Yu Ge has arrived.
Hearing the familiar tone and voice, Yun Ze couldn't help but smile.
He soon saw a donkey approaching, with a man lying on its back.
Man and donkey came straight to Yun Ze and Gong Li.
As soon as Yu Xian arrived beside Yun Ze, his narrowed eyes instantly opened. He pushed himself up and stared at Yun Ze, examining him from head to toe. Yun Ze was also sizing him up.
It had been over a year since they last met. His cultivation was still unfathomable. Could he be nearing the Golden Core stage?
Wait!
Why was this lazy fellow looking at him so strangely? With his personality, he would never sit if he could lie down. Why was he pushing himself up the moment he saw him?
Could it be that he... had seen through something!
"Ahem."
Yun Ze's heart trembled, and he quickly coughed twice. "Senior, what is this..."
"Ah, nothing, nothing!"
Yu Xian waved his hand as if he hadn't seen Gong Li lying on the ground. He turned to Yun Ze and asked, "You are Tu Sheng, Tu Daoist friend, that Xiao Yu mentioned, right?"
"Indeed, it is I."
Yun Ze cupped his hands. "Junior sister should have told you about me, right?"
"She did."
Yu Xian then looked at Gong Li and casually tossed a pill into his mouth.
In an instant, although Gong Li's face was still pale, he stopped spitting blood and slowly got up.
The moment he saw Yu Xian, he frowned. "Yu Xian? Are you here to protect this murderer!"
"Don't misunderstand, I don't have that much free time."
"That's good!"
Gong Li turned to Yun Ze. "Tu Sheng, is it? Resisting arrest, assaulting Immortal Mansion personnel, and violating the Immortal Gathering agreement. I, the councilor, now declare..."
"You are dismissed."
Before Gong Li could finish speaking, Yu Xian uttered five words and simultaneously threw a token at him. "You can get out now."
Gong Li was stunned. The token slipped from his body and fell to his feet.
He looked down, his eyes stiffening!
"This... this is... the Inspector's Token!?"
"No! That's not right!"
Gong Li took a step back and stared at Yu Xian, questioning, "I am a councilor, and you are an inspector! We are of equal rank. Even if you have an inspector's token, you cannot dismiss me arbitrarily without evidence!"
Yu Xian ignored Gong Li's reaction and turned to the person selling the ancient gold. "You, come here."
"...Yes."
The man dared not flee and could only scramble to the front of everyone. "My... my lord, what are your orders?"
"I'll ask you only once, what is the deal with that white ancient gold?"
"It was my greed, wanting to take it by force!"
The man quickly told the truth, but in the next moment, he quickly covered his mouth!
He... he wasn't supposed to say that!
Why did he speak his true thoughts!
When he came to his senses, he realized that Yu Xian's pupils were now flashing with a strange red light!
Pupil technique!
"Then why did this person help you?" Yu Xian continued to ask.
The man removed his hand from his mouth and quickly said, "Because I promised him that I would only take fifty thousand spirit stones, and the Hongyu ancient silver and the remaining compensation would be his."
"How about that?"
Yu Xian turned to Gong Li. "Is the evidence sufficient now?"
Gong Li remained silent.
Heart Pupil!
It could see through the deepest secrets of a person's heart, making interrogation child's play.
This pupil technique was not rare in the Immortal Mansion, but it was extremely difficult to cultivate. He never expected this lazy fellow to have succeeded!
He clenched his fists, knowing he was defeated, but... there was still a chance to turn the tables!
"Bold!"
Gong Li roared and swung his hand, smashing it onto the man's head!
Bang!
The man's head shattered, and blood and flesh splattered!
Fortunately, Yun Ze reacted quickly and deployed his spiritual energy in time, blocking the blood and flesh in front of him, thus not soiling his clothes.
Yu Xian reacted even faster. He blocked all the blood and flesh back.
The surroundings were clean, only Gong Li was covered in bloodstains!
"How dare you mislead this councilor! You deserve to die!"
Gong Li roared and cupped his hands towards Yun Ze. "Daoist friend, I have made a mistake in my judgment. I hope you will forgive me!"
Before Yun Ze could speak, he turned to Yu Xian again. "Daoist Yu, since this matter has been clarified, regarding this dismissal..."
Yu Xian did not speak, but turned to look at Yun Ze.
He couldn't be bothered with these trivial matters.
He just hoped someone would help him pick up the token.
"Sigh..."
Yun Ze seemed to know what he was thinking. He sighed silently, then bent down, picked up the token, and handed it to Yu Xian.
Yu Xian's face instantly broke into a brilliant smile, and he put the token into his spatial ring.
Seeing this, Gong Li thought the matter was over and quickly smiled. "Fellow Daoists, now that this is settled, why don't we go to the Night Joy Tower for a gathering?"
Yu Xian ignored Gong Li and instead looked at Yun Ze. "Can I trouble you with something?"
"Please speak, senior."
"Help me send him to prison."
Yu Xian said, handing Yun Ze a rope. "Just tie him up with this."
"...Just me?" Yun Ze asked.
This guy was a Core Formation cultivator, after all!
He was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. How could he ask him to escort him? Even laziness had its limits!
"En!"
Yu Xian responded as a matter of course.
Gong Li frowned upon hearing this. "Yu Xian, what do you mean by this?"
Yu Xian directly threw the rope to Yun Ze, then lay down on Brother Donkey and closed his eyes again. "This matter started because of you. I'll leave it to you. Come find me after you send him there!"
Yun Ze held the second-grade spirit rope in his hand, speechless.
However, he still looked at Gong Li. "In the Immortal Gathering, killing others, according to the Immortal Mansion's regulations, is punishable by the stripping of spiritual roots and demotion to mortal status.
Escorting you to prison is to await the Immortal Mansion's final punishment, so that it can be executed immediately."
Gong Li frowned.
After hearing this, he dared not hesitate and turned to flee, turning into a streak of light and flying towards the outside of the Immortal Gathering!
His only option now was to escape!
He dared not fight back, not out of fear of Yun Ze, but of Yu Xian beside him!
This fellow was ranked thirteenth on the Core Formation Heavenly Ranking. He was no match for him. As long as he escaped the Immortal Gathering and found the Gong family stewards, and then discussed it with the Shangguan family, this matter could be resolved!
After all, it was just killing a family servant, not a big deal.
This was also why he dared to kill that Qi Refining cultivator.
If he killed someone, he might not die, but if he didn't, he would lose his official position!
As long as he could escape, it would be fine!
Seeing this, Yun Ze turned to Yu Xian, who was lying on Brother Donkey. "I can't catch him."
"Sigh..."
Yu Xian sighed and shouted, "Daoist friend, please stay!"
The streak of light instantly froze in mid-air!
"That's better. Go ahead."
Yun Ze was speechless but still took the rope and chased after him.
He didn't know what method Brother Yu used before, but now he understood.
Confucianism, words become law!
A single word could fix a Core Formation cultivator.
His Confucian realm had likely reached the Dao Condensation stage.
But looking at himself...
His Confucianism had not even entered the Dao yet!
Now that he was impersonating Tu Sheng, it was fine if he didn't make a move, but once he did, his flaws would be exposed.
Even with the Zhen Dan, he could only smash people with the zither board.
There was a Dao Discussion tomorrow, and he might need to think of a solution.
Yun Ze thought as he approached Gong Li.
This fellow was now frozen in place, with no room for resistance. Yun Ze easily tied him up.
During this process, Gong Li stared fiercely at Yun Ze, not forgetting to threaten him. "Kid! You'd better let me go! Otherwise, when I get out, I will kill you!"
"Oh, yes, yes, yes. We'll talk about it when you get out."
Yun Ze, holding the rope, led him back to the original spot.
Most of the people who had gathered earlier had dispersed. Besides Yu Xian, only Xu Caiwan and his bodyguards remained.
Yun Ze did not know where the so-called prison was, so he glanced at Yu Xian, only to find him snoring again.
He had no choice but to look at Xu Caiwan. "Shopkeeper Xu, where is the prison..."
"Daoist Tu, just follow me." Xu Caiwan said, preparing to lead the way.
"No rush."
Yun Ze looked at Yu Xian. "Senior Yu, I'm going to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion later. Why don't you go there first, so you don't have to run around again?"
"Hoo~"
Yu Xian's only response was a snore, but Brother Donkey turned and walked towards the center of the Immortal Gathering.
"That's good."
Yun Ze knew that Brother Donkey had understood.
Wait! Something else!
"Brother Yu! There's still a corpse here..."
"Leave it here, the Shangguan family will send someone." Yu Xian's voice echoed from afar.
"Okay!"
Yun Ze responded and turned to Xu Caiwan. "Shopkeeper Xu, please lead the way."
"Alright."
Xu Caiwan led the way, and Yun Ze pulled Gong Li along.
He seemed to know that resistance was futile now, so he didn't struggle or speak, only looking at Yun Ze with murderous intent.
Yun Ze, walking in front, paid no attention to this.
Xu Caiwan also spoke to ease the awkwardness. "Daoist friend, regarding the matter of Hongyu ancient silver..."
"I'm going to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, so I naturally intend to hand it over to you for handling."
"Excellent, excellent!"
Xu Caiwan handed Yun Ze a purple token. "There are three hundred thousand spirit stones in here, consider it a deposit."
"You are too kind, Daoist friend. It's not too late to give it to me later."
"Daoist friend, you may not know this."
Xu Caiwan smiled. "This is a unique token of our Myriad Treasures Pavilion, called a Spirit Card. It can not only be used to trade spirit stones but also represents your membership status in our pavilion.
White is the lowest membership, green is second-tier, blue is third-tier, and purple is fourth-tier, which is the highest level I can authorize.
With this token, you can enjoy an 85% discount on purchases, excluding auctions.
There is still some time before the auction. If you have time, you can browse the pavilion. This item is exactly what you need."
"I see."
Yun Ze accepted the token. "Thank you, Shopkeeper Xu."
He figured that Xu Caiwan must have seen him throw out a bag of spirit stones earlier and knew he didn't have this Spirit Card, so he gave it to him.
Perfect!
He could buy a couple of second-grade spirit artifacts later and still have some left over.
Speaking of spirit artifacts...
Yun Ze looked at Xu Caiwan and asked, "By the way, Shopkeeper Xu, that Golden Treasure you purchased earlier..."
"Hey, what Golden Treasure! After the spiritual barrier was broken, it turned out to be a废宝 (waste treasure), and I don't know how to deal with it yet."
Yun Ze's heart trembled, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes!
He... didn't recognize it!?
The Gui Wu Sword Scripture inherited from the Sword Seed contained not only the Five Elements Sword Arts but also various famous sword artifacts.
Yun Ze often closed his eyes and saw those things in his mind, having memorized them by heart.
Among them was a unique ancient sword artifact called 'Immortal Shard'.
When it was a sword, it was a whole. If spiritual energy was infused, it would shatter into multiple pieces, each of which could form a unique sword artifact.
Legend had it that a sixth-grade Immortal Shard, named Tian Lie, could split into eighty-one pieces, and every three pieces could be combined to form a new artifact.
Three pieces formed a third-grade Immortal Shard, nine pieces formed a fourth-grade Immortal Shard, and twenty-seven pieces formed a fifth-grade Immortal Shard!
The Sword Scripture recorded that Emperor Gui Wu once found a fourth-grade Immortal Shard, but unfortunately, he never collected any other fragments later.
However, he had specifically commissioned Master Tian Zhu to forge this Immortal Shard, but even Master Tian Zhu, a seventh-grade artifact refiner, could not replicate it.
At most, he managed to forge a fifth-grade Immortal Shard with twenty-seven pieces.
It was still circulating on Lone Peak.
If he wasn't mistaken, those three fragments just now were Immortal Shards!
And they might even be genuine Immortal Shards passed down from ancient times!
However, he couldn't say it openly at the moment.
If Xu Caiwan, with his discerning eye, called it a waste treasure, and he then asked to purchase it, he would surely reveal his hand.
It didn't matter if he couldn't see through the Immortal Shard. If he asked some experts, they might discover its profoundness, and he definitely wouldn't be able to afford it.
Why not... That's it!
A thought popped into Yun Ze's mind, and he asked, "Waste treasure? Isn't that an ancient musical instrument?"
"Musical instrument?"
Now it was Xu Caiwan's turn to be stunned.
He paused, then cupped his hands towards Yun Ze. "Please enlighten me, Daoist friend."
Yun Ze took out the Zhen Dan and placed it on his lap. "Come, I'll demonstrate for you."
Xu Caiwan didn't think much of it and handed the suspected 'Immortal Shard' Golden Treasure to Yun Ze.
As the metal fragments entered his hand, Yun Ze faintly sensed the residual sword energy on them and saw the profound runes inscribed on them.
He quickly closed his eyes and found the section describing Immortal Shards.
Indeed!
The runes on it were exactly the same as in the records!
This was definitely an Immortal Shard!
"Daoist Tu?"
Seeing that Yun Ze was not playing, Xu Caiwan couldn't help but remind him, "Is there a problem?"
"Yes, there is a problem..."
Yun Ze shook his head helplessly, a bitter smile on his face. "This should be an ancient musical instrument, but unfortunately, its quality is too high. My instrument is only first-grade. Forcibly playing it will only destroy the instrument."
"That's truly a shame..."
Xu Caiwan also sighed and then said, "It is said that a sharp sword is given to a hero. Since Daoist friend recognized this treasure, why don't I give it to you!"
"How can this be!"
Yun Ze knew that Xu Caiwan was just saying it casually. If he agreed, he would owe a great favor.
After all, this was five hundred thousand second-grade spirit stones!
He quickly said, "Old Xu, one thing is one thing. I want this ancient musical instrument, but I still have to pay for it. Just name your price!"
"Then... fifty thousand!"
"Second-grade spirit stones?" Yun Ze was shocked!
Fifty thousand second-grade spirit stones were indeed worth it, but he couldn't possibly afford such a huge sum right now!
"Little Brother Tu, what are you talking about!"
Xu Caiwan smiled. "In your eyes, this is a treasure, but in the eyes of us common folk, it is just a useless item. Of course, I'm talking about first-grade spirit stones."
"Excellent!"
Yun Ze immediately smiled, but soon he couldn't smile anymore...
"However, in exchange."
Xu Caiwan continued with a smile. "My pavilion happens to have a third-grade spirit zither to be auctioned today, and I was worried about not finding a suitable performer.
If it were accompanied by an ancient musical instrument, playing them together would be best."
"Ah?"