Chapter 12: An Important Learning Opportunity

The Imperial Astronomer’s eyes lit up when he saw Qiao Niannian’s technique.

"Girl, who is your master? To be able to directly manipulate spiritual energy... However, as far as I know, there are only two people in this world capable of directly manipulating spiritual power, and neither of them has ever been to the capital."

Qiao Niannian was the daughter of a Marquis and had never left the capital; she couldn't possibly have encountered those two.

Qiao Niannian shook her head. "You will never be able to meet him."

Not to mention the barrier of time and space, even in the modern world, her master had already ascended. She didn't know if she would ever have the chance to see him again in this lifetime.

Seeing that Qiao Niannian did not wish to elaborate, the Imperial Astronomer tactfully said no more.

The main hall was brightly lit, and the Emperor lay in a deep sleep on the dragon bed.

Inside the room, the Crown Prince, Qiao Niannian, the Imperial Astronomer, and the Head Eunuch Li Furui stood guard.

The group did not know how long they had been waiting when the candles in the room suddenly dimmed.

Li Furui asked in confusion, "Where did that wind come from? Could a window have blown open?"

He knew that the Imperial Astronomer and Miss Qiao were here tonight to catch the person casting a blood curse on the Emperor. He had ordered the doors and windows to be shut tight long ago; nothing should have gone wrong!

Just as Li Furui was about to check if a window had been blown open, the Imperial Astronomer’s expression turned stern. "It’s here."

Li Furui’s body trembled. Could it be something unclean? He hurriedly retreated a few steps, shielding the Emperor’s bed.

If it wanted to kill, it could kill him first!

Xia Rongyu’s expression was cold and hard, his eyes fixed on the main hall. Although he did not know the exact location of the evil energy, his senses were sharp. The temperature would drop when the evil energy appeared, and he could rely on his keen perception to put up a fight.

The Imperial Astronomer was determined to lure Qiao Niannian to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

He felt this was a perfect opportunity.

He looked at Qiao Niannian and spoke with a smile.

"Girl, I’ll show you how I catch this thing in a moment."

The Imperial Astronomer knew that Qiao Niannian was excellent at drawing talismans.

However, in the field of metaphysics, drawing talismans was only one discipline. There were also sorcery, numerology, divination, feng shui, and physiognomy, with sorcery being the most powerful.

Sorcery belonged to the Great Dao and varied in depth and mastery; its duty was to eliminate demons and uphold the righteous path. Since the Imperial Astronomer could oversee the entire Imperial Astronomical Bureau, his skills were naturally beyond question.

He intended to demonstrate his prowess to Qiao Niannian today so she would know how formidable he was.

Qiao Niannian nodded obediently; she was indeed quite curious about how ghosts were caught in ancient times.

After reaching an understanding with Qiao Niannian, the Imperial Astronomer turned his gaze toward the hall, his expression serious.

This was the third time the sorcerer had cast a spell on the Emperor; he could not allow the slightest mistake.

Besides, whether he could successfully recruit Qiao Niannian depended on today.

He quickly pulled a palm-sized brass compass from his robes.

His fingers formed a seal as he traced it over the compass. The copper needle began to spin wildly, and the room’s lights began to flicker.

The Imperial Astronomer shifted his spell, and the copper needle stopped at a specific orientation.

The next moment, the Imperial Astronomer whipped out five or six talismans. The talismans flashed with golden light, flew into the air, and stuck onto the evil energy. The six talismans formed a circle, trapping the evil energy tightly.

Once the evil energy was contained, the room instantly returned to normal, becoming as bright as day again.

The group looked at the talismans suspended in mid-air and saw the circle formed by the paper constantly deforming, as if something were struggling inside.

Seeing the evil energy contained, the Imperial Astronomer breathed a sigh of relief.

At least he hadn't embarrassed himself.

But the next moment, everyone saw the circle formed by the talismans growing larger and larger. Before long, the six confinement talismans shattered instantly, and the room plunged into total darkness.

The Imperial Astronomer shouted immediately, "Oh no, this evil energy is going to harm the Emperor!"

Li Furui stood guard by the Emperor’s bed, his face filled with terror.

Kill him if you must, but don't hurt the Emperor!

Qiao Niannian narrowed her eyes, easily capturing the mass of evil energy in the hall.

Xia Rongyu drew his precious sword at the same time.

Strangely, when the mass of evil energy lunged toward the Emperor, it avoided the area around Xia Rongyu.

Qiao Niannian looked over, her eyes brightening.

The God-Slaying Sword?!!

What exactly was the background of this Crown Prince?

He even possessed a God-Slaying Sword.

The God-Slaying Sword could slay anything in the world. While it appeared to be just a sharp sword, its blade actually contained the essence of fire and thunder.

These two things were what evil energy feared most; no wonder the evil energy bypassed Xia Rongyu to attack the Emperor.

Seeing the evil energy approaching, Qiao Niannian reached out and grabbed it from the void.

Caught, the evil energy twisted and struggled in Qiao Niannian’s hand.

Qiao Niannian looked at it with disdain, simply rolling the evil energy into a ball and compressing it until it was only the size of a fist.

Qiao Niannian slapped a talisman onto it and tossed it in her hand; it actually felt quite nice.

The next moment, Qiao Niannian waved her hand, and the candles in the room lit up again. The Imperial Astronomer scanned the room, his gaze finally landing on the ball of black energy in Qiao Niannian’s hand.

"Is this... the evil energy?"

Everyone in the room looked at Qiao Niannian.

When the Imperial Astronomer had used talismans to pin it down earlier, he had used a full six of them, and its volume had been quite significant.

Just as they were about to ask, they saw Qiao Niannian press down on the black energy a few more times. They watched with their own eyes as the black mass shrank another size.

Wait, could evil energy even be compressed?

The Imperial Astronomer fell into self-doubt.

Whenever he had seen evil energy before, he had either purified it or scattered it; he had never considered compressing the thing!

Li Furui glanced at the black mass in Qiao Niannian’s hand, and his courage grew.

Such a pitch-black little thing didn't look so scary after all!

Xia Rongyu took two steps forward. The black mass instinctively tried to hide, but suppressed by the talisman, it couldn't fly away and could only shiver in place.

Xia Rongyu didn't notice the evil energy’s fear; instead, he looked at Qiao Niannian. "What now?"

Qiao Niannian tossed the sphere of black energy in her hand. "Let it lead us to its master."

With that, Qiao Niannian flicked her finger, and the talisman on the black mass vanished.

The next moment, feeling the confinement disappear, the black mass "whooshed" through the window and flew out.

Outside was pitch black, and the black mass vanished as if it were wearing an invisibility cloak.

Li Furui was alarmed. "It ran away!"

Qiao Niannian was not in a hurry. "Don't worry, it can't escape. We’ll go after it now."

Li Furui immediately spoke up, "I will have the servants prepare a carriage at once."

The Imperial Astronomer reminded them, "Prepare the fastest horses."

Li Furui was about to nod when Qiao Niannian waved her hand. "No need, we’ll go ourselves."

Then, Qiao Niannian grabbed Xia Rongyu’s arm, pulled out a teleportation talisman, and the two vanished from the spot.

Imperial Astronomer:...

No.

He wanted to go too. Why didn't they take him?

The Imperial Astronomer chased out, unwilling to give up, but looking into the vast night, he had no idea which direction to pursue.

The guards outside saw the Imperial Astronomer emerge and immediately bowed.

"Lord Astronomer, do you have any orders?"

The Imperial Astronomer coughed lightly and asked, "Did you see anyone leave just now?"

The guard shook his head. "This subordinate has been guarding here the whole time and can guarantee that no one has come out."

The Imperial Astronomer clutched his chest.

His heart ached.

He had missed a crucial learning opportunity!