The night before The Immortal Destiny Assembly, the bustle of Swordsmith Peak reached its peak.
Various streaks of light crisscrossed the night sky, illuminating the horizon as if it were day, while the mountain’s Great Array operated silently at its limit.
In contrast, Autumn Water Hall was as quiet as another world.
Inside the hall, the lamplight was as small as a bean.
Xu Ping’an handed the last few Wood Talismans, carved with strange patterns, to Li Yuer, Li Zhi’er, and Xiao Jing’er respectively.
“For the next few days, no matter what happens outside or what noises you hear, the three of you must remain inside Autumn Water Hall. You must not step out of the courtyard for even a single step.”
His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable gravity.
“I have rearranged the Defensive Formation outside the hall. Keep the Wood Talisman close to your person; it can ward off common Evil Spirits. If you encounter an extreme situation… crush it.”
Li Yuer took the Wood Talisman, her fingertips tightening.
“Mister, where are you going? The Immortal Destiny Assembly starts tomorrow….”
“I have some private business to attend to and need to leave for a few days.”
Xu Ping’an interrupted her, his tone gentle yet brook no further questioning.
“Guard this place well. As for Qingxuan’s side, I will provide her with an explanation.”
Li Zhi’er clutched the Wood Talisman and nodded timidly.
Xiao Jing’er had a look of worry on her face.
Xu Ping’an said no more.
He walked to the old Rong Tree in the courtyard, took out a folded Letter, and weighed it down with a mountain stone.
He took one last look back at Autumn Water Hall, which was shrouded in a faint halo, and stepped out!
As his foot landed, several inconspicuous stones and withered branches in the courtyard suddenly lit up with an extremely faint, distorted shimmer.
Xu Ping’an’s figure, within this distorted light and shadow, was like ink dripping into clear water, silently fading and dissipating.
Earthshrinking Step, borrowing objects as a guide, using the body as a vessel.
This was the most inconspicuous method of long-distance movement he could currently manage, and the cost was immense. His Target—the Great Qi Imperial City.
Almost at the same moment Xu Ping’an disappeared, a cold Sword Light swept from the direction of the Pavilion of Immortal World and landed in the courtyard.
Pei Qingxuan walked hurriedly, a trace of fatigue between her brows, yet there was a hint of relief—everything for tomorrow was set, and she wanted to come see Xu Ping’an.
However, the courtyard was empty.
There was only the night wind and that mountain stone weighing down the Letter under the tree.
Her heart skipped a beat. She stepped forward, picked up the Letter, and unfolded it.
The handwriting was powerful enough to penetrate the back of the paper, yet there were only a few brief sentences:
[Qingxuan, seeing this is like seeing my face; I have had a sudden realization and need to leave the sect for a few days to handle an old matter. Do not worry, do not search; regarding the matters of The Immortal Destiny Assembly, just proceed according to the plan and be extra careful; an Array Formation has been set at Autumn Water Hall, and I have temporarily entrusted Yuer and the others to look after it. Left by Ping An…]
“An old matter?”
Pei Qingxuan’s fingers tightened on the Letter, wrinkling the paper.
What old matter could require him to leave so suddenly at such a critical moment? He didn’t even have time to say a word in person?
She immediately released her divine sense to envelop Autumn Water Hall and spread outward.
There was no trace of Xu Ping’an’s aura, only the extremely subtle traces of spatial disturbance in the courtyard that had not yet completely subsided.
He was gone. He had left silently.
A mixture of worry, anxiety, and frustration welled up in her heart.
She immediately sent messages to her confidants to investigate secretly and gave strict orders to suppress the news.
Standing alone in the empty courtyard, staring at that empty space, her chest felt stiflingly tight.
“Husband… what exactly are you going to do?”
At this time, Xu Ping’an was experiencing a strange “journey.”
The surrounding scenes retreated, stretched, and distorted at a bizarrely high speed.
He kept his mind clear, relying on a vague sense of the direction of the “Royal City” to maintain the orientation of the Array Formation.
After an unknown amount of time, his feet hit solid ground. An intense sense of dizziness and weakness struck like a tide, making him stumble and lean against a cold wall nearby.
The cold, hard touch carried the accumulation of ancient years and the scent of countless offerings of incense.
He raised his head, and the grand, magnificent palace walls, shimmering with a dark gold luster under the moonlight, came into view.
On the top of the walls, the silhouettes of patrolling guards were faintly visible.
The Great Qi Imperial City; he had arrived.
The Earthshrinking Step Array Formation was ultimately not precise enough; his landing point was in the shadows of a secluded alley corner outside the palace city.
Xu Ping’an took several deep breaths to suppress his churning Vital Energy.
His Chaos Golden Eyes quietly activated, penetrating the heavy palace walls and layers of restrictions to lock onto the core of “popular energy” deep within the Royal City—the brightest, yet also faintly showing signs of decline—the Emperor’s living quarters, the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Time was pressing.
He did not go through the palace gates.
Relying on the insight of his golden eyes into the weak points of the restrictions and his precise grasp of the flow of human aura, he moved like a nonexistent ghost, traveling quickly through shadows and architectural blind spots, avoiding the patrolling Imperial Guards and secret sentries.
About fifteen minutes later, he appeared silently outside a window frame of a side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The hall was brightly lit, and the sound of suppressed coughing came from within.
Xu Ping’an gently pushed open the window sash, which was not bolted from the inside, and slipped into the hall.
The hall was warm, permeated with the fragrance of medicine and ambergris.
Behind bright yellow curtains, on a large dragon bed, leaned a middle-aged man wearing bright yellow sleeping clothes.
His face was gaunt, and he could not hide his exhaustion and the air of twilight—this was the Current Emperor of Great Qi, Li Shuo.
He was taking medicine from the hand of a True Eunuch, his brows furrowed, and his breath shallow.
Xu Ping’an’s appearance was without warning.
The hands of the Old Eunuch attending him, Fu’an, shook with fright, nearly knocking over the medicine bowl.
When he saw the visitor’s face clearly, he gasped, and his terror instantly turned into bewildered uncertainty:
“Xu… Master Xu?!”
Li Shuo on the bed also jerked his head up.
Seeing Xu Ping’an in the lamp shadows, he was first startled, but when he recognized that young yet exceptionally calm face that had once saved him from the brink of death, his look of shock and anger quickly faded, replaced by deep astonishment and a trace of undetectable relief.
“Master Xu?”
Li Shuo’s voice was hoarse, carrying the weakness of a long illness, but it lacked the wrath of an Emperor facing a late-night intruder.
Instead, it was more like an unexpected visit to a trusted Doctor.
“You… why are you here? Is it Zhi’er—”
His first reaction was still his physically weak and sickly Nü’er.
Xu Ping’an took two steps forward. He did not perform a grand bow but merely nodded slightly:
“Your Majesty, this commoner takes a liberty. Princess Zhi’er is doing well in the Liuyun Sect; Your Majesty need not worry.”
Hearing that his daughter was safe, Li Shuo clearly breathed a sigh of relief, but his confusion grew even greater:
“Then for what matter did you sneak into the palace late at night?”
He waved his hand to signal Fu’an, who was scared out of his wits and about to call for help, to remain quiet.
Toward Xu Ping’an, he held an extraordinary level of trust.
Not only because the man had saved his life, but because the man possessed an aura of being detached from the world and had taken very good care of Zhi’er.
He believed this person was definitely not a wicked or treacherous man.
Xu Ping’an looked directly at Li Shuo and got straight to the point:
“This commoner has come today wishing to temporarily borrow an item from Your Majesty. The matter is urgent and concerns the very foundation of the Qi Nation’s Destiny, and even the fate of all living beings in the World. Therefore, I had no choice but to take this presumptuous action.”
“Borrow what?”
Li Shuo’s expression turned solemn, and he leaned forward slightly.
“The Heirloom Seal of the Realm.”
As soon as those five words were uttered, the air in the hall instantly froze.
Fu’an’s legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed.
Li Shuo’s pupils shrank suddenly.
His hand resting on the brocade quilt clenched abruptly, and the veins on the back of his withered hand became faintly visible.
The Heirloom Seal of the Realm! A vital treasure of the nation, representing the legitimacy of imperial power and carrying a portion of the Nation’s Destiny!
How could it be borrowed just by asking?
However, Li Shuo did not immediately fly into a rage.
He stared fixedly at Xu Ping’an, as if trying to discern the true intention behind this shocking request from the other man’s calm and wave-less eyes.
He saw honesty, he saw solemnity, and he saw a kind of resolution bordering on compassion, but there was absolutely no greed or conspiracy.
“Master Xu…”