Their Ultimate Trump Card is Only Nascent Soul, But I Am Not

In Yuzhou City, Chu Xingchen and Yaoqin were on their way to the Demon Suppression Bureau.

The streets were somewhat empty, and the two walked side by side.

After some thought, Chu Xingchen couldn't help but ask with curiosity, "Why do you suddenly want to go after the evil cultivators again?"

"Evil cultivators deserve to die," Yaoqin replied succinctly.

"...The truth?"

Upon hearing this, Yaoqin turned her calm gaze toward Chu Xingchen beside her.

Chu Xingchen, sensing the unspoken expectation, nodded. "They do deserve to die."

After all, Yaoqin had helped him before without asking too many questions.

With that, Chu Xingchen fell silent for the rest of the journey.

After walking for a while, Yaoqin suddenly spoke, seemingly out of nowhere:

"The great roc soars with the wind in a single day."

Chu Xingchen glanced at Yaoqin beside him. Her expression remained unchanged, and she didn't look his way.

He thought carefully before responding, "Rising effortlessly to ninety thousand miles?"

"That's what you said when we first met," Yaoqin said, tightening her grip on her sword and keeping her eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Those words inspired me back then. I consider myself the great roc. What about you?"

Was there even a need to ask?

Chu Xingchen smiled confidently. "Naturally, I am too."

Yaoqin turned her gaze to Chu Xingchen. "Then let us meet again at ninety thousand miles."

Chu Xingchen paused for a moment before smiling. "Of course."

The rest of the journey passed in silence. When they arrived at the entrance of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Chu Xingchen, who had been escorted out respectfully by Zhao Wanqing earlier that day, was recognized by the guards.

The guards didn't stop them. After all, they were neither blind nor foolish. Without even bothering to announce their arrival, one of them simply said,

"You can go right in. Captain Zhao is probably still in the medical hall."

Thanks to his face being recognized, Chu Xingchen successfully brought Yaoqin into the Demon Suppression Bureau.

The two headed straight for the medical hall, as it was always easier to start with familiar faces.

As Chu Xingchen stepped through the doorway of the medical hall, he was momentarily stunned.

Little Ah Nian, the physician, was licking a large block of ice with tear-streaked cheeks, her face dotted with tiny silver needles.

Zhao Zhengyang had already regained consciousness and was lying on a bed, his sister Zhao Wanqing sprinkling sugar into his mouth.

Chu Xingchen looked at them, puzzled. "What... are you all doing?"

"What kind of pills did you make?" Ah Nian asked, her silver needles trembling slightly as she spoke with a mix of frustration and indignation. "Why is it that the spiritual herbs were perfectly normal, but after you refined them, they became so... bizarre?"

Chu Xingchen was immediately offended. "Bizarre? That's proper alchemy! Didn't you see the effects?"

"Yes, they were effective, but why does the body reject the medicinal energy so strongly after it enters, even though the energy seems to insist on healing me regardless?"

"I'm just asking, how were the effects?"

"Hold on, you two," Zhao Wanqing interjected urgently. "Elder, what's wrong with my brother? He says his mouth is unbearably bitter."

Chu Xingchen caught on and stepped closer to Zhao Zhengyang, who lay there with a blank expression, seemingly resigned to his fate.

His mouth was open, stuffed with sugar, but it didn't seem to help.

However, it didn't look like the bitterness was the real issue.

After a quick glance, Chu Xingchen said, "It's normal. He woke up too early, and the bitter taste hasn't fully dissipated yet."

"Last time I took the pills you refined, it didn't... feel like this."

"That time, I added herbs that suppressed your sense of taste."

Zhao Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief. As long as nothing was seriously wrong, it was fine.

Yaoqin frowned as her eyes swept over the chaotic scene before her. What was going on here?

She got straight to the point. "Zhao Wanqing, before the envoys from the Central Continent arrive, Zhuyu Court will collaborate with the Demon Suppression Bureau to enforce the law and prevent the situation from escalating. I need you to provide intelligence on the surrounding sects and their activities."

Zhao Wanqing set down the bowl of sugar she was holding and turned to Ah Nian, who was still licking ice to soothe herself. "Ah Nian, could you please keep an eye on him for now?"

Seeing Ah Nian nod in agreement, Zhao Wanqing turned back to the two of them. "Please follow me."

"Wait..." Zhao Zhengyang managed to spit out all the sugar in his mouth. "I... I know some information."

Yaoqin stopped in her tracks and looked at Zhao Zhengyang, who seemed to have regained some clarity. "What do you know?"

Zhao Zhengyang struggled to speak. "They... they bought... from the black market docks..."

Chu Xingchen tried to fill in the blanks. "They bought Tai Xuan Stones from the black market docks?"

Zhao Zhengyang was momentarily stunned, then turned his head slightly to look at Chu Xingchen before nodding weakly and continuing, "Their... real goal..."

Chu Xingchen added again, "Their real goal is to perform a blood sacrifice on the sects, not the common people?"

"How... how do you... know all this?"

Yaoqin shook her head slightly in exasperation. It would have been better if he had just stayed silent instead of wasting time like this. She said impatiently, "Zhao Wanqing, let's go."

"Wait..." Zhao Zhengyang coughed heavily twice before speaking again. "They... probably have... a final goal... called the 'Immortal Seed'..."

This new piece of information caught Yaoqin's attention. "Immortal Seed? What kind of plan is that?"

"I... don't know..."

Without hesitation, Yaoqin turned away. "Zhao Wanqing! Let's go!"

Zhao Wanqing glanced down at her brother, who looked somewhat aggrieved, and sighed before following the two out.

Thanks to Zhao Wanqing's clearance, the three of them easily entered the archives room.

Zhao Wanqing retrieved the intelligence on the sects. "Most of the scouts we sent out haven't returned yet. For now, this is all the information we have on the sects."

As she spoke, she picked up two reports from a nearby shelf.

"These two sects are close to Yuzhou City, and we've received updates from them indicating that everything is normal."

Yaoqin didn't take the two reports. Instead, she picked up the thick dossier containing detailed information on the sects.

It included comprehensive records of the cultivation levels of the sect elders and leaders, as well as the locations of the sects.

Her golden core spiritual sense quickly scanned through the information.

Yaoqin concluded, "As expected... the Qingfeng Sect is the most suitable target, but it's definitely not the only one!"

Ever since the incident with the evil cultivators began, thanks to Chu Xingchen's information, the Qingfeng Sect had already been marked as a suspect.

However, the people at the Qingfeng Sect's mining site were unaware of this.

Naturally, Yaoqin's primary target was the Qingfeng Sect, but before taking action, she needed to gather more intelligence to see if there were any clues in the nearby areas.

Zhao Wanqing was momentarily taken aback. The Qingfeng Sect?

The Qingfeng Sect was quite far from Yuzhou City.

Seeing Zhao Wanqing's puzzled expression, Yaoqin offered a vague explanation. "The Central Continent has provided intelligence."

Zhao Wanqing nodded in understanding.

Yaoqin continued, "I've already dispatched members of Zhuyu Court to investigate the surrounding areas. They will report back to the Demon Suppression Bureau with their findings."

"Your cultivation level is too low. Stay here and receive the intelligence. He and I will go to the Qingfeng Sect to assess the situation."

"The Qingfeng Sect's Grand Elder is at the Nascent Soul stage," Zhao Wanqing quickly reminded her. "Isn't that too dangerous?"

Yaoqin's expression remained calm.

"Their ultimate trump card is only at the Nascent Soul stage. I am not."

Faced with such a bold statement, Zhao Wanqing was momentarily at a loss for words.