Chapter 609: Elimination Method

Slash.

Yao Guang carefully sliced open the consort's chest and abdomen with his blade. No blood flowed out. Instead, a faint, delicate fragrance escaped into the air.

At first, the scent seemed harmless. But in an instant, Chu Liang felt suffocated! The fragrance was poisonous, preventing him from breathing.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Chu Liang's physical resilience was on par with that of a True Dragon at the same cultivation realm. For any poison to affect him, it would usually require a quantity as vast as a mountain. Yet, just one inhale of this faint, lingering fragrance nearly suffocated him. The sheer potency was truly terrifying.

It felt as though an invisible membrane had sealed his nasal passages, cutting off his ability to draw air. Fortunately, the scent wasn't too strong and dissipated after a few moments. Chu Liang quickly channeled his foundational qi, breaking through this blockage in an instant with a surge of energy.

Even Li Chengfeng, a celestial official at the seventh realm, was affected by the fragrance. A fleeting discomfort crossed his face. However, as his cultivation level was much higher than Chu Liang, he recovered instantly without the need of doing anything.

Yao Guang had it the worst. Being the closest to the body and having the lowest cultivation, he struggled to breathe. His blade slipped from his trembling hand, clattering to the ground as he staggered backward, clutching his chest in pain.

Li Chengfeng stepped forward and swiftly pressed his palm and finger onto two acupoints on Yao Guang's chest, unblocking the eunuch's constricted meridians. Immediately, a surge of qi flowed through and Yao Guang exhaled a big breath of air.

"What kind of poison is this?" Chu Liang asked, still shaken. "It's terrifying."

"It's the Dreamweave Breath-Sealing Fragrance," Li Chengfeng replied.

"You recognize it, Celestial Official Li?" Chu Liang and Yao Guang immediately turned to him.

The Imperial Supervisory Bureau handled all kinds of strange cases across the land, so Li Chengfeng's knowledge of such matters was undoubtedly broader than theirs.

"This poison is highly lethal," Li Chengfeng explained. "Inhaling it causes immediate suffocation, but as long as one moves away in time, it's typically not fatal. That's why it's often paired with a sophisticated illusory technique. The illusion traps the victim, preventing them from realizing they're suffocating until it's too late. Those who succumb to this poison often die with serene expressions, making it nearly impossible to identify the cause of death."

He paused briefly before continuing, "The person most skilled in using this poison is Xiao Wuyan, an assassin from the Celestial Charm Sect. The Imperial Supervisory Bureau only came to understand this poison after investigating several bizarre cases linked to her."

"I see," Chu Liang said. It was the first time he had heard of such a poison. "But wasn't Xiao Wuyan already captured?"

"Correct," Li Chengfeng replied. "She is currently imprisoned in the Celestial Northern Prison, so this couldn't have been her doing. As for who else might possess this poison, that remains unknown. The only thing we can be certain of is that the culprit is likely an expert in illusory techniques."

"Let's finish examining the body first," Chu Liang said with a nod, motioning for Yao Guang to continue.

The faint lingering fragrance earlier had been nothing more than residual traces of the poison within the consort's body—yet even that had been so potent. It was no surprise this poison had been the cause of her death.

This made Chu Liang feel a trace of awe. The world was full of strange poisons, and the Poison-Expulsion Whip was not a cure-all. Without sufficient caution, he might not even have the chance to wield the whip before falling victim to such a poison in the future.

Yao Guang carefully resumed his examination of the corpse and eventually confirmed that the cause of death was indeed the inhalation of the Dreamweave Breath-Sealing Fragrance.

Chu Liang fell silent for a moment, his brows furrowed in thought. Then, without warning, he said, "Let's head back to Qinghong Aviary."

Time was of the essence, and he couldn't bother with the formalities of the imperial city. He shot forward like an arrow, soaring ahead. Li Chengfeng and Yao Guang exchanged a glance before quickly following, their movements equally swift. The trio moved in unison, reaching Qinghong Aviary in no time.

Neither Li Chengfeng nor Yao Guang knew exactly what Chu Liang was looking for, but revisiting the place where the body had been found was a logical step.

With practiced ease, Chu Liang leapt over high walls and scaled the garden's intricate artificial hills. He headed straight to the location where the consort's body had been discovered—the spot where his teacher claimed to have "coincidentally" come across the corpse.

Chu Liang crouched down, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath and let his senses expand. After a moment, his gaze fell on a patch of withered plants and flowers nearby. Their decay stood out starkly against the lush surroundings.

"This is where it happened," he said decisively. "The imperial consort must have come here willingly, only to be poisoned under the influence of an illusory technique."

"What was the consort doing at Qinghong Aviary?" Yao Guang asked, clearly puzzled.

"That...is something only she can answer" Chu Liang paused, glancing at the scene once more before taking off without further explanation.

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait for me!" Yao Guang called out, scrambling to keep up. Turning to Li Chengfeng, he huffed, "Celestial Official Li, do you have any idea what Imperial Younger Brother is up to?"

Li Chengfeng gave him a sidelong glance, his expression one of faint condescension. "You don't know?"

"That's why I'm asking," Yao Guang replied, spreading his hands as if stating the obvious.

"He's going to..." Li Chengfeng dragged out the words, then added firmly, "Investigate the case!"

"Oh." Yao Guang nodded slowly. Then, with a deadpan expression, he thought to himself,

You say that like it explains everything. But it's all words and no substance. Just air.

...

Moments later, the three of them arrived at the imperial consort's courtyard.

Chu Liang had been here just recently. The consort, who should have already been dead, had been sitting calmly by the lake. He was not the only one who had seen her; the Dragon-Keeping Guards could testify to that as well.

That false consort must have imitated the real one using some sort of illusory technique. Chu Liang's thoughts turned to the Spirit Fox Illusory Transformation, one of the strongest transformation immortal arts. With this line of reasoning, there was a ninety-nine percent chance that the imposter was the murderer.

But why? Why would the murderer go to the trouble of disguising themselves as the consort after killing her?

Simply to sit by the lake and look at the water? That seemed highly unlikely.

If the goal was to create the illusion that the consort was still alive, it didn't seem necessary. After all, her body wouldn't be discovered in Qinghong Aviary for some time, and no one had been aware of her whereabouts.

Chu Liang stood by the lake, staring at the water as he asked Yao Guang, "Have the consort's maids been questioned?"

Yao Guang acted swiftly, and before long, the two maids of the imperial consort were brought to the courtyard.

Given the consort's status, it was unusual for her to be attended by only two maids. However, she had always valued peace and quiet and had requested special permission from the emperor to limit her attendants to just two.

Both maids were sobbing pitifully.

"Her Highness..." The older maid spoke through sobs, her voice trembling. "She wasn't particularly warm to us and often didn't let us accompany her. When she wanted to be alone, she wouldn't allow anyone near her... We... we truly didn't know much about her personal affairs."

The younger maid, tears streaking her face, added with a choked voice, "Her Highness was always so kind to us. She was nothing like the other consorts who treated their servants poorly. How could someone as good as her be killed..."

Listening to their laments, Chu Liang suddenly asked, "Did Her Highness have any unusual habits?"

The two maids thought for a moment before the younger one spoke. "If there was anything strange, it was that she often liked to sit by the lake alone and talk to herself... almost as if she were speaking to the fish."

Chu Liang nodded and looked at the water again.

"This waterway leads outside the imperial city..." Li Chengfeng mused aloud. "Could the consort have been in contact with someone beyond the city walls?"

"She helped release the Golden Dragon and went to Qinghong Aviary alone on the eve of the banquet. Something is definitely off," Chu Liang replied. "Before we can identify the murderer, I think we need to search this consort more thoroughly."

There was no need for a physical search, as the consort had already laid everything bare for them.

But Chu Liang thought the consort's palace needed a more thorough search.

"Where does the consort sleep?" he asked.

"This way," the two maids quickly pointed. "Her Highness was a light sleeper and never allowed us near her bedroom."

"Then there's even more reason for us to check her bedroom," Chu Liang replied, his expression unreadable as his mind raced.

Bang.

He pushed open the door to reveal a modest bedroom. There wasn't much furniture: a screen, a bed, a table, some chairs, and a bronze mirror...

"If I were the imperial consort, where would I hide something I couldn't let anyone see or carry with me?" Chu Liang muttered to himself.

The consort didn't have any enchanted storage tools on her. As a member of the imperial harem, possessing such items would raise suspicions, so most consorts refrained from having them.

"With a room this size, searching it thoroughly could take quite a while," Yao Guang said.

"Search?" Chu Liang repeated.

"Huh?" Yao Guang exchanged a puzzled look with him.

Then, Chu Liang placed his hand on the floor, and Divine Dragon Fire spread rapidly from his palm!

He was setting the room on fire!

"What are you doing?" Even Li Chengfeng widened his eyes in disbelief this time.

"A thorough search of this room would take too much effort. We will just use the method of elimination," Chu Liang explained. "The place the consort used to hide something secret would definitely be immune to fire."

Boom—

Li Chengfeng stared at Chu Liang in astonishment. It only then hit him...

He really is Di Nufeng's disciple

!