Outside the capital city, there lies Panlong Mountain.
This is the ancestral land of the Qin family of the Great Qin Empire, where the Qin family unified the world a thousand years ago and established the Great Qin Dynasty.
The original ancestral land has now become the dormant place of the true dragon, hence the name Panlong Mountain.
Panlong Mountain is not considered high, with no continuous mountain ranges. It is just a solitary peak standing outside the capital city, overlooking it from afar.
The mountain peak is steep, with only a moss-covered stone staircase leading all the way up.
At this moment, a figure is slowly ascending the stone steps towards the mountaintop.
This person has white hair and beard, appearing somewhat old and decrepit, yet exuding a strong vitality and sharp gaze. He is none other than Gao Qunshu, the current leader of the Monitoring Bureau.
He ascends halfway up the mountain without any pause.
However, at this moment, a faint ethereal voice suddenly echoes from the mountain top.
"Come up directly, no need to adhere to the old rules."
The voice lingers near Gao Qunshu's ears.
"The ancestral rites must not be abandoned." Gao Qunshu slightly bows, expressionless, in response.
This is the tradition of the Qin imperial family.
Anyone ascending Panlong Mountain must do so step by step. Any extra step taken is considered disrespectful to the ancestral land of the Qin family.
"Well, in that case, hurry up." A hint of helplessness appears in the voice from the mountain top.
"Understood."
After another stick of incense's time, Gao Qunshu finally steps onto the platform at the mountaintop.
Surrounded by buildings, this was the original residence of the Qin family.
At the deepest part of the mountaintop platform stands a shrine engraved with dragon patterns.
At this moment, in front of the shrine, an old man dressed in coarse cloth is smiling at Gao Qunshu.
Gao Qunshu quickly approaches and follows the old man's guidance to the edge of the cliff.
There are stone tables and chairs here.
Just as he sits down, a water ball suddenly condenses in the air, then falls into the nearby teapot.
The teapot is already filled with tea leaves, and as the old man lifts the teapot, in just a few breaths, the water inside is already boiling.
Seeing this scene, Gao Qunshu shakes his head.
"No need, I am not suitable to stay here for long. Let's talk and then I'll leave."
The old man's actions pause slightly.
"Why is it so?"
"If it were you, even the Emperor Pei wouldn't say a word of refusal."
The Pei mentioned by the old man is the current emperor of the Great Qin Empire.
But Gao Qunshu seems to have not heard the old man's words.
His gaze shifts from the mountaintop to the east, where through endless clouds and mist, a tall tower can be faintly seen standing.
"Liang City has already set up a tight net, with the Eye of the Demon-sealing Tower as the bait. I'm not afraid that those behind this plan won't show themselves."
Gao Qunshu says, with a hint of uncertainty on his face.
"If this goes smoothly, the subsequent plans can proceed smoothly."
The old man's gaze is profound.
"The Soul-binding Demon-suppressing Staff. People only think that breaking the Demon-sealing Tower will cause chaos in the Great Qin's territory. Who would have thought that the real cause is this unorthodox treasure from the Buddhist sect."
Upon hearing the old man's words, Gao Qunshu lowers his head, silent.
He cannot bear to hear such words.
To hear them at this moment is overstepping.
Everyone knows that the capital city is the dragon vein of the Great Qin Dynasty, but they do not know that the Demon-sealing Tower is suppressed on this dragon vein.
It suppresses not only the dragon vein but also the fortune of the Great Qin Empire.
However, the Demon-sealing Tower and the Demon-suppressing Staff are treasures of the Western Buddhist sect.
What happened a thousand years ago, Gao Qunshu is not clear, nor interested.
Vaguely, he has heard that the ascension to the throne of the Great Qin Empire was not clean.
But even among the princes and grandsons, there are struggles for power and profit. How could the establishment of such a vast empire be clean?
The old man looks at Gao Qunshu.
"What if things don't go smoothly, how will you handle it?"
"If things don't go smoothly, I will bring the Soul-binding Demon-suppressing Staff back to the capital, reactivate the Demon-sealing Tower, and stabilize this chaotic world."
Gao Qunshu says, with a cold smile on his face.
"The other party has put in a lot of effort to achieve the current situation. I don't believe that after breaking the Demon-sealing Tower, they will sit back and watch us reactivate it. Moreover, even if we can reactivate it, those released demons will eventually escape."
"If they act in the capital city," the old man squints slightly.
"Yes, if they dare to act in the capital city, I am even more worried."
Gao Qunshu says frankly, "Liang City is not like the capital city. If they dare to show up in the capital city, it means they truly have the confidence to turn the court upside down."
At this point, Gao Qunshu pauses and looks at the old man.
"If things really become impossible..."
"I will not watch the thousand-year foundation of the Qin family crumble."
The old man says decisively.
With that, the old man asks, "By the way, what is the background of the young man you selected?"
"He is a constable from a small county."
Gao Qunshu reminds.
"Why did you choose him?"
"He has a clean background and outstanding talent."
A hint of amusement appears in Gao Qunshu's eyes. "That kid glanced through the library and learned the Thunder-Inducing Sword Technique. His cultivation technique is the Haoyi Technique."
"Interesting." The old man is somewhat surprised.
Whether it is the Haoyi Technique or the Thunder-Inducing Sword Technique, they are cultivation techniques released by the Monitoring Bureau that are extremely difficult to practice.
To learn them without guidance speaks volumes about his comprehension.
Gao Qunshu continues, "After the incident with the Demon-sealing Tower, the Monitoring Bureau had already planned to assess the young talents below and promote a group of direct descendants. Lin Ji is on the list, ranked eleventh."
"With such talent and a clean background, why is he only eleventh?"
"Because his background is too clean." Gao Qunshu sneers.
The old man finally understands and chuckles along.
"So those ranked higher..."
"Are from prestigious families, or hidden disciples of sects. Either they have deep concealment or bribed those below to add their names. In short, this matter is a chaotic mess, very unsightly."
The old man nods, but then says, "This is not enough."
Gao Qunshu understands that the old man is referring to entrusting the important Demon-suppressing Staff to a junior like Lin Ji.
"This matter was also proposed by the Old Daoist of Heavenly Secrets."
Gao Qunshu explains.
"The one who claims to calculate five hundred years in advance and five hundred years in retrospect?"
The old man raises his eyebrows, surprised. "Isn't this old monster staying out of court affairs? When I was in power, I tried to invite him out of the mountains several times, but that old monster didn't give me any face."
"He came to us on his own initiative, leaving only the words 'Qingyang County' before leaving."
Gao Qunshu states straightforwardly, "If it weren't for him, Lin Ji, with his insignificant background, wouldn't have made it onto the list."
"I see."
The old man ponders for a moment but cannot figure it out.
Seeing this, Gao Qunshu gets up to take his leave.
However, after taking a few steps, the old man suddenly calls out to him from behind.
"Wait, if I remember correctly, the Old Daoist of Heavenly Secrets has reincarnated and restarted several times. What identity is he using this time?"
"A messy Daoist in his forties, with the Daoist name Pingxin."
Gao Qunshu casually replies, "I asked him about it at the time, and he said that his temper was too bad in this life, but since he got the Daoist name Pingxin, he has never been angry again."
"The calm and composed Pingxin." The old man can't help but chuckle.
Gao Qunshu gives a slight bow and turns to leave.
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(End of this chapter)