a dragon, standing on a high platform.
Su Mu's expression froze slightly: "The Emperor's Holy Crown..."
Suddenly, the sound of iron chains dragging on the ground came from below. Two Divine Worship Assembly disciples dragged a burlap sack into the center of the altar, and a faint cry came from the sack.
Jiang Wen held down Su Mu, who was about to rush down, and shook his head to signal him to wait. He saw the disciples untie the sack, revealing a blue-faced baby boy. A blood-colored rune was painted on the baby's chest, and his cries grew weaker and weaker.
"The six hundred and seventy-second one," one of the disciples sighed. "If it doesn't work this time, the Divine Envoy will be furious again."
"Shut up!" The other hurriedly looked around. "Do you want to be thrown into the blood pool?"
The two placed the infant in the groove on the stone platform and hurriedly retreated. Just as Jiang Wen was about to act, the altar floor suddenly vibrated. The groove slowly sank, revealing a deep, dark tunnel below.
"Follow me," Jiang Wen landed silently, igniting a wisp of green flame at his fingertip for illumination.
"This is... a Heaven-Stealing, Sun-Swapping Array?" Su Mu's voice trembled. "They're transferring destinies!"
The jade coffin suddenly emitted a buzzing sound, and the coffin lid slowly slid open. Jiang Wen quickly pulled Su Mu behind a stone pillar. He saw a cloud of black mist rising from the coffin, and a vaguely humanoid outline could be seen.
"Not enough..." A hoarse voice echoed in the underground palace. "At least eight hundred and eighty-one pure Yin young boys must be gathered."
The black mist suddenly turned towards where the two were hiding: "Who's there!"
Jiang Wen reached out, and a yellow teleportation talisman shattered. In the instant that space twisted, he saw a scaly hand reaching out from the black mist.
It was already the third watch when they returned to You Residence. Bai Jing was wrapping a comatose infant in her fox tail, and Yu Shiqie was preparing medicinal soup.
"We intercepted them west of the city," Yu Shiqie gently stroked the infant's blue face. "They planted Yin Gu in the child's heart meridian. If it's not resolved in three days..."
Jiang Wen placed the dragon scale fragment on the table: "Take a look at this."
Bai Jing stepped forward, dipped medicinal juice, and smeared it on the scale. The gold gradually faded, revealing dark red patterns underneath: "It's a scale mixed with dragon blood, similar to the true dragon scales under that Joyful Brothel. It seems that Chi Yao paid tribute to the Emperor with a lot of good things back then."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wen thought of the true dragon matter.
Suddenly, Su Mu, who was beside him, coughed violently, and black veins were revealed on his rolled-up sleeves. Jiang Wen grabbed his wrist, looking surprised: "You're poisoned?"
"It's been a long time," Su Mu smiled bitterly. "It's alright; I'll return to the Supreme Divinity Palace."
"Sit down," Yu Shiqie, who had been taking care of the infant, looked over, her expression grave as she looked at him. Then, she reached out and tore open his collar, revealing a pitch-black palm print on his chest. "This is the Jiazi Secret Art. If it's not resolved, your soul will be scattered in fifteen days."
"Jiazi Secret Art?" Jiang Wen asked, puzzled.
"The Jiazi Secret Art is a secret art of my Peace Faction. It's a life-for-life technique, and those who don't understand the Peace Faction's secret arts will find it difficult to resolve," Yu Shiqie shook her head and said. "But only the hall master and above of the Peace Faction can cultivate such secret arts. How could you be struck by this?"
"I just encountered some things," Su Mu seemed unwilling to mention it, and Jiang Wen didn't ask any further.
"Is there a solution?" Jiang Wen asked.
"It requires the water of a spiritual spring, combined with the Peace Faction's secret arts, to resolve it," Yu Shiqie sighed. "But this water of the spiritual spring is hard to come by..."
Jiang Wen smiled and took out a jade bottle from his storage bag: "Use this."
Inside the bottle was the spiritual spring water he had taken before. Yu Shiqie mixed the spiritual spring water into it, and the room was immediately filled with a fragrant aroma. Su Mu drank the spiritual spring water, and Yu Shiqie cast a secret art. The black energy gradually dissipated.
"Thank you, Daoist Jiang, for saving my life this time. But what was that thing just now?" Su Mu asked, panting.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wen nodded, and the Tai Xuan Mirror appeared in his hand: "I just used the Tai Xuan Mirror to record this thing, so we can observe it."
The mirror surface transformed, revealing the scene of the Divine Worship Assembly's altar—the black mist in the coffin was devouring the Divine Worship Assembly's Divine Envoy. Amidst screams, the Divine Envoy's flesh and blood turned into black mist and merged into the jade coffin.
Bai Jing's tail bristled, and she said in shock, "What kind of monster is that?"
"The Peace Faction's arts, a half-dragon body, defying the heavens and changing fate," Yu Shiqie suddenly said. "I've seen it in the Peace Faction's ancient books. It requires the essence and blood of eight hundred and eighty-one pure Yin young boys to reshape the meridians, and then seize the opportunity of heaven and earth."
The crowd fell silent, and the sound of the night watchman came from outside the window, striking the clapper three times.
"In a few days, there will be a Heaven-Worshiping Ceremony," Su Mu suddenly said. "The Emperor will personally go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship Heaven."
"If you want to know the mysteries within, the Directorate of Astronomy may have records."
Jiang Wen looked towards the direction of the Imperial Palace outside the window, his gaze distant: "It seems we have to pay a visit to the Directorate of Astronomy."
The next morning, Jiang Wen disguised himself as a wandering doctor and came to the back alley of the Directorate of Astronomy. Yu Shiqie had already bribed a handyman to lead him to the secret room of the library.
"You can only stay for half an incense stick," the handyman said in a low voice. "Someone will change the guard at three quarters of the hour of Chen (7:45 AM)."
Jiang Wen went straight to the star chart records. Suddenly, his hand stopped on a certain volume—the records of Mars's conjunction with Antares for the past ten years had all been tampered with. Where should the real records be hidden?
"Click." The sound of a mechanism turning rang out. Jiang Wen dodged into the shadow of the bookshelf, and he saw a hunched old clerk lift a floor tile and take out an iron box.
After the old clerk left, Jiang Wen followed suit and opened the secret compartment. On the parchment scroll inside the iron box, blood-red characters were mottled: "Year 23, Mars enters the Purple Palace, the Emperor Star is dim..."
The sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside. Jiang Wen quickly copied the key points, returned the iron box to its original position, and then disappeared into the Directorate of Astronomy.
