The Yin God Talisman erupted with a thunderous roar. It was an utterly wicked object, refined from the resentful soul of a Third Realm cultivator! It contained the boundless hatred and baleful power the cultivator had harbored before death, and it preyed on cultivators' Dao bodies, defiling their souls!
The moment Li Xiao's right arm touched the talisman, black frost covered it from shoulder to fingertips. His flesh withered and shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Shhk—"
A flash of blood!
But he reacted with incredible speed. He joined the fingers of his left hand like a blade and, with a sharp "shhk," severed his own right arm. At the same time, a low shout burst from his throat: "Yuan Protector's Decree, Divine Illumination Flawless!"
"Vmm—"
The cinnabar dot between his brows suddenly lit up, transforming into a crimson shield that enveloped his entire body. It actually managed to hold back the freezing Killing Intent from invading him—for now.
But this was only the beginning. The Yin God Talisman's true killing move wasn't merely the erosion of the flesh!
"Ugh—!"
Li Xiao suddenly let out a muffled groan. Blood seeped from his seven orifices, and his face contorted.
Countless resentful souls within the talisman were retaliating through his spiritual sense, furiously assaulting his Violet Palace!
In that moment, it was as if he had plunged into the Avīci Hell—
The wails of countless wronged souls filled his ears. A multitude of bloody scenes appeared before his eyes: fragments of what that Third Realm cultivator had seen and felt before death!
Even with his formidable Yin God, he couldn't withstand the tremor in his Dao Heart. The protective shield around him flickered violently.
"Crack!"
He staggered back three steps, crushing the bluestone beneath his feet. Flesh writhed where his arm had been severed, and it actually began to slowly regrow.
"Chen! Xu!"
Li Xiao glared until his eyes nearly split, his face twisted like a vengeful ghost. There was no trace left of his gentle demeanor. He fixed Chen Qing with a murderous stare, his Killing Intent almost tangible. "You dare use such a wicked object to ambush me?!"
Chen Qing replied solemnly, "Looking at that insincere face of yours always makes my skin crawl. And you're a riddle wrapped in a mystery—you never answer a single question. If I let you leave at your leisure, striking a dashing pose as you went, I'd probably never sleep again."
In the distance, the sound of something tearing through the air came from the direction of Yujing City. The patrolling Yujing Guards had clearly sensed the unusual fluctuations in spiritual energy and were on their way.
Li Xiao's expression shifted from light to dark. Then he suddenly gave a sinister laugh. "Good! Very good! You think you can turn things around by throwing in your lot with Xi Yao? She can barely protect herself. Let's see how long she can keep you safe! Once the Princess falls, we'll settle our score!"
Before his words had even faded, his body dissolved into a wisp of black smoke. Only the freezing Killing Intent left behind continued to silently erode the surrounding plants, making them wither and rot at an alarming speed.
"You were decisive. I thought you'd really just swallow your anger and let that man run his mouth." Xu Zhaoying sheathed her sword and landed beside Chen Qing. "His cultivation is profound. If the Yin God Talisman hadn't caught him off guard, and if he hadn't held back for fear of the Yujing Guards, even my Qingqiu Seal might not have been enough to stop him."
"Even looking that wretched, he didn't forget to make a few polite remarks." Chen Qing stared at the black smoke where Li Xiao had vanished and sighed. "What a pity we couldn't keep him here. How did he make such progress in the thirty years since we last met?"
The night wind scattered the Yin God Talisman's ashes across the ground.
Though powerful, it could only be used once.
"But from what he said, he's clearly waiting for the Princess to fall before coming after me!"
As he thought this, his gaze swept over the ground, then suddenly stopped—
A Jade Slip lay quietly on the ground.
"Perhaps Elder Lü disturbed someone while investigating the whereabouts of your Spiritual Bone. That may be why this person suddenly appeared." Xu Zhaoying traced a line through the air with her sword, and green light circled the Jade Slip three times, purging the attached baleful energy. Then she drew it over to them.
Chen Qing nodded.
Xu Zhaoying continued, "Once we reach Yujing, go meet up with the Princess first. I'll contact my old friends in Yujing and confirm whether the Holy Emperor really is in seclusion—and who issued the decree summoning the Princess back to the capital to receive her reward."
Chen Qing's gaze sharpened. "You suspect the Empress was behind it?"
"When the resettlement policy was first implemented, it met with heavy resistance." Xu Zhaoying abruptly changed the subject, her tone turning chilly. "But after the Princess overcame each obstacle, and your policies began to take effect, people throughout Yujing started praising her. The Empress may not be pleased with how things stand."
"What's the conflict between the Princess and the Empress?" Chen Qing pressed.
Xu Zhaoying's gaze sharpened. She looked around at the night, then said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go back to the inn first."
Chen Qing nodded.
Xu Zhaoying then handed him the Jade Slip. "Take it. Since it's an inheritance from your past, you may as well take a look. Now that your natal spirit talisman is complete, you can condense other spell talismans as well. But be careful. That man seems to have left this behind on purpose. Who knows what scheme he might have hidden in it?"
Chen Qing's heart jolted at her words.
In the waking world beyond the dream, there were occasional rumors that cultivators could condense multiple spirit talismans, but most were hearsay. Some even claimed it was a secret technique passed down only within great sects. He hadn't expected this dream world to truly hold such a wondrous method!
He took the Jade Slip. The moment his fingertips touched it, the life talisman within him suddenly trembled, as though resonating with the slip. A wisp of starlight spilled from it and sank between Chen Qing's brows.
"What is this...?"
In a daze, he seemed to see a vast starry sky. Countless stars moved along mysterious paths, each corresponding to the embryonic form of a talisman.
Seeing him lost in thought, Xu Zhaoying said softly, "They say the Cosmic Star Tribulation is an ancient secret inheritance of the Star Sect. Once perfected, one can condense three hundred and sixty-five Star Talismans within the body, matching the number of the heavenly circuits..."
A few sounds came from the distance. She abruptly stopped speaking and changed the subject. "Let's head back first."
"All right!"
The moment the two of them set off, golden light filled the official road ahead.
Twelve Golden Armored Divine Generals descended through the air. The one at their head held a jade tablet and spoke in a voice like a great bell: "Which cultivators are fighting here?"
Xu Zhaoying immediately presented the token of Princess Xiyao's Estate. "Xu Zhaoying and Chen Xu of Princess Xiyao's Estate. We were attacked on our way to the capital."
The general inspected the token. His pupils contracted slightly as he looked at Chen Qing, then he nodded. "Private fights are forbidden in and around Yujing. Since there were extenuating circumstances, we'll let this pass. What did the assassin look like?"
"That person was skilled at concealment. We probably won't find him for the moment." After Xu Zhaoying spoke with them briefly, several of the generals went to search for traces of the assassin.
Once the generals had left, Xu Zhaoying guided them with a sword gesture. "Let's go!"
When they returned to their room at the inn, Xu Zhaoying set up a soundproofing ward and said gravely, "The feud between the Princess and the Empress goes back to the Princess's mother. In those days, the Holy Maiden of the Qingqiu Heavenly Fox lineage joined with the Holy Emperor and gave birth to the Princess. Then, she mysteriously died. The Empress has always regarded the Heavenly Fox bloodline as an aberration. Ever since the Princess displayed her talent, the Empress has taken every opportunity to reprimand her."
Chen Qing's gaze shifted slightly. "Was it because of her bloodline, or a dispute over legitimate and secondary heirs?"
"That's not all." Xu Zhaoying shook her head and picked up a teapot and cup. "The Princess inherited her mother's ideals and advocated coexistence among the Hundred Races. In recent years, some in the court have called for the northern tribes to be treated kindly, and the Princess has often supported them. That touched the interests of many, so some people went to the Empress and whispered slander in her ear."
Chen Qing rubbed the Jade Slip and asked, "If the Empress really intends to target the Princess, how should we respond?"
Xu Zhaoying pondered for a moment, then said, "Once we enter the capital tomorrow, if the situation turns bad, you should leave! Without an order from the Holy Emperor, they can't forcibly restrain the Princess. As long as you leave Yujing, there'll be a way to deal with this."
"So Yujing is actually a dragon's lair and a tiger's den." Chen Qing said, "Then why go there at all, knowing it's dangerous?"
Xu Zhaoying said, "The immortal dynasty summoned us, so it already holds the moral high ground. We can't defy it. In any case, tomorrow... no, I'll take you to the Qingwu Retreat right away to meet up with the Princess."
Xu Zhaoying had already warned him, but something occurred to Chen Qing, and he suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist Xu, do you know of any method that would let someone in the early Second Realm suppress someone in the early Third Realm?"
Xu Zhaoying's hand paused as she poured the tea. A few drops splashed out.
"Are you all right?" She set down the teapot, her brows drawing together. "Did you get so carried away by how smoothly you dealt with that beast-hide man that you've lost your head?"
She stood and paced a couple of steps before warning him, "You caught him off guard that time, and I was there using the Qingqiu Seal to suppress him. The gap between major realms is like a heavenly chasm—how could anyone cross it so easily? If that man had sent his Yin God out of his body immediately, all we could have done was flee. What else could we possibly have tried?"
Chen Qing's gaze shifted slightly. "Is there really no possibility at all?"
"Not exactly." Xu Zhaoying suddenly lowered her voice. "There's a legendary ancient technique called the Life Burning Method. It can temporarily raise your realm, but the price is immense. At best, it shortens your life; at worst, it destroys your Dao foundation. Other than that, you'd need to do what we did earlier: seize the initiative. But that only works against a cultivator who's just entered the Third Realm, before they've mastered their Yin God or the phantom of their magic robe. That's the only opening you'll get."
"Just entered the Third Realm?" Chen Qing heard her and fell into thought.
Xu Zhaoying suddenly leaned closer. "Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?"
"The situation is delicate," Chen Qing said. He'd prepared his answer long ago. "If things take a turn for the worst, I need a way to risk my life. At least I won't be slapped dead in one blow—I might be able to hold on for a moment and escape."
Xu Zhaoying's gaze flickered. After a moment's thought, she shook her head. "You're thinking about this the wrong way."
"Hmm?"
"Instead of thinking about fighting head-on, you should focus on mastering an escape technique." She spoke frankly. "You want to fight to buy time to escape, so why not specialize in escape from the beginning?"
Chen Qing froze.
"The Star Sect's Body Transformation into Starlight technique is part of the inheritance you just received." Xu Zhaoying continued, "If you can understand it, you can travel a thousand li in an instant. Once mastered, even a Fourth Realm cultivator won't be able to catch up! Besides, time is short, and you don't have time to learn other methods. You might as well focus on this one."
"Body Transformation into Starlight?"
He rested his hand on the Jade Slip, sensing the starlight flowing within.
Seeing his interest, Xu Zhaoying continued, "The Star Sect's escape techniques are the most wondrous. If you can understand even a little of them, that should be enough to save your life. Also..."
She flicked two talismans out of her sleeve.
One was a gleaming green jade talisman; the other was black and emanated a chill, baleful aura.
"This is a Qingqiu Traceless Talisman. It can conceal your aura. If anything goes wrong, activate it. As for this Yin God Talisman, I have little use for it. Since you've already used up yours, take another. You must protect your life—don't put yourself in danger! Understood?"
"Thank you."
He carefully put them away, but remembered what Bai Shaoyou had said about the "Heavenly Fox Xiyao."
"If the Tenth Princess really is the Heavenly Fox who was sealed away, could the current situation be the beginning?"
Before you continue