Chapter 1 The Ripples in His Heart

An Qisheng's gaze was profound, and ripples stirred within his heart.

With his current spirit and perception, a single glance allowed him to see clearly whether a person's bones and features had changed, the circulation of qi and blood within their body, the gathering and transportation of strength, and the surging and flowing of true qi.

No disguise or concealment technique could escape his gaze.

There was no other reason than that he himself was a master of this very art.

But the Zhao Changying before him had almost completely deceived him!

Because this was not a disguise, but a true gender transformation!

From his bones and features, his limbs and facial features, his fragrant body and charming demeanor, even his endocrine system and physical composition, in his eyes, he was truly and completely a woman!

And a virgin at that...

An Qisheng had never seen such a state before in his life.

He thought it was a woman disguised as a man, but it turned out...

Eunuch Zhao!

As his voice faded, the heroic young woman's face calmed down, her indifferent eyes reflecting the decrepit old Taoist before her:

"I didn't expect to be facing the second on the Earthly Rankings. It seems Changying's eyes were blind."

His voice was still soft and gentle, but it contained a hint of emotionless iciness that made people feel as if they were bathing in snow water.

It was no longer like before, stirring up distracting thoughts.

He was also surprised.

In his current state, very few people in the world could see his true face.

This Blood Demon was indeed extraordinary.

"The Six Doors, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot... I didn't expect to have met all three of the imperial court's violent institutions,"

An Qisheng casually picked up his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.

The decades-old medicinal wine didn't taste particularly good, but the warm heat that flowed from it was comparable to a top-grade elixir.

Besides replenishing qi and invigorating blood, it could also increase internal strength.

"Now that Daoist Priest knows my identity, you still dare to drink my wine?"

Zhao Changying placed his hands on the edge of the table, staring fixedly at An Qisheng.

He was also very interested in this old Taoist who was causing quite a stir in the imperial court.

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

An Qisheng put down his wine cup and said indifferently, "You don't have the ability to see through my disguise."

He could recognize Zhao Changying's identity, but Zhao Changying could not see through his, otherwise, he would never have come to see him alone.

"Daoist Priest is indeed a master who killed Xue Chaoyang, Tuoba Chongguang, and Shi Chun. Your courage is extraordinary."

Zhao Changying was not angry, but instead clapped his hands and sighed:

"Daoist Priest is right. If I had known you were coming today, I would have retreated three times and not come to this Great Dragon River."

The imperial court had special channels for transmitting information, so he naturally knew what kind of dangerous person this old Taoist was.

This person's ranking on the imperial court's wanted list was not low.

"The wine is good."

An Qisheng poured himself another cup of wine, ate a few bites of fish, and commented, "The fish is extremely tender, but unfortunately, the cook's skills are average, and he used too many spices."

He seemed not to care about Zhao Changying's identity at all.

"Daoist Priest has no sect or school and is a rare master in the world. Why do you have to be an enemy of the imperial court? If Daoist Priest is willing to stop, I might be able to mediate a little."

Seeing his behavior, Zhao Changying's heart sank instead.

This was clearly treating him as a dead man.

If it were anyone else, he might have immediately broken all the bones in his body, but facing this Blood Demon who had successively killed several masters of the imperial court, he did not dare to act rashly.

He even had to calm his mind to avoid angering this killing god.

"Stop?"

An Qisheng put down his chopsticks, his eyes seeming to show a hint of surprise: "I killed two famous constables from the Six Doors and a garrison commander from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Even so, the imperial court can still let it go?"

"As the saying goes, an exchange of blows may lead to friendship. What do a few insignificant frictions matter?"

Zhao Changying dismissed the events of the past few days with a single sentence:

"His Majesty is most fond of making friends with martial arts masters. Knowing that Daoist Priest is such a graceful figure, he will surely be overjoyed."

"Is that so?"

An Qisheng sighed softly.

Recalling Xue Chaoyang's self-talk when he looked north towards the Central Plains before his death, An Qisheng suddenly found the delicious fish in his mouth tasteless.

In the battle at Heavenly Peak, he truly felt the will and belief in Xue Chaoyang's heart.

Although they were enemies, he had to admit that this person was a hero of his time.

But even such a hero, after his death, was nothing more than 'insignificant little friction' in the eyes of others...

Indeed, one only realizes that everything is empty after death.

"There is no falsehood in my words."

Although Zhao Changying did not know why An Qisheng sighed, he still replied.

In his opinion, the imperial court had suffered the most casualties in this series of clashes. Since even the imperial court was not pursuing the matter, what reason did An Qisheng have to refuse?

And if he could bring such a master into the Eastern Depot, he could definitely explain it to both the Director and His Majesty.

Even if Constable Shen and Yang Lin were dissatisfied, they might not dare to offend the Eastern Depot.

The Six Doors apprehended martial artists, the Embroidered Uniform Guard supervised the court and the world, but the Eastern Depot directly monitored the Six Doors and the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

"There's no need to mention this matter. I have no intention of being an enemy of the imperial court, but I also have no intention of joining it!"

An Qisheng waved his hand, looked at Zhao Changying again, and said indifferently:

"Right now, it's better to talk about another matter..."

"What matter?"

Zhao Changying's heart skipped a beat, vaguely sensing something bad.

Whoosh~

With a casual wave of his hand, An Qisheng snatched the folding fan hanging from Zhao Changying's waist.

Swish~

He unfolded the fan, and the four characters 'Money Can Move Gods' faced Zhao Changying directly.

"This humble Taoist wants to know if these four characters are really true..."

An Qisheng smiled slightly.

Zhao Changying's face completely darkened.

Liang Prefecture's terrain was extremely complex, surrounded by mountains, making it a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Besides a few important roads, only waterways could be used to enter and exit.

Two hundred years ago, the Great Feng Emperor Taizu seized the lands of Central Liang with thunderous force at the beginning of his campaign to dominate the world, using the natural barriers to repel enemies and gain a respite. This was the foundation for the Great Feng's two-hundred-year hegemony.

Therefore, the Great Feng established its capital in the Central Plains.

The red sun hung high, and the river surface shimmered with light. Occasionally, fish and shrimp jumped out of the tumbling waves, splashing crystal water droplets.

On the Great Dragon River, the passenger ship continued to move forward, even faster than before.

On the deck, An Qisheng stood with his hands behind his back. Behind him, a man carrying a long saber and two guards dressed as servants were sitting cross-legged, urging their internal strength and true qi to propel the ship.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~

The whistling wind carried moist water vapor from the river surface, blowing against An Qisheng's long hair at his temples.

Not far away, several boatmen were terrified, their bodies trembling.

With their knowledge, they could not understand how the handsome white-clothed youth and the powdered young lady had become so decrepit after entering the room for a day or two.

Even after seeing it many times, the boatmen's gazes towards Zhao Changying, who stood beside An Qisheng with a grim expression, were as if they were looking at a ghost.

There was no longer the slightest hint of admiration from before.

"Heaven and earth are the inn of all things, and time is the transient guest of a hundred generations!"

An Qisheng stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the rolling river flowing east, and could not help but sigh:

"Compared to heaven and earth, how insignificant are humans? Even with the achievement of a Divine Meridian, one only lives for three hundred years, while this Great Dragon River flows quietly, and has been flowing for more than five thousand years..."

With his physical body seeing the indestructible god, and his qi meridians constantly condensing, An Qisheng's spirit was growing day by day, and his perception of heaven and earth was also increasing day by day.

Ordinary things that he had never cared about before now had different feelings in his eyes.

And the more it was like this, the more he could feel how small life was between heaven and earth, and how vast heaven and earth were.

This feeling was not knowing, but a true comparison and measurement.

Anyone looking at an ant compared to a giant dragon would sigh at the size, but who could feel it more strongly than the ant itself?

Only at this moment did he understand why so many grandmasters in Xuanshing had painstakingly pursued the path ahead.

Compared to heaven and earth, how small were humans, and where was the end of the road ahead?

"A transient guest of a hundred generations..."

Zhao Changying chewed on this sentence, also feeling the meaning in it, and could not help but look up.

Ordinary mountains, unremarkable river water, occasionally jumping waves.

The most he felt was 'the waves are big today'.

He didn't know where his feelings came from.

After sighing, An Qisheng's heart moved slightly:

"Your life-buying money has arrived."

Screech~~~

While Zhao Changying was stunned, he only heard a long cry falling from the sky.

Then, a strong wind roared down, and a heroic and majestic eagle swooped down from the sky, carrying moist air and landing on the mast of the passenger ship.

"Life-buying money..."

Zhao Changying gritted his teeth secretly, feeling extremely oppressed in his heart.

He was in a high position of power, and the Eastern Depot was the gathering place of the world's top wealth. He had never cared about gold, silver, or medicinal materials in his actions.

But being coerced into paying 'life-buying money' was a first for him.

This eagle was naturally raised by him.

This time, it was sent out on his orders to retrieve something, or rather, life-buying money.

"It's time to part ways."

Zhao Changying only heard a calm voice, and then a strong wind rose.

Boom!

It was as if thunder was rumbling above the Great River, and a violent gale swept up the sky with water vapor.

"Not good!"

Zhao Changying's heart jumped, only thinking that this old Taoist was going back on his word.

With a surge of true qi, he had already soared into the air, and the soft sword in his sleeve slashed across the sky like a bolt of lightning, but it struck nothing.

"What?"

Zhao Changying was stunned in his heart and lowered his eyes to look.

He saw several figures being kicked into the air below him, and then falling into the turbulent river without resistance.

With a 'glug', they disappeared without a trace.

Screech~

The startled eagle took off into the air, flapping its wings and circling in mid-air.

Zhao Changying stood steadily in mid-air, but saw that the package on the eagle's body had disappeared.

"As expected of 'Money Can Move Gods,' this gift, this humble Taoist will accept it!"

At this time, a calm and long voice echoed over the river.

"An Qisheng!"

Zhao Changying gritted his teeth.

The passenger ship had already broken through the waves like an arrow, its speed comparable to a dragon horse galloping on land, and disappeared into the distance.