Green Mountain
Chapter 170 - 125、Shrouding Cloud_2

Chapter 170: 125、Shrouding Cloud_2

Lord Jin Zhu continued, "Qi Zheyun returned during the Lantern Festival of the 18th year of Jianing when His Majesty hosted a banquet for the ministers. At the feast, His Majesty asked him about his aspirations. Advancing with his sword, Qi Zheyun declared his desire to become the first Martial Saint of Jingning through both dynasties and to unite the lands for His Majesty."

Chen Ji curiously asked, "Where is this Qi Zheyun now?"

In the dark carriage, Lord Jin Zhu looked toward Chen Ji with a peculiar expression. "Dead."

Chen Ji was shocked, "Dead?!"

Lord Jin Zhu continued, "Let me explain slowly. This Qi Zheyun was no ordinary character. When someone visited the Qi family, they discovered that his parents revered him like a deity and did not address each other as parents and son. Later, when his father was drunk, he revealed that Qi Zheyun was not a mortal but an immortal from the Forty-nine Heavens, hailing from ’East Kunlun.’"

Chen Ji composed himself.

Forty-nine Heavens!

Again, the Forty-nine Heavens!

This realm, much like the greatest secret of the mortal world, was known only to a scarce few. He had thought that figures like Xu Shu from the Observatory, a Banished Immortal encountered once in a century, were rare, yet here was another ’immortal.’

Including this Qi Zheyun, Xu Shu, and Chen Ji himself, that made three people from the Forty-nine Heavens!

What exactly was this place, the Forty-nine Heavens, and why had he come from there to the Ning Dynasty?

Chen Ji thought until his head ached, "Lord Jin Zhu, if Qi Zheyun was an immortal, how could he die?"

"Once he arrived in the mortal realm, he became mortal, and all mortals must eventually die," Lord Jin Zhu responded. "In the spring of the 21st year of Jianing, this Qi family executive officer was ambushed and slain on his way back to the capital from the border town, dying in Changping."

Chen Ji puzzled, "Just like that? Who did it?"

Lord Jin Zhu lowered his gaze to the parchment roll in his hand. "...What do you think?"

Suddenly, the cultivation path in Chen Ji’s hands felt scorching!

Since the cultivation path of Qi Zheyun was in the hands of the Ritual Supervision, it must have been they who orchestrated it!

But why would the Ritual Supervision want to ambush a Banished Immortal from the Forty-nine Heavens? And why would the Prime Minister dare to impart this cultivation path to him?

Could it be that they are not afraid of him revealing this affair?!

Chen Ji was now filled with questions and could not make sense of anything.

He envisioned a middle-aged man, clad in a black python robe, seated behind a dark desk, silently mocking him. Like a seasoned strategist, he had played an unfathomable move, causing his opponent to fall into endless deep contemplation.

Chen Ji thought for a moment before asking, "Perhaps this isn’t really Qi Zheyun’s cultivation path, but merely shares the same name? My lord, could you please take a glance to confirm whether it is the same one Qi Zheyun had..."

Lord Jin Zhu quickly closed his eyes. "Take it away, don’t show it to me, don’t drag me into this!"

Chen Ji looked at Lord Jin Zhu, boldly unfurled the scroll, and read aloud, "Before the Upper Qing Purple Mist Emperor, Supreme Daoist Yuchen in leisure times. Ruizhu’s seven-character verses disperse and transform the five forms into myriad gods."

With a start, Lord Jin Zhu interrupted Chen Ji, wide-eyed, "Boy, are you trying to doom me?!"

Chen Ji chuckled, "Lord Jin Zhu, we are now grasshoppers on the same string, no need to talk about harming each other. Besides, this might not even be Qi Zheyun’s cultivation path. If he was ambushed, how could he possibly reveal his cultivation path to his enemies?"

Lord Jin Zhu gave him a bitter look, "Have you forgotten Meng Ji? I’m telling you, it’s best not to get involved in this matter; there are definitely greater secrets. Strange and wondrous, I clearly sought the Mandala Seal for you, yet why did the Prime Minister give you this thing instead?"

Chen Ji raised the parchment, "May I ask, my lord, what grade is this cultivation path? Is it Class A?"

Lord Jin Zhu waved his hand, "The classifications of Class A, B, C, D, are terms from our mortal realm. Who has the authority to grade the cultivation path of a Banished Immortal from the Forty-nine Heavens? Boy, just be cautious!"

With that, he ousted Chen Ji from the carriage and fled swiftly, summoning the West Wind.

...

It was noon, and the biting cold wind of winter awakened Chen Ji slightly.

The Spy Department felt like an abyss, as if an invisible hand was pulling him into the chilly whirlpool beneath.

Chen Ji tightened his collar and returned to the front of Taiping Medical Hall, taking a deep breath.

He rubbed his cheeks, smiling as he said, "I’m back!"

Behind the counter, only Liu Quxing was seated, propping his chin up and dozing off. Startled by Chen Ji’s voice, he sprang up and snapped, "What are you shouting for!"

Chen Ji looked around curiously and asked, "Where are Master and Senior Brother She?"

"Master and She Dengke went to Prince Mansion to attend to patients. It’s said that the Prince contracted some cold working daily at the kiln factory," Liu Quxing pointed to the back yard, "I’ve left your meal on the kitchen stove. I hid four slices of bacon under your rice, otherwise She Dengke that bastard would have snatched it all."

Chen Ji laughed heartily, "Thank you, Senior Brother."

He casually grabbed a few bites in the kitchen, then tiptoed back to the apprentice’s room, locking the door behind him and pulling out the scroll from his sleeve again.

He stared quietly at the text on the scroll, unsure of how to cultivate.

Should he recite the texts non-stop like the little monk?

"Before the Upper Qing Purple Mist Emperor, Supreme Daoist Yuchen. In leisure, Ruizhu crafted a seven-word poem, dispersing the five forms to transform ten thousand gods. This is called the Inner Chapter of the Yellow Court; the heart of the qin thrice overlaps dancing with embryonic immortals. Nine auras shine bright above the clouds, divine covers transform children into purple smoke. This is called the Jade Book worth in-depth study, chant it ten thousand times to ascend to the third heaven..."

"Wait, chant it ten thousand times to ascend to the third heaven? The solution lies within the riddle itself."

Chen Ji sat cross-legged on the bed and read again and again. The whole text had two hundred thirty-nine lines, totaling one thousand six hundred seventy-three characters, which took about 15 minutes to recite.

After meditating for a moment, as soon as he finished the first recitation, he suddenly felt a purple aura emerging in his body, circulating through his blood.

Chen Ji murmured, "Is it really so miraculous?"

But as his words fell, the resplendent Sword Qi, nourished by the sun within his body, chased after the strand of purple aura and shattered it with one strike!

Chen Ji’s pupils shrank. Since he confirmed that Lord Jin Zhu bet on him, he intentionally hid the Sword Qi and didn’t nourish it anymore. Who would have known that it would cause trouble at a critical moment?

Could it be that cultivation paths repel each other? No, he must try again!

At this very moment, in a carriage heading east, Lord Jin Zhu’s bones suddenly crackled as if stretching after waking up, feeling refreshed all over.

Though his cultivation hadn’t increased much, he could genuinely feel it!

Lord Jin Zhu was first stunned, then overjoyed, "Has Chen Ji started cultivating? He’s entered the path so quickly!"

He had waited far too long for this moment.

He had painstakingly confirmed Chen Ji’s identity, and even flattered the Prime Minister to obtain this cultivation path. All so that, after Chen Ji stepped onto the path, the cultivation could reverberate back, and he could ascend to the Seeking Dao Realm sooner.

However.

Suddenly, Lord Jin Zhu yelped in pain, sweat beading on his forehead.

A heart-piercing pain surged into his heart, as if someone had forcibly ripped out his ribs. He knew this pain all too well—it was a sign of falling cultivation!

Lord Jin Zhu gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, "What happened? Chen Ji clearly stepped into the cultivation path just now, why did he step back out?!"

Before the pain had fully subsided, his body crackled again.

Just as Lord Jin Zhu was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his expression changed again, "Wait, that kid Chen Ji wouldn’t... Oh no!"