The Attack of the Wastrel

Gu Lingzhi had chosen a specific side palace with a reason. Since it was a palace that was close to where Rong Huachang was originally going to self-destruct, everyone inside it had escaped already.

Although Lord Fashen did not believe Gu Lingzhi when she claimed to be able to help them escape, Rong Huachang could not move by herself temporarily and hence he could not leave her behind. As such, he followed Gu Lingzhi into the side palace.

Just as he was about to reprimand Gu Lingzhi for her rash actions, Gu Lingzhi cut over him, “Lord Fashen, do you trust me?”

Lord Fashen was stunned and he did not know how to reply to her.

He was sceptical that Gu Lingzhi would be able to save them although he trusted her.

Yet, Gu Lingzhi did not wait for his reply and she continued, “If you trust me, then do not resist as I transport you to a safe place.”

Without warning, Lord Fashen felt a strange energy flow around him. Instinctively, he mobilized his spiritual energy to resist the unknown force but recalled Gu Lingzhi’s words and stopped. Just as he hesitated, light flashed around him and he suddenly found himself in a strange place.

It was a place where spiritual energy was incredibly dense. A crystal clear lake that reflected light off it was in the distance, was that a Spiritual Essence Spring?

What in the world was this place? 

Rong Huachang was also surprised by what she saw. She had gone to many Secret Territories before, but had never seen somewhere that was so thick with spiritual energy. The pair turned to Gu Lingzhi in confusion and shock.

“This is…”

“This is a space-dimension spiritual treasure I received from the Spirit Tribe’s relics. I can allow living beings into it.” Gu Lingzhi answered.

“…We will be safe here,” Lord Fashen nodded his head.

Lord Fashen did not believe Gu Lingzhi when she said that this place was a space-dimension spiritual treasure but he had no intention to rebut her. After all, this was Gu Lingzhi’s secret and her willingness to allow them in to save them showed her trust in them. Naturally, he would not question her further.

Similarly, Rong Huachang did not probe her.

Rong Yuan had heard about the situation from Gu Lingzhi earlier on and he prepared Spiritual Medicine for the pair. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and gave them the medicine to heal their injuries.

Rong Huachang thanked Rong Yuan and drank the Spiritual Medicine. The warm spiritual lake water rushed down her throat and instantly, it filled her with spiritual energy that warmed her insides. Most of her pain diminished with the medicine and she felt a sense of calmness sweep over her. She cried, “This is amazing! Is this the water from the Spiritual Essence Spring? This is a rare item.”

The last time she saw a bottle of water from a Spiritual Essence Spring was at an auction. The tiny bottle was auctioned away by a buyer at a hefty price. While she had been shocked by the price that it was sold for, she had not imagined that she would be able to drink it in her life.

Rong Yuan chuckled lightly, “If Grand-aunt and Lord Fashen likes it, you can drink more of it. The Spiritual Essence Spring here is so abundant that it is used to water the flowers. It would be good if they can be of use for you.”

Hearing Rong Yuan’s words made Lord Fashen come to a realization.

He had only made a guess when he saw the clear lake in the strange place. However, Rong Yuan’s confession had spelled things out for him clearly.

If the existence of the Spiritual Essence Spring was made known to others, many people would rush to take it for themselves. Rong Yuan’s invitation for them to take the water from the Spiritual Essence Spring also served as a hint for them to remain silent about it.

Both of them were not dumb and they quickly swore to keep Gu Lingzhi’s secret with them. Thereafter, they pranced to the lake and stored as much water from the Spiritual Essence Spring as they could with them.

This water was priceless in the outside world. Regardless of whether anyone were Alchemists or Weapon Forgers, water from a Spiritual Essence Spring was hugely beneficial for them. Their natural instinct was to store as much as they could.

Would Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan mind if they took so much? Rong Huachang and Fashen only regretted not bringing more storage devices with them. It would be a waste if the valuable spring water was left there without use!

Gu Lingzhi laughed as she saw Rong Huachang desperately storing the spring water with her, “Grand-aunt, don’t worry. If you still want more in the future, I can bring you back to this space to retrieve more when you are safe in the Alliance. Just don’t dry out the spring.”

Rong Huachang turned red from embarrassment but she did not turn down Gu Lingzhi’s offer, “If that is the case, then I will not hold back. Don’t blame me for being too greedy later.”

Lord Fashen chimed in as he happily stored more spring water with him, “Me too, don’t forget about letting me in.”

Laughing at the two, Gu Lingzhi agreed, “Yes, both of you can take as much water as you want from the Spiritual Essence Spring.”

Once she settled the two seniors, Gu Lingzhi bade farewell to Rong Yuan and prepared to head out again.

The outside world was in chaos at the sudden disappearance of the three men. Pan Luming chased after the three when they entered the palace but he saw no trace of them when they arrived. The three people had vanished into thin air.

“There is no way that they can disappear like that. They must be hiding somewhere. Search the place!”

Following his order, the Imperial Guards of the palace surrounded the place and flipped through the entire palace. A few Demigods flew in the sky above the palace and scoured the place thoroughly to ensure there was no movement. Everyone who entered and exited the palace was investigated, not a single suspicious person was let off.

After more than half an hour, the Imperial Guards had done the best they could to no avail.

At that point, a guard rushed out to inform Pan Luming of a secret pathway he found in a closet.

“Chief Duke, I found a secret path. The assassin might have escaped through it!”

“What!” Pan Luming raged, “Why would there be a secret path there?”

The palace they were in belonged to a consort. What was a secret pathway doing there?

Pan Yu who stood behind Pan Luming whipped his head fiercely around to glare at a woman. This was Consort Shu.

“What is this!”

Bam! Consort Shu got done to her knees instantly, and fear flooded her face as she begged, “Your- Your Majesty, I do not know what is this!”

How could the assassin find out the secret pathway she had built for her own affair? The secret pathway she used to meet her lover had become the escape route for the assassin.

The discovery of the secret pathway then meant certain death for her.

Pan Luming glared at Consort Shu as he barked coldly, “Go!”

At his command, two Demigods rushed down the secret pathway. Pan Liwen led another two men to the exit of the secret pathway and they tried to catch the ‘assassins’ in a mousetrap.

Gu Lingzhi chose this exact moment to leave the Inheritance Space.

The moment she appeared, her body flashed and she ran off. Pan Yu gasped in shock at the sudden appearance of the shadow before he quickly commanded Imperial Guards to chase after the unknown figure.

Gu Lingzhi narrowed her eyes and she trained her focus to form a water wall made of spiritual energy. With a throw of her hand, she released fire spiritual energy towards the water wall. The instant the fireball struck the water wall, a thick bellow of smoke formed.

The thick wall of smoke shrouded the vision of everyone and Gu Lingzhi used the Yirong Pill to turn into one of the guards before she blended into the crowd and returned to Wenrong Palace.

At that moment, Wenrong Palace was in chaos because the guards could not find ’Pan Wen’. When Gu Lingzhi who was now disguised as ‘Pan Wen’ returned, the anxious faces of the guards turned into relief and they stared at him like he was their idol. A few of them were held by emotional tears and they cried, “Your Highness, you have finally returned! Are you injured? How can you not inform us before you leave?”

‘Pan Wen’ rolled his eyes at them and coldly said, “What should I tell you all? I am afraid you guys would not even know even if Wenrong Palace is destroyed.”

Leaving the guards with that cold remark, ‘Pan Wen’ strode back to his room.

As soon as ‘Pan Wen’ returned, the guards wiped their cold sweat from their foreheads and heaved a collective sigh of relief.

Thankfully, the prince had not been injured or they would be killed. They had completely forgotten about the servant maid that had seduced the Crown Prince.

On the other hand, the men who sealed up the secret pathway were shocked by the sudden disturbance in the hall. However, by the time they returned, Gu Lingzhi had already disappeared.

“Search! Search the palace thoroughly! I do not believe that they were able to take a heavily injured person anywhere!” Pan Luming fumed.

It was a joke if they allowed an assassin to escape even with six Demigods present.

For added precaution, Pan Yu had activated the defense mechanism around the royal palace, sealing everyone inside him. Anything that went past the mechanism had to go through Pan Yu and hence, the entire palace was placed under absolute surveillance.

Against such drastic measures, Rong Yuan lay on the bed and shrugged, “How frightening. If the entire palace is locked down, how is Mao Dingling going to leave?”

In an annoyed tone, Gu Lingzhi asked, “What good is it to you if he is caught?”

Rong Yuan thought carefully about her question before he replied nonchalantly, “Nothing.” However, Rong Yuan was not satisfied with Mao Dingling for his choice to abandon his comrades in the face of danger. He would rather Mao Dingling meet a bad outcome.

Rong Yuan’s expectations were fulfilled a day later.

Gu Lingzhi was calmly reading her notes in the reading room before she heard the sound of fierce fighting happening not far from her.

Without thinking twice, she disguised herself as Pan Wen again and rushed towards the scene of the battle, the guards of Wenrong Palace chasing after ‘him’.

The noise emerged from the Fifth Prince’s palace. A few men battled against each other on the roof of the Fifth Prince’s living quarters. Among them, an exhausted figure, Mao Dingling stood out.

Mao Dingling’s combat strength was considered average among the Demigods. After a long struggle, he was exhausted and he fought for his life.

Gu Lingzhi narrowed her eyes as she wrecked her brain for ideas to save Mao Dingling. All of a sudden, she heard Pan Yu’s angry yell, “Traitor! How dare you coalesce with the Alliance and cover up for the assassin!”