Nine Astra Skies

Ye Chen's Astral Body was far stronger than Little Tanuki's thought. That made the critter a little eager to investigate its own Astral Body. Having since absorbed traces of Ye Chen's Celestial Chi, Little Tanuki had developed its own Astral Body. Now, it had both Psyche and Astral Body together, working in tandem. It wondered what bouts of effects that would bring.

Ye Chen's eyes met the cool Raven Hawk. After a moment, he said, "You've got a Fluffy One, Fluffy Two, and Fluffy Three before you. From now on, we'll call you Fluffy Four." Feathers were considered furs too so it made sense to call it Fluffy and it was easier to remember too.

Ye Chen tossed a high tier Spirit Pill to the hawk, gave it an order, and left it to cultivate on its own.

Maybe there would be another beast that would walk into the place. If that was the case, Ye Chen would tame the subsequent beast too! If he could not do it, he would have Little Tanuki try in his place. If it were a Celestial Beast that set foot in here, then there would be no way for him to enslave it. Celestial Beasts possessed a stronger Psyche, they could not be as easily enslaved as a beast.

What would a Celestial Beast's Psyche look like? Ye Chen wondered. He set forth his Astral Body, locating the Lioness in the process and then seeping into her consciousness for a look.

The Lioness was cultivating. The moment she had sensed Ye Chen's Astral Body, it froze.

As Ye Chen's Astral Body scanned its consciousness, he realized a beast's Psyche tends to clump together so they were all the same. So long as he imprinted his Psyche on them, he would bring them under his control. On the other hand, Celestial Beasts had a slightly different Psyche structure. Their Psyche was scattered and loose like clusters of meteorites circling in a formation in the consciousness. The concentration in their Psyche was greater than a Beast's. It was not highly malleable but also rather scattered. Thus, foreign Psyche could not possibly invade their minds to enslave them.

That explained why beasts were so easily enslaved yet Celestial Beasts were not! Their constitutions were vastly different, both mind and body.

With that newfound knowledge, Ye Chen recalled his Astral Body.

After Ye Chen's Astral Body had left, the Lioness heaved a sigh of relief, fortunate to have lived once more.

Having arrived at the bottleneck of peak Ninth Level, the Celestial Chi could no longer break through any further for the time being. Ye Chen continued to hone Heavenly King Rupturing the Sun.

Recently, Ye Chen's cultivation base and martial arts technique had soared in level. As far as his spiritual prowess was concerned, however, there were no significant progression. Ye Chen may have learned about the Dao Trance but it was all at the surface level only. He still struggled to learn the nuances of it.

Perhaps now would be the best time for Ye Chen to learn about the nuances.

Ye Chen felt the Chi flow in his surroundings and the changes that had occurred. Slowly, he descended into a meditative state. The Nine Astra in him had an interesting rhythm. It kept orbiting like it was changing.

Ever since Ye Chen had consolidated nine Chi Vortexes, he was used to cultivating the systems together. The nine cultivation systems tended to increase in level with one another. The Nine Astra Skies was a truly mysterious system. No amount of words could ever describe it.

During cultivation, Ye Chen had also developed a greater understanding of the Chi-amassing Formation. The formation of the rocks appeared in his consciousness and they spun in a rather mesmerizing manner.

The Chi-amassing Formation was an interesting entity like no other. Without needing any form of force or energy to activate it, it could just seamlessly integrate itself into the surroundings.

Ye Chen had all orders of the Chi-amassing Formation memorized clearly. He thought about whether he could construct a similar formation back at the Ye Castle.

As if disappearing into time itself, Ye Chen had forgotten about the present.

Time ticked away slowly. In the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had been in the Sunken Jade Tower for a full month now.

The Second-rank Prince's Palace in Donglin.

As Qiu Ying and the rest returned, their clothes were disheveled like hobos on the streets. Pitiful was an understatement. Thankfully, Qiu Ying, Liu Kan, and Liu Xun were in one piece. The death of their peak Ninth Level bodyguards did not matter to them.

After freshening up, it was as if they had returned to civilization.

The broken shards of armor and weapons they had scavenged from the tower were made into two impressive long swords. If they ever produced an Artifact Spirit some day, they could imbue the swords with it, which would make it a decent weapon. Apart from the two swords, they had managed to obtain a martial manual named Nightfall - a level five cultivation system that contained instructions to three, level five martial arts techniques. However, the manual was missing a few pages and if they were to make amendments to it, they would have to go through a great deal of trouble. For what it was worth, Qiu Ying and his men were satisfied with the outcome. At the very least, their journey to the Sunken Jade Tower was not a complete waste.

"Are you heading back to the capital now, Prime Minister?" Liu Xun was polite though deep down, he was a little frantic.

"Indeed. I'm still required back at the capital." Qiu Ying nodded. He shot a look at Liu Xun. "Whatever it is you have to say, out with it now."

"It's about the Ye Clan. The boy lives there. Initially, the clan had the most insignificant power among the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun. At most, they had a low Ninth Level defender. Later on, for reasons unknown, Ye Chen, the prodigy, appeared and the clan's powers increased. They even went on to have two Ninth Level beasts in due time and are now one of our kingdom's concerns. The boy may be gone now but that doesn't mean the Ye Clan should be spared." Liu Xun paused in between his words to gauge Qiu Ying's reaction.

"Have you ever looked into the reason as to how the Ye Clan had suddenly experienced an immense rise in power?" Qiu Ying tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought.

Liu Xun was increasingly bitter about the Ye Clan's might. Not long ago, Ye Zhantian and his men had received some thousand-year Flaming Serpent Berry along with other gifts. By now, the gifts would have been consumed and it was very likely their powers would grow tremendously in the near future. That gave the Second-rank Prince of Donglin many sleepless nights. Plus, he had previously humiliated Ye Zhantian and he was certain it was not a grudge that could be easily resolved. In time when the Ye Clan rose to the top, Liu Xun would surely experience more days of fear. He spoke again, "I heard the Ye Clan has an unnamed powerful figure backing them out though I don't know the person's background."

"An unnamed powerful figure?"

"If said person is truly powerful, why keep his identity a secret? Could they be worried that the Great Emperor Mingwu might summon him?" Liu Kan weighed in. Typically, any Tenth Level combatants in the human world were often banished to the Exclusion Zone if the Great Emperor Mingwu ever learned of their existence. That or they were hunted, sometimes they would even murder the combatant's family members.

In all of the Xiwu Empire, none was still worthy of an opponent for the emperor.

Liu Kan looked toward Qiu Ying, though he remained silent, waiting for his answers.

"Prime Minister, what's your take on this?" Liu Kan consulted Qiu Ying. He had learned from Liu Xun that the Second Prince's Palace had backed the Yun Clan previously. The Yun Clan had previously nearly annihilated them and thus, the Ye Clan was sure to harbor a grudge toward the Second-rank Prince of Donglin. They would never rest until the Second Prince's Palace was thoroughly obliterated. As Liu Xun's father, he had to speak up for him.

"If the said powerful figure is attempting to evade the Great Emperor's summon, then there are many ways for us to overcome the problem. Only, my concern is the person's powers are so extraordinary that it would be unwise for us to provoke him. Besides, that person hasn't appeared in the Ye Castle at all recently, we can't tell if truly such a person exists. Here's what I suggest. You guys mobilize the Dark Troopers and have them surround the castle, say it's a part of a protection program. Then, you get on their good side and look into the Ye Clan. If the figure appears again, so long as everyone's still in one piece, there'll certainly be a way for us to talk things out. If he's a Tenth Level combatant or even an Earthly Venerable One, I'll personally have the Great Emperor Mingwu summon him and have him expelled to the Exclusion Zone. Then, you guys can take care of the Ye Clan yourself." Qiu Ying assured with a slight smile.

"What happens if that person never appears?" Liu Kan's eyes widened. He had an idea too.

"If the figure fails to show up in ten days, it shows the Ye Clan couldn't possibly get him to come to their aid or that he doesn't have that good of a relationship with them. Or maybe the said figure never existed to begin with and that it was a part of a story cooked up by the Ye Clan. If that's the case, you may take matters into your own hands." Qiu Ying's smile turned into a maniacal laugh.

"Always a genius, Prime Minister!" Liu Kan stroked his beard as he smiled.

"May I suggest that you remain in Donglin County for a month, Prime Minister? I heard the Ye Clan had received lots of gifts from various clans. Once we have the Ye Clan under our control, you can have all their possessions. What say you?" Liu Kan cheekily suggested.

Liu Kan threw a stern look at the two. Sly bastards, he thought to himself. If he remained, he would be their scapegoat if anything were to happen. He would never fall for that trick. Calmly, he smiled. "It's not that I don't wish to stay, only that the capital has many matters waiting for my attention. Don't you worry, I'll be sure to be extra attentive toward Donglin County. The moment you have anything to report, you may have your messenger hawk relay the news to me. As for the Ye Clan's treasure, I couldn't possibly take it all for myself. Once you've seized control of the clan, you may distribute half of the loot to me. I'll handle the rest regarding the Great Emperor. It's late now, I must return for my rest. Tomorrow will be a hectic journey."

As Qiu Ying got up, Liu Kan and Liu Xun stood up to see him off.

The moment Qiu Ying's silhouette disappeared into the alleyway, Liu Kan cursed him. "Qiu Ying you old fart, you're such a sly fox!"

Liu Xun could only force a smile. If Qiu Ying wanted to leave, no one could hold him back. The reason Qiu Ying left the palace in such a hurry was to draw a clear line in their relationship. If Liu Xun and Liu Kan were to mess with the wrong guy, Qiu Ying would be unaffected. If it were a Tenth Level or Earthly Venerable One, Qiu Ying would have the Great Emperor Mingwu summon him and then he would earn the recognition from the emperor, along with the Second-rank Prince of Donglin's gratitude. It was a win-win for him. Liu Xun and Liu Kan had no regard for the treasures in the Ye Clan's vault. Regardless, half of it was Qiu Ying's cut. If there were far too little treasures to be distributed, they would add up some possessions from their side. After all, they had no one else but him to speak on their behalf during the royal court.

"It's fine if he refuses to stay but I can't believe he wants a cut out of the treasures." Liu Xun retorted. Alas, there was nothing they could change. Who else but Qiu Ying to appeal after all, right? The mission had to go on and the Ye Clan needed to be taken out. The boy was dead anyway and it did not matter if anyone saw his body in the Sunken Jade Tower. If Master Apothecary Xuanyi needed to blame someone, it would not be him.

While they were concerned about the powerful force, they were truly left with no other choice. If they waited till the Ye Clan had risen in power, they would never be able to obliterate them.

At the square in the Second Prince's Palace, a thousand of Level Seven knights clad in black armor sat on Level Three black horses known as Nightwinds. The troops had carefully formed a phalanx. Even the Nightwinds donned thick armor. They were armed to the teeth.

Under the Second-rank Prince of Donglin's order, the thousand knights set out. The sands from the ground were kicked up and the ground vibrated. A thunderous sound echoed. The troops were headed for the Ye Castle.

The mobilization of the Dark Troopers had the citizens of Donglin County in a heated discussion. This was the first time the prince had mobilized the troopers in three years. Could something be happening? Could there be a rebellion somewhere in Donglin County? Maybe some clans were about to meet their end?