Chapter 88: White King Order, Too Eager to Improve
Shen Yanzhou’s expression showed a hint of astonishment, as though he had not expected this Deputy Sacrificer to be so straightforward.
The Demon Suppression King, Shen Jingxiao, was, after all, a First Rank minister of the Great Qian Dynasty.
To speak so casually about wanting to kill him—if word were to spread, it would be the crime of plotting against a court minister.
“Please, enlighten me, my lord.”
However, Shen Yanzhou’s face remained calm, his tone composed.
“Enlightenment is too strong a word. If you wish to kill the Demon Suppression King, perhaps we can have a good talk.” The white-bearded old man smiled.
Shen Yanzhou’s reaction was even calmer and steadier than he had anticipated.
“What does my lord wish me to do?” Shen Yanzhou asked.
The position of Deputy Sacrificer of the Bureau of Immortal Inspection was one that even the leaders of immortal sects had to show respect toward.
In some ways, this old man before him only needed to speak a single word to have countless Daoist cultivators risk their lives for him.
If such a man wished to deal with Shen Jingxiao, that would naturally be a good thing for Shen Yanzhou.
“You are a clever man—cleverer than I thought. You must also know that the Demon Suppression King has greatly exceeded his authority these years. His wolfish ambition allows him to shroud the Southern Border with one hand. Those immortal sects he has oppressed and enslaved suffer unspeakably.”
The white-bearded elder did not speak directly but instead looked at the disordered chessboard before him and sighed, as though lamenting for the hidden sects of the Southern Border.
Shen Yanzhou was not moved by this façade. Such a person was driven by nothing but profit.
To put it bluntly, Shen Jingxiao’s overreach in the Southern Border had brought even those sects never recorded in the Imperial Immortal Registry—since the founding of the Great Qian by the Ancestral Dragon Emperor—under his control.
This touched upon immense interests, enough to stir the jealousy of the Bureau of Immortal Inspection.
The Bureau had been founded to supervise the immortal factions of the realm, preventing them from abusing their arts and harming the people.
But after over a thousand years, any great tree would breed parasites—much more so an institution entangled with ancient aristocratic families, its roots deep and intertwined.
Behind every immortal sect lay spirit mines, heavenly materials, techniques, divine abilities, and even ancient ruins and secret realms.
The hundred thousand mountains of the Southern Border stretched endlessly, containing countless undiscovered treasures, unlike the rest of the Great Qian, whose lands had been charted and tamed.
The Bureau of Immortal Inspection had long observed Shen Jingxiao’s expansion and operations there—but lacked a legitimate reason to bring that land under its supervision.
“Is my lord hoping to restore peace and stability to the Southern Border?” Shen Yanzhou asked knowingly.
The white-bearded old man nodded. “Indeed. Though the hidden sects of the Southern Border are beyond imperial governance, they nonetheless play an active role in maintaining peace in that region. When beasts invade, they dispatch disciples to slay them and safeguard the common people’s peace.”
“The Demon Suppression King’s actions have gone too far. Many within the Bureau are already dissatisfied with him.”
Shen Yanzhou knew well that if that were truly the only reason, the Bureau would not have sought him out only now.
“My lord is benevolent. The people of the Southern Border would surely be grateful to know of this,” he said.
The elder waved his hand. “I am not so virtuous. In truth, too many have simply grown weary of Shen Jingxiao. What we need now is a single chess piece to topple him.”
Shen Yanzhou was that perfect piece.
As the puppet Heir—pushed into the open by Shen Jingxiao to bear calamities in place of the true Heir—he had lived these years in self-debasement and suppression. He knew well how much humiliation that life entailed.
He must hate Shen Jingxiao deeply.
For clever men, much could be left unsaid.
“We need you to confirm evidence that the Demon Suppression King privately forged immortal registrations in the Southern Border, and proof of his secret dealings with the Nether Cult.”
“In return, the Bureau of Immortal Inspection can offer you much—including all the wealth and prestige the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion granted you. Should you wish to cultivate, any resource—be it rare metals from the Martial Treasury or martial inheritances—we can provide.”
“If you wish, we can even find for you several of the world’s top martial grandmasters.”
“Name your price. What say you?”
The white-bearded old man toyed with a chess piece, smiling faintly.
“May I ask how I should address you, my lord?” Shen Yanzhou asked, not rushing to agree.
“I am Gu Chengyun, the Third Elder of the Gu Family. Ruoxi calls me Third Grandfather,” Gu Chengyun said.
The Cheng generation.
Shen Yanzhou understood instantly—this was indeed a core authority figure of the Gu Family.
As one of the three ancient families behind the Bureau of Immortal Inspection, the Gu Family’s existence predated the founding of Great Qian itself. When the Ancestral Dragon Emperor united the realm, traces of such families were already present.
Even the Cui Clan of Hejian, the family behind the current Empress and famed as a millennium-old gentry line, could only be regarded as infants before such hidden cultivation clans.
“If the Third Elder does not disdain me, I would be willing to serve you henceforth,” Shen Yanzhou said, bowing.
For such towering powers, if they truly wished to move against Shen Jingxiao, it would not have to be this complicated.
It could only be that when the Ancestral Dragon Emperor set the laws, he had already foreseen that these ancient families might one day turn upon the imperial tree—and so imposed restraints.
Thus, even the Gu Family had to abide by imperial rules to counter Shen Jingxiao.
“The Ancestral Dragon Emperor…”
At that thought, Shen Yanzhou could not help recalling that figure—mentioned only briefly in the original plot, yet a mythical being.
He had swept across the Six Directions, expelled the barbarians and monsters, conquered a hundred kingdoms, unified the immortal sects, dug canals, built the Yao Pass, established laws, abolished heretical worships, standardized measures and writing…
The flourishing civilization of today’s Nine Provinces was all his doing.
A thousand years ago, this land had been chaos—blood and fire everywhere, cults rampant, the people ignorant and uneducated.
Knowledge and literacy had been monopolized by the noble families, while commoners were treated little better than livestock.
Yet that same emperor, who had crushed every sect and family and seemed omnipotent, had one day simply vanished.
The Great Qian records claimed the Ancestral Dragon Emperor ascended riding a dragon’s head, attaining immortality for eternity.
But Shen Yanzhou knew that was apocrypha. Even the court historians did not know how he disappeared.
The original plot never mentioned this mystery.
“You are indeed sensible.”
Gu Chengyun had not expected Shen Yanzhou to agree so readily. He froze briefly, then chuckled.
He appreciated ambitious youths.
“In that case, this will be easier. Since you could deceive Shen Jingxiao under his very nose all these years, you must have your means. I shall not pry.”
“This token is called the White King Order. Any immortal officer of the Bureau, upon seeing it, must treat it as if I were present in person. You may use it for convenience when visiting any branch of the Bureau.”
As he spoke, he reached into his wide sleeve and placed an object before Shen Yanzhou.
It was a palm-sized token, neither gold nor silver, silvery-white throughout, with the Bureau’s Blackbird sigil engraved on the back.
Shen Yanzhou had not expected such generosity—the Deputy Sacrificer offering him such an identity token outright.
Yet he quickly realized the trap within.
The Bureau’s four Deputy Sacrificers were each distinguished by a color—blue, white, red, and black—their tokens known as the Four King Orders.
Each seemed to grant distinct authority, commanding the Bureau’s immortal officers.
But in truth, these Four King Orders were crucial artifacts used to suppress the flow of immortal destiny within the Bureau, and had to be kept on their bearers’ persons, never leaving the Bureau.
He knew this because he remembered the plot: later, an internal rebellion in the Bureau nearly caused the immortal destiny’s collapse when one of the Four King Orders went missing.
The Immortal Registry of Great Qian was not merely a ledger of sect names—it was a mechanism to bind their destinies to imperial control.
Such an artifact—would Gu Chengyun truly give it to him?
Or was this a fake White King Order?
“Could this old fox be using me to smuggle the White King Order out of the capital? Why me?”
“Is there something special about me?”
Once the White King Order left the capital, the Bureau’s destiny-bound Blackbird would sense it, and all immortal officers would be alerted immediately.
Gu Chengyun said nothing of this—but Shen Yanzhou knew well.
“My lord, this item is precious—the Deputy Sacrificer’s own credential. You should keep it safe,” Shen Yanzhou said, not taking it.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. No matter the reason, that token must not end up in his hand.
He felt… Gu Chengyun was still testing him, wary that he might secretly be colluding with Shen Jingxiao.
The White King Order was bait—his reaction, the test.
Most people would not grasp its significance, but Shen Jingxiao certainly would. If Shen Jingxiao obtained it, he could smuggle it out unnoticed—and with it, further enslave the Southern Border’s sects.
“You truly refuse?”
Gu Chengyun’s eyes gleamed with faint amusement, studying Shen Yanzhou’s every expression.
“If my lord seeks only to test me, there’s no need. The White King Order is more than a command token. You know its importance better than I,” Shen Yanzhou replied with a shake of his head.
Gu Chengyun’s brows lifted slightly. With a wave of his sleeve, he put the token away and laughed. “Interesting. If you truly mean to cooperate with the Bureau, the Demon Suppression King will not let you live. Still, as I said, all the conditions we promised stand—but you must show results.”
“The Bureau’s resources are not free. I’ll have Ruoxi keep a close eye on you.”
A mutually beneficial transaction—each using the other.
However, having that dim-witted little succubus watching him… wasn’t that leading a lamb into a tiger’s den?
Shen Yanzhou knew well. “If my lord wishes to uncover the ties between Shen Jingxiao and the Nether Cult, send immortal officers to search the apothecaries in the eastern part of the city—you may find surprises there. The spies Shen Jingxiao placed in the court are only the tip of the iceberg…”
There was a secret teleportation array in Shen Jingxiao’s study, allowing free passage between the capital and the outside world.
Though he officially governed the Southern Border, he had occasionally returned to the capital under another identity.
That identity was one Shen Jingxiao had hidden well.
Many of the Nether Cult’s agents knew there was a high-ranking figure of their cult among the imperial elite.
Gu Chengyun’s eyes narrowed slightly, then he laughed aloud. “It seems you know Shen Jingxiao even better than we imagined. I’ll have men verify your words soon.”
This, he knew, was Shen Yanzhou’s token of sincerity.
“This pill is called the True Origin Consolidation Pill, of the Fourth Grade, refined by a Daoist master and gifted to me. When a martial grandmaster consumes it, it strengthens his foundation, tendons, and blood—slightly increasing his chance of breaking into the Third Rank, Diamond Realm.”
As he spoke, spatial ripples spread from his palm, and a purple jade pill bottle appeared before Shen Yanzhou.
A Fourth-Grade pill of such potency—something beyond price even for martial grandmasters.
However, to Shen Yanzhou, it was of little use. His cultivation had never depended on swallowing pills and accumulating inner energy through brute effort—risking a hollow foundation.
He advanced through his system’s panel directly. A hollow foundation? Impossible.
Greater chances of breakthrough? Completely unnecessary.
“Thank you, my lord.”
Still, Shen Yanzhou accepted it. He might not need it, but others around him might.
“What else do you need?” Gu Chengyun asked.
Shen Yanzhou hesitated briefly, then said, “Preferably a soft armor capable of resisting various attacks, pills or food that enhance martial cultivation, and materials for forging weapons…”
“Haha, trivial things!”
“Later, accompany Ruoxi to the Hundred Treasures Vault in the eastern quarter. The lowest three levels—choose any three treasures you wish.”
“The more merit you earn, the more you may take in the future.”
Gu Chengyun was quite pleased. So long as Shen Yanzhou desired things, he could be controlled.
He feared only those who desired nothing.
“Thank you, my lord.”
Shen Yanzhou bowed courteously, though inwardly he thought—it was time to wake Lin Qingcang from “sleep mode.” Having met such a generous mark, he needed to pluck some benefits.
At present, aside from the Sumeru Rings and martial notes he had acquired from Lin Qingcang’s inheritance cave, he had little of worth.
He didn’t even have a proper weapon at hand.