“What’s the urgency to summon me here… Hmm? Why are you still dressed like that, my Lord Lu?” Uncle Zhong chuckled as he entered the room, but his expression abruptly changed when he noticed Mei Qing lying limply on the floor. In an instant, he rushed forward, supporting Mei Qing as he examined him briefly, then glared angrily at Lu Bing, who stood with a cold expression, and demanded, “What happened here?”
Lu Bing fixed his gaze on Uncle Zhong and replied, “This kid… today, he was actually led by that girl A Bi to meet the current emperor. If I hadn’t sensed something was wrong and rushed back to stop them, they would have succeeded!”
“A Bi!” Uncle Zhong exclaimed in alarm, “That girl is too reckless! Rushing in recklessly like that could violate the emperor’s rules. How could the young master survive? Why didn’t you control your own girl?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Bing became furious, slamming the table and shouting, “Control? How can I control her? Why don’t you control this reckless boy? Do you know what he did? This kid actually practiced dual cultivation with A Bi!”
“It’s A Bi? No wonder…” Uncle Zhong was momentarily stunned, then relaxed, saying, “So it was that girl who took charge of this matter. I thought someone else was responsible. To be honest, the two of them do seem quite well-matched…”
“Well-matched? It’s not your daughter!” Seeing Uncle Zhong’s hint of a smirk, Lu Bing became even more enraged, “Wasn’t I also trying to keep it a secret from outsiders? I had no choice but to do it this way, who would have thought… Why are you smiling? You think I’m the kind of person who loses everything for nothing? Let me tell you, I just discovered this kid has actually formed a golden core! Now you can’t laugh anymore, can you?”
“What!” Uncle Zhong’s smile froze on his face at once, “Are you making this up? Back then, the madam said the young master’s body was abnormal, that he couldn’t cultivate, and that the day he formed a golden core would be the day his spirit perished… How could you let this happen…” So saying, he became furious and reached out to grab Lu Bing’s collar.
Lu Bing didn’t move at all, letting Uncle Zhong grab his collar, and coldly said, “This kid somehow cultivated so fast it scared me. My subordinates have the same eyes as you, they didn’t see his cultivation advancing rapidly, but mistook it for a decline… I’ve also been busy with some major matters lately and couldn’t attend to it, resulting in this situation.” After saying this, he sighed deeply, suddenly seeming much older.
“No way, no way!” Uncle Zhong cried, “Even if we count from the Foundation Building stage, the young master didn’t eat, drink, or sleep, how long has he actually been cultivating? Even though I’m not a cultivator, I know that, how could he form a golden core so quickly? Could it be that you’re mistaken?”
“How could I be mistaken?” Lu Bing said dejectedly, “I personally checked, he formed the golden core not long ago, probably just the other day. If it’s impossible to form a golden core from Foundation Building in just a few months, not only unheard of, even now, I can’t believe it myself.”
Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhong suddenly remembered that the young master had been missing all night the other day and returned looking exhausted, quickly releasing Lu Bing’s collar and grabbing his shoulders, saying, “The morning before yesterday when the young master returned, his demeanor was very different, probably the time you mentioned when he formed the golden core. Didn’t you check what happened?”
Lu Bing replied listlessly, “I checked. Originally, there were people protecting this kid, but that night, something strange happened at Dongyue Temple, and we didn’t notice anything. The next day we found out the temple’s buildings and doors were damaged, as if there had been a fight at night, but the details are unknown. That girl won’t talk to me now, won’t say a word, what else can I do?”
Uncle Zhong was silent for a long time before looking up and saying, “The problem isn’t just this, it’s that someone might be targeting the young master. You know the young master’s situation… Hmph, no matter what demons or monsters they are, if they want to harm the young master, they’ll have to take my old life first.”
“I’m also worried about this, otherwise this kid’s cultivation wouldn’t have so many coincidences, and advanced so fast it’s scary. But there’s not a single clue, I don’t know who the high-level person behind this is. Also, don’t you find something strange? Normally, once this kid formed a golden core, his spirit should be unstable, his soul scattered. But I checked, and there’s no such phenomenon.” Lu Bing said with a frown.
“Then… maybe it’s not immediate, and it will take some time?” Uncle Zhong said, looking sadly at the unconscious Mei Qing beside him, “Is there no way to help him?”
“I’ve already sealed his golden core, let’s observe for a while. Now that it’s come to this, we can only take one step at a time. That girl A Bi is also in a state of despair, I don’t know what to do about her either.” Lu Bing sighed again, looking despondent.
A groan escaped his lips, feeling pain everywhere in his body. Mei Qing slowly regained consciousness, feeling the cold floor beneath him, only then realizing he was lying on the ground.
“Where am I… What happened to me… Where is Bi Zhen?” Mei Qing shuddered, struggling to get up.
“Wake up and get up quickly, stop lying there pretending to be dead.” A sarcastic voice said.
Mei Qing struggled to his feet, turned around, and saw Sixth Master sitting behind the desk, playing with a paperweight, looking at him with a stern expression.
“Sixth Master? How did I get here? Where is Lord Lu?” Mei Qing staggered a bit, gradually steadying himself as he asked.
“You did a great job! You’re asking me now.” Sixth Master said coldly.
“In that case, I’ll take my leave.” Mei Qing bowed and turned to leave.
“Stop! Where do you think you’re going?” Sixth Master shouted.
“Your humble servant wishes to see Lord Lu, I have something to ask him.” Mei Qing stood still, turned around, and looked directly at Sixth Master.
Sixth Master’s eyes showed a trace of mockery as he said, “You? Do you think Lord Lu is someone you can just see whenever you want?”
Mei Qing felt anger rising in his heart and shouted, “Although I may not be worthy, I’m willing to risk my life to see Lord Lu at least once!”
“Good, what determination.” Sixth Master sneered, “Even if you risk your life to see him, what can you do then?”
Mei Qing was speechless. How powerful was Lu Bing? Could he really measure up? Even if he saw him, what could he do? Could he reason with him, making him explain everything and apologize?
Mei Qing took several deep breaths, leaning against the doorframe to steady himself. He was shocked to find himself so weak. He had been cultivating for a long time, his golden core already formed. He knew his own physical condition. How could he end up like this? A quick internal check shocked him even more. The golden core, once lively and newly formed, was now as if it had lost contact. No matter how he tried to sense it with his spiritual awareness, there was not the slightest response.
Overcome with shock and anger, Mei Qing almost fainted, cursing Lu Bing in his heart for being so cunning. He had actually used a spell to seal his cultivation, leaving him without any defense.
Sixth Master threw the paperweight onto the desk, his face dark as he said, “Look at you, what a mess! Something happens and you’re ready to die for it! I asked you to copy some manuscripts, and after several months, what have you accomplished? I even promised you rewards if you finished. Forget it, from now on, you don’t need to go to Dongyue Temple anymore. I’ll assign you a new task starting today.” Saying this, he shouted toward the door, “Come in!”
A middle-aged man of moderate height entered in response. He wore a round-collared official robe, a gauze hat with double wings on his head, his face was round like a full moon, with a long beard flowing over his chest, and a steady expression. He entered and bowed, saying, “Greetings, Sixth Master.”
“This is Mei Qing,” Sixth Master casually pointed at Mei Qing, “From today on, he’s under your command. This kid has a bit of a stubborn temper, don’t hold back, use him as you see fit!”
The middle-aged official nodded and said, “Your humble servant understands. I wonder what skills Mei Qing possesses, so I can assign him properly?”
Sixth Master impatiently replied, “Other than seducing other people’s daughters, I haven’t heard of anything else he can do. Just make sure he doesn’t run around recklessly. Go!”
The official’s face twitched slightly, but he respectfully bowed to Sixth Master and took his leave.
Mei Qing took a deep breath and followed the official, bowing and leaving without looking back.
Looking at Mei Qing, the official’s expression was somewhat strange as he said, “Lord Mei, I see your complexion is poor. Perhaps you should go home and rest today, come back tomorrow?”
Mei Qing calmly replied, “Thank you, Lord Lu. Tomorrow, I will come to work early.” He bowed and left.
The official’s face showed confusion, while the silent attendant beside him remained expressionless. Inside the room, Sixth Master sighed deeply.
That night, Mei Qing sat cross-legged for a long time before helplessly opening his eyes. No matter how hard he tried to mobilize his spiritual energy, it was useless. The golden core was as if isolated by a huge grayish mist, no matter how he called out to it, there was no response.
The once vibrant golden core, now locked under the grayish mist, had become dull and lifeless.
Originally, he had planned to use the “As-Is Observation Technique,” which connected his and Bi Zhen’s minds, to locate her. But now he realized that with his golden core sealed, his entire cultivation was gone. Although the “As-Is Observation Technique” was based on mental cultivation, without the golden core’s support, he couldn’t use any of its powers.
Mei Qing gritted his teeth in anger toward Lu Bing, yet felt helpless. Even if his cultivation was lost, he might be able to regain it. But with his golden core sealed and completely unresponsive, there was no way to cultivate again. Unless he found someone with higher cultivation than Lu Bing to remove the seal, he would remain in this state.
But he had no master or senior cultivators to turn to, where could he find help?
Thinking and rethinking, he found no solution. Remembering the past few months with Bi Zhen, though brief, their deep love was etched in his heart. Now separated, he felt powerless. At this thought, his heart was torn apart.
Since his golden core was sealed, he might as well take a risk. Mei Qing suddenly remembered the Divine Thunder Method that Bi Zhen had mentioned, which was vastly different from the usual golden core cultivation path. Since he had no other options, he decided to switch to cultivating the Divine Thunder Method, hoping it might offer a way out.
With his decision made, Mei Qing calmed down. Since there was nowhere else to retreat, he stopped thinking further. Tomorrow, he would go to the military station, prepare himself, and begin cultivating the Divine Thunder Method, hoping to break the seal on himself.
His mind and body exhausted, as soon as his spiritual awareness relaxed, he fell into a deep sleep. In his dream, he saw Bi Zhen laughing and chatting with him, his heart filled with joy. When he suddenly woke up, he realized it was already morning. The happiness from his dream was just a fleeting illusion, the trace of his beloved gone without a trace. Thinking of Bi Zhen’s enchanting smile in his dream, his heart ached unbearably.
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