Chapter 195 - 194: Explosive Increase in Foundation

Chapter 195: Chapter 194: Explosive Increase in Foundation

The Thief Demon had roamed the world for hundreds of years; he had more than just Array-Breaking Talismans.

Besides the Array-Breaking Talismans, the Thief Demon also possessed a piece of Protective Divine Jade. This was actually a Low Level Spiritual Artifact, and as its name suggested, it was used to protect the Sea of Consciousness and Spiritual Power.

The reason Xia Wuyang’s Spiritual Shackles had previously failed to breach his Sea of Consciousness’s defenses was because of this Protective Divine Jade. However, due to his own limited Spiritual Power, even with a Spiritual Artifact like the Protective Divine Jade, the Thief Demon ultimately couldn’t save his own Sea of Consciousness.

But now in Xia Wuyang’s hands, empowered by his Extraordinary Spiritual Power, it wouldn’t be easy for even a True Monarch to break through his Sea of Consciousness.

There were also Protective Talismans and Flying Knife Talismans. Both were Low Level Spirit Talismans, and there were several of them in total—all of them were the Thief Demon’s hidden trump cards.

The fact that he had roamed the world for all these years without incident spoke volumes about the effectiveness of these Spirit Talismans.

The Protective Talismans could block an Attack from an ordinary True Monarch, while the Flying Knife Talismans could easily kill a Super Grade Celestial Human. If caught off guard, even an ordinary True Monarch could be killed in a single strike.

Several Spirit Talismans and one Spiritual Artifact... As expected of the Thief Demon. This haul was more than enough to satisfy Xia Wuyang.

With so many Spirit Level Treasures, Xia Wuyang felt even more confident, even when facing Emperor Xia.

Adding the Spirit Sword he had previously obtained from Princess Jinping, Xia Wuyang’s collection of trump cards was growing ever larger.

Spiritual Artifacts possessed Spirituality and could choose their own masters. The Protective Divine Jade had long ago acknowledged the Thief Demon as its master, but faced with Xia Wuyang’s Extraordinary Spiritual Power, and with the Thief Demon’s cooperation, it quickly changed ownership.

After taking stock, he found that the only good thing from the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, was the original manual for the Sword Control Skill, which the Thief Demon had stolen. He didn’t even have any Spirit Level Treasures as trump cards; he was worse off than Princess Jinping.

’That rascal, the Thief Demon, is a sharp one. He never truly considered Xia Wuchen his master. Otherwise, with so many Spiritual Objects as trump cards, he wouldn’t have kept every single one for himself.’

As for the other resources and treasures, although there were some Xia Wuyang could use, they paled in comparison to these Spiritual Objects. There wasn’t even a single Miracle Treasure among them.

But then again, he had plundered the Third Prince Xia Wuchen’s valuables not long ago. It made sense that he hadn’t managed to accumulate more good things in such a short time.

He stored the resources and treasures he deemed worthy in his Personal Space. By now, his Personal Space had expanded to over three hundred cubic meters, capable of holding a vast amount of valuables.

After stowing everything away, Xia Wuyang looked at the Thief Demon. "Are you confident you can get those treasures from Xuan Nu Palace?"

"With the Array-Breaking Talisman in hand, and with the intelligence provided by Master, I can obtain them as easily as flipping my hand," the Thief Demon said confidently, a sharp glint in his eyes.

Xia Wuyang nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I’ll leave this matter to you. Bring back the treasures from Xuan Nu Palace as soon as possible."

"Yes, Master." The Thief Demon accepted his orders and departed, quickly vanishing from the Imperial Palace.

Watching the Thief Demon leave, Xia Wuyang returned to the Practice Room in Wenhua Hall. He organized his gains, took out the original manual of the Sword Control Skill, and began to peruse it carefully.

’I went through so much trouble to get this; of course, I have to take a good look at it. It won’t be too late to give it to Yun Liyue after I’m done. I’m sure she won’t mind.’

Meanwhile, Yun Liyue had already received the news and found out who had stolen the original manual for the Sword Control Skill.

Upon seeing the report, Yun Liyue was so furious her jade-like hands trembled slightly. "That Xia Wuchen! He’s gone too far."

She slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet, shattering the teacup on it.

Her Maid beside her quickly tried to placate her. "Your Highness, please calm your anger. The most important thing now is to retrieve the Sword Control Skill. This is not the time to be angry."

"Retrieve it? How are we supposed to do that?!" Yun Liyue’s beautiful eyes were filled with killing intent. "We’re talking about the Thief Demon! He was hailed as the number one Divine Thief hundreds of years ago, let alone now. Even if we could find him, we wouldn’t be able to get the Sword Control Skill back. And we can’t even find him!"

After a moment of contemplation, Yun Liyue spread out a memorial scroll. Her brush flew across the paper like a dragon, each character written as if in blood, every sentence a piercing accusation. She listed all of the Third Prince Xia Wuchen’s crimes, one by one, then sent someone to present it to Emperor Xia, hoping he would severely punish the Third Prince and order the return of the stolen Sword Control Skill manual.

Emperor Xia soon received the memorial and felt quite helpless about the situation. He ended up scolding the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, once again.

Stealing was bad enough, but he had lost the stolen item, and the whole affair had been exposed. To top it all off, Yun Liyue was his sister-in-law. It was utterly disgraceful.

So, he sent someone to reprimand the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, ordering him to retrieve the original Sword Control Skill manual as soon as possible. He was also to compensate Yun Liyue and offer her a formal apology.

After being thoroughly dealt with, the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, was filled with extreme frustration. Forget what outsiders thought; even he himself found the matter incredibly shameful.

He had stolen something, only to have it snatched away by the very thief he had sent. Even many of his own resources and treasures were taken along with it.

And then, as if he had lost his mind, he had exposed the matter himself. It was as if he had gone completely mad.

Even now, he didn’t suspect anything was amiss. He just thought he had been so furious at the time that he had exposed himself. He had no idea that it was Xia Wuyang who had been confusing and guiding him from the shadows. Otherwise, he would never have been so foolish.

What made him despair the most was that he had already consumed several types of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, but none of them had any effect on his Yang Meridian.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would likely never recover in this lifetime. Forgetting about ever enjoying the pleasures between a man and a woman was one thing, but this meant he would have no more chance at the throne.

At this thought, Xia Wuchen felt his breathing grow tight, as if he were suffocating.

"Bastard! I will kill you!"

The more he thought, the angrier he became, and the more unbearable it felt. Xia Wuchen began to smash things in a frenzy, and soon, his Sleeping Palace was reduced to ruins. ℴ

While the newly-made eunuch, Third Prince Xia Wuchen, and his good rival, Fifth Prince Xia Wushang, were both desperately trying to hide the fact that they were now eunuchs, the atmosphere in the Eastern Palace Wenhua Hall was one of vibrant spring.

Exquisitely beautiful women in colorful dresses danced gracefully within the hall, their gauze sleeves fluttering and stirring up fragrant breezes. Su Ling’Er gently played the zither, Hanik’s Heart tapped on a Jade Chime, and Jin Xiuya knelt beside him, feeding him all sorts of delicacies.

Xia Wuyang reclined on a soft couch covered with a tiger skin, a beauty nestled against him on each side. From time to time, he would do something to them, enjoying himself immensely.

He toyed with a Luminous Cup, the Wine inside swirling with an amber glow. He seemed completely lost in this haven of pleasure, oblivious to the world.

His fingers would also wander over the beauties’ bodies, drawing forth waves of flirtatious complaints.

But what the surrounding beauties didn’t know was that while the elder Crown Prince appeared to be indulging in debauchery, his Sea of Consciousness was not filled with any distracting thoughts. Instead, it was perfectly clear.

All sorts of information about the Sword Control Skill was currently flowing through his Sea of Consciousness.

A breakdown of the details of Qi Blood circulation... The method for condensing a Qi Blood Sword... The way to nurture a seed of Sword Intent... The optimal way to control a sword with Qi Blood...