Chapter 355: Chapter 76 Red Dog
"Every advantage comes with a disadvantage. This situation began with the death of Jiang Li and will naturally end with his revival.
If the opponent indeed gets a hold of a leverage and finds evidence, then the momentum of offense and defense will reverse.
Jiang Li doesn’t believe the other party is unaware of this and doesn’t believe the Emperor thinks he is dead either. The existence of the covenant protects Jiang Li to some extent and makes it possible to trace his life and death, in an intangible way.
Maybe outsiders are unaware, but the Emperor is absolutely clear about Jiang Li’s status.
After all, the Emperor is too familiar with Heaven’s Punishment to not know how Heaven settles and judges. If Jiang Li truly died, anyone involved, especially the Emperor, wouldn’t escape scrutiny.
’So, the Southern Heavenly Department must be searching for me now.’
Thinking this, Jiang Li planned to leave the Divine Capital to avoid any trouble.
The Southern Heavenly Department assigned the task to the Yin Law Department to look into Jiang Li’s case with all their might, perhaps finding a way to locate him.
On the other hand, because of the two major crimes committed by the Lawless Freedom, even if the citizens of the Divine Capital are disturbing, the Emperor must be in a state of full spiritual perception now. Once someone shouts ’Emperor,’ the Emperor’s gaze would immediately descend there.
If within the Divine Capital, someone from the Southern Heavenly Department spots clues and directly shouts ’Emperor,’ then probably, Jiang Li might truly be exposed.
Though they are looking for Jiang Li, what does Lawless Freedom have to do with it? There are countless abilities related to Dao Fruits in this world. Maybe there is a way to directly locate Jiang Li, ignoring all disguises.
Therefore, leave the Divine Capital.
That way, even if something is discovered and pursued, Jiang Li could retreat comfortably without worrying about the Emperor’s direct intervention.
Inside the Divine Capital, Jiang Li must strike to kill to avoid being targeted by the Emperor. Outside the city, he could unleash his full strength without needing to seek opportunities purposely and could act without as much restraint.
Once things settle down, he could re-enter the Divine Capital.
’However, this will distance me from the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron.’
Jiang Li frowned and gazed towards the imperial city.
The greater the distance, the fuzzier the perception, making it difficult to determine the status of the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron and to estimate the progress of the immortality elixir. Jiang Li felt that the actions of the Southern Heavenly Department were also meant to force him out of the Divine Capital.
’Indeed, it’s the Emperor, with tactics no weaker than others. But it seems my actions are a step ahead...’
By infiltrating the Heavenly Prison to assassinate Yang Ji and execution of Shen Yuan, a spot was cleared, enticing the Second Prince to enter the fray. The entry of the Second Prince also stirred the ambitions of those coveting the throne.
They would hesitate whether to enter the arena. If they did enter, it would mean they wished the Emperor an untimely death.
But if they didn’t, and the Emperor’s attempt to extend his life failed, those who entered first would have the advantage.
This was their dilemma and the Emperor’s as well. Human hearts are unpredictable, and the Emperor couldn’t ensure every Prince’s complete devotion.
He wouldn’t trust those who entered, and he wouldn’t trust those who were still behaving either.
It is known that Great Zhou has its national conditions; all the Princes reside in the Imperial City, separated from the Emperor’s palace by merely a wall, almost a mere wall away. Should any disturbance arise, although it can be suppressed, it might still disrupt the refinement of the immortality elixir.
The immortality elixir was the Emperor’s vulnerability.
The Emperor has a busy time ahead.
The key point is, he has too many enemies, both overt and covert, too many opposing the Emperor. Jiang Li even created another identity, opposing the Emperor under two different guises, and yet, the Emperor can’t pinpoint these two individuals.
’There’s still time. Let’s see what your next move will be.’
With that thought, Jiang Li’s figure merged into the curtain of rain.
In the Divine Capital, above the level of the city walls, flying is not permitted.
This is not a specific regulation, but a decree enforced by the Emperor’s divine power ’Oral Heavenly Constitution.’
And beneath the Divine Capital, the city wall’s foundation connects directly to the earth’s veins. Unless one digs through the earth’s veins, it is absolutely impossible to leave the Divine Capital from underground.
The city walls of the Divine Capital are also reinforced by the Emperor’s decree. Any damage is sensed by the Emperor instantly.
As for the river channels within the city, though connected to the outside, the exits are situated under the city walls, equipped with water-blocking mechanisms. These mechanisms and the walls are integrated; if damaged, the Emperor would be aware.
Thus, to leave the Divine Capital without alarming others, generally, there are only two ways—to go through a city gate or somehow blend in with the city guards and jump off the wall.
This is quite unfriendly for those planning to quietly slip out of the Divine Capital.
Fortunately, there’s more than one city gate in the Divine Capital.
Even the smallest county has at least two gates, let alone the Divine Capital, the largest city under the heavens.
Spread across an area of two hundred square miles featuring five layers of walls, if there were only one gate, citizens living farthest away would never consider leaving the city in their lifetime.
There are twelve city gates in the Divine Capital, each regularly used by tens of thousands, including cultivators. Altogether, the number of people passing through these gates is tremendous.
If Jiang Li wishes to leave, unless he seals all the gates, with his abilities, leaving the Divine Capital isn’t a difficult task."
Even out of cautiousness, Jiang Li did not choose to leave through Changle Gate, which was closest to Dragon Abyss Lake, but instead chose the opposite, Kaiyuan Gate, to make his exit. To prevent being noticed that he was not touching the ground, Jiang Li chose to land again and slowly walked out, leaving footprints with each step.
Leaving the city was uneventful; even though he was inspected by the City Guard when he left, he still easily exited Divine Capital and entered the workshop area outside the city.
However, he did not go far but sat down in a tavern not far away, disguised as an ordinary citizen. He chose a seat under the large canopy outside, from where he could see the city gate from a distance.
He wanted to see if the other party really intended to force him out of Divine Capital, and he also wanted to know if the Southern Heavenly Department truly had a way to find Jiang Li.
Time gradually passed, and unknowingly, dusk was fast approaching.
The sky grew darker, and the flow of people entering and leaving Divine Capital thinned.
Before nightfall, a streak of golden color appeared in the city gate.
Dressed in golden robes adorned with gorgeous patterns forming the shape of a phoenix, with a beautiful yet cold face, it was Bu Yusheng, who had once been disfigured by a strong hand splitting skull move from Jiang Li.
It seemed that the injuries on Bu Yusheng’s face had healed, unlike before in the Cave Heaven Blessed Land where she constantly covered herself with golden light, not daring to show her face.
She was accompanied by Wan Dingtian and Xiang Huaiyi, and held a red dog in her arms that was as red as fire.
The little dog curled up into a ball, exhibiting the cuteness common to young animals, but when it lifted its head from Bu Yusheng’s embrace, an ominous aura emanated.
In Jiang Li’s eyes, this aura appeared crimson, filled with killing intent and bloodlust.
’A dog?’ Jiang Li spotted this scene from afar, his attention immediately drawn to the little red dog, ’Or is it at least a fifth-rank demon?’
In this era, there were no longer any demons—only Devil Cultivators, who cultivated by harboring a Demonic Attribute Dao Fruit. As for real demons, they were long extinct.
Demons required the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism to awaken their intelligence, but nowadays, there was only the Five Vile Qi, devoid of any spiritual mechanism.
As for those demons from before the End of Dharma, most perished during that period, and the rest were refined into Demonic Attribute Dao Fruits.
Yet now, Jiang Li had glimpsed a dog that appeared to be a demon beast.
’At least fifth-rank, associated with killing and bloodshed... What kind of dog is this, or does it harbor the corresponding Dao Fruit?’ Jiang Li pondered internally.
While he pondered, the little dog in Bu Yusheng’s embrace sniffed around with its tiny nose.
After a while, it barked twice.
"Has someone from the Taiyin passed by here?" Bu Yusheng asked with a hint of joy, looking down.
The little dog nodded vigorously.
"Could it be Jiang Li?" Wan Dingtian immediately asked.
"Most likely; only the purest Taiyin could trigger Huo’er’s reaction. And Jiang Li, he possesses that aura."
Bu Yusheng stroked the dog’s head, a smile curling on her lips, "When the senior from Dinghu Sect confronted my master, she always disguised herself, but my master still perceived her foundation. Jiang Li has the life-saving techniques endowed by her, naturally carrying her aura."
"This aura is very well concealed, almost nonexistent; even a fourth-rank might not notice it, unfortunately, it met Huo’er, born to counteract Taiyin. Searching through one gate after another, we finally have a lead," continued Bu Yusheng, her eyes slightly twitching, as if she again felt some kind of pain.
She still remembered the strike from Jiang Li that day.
If not for her being an heir of Kunxu Immortal Palace, that strike might have disfigured her.
"He really didn’t die," Bu Yusheng murmured softly, a sharp light flashing in her eyes.
Going out of the city at this time, undoubtedly from Taiyin, it must indeed be Jiang Li.
Tianxuan was aware of Jiang Li’s sensitivity to the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron, and so was the Emperor. The Divine Farmer’s Cauldron had been in his hands for so long, and having previously had extensive dealings with the Jiang family, how could they not know the connection between the Jiang family’s bloodline and the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron?
This connection exists with the Jiang family, as well as with the Ji Family.
Although it had not been invoked for many years due to the Xuanyuan Sword not being awakened...
Thus, Bu Yusheng’s group could be certain that Jiang Li had definitely been in Divine Capital previously, because the closer to the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron, the clearer the connection.
"Jiang Li indeed knew of the Southern Heavenly Department’s actions," Wan Dingtian whispered, "There is an insider within the department."
Previously, when the Southern Heavenly Department went to the Imperial College, Jiang Li seemed to have received the news first and had responded accordingly, and now this was confirmed.
Only with an insider in the Southern Heavenly Department could they know of actions targeting him, Jiang Li, aware of the risks, decided to leave the city ahead of time.
He also had to leave the city; if discovered within Divine Capital, it would cause a tremendous disaster. Even knowing there was a chance of not being discovered, he still had to leave.
’Taiyin aura?’
Jiang Li had shut down his sense of smell and taste, significantly enhancing his vision and hearing, enabling him to see the three people and hear their conversation even through the long distance and the veil of rain.
Upon hearing their words, he immediately sealed his pores with Demon Cleansing True Qi and cleansed himself with Innate Qi, using one of the escape techniques to conceal himself.
’Even the Emperor could not detect the aura on me, so how can this dog?’ Jiang Li thought, even if he hadn’t shut down all感觉’s perceptions and tried his utmost to hide, he shouldn’t be leaking any aura.