Chapter 212 - 211: Striking it Rich

Chapter 212: Chapter 211: Striking it Rich

After sweeping the study clean of anything valuable, Xia Wuyang began to loot the other areas of Qianqing Palace.

Wherever his Mental Force Field passed, almost no place could escape his detection.

Spirit Talismans, Spirit Grass, Spirit Pills, Spirit Medicine, Spiritual Techniques, Spirit Arts... there was practically everything imaginable. While none of it compared to the River Scripture, much of it was still useful.

To Xia Wuyang’s greatest surprise, he found another High Level Mortal Treasure in Emperor Xia’s practice room.

A Blood Lotus Fruit!

This was an old acquaintance. He had taken one before and didn’t expect Emperor Xia to have another.

With this Blood Lotus Fruit, plus the eight-hundred-year-old Monkey Wine, reaching Super Grade Perfection was now a certainty.

Carefully putting away the Blood Lotus Fruit, he continued his looting and discovered Low Level Mortal Treasures, Middle Level Mortal Treasures, and various elixirs that aided Celestial Human cultivation. Among them were several bottles of Mortal Elixirs and Medicines for enhancing Spiritual Power.

Unfortunately, Xia Wuyang’s Spiritual Power was already Extraordinary, so Mortal Elixirs and Medicines were now useless to him. Only by consuming Spirit Level Spiritual Elixirs could he continue to raise his Spiritual Power.

But even if he couldn’t use them, he could give them to the people around him to raise their Spiritual Power.

There were also some Spirit Level Materials that could be used for refining Spiritual Artifacts.

A little over an hour later, the valuables in Qianqing Palace had been more or less completely looted. Seeing that it was getting late and that he had achieved his most important goal, Xia Wuyang decided not to linger.

He activated his Dragon and Phoenix Body Technique, pushing his Escape Concealment Technique to its limit, and slipped out of Qianqing Palace without a sound. After circling a few times to make sure he hadn’t been spotted, he finally returned to Wenhua Hall.

During his search, he had also detected several hidden Super Grade Celestial Humans in Qianqing Palace. However, they posed no threat to Xia Wuyang, nor could they detect him in the slightest.

Xia Wuyang paid them no mind and returned, fully laden with his haul, without a care in the world.

It wasn’t until a long while after Xia Wuyang had left that a Super Grade Celestial Human responsible for patrolling Qianqing Palace noticed something amiss. His gaze fell upon a bookshelf in Yangxin Hall, where he saw that some of the Spiritual Scriptures seemed to be missing.

If he remembered correctly, they had been there during his last patrol. With the memory of a Super Grade Celestial Human, it was impossible for him to be mistaken.

The expression of this Celestial Human, known as Mr. Zhen Shan, changed. He immediately began a detailed inspection and soon confirmed that many of the scriptures here had vanished. They were mostly Spirit Level scriptures, the very ones Emperor Xia often read.

"This is bad! There’s a thief!"

Mr. Zhen Shan cried out in alarm. Soon, two more Super Grade Celestial Humans arrived, bringing with them dozens of Grandmasters, and they all began to take inventory.

"It’s not just the Spiritual Scriptures. Some of the hidden compartments here are empty."

"And the secret chamber in Yangxin Hall—everything inside is gone too."

"Something’s happened! Lock down Qianqing Palace, quickly!"

...

As the piercing sound of alarm bells rang out, the entire Imperial Palace was roused. Large numbers of the Imperial Guard and Shadow Guard swarmed in, surrounding Qianqing Palace so tightly that not even a fly could escape.

Tens of thousands of soldiers sealed off Qianqing Palace completely. Then, using the palace as the center, they began to search the surrounding areas, leaving no stone unturned.

Some of the concubines and princes were initially displeased and unwilling to be searched, but after learning the reason, their expressions changed drastically, and they no longer dared to obstruct the search in the slightest.

"What? Someone actually dared to steal from Qianqing Palace and took everything of value?"

"Is that thief insane? Daring to rob even our father’s residence? Do they have no respect for our Great Xia Dynasty? This is outrageous!"

"Isn’t Qianqing Palace protected by a Spirit Array Group? How could a thief sneak in and loot it? Could there be an inside man?"

"I heard Qianqing Palace was picked clean. Almost nothing of value was left. That thief went way too far!"

...

Even Emperor Xia’s own lair had been ransacked; how could they dare obstruct the Imperial Guard and Shadow Guard’s search? If Emperor Xia were to mistakenly think they were colluding with the thief, their futures would be over.

The news spread like wildfire through the various palaces. The numerous concubines, princes, and princesses were all stunned, unable to believe the thief was so unbelievably audacious.

Soon, news reached those within and outside the Imperial Court, leaving them equally dumbfounded. The matter of the Inner Treasury and National Treasury thefts hadn’t even been resolved, and now Qianqing Palace itself had been looted.

If it was all the work of the same thief, then they were far too brazen. If it wasn’t, then the situation was even more troublesome.

For some reason, upon hearing this news, the many princes and princesses who had been robbed previously felt inexplicably better, even a little comforted.

After all, the thief hadn’t even spared their father, so why would they be an exception?

Before this, even the Inner Treasury and the National Treasury had been plundered, sparing neither the Royal Family nor the Imperial Court. Compared to that, what were the few things they had lost?

’They didn’t know if it was the same thief, but the fact that everyone had been robbed was undeniable, and that was enough.’

’Who cares if it’s the same thief? As long as nobody gets their stuff back, it’s all good.’

The news also traveled at extreme speed to Emperor Xia at Li Palace. Within a matter of hours, Emperor Xia had rushed back to Qianqing Palace with a large group of experts.

Among these experts was a white-haired old man in a simple gray robe. His features were unremarkable, but his eyes shone with a startling light. This was none other than Sun Wuyang, the Elder Divine Constable "Celestial Eye," whose fame had shaken the world a century ago. He was the peerless master whom Emperor Xia had personally gone to invite back.

He was at the peak of Super Grade Perfection, proficient in all manner of investigative arts, and possessed the Talent Secret Skill, Celestial Eye, which allowed him to see many things that ordinary people could not.

It was said that he was only one opportunity away from stepping into the True Monarch Realm and achieving an Extraordinary position.

He had spent all these years searching for that opportunity and had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs. If not for Emperor Xia’s personal invitation this time, he would never have come to White Jade City.

Inside Qianqing Palace, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron.

Emperor Xia looked at the somewhat empty Qianqing Palace, his expression thunderous.

Several of the Celestial Humans guarding the area knelt on the floor. "Your Majesty, please forgive us! It was our failure of duty. We await Your Majesty’s punishment."

"What’s the use of saying that now?" Emperor Xia waved his hand dismissively. "Divine Constable Sun," he said, looking at Sun Wuyang with expectation, "it’s up to you."

Sun Wuyang said nothing. He began to walk around Qianqing Palace, a golden light gradually appearing in his eyes. He also sprinkled a white powder from his hand, letting it fall in the places where treasures had gone missing.

Soon, he began to list his findings, one by one.

"The thief used an Array-Breaking Talisman to enter Qianqing Palace. Their own skill in the Array Dao is average."

"The thief is an expert in mechanisms and traps. They knew these mechanisms and traps like the back of their hand and avoided them with ease."

"Their cultivation has reached the Super Grade Realm. They are among the absolute top tier of Celestial Humans but have not yet entered the True Monarch Realm."

"The thief stayed here for nearly two hours. I’d say they are extremely bold."

...