Chapter 944: Return

King An’s Imperial Residence was buzzing with excitement. The scribes and maids hurried around the residence while more than ten beautifully adorned horses stood waiting outside.

The horses were adorned with extravagant accessories and exquisite matching saddles. These rare and fine horses were well-trained and full of spiritual energy, and any one of them could be sold to cover the lifetime expenses of a civilian household.

Chu Li appeared in his room and went to sit cross-legged on the bed.

Leng Qiu and Leng Qing were practicing their swordsmanship in the courtyard. They were both dressed in luxurious gowns and appeared to be in high spirits.

He slowly circulated the Life and Death Scripture and hid away all the vital energy in his Dantian from the Divine Light Technique. Then, a tree of great height gradually emerged in his mind. It was the Tree of Life and Death.

This Tree of Life and Death stretched across the void of his mind, as though it was an extension of this vast and endless void. Its roots floated in the void as if the tree had taken root in the void itself and was using the void as soil.

The tree was floating above the four scriptures and seemed to overlook them as the scriptures circulated in his mind.

After a short while, a fist-sized Heavenly Demonic Orb descended onto his body like a fruit that had ripened and fallen off the tree as the Life and Death Scripture slowly vanished.

The Heavenly Demonic Orb appeared out of thin air above his precordium and contained a great and thunderous force.

With a flicker of the mind, spiritual energy from his surrounding environment surged into him and flowed according to Cloud Slashing Power’s heart technique. In the blink of an eye, inner energy formed inside his Dantian. Within fifteen minutes, his Dantian had become filled with the Cloud Slashing Power. In fact, when he restored his cultivation level, it had turned out to be much higher than before!

The two women stopped practicing their swordsmanship. Following the growth in their cultivation level, their senses had become increasingly acute. As a soft breeze blew around them and gently caressed their cheeks, it felt inexplicably cool against their skin and was very different from a normal wind. It caused them to circulate their inner energy involuntarily.

In the void of his mind, the three Buddhas and the Heavenly Demon were chanting their respective scriptures as usual. They looked the same as how they had been when he was disguised as Zhao Dahe. His body kept growing stronger as the Great Light Scripture, Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture, the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture, and the Heavenly Demon Scripture circulated simultaneously.

After he had fully restored his cultivation level, he found that his current level had far surpassed that of Fang Qingyang and Mo Qianjun. He had now surpassed his own cultivation level from before!

A violent and monstrous aura permeated the area, and the women in the courtyard could distinctly detect this mountainous aura looming over them.

“Head Chief!” they called out in pleasant surprise.

Chu Li got off the bed, opened the door, and walked out with a smile. “Is there anything special happening today?”

A radiant sun was shining brightly over the courtyard.

“The Hunting Ceremony.” Leng Qiu tilted her head to the side as she sized Chu Li up. “Head Chief seems slightly different now.”

“Oh…?” Chu Li lowered his head to examine himself.

Leng Qing said, “Congratulations on your great improvement in your martial arts cultivation, Head Chief.”

Chu Li nodded and smiled as he replied, “Indeed, I’ve achieved some progress during my isolated cultivation this time. I see that I’ve shown up just in time for the Hunting Ceremony!”

“Since Head Chief has returned, you have to take part in it!” Leng Qiu said. “Nowadays, Leng Tao is becoming unreasonable and domineering again. He has recruited two more Grandmasters, so the Imperial Residence of King Cheng has grown much stronger!”

“I look forward to meeting him again then,” Chu Li said with a chuckle. “The two of you should be capable of defeating him, right?”

“He doesn’t even dare to fight us now.” Leng Qiu pursed her pink lips. “He knows that he’s no match for us!”

“You’re already capable of defeating him and yet you’re still practicing so diligently?” Chu Li chuckled.

He noticed that they had been practicing their swordsmanship very persistently in his courtyard from morning till night. Initially, King An had stopped them from practicing, so they had gone without practice for a few days. However, later on, they proceeded to sneak over and ignored King An’s attempts at stopping them.

It was as if swordsmanship had become their greatest source of joy. Furthermore, they had been making rapid advancement and had successfully attained a higher cultivation level in their swordsmanship. Chu Li believed that the main reason they had managed to improve so quickly was that they had sheer interest in this area and found pleasure in practicing their swordsmanship.

“We want to make sure that he can never lift his head in front of us. We intend to surpass his protectors in the future!” Leng Qiu said with a huff. “Let’s see if he dares to behave so arrogantly then! We hope to become like Head Chief. Although his protectors are martial arts masters, he wouldn’t dare to behave outrageously in front of Head Chief!”

Chu Li shook his head and burst out laughing.

A maid came in and said, “Miss Qiu, Miss Qing, it’s time to leave. The consort is asking the two of you to depart now.”

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“Okay, let’s begin our journey!” Leng Qiu beamed. “Head Chief, let’s go!”

Chu Li smiled and said, “You two should go first. I’ll go and greet the consort.”

…

When Chu Li came to Tianshu Courtyard, he saw that Xiao Shi and Xiao Qi were on their way out with Yang Xu and Menglan hastily trailing behind them.

The two ladies were dressed in similar outfits. They both wore pure white tunics and had covered their faces with white veils, so only their lovely eyes could be seen. They looked graceful and charming.

“You showed up just in time. Would you like to participate in the Hunting Ceremony?” As Xiao Shi’s elegant and slender figure swayed from side to side while she walked over, she seemed like a willow branch gently brushing against the surface of the water. She waved a jade-like hand at Chu Li. “Let’s go together and relax a little.”

“Sure.” Chu Li nodded and then looked at Xiao Qi.

Xiao Qi’s gaze was cold and impassive. She merely gave him a quick nod before walking away. Her tall and straight posture as well as her elegant figure indicated her noble birth and upbringing. She exuded a strong air of aristocracy.

Chu Li shook his head. “My Lady’s cultivation level has improved greatly.”

“I still can’t compare with you,” Xiao Qi replied.

Chu Li fell into step beside her, and they walked out together. “It’s going to be very hard for my Lady to surpass me. It’s been difficult for you to achieve further advancement in the Regal Sword Scripture, right?”

“Yes.” Xiao Qi turned to look at him. “You know the reason behind it?”

Chu Li smiled and replied, “It is only by allowing yourself to fully experience your feelings and emotions first that you can learn to forget and let go of them. If you don’t even feel anything, then how can it be considered as forgetting and letting go of your emotions and feelings?”

Xiao Qi frowned and stared at him.

Chu Li went on, “My Lady has been keeping your heart locked tight. This is emotional numbness, so you’re not actually forgetting and letting go of your feelings and emotions. Since you’ve been cultivating it the wrong way, it’s very hard for you to advance further in your cultivation.”

He had consulted Sun Lihua about the Regal Sword Scripture.

Since Sun Lihua had nothing much to do at the Sutra Library, she had helped him find more information about the Regal Sword Scripture.

“Emotional numbness…” Xiao Qi seemed to be deep in thought.

Xiao Shi glanced at Xiao Qi with a smile and then gave Chu Li a disapproving look. “You’re disturbing Younger Sister’s inner state again!”

Chu Li chuckled and replied, “This insight came from true experience. I’ve tried very hard to find out about this.”

“You’ve even managed to find information on the Regal Sword Scripture?” Xiao Shi looked amazed. “You’ve really put in a lot of effort then.”

Chu Li replied, “Of course! … My Lady’s Regal Sword Scripture is indeed profound and leads directly to the Enlightened Master’s Boundary, but it’s very difficult to become an Enlightened Master. It’s better for my Lady to not have such high hopes.”

Xiao Qi cast him a sidelong glance.

Xiao Shi laughed. “Even if she can’t reach the Enlightened Master’s Boundary, that doesn’t mean that she should stop cultivating it altogether. After all, there are only a few Enlightened Masters in this world. Moreover, Enlightened Masters can’t attack their enemies as they please, so it would still be more useful to be a Grandmaster instead. You can go ahead and kill anyone you wish to kill.”

As the three of them continued to chat on their way out, Su Ru came forward to welcome them. She was dressed in an apricot yellow gown. When she noticed Chu Li walking out as well, her face broke into a bright smile like a blooming flower in spring.

The two concubines, Xue Ningyu and Song Liuying, were already outside and were just about to mount their horses.

They were both clad in green clothing and looked valiant and heroic. As they stood together with Leng Qiu and Leng Qing, the four of them looked more like sisters instead of mothers and daughters.

“Head Chief seldom comes out these days,” Xue Ningyu said with a smile. “Head Chief, you’ve already missed the Hunting Ceremony quite a few times. You’re finally back now!”

Chu Li gave a fist salute and returned the smile. “I just came out of isolated cultivation. I’ll be spending more time in the residence from now on. Consort Xue looks even more beautiful than before.”

“Really?” Xue Ningyu chuckled softly. “Perhaps it’s because these two young ladies have been causing less trouble now. I don’t have to worry about them as much, so I don’t look as old as I’m supposed to. Sister Xiao, shall we depart now?”

“Let’s go.” Xiao Shi nodded.

The protectors in front of them began spurring their horses. The scribes at the back kept up pace with the protectors and escorted the women as they left King An’s Imperial Residence and moved eastward.

The pedestrians on the avenue hurriedly made way for them to pass while studying them with curious eyes. Soon, they reached the eastern gate. After going out through the eastern gate, they saw elite soldiers standing straight like javelins on either side of the main road.

Chu Li was joking and laughing around with Leng Qiu and Leng Qing when he noticed a group of people leisurely traveling ahead of them.

Through the Omniscient Mirror, he saw Leng Tao among the group with Qiao San following beside him.