The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 142 - 126, Acquired loot: Void Illusion Scroll

Capital, bustling streets, crowded with cars and horses, men and women passing by incessantly.

Yet no one knew that, right beside them, in a crack invisible to the naked eye, a battle between martial artists was erupting.

Priest Jin Jian took steps forward, her body in a semi-transparent state, moving through the crowd.

In front of her, a bizarre-looking "Magic Wand" with a fixed cyclopean eye at the top bounced on the ground.

"Thud… thud…"

The Magic Wand led her, turning into a quiet and narrow alley.

The alley was desolate and silent, devoid of human voices; Priest Jin Jian walked through it.

The cyclopean eye at the top of the Magic Wand rolled around bewilderingly and suddenly began to spin in place.

"Is it here?"

The mysteriously tempered, naturally bewildered-looking young priest asked seriously.

With a hand gesture, the next second a majestic, ethereal aura emerged, enveloping the entire neighborhood.

Priest Jin Jian was stunned and instinctively looked up. Above, where the alley was sandwiched between eaves, a gathering of blue qi formed into clouds.

Accompanied by the sound of thunder, a familiar and fearful mighty force descended.

On the nearby bustling street, the passersby also noticed this unusual celestial phenomenon, stopping in surprise to watch and discuss.

...

Baifang Theater.

In a room solely occupied by Wu Ling.

Currently, a group of rebels clad in gray cloaks sat silently around a round table.

They were none other than the subordinates brought by Gao Li.

"This hour, wonder if the Branch Leader has already succeeded; sadly, he hasn’t taken us along today to witness that Zhao Duan’s death on the spot," one of them said.

Another said earnestly,

"There are many strong figures in the capital, especially traveling by day. The crowd makes it more troublesome and easy to be noticed. With the Branch Leader’s cultivation enhanced by the Suppressing Object, assassinating that pretty boy is like catching him with one’s hands."

Everyone was in good spirits, casually chatting.

They didn’t think there would be any mishaps with today’s mission.

Wu Ling, present in the room, felt somewhat uneasy, yet this recently famous young actor from the capital couldn’t pinpoint the source of his unease.

"Perhaps it’s the shadow of my last failed assassination,"

Wu Ling thought to himself mockingly, lamenting that once bitten by a snake, one fears the well rope for ten years.

For this ambush, Gao Li learned from Wu Ling’s last failed experience and chose the time deliberately during a court assembly.

At this moment, the Emperor of Great Yu was in court, and Ma Yan was also in the Golden Throne Hall.

The entire court and people’s focus were on the Imperial Palace.

It was the best timing for dealing with Zhao Duan.

They even took into account the Zhang brothers, spies in the Prince Jing Mansion case,

Knowing well that Priest Jin Jian only traveled at night and usually slept during the day.

From any angle, it was an infallible assassination.

"Gentlemen, we must not be too relaxed; that Zhao Duan is no ordinary man. If anything goes awry on the Branch Leader’s side, we must follow the plan and create chaos to draw attention," Wu Ling said.

In the center of the round table, a wooden tablet was placed with a Mother-child Talisman attached to it.

The so-called "Mother-child Talisman" consists of two pieces.

Within a certain distance, they can be held separately to transmit signals.

According to the agreement, different flashes of the talisman signify different commands from Gao Li.

A single flash meant the assassination was successful.

Two flashes meant they had to relocate immediately.

Three flashes were a distress signal, and they needed to create disruptions to help Gao Li escape.

"Ha, Wu Ling, you might be overestimating Zhao Duan’s capabilities due to your previous failure,"

One person said indifferently,

"Even if he’s somewhat cunning and can strategize, it’s a martial arts showdown today. What use are his schemes?"

Another also laughed,

"Maybe you’ve been hidden in the capital too long and lost your nerve."

Everyone laughed.

This group, having recently come to the capital from the provinces, somewhat looked down on Wu Ling and other local Kuangfu Society members from the capital.

Wu Ling was secretly annoyed.

He thought to himself what fools they were. The capital is the stronghold of the Fake Emperor, filled with dangers unlike in other states and provinces of Great Yu.

He was about to retort a few words when an unexpected change occurred!

Suddenly, the talisman on the central wooden tablet flickered.

Someone laughed, "The Branch Leader succeeded!"

Before the words fell, the talisman began flashing continuously.

Before the group could react or count the flashes, the entire Mother-child Talisman burst into flames and burned to ashes!

The explosion sent out a ring of fiery shockwaves in all directions, startling the members and knocking them to the ground.

When they climbed up, they saw the wooden tablet on the table had fallen with a "snap," scorched black.

Silence!

The Kuangfu Society members were stunned, their faces showing horror.

Three flashes meant a call for help, exploding and being destroyed implied the other half of the talisman carried on the Branch Leader’s person was destroyed by a terrifying force before it could be triggered.

"The Branch Leader…"

A thought rose in the minds of all members at the same time, yet no one wanted to believe it.

...

"Heavenly Dao…"

Priest Jin Jian’s delicate face shifted as her eyes, diffusing light, slowly focused, her expression changing.

Instinctively activating Star Escape, she flickered and moved to the side of the alley, atop a high eave.

Then suddenly, within the blue clouds, a soundless lightning bolt struck down, swallowing the entire alley.

The air abruptly twisted, showing cracks.

Then, as if a hidden space shattered, countless fragments fell down.

First, a carriage appeared out of nowhere in the quiet alley.

The horse knelt on the ground, trembling as if worshipping something.

Then, in Priest Jin Jian’s pupils, an illusionary street vaguely visible started to crumble piece by piece.

Two figures fell from it.

One stood in the alley, wearing the dark black official robe of the Imperial Decree Department, clutching a dark golden short knife in his hand.

It was none other than Zhao Duan!

And a few steps in front of Zhao Duan, a middle-aged swordsman knelt on one knee, his face weathered, holding a sword in one hand.

Gao Li knelt on one knee, his right hand holding the hilt of the Cold Frost Sword.

The fog-covered long sword supported his body, leaning on the crevices of the bricks in the alley.

He hung his head as if he were asleep.

His eyes tightly shut, the wind swept through the alley, disheveling the long hair on his forehead.

It blew a ghostly indigo mask and an upside-down hat lying on the ground several feet behind him, turning them over.

Silence.

There was no sign of Hundred Feet Taoist in the alley, and the gathering cyan clouds above slowly dissipated.

The talented swordsman, who had just returned to the Capital after eight years, exuded an aura of vigor apart from a dab of crimson where a flying knife punctured his chest; no other wounds were visible.

But both Zhao Douan and Priest Jin Jian, who was crouching under the eaves, knew:

The figure kneeling on one knee was just an empty shell; Gao Li’s Divine Soul had been obliterated long ago.

The scorching sun blazed down on the earth but could not penetrate the alley even slightly.

"Tsk…"

Zhao Douan released his hand, and the dark golden broken sword shrunk to the size of a palm-sized flying knife, circled around, and was retracted into his sleeve.

He scanned his surroundings to confirm he had returned to the "real world."

Following his senses and seeing the young priest with a ghostly expression on the high eaves, he raised his eyebrows in curiosity,

"Priest Jin Jian? What are you doing here?"

Jin Jian looked down at Zhao Douan.

Zhao Douan looked up at Jin Jian.

Both appeared calm, but their inner emotions were much more turbulent than their expressions.

"Fuck… What did I just see… Is the Imperial Talisman that powerful? It seems too much, doesn’t it? It’s said that a talisman can summon a deity to assist in battle, but Old Deng, you didn’t say it would summon Heavenly Dao…"

Zhao Douan was in turmoil.

Facing Gao Li’s approach, he appeared calm and collected like holding a winning game, but in reality, he was panicking inside.

After all, such a precious artifact like the "Imperial Talisman" was something he had only heard about but never seen.

The effect varied greatly.

He wasn’t certain which deity was sealed within this card or what level of power was involved.

Thus, there was much bluster when he tore it open.

Unexpectedly, the artifact displayed astonishing power.

Back when he visited the "Emperor Tower" at night, he had, with the help of the Empress, witnessed the appearance of Heavenly Dao’s cyan clouds and learned it when Zhang Yan Yi explicitly said his main practice was "Heavenly Dao."

It wasn’t hard to guess the identity of the summoned Daoist, undoubtedly in this world, a manifestation of the concept of "Heavenly Dao."

That is, the so-called "Supreme Taoist" worshipped by the common folk.

And the moment the Daoist’s apparition appeared, he only saw a breeze fluttering from both sleeves.

The talented swordsman, once renowned in the Capital, kneeled without any suspense.

At least it was a "World" level Magic… based on his limited experience, Zhao Douan judged.

On the eaves,

Jin Jian’s heart was similarly restless.

Subconsciously, she touched her stomach to ensure the "Imperial Talisman" inside was still there.

Then why did Zhao Douan possess it? Recalling the admonition of the Old Heavenly Master from last night, Jin Jian’s expression turned weird.

To become Zhu Dian’s young priest, even if not intelligent, she was at least not dim-witted.

Her thoughts shifted, and after pondering, she tentatively said,

"Would you believe me if I said I was just passing by?"

Zhao Douan: "…"

Amidst the awkward atmosphere, Jin Jian cleared her throat, hesitated, and chose not to reveal the truth.

She had originally anticipated the story to unfold like this:

Zhao Douan would find himself in a perilous situation, and in his despair, she would descend from above, displaying her mastery.

But since the situation turned out to be the opposite—he almost got away, and before she could make a move, Zhao Douan had already finished his counterattack.

Thinking back to nearly losing track, Jin Jian’s mind shifted, her gaze swept over the alley, and suddenly she reached out and grabbed.

With a "whoosh", the air rippled.

An object, hidden in the alley by Magic and undetected, was pulled into her hand by her.

Jin Jian took a brief look, then lightly leaped down from the alley and tossed the object to Zhao Douan:

"Your spoils of war."

What is this… Zhao Douan caught it and discovered it was a palm-sized scroll.

The scroll was made of jade with a silk fabric rolled inside.

He tried to unroll the scroll, revealing an ink and wash painting.

Depicted was the very alley he had just been in.

At that moment, the scroll seemed covered in a layer of dark gray, as if it had lost its color.

"Is this a Magic Artifact?" he ventured to ask.

Jin Jian glanced at him and corrected:

"It’s a Suppressing Object. If I am not mistaken, it’s called the ’Void Illusion Scroll,’ a rare item that contains an Array, relying on external forces to create an independent spatial illusion. It’s documented in the collections of the Heavenly Master Mansion."

So, did I just enter this painting?

Zhao Douan, thrilled by the discovery:

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"Are these types of Magic Artifacts rare?"

Jin Jian responded affirmatively and explained,

"Each Suppressing Object is unique in the world, unlike talismans and Pills that can be replicated.

There’s only one ’Void Illusion Scroll’ in the world; even if there are similar objects, the details and names rarely repeat.

Especially those involving independent Arrays and internal spaces, even in the Heavenly Master Mansion, they aren’t many.

Even those that exist are held by World’s realm priests; it’s almost impossible for a standard priest to obtain them."

At this, even the substantially wealthy Jin Jian couldn’t help but envy Zhao Douan’s luck.

Zhao Douan became even more excited as he realized he had come upon a treasure.

Hmm, the reason Gao Li had it must be closely related to the Kuangfu Society… to assassinate a court official in the Capital, they had to use such a Magic Artifact to ensure stability…

If not for the powerful Imperial Talisman, perhaps even with all my efforts, my death would’ve gone undetected… Zhao Douan realized.

"How does this thing work?" he asked.

Jin Jian shook her head:

"This level of Suppressing Object is sealed with a secret spell, inaccessible to outsiders unless a highly skilled individual of profound cultivation breaks the seal."

So, there’s a password on this scroll, and I can’t crack it… Zhao Douan nearly cried.

But he still decisively slipped it into his inner pocket, then remembered another trophy—Gao Li’s "Cold Frost Sword"!

Just as his mind moved to search the body, he suddenly heard the sound of approaching horse hooves outside the alley.

Zhao Douan and Jin Jian turned their heads to look.

There, outside the alley, Zhang Han and Haitang dismounted, leading a group of Jinyi, racing into the alley.

Some with knives, some with swords, and all of Haitang’s flying knives were drawn from her waist, ready to strike…

"Master Zhao! Are you still alive?"

Zhang Han, wielding a seven-foot sword, charged into the alley. His usually impassive face briefly lit up with joy, then quickly turned vigilant:

"Where are the rebels? Have they escaped?"

…

Typos to be corrected later