Chapter 604: What Business?

Chu Liang had heard of the Spring of Virtue, but he didn't know its location. Fortunately, the Little Golden Dragon had used the dragons' method for imparting their cultivation legacies to imprint a map of the imperial city in Chu Liang's mind.

The high walls surrounding the Inner Imperial Garden were tall and imposing. Furthermore, the imperial city was heavily patrolled by guards, so Chu Liang had to tread carefully. He was moving through the city in the form of a cool breeze, but someone with a keen divine sense might still detect traces of his qi.

Chu Liang climbed over the wall and roamed through the garden like he was taking a stroll in his own backyard. He soon arrived at a huge landscape garden where the famous Spring of Virtue was located. This was just one corner of the immensely vast Imperial Garden.

There was a massive artificial rock formation that resembled a small mountain. Crystal-clear spring water flowed into the landscape garden from the mouth of the spring, winding around the little mountain in a narrow stream before ending up in a pond.

It was drizzling at that moment, and the raindrops created ripples in the stream. However, not a single raindrop fell into the pond.

The water flowing into the pool had already been infused with dragon breath, and it was protected by an enchanted formation. The enchanted formation prevented ordinary water from contaminating it.

The process of infusing dragon breath into the water occurred in the golden eddy[1] between the stream and the pond.

Chu Liang walked around the landscape garden briefly before entering the pond, only stirring up small ripples.

Whoosh.

Once he was underwater, he could no longer maintain his disguise as a cool breeze. His true form became visible as he activated the Water-Repelling Seal and dove downward. The seemingly shallow eddy was actually incomprehensibly deep, and it took Chu Liang quite a while to reach the bottom.

Thud.

When he finally landed on the bottom, there was a dull thud, and weak currents swirled around him.

The pressure at the bottom of the pool was immense. Even with his powerful corporeal body, every movement he made felt strenuous. An ordinary person would have been crushed into paste in an instant.

The source of the pressure was the three-chi-tall[2] pedestal in the center of the underwater space, and on top of it sat a golden orb the size of a fist. A square enchanted formation about one zhang wide surrounded the base of the pedestal.

This golden orb was the object Chu Liang had come for!

Everything had gone smoothly so far, but he did not dare to let his guard down.

Despite only being just outside the reach of the enchanted formation, he was already subjected to such immense pressure that he had a very difficult time moving. However, the Golden Dragon's Orb was being suppressed

within

the enchanted formation. It would not be easy for Chu Liang to take the orb out.

Now, it would all depend on Chu Liang's abilities.

He circulated his qi and gathered the strength of the Blue Dragon's Orb. Bracing himself against the overwhelming pressure of the enchanted formation, he took a step inside its range.

Thud.

The tremendous pressure weighed down on him, causing him to hunch over and press his hands onto the ground for support.

"

Ugh...

" Chu Liang groaned in pain, clenching his jaw as he tried to keep going.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

He knew that without the immense power of the Blue Dragon's Orb, this one step would have snapped his spine. Refining the Blue Dragon's Orb had brought him benefits beyond his imagination. It was, after all, the most important thing that the Blue Dragon, an eighth-realm True Dragon, had left behind—well, aside from its Great Dao.

If Chu Liang were to repeat his fight against Yang Shenlong right at this moment, he would be able to crush Yang Shenlong effortlessly with the power of the Blue Dragon's Orb and emerge totally unscathed.

Yet, even with all that strength, Chu Liang was having a hard time withstanding this overwhelming water pressure. He managed to keep moving toward the pedestal, but when he got within three steps of it, he could go no further.

Chu Liang quickly activated a technique, and blood flames ignited all over him. A boom reverberated through the water as he was filled with immense power once again.

If he had the choice, he would have avoided using such a conspicuous divine technique. It would leave traces of his qi, and others could use that against him.

Nevertheless, Chu Liang had no other choice at this point.

The power he got from using the Divine Dragons' Great Blood-Burning Technique allowed him to take two more steps, leaving him just one step away from the Golden Dragon's Orb.

"

Ah...

"

The overwhelming water pressure threatened to crush him to bits. Chu Liang could even hear his bones crack as his chest rose and fell.

Clenching his jaw, he partly transformed into a dragon and swiftly extended a tri-colored dragon claw.

Boom.

The moment the dragon claw was right above the Golden Dragon's Orb, the pressure of the water surrounding Chu Liang intensified dramatically. He couldn't withstand it and spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the water red.

Damn it.

With a swift motion of his left hand, he collected the blood-stained water to prevent leaving any evidence behind. Leaving any traces of blood would make things far too obvious that someone had been there.

The injury ignited Chu Liang's ferocity and determination. He gripped onto the Dragon Orb with his dragon claw, but he couldn't pull it out. It seemed like it was embedded in the pedestal.

Chu Liang spat out another mouthful of blood and steeled himself. He tightened his grip on the Dragon Orb and unleashed the tremendous power of a True Dragon.

"

Hah!

" he roared, yanking the Golden Dragon's Orb free!

Boom.

The pressure in the water suddenly dissipated, and the pool water, which had been held down by the immense pressure this whole time, erupted in towering waves.

Chu Liang swam up swiftly, aiming to escape before the commotion drew people over.

Splash.

Yet, the moment he emerged from the water, a large golden net was cast over the top of his head!

"Warrior Yao was right. There really is a thief here to steal the Dragon Orb!"

Eight guards in uniform surrounded the pond, each with a Dragon-Keeping Pool token hanging at their waist. These were Yao Dengxian's trusted men.

They had been lying in wait there for a while. Chu Liang's entry into the pool had initially gone unnoticed, but the activation of the underwater enchanted formation alerted them, prompting them to set up their own enchanted formation outside the pool.

The golden net crackled with spiritual qi. The moment Chu Liang touched it, he felt an electric shock and immediately plunged back into the water!

...

Earlier...

After Chu Liang left, Jiang Yuebai muttered to herself for a while. Then she hurriedly set up enchanted formations in the four corners of the room to ensure that no qi would be leaked out.

Just as she finished, there was a knock at the door.

"Senior Sister Jiang," Ling Ao called out.

"What is it?" Jiang Yuebai asked.

"Senior Uncle Wang asked us to gather in the hall once we're done setting up our rooms. He said he has something to tell us."

"Please let Senior Uncle Wang know that I've got some business to attend to and will go down later."

"Some business to attend to?" Ling Ao wondered.

They had just arrived at the imperial palace. What business could she possibly have to attend to?

"In any case, I'll go over a while later. Just inform him for me, thanks."

"All right," Ling Ao replied. "I'll go fetch Chu Liang then."

Jiang Yuebai frowned. She quickly twirled two of her fingers and tapped her neck.

"I'm here too," she said in an altered voice.

"

Huh?

" Ling Ao uttered.

He was surprised to hear Chu Liang's voice.

So, Chu Liang's here too?

Fortunately, Jiang Yuebai had trained in numerous divine arts and skills, so she could use this trivial divine skill.

Ling Ao blinked. He took a breath and then suddenly displayed an expression of realization.

Oh...

And here I was wondering what business she was talking about.

This... this... this...

Doing this in the imperial palace? This is just too... Ah...

"Well... um... you two should hurry up with... whatever you're doing. I'll... I'll inform Senior Uncle Wang a bit later," Ling Ao stammered before dashing off with a trail of smoke.

Jiang Yuebai let out a breath of relief. "

Phew...

"

I managed to brush him off, but the way that played out felt a bit weird...

It's all Chu Liang's fault. He just had to make me cover for him. Why couldn't he just share whatever he's doing with everyone?

In truth, Chu Liang couldn't be blamed for wanting to keep it a secret. The fewer people who knew about this matter, the better it would be. After all, Chu Liang was conducting a theft in the imperial palace.

If Wang Xuanling had found out, that serious and respectable old fellow might not have allowed him to proceed. And if Xu Ziyang had found out, it would have been very difficult to convince him to keep it from his teacher. Thus, Chu Liang had no choice but to rely on Jiang Yuebai for help.

Fortunately, the others didn't have time to consider what Chu Liang might be up to.

However, just as Jiang Yuebai let out a sigh of relief, there was another knock at her door.

"Junior Sister Jiang?"

"Senior Brother Xu?" Jiang Yuebai frowned again. "What's the matter?"

"Esteemed Teacher has asked us to gather in the main hall. Since you and the others haven't arrived, I was sent to check on you."

"I... I thought I already told Ling Ao that I had something business to attend to and would go down later?"

"Ling Ao? He left earlier to call everyone but never returned. That's why Esteemed Teacher sent me to find you all too."

Jiang Yuebai told Xu Ziyang the same thing she had told Ling Ao. "In that case, I'll go down later. Please inform Uncle Wang for me, Senior Brother."

"All right." Xu Ziyang nodded. "I'll go find Chu Liang then."

Oh, no...

Jiang Yuebai sighed helplessly and cast the voice-altering divine skill again.

"Senior Brother Xu, I'm here."

"Junior Brother Chu?" Xu Ziyang asked puzzledly. "Are the two of you working on something together?"

"..." Jiang Yuebai gritted her teeth. "Let's just say it's inconvenient to leave right now..."

"How strange," Xu Ziyang muttered in confusion.

Nevertheless, he eventually turned to inform his teacher.

Jiang Yuebai clenched her fist.

Her eyes filled with rage as she slammed her fist onto the table.

Wham!

Chu Liang!

1. Swirling water. ☜

2. Around one meter. ☜