Chapter 262 - 257: The Poison Entangling the Spirit Root

Just as Du Youqian expected, the four death warriors had some money on them, but nothing that could prove their identities.

However, since they were out and about, they needed to eat and drink, and they carried a few miscellaneous items. A dedicated investigator could certainly find some clues.

But Du Youqian couldn’t be bothered to investigate.

As for the other man, the items on his body confirmed he wasn’t with the first four.

"Imperial City Department?" Du Youqian murmured, looking at the copper waist token in his hand.

Old Fu showed no reaction, but Qing He, who was massaging Du Youqian’s shoulders, unconsciously applied a little too much pressure.

Du Youqian naturally noticed. He smiled, then asked Old Fu, "The Imperial City Department... that’s the intelligence agency directly under the Wu Imperial Family, isn’t it?"

When it came to the Wu Kingdom, it wasn’t a boast to say that no one knew it better than Du Youqian.

After all, he had once been the Prime Minister of the Wu Kingdom. He had personally established many of its systems and founded many of its institutions.

But the Imperial City Department had been around for a long time.

However, Old Fu gave his Young Master a surprised look and said quizzically, "Young Master, you must be mistaken. How could the Wu Kingdom have an Imperial City Department? The Wu Kingdom only has the Jinyiwei."

Du Youqian froze for a moment, then felt a wave of embarrassment.

He remembered now. In his life as Qiu Yuanqing, he had once been casually discussing how an Emperor could establish authority and prevent officials from deceiving their superiors. He had brought up the Jinyiwei.

He had used events from Earth as a story, pointing out the pros and cons of the Jinyiwei, its significance to imperial power, and how to prevent it from becoming a terrifying secret police force while better fulfilling its intelligence function.

He figured Du Yuxi or Du Yuhuan must have taken his words to heart and then implemented the Jinyiwei after establishing the Du Dynasty...

Du Youqian quickly adjusted his expression. "In other words, this person must be an agent working for the imperial family of another kingdom."

Old Fu lowered his head. "In this old servant’s opinion, the craftsmanship of this waist token and the style of its engraved patterns seem to be related to the Qi Kingdom."

Du Youqian examined it closely and nodded.

The Qi Kingdom. He was familiar with it.

And then... that was it. No further discussion.

He put away the waist token and stretched. "It’s the middle of the night. Old Fu, get the fire going again. Then, it’s time for sleep. Sleep."

From behind him, Qing He asked in surprise, "Sleep? Here?"

"Where else?"

"With all these dead bodies..." Qing He sounded disgusted, not afraid.

Anyone who had served for so many years as a handmaiden in the home of a great Martial World tycoon, survived a bloody one-night massacre, and then spent three months on the run from assassins would no longer be afraid of corpses.

"We’ll go into the city tomorrow and stay at an inn."

"Young Master, but we’re being hunted!" Old Fu reminded him.

Du Youqian smiled faintly. "I’m done pretending. I’ll lay my cards on the table. I want them to come. I’ll kill them all in one go and be done with it."

Old Fu and Qing He were both speechless.

Once Old Fu had rekindled the fire, Du Youqian lay down beside it. The warmth washed over him, and he quickly fell asleep.

Of course, even if he was asleep, he would naturally awaken if anyone dared to make a move against him.

But neither Qing He nor Old Fu made any strange moves.

「The night passed without incident.」

The next day, amidst a brilliant sunrise, the forest came alive with energy.

The cheerful chirping of birds woke Du Youqian.

"Sigh..." Feeling his body grow weaker and more feeble, Du Youqian couldn’t help but sigh.

’This life’s starting hand is truly terrible.’

’That’s why I’m tempted to just get this life over with and start a new one.’

’But... this is already my fifth life.’

’What if something goes wrong in the next life, and then something else happens in the one after that... what then?’

’The ten-reincarnation limit is like a tightening band around my head.’

’But what else can I do besides trying to get through this life quickly?’

He recalled when he was eleven, when Baili Yingxiong had taken him up Yu Kun Mountain, presented Baili Shang’s keepsake, and found Zeng Baoming.

Back then, he hadn’t yet awakened the memories of his past lives. He had looked at Zeng Baoming with a sense of déjà vu but couldn’t place him.

Zeng Baoming had infused Magical Power into his body to examine him. Under Baili Yingxiong’s expectant gaze, he shook his head, his eyes filled with such regret that he looked ready to beat his chest and stamp his feet in frustration.

"A pity, what a pity... To think it’s a Celestial Spirit Root! He could have cultivated all the way to Core Formation without any obstacles. This old man has only ever heard of a Celestial Spirit Root, never seen one."

"Immortal Master, this child has a Celestial Spirit Root. I-isn’t that a good thing?" Baili Yingxiong asked, confused.

"A pity. If you had brought him here before he was poisoned, this old man would have taken him as my disciple without a second thought. Unfortunately, the poison in him is no mortal poison, but one from the Immortal Cultivation Realm," Zeng Baoming explained.

"If you had brought him right after he was poisoned, this old man could have cured it with a wave of my hand. This poison isn’t difficult to dispel."

"If the boy had a Wood Celestial Spirit Root, he would also be fine. A Wood Celestial Spirit Root can automatically neutralize toxins, making one immune to all poisons."

"But now, this child is but a mortal, yet he was afflicted with a poison from the Immortal Cultivation Realm. On top of that, he was treated by your mortal world’s incompetent doctors, causing the poison to undergo a strange transformation inside his body. It has become inextricably entangled with his Spirit Root."

"However, a Spirit Root has no physical form; it is a thing that exists between the tangible and the intangible. Logically, it should not be possible for a poison to destroy it. If a poison that could destroy a person’s Spirit Root existed in the Cultivation Realm, the world would have long since descended into chaos. Yet the facts are right before our eyes. One can only call it the will of heaven. To encounter such a once-in-a-millennium coincidence... it is truly tragic and lamentable."

Baili Yingxiong still didn’t understand. "A Spirit Root... is it the foundation for becoming an Immortal Master? Though it’s a shame the boy’s Spirit Root is ruined, all that matters is that he can live a safe and peaceful life."

"Impossible," Zeng Baoming sighed. "The Spirit Root is something a person is born with, intrinsically linked to their very life force. Otherwise, on what basis could someone with a Spirit Root practice Breathing to absorb Spiritual Qi and cultivate Immortal Techniques? People with Spirit Roots are naturally more intelligent and robust. If the Spirit Root is destroyed, it is like having the very foundation of one’s life cut away. Naturally, one cannot live long."

Baili Yingxiong’s eyes turned red, and he nearly burst into tears. "This child... does he not have long to live?"

Zeng Baoming nodded. "He will not live past the age of twenty."

He looked at the calm and composed Du Youqian, a look of admiration in his eyes. "This child is naturally calm, unperturbed even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him. He also seems to have been born with a Sword Heart—truly a fine seedling for practicing the sword. And with a rare Celestial Spirit Root, no less... Don’t worry. I will break the Sect’s rules and teach him a form of Swordsmanship. If he can cultivate this Swordsmanship to Great Success, he might have a chance to sever the poison from his Spirit Root himself and return to normal."

And so, after offering a thousand thanks, Baili Yingxiong took his leave with Du Youqian.

But after returning to Xianlai Castle, Du Youqian practiced that Swordsmanship, yet he could never succeed in mastering it.

’Actually, from my current perspective, it’s only right that I couldn’t master it.’

’That Zeng Baoming may have reached Core Formation, but he’s a goddamn fraud.’

’Making a mortal with no Magical Power cultivate an Immortal Sword Control Technique?’

’It would be a miracle if anyone could.’

’Even now, with the memories of my past lives awakened, this whole situation gives me a headache.’

’Otherwise, I wouldn’t be on the verge of giving up.’

’I don’t actually need to cultivate Magical Power to use the sword. With the Sword Intent I command, severing the poison entangled with my Spirit Root wouldn’t be difficult.’

’So why don’t I just sever it?’

’Because I have no Magical Power. To use my Sword Intent to sever the poison on my Spirit Root, I would have to pay a terrible price. It would likely consume what little remains of my lifespan—a year or so—and I’d drop dead on the spot. If that happened, what would be the point of removing the poison from my Spirit Root?’

’So the only option is to cultivate first. With the cultivation speed of a Celestial Spirit Root, I could reach the Qi Cultivation Fifth or even Sixth Layer in just half a year. Then I would have just enough Magical Power to support that one sword strike and sever the poison.’

’But the problem is... my Spirit Root is currently entangled with poison, making it impossible to practice Breathing to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi for cultivation.’

’This reminded him of that famous meme from Earth.’

"You should use your Sword Intent to sever the poison on your Spirit Root, then start cultivating!"

"But I have no Magical Power, so I can’t use my Sword Intent."

"Then hurry up and cultivate some Magical Power!"

"But my Spirit Root is poisoned, so I can’t cultivate."

"Then hurry up and sever the poison on your Spirit Root so you can cultivate!"

"But without Magical Power, how can I activate my Sword Intent?"

"Then just hurry up and cultivate some Magical Power!"

...

’It’s a vicious cycle.’

"Young Master!"

Qing He’s eyes fluttered open. Seeing Du Youqian standing in the morning glow, admiring the birds in the forest, she scrambled to her feet.

"Qing He, go wake Old Fu. We’re getting ready to go into the city. I’m going to get to an inn and take a proper hot bath!"

Hearing the words "hot bath," Qing He felt an itch all over her body.

A woman like her, who had served as a personal handmaiden in a great house, actually lived a much better life than many free citizens from minor households.

After all, whatever her masters let slip through their fingers was enough for the maids to live in luxury.

The rouge and powders they used daily, the silks and satins they wore—girls from minor households could never dream of possessing such things.

Therefore, an experience like being on the run for three months with no chance to bathe was unimaginable for the person she used to be.

’Before we set out, she never thought it would be this difficult.’

’Shouldn’t persuading the Young Master to retrieve his ancestor’s keepsake have been a simple matter?’

’After all, his entire family had been wiped out, and he himself was being hunted.’

’If she were in his shoes, she would have immediately retrieved the keepsake and tried to find that Immortal Master her ancestor knew to get revenge.’

’But she never expected that this quiet, even seemingly weak, Young Master could hold out for so long.’

’What she expected even less was that this sickly Young Master actually possessed unfathomable strength...’