Chapter 74: Scheming for the Demonic Banner

On the ninth day of the twelfth month, the northern wind cut like a knife, sweeping up fine snow and sending it pattering against the green roof tiles of the marquis estate.

Before the sky had fully brightened, the estate was already roaring with bustling activity.

In the East Courtyard, several servants stood on ladders, hanging silk palace lanterns beneath the eaves.

Maids from the West Courtyard jogged through the covered corridors, carrying freshly tailored curtains, brocade cushions, bronze braziers, and incense boxes.

Liu Que stood beneath the moon gate, clutching a ledger, his brows knit with unrestrained anxiety.

Imperial Consort Chun's carriage was due to arrive in just a few days. Though the East Courtyard was mostly in order, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was still missing.

When Chen Lingxi stepped out of the West Courtyard Servant Quarters, he ran straight into Liu Zhu. She was hurrying toward the East Courtyard with a stack of plain silk, fine sweat beading on her forehead, the white fox fur of her collar trembling in the wind.

Catching sight of him, she only offered a hasty nod. Without even pausing for a word, she disappeared through the other side of the moon gate.

He paid it no mind. Standing beneath the corridor, he watched the bustling figures across the estate as if watching a play through a thin veil of mist.

Today was the day he presented his floral arrangement to Lin Longyue.

The wintersweet in the back garden was in full bloom. Its glowing yellow petals were as thin as cicada wings, casting a faint, cold fragrance into the chill air. Dusted with snow, the blossoms looked all the more crystalline.

Carrying a bamboo basket, he snipped a few sprigs of old plum blossoms, plucked two or three holly leaves, and found a segment of withered vine. With just a few deft movements, he arranged them in a vase.

The withered vine coiled like a dragon, the wintersweet dotted sparsely along its branches, and the dark green of the holly anchored the vase's rim. The entire arrangement resembled an ink-wash painting of dead wood finding spring amidst the snow, exuding an unyielding vitality through its desolation.

Carrying the arrangement toward the West Courtyard East Hall, he overheard a few servants whispering at the corner of the corridor.

"Did you hear? Word from the Yin'an Courtyard is that Chief Steward Zhao hasn't been seen for two days. The young miss is furious and ordered a search. Even many of the guest ministers in the Yin'an Courtyard were alarmed."

Another lowered his voice to reply, "Exactly. They've had people searching for Guest Minister Zhao for two days, yet they haven't found a single trace of him. Don't you think that's strange?"

Chen Lingxi didn't break his stride, his expression remaining perfectly normal, as if the name in their conversation had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Inside the East Hall, Lin Longyue was leaning against a heated couch, holding a cup of ginseng tea. A faint layer of exhaustion was locked between her brows.

Today, she wore a pale lotus-root long coat lined with silver-mouse fur. The fur collar framing her neck made her chin look even sharper. However, the color in her cheeks had faded slightly, and a faint darkness showed beneath her eyes.

A servant brought Chen Lingxi's floral arrangement inside.

Lin Longyue raised her eyes to examine the vase and offered a soft word of praise. "This servant's skills are growing ever more practiced."

"Pairing withered vine with wintersweet—these are the most ordinary of things, yet in his hands, it's as if they've naturally sprouted from the snow. It actually carries a touch of the wild mountains' immortal air."

Just as she was speaking, the urgent sound of footsteps came from outside, followed immediately by Liu Que rushing in.

He first bowed to Lin Longyue, then said, "Miss, an urgent dispatch has arrived from the Ministry of War. The Eldest Young Master has been temporarily drafted as an inspection commissioner. He must set out for Luyang Prefecture on official business immediately."

Lin Longyue's hand paused slightly on her teacup, her brows knitting together. "So suddenly? Imperial Consort Chun's carriage is about to arrive. If he leaves now, won't the estate be left without someone to take charge?"

Liu Que bowed lower. "The Ministry of War's document bears the seal of the Chief Military Commission. The Eldest Young Master has already received the order and says he cannot refuse."

"He ordered Wang Chu to pack his bags and will be departing in half an hour."

Lin Longyue fell silent for a few breaths. Setting her teacup down on the table, she said coolly, "I understand."

Liu Que acknowledged and withdrew.

Chen Lingxi had not gone far.

Having stepped onto the Qi Circulation 4th Floor, coupled with his Golden Body cultivation, his five senses were heightened to the absolute limit.

Even separated by a distance of dozens of paces, he clearly heard Liu Que's hurried words.

"For Lin Suri to be drafted as an inspection commissioner at this exact time is a bit too coincidental."

Chen Lingxi raised an eyebrow, recalling several matters.

Earlier, during his Vision Wander, Lin Suri had still been exchanging letters with Wu Mohe.

"Those two cultivators must be plotting something.

"Is it the cauldron fragment in Imperial Consort Chun's hands, the one capable of mirror divination?"

Chen Lingxi recalled the letter Lin Suri had written to Wu Mohe.

"Imperial Consort Chun is about to travel to Yuanjiang Prefecture; it must be for the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi. The cauldron fragment in her hands will surely come with her.

"If we can obtain the treasure mirror, it will be of great help in locating the complete cauldron."

He pondered to himself, "Thinking about it this way, Lin Suri's trip to Luyang Prefecture as an inspection commissioner must be something he deliberately arranged through his own methods.

"His goal is either to snatch the cauldron fragment or to temporarily avoid the brunt of Imperial Consort Chun's power.

"But thinking about it carefully... Imperial Consort Chun is unfathomable. With her staying in the East Courtyard of the Baosu Marquis Residence, and me hiding my cultivation while also residing here, isn't it too risky?"

Chen Lingxi could not help but frown at the thought.

The fine snow had stopped falling, but the leaden clouds pressed down even lower.

"It seems I also need to temporarily avoid her edge," Chen Lingxi silently decided.

If he continued to stay in the Baosu Marquis Residence, the moment the imperial consort sensed his Qi Circulation cultivation, it would likely invite a fatal disaster.

He was now on the Qi Circulation 4th Floor. With the spiritual liquid in his sea of energy newly condensed, the effectiveness of the Concealed Edge Method had advanced another step, but there was no guarantee someone wouldn't see through it.

"Previously, Crown Prince Ying Chi mentioned that a figure in the Upper Three Floors of Qi Circulation should be able to see through my cultivation."

The Venerable Cauldron of the Time Candle had once mentioned the Twelve Floors of Circulation.

That black-clad man surnamed Chao had once mentioned the Heaven-Facing Three Floors.

Ying Chi had once mentioned the Upper Three Floors.

Synthesizing this information, Chen Lingxi had already figured out the divisions of Qi Circulation.

The first to third floors were the Lower Three Floors; the fourth to sixth were the Middle Three Floors; the seventh to ninth were the Upper Three Floors; and above those were the Heaven-Facing Three Floors.

He had now just crossed the threshold into the Middle Three Floors. No matter how profound the Concealed Edge Method was, it might not be enough to fool the eyes of cultivators in the Upper Three Floors.

"If I am discovered, Imperial Consort Chun wouldn't even need to strike me herself."

He closed his eyes in deep thought, and numerous scenes floated through his mind.

Yesterday, when he used Vision Wander on Lin Suri, he had seen him using a Heavenly Eye spell to survey his surroundings. Within his field of vision, it turned out that many court experts had arrived in Yuanjiang Prefecture.

Those people wore official robes, their auras as deep and heavy as the abyss. Such figures were likely all imperial consecrators acting as the imperial consort's escort.

"Once qi and blood cultivation reaches above the Golden Body, it is exceptionally formidable as well."

Chen Lingxi recalled the mysterious qi and blood martial artist who had been ordered by Ying Chi to intercept and kill him that day in the Thorough Awakening Spiritual Chamber.

When that person flipped his palm, Jade Qi blood energy surged like rolling clouds. The palm wind was like a tornadic calamity—wherever it passed, rocks shattered and vegetation was completely obliterated.

Even with his current minor mastery of the Golden Body and his abilities on the Qi Circulation 4th Floor, going all out with every trump card he had, he would be completely incapable of contending with a qi and blood expert of that caliber.

"Since that's the case, I should just leave the Baosu Marquis Residence and lay low somewhere else in Yuanjiang Prefecture or on Cuojin Mountain."

Chen Lingxi furrowed his brow again. "Except... once I leave, sneaking back in to lie low won't be so easy or convenient."

It wasn't that Chen Lingxi harbored any fondness for the Baosu Marquis Residence.

It was just that within this estate, he still had schemes left to enact.

According to what Zhao Yong said before his death, the reason Baosu Marquis Lin Zhongming was able to defy the natural laws of life and death—surviving in secluded cultivation for thirty years without dying—was entirely due to a Demonic Banner in his possession.

"That Demonic Banner... is also an opportunity."

"The Great Grotto-Heaven Calamity is approaching. All living beings in heaven and earth will be reduced to karmic fire within True Monarch Xi's cauldron." Chen Lingxi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Although he had now stepped onto the path of cultivation, the road ahead remained bleak and uncertain. The only way forward was to fight for spiritual opportunities, elevating both his cultivation base and his killing power.

But how powerful were his opponents?

Lin Suri had the Six Truths Method, Ying Chi possessed the Purple True Treasure Vase, Lu Baizhong wielded a profound lightning art, and the Credit Peddler was even more unfathomable.

Every single person vying with him for opportunities was either a visitor from the Greater World or a favored child of heaven carrying a master's legacy.

As an unsupported local cultivator with nothing to lean on, if he failed to seize every possible chance he could grasp, what would he rely on to survive the Great Grotto-Heaven Calamity?

"Since this Demonic Banner can allow Lin Zhongming to sustain his life, it is absolutely no ordinary mortal object.

"Even if it isn't a cauldron, it must be an exceedingly rare exotic treasure."

"If I just walk away, sneaking back in to plot for the Demonic Banner will likely be far from simple."

"I still need to scheme a little."

Having made a decision in his heart, Chen Lingxi didn't return to the West Courtyard Servant Quarters. Instead, under the guise of tending to floral arrangements and gathering cuttings, he walked slowly through the Baosu Marquis Residence.

The East Courtyard remained busy with people coming and going. The Yin'an Courtyard, however, was nearly deserted—most likely because everyone had gone off in search of Zhao Yong.

The servants in the North Courtyard were still toiling diligently.

His expression composed, he took all these sights in one by one.

Eventually, he stepped back into the West Courtyard's garden.

As he strolled along the stone path, he heard an incredibly soft yawn waft from the octagonal pavilion.

Following the sound, he saw Lin Longyue sitting alone on a stone bench inside the pavilion. She held a martial manual in her hands, but her eyelids were drooping as she let out another yawn.

She had clearly rested for quite a while today, yet the exhaustion between her brows had not diminished in the slightest. Yawn after yawn escaped her lips, the corners of her eyes even brimming with sleepy tears.

Standing behind a few dwarf pines, Chen Lingxi slightly narrowed his eyes.

A sudden plan formed in his mind. Without betraying any emotion, he turned on his heel and crunched through the snow, heading back to the West Courtyard Servant Quarters.

"I'll just wait quietly for night to fall."

That night, the moon hid behind the clouds, leaving the sky as thick and black as ink.

Lin Longyue, along with Liu Zhu and a few personal maids, meticulously inspected all the arrangements in the East Courtyard once more. Only after confirming there wasn't a single flaw did she rub her temples and return to the main hall of the West Courtyard.

Her bedroom was quite lavishly furnished. Silver-red cicada-wing silk curtains hung from the rosewood moon-gate canopy bed, and a gilded candelabra sat on the red sandalwood desk, its candlelight bathing the entire room in a cozy warmth.

Yet she felt that wave of exhaustion growing heavier, every movement she made carrying an indescribable sluggishness.

Liu Zhu walked in carrying a bowl of medicine and spoke softly, "Miss, it's time for your medicine."

Taking the porcelain bowl, Lin Longyue caught a waft of rich medicinal fragrance.

This prescription had been written by a renowned physician whom County Princess Yunhe had specifically invited from the capital to take her pulse. It was said to contain over ten precious ingredients for tonifying qi and nourishing blood, meant to help her consolidate her foundation and restore her vitality.

She still remembered the white-haired, white-bearded old physician stroking his beard and sighing as he told her, "Birth, old age, sickness, and death... let alone a Silver Bone martial artist, even a Nine Revolutions expert can hardly avoid them."

At the time, she simply assumed she had pushed herself too hard in her cultivation, resulting in frail qi and blood, so she took the medicine daily according to the prescription.

Lin Longyue drained the medicine and circulated her qi and blood. Only after that warm current had traveled through her meridians for a long while did she feel her exhaustion slightly recede. Waving Liu Zhu away, she lay down beneath the brocade quilt.

She closed her eyes, her breathing gradually evening out as drowsiness washed over her like a rising tide.

In her dazed, half-asleep state, Lin Longyue suddenly heard a soft chuckle echo right by her ear!