Chapter 258: The Thousand-Mechanism Cryptic Copper Disc

"That being said, we must first find the core key to decipher the document before we can unlock this cipher," Dao Zhi said, touching his chin with a smile.

"As long as we can obtain that crucial key, anyone can unlock the Black Dragon Scroll. Zifang has discovered that this key is named Qianji, a bronze cipher disc that integrates the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams, densely covered with characters corresponding to the cipher. There are only two such cipher keys in the entire world: one is by Ying Zheng's side in the Xianyang Palace, and the other, at this very moment, is in the General's Mansion in Sanghai City," Zhang Liang nodded and continued.

"The General's Mansion? Right now, Li Si and Lord Fusu are both in Sanghai City and are staying in the General's Mansion. Under the circumstances, the guards at the General's Mansion are even stricter than usual. Sneaking in will be no easy task," Old Man Ban shook his head and said.

"Indeed, at this moment both Fusu and Li Si are inside the General's Mansion, and Meng Tian has personally deployed troops to tightly blockade the surrounding streets. Furthermore, it is guarded by elite imperial court guards and masters of the Yin-Yang School. For an ordinary person, attempting to sneak into the General's Mansion is absolute wishful thinking," Master Xu stroked his beard and said with a troubled expression.

"That's right. If one weren't audacious, fanciful, and capable of turning heaven and earth upside down, how would one dare to set their sights on the General's Mansion!" Zhang Liang said as he looked at Dao Zhi, his implication self-evident.

"Hehe, that suits my appetite even more!" Dao Zhi smiled triumphantly.

"However, although Brother Dao Zhi, you possess the peerless Light-Chasing Divine Movement and hold the title of the King of Thieves, you will still need the assistance of one more person." Zhang Liang nodded, then his gaze fell upon Ganie.

"Him?"

"Mr. Ga once served as Ying Zheng's chief imperial court guard, so no one understands the patterns of the Qin State's defense deployment better than Mr. Ga," Zhang Liang explained.

"Those glorious past events of his are known to anyone," Dao Zhi said somewhat teasingly.

"The sentries at the gate of the General's Mansion usually consist of eight men, and their numbers increase or decrease depending on their ranks. Based on the current ranks of Li Si and Fusu inside the mansion, the number is twenty. Inside the walls, there are guards posted every five paces, and watchtowers are built at all four corners of the perimeter wall. Their field of vision is higher and broader; upon spotting anything unusual, they will sound the alarm instantly. Moreover, they are one-in-a-ten-thousand master archers, each possessing the skill to pierce a willow leaf at a hundred paces. Besides the sentries, there are several patrols consisting of four men each, operating continuously from dusk until dawn without rest. These soldiers are the elite of the elites, and the number of sentries is checked every half shichen, so it is best not to alert them. Although the trees in the courtyard are excellent hiding spots, small bells are tied to the branches; failure to locate them immediately will expose your whereabouts." Ganie ignored Dao Zhi's banter and directly introduced the defensive layout of the General's Mansion.

"If you manage to bypass these defenses, you will have a chance to cross the second wall, moving from the outer courtyard to the middle courtyard. The defense layout of the middle courtyard is basically the same as the outer courtyard. The biggest difference is that there are no obstacles here—it is a completely open and flat terrain. The only way to cross here is to have enough patience and wait for an opportunity to arise. If you can seize the opportunity, you will be able to enter the inner courtyard of the General's Mansion, and this should be where the target is located." Having finished, Ganie turned his gaze back to Zhang Liang.

"The location where the Qianji cipher bronze disc is kept is inside the Qianji Tower in the inner courtyard of the General's Mansion," Zhang Liang continued.

Dao Zhi looked at Zhang Liang with curiosity and asked, "Mr. Zhang, how did you obtain such a well-kept secret as the Qianji cipher bronze disc?"

"This is news delivered to me by a friend who risked their life."

Zhang Liang offered an explanation and then continued, "If you can reach the front of the Qianji Tower, the real test will only just begin. The door on the ground floor of the Qianji Tower is locked, and the key itself is personally kept by Meng Tian. The possibility of stealing the key from this imperial military star is practically zero. Even if you somehow obtained the key, it would be impossible to open the bronze lock and push the door open in plain sight of everyone. Therefore, the only way is to enter from the highest top floor. For the King of Thieves, once you can enter the inner courtyard, entering the Qianji Tower will not be a problem. However, the greatest difficulty lies inside the Qianji Tower itself. The interior protects vital secrets, and even guards and court guards are forbidden from stepping inside so much as half a step. Consequently, inside the Qianji Tower, there are actually no guards at all."

Upon hearing this, Big Hammer and the others felt their hearts ache with anxiety. In a General's Mansion with such tight defenses, among all of them, probably only Dao Zhi could manage to sneak in. Of course, they excluded Xiao Xie from this calculation; Xiao Xie was the Mohist Grandmaster, and unless absolutely necessary, they would not let Xiao Xie make a personal move.

Zhang Liang paused, and with a solemn expression, he said, "The Qianji cipher bronze disc you need to steal is located right in the center of the first floor. Although there are no guards, the interior is protected by far more terrifying and rigorous security. The Blood Silk Array is a terrifying weapon specially crafted by the Yin-Yang School. Absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely! Stay away from them!"

"You actually used the word 'absolutely' three times!" Dao Zhi cried out in astonishment.

"Never doubt my words!" Zhang Liang looked at Dao Zhi earnestly and said gravely, "Blood silk originates from the Western Regions and is ten times thinner than ordinary silk. Furthermore, its texture is completely transparent; without the aid of tools, it is practically invisible to the naked eye. Hundreds of threads of blood silk are distributed across every floor of the Qianji Tower, each thread tightly connected to the others, with silver bells tied to their ends. Once touched, it will alert the guards and place the entire building in lockdown. Blood silk possesses extreme resilience and cannot be severed with ordinary metal blades. Moreover, every single thread is soaked in deadly poison; upon contact with the skin, death is instantaneous."

"Is death guaranteed?" Dao Zhi asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.

"Death is absolutely guaranteed. The only way is not to touch them. Do you understand?" Zhang Liang nodded seriously, dispelling Dao Zhi's wishful thinking.

"I have one more question," Dao Zhi raised a finger and said.

"What question?"

"Since you've spent so much time patiently telling me all about this cursed place and this cursed bronze disc, does that mean I no longer have a choice?" Dao Zhi asked helplessly.

"Yes, you no longer have a choice." Zhang Liang nodded.

"Sigh..." Upon hearing this, Dao Zhi slumped completely.

Big Hammer shook his head and patted Dao Zhi on the shoulder by way of comfort.

"So you all agree that I should go?" Dao Zhi raised his head, looking pitifully at the others and asking.

"Mm!" The others glanced at Dao Zhi, and then all nodded earnestly in unison.

Dao Zhi swallowed hard, put on a brilliant smile, and asked Big Hammer ingratiatingly, "Respected, justice-filled, Chief Iron?"

"I have confidence in you!" Big Hammer said to Dao Zhi very earnestly, shattering his final shred of hope.

"Thank you all, elders and fellow villagers, for your support!" Dao Zhi said with a wry smile, cupping his fists toward Old Man Ban and the others.

"Xiao Zhi, this ten-thousand-year purple crystal was a tool I used to protect my eyes when forging swords. I'll lend it to you!" Hearing this, Master Xu took a piece of purple crystal from his bosom and handed it to Dao Zhi with a sympathetic look.

"Thanks a lot!" Dao Zhi rolled his eyes at Master Xu speechlessly and took the purple crystal.

...

Toward evening, Xiao Xie brought Shilan to Guihai Manor. Over the past few days, Xiao Xie had made a trip back to Detian Tower. In the dungeons of Detian Tower, there were some martial artists who had been captured alive—martial artists who killed without blinking or committed heinous crimes. As for the purpose of capturing these martial artists alive, it was naturally for Xiao Xie to absorb their internal energy.

The internal energy of the martial artists absorbed during this period amounted to roughly six hundred years of pure internal energy. Unfortunately, Xiao Xie's abilities were sealed, and even the Hogyoku's ability to help its master break through bottlenecks was sealed. Even after absorbing the internal energy, Xiao Xie merely possessed a vast reservoir of internal energy without increasing his actual cultivation realm or boundary. Much like Emperor Shitian from *Wind and Cloud*, who possessed two thousand years of internal energy, yet was beaten to the point where he didn't dare show his face by Wu Wudi, who had practiced martial arts for only a few decades, and had to wait until Wu Wudi died of old age before daring to re-emerge into the pugilist world.