Jiang Qiuge shook his head: "These demonic people will never let go of even the slightest possibility. They are reckless and lawless!"
He sneered repeatedly, his eyes flashing with cold light and murderous intent.
Chu Zhiyuan's face darkened.
It was truly a great joke in the world that royal disciples would become prey, becoming resources for cultivation!
"I'm afraid we can't completely eradicate them, can we?"
Thirty years ago, the imperial court, along with so many people, failed to completely wipe them out. Can the Zhenwu Division succeed now?
Jiang Qiuge's stern expression turned into helplessness: "The Division is mobilizing all its forces to track them down, to see if there are any remaining Jade Cauldron Sect demonic people lurking. Your Highness must also strengthen your defenses."
"Strengthen my defenses…" Chu Zhiyuan grinned.
"Fourth Highness, how about the Division sends two Grandmasters to protect you in secret?"
"Then I will have to thank Division Master!" Chu Zhiyuan agreed without hesitation.
The Qing Royal Mansion's strength is currently weak. With the Qing Royal Mansion's current reputation, it is not difficult to recruit Innate experts, but it is impossible to recruit Grandmasters. Adding two Grandmaster guards is crucial.
Jiang Qiuge's arrangement can be described as timely rain.
This Jiang Qiuge is proud and arrogant, and does not have much respect for princes and princesses in his heart. This move is also to avoid mistakes that would affect him, but in any case, he is helping a great deal.
"Is the Jade Cauldron Sect targeting all princes and princesses this time, or just me?"
"… Currently, it seems to be only targeting Your Highness."
"Why?"
"This…" Jiang Qiuge shook his head.
"Easiest to succeed, picking the soft persimmon to pinch, right?" Chu Zhiyuan snorted.
Jiang Qiuge picked up his teacup and took a light sip, avoiding the topic.
Fourth Highness hit the nail on the head, revealing the truth in one sentence.
In the eyes of the Jade Cauldron Sect, the Qing Royal Mansion is declining and its guards are weak, making it the easiest to target among the direct bloodlines.
If Fourth Highness didn't have keen intuition and a sense of foreboding, I'm afraid he wouldn't have been able to escape this time.
Chu Zhiyuan's heart surged with angry killing intent, and he slowly said, "I wonder if these Jade Cauldron Sect disciples have any tokens?"
Jiang Qiuge took out a thumb-sized jade cauldron from his sleeve, exquisite and delicate, covered with chrysanthemum patterns.
Chu Zhiyuan frowned and glanced at it, but didn't reach out to take it.
This small jade cauldron looked warm and delicate on the outside, but in his eyes, it was filled with a faint mist, faintly emitting a fishy smell.
He could see through clothes with his extrasensory perception, but he never looked, especially at men, to avoid disgusting himself.
So he hadn't noticed this small jade cauldron before.
Jiang Qiuge placed it on the table: "This is the token of the Jade Cauldron Sect disciples. Each person wears one around their neck."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded: "It looks quite exquisite. I'll see if I can find other Jade Cauldron Sect disciples."
Jiang Qiuge was stunned.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled self-deprecatingly: "I can faintly sense the aura of this jade cauldron from a distance. Maybe I can find them."
Jiang Qiuge's eyes suddenly brightened, his eyes bursting with brilliance, and he hurriedly said, "Really?"
Chu Zhiyuan said: "Let's just give it a try, and I hope Division Master Jiang will keep it a secret for me."
Jiang Qiuge stood up and solemnly clasped his fists: "Your Highness, rest assured!"
Jiang Qiuge slowly nodded: "Junior Sister Huang!"
"Division Master," the green-shirted girl standing quietly beside him responded crisply.
Jiang Qiuge's eyes shone brightly: "You are responsible for this matter. You must not use the hands of outsiders, and you must not leak it out!"
"Yes," the green-shirted girl solemnly agreed.
Jiang Qiuge smiled again: "Your Highness, Junior Sister Huang is a true disciple of our White Cloud Sword Palace and has the ability to memorize everything she sees."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded: "That would be the best… Time is of the essence, let's go now."
"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness!" Jiang Qiuge clasped his fists again, and only stopped when he had sent Chu Zhiyuan to the stairwell.
Chu Zhiyuan went down the stairs and out of the restaurant.
Huang Shirong walked gracefully beside him, swaying elegantly, with a long sword at her waist, making people sweat, worrying whether her slender waist would be crushed by the long sword.
Chu Zhiyuan walked along the main road.
Yujing has three north-south avenues and three east-west avenues, all about ten kilometers long, bustling and lively day and night.
Several people shuttled through the crowd. Chu Zhiyuan stopped from time to time, pointing his finger in a certain direction: "Over there."
After a while, he stopped again, pointing his finger: "This way."
…
When the morning light first appeared, Chu Zhiyuan was surrounded by rising white mist. He stopped outside the Nangong Gate and clasped his fists at Huang Shirong: "That's all. Miss Huang, goodbye."
"Yes," Huang Shirong clasped her fists and said softly, "This little girl takes her leave."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded.
He had a good impression of this Huang Shirong, who was as elegant as a chrysanthemum.
She didn't talk much, was gentle on the outside but tough on the inside, elegant and calm. She was young, yet she was a perfect Innate expert and a true disciple of the White Cloud Sword Palace, but she had no arrogance.
This state of mind and cultivation was truly rare.
Watching Huang Shirong leave like a wisp of light smoke, Chu Zhiyuan turned his head to look around. Some ministers who came to attend the court meeting looked over curiously.
Chu Zhiyuan nodded in greeting, turned around, and entered the Nangong Gate.
…
In the following days, he went back and forth between two points, going to the Mingwu Hall in the morning and returning to the Royal Mansion in the evening, peaceful and quiet, concentrating on cultivation.
The Transforming Dragon Art continued to improve towards the perfection of the first level, and the meridians became wider and more resilient.
While reading in the west side hall, he saw a book called "The Extermination of Evil."
This "Extermination of Evil" recorded the deeds of some evil sects in the martial arts world, mentioning the Jade Cauldron Sect.
The Jade Cauldron Sect pursues longevity and eternal life. Its fundamental method is to strengthen itself through devouring, thereby casting a body to achieve the Jade Cauldron, indestructible and imperishable.
The so-called Jade Cauldron name of the Jade Cauldron Sect means that the human body is like a jade cauldron, which is both indestructible and imperishable, and can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to strengthen itself.
The mental method is overbearing. Devouring essence can quickly increase cultivation and make rapid progress, but what holds them back is the method of breaking through.
After all, the cultivation gained through devouring is not pure enough. When breaking through, it is ten times more difficult than breaking through for disciples of other sects.
Despite this, the Jade Cauldron Sect is already extremely powerful with this mental method.
It is easier for disciples of other sects to break through, but the success rate is not high. Increasing the difficulty of breaking through by ten times does not greatly affect the result.
Moreover, the speed of progress of Jade Cauldron Sect disciples is more than ten times faster than that of disciples of other sects. This one positive and one negative actually makes Jade Cauldron Sect disciples stronger.
Chu Zhiyuan understood completely after reading it.
Having become accustomed to rapid progress, they cannot tolerate stagnation, and the Jade Cauldron Sect has top-notch concealment techniques, a high success rate of sneak attacks, and a great chance of escaping after a sneak attack.
The despair of stagnation, the fluke of being skilled in concealment, coupled with the temptation of gaining power through rapid breakthroughs, these three combined make them willing to take the risk of devouring the essence of royal descendants.
The purer the bloodline, the stronger the effect on the Jade Cauldron Sect.
As the heir of the Qing Royal Mansion, he is indeed the best target.
His face was gloomy.
As the heir, extremely wealthy, he would actually become prey. The Jade Cauldron Sect must be destroyed!
It's a pity that even with the extraordinary skills of the Taiqing Yuan Sect, and a cultivation speed that is dozens of times faster than ordinary people, it is still impossible to achieve success overnight, and it must be done step by step.
Thinking of this, he put down "The Extermination of Evil" and went out to practice.
…
"Oh, Fourth Brother, it's rare to see you come out to practice," Chu Mingxuan saw Chu Zhiyuan come to the martial arts field and set up the Dragon Subduing Stance, and curiously came over: "Aren't you burying yourself in reading?"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "Eighteenth Uncle, I had too many doubts in the mansion, and now I have almost figured them out. From now on, I will concentrate on cultivation."
"What are you practicing?"
"The Transforming Dragon Art of the Dragon Subduing Sect."
"… Could it be the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art?" Chu Mingxuan frowned and thought for a while, asking uncertainly.
"Exactly."
"Hiss…" Chu Mingxuan gasped.
Although the two of them were speaking in low voices to avoid disturbing others' cultivation, they were still heard by the princes and princesses.
Upon hearing the words Jade Lock Golden Gate Art, they all looked over.
"Fourth Brother, are you really going to practice the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art?"
Someone released their Purple Yang Stance and came over to ask.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded: "Let's try it out. We'll talk about whether it succeeds or not later."
"Worthy of being Fourth Brother."
"Fourth Brother, don't waste your time."
"It's impossible to practice it successfully."
…
Everyone released their Purple Yang Stance and came closer, surrounding Chu Zhiyuan and discussing together.
Some praised, some dissuaded, and opinions varied.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled without saying a word.
He remembered that a celebrity in his previous life once said that after becoming famous, everyone around him was a good person, and now it was the same.
Previously, the princes and princesses had no hostility, only curiosity, but they also maintained their reserve and observed. Since the last time he won the small competition, they had suddenly become more enthusiastic and friendly.
He enjoyed this feeling of being the center of attention.
"Let's see if Fourth Brother can practice it successfully. He won't turn back until he hits a brick wall. We were all like this back then," Chu Mingxuan suddenly raised his voice: "I heard news that our winter hunt this year will be in three days."
"Eighteenth Uncle, isn't it on New Year's Day?"
"It's been moved up this year. If you haven't heard the news, then hurry up and prepare, don't miss this opportunity!"
Chu Zhiyuan looked at Chu Mingxuan.
Chu Mingxuan smiled: "Fourth Brother, the only opportunity for us in the Mingwu Hall to obtain military merits is the once-a-year winter hunt."
Spring is the season of growth and not suitable for killing, summer is too hot, most animals hibernate in winter, and autumn is both the season of harvest and killing, so it is suitable for hunting.
"The autumn hunt is for Father Emperor and the others, and our Mingwu Hall is the winter hunt…" Chu Mingxuan explained the details.
