Chapter 1145 The Gardener

Zhang Xuan was a time traveler, carrying the fine qualities and good habits of the Chinese people. He was always reluctant to be at odds with others, mostly preferring to make peace and turn big problems into small ones, and small ones into nothing.

But... a dragon has its scales; touch them and you die!

Sun Qiang had followed him since the Tianxuan Kingdom, meticulously managing his daily affairs, working tirelessly and conscientiously. Although he didn't want to comment on the guy's cultivation, without him, he would never have been able to completely eliminate his worries and devote himself fully to cultivation, reaching such a level in less than a year.

It could be said that this Steward Sun had become one of the most important people in his life, on par with Wang Ying, Zhao Ya, and the others.

And this fellow before him dared to use that as a threat—how could he not be angry?

"You dare hit me?"

Obviously not expecting that, with a hostage in hand, the man would still dare to act, the black-clad youth struggled to stand up, a fierce hatred in his eyes.

"I'll make you..."

With a roar, he charged forward, but before he could finish his words, he felt his whole body tighten, and someone grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.

Then the youth saw a pair of indifferent eyes.

"If you want to die, I can grant your wish."

Feeling the killing intent and hearing the cold, icy words, the black-clad youth's face turned pale. He had wanted to say something more, but now all words were swallowed back, and he couldn't utter a single one.

He had experienced life and death and could see the attitude of the man before him. If he dared to say half a word more, he would definitely be killed on the spot.

"Who is your master? Where is Sun Qiang now?"

Seeing that the other party was no longer talking nonsense, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"I..." The black-clad youth shrank back. "My master is the First Prince of Qingyuan Empire, Prince Zhongqing..."

"Prince Zhongqing?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Why did he capture my man?"

He had only been in the Qingyuan Empire for a little over three days, and his activities were limited to the Spirit Awakener Guild, the Shocking Master Guild, and the War Master Hall.

He hadn't even been to other places, so how could he have offended this so-called First Prince?

If it wasn't an offense, the other party shouldn't have had the audacity to lay hands on a master teacher!

Even if it was just a servant of a master teacher, it concerned the master's dignity. To openly kidnap him and send someone to threaten... that was quite bold.

"I'm just a servant... I really don't know anything else!" The black-clad youth trembled.

"Lead the way!"

Seeing that the other party might really not know, Zhang Xuan patted him on the back and casually threw him to the ground.

"Yes!"

Shrinking his neck, the black-clad youth, no longer arrogant, hurriedly walked ahead.

"Master Zhang, I've heard of this Prince Zhongqing before. You need to be careful..."

Following closely behind, Yu Fei'er's brows were tightly knit.

She was a princess of the Hongyuan Empire. Although she didn't like politics, she still knew a thing or two from what she had seen and heard.

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan turned his head.

"This prince was originally a commoner. More than twenty years ago, the alien spirit race somehow found a passage and launched a massive invasion. The Master Teacher Hall, the War Master Hall, and the Qingyuan Empire sent forces to resist... All three major forces suffered heavy losses. War Master Hall Master Xing Tianming was severely injured and nearly fell!"

"At that time... the Qingyuan Emperor Chu Tianxing led the campaign personally. He was ambushed by the alien spirit race and couldn't escape. Just as he was about to be killed, this Prince Zhongqing appeared out of nowhere, slaughtered the enemies, and rescued him... Later, he repeatedly achieved merits. In just over twenty years, he rose from an ordinary person to a prince, and even became the top prince of a different surname!"

Yu Fei'er said.

"The alien spirit race invaded?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

The crack on Hall Master Xing's primordial spirit was left more than twenty years ago.

"The emperor is always surrounded by countless experts, and his own strength should be considerable... Surrounded by the alien spirit race and unable to escape, what strength did this Prince Zhongqing have to rescue him without injury?"

Zhang Xuan asked.

Even Hall Master Xing couldn't withstand it and nearly fell. How did an unknown person manage to escape from the alien spirit race's encirclement?

"I'm not too sure about the details... Oh, by the way, I once heard my father mention it to someone—it seemed to be... poison!"

Shaking her head, Yu Fei'er suddenly remembered something and said.

"Poison?"

Zhang Xuan frowned. "Could it be... that this prince is a poison master?"

If he used poison, it was very possible!

The reason the poison master profession was so feared was mainly because it wasn't afraid of group attacks. If used correctly, even a large number could be easily killed.

For example, among the Ten Kings of Qingtian, nine out of ten were poisoned to death by his Heavenly Dao true qi.

If it had been a direct fight, he would have died many times over.

"I'm not sure if he's a poison master, but many ministers who opposed Prince Zhongqing over the past twenty years all died of illness... Because of this, he holds great power in the court. Coupled with the fact that he once saved the emperor, he is deeply valued, and everyone has to be wary of him."

Yu Fei'er said.

Nodding, Zhang Xuan's brow furrowed even tighter.

Regardless of whether this fellow was a poison master, he didn't know him and had never seen him before. Why would he want to capture Sun Qiang?

"Since he could capture Sun Qiang, it means he doesn't care at all about my status as a six-star master teacher and the dean of the Master Teacher Academy. You two shouldn't go... I'll go alone!"

After a pause, Zhang Xuan said.

Whatever the other party's intentions, it was clear they were targeting him. Since that was the case, there was no need to drag these two into this muddy water.

"Teacher Zhang, you are my teacher. As your student, I cannot stand by and watch you walk into danger while I flee. Otherwise, how could I face the profession of master teacher?"

Stepping forward, Luo Qiqi's gaze was resolute.

She was Zhang Xuan's student in alchemy and artifact forging. Though not a direct disciple and without a formal apprenticeship ceremony, there was still a bond between teacher and student.

"I won't go back either! I want to advance and retreat together with Teacher Zhang..." Yu Fei'er lifted her pretty face.

"This..."

Seeing the firm resolve in their eyes, Zhang Xuan shook his head. With a flick of his wrist, he produced two pills. "These are detoxification pills I refined. They can neutralize a hundred poisons. Take them first. If the other party really is a poison master, these will ensure your safety!"

His so-called detoxification pills were just ordinary pills infused with Heaven's Path true qi.

"Mm!"

Knowing that if they refused, he definitely wouldn't take them along, the two said no more and swallowed the medicine.

"Let's go!"

Their exchange had been through telepathy, so it didn't affect their walking. Following the black-clad youth, before long, a massive mansion appeared before them.

The mansion was tall and imposing. Though it couldn't compare to major powers like the War Master Hall, it was not far behind. Formations densely covered the area. Even before approaching, they could see the surrounding spiritual energy slowly converging toward it, making it a cultivation treasure land abundant in spiritual energy.

Even an ordinary person living in such a place would surely have their lifespan extended.

"This is the Prince's Mansion..."

The black-clad youth approached and whispered something to the guards at the gate. One guard glanced at Zhang Xuan and the others, then went inside.

After a short while, he came back out and nodded.

"Please, come in!"

A flicker of ruthlessness passed through the youth's eyes, but he quickly concealed it and led the way inside.

Zhang Xuan pretended not to notice and, with Yu Fei'er and Luo Qiqi, followed him in.

As befitted the mansion of the first prince of a titled empire, it was even more magnificent than the imperial palace of the Hongyuan Empire. Rare ores paved the paths, giving an overwhelming sense of luxury at a glance.

"This architecture not only involves a very skilled formation master's layout but also seems to have been designed by a landscape master!"

After a few steps, Luo Qiqi said.

"Landscape master?" Zhang Xuan heard this term for the first time.

"Mm, landscape masters, like spirit awakeners, are not among the nine mainstream professions, but they are honored guests of many major powers and great clans!" Luo Qiqi said.

"Oh? Does your Hongyuan Empire have landscape masters?" Zhang Xuan looked at Yu Fei'er.

"Never heard of them..." Yu Fei'er shook her head.

"I read about it in an ancient text..."

Luo Qiqi smiled. "It is said that such landscape masters can design residences or sects based on terrain, feng shui, the surrounding environment... and many other conditions, perfectly integrating buildings, formations, and mechanisms to complement each other and unleash the strongest power! If a sect or a clan can have a landscape master design their layout, their overall defensive capability will definitely increase by more than double!"

"Of course, this profession is extremely rare and lacks a complete lineage... I only speculated because the layout here is very unique, balancing with the surrounding formations!"

"Indeed, it's very balanced."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

As a七星巅峰 formation master with the Eye of Insight, he had naturally seen it long before Luo Qiqi could.

He had also been to the imperial palace of the Hongyuan Empire. Though there were many formations there, almost each one operated independently, activating only upon contact... Here, they were clearly connected, working in concert with the architecture. Once one was triggered, a chain reaction would follow, making escape difficult.

If the formations in the Hongyuan imperial palace were like individually placed mousetraps that only reacted when touched, then here they were like dominoes—touching any one would trigger a chain reaction, making it impossible to flee.

It was probably as she said, related to a landscape master.

As he pondered this while following the black-clad youth, he suddenly heard a clatter of footsteps around him, and dozens of guards rushed over.

In the blink of an eye, the three were surrounded.

"Kid, weren't you quite arrogant earlier? Give him a good beating and let him know that the people of Zhongqing Prince's Mansion are not to be trifled with!"

Slipping behind the crowd, the black-clad youth sneered coldly, his face twisted with malice.

He had been sent to invite them, thinking it would be an easy task, but he had nearly been kicked to death. He harbored deep hatred for this man. At the gate, he had secretly informed the guards to prepare an ambush.

Clatter!

At his command, the surrounding guards surged forward, their weapons clanging and gleaming with sharp light. Combined with the formations around, their aura surged like a dragon in an instant.