I Have an Omen System

Chapter 375: Chapter 241: Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites (Part 2)

The power of Azure Dragon Ridge, mighty enough to split mountains and sunder rivers, vanished without a trace before the array, which drew upon the full strength of the Blessed Land. The attack was effortlessly neutralized, unable to shake the formation in the slightest.

"Give it up, little girl. You’re not the Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect. You don’t even have a single Nascent Soul Treasure on you. How ridiculous."

Ye Qingxuan was furious. She tried to speak, but no words came out.

Du Haixian’s voice was flat. "This is my Profound Cliff Du Family’s ancestral Profound Cliff Cyan Wood Blessed Land. Its array borrows the power of heaven and earth. Forget you—even an ordinary Golden Core Zhenren who falls into this trap can’t dream of escaping easily."

"Just be a good Furnace Cauldron for my son."

With a calm expression, Du Haixian walked out.

...

「Outside the Profound Cliff Blessed Land.」

Du Leishi’s scalp prickled with fear. "Father," he said, a note of dread in his voice, "is she really not the Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect?"

"Her Cyan Wood True Essence is even denser than mine. It doesn’t seem fake."

"Heh, Lei Shi, you only know half the story."

Du Haixian said, "The real Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect is here, that much is true. But it’s not her."

"Then who is it?"

"It’s the unconscious, black-robed female cultivator next to her—the one shrouded in Demonic Qi, with the exquisite and graceful figure."

"As for this so-called Ye Qingxuan, she’s nothing more than a Blinding Technique. She must be the new Demon Child of the Demon Sect, the one named Qin Xuan!"

"Why would you say that, Father?" Du Leishi asked, bewildered.

"You idiot! Qin Xuan... Qingxuan... can’t you even see through such a simple alias? The names sound nearly identical! Have your years of cultivation all gone to waste?"

"What?" Du Leishi suddenly felt his father’s conclusion was a bit hasty.

"But Father, surely we can’t conclude she’s the Demon Child of the Blood Demon Sword Sect based on that alone. What if it’s someone else?"

Du Haixian simply shook his head and continued via voice transmission, "Back at the Cloud Dream Marsh, four Venerable Divinity Transformations appeared at once to crush the ambition of that Nine-tailed Demon Fox who sought to achieve Divinity Transformation."

"But the Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect was abducted by Venerable Linglong and taken to the Demon Sect, while the whereabouts of Qin Xuan, the Demon Child of the Blood Demon Sword Sect, became unknown... If you were Qin Xuan and saw your beloved captured, what would you do?"

"I’d go to the Demon Sect to rescue her, of course!"

Realization dawned on Du Leishi, and he slapped his thigh.

"That’s right! Rumor has it that the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox appeared in the Cloud Dream Marsh a few months ago because the Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect and Qin Xuan, the Demon Child of the Blood Demon Sword Sect, secretly pledged their lives to one another at the Water Mirror Marriage Conference. The destinies of the two sects became entangled, and that’s what lured out the Half-Step Divinity Transformation Demon Venerable!"

"It seems the rumors were true after all!"

The Water Mirror Marriage Conference was a matchmaking event renowned throughout Daqian, widely acclaimed among its young, talented cultivators.

It was the subject of daydreams for countless young talents and had given rise to innumerable celebrated love stories.

A Daoist and a Demon Child falling in love would be an unbelievable tale in any other context, but with the Water Mirror Palace involved, its credibility increased dramatically.

Such was the reputation of the Water Mirror Marriage Conference in Daqian!

When Du Leishi was younger, he had wanted to try his luck there, but his cultivation was too low—he had not yet reached the Purple Mansion realm, so he had to abandon the idea.

By the time he advanced to the Purple Mansion realm, he had passed the age limit, a fact Du Leishi lamented for quite some time.

"Demon Child Qin Xuan is already familiar with the Blood Demon Sword Sect’s terrain. He must have gone through untold hardships to rescue the Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect. But then he discovered she’d been placed under a Demon Dao Restriction! He wouldn’t dare go to the Cyan Cloud Sect, fearing for his life, so he came to our Profound Cliff Du Family under an alias to try his luck!"

In a flash, Du Leishi understood everything.

The entire chain of events was becoming clearer and clearer in his mind.

Du Leishi looked at Du Haixian with admiration.

"Father, you are brilliant. I am truly in awe."

’No wonder Father has held the position of Patriarch for five hundred years.’

’In just a few breaths, he was able to connect these seemingly unrelated clues.’

Truth be told, Du Leishi was no fool. Otherwise, he never would have cultivated to the Purple Mansion Peak.

Yet now, it seemed he still had a long way to go to reach his father’s level.

"You’re focused solely on cultivation, so it’s natural you didn’t see it."

Du Haixian stroked his beard and mused, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Lei Shi, depart at once for the border of You Province. Secretly spread a rumor that Ye Qingxuan, the Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect, has disappeared within Demon Sect territory, her fate unknown."

A slight frown crossed Du Leishi’s stern face.

"Father, isn’t this move too risky? What if it incurs the wrath of the Cyan Cloud Sect...?"

Du Haixian waved a hand, cutting him off.

"Don’t worry. We’re just floating a rumor to see how the Demon Sect reacts—whether they’ll be eager to absolve themselves or make some other move."

"This matter is crucial to the next phase of my plan. You are to handle it personally. Be careful."

A sharp glint flashed in Du Leishi’s hawk-like eyes. He cupped his fist in salute. "I understand, Father. I’ll see to it at once."

With that, he turned and strode away, his dark cape billowing behind him.

Du Haixian sat in his chair, lightly tapping its back.

TAP, TAP...

’Oh, Ye Qingxuan... you had better have really brought the Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect with you. That will give me the perfect excuse to ’borrow’ a Blessed Land from the Cyan Cloud Sect.’

’Saving the life of the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Daoist... For a favor that immense, a grand Divinity Transformation Sect can’t possibly be so stingy as to refuse to part with a single Blessed Land, can they?’

’As for this Ye Qingxuan... Hmph. A remnant of the Demon Sect. Her death would be no great loss.’

’The Cyan Cloud Sect might even thank me for helping them eliminate evil. Hahaha!’

...

「Daqian Royal Capital, before the gates of a magnificent Marquis’s Mansion.」

Du Haixian had changed into the formal court robes befitting his status as a Marquis. Bearing a gift of precious Spiritual Materials, he presented his calling card.

Before long, he was led into a reception hall.

Inside the hall, a middle-aged cultivator greeted him with a smile. He wore the scarlet robes of an official and had a lean face. His scholarly and refined air was tinged with a hint of authority.

This man was Jin Hongjun, Daqian’s Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. He was a Senior Third-Grade Official with a Golden Core Peak cultivation.