parentshiftbook Chapter 120 Iron Token, Altered Cultivation Technique
Chapter 120 Iron Token, Altered Cultivation Technique
The door was pushed open.
Chen Yi was the first to enter, still with the same facial expression, standing sideways by the door.
Immediately afterwards, a cacophony of footsteps sounded.
The prince, wearing a dark blue robe embroidered with a four-clawed dragon, and surrounded by a dozen black-clad guards, entered the room.
Lin Yan secretly observed these guards. They were all dressed in black and masked, with swords at their waists. Their calm demeanor indicated that they were martial artists at the Unending Realm. After entering the room, they dispersed and stood on both sides behind the Crown Prince, their eyes scanning the various postures of the people in the room.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Everyone in the room stood up in unison and bowed to Li Zhengxin with clasped hands.
The prince waved his hand, signaling everyone to dispense with formalities, and walked to the long table, standing with his back to the bronze statue of a deity holding a halberd and a snake.
Chen Yi closed the door, and the room fell into darkness again, with only a few oil lamps and three embers in the incense burner providing faint light.
"Gentlemen, the fact that you are all here today means that you have all passed the three tests of the Eastern Palace," Li Zhengxin said slowly.
Triple assessment?
Lin Yan's heart skipped a beat. He remembered that the only time the Crown Prince had ordered him to search the alchemy room of Juwu Pavilion could be considered a test. Could it be that some things that happened before were also part of the test?
"Among you, some are independent cultivators, some are military officers, some are members of folk gangs, and some are members of collateral branches of aristocratic families. But once you enter this door today, your past identities are null and void."
Li Zhengxin took out a brocade pouch from his sleeve, untied the rope, and poured out a black iron token.
Upon seeing this, Lin Yan's pupils suddenly contracted.
Dark blue with gold thread cloud patterns, this brocade pouch was clearly the same one he had seen at Black Wind Ridge.
He recognized the token.
It is about the size of a palm, with the character "令" engraved on the front and several cloud patterns engraved on the back.
It was exactly the same as the token in the brocade pouch.
Lin Yan immediately felt a chill and knew in his heart that something was wrong.
Chen Yi also took out more than a dozen brocade pouches and began to distribute them to individuals one by one.
Everyone subconsciously weighed the token in their hand and looked at both sides when they received it.
When Lin Yan received his token, it felt icy cold to the touch, not only because of the iron itself but also because of his current mood.
"Now, drip your blood essence onto the token," the prince's voice rang out again.
The people inside, who were curiously examining the token, fell silent for a moment.
Lin Yan held the token, his fingers trembling slightly, but did not act immediately.
Essence blood is different from ordinary blood. It is the core blood in a martial artist's body, located in the heart. Losing a drop of essence blood is not fatal, but it will only cause the body to temporarily lack essence and energy, resulting in a period of low condition.
He had no idea what the token was all about.
Because of this token, he was relentlessly pursued by Qing Fengxiang, with nowhere to run or escape. Now that the token that belonged to him had been handed over, he dared not touch it.
But the people around them didn't seem to think that much about it and had already started doing their own things.
The man wearing the animal skin vest was the first to start. He bit his tongue, opened his mouth, and spat out a drop of dark red blood that landed on the token.
The moment the blood droplet touched the token, Lin Yan saw several cloud patterns on the back of the token light up. As the blood slowly seeped into the token, the cloud patterns returned to their original state and fell back into darkness. But the man shuddered, his eyes widened, and he grinned wildly.
This……
Lin Yan hesitated even more.
Then, the second person dripped blood, the third person dripped blood, the fourth person…
Lin Yan saw that each of them was briefly stunned after the blood was dripped, and then showed different expressions: some were surprised, some were angry, some were sad, and some laughed wildly.
Their behavior made Lin Yan even more vigilant; these people... seemed to be under control.
Something's wrong with this token; there seems to be something inside it.
Just as Lin Yan was thinking, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
Lin Yan's back muscles tensed instantly, and the Zhenyue Blade was drawn from its sheath.
"Do not be nervous."
He heard Li Zhengxin's voice in his ear.
Lin Yan turned his head and saw that the Crown Prince had walked up to him at some point. One of his hands was on Lin Yan's shoulder. The pressure was not heavy, but Lin Yan felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him.
"Lin Yan, it's been a month since I last saw you. Your cultivation progress is quite good. I thought you'd been neglecting your duties and that it would delay your breakthrough."
"Your Highness is too kind." Lin Yan lowered his head and slowly sheathed the Zhenyue Blade.
"Don't just stand there, start drawing blood." Li Zhengxin patted his shoulder, then withdrew his hand. "It won't hurt you."
Having said all that, not taking action now would be disobeying orders.
Lin Yan glanced at the dozen or so black-clad guards and Chen Yi who were eyeing him menacingly, gritted his teeth, and channeled his inner energy to force out a drop of essence blood.
Dark red blood beads seeped from his fingertips and dripped onto the black iron token.
A chill emanated from the token, spreading from the fingertips to the wrist, and then...
Gone.
Lin Yan closed his eyes, waiting for the same stunned feeling as everyone else to come over him, but he waited for two full breaths and there was no response from the token.
There was no light, no information flooded into his mind, and he did not experience the strange reactions that other martial artists had.
"Hahahahahahahahaha..." Lin Yan reacted instantly, and quietly activated [Shallow Imitation], mimicking the wild laughter of the surrounding martial artists.
Chen Yi and the Crown Prince seemed unaware of the anomaly around him, and most of the people around him were still immersed in their own strange states, so no one noticed him.
What's so strange about this thing?
While feigning madness, Lin Yan pondered what made him different from others that caused the token to be ineffective.
After the last person had finished dripping their blood, the prince returned to the long table.
"Very good," he said, looking around at everyone. "From now on, you will be the Dragon Guard directly under my Crown Prince's command."
Dragon Guard!
The moment the Crown Prince uttered those three words, the expressions of several people in the room visibly changed.
Lin Yan noticed that a middle-aged man in a military officer's robe next to him widened his eyes instantly and swallowed hard after hearing those words.
Lin Yan had also heard of the name Long Wuwei.
Previously, in the files of the Capital Defense Department, Lin Yan learned that a branch of the Imperial Guard had been established when the Great Yan Dynasty was founded. Besides the Left and Right Golden Guards, this was the Dragon Guard.
The Dragon Guard was composed entirely of martial arts masters of the current dynasty, and they only obeyed the emperor himself. It was abolished three hundred years ago and has become a title that only exists in the archives.
The Crown Prince has now reinstated the title of Dragon Guard, and the meaning is quite clear.
The crown prince couldn't wait for the current emperor to die; he wanted to plot to usurp the throne ahead of time.
"The tokens in your hands are the Dragon Martial Tokens. Besides serving as your individual identification documents, they also contain a restriction."
"If any of you harbor rebellious thoughts, I can use the restriction to kill you. If anyone leaks today's events, the restriction will also activate. As for what will happen when the restriction activates..."
Li Zhengxin paused, then looked at the middle-aged man next to Lin Yan and said, "You can give it a try."
The middle-aged man turned pale and hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, "This humble subject dares not, this humble subject dares not!"
The Crown Prince withdrew his gaze from him, clasped his hands in a fist salute towards the capital, and said, "Don't even think about breaking this restriction. This restriction was personally set up by the Imperial Uncle, a restriction imposed by a fifth-grade Innate Realm expert. If you try to break it, you will likely meet a tragic end."
Prohibition.
It seems that drop of blood essence was the trigger to activate the restriction.
Lin Yan subconsciously activated the Hundred Arts Calligraphy Appearance, sending out a stream of pure spiritual energy to probe his body, but found nothing unusual.
Is it because his essence blood failed to activate the token, preventing the restriction from entering?
Or is the restriction so powerful and well hidden that he himself could hardly detect it?
Lin Yan didn't have time to think it over before the Crown Prince brought up the important matter.
"Besides this matter, there is another task I need you to do."
"A thousand miles away from the capital, deep in the Cangwu Mountains of Jiangzhou, there is an ancient forbidden land. There is something in that forbidden land that I want you to retrieve."
Cangwu Mountain.
Lin Yan searched his mind for the name quickly, but he couldn't recall it. He wasn't very familiar with the terrain in the south.
"There are cultivation restrictions in that forbidden area. If any cultivator above the third rank enters, it will trigger the restrictions of the forbidden area and kill them. That's why we're sending you there on this mission."
As the prince spoke, he took out a roll of animal hide map from his sleeve and threw it on the table.
"The specific route to Cangwu Mountain in Jiangzhou and the location of the entrance to the forbidden area have been marked on it."
"After the mission is accomplished, everyone who returns alive will be rewarded. I will provide any cultivation resources you desire. You are all cultivators who have practiced the Breathing Technique, and you should know the power of this technique."
"Bring the items back to me, and I will also bestow upon you the complete fourth level of the 'Breathing Technique'."
Upon hearing this, the breathing of everyone in the room became heavier.
The fourth level of the "Breathing Exercises".
The first three levels correspond to the first three grades, and the fourth level corresponds to the fourth grade Qi Transformation Realm.
For these third-rank martial artists present, having this technique was the key to climbing to a higher level.
Correct.
The Breathing Exercises
The prince said that all the cultivators present had practiced the "Breathing Technique". When he saw Gu Changshan's remains in the cave, the small characters there also told him that Gu Changshan had also practiced the "Breathing Technique".
Lin Yan recalled the "Yan King's Heart Sutra" he had found in the Wenyuan Pavilion, and the fact that the "Breathing Technique Fragment" he had been practicing had never been displayed on the skill panel. He gradually understood.
The reason why the token did not react after he dripped his blood essence was probably because he had switched to cultivating the "Yan King's Heart Sutra". The "Breathing Exercise" was likely a modified version of the "Yan King's Heart Sutra" by the Crown Prince's uncle, turning this life's work of the founding emperor into an evil technique that could quickly improve strength but also control life and death.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince and his group should not know about his transfer to a different profession. Right now, they must think that the lives of everyone present are under their control.
Lin Yan understood that he could use this information gap to do many things, such as making the Crown Prince completely trust him and entrust him with important responsibilities, and then striking him hard at a crucial moment in his plan to seize the throne.
Just then, a young martial artist dressed in brocade robes stood up. He looked to be about the same age as Lin Yan, and had a jade-inlaid belt around his waist, clearly indicating that he was from a noble family.
"Your Highness, I am Lu Ziming, the second son of Marquis Xuanping. I was sent by my father to gain experience under your command, not because I wish to..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yi's hand was already on the hilt of the knife.
laugh!
The sword is drawn.
Lin Yan didn't even see Chen Yi's movements clearly.
All that could be seen was a flash of light in the dim candlelight, followed by the young man's voice turning into a painful groan.
His mouth was still open, but a thin red line had appeared on his throat.
The next moment, blood gushed out from the red line, staining the nearby pillars red.
The young martial artist swayed, then collapsed to the ground with a thud, twitching a few times before falling still.
Blood seeped from beneath the corpse's neck, staining the rough wooden floor with a large patch of dark red.
Lin Yan glanced at the corpse on the ground.
The second son of Marquis Xuanping, the son of a peak third-rank expert, died just like that.
When Chen Yi swung his knife down, there was no hesitation in his hand, and the Crown Prince's face showed no change in expression, not even a furrow of his brow.
Killing Lu Ziming is like killing a chicken.
"I forgot to mention, if anyone backs down, they won't die as easily next time."
"Do you all have any further questions?" the prince asked.
No one speaks.
Chen Yi picked up the rolled-up animal skin map, unfolded it, and spread it on the long table.
The map depicts the course of mountains and rivers, with a red line starting from the capital, winding its way to a place marked with an X.
Forbidden area of Cangwu Mountain.
The Crown Prince's voice rang in my ears, "You will all depart together in three days. During this time, you can go back and make arrangements for your families... oh, I don't mean your household affairs."
He changed his words, but everyone could tell what he originally meant to say.
Lin Yan lowered his head and gripped the Dragon Martial Token tightly in his hand.
Three days.
He had three days to figure out what exactly was inside the forbidden area of Cangwu Mountain, and he also needed to find a way out for his mother and Xiuer.
The crown prince turned and walked towards the door, pausing briefly as he passed Lin Yan.
"Do a good job." He patted Lin Yan on the shoulder. "I have high hopes for you. Bring the things back, and I'll guarantee you the position of commander-in-chief."
The door was pushed open, and the cold morning wind blew in, washing away the stench of blood in the room.
Li Zhengxin and his group of bodyguards disappeared outside the door.
One by one, the people inside stood up and silently walked out the door.
No one paid any attention to the corpse lying on the ground.
After everyone had left, Lin Yan was the last to stand up. He put the Dragon Martial Token into his pocket and glanced at the bronze statue of a deity holding a halberd and a snake on the table.
The three incense sticks had burned to the end, and the smile on the statue's lips was faintly visible in the smoke.
Lin Yan withdrew his gaze, walked out of the pavilion, and hurried into the city.