Chapter 790: Shadow Tower Master

Mi Li, who was standing nearby, was also speechless. She snorted irritably, "She really is a temptress. Even without a soul, she instinctively seduces men."

Daji acted as if she hadn't heard, remaining kneeling before Zu An, gazing at him with infinitely charming and piteous eyes.

Mi Li looked at Zu An with a half-smile. "How long do you intend to keep her in that position? Should I step aside to make things more convenient for you two?"

Zu An's old face flushed. He quickly composed himself and began feeding the Qi Gathering Pills to Daji one by one. Whether intentionally or not, her tongue seemed to brush his finger as she swallowed the pills.

Zu An felt his blood instantly boil, but having experienced much, he quickly regained his composure. He took out four dragon scales he had prepared earlier. "How do you use these? She's not supposed to eat them too, is she?"

Upgrading Daji's "Bewitching All Under Heaven" skill from level one to level two required two Qi Gathering Pills, four dragon scales, and ten thousand taels of silver. He really couldn't understand why silver was needed or who would collect it.

"How should I know?" Mi Li snorted coldly and turned away, somewhat unnaturally. She thought, *This guy is truly stubborn, and Daji is indeed a seductive vixen.*

Zu An checked the system, but it didn't specify the upgrade process.

At that moment, Daji slowly rose from the ground. Perhaps due to having just consumed two Qi Gathering Pills, her fair and beautiful cheeks now bore two flushes of rose, making her appear even more captivating.

She took the four dragon scales from Zu An's hand and arranged them around herself, aligning them with the cardinal directions.

Then, she extended her fair, jade-like palm towards Zu An, gazing at him again with a piteous look.

Mi Li, standing nearby, secretly frowned. *Does this woman really have no soul? She is so vibrant and alive; how is she different from a real person?*

*Yet, I did enter her body back then, and I couldn't sense any soul within her.*

Zu An's heart stirred, and he pulled out a ten-thousand-tael banknote. "Is this what you need?"

Daji didn't take it, continuing to gaze at him silently.

Mi Li spoke up, "It's likely ten thousand taels of actual silver, not a banknote. Silver probably serves as a medium to channel some mysterious power, or perhaps it provides the energy she needs itself."

With her profound cultivation and extensive knowledge from years of reading, she quickly offered her assessment.

Zu An suddenly understood. He retrieved ten thousand taels of silver from his Glazed Pearl space. Between the hoard he found in the Red Dragon's Cave and the gifts from the palace recently, producing ten thousand taels of physical silver was no challenge.

As expected, Daji withdrew her hand after the silver was presented. She arranged the silver in a wider circle around herself, then sat down in the center of the circles to meditate. Faintly, the aura of the Qi Gathering Pills emanated from her body, followed by streams of clear light. The four dragon scales glowed, and then the outer circle of silver began to glow as well.

"Is this vital energy fluctuation or something else?" Zu An asked Mi Li curiously. He felt a strange aura; it didn't quite resemble vital energy fluctuation, nor was it like primordial chaos energy or anything similar.

Mi Li shook her head. "She must be cultivating in a way we can't comprehend. Ah, the universe is vast; there are so many unknowns for us to explore."

As she spoke, a hint of fervor entered her eyes.

Zu An realized, *I almost forgot, this woman is a scholar. After all, devouring all the books in the Qin royal library is quite an achievement.*

At this point, both noticed that the surrounding silver was gradually diminishing. It was difficult to describe its disappearance; it wasn't instant, nor was it a slow fading, but rather a sense of it simply being less without realizing when.

Simultaneously, the dragon scales also began to decrease in number, eventually vanishing completely. Daji was encircled by rings of clear energy, making her appear as if enveloped in mist.

After a moment, the clear energy rapidly diminished, finally seeming to merge into Daji's body. At this point, Daji opened her eyes.

Zu An's heart stirred; he could already sense Daji's skill had improved.

Bewitching All Under Heaven, Level Two: Can temporarily control targets of comparable cultivation.

"I hope this time it works," Zu An said, feeling a little anxious. This wasn't like a video game where he could precisely see Ma An's cultivation level; he could only guess.

Mi Li said, "Don't worry. Their cultivations are already quite similar. Ma An was almost controlled last time, so they were likely only a hair's breadth apart. Now that Daji's skill has upgraded, it will definitely work."

Hearing her steady tone, Zu An felt much calmer. He dragged Ma An over, removed the restraints, and then directly splashed a basin of cold water onto him.

"Who is it? What's going on!" Ma An had just recovered, his consciousness still hazy, but the weakness and powerlessness he felt brought back recent memories.

He tried to compose himself. "I advise you not to waste your effort. You won't get the information you want from me. If you let me go, I can promise to let bygones be bygones, and this matter will be over."

"Do you take me for a fool, or are you the fool? Do you think I'd believe such words?" Zu An rolled his eyes.

"If you're worried, I can perform a secret acupuncture technique on myself to make me forget what happened today, so your safety won't be jeopardized," Ma An quickly said, his survival instinct driving his last efforts.

"No need for such trouble." Zu An waved, gesturing for Daji to approach.

Seeing the beautiful woman, Ma An snorted. "You think you can use her against me? Don't dream..."

He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly frozen. His eyes only saw her beautiful gaze, and his mind was filled solely with Daji's every subtle expression and smile.

"It worked!" Mi Li exclaimed excitedly from the side. With her keen sight, she could naturally tell that the man's mind was now completely controlled.

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked him about the secret of the person behind him.

Ma An shook his head stiffly. "It's not King Qi, but my master."

"Who is your master?" Zu An frowned, wondering about the strange title.

"My master is the Pavilion Master of the Shadow Pavilion," Ma An answered instinctively.

"Shadow Pavilion!" Zu An's heart jolted. This wasn't the first time he had heard that name. Qiao Xueying had mentioned it to him before, how she joined the Shadow Pavilion to save her clan. He had also crossed paths with assassins from the Shadow Pavilion, knowing only that it was one of the world's most mysterious organizations.

"Who is the Pavilion Master of the Shadow Pavilion?" Zu An pressed.

"I don't know," Ma An replied, his eyes blank and vacant. "The Shadow Pavilion Master never shows his true face. He is always shrouded in darkness and mist, and no one in the world knows his identity."

Zu An frowned. "Then what other information do you have about him?"

Ma An replied, "I suspect he might be someone from within the imperial palace."

"Someone from the imperial palace?" Zu An had merely been curious about the identity of this mysterious Shadow Pavilion Master, not paying it too much mind, as even the most mysterious leader of an assassin organization wouldn't have significant influence on the court.

But the thought that the person could be from the palace sent shivers down his spine.

He had been entering and exiting the palace frequently these days and hadn't sensed anyone who could be the Shadow Pavilion Master.

More importantly, the imperial palace was the Emperor's domain. Could the Shadow Pavilion Master really be hiding within the palace, right under the Emperor's nose?

Either the Shadow Pavilion Master was the Emperor's man, but the Shadow Pavilion had taken on the task of assassinating him previously, and at that time, the Emperor was still waiting for his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. So, it was unlikely they belonged to the same faction.

That left only one other possibility: the Shadow Pavilion Master had another public, legitimate identity that allowed him to stay in the imperial palace without arousing the Emperor's suspicion.

But who could this person be?

Eunuch Wen? Zhuxie Chixin? The Empress? Eunuch Lü? Guo Zhi? Or the Crown Princess, Concubine Bai? Or perhaps an unassuming palace maid or guard?

Face after face appeared in Zu An's mind, even the faces of Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun.

Zu An's hair truly stood on end. Knowing that he was sharing the imperial palace with such a powerful figure, who might have been secretly observing him all along, meant that none of his actions had escaped their notice...

The exposure of his identity as Gold Medal Eleven was a minor matter. But privately releasing Qiao Xueying and Qiu Honglei, saving Yun Jianyue, and even that absurd night with the Empress – each of these was a grave crime punishable by extermination of the nine generations of his family. If others knew about these and used them as leverage, wouldn't his life be entirely at their whim?