Chu Li retrieved the treasure of the Imperial Residence of Prince An as easily as if he was just taking something out from his pocket.
Although Prince An’s security for the treasury was strict, it was no match for what he had prepared for himself.
Chu Li entered the treasury without a sound. Not laying a hand on the eye-catching treasure swords and valuables, he only took the Elusive Ninth Heaven Maiden jade statue.
When he had retrieved the jade statue, he returned to the Glory’s Will Courtyard.
It was already afternoon with the sun shined bright and beautiful, warm and delightful.
Chu Li sat at the pagoda and studied the jade statue carefully.
Xue Ling entered the pagoda, serving four dishes and a bowl of soup.
Seeing Chu Li holding a piece of the jade statue with both hands and groping about, she laughed, “Young Master, what is this?”
“What an amazing thing…” Chu Li breathed, “This really is a work of art!”
Xue Ling set aside the wooden plate and sat across Chu Li and inspected the jade statue. “Is that not just a piece of white jade? What is so amazing about it?”
She had seen jade statues since she was a child and did not think of them as particularly valuable.
The House of High Duke never lacked for trifles such as these. There were no jade artifacts which they could not buy. The only thing that mattered was if they liked the pieces or not.
Chu Li shook his head, “This one is different…Go and get two pieces of white jade of this size. I wish to replicate this.”
“I shall get them immediately,” Xue Ling stood up.
Chu Li stared at the jade statue, waving his hand, “Do that after we eat! Tell Bi Liu not to rush, this can wait until after the grand wedding.”
“Yes,” Xue Ling said.
Chu Li put down the jade statue and shook his head as if in regret.
There certainly was no peculiarity in the jade statue and no inheritance of the Elusive Ninth Heaven Maiden. It must have completely been succeeded by Lu Yurong and was taken over completely.
There could be another reason why Lu Yurong wanted to retrieve this – maybe to help in her self-cultivation or perhaps for future inheritance. It was very important to her.
He aimed to rush all-in towards the enlightened mastery of the Scripture of God Boundary and was not afraid of Lu Yurong’s strong martial arts and had no intention of keeping the jade statue in the first place.
——
After the meal, Chu Li went on to find a few pieces of stone and started training his sculpting technique.
He used the Omniscient Mirror and inspected the stones to the smallest detail. He controlled his body carefully, using the carving knife as if it was a sword and raised his proficiency in sculpting to the peak in a short amount of time, reaching the level of a Master.
Looking at the pieces of stone statues, he nodded his head in satisfaction.
These carvings could actually help with the self-cultivation of his swordsmanship.
Xue Ling brought back two pieces of white jade quickly and even found three small wooden boxes out of her own accord.
Chu Li made swift work with the sword and carved one piece of white jade into the shape of the Elusive Ninth Heaven Maiden in a short time. Then, he moved on to another piece.
“Which of the two looks more similar?” Chu Li pointed, looking at Xue Ling.
Xue Ling carefully scrutinized the statues for a moment and shook her head, “They look exactly the same, Young Master. What an amazing sculpting technique!”
Chu Li shook his head, smiling.
“Young Master, what do you plan to do with this?” Xue Ling asked.
Chu Li laughed, “I’m giving this to Lu Yurong in exchange for the help of six Grandmasters.”
“Will she take the chance to wreak havoc?” Xue Ling asked hurriedly.
Chu Li smiled and shook his head, “Do not worry, I will be on guard!”
He might not be able to see through Lu Yurong’s intentions but he can see through Xi Wu’s. If they came here with the intention of causing trouble, he would know at a glance.
He placed the three jade statues side by side. Although they looked exactly the same, there was still a minute difference between them. It seemed to be of material difference but they were all made from the same material.
This jade statue had a different magical quality. He stopped himself from rising and sat down again.
Xue Ling saw his expression and withdrew quietly without making a sound.
Chu Li used the Omniscient Mirror to its greatest extent, focusing purely only the Elusive Ninth Heaven Maiden jade statue, to the point where he could see every molecule of the jade statue.
The Omniscient Mirror inspected the jade statue inch by inch like a microscope, trying to expose its secrets.
Unfortunately, even using this method, the jade statue did not seem to have any mystical properties.
Suddenly, he was struck by a wave of inspiration. He quickly took a piece of the hidden energy of the Heavenly Demonic power, a string as thin as a strand of hair, and inserted it into the jade statue.
Suddenly, the jade statue let out a bright flash and a sharp image pierced into his mind.
Among the misty white clouds, a woman sat cross-legged on top of a cloud. Her body was like colored glass, both hands formed into a strange mudra and a red string coiled around her transparent body.
The red string circulated her body twice and a bout of light suddenly descended from a voice flowing into her body in a steady flow, merging together with the red string.
The red string got thicker and coiled even faster around her.
The woman’s body became brighter, emitting a brilliant light.
The light from the sky continued to enter her body until it became as bright as the sun.
Her figure could not be seen anymore; only a ball of light was visible.
Then, the image disappeared, returning inky darkness before his eyes.
Chu Li opened his eyes and his lips spread into a smile.
This must be the technique of the Elusive Ninth Heaven Maiden!
——
He reappeared at the Imperial Residence of Prince An and returned one of the statues he carved into the warehouse. Then, he appeared in the backyard of Ren Public House.
Among the nine beautiful maids, some were trimming the flowers, some were pruning the trees, some were playing the zither, some were making flutes and two were sitting by Lu Yurong’s side, feeding her snacks and fruits from time to time.
Lu Yurong sat in the hall reading a scroll.
Sensing Chu Li’s presence, she turned around to look at him.
The nine maids watched him with wary eyes.
Chu Li entered the pagoda under their vigilant gazes and set two wooden boxes on the stone table and smiled, “Mission accomplished.”
Lu Yurong took up one of the boxes and swept a gaze at him.
“My Lady, let me,” one of the maids moved to intercept the box.
Chu Li shook his head while smiling, not expressing his opinion.
Lu Yurong gave the maid a sidelong glance but did not stop her either.
The maid opened the wooden box and opened the other one as well.
Two Elusive Ninth Heaven Maiden jade statues stood in front of their eyes. Both looked identical.
Chu Li stared intently at Lu Yurong’s expression.
Lu Yurong swept her eyes slowly along the statues and reached out to take the real Elusive Ninth Heaven Maiden figure, caressing it slowly and sighed. “You have worked hard!”
Chu Li smiled without saying anything.
Lu Yurong looked at the other jade statue, lifted it up, inspected it, and turned her head to look at Chu Li. “Which master made this? It is convincing enough to pass as the genuine one.”
Chu Li pointed at himself
Lu Yu Rong scoffed, “You know how to do this too?”
Chu Li said, “I made two more statues. One I left in the Imperial Residence’s treasury, which I expect will definitely fool Prince An. This one I shall give to Lady Lu, to prevent the real one from being stolen again.”
“This time it will not be stolen again!” Lu Yurong scoffed coldly, “He will not be able to tell it is fake just by its appearance! All right, I am grateful to you. Elder Xi and the others have already departed. I have told them to capture three assassins.”
Chu Li closed fist saluted, “Thank you, Lady Lu. I shall take my leave now.”
“Who do you think will act?” Lu Yu Rong asked.
Chu Li laughed, “It could be anyone, which is why we need to be prepared. Farewell!”
He disappeared from the Ren Public House in a flash.
The nine maids gathered around, staring at the genuine Elusive Ninth Heaven Maiden statue with joyous expressions.
“My Lady, he really did manage to accomplish it!”
“For him to be able to steal this from the Imperial Residence of Prince An, we must be cautious against him!”
“That’s right, that’s right, our security is nowhere near as tight as the Imperial Residence!”
“As expected of the Lady, to be able to use him to get the statue back!”
“With this, our self-cultivation will proceed even faster.”
Chu Li nodded his head while hidden in the shadows.
His guess was correct. The statue was indeed to help their self-cultivation.
The very next moment, he appeared at the foot of the Snow Lunar Pavillion.