Chapter 00258: Reclaiming the Dao Scripture
# Reclaiming the Dao Scripture
Chapter 258
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 258: Reclaiming the Dao Scripture
Zhong Zhi'an said, "Before Xi Tu's accident, he had visited the Jingwang Immortal Mansion. When he returned, he seemed very happy, but he stopped taking on any more jobs..."
"What did he do at the Jingwang Immortal Mansion? What kind of jobs was he taking?" Lan Xiaobu immediately asked.
Zhong Zhi'an explained, "Xi Tu was originally an immortal craftsman, specializing in building pavilions and towers. The Jingwang Immortal Mansion wanted to construct a viewing platform, so he worked there for a few months."
Lan Xiaobu now understood that Xi Tu was essentially a construction worker, traveling around and working for powerful figures.
"According to past behavior, after completing a project, Xi Tu would rest for at most three days before looking for the next job. Even if he wanted to cultivate, he wouldn't spend more than a month in seclusion. But this time, after returning from the Jingwang Immortal Mansion, he rested for nearly five months without leaving his home. He must have been in seclusion. As the head of Baixi Immortal Corner, I knew about his situation," Zhong Zhi'an added.
He was reluctant to bring this up because it involved the Jingwang Immortal Mansion.
Xi Tu had stopped going out after returning from there and was later killed.
"What is the Jingwang Immortal Mansion? Who is Jingwang?" Lan Xiaobu asked.
Lan Xiaobu knew his question might sound naive, making Zhong Zhi'an suspicious.
However, he was sure that Zhong Zhi'an, fearing Jingwang, wouldn't leak such trivial information, especially if it implicated Jingwang.
As expected, Zhong Zhi'an was surprised by Lan Xiaobu's question.
How could someone from the Forbidden Immortal Bureau not know about the Jingwang Immortal Mansion? Recalling that Lan Xiaobu also didn't know about the Shangguan Immortal Family, Zhong Zhi'an suspected that Lan Xiaobu was an outsider who had entered the Forbidden Immortal Bureau through connections.
He quickly replied, "Jingwang is the seventh son of the Star Ascension Immortal Court King. His mansion is located on the Jiangyan Immortal Path. Jingwang is an Immortal King, and with his father being the ruler of the Immortal Court, his status on the Jiangyan Immortal Path is extremely high."
Lan Xiaobu didn't press further about Jingwang but instead asked about the Shangguan family.
"Who is the strongest cultivator in the Shangguan family? What is their cultivation level?"
Lan Xiaobu only needed to know a bit about Jingwang.
He was certain that Jingwang didn't know about the Second Dao Scripture.
If Jingwang knew, how could Xi Tu have brought it back to cultivate?
As for how Xi Tu obtained the Second Dao Scripture, there were two possibilities: first, he got it from the Jingwang Mansion, but no one there knew about it; second, he obtained it while traveling to or from Jingwang's place.
Since no one in the Jingwang Mansion knew about it, Lan Xiaobu leaned toward the second possibility.
"It's Shangguan Xiaoxiao, the younger brother of Shangguan Qian. He has an extraordinary talent and has already joined the Jiuluan Mountain. He is now at the late-stage Great Perfected Immortal realm and will likely soon break through to the Great Luo Immortal realm," Zhong Zhi'an answered.
"Can you tell me why Shangguan Qian married Xi Tu?"
Zhong Zhi'an said, "I don't know the details, but Shangguan Qian is known for her kindness and gentleness. She has never used her family's influence to oppress anyone in Baixi Immortal Corner."
Lan Xiaobu handed the Void-Breaking Pill to Zhong Zhi'an.
"Thank you, Immortal Zhong. I have no more questions."
Zhong Zhi'an excitedly grabbed the jade bottle and repeatedly thanked him.
Knowing that Zhong Zhi'an was eager to return to seclusion, Lan Xiaobu took his leave.
"Are we returning to the Forbidden Immortal Bureau?" Zhong Yi asked after leaving Baixi Immortal Corner.
Lan Xiaobu shook his head.
"Not yet. Let's visit the Shangguan family first."
Due to the long passage of time, the Cosmic Dimension Matrix had only reconstructed two types of Dao fluctuations.
One was from the Second Dao Scripture, and the other was unfamiliar to Lan Xiaobu but carried a murderous aura.
This murderous fluctuation likely came from the cultivation technique of the person who killed Xi Tu.
This ruled out Shangguan Qian.
From Zhong Zhi'an's description, Shangguan Qian was kind and gentle, so it was unlikely she carried such a murderous aura.
Since Xi Tu wasn't killed by Shangguan Qian, Lan Xiaobu wanted to investigate the Shangguan family.
...
As Lan Xiaobu and Zhong Yi approached the outskirts of the Shangguan family, the family's external affairs elder, Shangguan Xi, came out to greet them.
"Welcome, Immortal Officers of the Forbidden Immortal Bureau, to the Shangguan family."
Zhong Yi introduced, "Brother Xiaobu, this is Elder Shangguan Xi, the external affairs elder of the Shangguan family."
Lan Xiaobu clasped his hands in greeting.
"I am Lan Xiaobu from the Forbidden Immortal Bureau. I am here to investigate the case of Xi Tu from Baixi Immortal Corner and must trouble you for some information."
Shangguan Xi sighed.
"If you are here to see Shangguan Qian, I'm afraid you've come in vain."
What did that mean? Was Shangguan Qian not at her family home?
Shangguan Xi performed an immortal salute.
"Shangguan Qian was taken away by Bai Duanfu. He said that since Xi Tu was killed, it wasn't safe for Qian to stay with the Shangguan family, so he took her away."
Lan Xiaobu frowned.
Was this a ruse? Shangguan Qian wasn't safe with her own family but was safe with Bai Duanfu?
Shangguan Xi knew what Lan Xiaobu was thinking and quickly explained.
"The Bai Duan family once came here to propose a marriage between Bai Duanfu and Qian. However, Qian's father had already promised her to Xi Tu, so the proposal was declined. Later, Bai Duanfu joined the Seven Snow Immortal Sect and didn't bring it up again. This time, after Qian's husband was killed, Bai Duanfu happened to return and took her away."
Zhong Yi quickly sent a voice transmission.
"Bai Duanfu is the top genius of the Bai Duan Immortal Family, famous throughout the Jiangyan Immortal Path. It's said he has already reached the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. The Bai Duan family also has two Immortal Kings, making them a formidable force. Rumor has it that Bai Duanfu's mother is one of Jingwang's women, so it's understandable that the Shangguan family didn't resist."
So that was the case.
However, the timing was too coincidental, and Lan Xiaobu didn't believe Bai Duanfu's intentions were purely for Shangguan Qian.
"In that case, I won't trouble you further," Lan Xiaobu said without hesitation, preparing to leave.
He could investigate the Shangguan family, but he certainly didn't have the authority to investigate Bai Duanfu.
This matter couldn't be pursued under the name of the Forbidden Immortal Bureau; it had to be done secretly.
He needed to advance to the Great Yi Immortal realm quickly, or everything would be for naught.
"Brother Xiaobu, this case might be difficult to investigate further," Zhong Yi said, knowing much more about the Bai Duan family and Jingwang than Lan Xiaobu.
He understood that continuing the investigation would be suicidal.
Lan Xiaobu patted Zhong Yi.
"When you return, write that we've investigated the scene of the Baixi Immortal Corner case and that the details are still under investigation. Don't mention anything else."
Zhong Yi also knew that under no circumstances should they mention the Bai Duan family or Jingwang, as that would escalate the situation beyond their control.
The owner of the Void-Breaking Pill likely didn't want this to blow up either.
"Excuse me, are you the Immortal Officers from the Forbidden Immortal Bureau?" a clear voice called out to Lan Xiaobu.
The person who caught up to them was a young woman.
Lan Xiaobu looked at her curiously.
"Yes, I am Lan Xiaobu from the Forbidden Immortal Bureau. How can I help you?"
The young woman quickly handed a crystal ball to Lan Xiaobu.
"Immortal Officer Lan, my aunt gave this to me. She said that if anyone from the Forbidden Immortal Bureau came to investigate, I should give this crystal ball to them. If no one came, then it didn't matter. My aunt is Shangguan Qian."
After saying this, the young woman hurriedly turned and left, disappearing quickly.
Lan Xiaobu didn't open the crystal ball immediately but stored it away.
He then said to Zhong Yi, "Go back to the Forbidden Immortal Bureau and request a leave of absence for me, about one to six months."
"Understood," Zhong Yi replied.
Though he didn't know what Lan Xiaobu was planning, as a subordinate, his job was to follow orders.
...
Lan Xiaobu didn't even return to the Forbidden Immortal Bureau, putting Ju Xiuruo's matter on hold.
He first went back to his residence, set up a series of restrictions, and then took out the crystal ball.
When he activated the crystal ball, an image of Shangguan Qian appeared.
Shangguan Qian was holding a Dao Scripture.
Lan Xiaobu immediately recognized it as the *Second Dao Scripture* he had given to Liu Li.
There was no mistaking it.
"This is a Dao Scripture my husband obtained. I don't know where he got it from, as he refused to say. However, I feel that this scripture will bring disaster to both me and my husband. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince him to stop cultivating it. If something happens to me or my husband, it will surely be because of this scripture..."
The recording was short, ending after just a few sentences.
Liu Li was in danger.
Lan Xiaobu clenched his fists.
In a way, he was responsible for Liu Li's predicament.
He had left the *Second Dao Scripture* with Liu Li, and now Liu Li was in trouble because of it.
To find out what had happened to Liu Li, Lan Xiaobu would have to visit the Jingwang Immortal Mansion.
With this in mind, Lan Xiaobu immediately set up a Spirit-Binding Array and tossed out a pile of immortal crystals.
While others used Spirit-Gathering Arrays for cultivation, Lan Xiaobu used a Spirit-Binding Array.
After finishing, Lan Xiaobu had the Cosmic Dimension Matrix recreate the *Second Dao Scripture*.
A treasure like the *Second Dao Scripture* could be reclaimed by Lan Xiaobu at any time.
...
In the northern region of the Star Ascension Immortal Court, there were many immortal cultivation families, but the most famous were the Ten Great Immortal Families.
Even among the Ten Great Immortal Families, there was a vast difference between the first and the tenth.
The top family in the north was the Bai Duan Immortal Family, while the tenth-ranked family didn't even have a single Great Luo Immortal.
In contrast, the Bai Duan family had two Immortal Kings.
Today was a significant day for the Bai Duan family, though only three people were present: the family's first grand elder, Bai Duanqi; the family head, Bai Duanhuang; and the family's top genius, Bai Duanfu.
In the most secretive cave of the Bai Duan family, the family head, Bai Duanhuang, spoke first.
"Nephew Fu, we were supposed to hold the scripture-opening ceremony two months ago, but the grand elder only returned today."
Bai Duanfu had an unattractive appearance, with bulging eyes and a horse-like face.
However, his Dao aura was condensed, and his cultivation had reached the early Great Luo Immortal stage, making him a formidable figure in the Bai Duan family.
Hearing the family head's words, Bai Duanfu quickly stood up.
"The *Second Dao Scripture* is a demonic scripture. Opening it requires utmost caution. Moreover, changing cultivation techniques is a major event for our family. It was only right to wait for the grand elder's return."
The grand elder nodded in approval.
"Indeed. First, take out the *Second Dao Scripture* so we can examine it."
"Yes," Bai Duanfu replied, quickly retrieving a scripture from his spatial ring and placing it on the table.
(End of Chapter)