Chapter 402: Chapter 322: Divine King Realm_2
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Six hundred million, which was already the pinnacle of comprehension for his current cultivation.
Only a year had passed in the outside world, and Li Cheng did not continue his enlightenment, but emerged to understand the current state of the war.
As three of the top ten prodigies had gathered, with the assistance of other Divine Venerables, the problems should not be significant.
Leaving the Blunt Empty Residence, Li Cheng left Mansion Venerable City and headed to Heaven Puppet City.
Within the city, the tense atmosphere from a year ago was absent, leading Li Cheng to guess that the situation seemed quite optimistic.
Upon reaching the gates of the Pill Hall, he saw Dan Chi already waiting there, "Supreme Li, you've finally arrived!"
"Did the Hall Master know I was coming?"
Li Cheng was not surprised. His arrival in Heaven Puppet City would have been known to the Pill Hall at once since those in the Pill Hall had been eagerly awaiting his guidance all along.
Of course, he asked as if he was unaware.
"Haha, Supreme Li please! Let's discuss this in the main hall," Dan Chi respectfully made a gesture of invitation.
"Most of the strong members of the Pill Hall are out, with not many staying behind. I've only returned a month ago myself."
Li Cheng nodded, "What is the situation now?"
Dan Chi's eyes showed respectful candor, "Our side is defended by twelve Divine Venerable level experts. Although we are outnumbered by the Evil Demons, we have the strength on our side, and with the support of Supreme Li's divine pills, victory after victory has come naturally to us. We should be ready to withdraw our troops soon."
"There's another matter. A year ago, Mansion Venerable tasked us with conducting a thorough investigation of the Pill Hall, and sure enough, we managed to uncover a few spies from the Evil Demons!"
Dan Chi gestured towards a side hall in the front, "Given the importance of this matter, Mansion Venerable has ordered for Supreme Li to handle it!"
Since the Pill Hall had no prison, they temporarily converted that side hall into a Formation to suppress those spies.
"I'm supposed to handle this? It doesn't seem appropriate," Li Cheng remarked, feeling that as someone who was not part of Mansion Venerable City and with no official position, letting others know could be problematic for Blunt Empty Venerable.
"But that's exactly what Mansion Venerable instructed!" Dan Chi insisted.
After a brief contemplation, Li Cheng understood. The incident involving Evil Demon spies in the Pill Hall must be known to very few, and would not be made public, so it didn't matter who dealt with it.
One of the spies was connected with Leida, which was why Blunt Empty Venerable hadn't executed them immediately. Rather, he left it to Li Cheng to decide their fate.
Dan Chi formed a hand seal to open the side hall, revealing five suppressed individuals inside, four Divine Kings and one Divine Emperor!
All five were members of the Human Tribe.
"These five conspired with the Evil Demon in secret, providing a lot of our secrets to them. They are unforgivably guilty. Mansion Venerable said their lives are entirely for Supreme Li to decide!" declared Dan Chi.
Li Cheng looked towards the suppressed Divine Emperor, who was immobilized within the Formation, constantly drained of his divine power by it, ensuring he remained weak.
"Supreme Li, spare my life! I was deluded by ghosts..."
"Shut your mouth. It's not up to you whether you live or die; Supreme Li will make that decision," Dan Chi interrupted the Divine Emperor's plea.
Li Cheng sighed, wondering what the Evil Demon could offer him to make him betray his own.
But these considerations were irrelevant, as Li Cheng didn't plan to deal with the five individuals. Instead, he intended to kick the responsibility back to Blunt Empty Venerable for a decision.
"What is Leida to you?" Li Cheng asked abruptly.
The Divine Emperor looked puzzled, "Leida? I've never heard of that, Supreme Li!"
Li Cheng nodded slightly and, as he walked away, said, "Hall Master, let's wait for Mansion Venerable to return and handle this."
Dan Chi hurried to keep up with Li Cheng's steps, "Supreme Li, could there be other spies among the Divine Emperor realm pill masters?"
"Indeed, it's even possible that an Evil Demon disguised as a member of the Human Tribe has infiltrated us," said Li Cheng.
Not recognizing Leida, it was clear it wasn't the senior Leida had spoken of.
Dan Chi pondered for a moment, "All the pill masters at the Divine Emperor realm have been dispatched by Mansion Venerable, and no anomalies have been discovered this past year. It seems we need to intensify our searches."
Li Cheng wasn't particularly concerned. As it stood, those spies' main target was him, but as long as he stayed in Mansion Venerable City with Blunt Empty Venerable's blockade in place, they wouldn't be able to get in.
At that moment, there was a stir from Li Cheng's Demon Suppression Order.
He took out the Demon Suppression Token, and surprisingly, it conveyed messages from Kong Lianqing and Monk Wumo, both requesting that Li Cheng return to see them.
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Li Cheng's brow furrowed, "Trouble has arisen!"
"Supreme, what has happened?" Dan Chi quickly asked, "If there is anything you need, Supreme, just command me!"
Li Cheng pondered, "The Kongqian Heaven Dynasty is likely in trouble!"
Knowing Li Cheng's background, Dan Chi was aware of his deep connection with the Kongqian Heaven Dynasty and immediately realized upon hearing these words that the Evil Demon's attack on Fu City had failed and had thus turned its attention to the Kongqian Heaven Dynasty!
Li Cheng, looking at the Demon Suppression Order, was very clear in his mind that neither Kong Lianqing nor Monk Wumo would let him return for a reunion.
And the fact that they had sent such messages left no doubt they were under the control of the Evil Demon!
One was a prince of the Kongqian Heaven Dynasty who had entered the monastic life, and the other a princess; they likely did not know each other's identity, yet both sent messages together, which showed that the Evil Demon had an extremely deep understanding of the Kongqian Heaven Dynasty and also of Li Cheng's relationship with them.
After a moment of thought, Li Cheng communicated with Xiao Changting through the Demon Suppression Order, "Red leaves fall late, with the chilly breeze blowing, a flask of wine by the long pavilion. Fading clouds return to Mount Taihua, as sparse rain passes over Zhongtiao."
Given the relationship between Xiao Changting and Kong Linfeng, Kong Linfeng must have shared this poem with Xiao Changting!
Soon, Xiao Changting responded, "If life were but as first acquaintance, why would autumn winds sigh over a borrowed fan? Shortsighted are those who change a friend's heart, and yet they say it's the friend's heart that changes with ease."
"Li Cheng, do not by any means return to Kongqian!"
This poem was originally given to Hua Ruofeng in the library; it seemed that Kong Linfeng had also spoken to Xiao Changting about this matter.
However, this confirmed that Xiao Changting was alright.
"Chief, what has happened to Monk Wumo and Kong Lianqing?" Li Cheng asked.
The next moment, a glow emanated from Li Cheng's Demon Suppression Order, and a projection slowly surfaced on the token; it was Xiao Changting!
Projecting using the Demon Suppression Order was a very soul power-consuming affair.
Xiao Changting looked at Li Cheng, his eyes revealing a shock, "You've actually stepped into the Divine King Realm!"
"This is the central area of the Land Puppet Mansion; the cultivation environment here is incomparable to other places, and naturally, my cultivation has improved rapidly. Chief, what exactly has happened to the two of them?" Li Cheng said.
The Demon Suppression Order could not be taken by outsiders, and it was even less likely for someone to impersonate another to send messages through someone else's Demon Suppression Order.
But Li Cheng had received abnormal messages from Monk Wumo and Kong Lianqing, which could only mean that both of them had fallen under the control of the Evil Demon.
But whether the Evil Demon had only controlled the two of them or the entire Kongqian Heaven Dynasty, Xiao Changting needed to give Li Cheng an answer!
Xiao Changting sighed, "If I told you they were alright, you certainly wouldn't believe me. The truth is, they've been captured by a Shadow Demon of the Divine Emperor Realm, and to this day, their whereabouts are unknown!"
Li Cheng frowned. After coming to the Divine Realm, he had few friends, and both of them were among these few.
He could not ignore the situation.
"Li Cheng, did you receive messages from both of them using the Demon Suppression Order? Do not be deceived; it's definitely the Evil Demon who's taken their tokens and is impersonating them!" Xiao Changting continued.
Li Cheng smiled and nodded, "Chief, rest assured, I am not that foolish; naturally, I won't be deceived."
"Alright, since there's no issue, we'll leave it at that; don't waste any more soul power on projection," Li Cheng said.
Xiao Changting also smiled, nodded, and the projection dissipated.
Li Cheng's brow furrowed again, "It seems that the Kongqian Heaven Dynasty does not have the capability to resolve the issue."
Li Cheng clearly understood that Xiao Changting said so because he didn't want Li Cheng to get implicated in the situation.
His plan was to sacrifice Monk Wumo and Kong Lianqing rather than risking himself.
This must also be Kong Linfeng's intention!
But it seemed Li Cheng would not act as Xiao Changting and Kong Linfeng wished.
"Hall master, I need to return to the Kongqian Heaven Dynasty for a matter," Li Cheng spoke up.
Dan Chi did not speak but simply nodded slightly.
On the other side, Xiao Changting and Kong Linfeng both wore faces full of worry. Xiao Changting breathed a sigh of relief, "Li Cheng should not return, so now we can rest assured; at the very least, we won't become sinners of the Human Tribe."
Although he said this, a hint of disappointment still flickered through the depths of Xiao Changting's eyes, albeit briefly.
But Kong Linfeng shook his head, "I have a feeling, the Land Puppet Mansion is about to be thrown into chaos!"