Chapter 84: Chapter 80: Venerable Purple Fate Grid “Nine Orifices Exquisite

The next evening arrived quickly.

The moonlight draped down like a curtain, and the sound of cicadas filled the summer night.

Bright moonlight illuminated Lu Mingyuan’s face in the courtyard, making his eyes gleam like hidden springs.

He leaned back in a rocking chair, one leg crossed over the other, patiently waiting for the impending trouble.

His mother’s maid was compromised, which meant someone was setting a trap for him. Tonight, the scheme would be revealed.

SNAP.

He silently snapped his fingers.

Ripples spread across the ground as pools of blood gathered, rising to take on humanoid shapes.

In the end, ten Blood Glutton Puppets appeared before him.

Each wore a bronze mask and had a burly build. They knelt on one knee with fists clasped, awaiting his command. Inside their bodies, a grain-of-sand-sized piece of the Thousand Mechanism Blood Divine Jade faintly flickered.

Each puppet’s strength was roughly at the Fourth Realm, about half of his own. They could use Basic Martial Arts like the Mountain Shaking Fist and the Fiery Fire Saber Technique.

“Your Highness, the Noble Consort is here again.”

Hearing Hong Wan’s report, Lu Mingyuan gave a light wave of his hand. In an instant, the Blood Glutton Puppets dissolved back into pools of blood, melting into the ground and vanishing from sight.

“Welcome her at once.”

Soon, he saw his mother walk in with a worried expression.

“Mother.” Lu Mingyuan walked over to support her, immediately taking in her expression.

When Wang Zhaoyan saw Lu Mingyuan, her worried look did not lessen. She sighed.

“Yuan’Er, you were right. The young lady of the Huo Mansion refuses to marry you.”

“She said that if she can’t find a man who can best her, she would rather die than marry. She’s holing up in the army barracks now and refuses to come home. Even her own mother can’t make her.”

Lu Mingyuan’s expression remained calm as he listened. He wasn’t angry; instead, he nodded as if he had expected it.

“She is quite a determined woman.”

He smiled faintly. “See? I told you. It’s not that I’m unwilling to marry her, but some preconceptions, once formed, are impossible to shake.”

“We would be better off considering the Qi Family.”

Wang Zhaoyan shot him a reproachful glare. “Are you trying to make a fool of your mother? The Qi Family is a renowned scholarly line, full of academics. Qi Xingyan is one of the generation’s Great Scholars; I can’t even get a meeting with him, let alone know where he is. You’re the one who sees Qi Muxue in the palace from time to time. Why don’t you talk to her yourself? If you really like her, then win her over on your own.”

“I don’t know what Miss Qi feels.”

Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan couldn’t help but smile wryly and scratch his head.

When facing other women, he could usually remain calm and composed, even flirtatiously teasing and making bold moves.

But when it came to Qi Muxue, he would always beat around the bush and act as if he didn’t care, putting on an air of indifference.

’I really don’t know what’s gotten into me.’

At the same time, Lu Mingyuan recalled Qi Xingyan’s test from the day before, wondering about its true purpose.

There had been no word since.

’If he really intended to side with me, he should have offered Qi Muxue’s hand in marriage.’

’Then Mother wouldn’t have to be running around, worrying about my marriage.’

“Oh, my, my! Is my son actually getting flustered? The sun must be rising in the west! You really do like this Miss Qi, don’t you,” Wang Zhaoyan exclaimed, a teasing and fiery glint in her eyes.

“So, since the Huo Family is unwilling, let’s just call it off. I don’t need anyone’s help; it’s not like I’m lacking for women or wealth. Just as you said, Mother, there are plenty of women in the Imperial Capital. Why would I need one from the Huo Family?”

Lu Mingyuan stated his case without the slightest hesitation.

The Champion Marquis’s Mansion was certainly a considerable power, especially now that the Champion Marquis had returned to the Imperial Court.

But you can’t force a horse to drink. It just wasn’t worth it.

On the path of the Martial Dao, he could rely on himself. Everything the future held would still be well within his grasp.

’I’m not going to get angry or resent the Champion Marquis for looking down on me. It’s perfectly normal, and it actually keeps me safer. I should even thank Huo Hongling for keeping the Champion Marquis away from the Wang Family.’

’I was worried that marrying the Champion Marquis’s daughter would draw too much attention, making the other Princes covetous and causing them to target the Wang Family.’

’The Champion Marquis choosing the Wang Family was, in itself, a sign that he wished to withdraw from the Court’s struggles.’

’This is for the best. Now there’s no need to worry at all.’

Seeing Lu Mingyuan’s open-minded and optimistic expression and feeling the strength in her son’s heart, the gloom in her own heart was swept away. A gentle smile appeared on her face as she thought to herself:

’My son is becoming so mature and steady. It’s just a shame he’s lost the right to inherit the throne. Otherwise, being talented in both literature and martial arts, he would one day spread his wings like a great roc, his roar shaking the Nine Heavens.’

These last few days, she had been watching him in secret.

She found Lu Mingyuan’s every word and deed to be quite excellent.

Though he hadn’t composed any poetry, he often uttered clever remarks. In his interactions, he had built many good relationships within the palace, showing he had become quite astute.

In terms of lust, although he was as lecherous as before, he had become quite restrained.

And he was willing to learn martial arts.

The Lu Mingyuan of the past had scoffed at martial practice, calling it a crude and vulgar affair.

He refused to endure the hardship of martial training. When told to study Confucian classics, he couldn’t focus on the books. Instead, he spent his days running off to brothels. As for Cultivation, he lacked the talent. And the Buddhist Dao? Not even an option. She would never let her son become a monk.

Back then, she had been worried sick.

’Maybe things are fine just the way they are now.’

’As long as he lives a safe and peaceful life, staying by my side and with his grandfather… if he can just live out his days like that, I’ll be content.’

“It’s been a long time since I had a drink with my son. How about one tonight?”

Wang Zhaoyan’s eyes fell on the wine jar on the table and, on a whim, she smiled lightly.

“Alright.”

Lu Mingyuan didn’t think much of it and nodded in agreement.

At that very moment, he saw the red vapor reappear on the body of the Palace Maid standing to the side.

It immediately put him on high alert.

Wang Zhaoyan poured them both a cup of wine, admonishing him as she did. “You still need to settle down. Look at the other Princes. Which of them didn’t marry early? You’re the sixth prince; you should have taken a wife long ago. You’re not getting any younger. Can’t you let your mother hold her grandchild soon…?”

Lu Mingyuan agreed absentmindedly, the corner of his eye fixed on the Palace Maid’s every move.

The strange Palace Maid acted as if nothing was amiss. She went to a corner of the hall to light the dregs of incense in the incense burner.

But Lu Mingyuan clearly saw her swap the old incense for a new, purple stick.

“You may all withdraw. I have some things to discuss with my son.”

“Yes.”

With that, the strange Palace Maid withdrew and closed the main door.

Seeing that the servants had all left, Wang Zhaoyan’s expression turned serious. “Do you remember the great flood that lasted for seven days and seven nights?”

Lu Mingyuan asked, puzzled, “I remember. What about it?”

“Do you know where the flood came from?”

“I don’t.” Lu Mingyuan shook his head.

Wang Zhaoyan lowered her voice and said seriously, “That was the commotion your father, the Emperor, caused while undergoing a tribulation.”

“A tribulation? Could it be the Dragon Gate Tribulation?”

Lu Mingyuan was slightly stunned.

“That’s right, the Dragon Gate Tribulation.”

Lu Mingyuan asked, confused, “How could the Dragon Gate Tribulation cause such a terrifying worldly phenomenon?”

Wang Zhaoyan clearly knew some inside information. She said lightly, “For the past twenty years, your imperial father’s obsession has been his lifespan. In his attempts to break through the Dragon Gate, he has even neglected the Harem. What I’m trying to say is, you might not have to endure for thirty years. In ten years at most, the world will fall into chaos.”

Lu Mingyuan’s expression remained neutral. “What are you trying to say, Mother?”

Wang Zhaoyan sighed. “I’m saying you don’t need to worry so much. You won’t be in the Cold Palace for too long. This world will soon be in turmoil.”

Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan fell into thought.

At this moment, wisps of purple smoke began to curl up, surrounding them.

“My head is so dizzy…”

Smelling the purple smoke, Wang Zhaoyan pressed her fair hands to her temples. Her vision swam with overlapping images.

At the same time, her forehead grew hotter, and her face became flushed.

Seeing this, Lu Mingyuan looked at the source of the purple smoke, his mouth slightly agape.

“It’s Demon Fragrance!”

’How could I not understand what this Heart Inquiry Bureau is now!’

’The Second Prince orchestrated this whole farce to shatter my Daoxin! He wants to force incest between mother and son, making me an unworthy human being, so afraid that I’ll never touch a woman again for the rest of my life!’

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.

’If this continues, Mother and I will both pass out. The Palace Maids will burst in, and the scandal will be everywhere.’

’What a venomous scheme!’

’But if I extinguish this Confusing Fragrance now, I won’t pass the Heart Inquiry Bureau’s test!’

’And Lu Guangjing will realize my abilities aren’t so simple.’

’That will lead to a direct confrontation.’

’It would lead to the third Gua, causing me to lose the initiative and be forced into a passive position. I have to overcome this Heart Inquiry Bureau.’

’Since the first Gua was ’Average Fortune,’ there must be a way to overcome this.’

With that thought, Lu Mingyuan no longer hesitated. He couldn’t worry about anything else right now.

He took out the Blessed Vermilion Bird Brush and lightly tapped the ground.

He chanted silently in his heart.

Drawing Prison!

Instantly, a seamless Cyan Light Gang Shield materialized around him, emitting a dazzling radiance that resisted the encroaching purple demon smoke.

The situation immediately improved.

His mother had already passed out. She was murmuring incoherently and flailing her arms and legs, lost in some unknown dream.

’I don’t know what this demon smoke is made of to be this sinister.’

Inside the Astral Shield, Lu Mingyuan saw the swirling demon smoke gather together, forming a giant hand that smashed toward him.

But the Drawing Prison, formed by the Blessed Vermilion Bird Brush, could not be broken even by a Ninth Realm Cultivator. It was impervious to Demon Fiends, let alone mere demon smoke.

The entire hall was soon filled with the smoke.

Only the cyan light, like a blooming lotus, remained, a solitary ray of light in the darkness.

But Lu Mingyuan had also inhaled a small amount of the demon smoke.

His head grew groggy, and though his vision blurred with double images, he did not fall unconscious.

Gradually, a series of strange, demonic whispers sounded in his ears, all from women with different voices.

“Don’t you like beauties the most? There’s one right next to you~”

“Lu Mingyuan, I declare that you are my, Yun Qinghe’s, first man.”

“Young Master Lu, am I beautiful? I’ve actually always liked you…”

“I have admired you for so long, my dear brother-in-law. Just take me, your sister-in-law!”

There was Yun Qinghe’s voice, Qi Muxue’s, and even Yang Yingchan’s…

His mother’s face morphed into their appearances, a truly bizarre and sinister sight.

Lu Mingyuan watched them with an icy gaze, knowing none of it was real.

’Am I really some debauched fop? I’m a transmigrator. This scheme is useless against me.’

“Silence, all of you!”

He roared in his heart.

The voices in his mind all dissipated, and his vision returned to normal as the double images vanished.

Feeling the steady flow of Martial Dao Primordial Qi through his meridians and Acupoints, Lu Mingyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

This grand scheme was finally over.

He had seen through the Heart Demon.

His eyes, now as clear as a pristine spring, gazed out the window at the bright moon.

’I’ve passed the Heart Inquiry Bureau’s test.’

’If it had been the original owner of this body, he really might have failed the Heart Inquiry Bureau’s test.’

’I only inhaled a tiny bit of the Demon Fragrance and still had such a strong reaction. If I’d inhaled it all… the consequences are unimaginable.’

’If something had actually happened with Mother, would my Daoxin really have shattered?’

At this very moment.

Lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[Gua Complete. Average Fortune.]

[Disaster overcome. Triggered Life Chart Trait (Dragon Raising Its Head). A purple Opportunity has been obtained.]

[Acquired Venerable Purple Fate Grid: Nine Orifices Exquisite. Refinement Level: 5%]

[Venerable Purple Life Chart (Nine Orifices Exquisite): A heart with nine orifices, a body exquisitely wrought, able to see the sincerity of the world. The Dao has the Daoxin, Buddhism has the Zen Heart, Confucianism has the Game-Mind Art, and the Martial path has the Blood Heart.]

[Unlocked Life Chart Trait: Zen Heart (Basic Level)]

[Zen Heart (Basic Level): Bodhi originally has no tree, Bright Mirror Is Not A Platform. Originally there is nothing, where did the dust come from? A heart like a bright mirror fears no Heart Demon. Carnal desires and distracting thoughts will have great difficulty affecting the Life Master.]

…

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