120: Deduction from the Heavenly Book, Fifth-Rank Prohibition

Xie Weilou only felt a tearing pain in his brain, with various pieces of information constantly flooding in, but he paid no attention, instead focusing on comprehending.

In a flash.

An incense stick's worth of time passed.

The imprinting ended, the figure and runes dissipated, and the Heavenly Book returned to peace.

Xie Weilou opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

The Heavenly Book's deduction, and even the grand imprinting it provided, made him feel as if he had instantly become a seasoned master of Restriction.

As he expected, the Heavenly Book's deduction had advanced further; the ancient texts Luo Yunxiao provided were merely foundational. The Restriction techniques he now commanded had already surpassed those texts, likely reaching the sixth rank.

......

Xie Weilou extended his hand, and a piece of precious jade appeared in his palm.

A golden light emanated from his fingers as he rapidly etched patterns onto the jade.

Buzz!

Numerous mysterious runes imprinted themselves onto the jade. His movements were incredibly fluid, without the slightest hint of awkwardness—this was the abnormal power of the Heavenly Book's grand imprinting.

A few breaths later.

The etching was complete.

The precious jade floated in the pavilion.

Xie Weilou struck out with a palm.

Boom!

When the palm print struck the jade, the runes on the jade flickered, directly blocking the strike.

Restriction have countless wondrous uses: they can defend, attack, enhance the power of treasures, and so on. They are related to and complement formations. Many Restriction combined can even form a peerless grand formation.

......

Xie Weilou put away the jade and continued to take out other pieces of jade, constantly etching.

Etching Restriction places immense demands on one's soul and spiritual power in their dantian. Etching Restriction runes consumes a great deal of energy.

Based on rank, he should be a sixth-rank Restriction Master.

However, this does not mean he can etch sixth-rank Restriction. If his own soul power and internal spiritual power cannot keep up, it is equally difficult to etch Restriction commensurate with his rank.

After quite a while.

More than a dozen pieces of precious jade lay before Xie Weilou. A hint of fatigue appeared between his brows, and his face was even paler, indicating immense exhaustion.

"At most, I can etch fifth-rank Restriction. Any higher, and my soul power and internal spiritual power won't hold up."

Xie Weilou thought to himself.

It wasn't a problem with the etching method, nor was it a lack of experience; it was simply because his cultivation was too low, and his soul power and personal strength could not sustain him in etching sixth-rank Restriction.

A fifth-rank Restriction Master is certainly not weak. Normally, the Restriction runes etched by a fifth-rank Restriction Master are sufficient to withstand the attacks of a Profound Manifestation Realm expert.

If one reaches the sixth rank, they can withstand the Dragon Transformation Realm, and the seventh rank can withstand the Divine Court.

What about the eighth and ninth ranks?

"Being able to etch fifth-rank Restriction is already good."

Xie Weilou put away the jade, lay on the bed, and closed his eyes.

The consumption this time was too great; he needed a good rest.

——

Imperial Palace.

Imperial Study.

"Li Guanxuan......"

The Xia Emperor was savoring a cup of fragrant tea alone. When he saw State Preceptor Li Guanqi earlier, he was somewhat surprised. The single character difference in their names clearly indicated something amiss.

Now it seemed that State Preceptor Li Guanqi was the Eastern Zhou National Preceptor, Li Guanxuan!

Was he bringing the Eight Wildernesses Chess Game to Great Xia, hoping to find a solution here?

"Does Your Majesty wish to invite the Eastern Zhou National Preceptor for a cup of tea?"

Sima Ming asked.

The Xia Emperor did not answer the question, but instead said, "Why would Li Guanxuan protect Lin Qinghuang?"

Sima Ming shook his head: "I do not know!"

The Xia Emperor looked at Sima Ming: "Xie Weilou also went to the Lin residence......"

Sima Ming said, "He was assassinated at the Changsun family tonight. He was probably scared, so he wanted to seek Lin Qinghuang's protection, but unfortunately, he was driven out."

The Xia Emperor gently held his teacup: "Since the Nine Heavens Tower moved against Lin Qinghuang, they will also move against Xie Weilou."

Sima Ming pondered: "Three Profound Manifestation Realm experts made a move, and I dealt with them. Otherwise, Xie Weilou would have surely died."

The Xia Emperor put down his teacup and gently nodded: "Tianqi is too deep. Protect him appropriately; don't let anyone kill that boy."

"Understood."

Sima Ming replied with a single word.

——

Princess's Residence.

Yan Ruyu was placing pieces on a chess board.

"Xie Weilou was assassinated at the Changsun family. What does Your Royal Highness think of this matter?"

A woman respectfully looked at Yan Ruyu.

Yan Ruyu said indifferently: "This time, they didn't truly intend to assassinate him; someone just wanted to stir up trouble."

Assassinating Xie Weilou at the Changsun family's residence, with Yan Junlin and Yan Wuhai present, such an assassination naturally could not succeed.

The person behind this was not planning to truly kill Xie Weilou, but rather wanted to use this to muddy the waters.

The woman pondered: "The First Prince asked about this."

Yan Ruyu said calmly: "It's normal for him to suspect me."

The woman looked at Yan Ruyu: "This blame cannot be taken for no reason. What does Your Highness plan to do?"

Yan Ruyu shook her head: "For now, nothing."

She knew who was behind this; it must be that little lamb.

However, the little lamb was not simple; behind her stood a Dragon Transformation Realm expert. Did they really think she hadn't competed or fought for anything all these years? That she was a good-for-nothing?

If she hadn't competed or fought, she would have died long ago. The fact that she lived until now was because she had something to rely on.

This assassination was a multi-pronged attack, but there was another layer of meaning behind it: the little lamb was going to compete!

Xie Weilou was only brought to the residence during the day, and then this happened at night. The meaning was already very clear.

It's good that she's competing. As long as she competes, more things will be exposed, and people can be prepared.

What's feared are those who outwardly don't compete or fight, who like to hide behind the scenes and stir up trouble, playing the pig to eat the tiger.

Just like Yan Wugou before, he hid for so many years. If it weren't for an unexpected incident, he would surely have continued to hide.

Such an existence is full of unknowns, difficult to guard against, and carries greater risk.

Yan Ruyu thought for a moment, then placed a chess piece: "Send a message to Nightingale. Tell her I want to meet the West Chu Sword Immortal."

"This subordinate will go at once."

The woman bowed and quickly departed.

After the woman left.

Yan Ruyu stood up and went to the window. She extended her hand, and white snow fell into her palm. She murmured, "Three Profound Manifestation Realm experts made a move, and Xie Weilou still didn't die. It seems the person protecting him is very formidable."

Originally, she guessed that the person protecting Xie Weilou was Yan Junlin, and that he had sent experts to protect Xie Weilou. But now, she no longer thought so.

Yan Junlin indeed had hidden experts around him, but experts capable of dealing with three Profound Manifestation Realm cultivators usually hid very deeply and would not easily show themselves, much less protect a mere Xie Weilou.

In her opinion, it was the one in the palace who interfered.

Only when that person appeared would an existence of that level make a move.

That person did not want Xie Weilou to die. This matter was indeed very troublesome. If one wanted to act against Xie Weilou, one would have to weigh the consequences.

Especially with recent rumors that the one in the palace intended for her to get closer to Xie Weilou, this was even more unfavorable.

"Troublesome!"

Yan Ruyu gently clenched her hand, and the swirling white snow instantly froze.