Chapter 198 - 197: Day of Scouring

Chapter 198: Chapter 197: Day of Scouring

After leaving the Secret Vault, the Thief Demon first hid the sacks full of treasures nearby, then carried them away one by one.

With his astonishing Body Technique, it took him just over an hour to transport all the sacks to the foot of the mountain.

A carriage was already waiting there. After loading all the sacks onto the carriage, the Thief Demon personally drove it, heading for White Jade City with the treasures.

Meanwhile, in Xuan Nu Palace, the upper echelons were still discussing how to handle the current situation. They had no idea that their most precious Secret Vault had already been plundered and that most of its treasures were gone.

It wasn’t until a few days later that Bing Qing Fairy, the Mistress of the Profound Lady Palace, went to the Secret Vault to retrieve a treasure. Only then did she discover that something was amiss. She flew into a rage, and the entire Xuan Nu Palace was thrown into chaos.

By now, the Thief Demon had arrived near White Jade City. Dressed as a merchant, he drove the carriage at a leisurely pace. No one would have ever guessed that the ordinary carriage behind him contained treasures that could drive the entire Martial World into a frenzy.

The thousand-year heritage that Xuan Nu Palace was now frantically searching for was, at this very moment, inside that carriage.

Xia Wuyang soon received news that the Thief Demon had arrived in White Jade City with the most precious batch of treasures from Xuan Nu Palace’s thousand-year collection.

Under the cover of night, Xia Wuyang found the Thief Demon hiding in an inn and saw all the treasures.

A look of delight and satisfaction appeared on his face. He picked up the Wooden Jade Armor, his fingertips tracing the Array patterns on its plates. "Excellent, excellent. With this Spirit Armor, I fear even an ordinary True Monarch would struggle to harm me in the slightest."

He then picked up a Spirit-Breaking Needle. Its tip, as fine as an ox’s hair, glinted with a faint light. "If I use this to perform the Enchanting Heart Needle technique, its power will surely skyrocket. I can even control it with the Sword Control Skill for even better results."

The Spirit-Breaking Needles came as a set of seventy-two. They could be used for single-target or multi-target attacks.

Combined with the Enchanting Heart Needle and the Sword Control Skill, they were guaranteed to unleash astonishing destructive power.

This reminded Xia Wuyang of Dongfang Bubai’s embroidery needles from the martial arts novels of his past life. While it felt a bit strange, in truth, his technique was somewhat similar, but its power was far greater.

He carefully placed both the Wooden Jade Armor and the Spirit-Breaking Needles into his Personal Space, ready to be equipped at a moment’s notice to deal with any enemy.

If it weren’t inconvenient—what with having to deal with a bevy of beauties every day—Xia Wuyang would have wanted to wear the Wooden Jade Armor at all times to ensure his safety.

However, since they were in his Personal Space, he could retrieve and use them with a single thought, so it wouldn’t cause much of a delay.

Moreover, as Spiritual Artifacts, they possessed a certain degree of Spirituality. They would automatically equip themselves upon being taken out, which was incredibly convenient.

The Spirit Talismans were, of course, also placed in his Personal Space, ready for use at any time.

With these items, Xia Wuyang’s overall strength, life-saving capabilities, and escape abilities... all increased severalfold. Although he was still no match for Emperor Xia, the gap had narrowed considerably.

Once he advanced to the True Monarch Realm, Xia Wuyang was highly confident he could take down Emperor Xia. At that point, many things would become possible.

"Not bad, not bad at all! To think Xuan Nu Palace had such fine things!"

When he saw the nine-hundred-year-old blood ginseng, Xia Wuyang’s eyes lit up, and his face broke into a wide smile.

With this nine-hundred-year-old blood ginseng, he could save several months of arduous cultivation and break through to the Super Grade Late Stage sooner, bringing him ever closer to Super Grade Perfection.

He carefully put away the nine-hundred-year-old blood ginseng. He planned to consume it after consolidating his Foundation to break through to the Super Grade Late Stage as soon as possible.

Next, he picked up the Spirit Talismans one by one, studying the patterns on them until he felt a little dizzy.

A Talisman Maker had some things in common with an Array Master, but it was its own separate Vice Position and not so easy to cultivate.

Xia Wuyang had currently only cultivated Alchemy and was essentially clueless about other Vice Positions.

Fortunately, with his Extraordinary Spiritual Power, he could activate these Spirit Talismans without using his own blood essence. The resulting power was even greater, and he didn’t need to understand them too deeply.

Ordinary Body Refining Martial Artists who wanted to use a Spirit Talisman had to squeeze out their own blood essence to activate it.

After all, under normal circumstances, only a True Monarch could activate a Spirit Talisman with True Qi. Since Body Refining Martial Artists hadn’t mastered True Qi Power, they had to find another way.

But Xia Wuyang was different; he could also activate Spirit Talismans using his Extraordinary Spiritual Power.

After putting away the Spirit Talismans, Xia Wuyang looked at the other treasures: Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, various Elixirs, Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals, Combat Techniques and Secret Techniques... Some were useful to him, but most were not. However, he could trade them for other resources and treasures, so they wouldn’t go to waste.

Laden with his haul, Xia Wuyang quietly returned to Wenhua Hall. He had the Thief Demon stay near the Imperial Palace, as he might be needed for future tasks.

As his accumulated Power and hidden trump cards grew, Xia Wuyang acted more and more boldly. He no longer had to be as cautious as before, constantly worrying that some mistake would bring about his own demise.

At this point, even if he were to confront Emperor Xia head-on, Xia Wuyang was absolutely confident he could escape. Unless he was ambushed by the Royal Family’s hidden True Monarch ancestors, his life was basically not in danger.

Outside the hall, the cold wind still howled, but inside Wenhua Hall, it was warm and cozy.

It was nearly dawn when he returned to Wenhua Hall. Xia Wuyang took the opportunity to "wake up," pretending to eagerly leave the Practice Room and head to the Sleeping Palace to summon Su Ling’Er to his bed.

With the help of the Dragon and Tiger Elixir, half an hour later, the "exhausted" elder Crown Prince was sent back to the Practice Room, while Su Ling’Er, panting softly, began to rest.

Around Noon, the elder Crown Prince, having recovered his energy, emerged again. After eating some nourishing food prepared by the Palace Attendants, he summoned Hanik’s Heart to his bed.

This time, in less than half an hour, the elder Crown Prince was once again sent back to the Practice Room to get some proper rest.

When evening came, the elder Crown Prince came out a third time and graced Jin Xiuya with his favor...

And so it went, day and night. His degeneracy was astounding. Even the Princes and Princesses who were in perfect health wouldn’t dare to indulge in such day-and-night debauchery, despite being far more capable than Xia Wuyang.

But this elder Crown Prince, Xia Wuyang, was something else. He was gobbling down all sorts of Dragon and Tiger Elixirs while carrying on with his nightly revelries, a spectacle that left everyone dumbfounded.

This was for the best, however. This way, he would be on his way out sooner, and they wouldn’t have to wait so long.

Before he knew it, the Day of Cleansing had arrived. The so-called "Day of Cleansing" was similar to New Year’s Eve in his past life.

Early that morning, a heavy snow fell upon White Jade City. Goose-feather-like snowflakes fell thick and fast, blanketing the vermilion walls and golden tiles in white.

A thick layer of snow accumulated on the glazed tiles of Wenhua Hall. Under the eaves, icicles hung like inverted swords, gleaming coldly in the morning light.

Xia Wuyang, draped in a black fox-fur cloak, stood before the hall admiring the snow with his arm around a young woman who had just arrived the day before.