At the same time, Li Yan sensed two strong fluctuations of spiritual power in this city, which came from the depths of the imperial palace.
Those were two foundation-building cultivators. Li Yan guessed that they should be the immortal cultivators who assisted the dynasty, that is, the strong men sent by a small sect under the jurisdiction of the Wuliang Sect to be in charge here.
Apart from the emperor himself, even the princes and the empress dowager may have only heard rumors about this person and have no idea who in the palace is the immortal.
They even thought that all of this might be rumors deliberately released by the emperor himself just to intimidate some villains.
Because they had never seen anyone who could go to heaven or earth, and over time, they began to disbelieve it.
The two foundation-building monks had been meditating and practicing, and had no idea that a fellow cultivator like Li Yan had come to the imperial capital.
Of course, cultivators like Li Yan, or even cultivators with higher cultivation than Li Yan, all have their way through the mortal capital.
But they all knew that behind every mortal dynasty there was the shadow of the Four Great Sects, and even if they had the courage, they would not dare to act recklessly among the mortals.
Even though they sensed that there were only two young foundation-building monks in charge, they did not dare to come and provoke them.
Although the secret archive room of the Grand Council was usually deserted during the day, Li Yan did not want to cause trouble, after all, there were still officials who would come here to review the files.
So, he waited until late at night when everyone was asleep before starting to work.
Although there would be people patrolling at this time, they would just patrol in groups outside, and no one would enter the room to check the file files. Li Yan would have to consider how to deal with the visitors.
After Li Yan cast a shielding ban, he immediately sat cross-legged in a corner of the room.
Then his consciousness turned into invisible threads, and instantly flew towards the rows of bookshelves. The files began to fly up in regular rows...
Time passed by little by little, and in the threads of spiritual consciousness, messages flooded towards Li Yan's sea of consciousness. Ninety-nine percent of the messages were quickly blocked by Li Yan.
He would directly discard those that were completely unrelated to the words "Li Yan" or "Qingshanai". Only if there was any connection would Li Yan's spiritual sense further explore them.
The files kept flying up, and then fell down in neat rows...
More than an hour later, Li Yan, who had his eyes closed, suddenly showed a change of expression. Then, a file from a bookshelf thirty-five rows away from him flew towards him.
Soon, it was suspended in front of Li Yan.
The file was sealed in a butter bag with a fiery red wax seal on the top, but Li Yan had no intention of opening the wax.
There was a faint light flickering in his eyes, and a divine sense penetrated into them. Then, Li Yan saw a reward notice in it.
"Li Yan, the commander stationed in the southern border, defeated the army of Meng at Luoxianpo on the tenth day of the fifth month in the thirty-seventh year of the Taishi era. He returned to Qingshan Pass to help eliminate the rebel Kong Xiao and his whereabouts are unknown.
Anyone who sees this person should report it to the local government office immediately. Once verified, a gold reward will be given..."
This is a record file of a bounty notice. Judging from the content of the notice, it is the bounty issued by the court after Li Yan disappeared.
Li Yan calculated from the last date of signature that this notice was issued at least half a year after Li Yan disappeared.
This is consistent with what Cui Feng said about the court concealing the news and the time of troop deployment.
Of course, Li Yan was not the one who cared most about this at the moment. There was a portrait of a person painted on the upper left side of the notice, and the painting was quite good.
His spiritual consciousness was completely focused on the portrait on the notice, but Li Yan found that the portrait was only 20% to 30% similar to himself.
Moreover, he has a big square face, which is totally inconsistent with his face shape.
Apart from the similarities between his eyebrows and mouth, it can be said that anyone standing next to Li Yan holding this portrait would not think that the list has anything to do with Li Yan.
“The portrait on the bounty notice should be at least 60% similar, even if it is painted by an ordinary painter.
And judging from this copy of the notice, the portrait was outlined and painted with extremely fine strokes, and was not something that was sketched hastily.
This shows that the imperial court attaches great importance to this matter, and the person invited should be a master of painting.
And when drawing, at least someone familiar with Li Yan must dictate his appearance, make revisions repeatedly, and get approval from the reviewer before sending it out. Why can't this be said to have any similarities with me?"
Li Yan wondered for a moment whether he had made a mistake, but no matter from which angle he analyzed it, the authenticity of this portrait was definitely more than 50%.
But why did Cui Feng say that he was exactly the same as Li Yan whom he met at the beginning, and even suspected that someone had carefully disguised himself.
After Li Yan frowned and thought for a while, he put the file back and continued searching the archives.
After another half an hour, Li Yan retracted all the spiritual consciousness he had released.
He helplessly discovered that among all the files, there were indeed some records about "Li Yan's" background and some important wars.
The "Li Yan" was not born in Daqing Mountain, but from a place called "Yuguan City" in the imperial dynasty. Li Yan clearly remembered that this city was in the extreme north of the imperial dynasty, close to the border of the Pure Land Sect.
He had passed by there before when he was looking for materials to refine the Guiyi Water-Fen Thorn, so he would not remember it wrongly.
That "Li Yan" is the descendant of a boxer, and has a talent for martial arts since ancient times...
After Li Yan checked all the information, he was very depressed that there was only that one notice with his portrait. If the court had not been looking for him, even the record file might have been lost.
After reading all the files, Li Yan did not leave immediately, but just sat cross-legged on the ground, he fell into deep thought... In Yuhai City, in the Duke's Mansion, Cui Feng was practicing breathing exercises in the study. With his martial arts level, sleeping for two hours a night was basically enough.
He has cultivated a trace of innate true energy, and he feels that as long as he continues to improve, he may be able to reach a realm that is unattainable by current martial arts.
It was already midnight. Cui Feng, who was meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly felt his ears move slightly, and then he suddenly opened his eyes.
He reacted very quickly, and immediately pushed the window open with his hand. Then he twisted his waist and rushed out of the house quietly.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he took another step and twisted his waist, and climbed onto the roof like an extremely light civet cat.
Then, he put his hands behind his back. Under the moonlight, the hem of his silver robe swayed gently in the wind, and his silver hair was as silky as snow.
The guards who were patrolling the palace did not notice anything unusual about their general.
In several corners of the Duke's Mansion, Lin Yuxing and Shi Ning, who were on duty tonight, were scattered in several corners of the huge Duke's Mansion, and they were also unaware of it.
Soon, a figure as light as smoke appeared in Cui Feng's sight. The figure was initially on the roof of another mansion, and after a few shakes, it had entered the Duke's Mansion.
Even masters like Lin Yuxing and Shi Ning didn't notice anything at all and were still hiding in the dark, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
The figure's target was very obvious, he was heading straight towards Cui Feng's study. Just as he passed through the wall and ridge from the front yard to the backyard, his figure suddenly stopped.
Then, he saw Cui Feng, with an indifferent expression in the moonlight, staring at him coldly.
"Since you dare to come to my house, why do you have to hide your head and tail? Just show your true identity!"
Cui Feng's voice echoed in the silent night. Although the sound was not loud, it was undoubtedly like a thunderbolt in the clear sky.
Cui Feng saw that the person coming in front of him was of medium build, wearing a tight black nightgown, with a pair of unknown weapons crossed on his back, and his head and face were covered in a black hood, revealing only a pair of gleaming eyes.
"Oh? As expected of the dynasty's number one expert, he noticed it so quickly!"
The voice of the night walker in black was a little sharp, as if he was deliberately pinching his throat to speak.
Even as the two were talking, the sound of hurried footsteps came towards them from below, but the entire Duke's Mansion was surprisingly quiet, with no noise at all.
In the middle of the night, with the sound of sleeves breaking through the air, three figures were the first to rush over. They were Lin Yuxing and Shi Ning and his wife. The black-clad night walker glanced at the guards and Lin Yuxing who were gathering together, and secretly praised them in his heart.
"After all, they are soldiers led by Cui Feng. When they encountered the enemy, they did not panic at all. Instead, they gathered together silently and quickly!"
As for Lin Yuxing and Shi Ning and his wife, they were fine. After all, they were all big names in the martial arts world. They must have rich experience in dealing with enemies at night. They surrounded them tacitly.
But all this was expected. What surprised the black-clad night walkers was that the ordinary guards did not shout or yell at all. They did not even give a scolding.
Obviously they also heard Cui Feng's voice, so they gathered quickly according to military rules and tried to remain quiet in the process so as to hear the commander's next order as soon as possible.
"The best master? I don't dare to claim that title. There are many people in the martial arts world who are better than me, such as you!"
Cui Feng said with a cold tone.
"General Cui, you are too modest. You have been active in the martial arts world for nearly a hundred years, and have killed countless enemies on the battlefield. How can I compare with you?"
While the man in black was talking, he saw people approaching from all sides.
He suddenly kicked the roof with his feet, and his whole body was flying in the air, with his head tucked in and his back arched, his toes touching each other, and his hands crossed out, like tiger claws, and grabbed towards Cui Feng's crown.
Cui Feng only felt a strong wind coming at him, and he didn't make any movement. He just slightly shifted his feet and dodged the vital point. He raised one hand, turned his palm and slapped it diagonally upwards.
As he slapped the ball, with a "whoosh" sound, a column of wind that was faintly visible to the naked eye appeared in the air.
Although the palm had not yet arrived, the black-clad night walker's clothes were already rustling as he pounced from the air.
The next moment, with a "bang", the claws and palms of the two men collided, and a strong air wave spread out from between them.
The night walker in black was shocked and flipped backwards in the air. After somersaults in the air, his feet suddenly stepped on a large tree branch not far away.
The huge tree was immediately shaken by this huge force and roared continuously, and the green leaves fell like snowflakes.
The branch as thick as his arm under the feet of the night walker in black broke with a "crack" sound, and then the night walker in black fell down again.
With a tiptoe, he stepped on another branch, and his body swayed a few times before he finally stabilized himself.
Cui Feng on the roof felt as if he was stepping on a piece of ice. His body slid backwards, but the toes of his feet were firmly clasped on the roof.
Wherever he passed, the tiles on the roof cracked into pieces. It was not until he retreated seven or eight feet that he finally stabilized his body.
With just one blow from both sides, the courtyard was like being swept by a tornado, with tiles, tree branches and broken leaves flying everywhere.
"You are 'Ghostly Hand' Zhong Wusi. It is said that you were poisoned to death by your enemies more than 30 years ago. I didn't expect you to survive. What are you doing in my dynasty? Are you here to challenge me to a duel?"
Cui Feng looked at the palm of his hand, where there was a black burn mark, but there was no flame on the opponent's claws just now.
As his internal energy was running, green liquid overflowed from the skin under the black mark, followed by the appearance of bright red blood. Cui Feng then felt relieved.