CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54: SHROUDED IN MYSTERY

Lu Chengfeng was about to turn and leave when the Great Elder called after him, mentioning the fish basket beside him, "I can’t let you come here for nothing. Thanks to you, I caught these two fish. You take them."

Lu Chengfeng would not be polite; these Cold-Scaled Fire-Tailed Fish were rare treasures, greatly beneficial to Inner Strength cultivation, exactly what he needed now.

He happily took the fish basket, "Then I won’t be courteous, my thanks to the Great Elder for his generous gift."

"You little monkey," the Great Elder laughed, "Before you face the wall, remember to visit the Ministry of Affairs and exchange all your merits to avoid delaying your cultivation."

"Alright!" Lu Chengfeng responded, politely saluted, and took his leave.

Once he left Celestial Punishment Peak, his expression turned grim. The dignified Great Elder had summoned him, first giving a slap then a sweet date, even revealing the sect’s secrets outright.

"What exactly is this person’s motive?"

Lu Chengfeng wouldn’t think of himself as universally loved; that old guy had suppressed the Law Enforcement Hall for so long, having seen countless geniuses and prodigies, weathering innumerable storms.

The strength he showed to the outside world hardly deserved such emphasis.

He hadn’t had time to think deeply on Celestial Punishment Peak, but now on reflection, he felt the other’s intention was not simple.

"Perhaps he’s targeting Zhu Yuxian; he’s not even afraid of me knowing his intent."

Lu Chengfeng vaguely understood some of the other’s mind, "Once some things are known, they become thorns, playing crucial roles at critical moments."

"Since even I know, then... what about Zhou Tong?"

"Previously he mentioned he was secretly investigating some matters..."

Thinking of this, he immediately felt alert.

"Zhou Tong’s master is Xun Shuijing. If he truly is investigating Zhu Yuxian..."

Lu Chengfeng didn’t know the full picture, but even now, he felt a carefully woven net closing in on Zhu Yuxian.

His eyes flickered; he didn’t waste any time and quickly returned to Bixiao Peak.

Once back on the mountain, Lu Chengfeng immediately summoned Li Mo and Luo Yong.

"Li Mo, go down the mountain to the Su Family, check how your second martial sister is faring. If she’s truly unsatisfied, have her find a way to delay for half a year, and by then, I’ll step in to resolve it for her."

"Yes, Senior Brother!" Li Mo responded, didn’t ask more questions, picked up his sword, and went.

"Luo Yong, head to the Ministry of Affairs, take my identity token and exchange all the merits I accumulated from the beast tide for the Five Qi Chaoyuan Pill," Lu Chengfeng said, tossing his identity token over.

Luo Yong caught it and left to carry out the order.

At this time, Lu Chengfeng called over Luo Suyi, took her hand, and said: "Suyi, I need to close off for a period; the day of emergence is uncertain."

"But previously, I arranged a marriage with Madam Qiutong of Houde Square. It’s time to bring her into the house."

"You are the first wife; matters of taking a concubine are for you to decide. Choose a suitable house on the mountain for her to live, have it cleaned and arranged properly."

"There are no formalities for taking a concubine; just have the housekeeper prepare the betrothal gifts and sedan chair to bring her here."

"I’m now confined by the Law Enforcement Hall and cannot personally welcome her. If she feels slighted and unwilling to come in, then let it be, no need to force it."

Luo Suyi hurriedly held his hand and asked, "Why are you suddenly confined by the Law Enforcement Hall? What happened?"

"Don’t worry, they say it’s confinement, but in truth, I’m still on Bixiao Peak. As long as I don’t leave the mountain, there’s no effect. I plan to take this opportunity to cultivate for a while," Lu Chengfeng comforted.

Hearing this, Luo Suyi felt relieved; instead, she saw it as a good thing. Since marriage, Lu Chengfeng was constantly running about, and they rarely had time together.

Though handling the concubine matter irked her slightly, hearing Lu Chengfeng’s tone, he seemed indifferent to that woman, which cheered her up a bit.

These delicate thoughts of a woman, she naturally didn’t show, just meekly agreed to handle the arrangements.

Having arranged everything, Lu Chengfeng headed towards the meditation room for closed cultivation.

Once inside, closing the door, everything dimmed around him. He sat cross-legged on the cushion on the ground, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.

The next moment, a mental shift, Xiao Qi’s gift surged into his mind.

This time, he skipped over the martial arts techniques, carefully searching for useful memory fragments.

In a daze, he saw scenes from Xiao Qi’s childhood in the Celestial Ghost Sect. His parents were disciples there; he grew up in the sect, loyal and devoted to it.

The scene shifted to Xiao Qi infiltrating the Yuncang Sword Sect as an inside agent, continuously transmitting information back to the Celestial Ghost Sect, setting traps to eliminate many Outer Sect geniuses.

With the resource support of the Celestial Ghost Sect, his cultivation soared far above his peers.

After joining forces with other inside agents, he opened a brothel in Liangzhou Prefecture City to find beautiful virgins for cultivation, thereby enhancing his own prowess.

With such resource supply, he rose to become an Elder of the Outer Peak, eventually becoming the chief.

Lu Chengfeng immersed himself in those memory fragments; though most were broken, he could extract some extremely useful information.

For instance, the identity of other inside agents previously unseen in Zhao Changzhen’s memory.

"Another person, Elder Yunyan of Celestial Orchid Peak mentioned by Cai Zhang, the real Elder Yunyan and his wife Li Muge died ten years ago, the current Elder Yunyan is an impostor."

Lu Chengfeng’s eyes turned deep, "Besides, there’s one who is an Inner Peak True Inheritance, and... from the Law Enforcement Hall..."

"Ha, this is quite intriguing!"

Various thoughts flashed in his mind. Lu Chengfeng continued to probe for messages about Black Shark Loose Man’s relics, only to find indeed some crucial information hidden within these memories.

The message about Black Shark Loose Man’s relic, Xiao Qi learned from Zhao Changzhen; joining forces with five to explore, originally just trying, surprisingly yielded great gains.

Zhao Changzhen obtained the Soul-Devouring Claw, while Xiao Qi got the extremely sinister "Five Viscera Qi." Practicing this method requires consuming the Five-Viscera Pill, using flying creatures and beasts as the base, and humans’ five viscera as the top, benefiting inner cultivation and producing thunderous sounds to intimidate opponents, quite extraordinary.

As for the other three, they obtained the "Black Fiend Palm," "Enchanting Smoke," and "Shark Swimming Step," but the most crucial Inner Cultivation Heart Method wasn’t found.

Xiao Qi only suspected that among the four, someone secretly hid the key Inner Cultivation Heart Method, with the biggest suspicion falling on Zhao Changzhen, who was most familiar with Black Shark Loose Man’s relic.

He sent Xue Dulong to provoke and test several times, trying to force Zhao Changzhen’s bottom line, but didn’t expect Zhao Changzhen to be suddenly killed.

This terrified Xiao Qi, realizing the Inner Cultivation Heart Method might be with someone else, suspecting an intention to murder for skills, gathering all of Black Shark Loose Man’s inheritance, to revive the Unparalleled Divine Skill, Black Fiend Soul-Stealing Qi.

Panicked, he placed suspicion on the True Inheritance from the Law Enforcement Hall. Among the five, with his martial arts most advanced, only he could kill Zhao Changzhen in three strikes, making the Law Enforcement Hall’s investigation futile.

"This indeed is interesting, the Great Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall says Zhu Yuxian killed Zhao Changzhen, but Xiao Qi thinks it’s related to the Law Enforcement Hall True Inheritance."

"And that person from the Law Enforcement Hall is the Great Elder’s Direct Disciple, Li Qian. Whether the Great Elder is aware or not is unknown."

Lu Chengfeng felt it ironic, even more so that everything was confusing, sect leaders had their own agendas, not entirely united, Zhao Changzhen’s knowledge of Black Shark Loose Man’s relic was even more baffling.

He recalled seeing Li Qian and the Great Elder, a thought suddenly flashed in his mind, causing his hair to stand on end, he frantically suppressed his thoughts, not daring to delve further.

"Enough, these matters are temporarily beyond my control, the key lies in my own cultivation. If I comprehend Sword Intent, any trouble can be sliced through with a sword!"

But in reality, Lu Chengfeng knew very well that from the moment he apprenticed under Zhu Yuxian and was summoned by the Great Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, he was already inextricably involved in this whirlpool.

Even from the moment he apprenticed under Zhao Changzhen, he was bound to it.