Chapter 1 Xiao Chi?

"Xiao Chi?" The Empress Dowager was taken aback, then her watery ripples trembled with anger.

"Nonsense! If you risked entering the palace just to anger me, then you have succeeded."

"No matter who you are, no matter where you hide, I will definitely capture you and tear you to pieces!" the Empress Dowager said fiercely, though perhaps her words would have been more imposing if she hadn't been hiding most of her body underwater.

Watching the Empress Dowager tremble with rage, Ye Chuxiao wondered if she was truly ignorant, or just pretending.

"The possibility of pretense is low. When someone is in a state of both internal and external vulnerability, even the most cunning person cannot be completely flawless."

"The Empress Dowager's reaction... is reasonable enough. There are no signs of acting, so she really doesn't know that Xiao Chi is the late Emperor?" Ye Chuxiao waved his sleeve and tossed the clothes from the nearby rack to the Empress Dowager, then politely turned around.

In reality, this turning around was more symbolic than substantial.

Under the shroud of his domain, everything within it was under Ye Chuxiao's control and within his sight. Turning around was meaningless; even the spiritual spring itself offered no real concealment.

The Empress Dowager clearly understood this.

So, after Ye Chuxiao turned around, she pretended no one was watching and quickly leapt from the water. Not needing the clothes Ye Chuxiao had thrown, a set of skintight battle armor covered her body.

This armor, though not a divine artifact, was a top-tier spiritual treasure, fused with the true qi and mana within her body.

Given the Empress Dowager's status and wealth, it was not surprising she possessed such armor for protection.

"Something's strange!"

"Since she can equip the armor so easily, why did she deliberately act that way earlier?"

"Was she doing it on purpose? Or did she overlook it in her panic?" Ye Chuxiao did not immediately draw a conclusion, but his vigilance toward the Empress Dowager increased once more.

Whether she was a pawn of Xiao Chi or not, as an independent individual, she possessed formidable intelligence and scheming.

"You're asking about Xiao Chi?"

"I don't know where you heard these rumors, but I can solemnly inform you that whatever you've heard is slander from reckless individuals. I will dig them all out and subject them to slow slicing sooner or later." After donning the armor, the Empress Dowager's tone became more assertive, but she did not directly lash out at Ye Chuxiao, clearly aware of the difference in their raw power.

At the same time, she attempted to seize some control of the conversation, probing Ye Chuxiao's purpose.

Frankly, the current exchange had nothing to do with status.

She was the Empress Dowager, yes, but also a fish on Ye Chuxiao's chopping block. If she had no value, she worried Ye Chuxiao would kill her to eliminate future troubles.

The Empress Dowager even slightly regretted not leaving more room for maneuver in her earlier words, focusing on venting her anger and fear in her panic, rather than quickly and sharply assessing the true situation.

"Your strength is great. In today's world, I have never heard of anyone who can bypass the multiple restrictions within the palace and infiltrate Kunling Palace so easily." Having adjusted her mentality, the Empress Dowager offered a small compliment, considering it a form of softening.

Then, she tentatively inquired, "Could you be an old senior who went into seclusion in the palace during the Xiao Chi Rebellion?"

"If so, then I will surely have my son vindicate you, senior. The honor and status you deserve will not be lacking."

Now that she had softened her stance, further words would be easier to speak.

The Empress Dowager probed while also considering recruitment.

If he was truly an old senior from the palace, then it would be fine.

Whether he was a palace maid, eunuch, or an old concubine from a previous dynasty, it wouldn't matter if she was seen by him a few times.

Ye Chuxiao remained silent, his back to the Empress Dowager, silently watching her perform.

Like a butterfly caught in a spiderweb, struggling desperately, only to sink deeper and deeper.

Ye Chuxiao simply removed the cloak from his body, revealing Ran Xing's transformed appearance.

The Empress Dowager glanced at him, revealing a surprised expression: "Senior... is joking with me!"

"My name is Ran Xing, and... of course, another identity you're very familiar with."

"Jin Buyi!" Ye Chuxiao did not follow the Empress Dowager's diversion, dragging the 'truth' she saw back on track.

The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "A transformation technique, nothing more. Though not very common, it's not rare either. For you to use such means, yet hide your true self, to falsely accuse a high-ranking official of my court, what are your intentions?"

Jin Buyi was, after all, a well-known Intent Realm cultivator, and one of the Six Doors' divine constables. Even if the Empress Dowager wasn't familiar with him, she wouldn't be completely ignorant.

"Then you are unaware that I am one body with multiple souls. When I split, I produce many independent individuals with different personalities."

"I think you should also know that there are some unfamiliar Intent Realm cultivators outside the Divine Capital City!"

"That's right, in a way, they are all me," Ye Chuxiao said.

Using Ran Xing's identity to 'stir up the grass and startle the snake' was a small trick of Ye Chuxiao's, but it wasn't a grand plan with any sequential connections.

If there were gains, that was good, but if there weren't, informing the Empress Dowager of some information about Jin Buyi wasn't a problem either.

Some information only has value when exchanged; keeping it to oneself is a waste.

In a while, Ye Chuxiao would also use this information to exchange with Ying Shu.

Of course, the best-case scenario was that Ying Shu had already learned of this information through other channels.

That would make the exchange even better.

The Empress Dowager said nothing more, seemingly digesting and verifying the truth of this information.

Regardless of whether the guy calling himself 'Ran Xing' was some kind of incarnation of Jin Buyi.

If those Intent Realm cultivators who had recently appeared were all related to Jin Buyi, that was enough to make the Empress Dowager wary.

This was, after all, a world of cultivation, and powerful cultivators could overthrow imperial power by force.

In Daheng, it was difficult for an Intent Realm cultivator to do this.

But if it was a Wuding cultivator, or multiple Intent Realm cultivators working together, they could do it.

As a ruler, the Empress Dowager could not help but think about this in detail.

If Jin Buyi could really split into multiple Intent Realm cultivators, then that was his original sin.

Whether he had ulterior motives or not, he was destined to be resented and targeted.

Although Ye Chuxiao's original intention was to inquire about information related to Xiao Chi, striking another blow against Jin Buyi in passing was completely fine.

If he could seize victory over the Heart Pill from Jin Buyi's layer before Xiao Chi revived, that would be even better.

"You should have a copy of the late Emperor's Diary of Activities!" Ye Chuxiao turned his head and said to the Empress Dowager.

Ye Chuxiao was so sure because of the increasingly loud rumors of the late Emperor's survival, stirred up by Jin Buyi.

Whether the Empress Dowager believed it or not, she should have instinctively verified it.

The words of denial reached her lips, but when she saw the blade of light on Ye Chuxiao's fingertip, she changed her words.

"Yes, but it's not complete. A portion of the Diary of Activities was lost when Prince Chen rebelled and broke into the palace," the Empress Dowager said.

The current Empress Dowager was not the 'original wife' of the late Emperor Xiao Bao'er. There was originally an Empress who had died during Xiao Chi's rebellion.

This Empress Dowager was actually newly appointed by the late Emperor decades ago.

"Take it out, give it to me!" Ye Chuxiao said unceremoniously.

The Empress Dowager did not hesitate and handed over the Diary of Activities.

Although this item was precious, never allowed to be leaked, and always kept in the royal treasury, and would be revised and destroyed after a certain period, it was insignificant compared to the Empress Dowager's own life.

Ye Chuxiao took a stack of jade scrolls, placed them in his storage ring, and then asked, "How much do you know about the late Emperor?"

Although the Empress Dowager did not understand why the topic had shifted from Xiao Chi to Jin Buyi, and now jumped to the late Emperor, she knew how to cooperate, so she said, "Don't laugh at me, although I have the relationship of Empress with the late Emperor, I actually don't know much about him."

She said with a wry smile, "From the day I entered the palace, the number of times I saw the late Emperor was very few."

"Then don't you speak when you are together?" Ye Chuxiao continued to ask without reservation.

The Empress Dowager said angrily, "There were few words, more like a formality. After I became pregnant with the prince, I never saw the late Emperor again..."

As she spoke, she inexplicably felt a sense of resentment.

Looking at the Empress Dowager walking towards him gracefully, Ye Chuxiao took a few steps forward, avoiding her closeness.

"Are there any concubines, palace maids, or eunuchs in the palace who were closer to the late Emperor?" Ye Chuxiao asked.

The Empress Dowager stopped, seemingly having come out of her emotions, but the expression of sorrow on her mature and charming face deepened: "Although the late Emperor rarely involved himself in court affairs, there were very few concubines in the harem. Apart from me, there were only two concubines, who both died of illness a few years ago, following the late Emperor."

"You are ruthless!" Ye Chuxiao sneered.

"As for the eunuchs, the one the late Emperor relied on the most was Eunuch Feng Yu, but I heard that he died of illness some time ago."

"Then there's Duke Zhenhai, but the late Emperor sought Duke Zhenhai mostly to discuss state affairs, and closeness... wasn't necessarily that close." The Empress Dowager said continuously, seemingly trying to clear Duke Zhenhai, but actually hiding the intention of guiding and probing.

This old woman is not a good person.

She obviously wanted to lead Ye Chuxiao to that old eunuch, Duke Zhenhai.

That old eunuch could be regarded as a sea-stabilizing needle in the Daheng Imperial Palace.

"Good! I know!"

Immediately, Ye Chuxiao held a needle and pierced it into the Empress Dowager's Lingtai acupoint. (point on the forehead between the eyebrows)

"This is a Soul-Destroying Needle, it dissolves into the bones and blood upon entry and cannot be destroyed without changing the body, but without my urging, it will dissolve by itself every three months. After ten years, it will be completely digested, instead adding to your qualifications."

As he spoke, Ye Chuxiao urged the spiritual needle inserted into the Empress Dowager's body.

With Ye Chuxiao's drive, the needle entered the bone marrow and began to scurry and wander.

The Empress Dowager instantly broke out in cold sweat, cried out in pain, and rolled on the ground.

As Ye Chuxiao stopped urging, she could only fall to the ground, panting and gasping for breath.

"You can try to pull it out, but if the technique is wrong, it will trigger its effect, and the pain will be more than ten times what it was just now."

Saying that, Ye Chuxiao said peacefully, "I'm not threatening you, I'm just giving you and me both a step down."

"Today's events, if you don't mention it, I won't mention it either. You and I are not related to each other, just pretend we haven't met."

The Empress Dowager gritted her teeth, half-kneeling on the ground, barely and stubbornly looking up at Ye Chuxiao, seemingly trying to see through Ye Chuxiao's disguise at this moment.

"Good! It's all up to you." The Empress Dowager spat out the words with difficulty.

Until this moment, she barely extinguished her desire for revenge.

But the flames of hatred grew even stronger.

"What to do, what to do, who to find trouble with, you have a scale in your heart, you and I should be clear."

"If you do wrong, I won't mention it, but if you get sick, you will suffer the pain yourself." After Ye Chuxiao finished speaking, he turned and left the hall, quietly sneaked out of Kunling Palace, and then detoured to the Princess's Jiaoxiang Palace.

Sure enough, after Ye Chuxiao left, there was no abnormality in the palace. The Empress Dowager endured it and did not dare to launch a force to search for Ye Chuxiao's whereabouts without figuring out the details of the Soul-Destroying Needle in her body.

That Soul-Destroying Needle was refined by Ye Chuxiao casually.

Although it was casual, Ye Chuxiao had the experience of many divine craftsmen in refining weapons, and even if he did it casually, its effect and difficulty were not trivial.

It's not to say that it's unsolvable, but with the Empress Dowager's ability and energy, she wouldn't be able to find a way for decades.

As for whether the needle will really melt after ten years, it still depends on what Ye Chuxiao thinks.

If Ye Chuxiao at that time had already jumped out of the current pattern and framework, then this needle would of course be useless, and it should melt by itself.

Jiaoxiang Palace was much easier to enter than Kunling Palace.

Located in the northwest corner of the harem, it was not remote, but it was not deserted either.

The Princess was sitting in a waterside pavilion outside the palace, staring at the lake in a daze.

"What is the princess thinking about?" Ye Chuxiao repeated his old tricks, sealing off the space, isolating it from the outside world, and creating illusions at the same time, so that the palace maids and eunuchs serving nearby did not notice any abnormality.

The Princess was startled, looked up at Ye Chuxiao, first puzzled, and then actually said, "I've seen you!"

"You are... that fish!"

Ye Chuxiao was surprised, how could this seemingly dull princess see through his transformation?

"No, you're mistaken, I don't know what you're talking about." Ye Chuxiao was a little embarrassed, after all, he had accidentally watched the other party's seaweed dance.

Although compared to it, the Empress Dowager's performance was more eye-opening.

But, this is like seeing a teacher performing in the Sakura district, and seeing the unexpected performance of the girl at the same table, the direct feeling is different.

But the Princess puffed up her bun face and said a little stubbornly, "Don't try to lie to me, my nose is very sensitive, I can smell your scent."

"Scent?" Ye Chuxiao was puzzled, his transformation would not ignore such a superficial problem.

"Perhaps, her sensitivity is extraordinary and she can directly perceive the soul?" Ye Chuxiao thought.

The descendants of cultivators will partially inherit the talents, and even the abilities, of cultivators. This concept is no stranger.

And the princess was conceived as early as the time of Xiao Chi or Prince Chen, which means that she is a descendant of a Wuding cultivator, and it is normal to have some special characteristics.

Thinking of this, Ye Chuxiao's eyes lit up: "I came here to ask you, do you know who your father is?"