With this top-grade Heavenly Earth Spiritual Object, plus the large number of Heavenly Earth Spiritual Objects that have just been delivered,
Lu Xuan can already see the hope of reaching the Divine Palace Realm.
If he refines most of these Heavenly Earth Spiritual Objects, he is bound to gain a massive amount of System Points!
“Oh, Deputy Commander Lu, there’s also this item. This is your Mysterious Bird Guard token.”
The next moment, Li Chengxing’s right hand revealed a red token, floating right above his palm.
Looking closely, it was a token crafted from some kind of red crystal, about the size of a palm, occasionally emitting a glimmering red light.
This is the unique identity token for the Deputy Commander of the Mysterious Bird Guard, carved from Spirit-Connecting Red Crystal.
You should know, the Spirit-Connecting Red Crystal is extremely rare, a crystal only found in the Spirit Ruins. Inside it is stored a mysterious and unfathomable power from heaven and earth.
The Spirit-Connecting Red Crystal can capture images from a thousand miles away and transmit sounds across ten thousand miles!
In a sense, it’s even rarer than ceremonial vessels below the Moon Grade.
This is also one of the reasons why they don’t easily appoint multiple Deputy Commanders of the Mysterious Bird Guard.
Because the Spirit-Connecting Red Crystal needed to make the Deputy Commander’s token is just too precious.
If it weren’t for the Great Xia Emperor, Xia Mingyue, seeing Lu Xuan’s limitless potential, she wouldn’t have made such a heavy investment to forge a brand new Spirit-Connecting Red Crystal token.
Lu Xuan gently raised his right hand and grabbed the air. That crimson-red token instantly flew into Lu Xuan’s palm.
There, clearly engraved on the crimson-red token, were two bold, powerful characters.
Lu Xuan!
From this moment on, Lu Xuan became the youngest fourth Deputy Commander of the Mysterious Bird Guard since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty.
This also meant that throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty, only two people could give him orders.
They were the Commander of the Mysterious Bird Guard and the Great Xia Emperor, Xia Mingyue.
In just a few short breaths, Lu Xuan’s status had vaulted him to becoming a pillar of the Great Xia Dynasty!
Seeing such an achievement, even Li Chengxing, who was standing by, found it quite unbelievable.
This Lu Xuan, he has only been part of the Mysterious Bird Guard for a little over a month, and His Majesty has already promoted him to Deputy Commander.
“Deputy Commander Lu, don’t underestimate this identity token. It contains a restriction personally set by His Majesty. Only the first person to channel power into it becomes its sole master.”
“There’s a whole other world inside this token, and most of the empire’s secrets are recorded within it.”
“Deputy Commander Lu, when you have time, you should really study this thing.”
“Perhaps it can answer some of the questions you’ve been wanting to know.”
Lu Xuan caught the implication in Li Chengxing’s words, and a strong interest immediately lit up in his eyes.
A good thing!
This token is definitely a good thing!
For Lu Xuan, it’s an existence no less valuable than a top-grade Heavenly Earth Spiritual Object.
Seeing Lu Xuan put the token away, Li Chengxing withdrew his gaze. He gently stroked his frost-white beard with his right hand, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
“Deputy Commander Lu, I have delivered all of His Majesty’s decrees.”
Lu Xuan was in a very good mood at the moment and, for the first time, suggested that someone stay.
“Mm, Commander Li, it’s getting dark soon. Would you like to stay the night before leaving?”
“No need for that, Deputy Commander Lu.”
“I have other important matters to attend to now that I’m out of the Heavenly Capital.”
“Those heretics from the Netherworld White Lotus Sect are causing too much trouble.”
“I have to travel overnight to the Netherworld Province to deal with those lawless heretics!”
Netherworld Province?
The Netherworld White Lotus Sect?
Hearing those words, Lu Xuan’s expression froze for a moment, a ripple passing through his heart.
When it comes to the Netherworld White Lotus Sect, Lu Xuan pays more attention to them than anyone else.
The strange things those heretics from the Netherworld White Lotus Sect come up with – Lu Xuan is very interested in them indeed.
But after thinking it over, Lu Xuan decided to drop the idea of going to Netherworld Province.
Now that he has this batch of Heavenly Earth Spiritual Objects, Lu Xuan is determined to first break through to the Divine Palace Realm!
Li Chengxing turned his head to look at Shangguan Yunlan, who was still sitting to one side, and noticed she showed no sign of leaving.
Seeing this, Li Chengxing didn’t ask Shangguan Yunlan to leave. Instead, he walked over to Lu Xuan.
Then, using a technique to transmit sound through his internal Gang Yuan, Li Chengxuan told Lu Xuan some extremely confidential things.
“Deputy Commander Lu, I’ve heard you had a conflict with Prince An, Xia Mingqing.”
“But Prince An won’t be able to cause you trouble for a long time.”
“His Majesty has already given orders to us Deputy Commanders and the Commander himself.”
“His Majesty is summoning all ten princes with granted fiefdoms back to the Heavenly Capital. It seems something big is about to happen!”
“To do this, His Majesty has not only mobilized the Mysterious Bird Guard but has also sent out those several experts from within the imperial palace itself!”
Summoning ten princes to the capital – such a bold move!
What could be the meaning behind this action of the Great Xia Empress, Xia Mingyue?
It’s just a pity that with Prince An leaving, those Heavenly Earth Spiritual Objects promised as compensation to Lu Xuan will likely never materialize.
“Deputy Commander Lu, after you’ve dealt with your important matters, you’d better head to the Heavenly Capital as soon as possible to meet His Majesty.”
“Don’t keep His Majesty waiting too long!”
“And, young friend Lu Xuan, once you’re in the Heavenly Capital, you must come visit our Li family, so we can properly play hosts!”
“That young girl, Yanran, she always talks about you, Deputy Commander Lu.”
When Li Chengxing said the last sentence, he started to get friendlier with Lu Xuan, even specifically mentioning Li Yanran.
Lu Xuan naturally understood what Li Chengxing meant and immediately responded.
“Commander Li, rest assured. After I go to the Heavenly Capital and pay my respects to His Majesty, I will definitely visit the Li family.”
Getting the answer he wanted, Li Chengxing laughed heartily.
“Good, good, good!”
“Then this old man will be at the Li family, awaiting your arrival, Deputy Commander Lu!”
After finishing his conversation with Lu Xuan, Li Chengxing also said a word to Shangguan Yunlan, who was still looking confused.
“Master Yunlan, this old man will take his leave now.”
Although she didn’t know what Li Chengxing had said to Lu Xuan, Shangguan Yunlan didn’t dare to be presumptuous and returned the courtesy in the same manner.
“Yunlan bids farewell, Commander Li!”
After Li Chengxing left, only Shangguan Yunlan and Lu Xuan remained in the main hall.
At this moment, Lu Xuan finally turned his attention to Shangguan Yunlan.
The woman before him had a cold, stunningly beautiful face. She wore a well-tailored black robe that tightly wrapped her alluring figure.
And her delicate, jade-like skin, set against the black robe, appeared even more radiant and moving, like the purest, flawless white sheep-fat jade.
This woman was in no way inferior to the Li Yanran in Lu Xuan’s memory.
Being scrutinized so brazenly by Lu Xuan, Shangguan Yunlan felt a strange sensation in her heart.
Truly, no man had ever dared to stare at her like this.
This unfamiliar, subtle feeling caught Shangguan Yunlan off guard.
But she quickly steadied her breathing, refusing to let too much emotion show on her face.
“Yunlan greets Deputy Commander Lu.”
“Deputy Commander Lu, I believe you already know my identity.”
“I am Shangguan Yunlan, a Thousand-Feather Envoy of the Black Feather Guard. I was sent by the Golden Envoy of the Black Feather Guard to inspect the Mysterious Bird Guard’s records in Anzhou.”
“I ask for your understanding, Deputy Commander Lu!”
Shangguan Yunlan’s emotions were like a roller coaster, rising and falling erratically.
Who would have thought that Lu Xuan, who just moments ago held a much lower official rank than her,
would, in the blink of an eye, become the exalted Deputy Commander of the Mysterious Bird Guard, a figure of authority completely above her?
The position of Deputy Commander of the Mysterious Bird Guard is equivalent to the Golden Envoy who controls the Black Feather Guard.
In other words, this Lu Xuan was a powerful existence on the same level as her mother, the Golden Envoy.
This Lu Xuan was undoubtedly a heavy weight pressing down on her, giving her the illusion that she could barely breathe.
In response to Shangguan Yunlan’s words, Lu Xuan’s expression was calm and unhurried as he spoke slowly.
“Master Yunlan, please feel free to carry on. I, the Commander, will not interfere with the Black Feather Guard’s operation.”
“If you have no further matters, Master Yunlan, I have important business to attend to and will be on my way.”
“If you have any questions, you can go to Deputy Envoy He Yan. He will handle your concerns.”
With a top-grade Heavenly Earth Spiritual Object in hand, plus those mid-grade Heavenly Earth Spiritual Objects shipped from the Heavenly Capital,
Lu Xuan could hardly wait to refine these Heavenly Earth Spiritual Objects into System Points.
Once Lu Xuan breaks through to the Divine Palace Realm, he will be able to move freely and fearlessly throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty.
“Ah, Deputy Commander Lu, wait. Yunlan still has some things she wants to discuss with you.”
Just as Shangguan Yunlan was about to approach Lu Xuan,
a sudden, urgent cry from outside the main hall’s door caught the attention of both Lu Xuan and Shangguan Yunlan.
“Mysterious Envoy, help!”
“At the Wu family mansion east of the city, those ghostly things have appeared – a Calamity-level anomaly!”
The cry for help, filled with terror and despair, pierced the air, reaching everyone’s ears.
Suddenly, Lu Xuan’s body swayed sharply. He transformed into a beam of light and shot towards the main hall’s door at an unbelievable speed!
He was so fast that he even left a faint, blurry trail of light behind him in the hall.
This scene caused a storm of turmoil inside Shangguan Yunlan. She looked towards the main hall door with great wariness.
Such extraordinary speed couldn’t possibly be the power of an ordinary martial arts movement technique.
Once outside the main hall, an old man wearing the official robe of the imperial court could be seen. His face was full of anxiety and ghastly pale.
He had clearly just experienced something terrifying. Beads of sweat rolled off his forehead and fell to the ground, his breathing rapid and disorderly.
This old man was none other than the Prefect of Baidao Prefecture, Hong Zhi!
Sensing a disturbance ahead, Hong Zhi looked up, and a trace of joy appeared on his face.
Because the person he most wanted to see, Mysterious Envoy Lu Xuan, had already arrived before him.
“Yo… your subordinate… pays respects… pays respects to the Mysterious Envoy!”
“To the east of the city, there are ghostly things suspected to be Calamity-level anomalies. Please, Mysterious Envoy, go and take a look.”
It wasn’t strange for Hong Zhi to be so flustered and panicked. The anomaly that opened a ghost domain – that was a terrifying existence said to be a Calamity-level anomaly.
In all his years serving as the Prefect of Baidao Prefecture, Hong Zhi had truly never seen a Calamity-level anomaly.
The levels of anomalies are: Common, Dangerous, Fierce, Severe, Doom, Calamity!
A Calamity-level anomaly can only be dealt with by martial artists of the External Gang or above, reaching the Master level.
“A Calamity-level anomaly?”
“Okay, I’m aware.”
Before Hong Zhi could continue speaking, Lu Xuan, right before his eyes, once again transformed into a purple rainbow light, shooting off into the distance.
His speed was like a meteor streaking across the sky, disappearing from everyone’s view.
Unlike the shock felt by others, Hong Zhi was now simply overjoyed.
The abilities Lu Xuan displayed, the more mysterious and unfathomable they were, the more terrifying and powerful his strength would be.
That way, there would be a sure chance of dealing with that Calamity-level anomaly.
East of the city, at the Huafu Mansion, the stronghold of the Tianhai Gang.
After returning to the Huafu, Hua Tianhai sat in the reception hall, his aged face looking gloomy and dark.
But thinking of Lu Xuan’s face, Hua Tianhai didn’t dare to harbor any sneaky thoughts.
Just then, several men dressed in Tianhai Gang members’ clothing hurried in from the door.
“Old Gang Master, our men below just reported that Wu Wei’s entire family seems to have vanished.”
“The whole Wu family mansion is empty, without a single living creature in sight.”
Huh?
Just a little while ago, I was assuring Hong Zhi that Wu Wei’s death wasn’t my son’s doing.
Now, before we’ve even found Wu Wei’s killer, his whole family disappears.
If this gets out, people will think our Tianhai Gang did it.
“Rubbish! When did this happen? Why didn’t you report it to me sooner?”
The man standing in the middle, seeing the Old Gang Master angry, quickly answered.
“Reporting to the Old Gang Master, this happened about an hour ago. The few gang members who were staking out the Wu family earlier have no idea what happened.”
“They only saw the Prefecture’s Chief Constable, Fan Wei, take some people into the Wu residence.”
“But within just half an hour, Chief Constable Fan Wei came running out of the Wu residence like he’d seen a ghost.”
“That guy Fan Wei even lost a leg in the process.”
“As for the constables who went in with him, along with the Wu family, they’ve all mysteriously disappeared.”
After the man finished speaking, Hua Tianhai’s brow furrowed deeply. He slammed the table and stood up.
Smack!
“Are you sure you’re not talking nonsense?”
Fan Wei is the Prefecture’s Chief Constable, and a martial artist at the Blood Refining Lesser Completion stage.
Within the whole city, the number of people capable of making him lose a leg can be counted on one’s fingers.
Who would be so bold as to lay a hand on Hong Zhi’s trusted man?
“Old Gang Master, even if you gave me ten thousand times the courage, I wouldn’t dare lie to you!”
“I even went to the Wu family mansion myself and turned the entire place upside down looking around.”
“And I found that the Wu residence is just too eerie. Not only did I not see a single person, I didn’t even find a single ant.”
“So, I hurried back to inform you, Old Gang Master!”
Seeing this, Hua Tianhai suppressed his rage and believed what the man said.
