The Imperial Tutor's Mansion.
An old man over seventy years old, clad in a flax-colored robe, sat alone under the moonlight.
His hair was white, but his face was youthful, and his spirit was vigorous.
A cascade of silver-white hair flowed loosely behind him, giving him an ethereal and transcendent aura.
Before him lay a chessboard, on which rested a game of chess he had spent nearly ten thousand years trying to solve without success.
He was the current Imperial Tutor, the childhood mentor of the First Emperor of Fengdu.
He had imparted to him benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and the Four Books and Five Classics.
When the new First Emperor of Fengdu ascended the throne, he was appointed as the Imperial Tutor.
Of course, the reason he became the Imperial Tutor was not solely because he had taught the young First Emperor.
It was also because he possessed the art of divination, knowing the past and foreseeing the future.
However, there was one game of chess.
He had peered into it for ten thousand years, yet he had not found the answer he sought, nor a way to break it.
At this moment, the butler approached Zheng Yu from behind and respectfully said, "Master, Lu Yuan is here to see you."
Zheng Yu replied, "Let him in!"
"Yes!"
The butler exited the courtyard.
Moments later, Lu Yuan, his face filled with anxiety, walked in. He bowed respectfully to Zheng Yu, "This humble one, Lu Yuan, pays his respects to the Imperial Tutor."
Zheng Yu shifted his gaze from the chessboard to Lu Yuan's face. A faint smile flickered across his serene expression, "There's no need for such formality between us!"
His sister was the matriarch of the Lu family. By seniority, Lu Yuan should have called Zheng Yu "Uncle-Grandfather."
Zheng Yu inquired, "Speak, why have you come so late? Has something happened?"
Lu Yuan immediately confessed, "This humble one is incompetent. I have inadvertently lost the auxiliary medicinal materials for refining the Grand Purity Divine Pill..." He then recounted the entire incident.
The Lu and Zheng families were old acquaintances. The refining of the Grand Purity Divine Pill this time was a secret arrangement facilitated by the Zheng family. Otherwise, with the Lu family's influence, they would have had no way to access powers at the level of the Ten Yama Kings.
"My Lord, this junior wishes to know, is Chen Nan alive or dead!" Lu Yuan knew that if Chen Nan was alive, the Lu family might still have a chance to complete the task of refining the Grand Purity Divine Pill. They could simply kill him and seize his fortune. Conversely, if Chen Nan died, his Forget Worry Grass and Putuo Flower would also vanish. At that point, the Lu family would be in great trouble.
"I never expected that fellow to come to Fengdu City after resigning from his official post!"
"I underestimated him!"
Upon learning that Chen Nan had come to Fengdu City, a cold glint flashed in Zheng Yu's eyes. He had never met Chen Nan, yet this youth seemed like a thorn in his side, a splinter in his flesh. After all, he had first killed the Ma Sanyuan father and son, and then he had killed An Xuanmo. Although he hadn't expected Chen Nan to resign and come to Fengdu City, he knew that the immediate priority was to investigate whether Chen Nan was involved in the demise of all the Lu family's enshrined experts.
He formed a hand seal, and a golden light floated before his eyes. It was an ancient star chart. Zheng Yu gazed at the star chart with a grave expression, manipulating his hands, exuding an air of mystery.
As time passed, Zheng Yu's initially relaxed demeanor gradually became serious. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. After all, viewing the star chart and inferring whether a person was alive was an extremely taxing endeavor for the spirit.
Moments later, he spoke, "The deaths of the Lu family's enshrined experts are indeed related to Chen Nan!"
"However, besides him,"
"He also has a powerful helper by his side."
"It truly is him," Lu Yuan rejoiced. Although he had desperately wanted to kill Chen Nan before, he now wished Chen Nan were alive even more. Only then could they seize the Forget Worry Grass and Putuo Flower from him and refine the Grand Purity Divine Pill for the Yama Kings.
Zheng Yu slowly said, "Chen Nan, for the sake of those two snake demons, did not hesitate to resign his official post and come to Fengdu City."
"This shows the importance of those two snake demons to him."
"As long as those two snake demons are still under your Lu family's control,"
"Chen Nan will appear."
Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. Yes! As long as the two snake demons were still in the Lu family's possession, Chen Nan would be at the Lu family's mercy. What they needed to do now was to wait for Chen Nan to appear, kill him, and then seize the medicinal materials from his person.
------
Just as Di Ting had said, it arrived in Fengdu City before dawn. This speed was beyond Chen Nan's reach. Even if he had rushed back to Fengdu City at his fastest, it would have taken at least three days and three nights.
Sensing Chen Nan's aura, Qi Ye and the others immediately emerged from their chambers to welcome him. Now, both Qi Ye and Kuang Tu had also stepped into the Earth Ghost realm.
Chen Nan inquired, "Have you found any trace of the two Lu sisters?"
"This subordinate is incompetent and failed to find the whereabouts of the Lu sisters," Qi Ye said with deep shame. They had not been idle for the past few days, nearly turning Fengdu City upside down, yet they still couldn't locate the hidden abode of the two Lu sisters.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Lu family likely possesses a space-element magical artifact, and they have confined the Lu sisters within it!" Di Ting offered his opinion.
"No rush!" Chen Nan replied, "Although the Lu sisters have been captured, as long as I don't show myself, they won't be in mortal danger."
"Conversely..."
"The Lu family is highly likely to be cornered and act rashly."
Although Chen Nan was concerned about the safety of the Lu sisters, compared to him, the Lu family would undoubtedly be searching everywhere for his whereabouts. After all, he could afford to wait, but could the Lu family? They were helping the Fifth Yama King refine pills. Until the pills were refined, they would be restless and unable to answer to the Yama King. Therefore, the only thing Chen Nan could do now was to secretly search for the remaining few auxiliary ingredients for refining the Grand Purity Divine Pill. If he could find the other medicinal materials, it would be good. Even if he couldn't, it would force the Lu family into disarray. To put it bluntly, the real confrontation between Chen Nan and the Lu family had just begun. It wasn't a head-on battle with sharp weapons, but an invisible psychological war. Whoever could maintain their composure would emerge as the ultimate victor.
Returning to his room, Chen Nan calmed his mind and began to think about finding the other four medicinal materials needed to refine the Grand Purity Divine Pill. Those four types of pills were not particularly rare, but they were not commonly found on the market either. If he asked the Azure Cloud Pavilion or the Wang family to help him search, it was highly likely that the Lu family would discover his intentions. Therefore, he had to devise a cautious and foolproof plan.
With this thought, Chen Nan took out the communication token of the Heaven-Defying Sect. "Everyone, I require several types of medicinal materials to refine a pill. I don't care what method you use. You must find them within seven days and deliver them to Fengdu City." He transmitted this message to the old powerhouses of the Heaven-Defying Sect. He did not explicitly ask for their help in finding the medicinal materials because Yue Shan, the Fifth Hall Master of the Heaven-Defying Sect, was a domineering and straightforward individual. Asking for their assistance would not align with Yue Shan's character.
What Chen Nan did not expect was that shortly after sending the message, he received a reply from Number Six: "What a coincidence, I know the whereabouts of these medicinal materials."
"Fifth Brother, where are you?"
"In my opinion, we should meet and talk!"
"If I tell you the location of those medicinal materials, and there's an informant among us, wouldn't that be pushing you into a desperate situation?"
Upon seeing the message on the wooden token, Chen Nan was suddenly stunned. Informant? Why don't you just read out my ID number?