Chapter 50

After returning to the Shangguan Manor, Feng Jueyu had a blissful sleep. At the dawn, when the purple qi from the east was at its peak, which was the best time for meditation and cultivation, Feng Jueyu would never waste it. Sitting on the bed, he carefully felt the life and death qi circulating in his body, which was several times more concentrated than before, greatly surprising him.

It seemed that last night's exertion was a blessing in disguise. Now, the Life and Death Unpredictable Art flowed smoothly, even more smoothly and skillfully than before, turning a misfortune into a blessing. Feng Jueyu licked his lips in satisfaction. After completing several major cycles, a large amount of life and death qi surged from the Hongyuan Space.

The Hongyuan Essence Qi in the Hongyuan Space was inexhaustible. How much could be refined into life and death qi depended entirely on the proficiency in the Life and Death Unpredictable Art. This was probably the characteristic of cultivating inner techniques. In his previous life, the ancient martial secret techniques he cultivated also required a gradual accumulation of foundation. It was unexpected that in this aspect, the ancient martial secret techniques and the Life and Death Unpredictable Art coincided. It seemed that the fundamental principles of the world remained unchanged. To become powerful, one must be diligent...

Moreover, battle was the only way to fully unleash one's potential. Last night, facing experts at the Qi Martial Realm, True Martial Realm, and even the Spirit Martial Realm, he exerted his full strength and ultimately killed four True Martial Realm experts, almost depleting his life and death qi. However, at the same time, he unleashed his potential, expanding his meridians further. Now, his meridians could store more life and death qi.

This must be the process of accumulating true qi. After a short while, Feng Jueyu felt that his body was brimming with the power of life and death qi. This power restored his physical condition to its peak. Not only that, but the hidden ailments in his body, which had been drained by indulgence, had also diminished significantly. His body's coordination and explosive power had greatly improved.

"What a domineering Life and Death Unpredictable Art."

After finishing his cultivation, Feng Jueyu inspected his body internally, his face beaming with excitement. In just one night, his true qi had reached the peak of the Void Martial Realm.

According to the theory of Yin and Yang, the Life and Death Unpredictable Art controlled the life and death qi, which were the Yin and Yang qi. Now, with his left hand controlling life and his right hand controlling death, how could he not achieve anything in this world? It was truly amazing.

Cultivating the divine art should not be rushed. Feng Jueyu knew that it was impossible to seek further breakthroughs at this moment. Unless there was another opportunity like last night, where he could unleash his potential in a life-or-death situation and advance his cultivation, it would be impossible.

Carefully analyzing last night's battle, Feng Jueyu realized that there were too many lucky elements. If it weren't for the Mu family's Silver Spear Formation, which provided ironclad protection, he wouldn't have been able to kill anyone. Even facing a single True Martial Realm expert alone, the success rate of an ambush would not exceed 10%. It was indeed dangerous.

However, Feng Jueyu was not afraid. He was a killer, a man who lived on the edge. To pursue a breakthrough in cultivation, if there was another opportunity like last night, he would definitely take the lead and unleash his full potential. Although it was dangerous, it was undoubtedly a shortcut to improvement.

Since good fortune and misfortune always come together, if one is afraid of danger, it is difficult to achieve great things and climb to the peak.

Stepping out of the small building, the flowers in the courtyard were in full bloom, emitting a captivating fragrance. Feng Jueyu couldn't help but pause to breathe in the fresh air.

After a while, Feng Jueyu noticed that Shangguan Ruomeng and Xing'er had come out of the opposite small building. There were several servants moving in and out of the house, carrying various gift boxes, including fabrics, daily necessities, and exquisite bottles containing precious herbs. There were even two large wooden boxes with intricate gold patterns, one containing several decades-old ginseng and the other filled with about a hundred taels of gold...

Are they preparing to give gifts?

Feng Jueyu scratched his head and looked up. Shangguan Ruomeng walked out gracefully, directing the servants to place the gifts at the door.

Today, Shangguan Ruomeng was dressed in a luxurious brocade robe, looking like a mature and strong woman. She had regained her usual heroic demeanor, but there was still a deep fatigue on her face, probably from the events of last night.

However, Feng Jueyu could see a relaxed and carefree expression on her beautiful face. There was no need to ask; the Shangguan Manor had successfully joined forces with the Mu family's army, and the ships were safe.

"Little Sister Ruomeng..."

"Big Brother Feng..."

With the experience of yesterday's boat ride, the two were much more familiar this time, but the barrier between them had not been broken.

"Little Sister left early yesterday. Did I ruin Big Brother Feng's mood?"

Shangguan Ruomeng smiled, her delicate eyebrows forming a crescent moon, and her slender waist emphasized her figure, making her look exceptionally attractive and graceful. Feng Jueyu couldn't help but admire her in his heart.

For a girl not yet twenty, to have such capital was truly remarkable. Did ancient women mature so early? How could the modern rich second generation, born with a silver spoon, compare? If he married her, she would surely bear many children and fill the house with descendants.

Feng Jueyu glanced at Shangguan Ruomeng's chest, which was truly impressive. He wondered what she ate to grow so large.

"Not at all, not at all. Actually, Little Sister, I didn't like the boat ride at all. The time for sightseeing was just right. If it had been longer, I might not have been able to get up today."

Shangguan Ruomeng didn't notice Feng Jueyu's gaze and laughed softly, slightly surprised. When did this person learn to be considerate? His words were so heartwarming.

Seeing Feng Jueyu's serious expression, Shangguan Ruomeng felt a bit guilty. After all, she had deceived him. She couldn't help but explain, "Big Brother Feng, you don't know what happened yesterday, right?"

"What happened? Wasn't it just the Talent Gathering? The dragon dance was good, but Little Sister didn't see it." Feng Jueyu pretended to be ignorant.

Shangguan Ruomeng shook her head speechlessly and smiled lightly, "Yesterday, the Shangguan Manor had several ships of supplies prepared to be sent to the border. This matter was related to the war in the Western Frontier, and not many people knew about it. For some reason, the news leaked. I couldn't afford to be careless, so I left in a hurry. To minimize the number of people who knew, I had to deceive Big Brother Feng. Please don't mind."

"I already knew," Feng Jueyu thought to himself but feigned surprise, "It was such a big deal. Little Sister is truly a model of concern for the country and the people. How did it go?"

"It was very dangerous, but it was resolved in the end. The supplies were safely on their way, although there were some losses, which were insignificant compared to the future of our Southern Sky."

Feng Jueyu patted his chest, "That's good, that's good. I didn't expect the Shangguan Manor to be so dedicated to the country. Truly, the first family of Southern Sky."

Shangguan Ruomeng didn't hide the matter partly because it was over and she needed to explain her early departure to Feng Jueyu. The other part was that it couldn't be hidden anyway.

In fact, Feng Jueyu didn't know that last night, the entire Southern Sky seemed to have experienced a massive earthquake.

Due to the leak of the supply shipment, the Southern Sky Emperor was furious. That night, he summoned nearly ten officials involved in the matter. In the inner palace, more than half of them were dismissed from their positions, and six people were secretly executed. The fifth-rank official in charge of the port, the Maritime Trade Commissioner, was executed with his entire family.

In addition, all families and officials related to the matter were thoroughly investigated. Led by the Censor-in-Chief, the Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, and the Grand Marshal Zhang Changling, with Shangguan Lingyun as his deputy, a large team of nearly three thousand people, including the Grand Censor, the Left and Right Censors, the Chief of the Secretariat, the Left and Right Commanders of the Imperial Guards, and even the Imperial Bodyguards, conducted a thorough purge in the city.

During the purge, regardless of whether they were involved, many officials, including corrupt ones, fell from power. All officials who engaged in malfeasance were stripped of their positions, and those with serious misconduct were secretly executed. Even some families were implicated, and the royal city was virtually bloodbathed overnight.

The matter was handled extremely properly and secretly. The most emphasized were the suspected bases of the Gold and Silver Society within the capital. Regardless of guilt, all suspicious individuals were executed if they couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation or prove their innocence.

At that moment, Shangguan Lingyun was still in the inner palace, discussing with the Southern Sky Emperor, and hadn't come out all night.

After listening to Shangguan Ruomeng's account, Feng Jueyu inwardly sighed, realizing that the emperor's strategy was far beyond the ordinary.

The scale of the purge far exceeded the actual harm of the incident. It seemed that the emperor, who was high above in the capital, had long planned to clean up those people.

The supply shipment was just a pretext. First, it could expose the Gold and Silver Society, the most dangerous threat to Southern Sky. Second, it could make the spies planted by the enemy in Southern Sky panic and reveal their identities. Third, it could be an opportunity to clean up corrupt officials. Additionally, it could serve as a warning to the powerful officials.

Clearly, the Southern Sky Emperor was using this method to remind all the high-ranking officials that he was the true master of Southern Sky and not to cross his底线.

This strategy was truly a fourfold gain. The emperor's shrewdness was indeed unmatched.

Understanding the entire situation, Feng Jueyu felt a sudden jolt in his heart. Damn, this time, I've involved the Jishi Hall. With such a big incident, the Shangguan family's source of information was a small, unknown medical shop. There might be the emperor's spies all around the Jishi Hall now. This is a big problem...

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