Great Li Martial God

"The Great Xuan court allowed the demonic path to grow unchecked, and the consequences are now becoming apparent. The demonic cultivators have gathered nine Demonic Cores, and if they truly inherit the legendary Demonic Patriarch's cultivation, they will have attained power capable of threatening the Great Xuan court itself."

Cao Gaoshan said this, then slowly shook his head, "The Great Xuan court has made a rod for its own back."

At those words, Shen Anran glanced at him, and her eyes suddenly shifted as something seemed to occur to her, "I have one question. If the three demonic sects wanted to collect the Demonic Cores and gain power, they should have been cautious and discreet about it. Why has it blown up into something this visible?"

"And another thing: the location where the demonic cultivators are gathering the Cores is very strange as well. It is happening in the Great Xuan capital, right under the Great Xuan court's nose. That is genuinely puzzling."

At those words, Cao Gaoshan's brow furrowed, though he said nothing and thought quietly.

Beside them, Bai Xiaotang also looked at Shen Anran, her eyes rolling continuously, clearly turning something over in her mind.

Li Musheng glanced at the group, waved a hand, and said toward Cao Gaoshan, "Keep your eyes on the road. Great Xuan's schemes and the demonic sects' schemes have nothing to do with us."

"As for going to the Great Xuan imperial palace to rescue someone, it is a single trip. Nothing particularly difficult about it. All this analysis of the Great Xuan capital's situation is of no use to me."

At those words, Cao Gaoshan scratched the back of his head and said nothing further, going back to cracking the whip and driving on.

It was worth noting that the last person to infiltrate the Great Xuan imperial palace and walk away unscathed, taking a consort with them no less, had been none other than the Theft Saint Bai Wuying himself.

Was the Great Li Eighth Prince before her intending to become the second person to storm the Great Xuan imperial palace?

With that thought, Bai Xiaotang's eyes suddenly burned with interest, and something stirred in her that was very much like eagerness.

She hesitated inwardly for a moment, then finally looked toward Li Musheng and said quietly with something like embarrassment, "When you go to the Great Xuan imperial palace... could you bring me along?"

"No."

Li Musheng did not even look at her, refusing outright.

At those words, Bai Xiaotang's face fell, but she did not dare say anything threatening, and could only stew silently in her frustration.

But after a short while, her eyes gave a roll, and she tried again, "The Great Xuan imperial palace has been heavily reinforced since the Theft Saint last visited. Over the years they have rebuilt and fortified the whole palace to be like an iron drum and a maze. Martial world experts cannot even get through the gates."

"And even if someone manages to slip inside, they get caught in the formation arrays arranged throughout the palace and lose all sense of direction, then end up surrounded and killed by the palace's experts."

As she said this, Bai Xiaotang looked at Li Musheng with an air of unhurried confidence, tilting her chin upward, "And as it happens, I have a close connection with the Theft Saint and know that Great Xuan imperial palace inside and out. Take me along, and I guarantee you will move through it without a single obstacle."

At those words, the big black cat immediately let out a loud meow and gave Bai Xiaotang a sharp glare.

It had been irritated by this little beggar for a long time, always with her ulterior motives, trying to get at its fur with those paws of hers.

Now she was reaching even further above herself, brazenly trying to go along with Li Musheng to the Great Xuan imperial palace?

Was this something a little beggar could do? If anyone was going, it was the big black cat.

With that thought in mind, the big black cat immediately padded over to Li Musheng's side, nuzzling against the hem of his robe with an ingratiating meow.

If it could follow Li Musheng into the Great Xuan imperial palace, its fearsome reputation would surely spread through the entire martial world, and it might even be spoken of in the same breath as the Theft Saint himself.

Just thinking about it was exciting enough to keep it awake all night.

But Li Musheng gave the big black cat a pat on the head, then glanced at Bai Xiaotang and said, "You two are both dead weight. I am not taking either of you."

With that, he pushed the big black cat aside and returned to studying the Theft Saint's movement technique.

It was true his sense of direction was not his strongest quality, but inside the Great Xuan imperial palace there was no shortage of people who knew the place well.

He could grab anyone to guide him, and there was nowhere in the Great Xuan imperial palace he could not reach.

If he was lucky and happened to seize the Great Xuan emperor himself, the rescue would become even simpler. There would be no need for any elaborate plans at all. He could just threaten the man into releasing the person and be done with it.

And so going to the Great Xuan imperial palace to rescue someone seemed, in Li Musheng's estimation, about as complicated as a stroll.

The only thing that needed doing right now was getting to the Great Xuan capital as quickly as possible, and everything else would follow naturally from there.

At those words, Bai Xiaotang puffed out her cheeks. She had not expected Li Musheng to be so utterly unmovable, refusing to make use of a perfectly good assistant like herself.

As for the big black cat, it was considerably more self-aware and knew when to accept defeat. Going to the Great Xuan imperial palace with Li Musheng would have been purely for its own prestige. It had no idea what the palace was like on the inside, and since Li Musheng was not letting it go, it did not have the face to push further.

In the stretch from Xuanan City to the Great Xuan capital, several dozen more li of road were punctuated by Great Xuan court checkpoints and roadblocks.

But none of those checkpoints could do anything to stop Li Musheng's carriage. It crashed through each one without slowing, and after half a day's hard driving they finally arrived at the Great Xuan capital, Taixuan City.

The carriage pulled up to the outside of Taixuan City's walls, and Cao Gaoshan slowed the pace, rolling leisurely toward the city gates.

Outside Taixuan City's gates at that moment, Li Musheng's group was not the only party waiting. Before the tall, tightly closed iron gates, a queue of nearly twenty groups had already come to a standstill.

Taixuan City, as Great Xuan's imperial capital, was comparable in scale and imperial grandeur to Great Li's Shangyang City in every respect.

The gathered crowds looked small and insignificant before its towering walls, and the guards on the battlements above had a fierce and intimidating air about them, their martial aura considerably stronger than those at Xuanan City.

The people being held up before the gates were calling out to the guards from time to time, either announcing their identities directly or claiming to be acquainted with some high official or noble of the capital.

Not one of them was without standing or wealth.

But even so, the guards on the battlements of Taixuan City paid no attention to any of it, and from beginning to end offered only the same cold response, “Anyone who dares force entry into the capital will be executed on the spot."

...

"Young Lord, it seems we will not be getting into the capital anytime soon. Shall we turn back to Xuanan City and wait for the lockdown to be lifted before returning?"

Before one of the more lavish carriages in the queue, a young woman in a red dress with a thin veil over her face furrowed her brow slightly and spoke softly to a young man in fine silk robes beside her.

At those words, the young man addressed as Young Lord darkened his expression and shot a fierce glare at the guards on the walls, then immediately tried to reassure her, "Do not worry, Miss Han. I have already sent word to my father. I am sure he will send someone to let us through before long."

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