71 Chapter 70 - Benefits

The assassination at Jing manor would have been the most shocking news circulating in the capital for months at any other time. The security in Lin'an had always been very tight, and although spontaneous murders would occur every now and then, such open assassination was rare, not to mention when it involved a member of the Imperial family.

Yet with the arrival of Hua Quanfu and the elixir of immortality, the entire matter seemed like a drop in the ocean, going completely unnoticed. Even if the imperial court had taken great efforts to mobilise, most of the resources were already siphon in preparation for the elixir of immortality. Even the most illustrious Imperial Guards were no more than zombie divisions at this moment, maintaining only the bare minimum to function.

Only the emperor seemed to have paid special attention to investigating this matter, even using his personal resources to find the backgrounds of his attackers. Fortunately, as Jing Wen had retaliated and killed these people, it was a difficult matter. Their identity was found out within the night, especially with the middle-aged man being a famous figure in the capital.

The middle-aged man was Bai Xiang (白翔), a prominent figure in jianghu that had connections with Zijin Sect and liked to travel incognito. More importantly, he wielded a nearly unrivalled physical strength and could imbed his body with Qi to strengthen it further,a skill typically impossible for someone at the peak of Heart Purification state. As for the two other assassins, they were men directly under the Seventh Prince.

The Seventh Prince himself was not someone stupid, and had already learnt that Jing Wen was already restoring his lost cultivation. Still, using a Heart Purification expert to kill someone at Qi Manifestation was already something like using a butcher's knife to kill ants. But no amount of preparation would he have known that the perpetrator of the great massacre at Peaceful Pavillion would have lent Jing Wen a piece of paper that could effortlessly kill a cultivator at the peak of Heart Purification.

Before the night was over, the truth was brought to the emperor's personal study. The eunuchs accompanying him all committed suicide, as did the investigator. It seemed that only the emperor now know the truth.

But considering that these assassins had arrived at the order of the Seventh Prince as a part of the dynastic struggle, who knows how long the truth will be suppressed for?

In the end, in order to preserve the dignity of the imperial family, the emperor stripped some titles from the Seventh Prince and appointed some of his followers into insignificant positions using a crime the Seventh Prince had committed some months earlier. The punishment did not really impact the Seventh Prince's foundation, so there was little resistance.

The emperor is indeed the emperor. Before the night was over, the entire matter was dealt with in a swift and precise manner so that his plans to deal with Hua Quanfu would not be disturbed in the slightest.

---

Akin to rain irrigating the fields after a drought, Jing Wen's vessels that had once been filled with Qi before he lost his cultivation was surfeited at last. New channels that expanded these vessels seemed to have form, allowing even greater quantities of Qi to flow through his body.

The name 'Earth Refining Flower' is indeed appropriate.

The precious essence of the Earth Refining Flower was forced out of the ordinary plant, and slowly permeated as it travelled through Jing Wen's body. Before it reached the intestines, the miracle nature of the pill proved showed itself once more.

The slight tinge of green within his blood congealed into a small pill within Jing Wen's waist, whilst the talisman aura left his body entirely, covering room and its surroundings in an ancient fragrance.

The essence from the piece of paper also retreated. As though shutting itself from the world, the aura remained within his lungs, spreading a thin membrane throughout the organ that isolated it from the remaining organs.

When even the stem of the flower had been absorbed into Jing Wen's body, he woke up. At that time, it was already the dazzling moment of the day, and the sun hung proudly above the heavens.

Jing Wen slowly sat up from the bed, sending his perception throughout the room. He slightly opened his mouth and murmured in a barely audible voice, "I can't sense anything - it seems that I've already departed… How am I meant to greet my parents at the Bridge of Forgetfulness?"

"It's not that you died, but you are in my room."

Consort Li, rubbed the head of the magpie with her finger and chuckled, "The saintess Shen's son had to owe me a minor favour to heal you. At least you should appreciate your second chance at life."

Jing Wen had a faint frown upon hearing Consort Li's voice. Her manor is protected by a formation that even peak Qi Manifestation cultivators can not penetrate through. It is only natural for Jing Wen's weakened perception from the injuries to be unable to detect anything.

Eventually, he asked, "What did Shen Yanlin do?"

Consort Li released the magpie in her hand and wiped her hand with a handkerchief. Stretching her body in a carefree manner, she had a faint smile as she said, "Saintess Shen's son is a medicine genius not seen in a hundred years. Don't worry, aside from the minor favour he now owes me; there is little to worry about."

No wonder Consort Li was so beloved by the world - her acting is truly exemplary. Although Shen Yanlin had used the very precious Earth Refining Flower, she thoroughly brushed off the matter upon the boy's request.

Shen Yanlin had always followed her mother's teaching that life is more precious than worldly belongings, not to mention that that life belongs to the older brother figure that he always admired. Moreover, since Shen Yanlin had already used the medicine, he found it rather vulgar to emphasise its value to Jing Wen. In the end, he simply asked Consort Li to brush off the matter if Jing Wen had inquired.

As for why he did not stay until Jing Wen was awake… he was still afraid he would still lose his rationality in front of Jing Wen after using such a precious medicine.

Consort Li, who had siphoned off some of the essence of the Earth Refining Flower, didn't care about making Jing Wen feel guilty towards Shen Yanlin in the slightest.

She poked Jing Wen's waist with her finger, causing the pill formed from the poison tree arrow to shake as she said, "The poison arrow tree is more forceful than all other poison in the world. The principle of 'fight poison with poison' (以毒攻毒) applies here - as long as the pill is within you, it should be impossible for you to fall under may form of toxin."

Jing Wen remained silent for a long time, before saying, "To make Consort Li attend to my injury while pregnant makes this one ashamed."

Consort Li's carefree smile remained unchanged as she retracted her finger. She said, "I'm not a frail woman. Your treatment was beneficial for me as well."

Jing Wen frowned slightly, thinking that even with that ancient aura contained within that piece of paper, there should be something beneficial to Consort Li during the healing process. But he did not intent to reveal any of his secrets to Consort Li, so he remained silent.

Consort Li did not care for Jing Wen's attitude. Pausing for a moment, she continued, "You didn't lose out from the treatment. The portions that I absorbed are things your body cannot bear and would have lost anyway, but I compensated you."

Jing Wen furrowed his brows and lifted his head up, saying, "Why are you mentioning this matter?"

Consort Li replied, "I still want Saintess Shen's son to owe me the favour, so I off-handedly helped you advance into Heart Purification state - don't worry, the favour will not implication you."

Pausing for a long moment, Consort Li changed the topic, "Heart Purification cultivators are indeed rare resources but during the bout for the elixir of immortality, there would be around a dozen Qi Manifestation cultivators. Even if you are considering using heart bloody of crossing that boundary between states, it would still be impossible for you to deal with a Qi Manifestation cultivator in a short amount of time."

Consort Li looked at Jing Wen and offhandedly combed her hair. "Since you're already working with Mo Xi and some of the other Qi Manifestation cultivators in the capital, why not ask them to contribute some heart blood as well? A few drops would not impact their cultivation."

"Thank you for the advice."

Although he had thanked Consort Li, Jing Wen's already straight posture became like a spear. Using other cultivators' heart blood was not a bad idea, but Consort Li's words had directly exposed that he was already in a partnership with Mo Xi. Wondering how Consort Li could have been aware of such a matter, Jing Wen tiredly said, "Why tell me these things? These secrets could have been used as leverage."

Consort Li placed her hands behind her, purposefully emphasising her slightly swollen abdomen as she said, "Because I'm pregnant, so I can't bother with that Hua Quanfu. If I can borrow another's knife, why won't I?"

"Moreover, even if you had ten thousand years, I would still be stronger than you."