Vampire Cultivation Notes

Chapter 183 Demon Tiger! It's you again?

Li Jieqing only stayed at the Imperial Observatory for three years, which was rather short, so he was somewhat unclear about the progress of Baozhang Zhenren's calculations on the exit of the Blood Heart Cave.

However, he knew that if he wanted to wait for Master Baozhang to calculate the information and then seize it, he couldn't let Baowu and Baozhang stay inseparable like this. He had to eliminate one of them before he could make his move.

Regardless of whether Fairy Shecai is in the Eastern Immortal Cultivation World or not, he himself has not been exposed. As long as he can secure the location of the exit, he will naturally be invincible.

……

"Young Master Xiu has arrived!"

The Bai Family Chamber of Commerce and Li Jieqing are now quite familiar with each other. After verifying the high-quality magic artifact that Li Jieqing brought, they smoothly put it into storage.

A steward said, "Young Master Xiu, please come into the inner hall and wait a moment. Our guild leader has sent word that he will be here shortly."

Li Jieqing nodded casually and went over on his own.

In the past, people could only sell religious artifacts in the side halls, but now they can enter the inner hall, which can be considered a kind of entry into the inner sanctum.

I waited for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The new president, Bai Ningxue, hurried over and apologized, "I had a last-minute business deal, and since you hadn't arrived yet, I went to take care of it for a while."

Li Jieqing didn't take it to heart and laughed, "You're busy now, it doesn't matter. Let's talk about business first."

Bai Ningxue composed herself, tossed her braid aside, sat down, and slowly recounted the matter she had been entrusted with.

"I sent someone to work for the Xue family to build relationships and find out the details of their encounter with the new Grand Tutor. As you said, Young Master Xiu, I didn't rush into doing this to avoid causing trouble. Just recently, the person I sent to the Xue family resigned and finally brought back news."

"The monster that chased the new national advisor all the way from the Western Lands, across the desert, and into the Gobi, was a white tiger with piercing eyes, over forty feet long, and extremely majestic."

You mean the White Tiger?!

Li Jieqing lightly slapped the coffee table, almost as if he wanted to stand up.

He had rarely lost his composure like this before. He had thought it was an ancient ape he didn't recognize, a barn rat, or even a blue snail that loved water and hated land.

But unexpectedly, a white tiger jumped out.

"Young Master Xiu, have you heard of this White Tiger before?" Bai Ningxue asked curiously.

Upon hearing this question, Li Jieqing first shook his head, then nodded, and asked in return, "What does this word 'also' mean?"

Bai Ningxue sighed and rubbed her forehead. "In the northwest of the capital, people have been disappearing without a trace for years. A while ago, a batch of goods belonging to the Merchant Alliance was completely lost. Our Bai family also had a share in those goods... According to one of the lucky ones who escaped, the thing that swallowed the goods was a huge white tiger."

The Xue family is also a member of the Tongtian Merchant Alliance. It was because of this incident within the alliance that the secret they had been keeping for the new national advisor loosened, and Bai Ningxue found out the whole story.

She also suspected that the white tiger in the northwest of the capital was the same one that had chased down the new national advisor. She then recounted the description that the Xue family had gathered and discussed it carefully with Li Jieqing.

Old nemesis.

Li Jieqing had calmed down and smiled to himself.

If it were just an ordinary white tiger, that would be fine.

However, after chasing Bao Wu and Bao Zhang for so long, they left the Western Demon Realm and haven't gone back yet, still staying in the Eastern Lands to watch them covetously.

The White Tiger with such a strong desire for revenge, who else could it be but the one from Xiaoxin Island back then? The description matches perfectly.

It was said that it was brutally beaten by the Seven Immortals and went to the sea with a howling voice, only to encounter the Crimson Kun and be swallowed into this Blood Heart Cave.

It's true what they say, enemies are destined to meet.

The situation on Xiaoxin Island in the past seems to be repeating itself in this Blood Heart Cave.

"The Merchant Alliance is currently discussing whether the White Tiger is real, and then they will either launch a campaign against it themselves or report it to the imperial court."

Bai Ningxue thought of a cunning idea and suggested, "If the existence of the White Tiger is confirmed, Young Master Xiu, since you are in the Imperial Observatory, you can bypass the Xue family and go directly to inform the Imperial Preceptor. When the Imperial Preceptor and others subdue the White Tiger, regardless of whether it is the one they chased back then, you can vent your anger, which will be of great benefit to you."

"Hmm... no rush, no rush. Let's find the white tiger first before we talk. Be careful, it might be hiding very well."

Li Jieqing smiled, stood up, and took his leave.

I've really had a lot to gain today.

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

The White Tiger is vengeful; it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Bai Ningxue escorted Li Jieqing out of the inner hall, stared at Li Jieqing's profile for a while, and then suddenly spoke when they reached the door.

"Oh, right..."

"Hmm?" Li Jieqing turned his head. He was busy going back to make arrangements. Bao Wu and Bao Zhang had instructed the Imperial Observatory to prepare for the Grand Ritual. They said they would go to the Tongtian River in the suburbs to observe the stars in a few days. It was a good opportunity to attract the White Tiger to show itself.

Although Bai Ningxue opened her mouth, she hesitated for a moment before nervously clutching her braid and saying, "Young Master Xiu is serving in the imperial court and has a promising future. I wonder if you have considered family?"

Bai Ningxue's question was certainly not asked out of the blue.

She only realized how treacherous the capital was after taking office, and that her position as president was not secure, as she relied heavily on Li Jieqing's magical artifact channels for support.

However, the position of a courtier is not very relevant, and Li Jieqing is now quite successful, no longer a destitute beggar in the west corridor of Ningrong Mansion.

Bai Ningxue wanted to deepen this relationship.

Upon hearing this, Li Jieqing laughed and said, "No need to introduce her to me. I intend to focus on breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Besides, cultivators in large families usually settle down and start families late. It's too early to talk about this now."

"but……"

"but?"

"However, if Miss Ningxue is willing to take the initiative—"

"Pooh!"

Bai Ningxue let down her braid and spat lightly, "What a shameless scoundrel! Who cares about you? I only like alchemy, not weapon crafting!"

"Sigh... never mind then."

Li Jieqing shook his head, his face full of regret.

Before Bai Ningxue could say anything more, he went straight out of the inner hall and headed towards the door.

Before Bai Ningxue could finish speaking, seeing this, she could only dejectedly lower her hand, which she had intended to use to persuade him to stay, and stamped her foot before heading to the accounting office to settle accounts.

Outside the Bai Family Chamber of Commerce.

Li Jieqing hurried out the door, muttering to himself, "This shouldn't be happening."

Back then, she was entangled with Xingniang of Wanbaoge and caused a lot of trouble. She even changed her face. How could she cause trouble again?

Could it be... that this person is that scoundrel She Cai in disguise, deliberately trying to lure me into a trap?

Li Jieqing immediately recalled his interactions with Bai Ningxue. He had suffered a lot in his life, especially from Xingniang of Wanbaoge, who was all smiles to his face but secretly harmed him behind his back. He had to think carefully this time.

After pondering for a while and not noticing anything amiss, Li Jieqing chuckled and leaped towards the Imperial Observatory.

……

……

Upon learning about the demonic tiger, Li Jieqing conceived a rough plan.

Those from the Tongtian Merchant Alliance would never be able to find the White Tiger, because that demon has an extremely powerful ability to conceal its aura. Even at the first level, it could escape from a Foundation Establishment True Person, making it impossible for even a Foundation Establishment True Person to find it.

For Li Jieqing to achieve this, he would need a top-grade magic weapon, plus decades of consistent use of the Treasure Nourishing Technique to nurture the magic weapon. The demon tiger, on the other hand, didn't need to do anything; it only needed to eat the lotus seed of the Ruyi Green Lotus to gain the ability to conceal its presence.

Even at the first level, fashion is like this.

Now, more than sixty years have passed since that demonic tiger advanced to the second-tier great demon, and who knows how far its ability to conceal its aura has come.

You can't find it by searching.

The only way is to lure it out.

This wasn't the first time Li Jieqing had done something like this.

Upon returning to the Imperial Observatory, Li Jieqing first spent five hundred spirit stones to prepare a banquet.

The place was filled with fine wines and delicacies, and exotic birds and beasts. Eating this meal was equivalent to taking several pills to improve one's cultivation level, and the taste was excellent and easy to refine.

This banquet was considered lavish and extravagant during the Qi Refining period.

Li Jieqing had been in the Imperial Observatory for more than three years and was considered one of their own. Instead of using the Blood Fiend to control him, he used bribery. He successfully sent a letter to the disciples of the Imperial Preceptor who walked in the high tower with its dense eaves, and asked them to secretly ask for a copy of the handwritten letter of the Precious Earth or the Precious Seal.

Using the remaining aura above should be enough to lure the White Tiger out.

Actually, Li Jieqing could have chosen his own, as Baihu holds grudges indiscriminately, but he didn't want to take that risk.

The disciples who received the invitation arrived as promised, eating spiritual food until they were practically swallowing their tongues. However, when the topic of the letter came up, they were all vague, saying, "Yu Longjin, we all know you admire the Imperial Preceptor, but it's not appropriate to pass on a gift from our master."

Seeing this, Li Jieqing looked regretful, saying that it was a pity that he had prepared such a small gift, and then he just kept urging people to drink.

After the banquet ended, all the disciples of the Imperial Preceptor were seen off one by one.

Secretly, those who had just left returned one by one to trade spirit stones using written contracts.

And so it was settled.

Li Jieqing excitedly picked up the handwritten letter from Master Baowu that he had exchanged for, and with a sweep of his divine sense, he saw that the letter contained chaotic energy and had been handled by many people.

Only the aura of Master Baowu was not preserved.

All the letters I received were like this.

"..."

Li Jieqing had lost over a thousand spirit stones for nothing, so he couldn't very well send someone to try and take the items from the tower with its dense eaves, lest he become too suspicious.

Therefore, he went straight into the miscellaneous items that the Imperial Observatory replaced from the tower every year and searched everywhere for a while, trying to take away the old items that the Seven Immortals had experienced.

As someone who was practically part of the Imperial Observatory, it was very convenient for him to do this kind of thing.

However, the result was still unsuccessful. Although the old items were still there, they no longer bore any trace of the Baowu and Baozhang.

It seems that it was specially treated, and it is even highly likely that Bao Wu and Bao Zhang, even when dealing with everyday items in the Imperial Observatory, were subconsciously wary of their own aura being contaminated by it.

"As expected of a disciple of a superior sect, they act so meticulously and without leaving a trace, making it truly difficult for anyone to strike in secret..."

Li Jieqing's mind raced. His first plan failed, but fortunately, he still had other ideas.

Li Jieqing emerged from the storeroom with a calm expression. He quickly returned the letter he had received in exchange, then went to the palace to request leave from the Imperial Observatory, preparing to slip away.

When Commander Shan Quan asked, he said that he would be going to Tongtian River in a few days to prepare for the grand ritual. The National Preceptor rarely comes out of the tower to preside over the ceremony, so why not take this opportunity to show his face?

Li Jieqing only replied that he had a spiritual experience from his practice and was going into seclusion for a few days.

No one could find fault with Li Jieqing asking for leave for his spiritual practice, especially since he wasn't a member of the Imperial Observatory and its busy schedule didn't concern him much. Thus, he successfully obtained the leave under Shan Quan's satisfied nod.

As the Imperial Observatory prepared for the grand Taoist ritual, Li Jieqing quietly disappeared from his post.