Zhang Kui's Journey to the West in the Investiture of the Gods

Chapter 57 Undercurrents in Chaoge, Treasure Hunt

Chaoge, Fei Zhong's residence.

After returning to Chaoge from Youli, Yin Pobai didn't even change out of his armor before barging straight into Fei Zhong's study. Fei Zhong was drinking with You Hun when he saw Yin Pobai return. His face immediately lit up with joy, and he rose to greet him, saying, "Commander Yin is back! Has the great mission been accomplished? What about Zhang Kui and Ji Chang...?"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Yin Pobai's face turn pale, and a trace of fear remained in his eyes. His heart skipped a beat.

Yin Pobai took a deep breath and spoke with difficulty, recounting the standoff at the foot of Youli City, Zhang Kui's sudden appearance, his suffocatingly terrifying aura, and Zhang Kui's personal admission that he had seriously injured Ma Yuan and forced him to flee, in detail.

"...Doctor Fei, it's not that I haven't tried my best, but Zhang Kui... is unfathomable! His troops are exceptionally elite, far beyond our ability to defeat. Even Ma Yuan, so ruthless, was defeated by him. We... we should reconsider our strategy." Yin Pobai's tone was filled with lingering fear and admonition.

"How is this possible?" Fei Zhong exclaimed in shock, the wine cup in his hand falling to the ground with a "clatter," not even noticing the wine splashing onto the hem of his robe. "Even a fierce man like Ma Yuan couldn't defeat Zhang Kui, this... what should we do?" His face turned ashen as he paced anxiously in the study. His plan, which he thought was a sure thing, had ended up like this.

You Hun's fat face also paled, and he said in a trembling voice, "Brother Fei, how are we going to explain this to the Empress?"

Fei Zhong abruptly stopped, as if grasping at a last straw, and asked urgently, "What about Ji Chang? Have you seen Ji Chang? How is he?"

Yin Pobai shook his head with a wry smile and said frankly, "This humble general did not even approach the prison where Ji Chang is being held. Zhang Kui's guards there are so tight that it's practically impenetrable. When this humble general tried to probe, Zhang Kui turned him away on the grounds that it was a military secret location and no unauthorized personnel were allowed in. His attitude was tough, and this humble general... this humble general did not dare to force him."

Upon hearing this, Fei Zhong's face turned ashen, his last glimmer of hope extinguished. He waved weakly, signaling Yin Pobai that he could leave. Yin Pobai, feeling as if granted a pardon, quickly bowed and took his leave, not wanting to stay a moment longer.

Only Fei Zhong and You Hun remained in the study, the two looking at each other in silence, the air thick with despair.

"Brother Fei, this matter... cannot be kept secret," You Hun said hoarsely.

Fei Zhong sighed deeply, his face filled with struggle and fear: "So be it. What's meant to be will be. Let's go to the palace immediately, see the Empress, and report the truth. We only hope that the Empress can understand our predicament..."

The two dared not delay. After a quick tidying up, they hurriedly headed to the palace with trepidation.

Inside the Longevity Palace, gauze curtains hung low, and exotic fragrances wafted through the air.

Daji reclined on the soft couch, her figure graceful and her face exquisitely beautiful, every smile and frown captivating. Seeing Fei Zhong and You Hun enter, her beautiful eyes sparkled, and she asked in a sweet voice, "Doctor Fei, Doctor You, how are things going? Has Ji Chang 'died'? Has Zhang Kui submitted?"

Her voice was so soft and alluring that it sent a chill down Fei Zhong and You Hun's spine.

Fei Zhong steeled himself, stepped forward, and recounted the news that Yin Pobai had brought back, emphasizing Zhang Kui's unparalleled strength.

As he narrated, Daji's charming smile gradually froze, and her eyes turned cold and sharp.

After Fei Zhong finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence. Fei Zhong and You Hun lowered their heads, not daring to breathe, their backs soaked with cold sweat.

Suddenly, Daji let out a coquettish laugh, the sound particularly eerie in the silent hall: "Doctor Fei, Doctor You, tell me... if I kill you two now, will the King be angry?"

Before the two could answer, Daji swayed, her skirt fluttering without wind, and nine fluffy white fox tails suddenly appeared behind her. An even richer fragrance instantly filled the entire palace, and the eyes of the palace maids and eunuchs standing around became dazed and empty, as if they had fallen into a beautiful illusion, oblivious to the scene before them.

At the same time, two solid white fox tails shot out like serpents emerging from their holes, accurately wrapping around Fei Zhong and You Hun's necks and lifting them directly off the ground.

"Your Majesty, spare us! Your Majesty, spare us!" Fei Zhong and You Hun felt excruciating pain in their necks, struggling to breathe. The fear of death overwhelmed them instantly, their limbs flailing futilely in the air. "It's not that we didn't try our best, it's just that Zhang Kui is incredibly powerful. We even sent the Qi Immortal Ma Yuan to fight him, but... but even Ma Yuan was no match for Zhang Kui, suffering a crushing defeat and fleeing. Your Majesty, please understand, we have done everything in our power."

Upon hearing the words "Even Ma Yuan was no match for him," a hint of surprise flashed in Daji's cold eyes. Ma Yuan, the One Qi Immortal of the Jie Sect, was known for his fearsome reputation among demons and qi cultivators; he was an extremely difficult opponent. Even he had been defeated? She slowly loosened her tightly bound fox tail, allowing the two of them to catch their breath.

If that's the case, then Fei Zhong and You Hun can't be entirely blamed for their incompetence. Zhang Kui has actually grown to such a level? It seems that ordinary methods are indeed no longer effective against him.

In a flash, the frost on Daji's face melted away, replaced by a charming smile. Her fox tail gently loosened, and she softly placed the two shaken men back on the ground. She moved gracefully, bowing slightly, her voice carrying just the right amount of apology and shyness: "Oh dear, my lords, please don't be offended. I was just anxious and worried about Your Majesty's kingdom, and that's why I lost my composure. I apologize to you both; I hope you won't take it to heart."

Her demeanor was so convincing, as if the murderous nine-tailed fox from before was merely an illusion.

Fei Zhong and You Hun dared not accept her greeting. They hurriedly bowed in return, repeatedly saying "We dare not" and "Your Majesty is too kind to us." However, they were still filled with lingering fear, and their awe of this wicked concubine deepened.

"Since Zhang Kui is so troublesome, let's put the matter of Ji Chang aside for now." Daji waved her jade hand, seemingly casually saying, "You two ministers should go back and rest well. The affairs of the court still require your attention."

"We take our leave." Fei Zhong and You Hun felt as if they had been granted a pardon and practically scrambled out of Shouxian Palace. It wasn't until they stepped out of the palace gates and were hit by a cold wind that they realized they were both drenched in cold sweat.

……

Meanwhile, in Youli City, in the quiet room of the military camp.

Zhang Kui sat cross-legged, his body enveloped in spiritual energy. He had just finished a round of cultivation of the Golden Core Dao, and his golden core was becoming increasingly round and full, his magical power surging like a river. He slowly opened his eyes, his divine light contained, his aura deep and concentrated.

With a thought, the treasure coin that had been dormant for several days appeared in his palm.

Since the day of his duel with Ma Yuan, when the Falling Treasure Coin flew out on its own, devouring the so-called "Netherworld Fiend Qi" and "Remnant Will of the Ancestral Witch" contained in the bone hand, it had been in a strange state of silence. No matter how Zhang Kui nurtured it with his magic power, or even tried to communicate and refine it with his divine sense, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, without any response. If it weren't for the fact that the divine sense imprint left when refining the six innate restrictions was still clearly present, proving that the treasure had not been damaged or changed hands, Zhang Kui would almost doubt whether what he had in his hand was a fake.

"What exactly happened to the Fallen Treasure Coin?" Zhang Kui frowned slightly, his fingertips gently stroking the round-outer, square-inner-inner copper coin with its two wings. The coin was still smooth and lustrous, but the Heavenly Dao inscriptions on it seemed to be veiled by a thin layer of gauze, its luster diminished. "What exactly did it absorb from Ma Yuan's skeletal hand?"

He recalled the scene: the Treasure-Dropping Coin didn't isolate itself from the restrictions like a magic weapon, but rather, like a gluttonous beast devouring its prey, it actively devoured the strange aura that made his soul tremble. That aura was ancient, fierce, and full of savage power, seemingly incompatible with the "trade" and "weighing" principles inherent in the Treasure-Dropping Coin itself.

"Could it be that the alien energy was too large or special, causing the Treasure-Dropping Coin to need time to 'digest' it?" Zhang Kui speculated to himself. The Treasure-Dropping Coin is an innate spiritual treasure with its own sentience; perhaps this absorption was an opportunity or a test for it.

He carefully tried to probe the inside of the Treasure-Dropping Coin with an extremely subtle wisp of divine sense, following the previously refined restriction lines.

This time, it was no longer a deathly silence.

He "saw" a chaotic space where the once orderly golden light (the restrictive veins) was now shrouded and entangled by a dense, heavy, dark gold-black aura. This dark gold aura churned and surged, filled with resentment and violence, attempting to erode the golden light representing the rules of "transaction." Meanwhile, the primal power of the Fallen Treasure Coin transformed into countless fine golden runes, like chains, layer upon layer, binding, suppressing, and refining this foreign aura.

The two are currently locked in a fierce tug-of-war!

"It really is digesting that power..." Zhang Kui understood, but was also secretly shocked. The Falling Treasure Coin was a top-grade innate spiritual treasure, yet it was so difficult for it to refine a stray aura of no one. This showed just how extraordinary the wisp of "Ancestral Witch's Remnant Will" contained in Ma Yuangu's hand was.

"The Ancestral Witches..." Zhang Kui's eyes flickered. The Witch Clan did not cultivate the primordial spirit, but focused on cultivating the physical body and blood, controlling the power of the laws of heaven and earth. Their lingering resentment likely contained the most primordial power imprints and fragments of laws. If the Fallen Treasure Coin could be successfully refined, perhaps it could extract secrets about power, matter, or even some primordial law, thereby benefiting itself?

He dared not intervene rashly, lest it lead to unpredictable consequences. Therefore, he could only continue to gently nurture it with his own pure magical power while closely monitoring its changes.

"It seems I can't use the treasure coins until they've been 'digested'." Zhang Kui carefully put the coins away, placing them close to his skin. "However, this might not be a bad thing. Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Perhaps when they awaken, they'll bring me unexpected surprises."

Inside the quiet room, Zhang Kui's long, powerful breaths mingled with the faint sounds of drills coming from the military camp...