"Such terrifying power! No wonder so many people flock to it, even knowing it's an ominous object."
After experiencing it personally, Shangguan Chen understood its allure even more.
He truly had no Cultivation talent originally, but ever since the Heavenly Evil Sword recognized him as its master half a year ago, every time he killed and devoured blood Qi, he would receive feedback from the Heavenly Evil Sword.
It was this feedback that allowed his Cultivation to improve rapidly, in less than half a year, he advanced from the first stage Qi Condensation Realm to the Peak of the second stage Qi Condensation Realm.
However, while the effect was good, the side effects were also very obvious.
That was Evil Qi.
Every bit his Cultivation advanced, some Evil Qi would accumulate in his body.
This Evil Qi continuously corroded his body and even affected his mind.
He also understood why previous sword masters would fall into madness and kill indiscriminately; it was clearly because too much Evil Qi had accumulated, affecting their minds and turning them into emotionless killing machines.
At first, he was also worried about this problem, and during that time, he constantly searched for many ways to resolve the Evil Qi, but all ended in failure.
Then, by chance, while flipping through ancient texts, he discovered that some of his Evil Qi had diminished.
From then on, he continuously experimented and finally confirmed that reading could wear down the Evil Qi in his body.
Since then, he was either reading or on his way to read.
However, a book would completely lose its effect after being read two or three times, and the first reading had the strongest effect, while the third reading's effect was already negligible.
He read very quickly; in the past six months, he had read almost all the books in the Great Yan Imperial Palace and had also collected many folk books to read.
However... he had only read them once before being sent here as a hostage.
He was also curious about why reading could wear down Evil Qi.
Could it be because it Cultivates one's temperament and calms the mind?
But later, he experimented with other people and found that they could not use this method to wear down Evil Qi.
This became an unsolved mystery.
If he couldn't figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it. He only hoped that there would be more books in the Great Xuan Dynasty so that this trip wouldn't be in vain.
"Are you the Third Prince of Da Yan, Su Chen? Since you've arrived, come down!"
Another voice came, interrupting Shangguan Chen's thoughts.
He looked up and saw an unfamiliar middle-aged man.
He silently got out of the carriage and followed the man into the courtyard. As soon as he entered, he frowned and asked, puzzled, "This... Big Brother, did you take me to the wrong place?"
The courtyard in front of him was beautiful and vast, with many flowers and plants, and a small pond. The decor was also surprisingly lovely. How could this be a house for a hostage? It was more like a residence for royalty and nobles.
In his imagination, shouldn't he be in a small, ordinary courtyard with a very poor environment? Even a prison cell would not be out of place.
But this... "You ask me, who do I ask?" the man said impatiently.
He himself was very surprised why the superiors arranged this courtyard for him. This was where The Eldest Princess... used to live... Chen Fan didn't dare to ask too many questions. This was not something he should know. As long as he brought the person in, his mission would be complete.
"..." Shangguan Chen was somewhat silent.
He felt as if something was not quite right, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"From today onwards, please stay here honestly, Third Prince, and do not do anything that would make things difficult for us," Chen Fan instructed.
Shangguan Chen nodded, indicating that it was fine.
"I have a request... I wonder, Big Brother..."
"What request?" Chen Fan raised an eyebrow, looking as if he had seen through him.
"Could you help me bring some books every month?"
"Hmm? Books?" Chen Fan frowned and said, "What's so good about books? Third Prince, don't be shy. Although you are a hostage, we are not too strict with some things. You can certainly ask."
"? I don't understand what you mean."
"Oh, do I have to spell it out? I know you princes have high status, so naturally, you can't avoid some carnal desires. Just ask, and I guarantee I'll send you a different woman every month!"
Chen Fan looked like he understood everything.
This made Shangguan Chen a little speechless; he really only wanted books... "Sorry, you should still bring me some books."
"Hey, hey, hey, stop pretending. I'll send the woman to you tomorrow!" Chen Fan ignored him.
"Books..."
"Books, what books? We're all men, we all understand. Could it be... you want someone learned and reasonable? That's not impossible, but I'll have to report to my superiors. All right, I should go back and report."
Chen Fan finished speaking and walked towards the main gate thoughtfully.
Leaving Shangguan Chen speechless, even now, he could still hear the other party muttering.
"Someone learned and reasonable is hard to find... Those from the Heavenly Immortal Pavilion only perform, they don't sell their bodies... The Third Prince's preferences are truly unusual..."
Chen Fan was very helpless. He also didn't know what his superiors were thinking. Not only did they give the Third Prince of the enemy country such a good living environment, but they also specifically instructed to treat him well.
After he left, Shangguan Chen began to carefully observe his surroundings.
Every plant and tree in the courtyard was meticulously pruned, indicating that it was regularly maintained.
Upon entering the room, a faint fragrance wafted over, and the room's decor also leaned towards feminine.
"This must have been a woman's residence before..."
Shangguan Chen pondered, even now, he still hadn't figured out the Great Xuan Dynasty's intentions.
He was just a hostage... Wasn't this treatment a bit excessive?
It didn't seem like he was here as a hostage, but rather for a tour... "Hmm?"
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. In a corner of the room, he saw a row of neatly stacked books, appearing to be dozens of them.
"This certainly solves my immediate problem."
The Evil Qi in his body was constantly increasing, and of course, so was his strength. If he didn't read to suppress it, he would sooner or later be affected by the Evil Qi and turn into a ruthless killing machine.
"Nothing to do today, I'll read and write!"
Shangguan Chen was not originally a person who liked to read, but after more than half a year of intense reading, he gradually grew to like the feeling.
Besides reading, he would also practice calligraphy. His handwriting in his previous life was crooked and lacked aesthetic appeal, but now it flowed smoothly, like clouds and flowing water, and most importantly, the characters were beautiful, with the demeanor of a Grandmaster.
As the saying goes, within books, there are golden houses; within books, there are beauties like jade.
He wasn't sure if there were such things, but he was certain that reading could suppress Evil Qi!
...