Chapter 269: Elusive Maiden

　　In the silence of the night, Chu Li changed into a black attire and glided into the Ren Public House.

　　The entire Ren Public House was heavily-guarded, even more so than the Yi Public House.

　　The Yi Public House had the geographical advantage. Isolated clusters of islands were very easy to protect, so there was no need for strict security.

　　Chu Li uses the Omniscient Mirror and exploited the blind spots of the guards. Along with the usage of the Scripture of Life and Death, he disguised himself as a withered tree, fusing his presence as one with nature and easily slipped into Lu Yurong’s courtyard.

　　There was an array of flowers that were blooming in the courtyard. Their fragrance was flowing, soothing both heart and mind.

　　Being an expert in botanic, he could tell that the flowers were a rare bunch. They would not bloom in the day but rather at night, under the moonlight.

　　Lu Yurong was reading, sitting under the courtyard’s pagoda.

　　Eight palace lanterns that were hung under the pagoda lit up the place.

　　Lu Yurong was in a plain light blue gown. Beside her sat two stunning maids, both wearing brocade clothing.

　　The two maids would occasionally extend their slender hands, sending pieces of melon into her cherry colored lips, or a pastry followed by a sip of water.

　　Lu Ruyong had a book in her hand. It seemed as if she was in deep thought, pondering with a fixed gazed, sometimes flipping over the pages. She would instinctively open her mouth when a piece of melon was presented to her. She was completely focused, her eyes never leaving the book.

　　Chu Li saw this and let out a small chuckle.

　　No wonder Lu Yushu said that she liked women. With such behavior, nobody would believe that she did not like women.

　　Lu Yurong put down her book suddenly. She raised her head and gazed at the moon.

　　“Lady, is it time?”

　　“Hmm, let’s go,” Lu Yurong nodded. She put down the book and stood up, turning to leave.

　　The three women followed gently. Another six maids emerged from inside the courtyard. Together, they left the courtyard and arrived at a palace beside the courtyard.

　　The palace was wide and spacious; a statue of a fairy statue was erected in the middle of the palace.

　　With life-like features, the face looked just like Lu Yurong’s. Its expression was cold and calm as if observing the world from above. It was dressed in a pleated skirt, with every fold of the skirt clearly visible.

　　There was a table under a god statue with an incense burner placed on top of it.

　　A golden cattail hassock was placed in front of the table.

　　In the palace, nine red circles were drawn around the god statue, with a white cattail hassock placed inside every circle.

　　These nine cattail hassocks were some near while the others were far to the golden cattail hassock. They were all placed at different distances from the golden cattail hassock, none with the same distance.

　　Chu Li took a quick glance. He had the impression that the arrangement was based from the stars in the sky.

　　After Lu Yurong entered the palace, she lit up a joss stick in front of the god statue and she settled down on the golden cattail hassock slowly and closed her eyes and stayed still, not moving a muscle.

　　The other nine women sat on the nine cattail hassocks, stabilizing their breath as they concentrated their vital energies.

　　Chu Li stood under the wall of Lu Ruyong’s courtyard, hidden beneath the shadow of the wall. He did not move an inch and used the Omniscient Mirror to observe them.

　　A fairy appeared in Lu Ruyong’s mind. It was nearly identical to the statue outside; the only difference was the eyes shut.

　　As time passed, the women started breathing as one, exhaling and inhaling at the same time, as if they were a single person.

　　The fairy in Lu Yurong’s mind suddenly formed a hand sign, her eyes opened. Ten surges of mysterious power came from the sky, entering their bodies respectively.

　　The mysterious power entered their bodies and circulated within their meridian, following their unique route of heart technique.

　　Chu Li noticed that Lu Ruyong had a different heart technique from the other nine women. It led the circulation of the powers as if she was pushing their cultivation.

　　This power was similar to the swift power in Lu Yurong’s body. The Omniscient Mirror mentally warned him that it was a terrifying surge of power and was not something to be touched.

　　In Lu Ruyong’s mind, the fairy formed another hand sign and shut her eyes.

　　Suddenly converging into one, a white light flashed across Lu Yurong’s body. The other nine surges of power gathered around her.

　　Chu Li squinted his eyes. A terrifying force was emanating from Lu Ruyong like a mighty beast that could swallow him whole in one bite.

　　The fairy in her mind formed a different hand sign once again. Lu Ruyong’s power was churning and fluctuating, flowing into the other nine women again.

　　Chu Li realized that it was a formation.

　　The nine women gathered their power to her while she passed it back to them. It did not seem to increase or decrease, but it was quick in enhancing Lu Yurong.

　　It was as if a lake which had collected water from a river and overflowed, spilling the water back into the river. The water would not deepen or lessen. In the end, it would remain as a lake.

　　If they cultivated alone without the help of Lu Ruyong, their cultivation would not be as quick. If Lu Yurong did not have their assistance, she would not be as quick too. They were enhancing each other. It was indeed mystical.

　　These nine maids were not to be belittled. Although young, they all had an Innate Master’s Boundary, their skills profound.

　　What was even scarier was their odd inner energy. If a normal Innate Master went against them, it would not end well.

　　Chu Li stood under the wall, pondering.

　　Lu Yurong’s heart technique could surpass the Grandmaster’s Boundary. Her disappearance was not heard of but she had surpassed the Grandmaster’s Boundary without alerting anyone. It could be because of the heart technique.

　　As to why she hid her cultivation of Grandmaster skills, perhaps it was not to conceal her capability but because she faced an insoluble dilemma, which was probably caused by this heart technique.

　　Nobody would be able to resist a heart technique like this.

　　As time passed, the power coming from the sky grew stronger. Gradually, Lu Yurong and the nine women were overwhelmed by the power, their bodies shaking unsteadily.

　　“Stop!” Lu Yurong shouted.

　　The fairy in her mind released the spell and closed her eyes again.

　　The nine women’s breath started to change, returning to their own rhythm.

　　After a moment, the power from the sky weakened gradually until it completely dissipated.

　　They let out a long breath, opening their eyes slowly.

　　Lu Yurong’s vital essence was getting obscure. She was wrapped in a thick fog, disallowing a clear view. The layer of thick fog came from the void which allowed it to blend with the surrounding, giving off a vibe that she was untrained in martial arts.

　　The joss stick in front of the statue had just burned out. She stood up to light another. Turning her head, she said, “Don’t go near to any man under normal circumstances!”

　　“Yes, my Lady,” The nine women answered in unison.

　　Lu Yurong sighed, “We will have to resign ourselves to not finding a man for the rest of our lives due to the Enchanting Girls Technique that you’ve cultivated. If you ever lose your virginity and if they are not Enlightened Masters, it will be hard to avoid any tragedy and will only result in harm!”

　　“My Lady, we will not marry and pledge our lives to serve you,” the nine women smiled.

　　Lu Yurong shook her head, “I’m afraid that you would all blame me in the end!”

　　“The skill we cultivated grants us eternal youth and we can’t thank you enough!”

　　“If you can’t touch men, what’s the use of eternal youth?”

　　“There’s nothing good about those horrible men.”

　　“Lady’s Enchanting Girls Technique is even more ruthless. If we lose our virginity, we would still retain our martial arts. But if Lady loses her virginity, you would instantly lose all your progress in your martial arts skill!”

　　Lu Yurong shook her head and smiled, “You are right, there’s nothing good about those horrible men. There’s no need to deal with them. Let’s go and head back to sleep!”

　　Shaking her hand as she talked, she walked out of the palace.

　　Chu Li gilded back to Lu Yushu’s courtyard. He was embracing a beauty, fooling around with her.

　　He took a glimpse and went to Lu Yulou’s courtyard.

　　Lu Yulou had an exceptional heroic energy with looks better than most. He was cultivating in the courtyard. His fists were as heavy as a hammer but as fast as lightning.

　　Chu Li shook his head.

　　Lu Yulou was still at the Innate Mastery’s Boundary and was far from achieving Perfected Innate. It seemed that his qualifications were not outstanding.

　　He suddenly stopped in front of a courtyard.

　　This courtyard belonged to the Ren Public House’s High Duke Lu.

　　He looked from afar. It was as if a huge beast slumbered in the courtyard. Just by looking from the Omniscient Mirror, he could feel the majestic power which seemed like it could destroy him in a single punch.

　　The cultivation level of High Duke Lu was profoundly deep. It was the first of its kind that Chu Li ever witnessed. It was fearsome; High Duke Song from the Huay Public House would not even come close.

　　The Omniscient Mirror was constantly warning him to stay away from the courtyard.

　　He stared at the courtyard for a moment. It was hard to stop himself from scratching his itch. He was extremely curious and wanted to see High Duke Lu for himself.

　　They were both Grandmasters but there would surely be a weaker amongst the two even if the difference was similar to land and sky, just like how they were both Acquired Masters.

　　He wanted to see where he was as opposed to High Duke Lu.

　　He flew across the wall and landed in the courtyard slowly.

　　The courtyard seemed like the living quarters for the Scribes of the Public House. Lu Ruyong’s courtyard was four times bigger than this.

　　He started to channel the Scripture of Life and Death. He was blending in with the surrounding; his body seemed like a withered tree.

　　High Duke Lu was an outstanding middle-aged man with handsome features – a beard hanging on his chin, exuding an elegant and exceptional aura, as if he was a god amongst men.

　　He was lying on the bed when suddenly, he snapped his eyes open as if he sensed something.

　　There was a woman who was still asleep lying beside him. She was beautiful like a flower and it was hard to tell her age. She looked somewhat similar to Lu Yurong.

　　She was hugging High Duke Lu’s arm, her breath gentle and body still.

　　High Duke Lu slowly retracted his arm, trying not to wake her. Wearing only his underlining cloth, he walked out of the bedroom.