Imperial Power

This wasn't Xu Yuan's first time teleporting, but it was the first time a teleportation had lasted so long.

The times I teleported with the Big Ice Block and the washboard, it was basically like closing my eyes and arriving at the destination in the blink of an eye.

The price of the long teleportation time was that Xu Yuan felt like he was about to split open.

In a physical sense,

split.

His body felt as if it had entered a bottomless abyss, with turbulent currents from all directions constantly tearing at him.

This enormous force sometimes pulled him in all directions, as if to tear him apart, and sometimes it converged and squeezed inward, as if to crush him into a pulp.

Under intense pressure, Xu Yuan could feel his grip on the woman's hand weakening, from a tight hold to a gradual slippage.

"Smack."

Fortunately, just as they were about to part, the person beside him grasped his hand tightly from behind.

Consciousness gradually oscillated between lucidity and confusion.

Xu Yuan could only feel his body being manipulated by the person beside him, and then a mysterious Source Qi entered his meridians.

This powerful Source Qi like a tidal wave along specific routes in the meridians, eventually forming a thin film around his body to resist pressure.

It felt like a fleeting moment, yet also like eternity.

A flash of white light streaked across the darkness, illuminating two figures that had suddenly appeared.

Feeling the cold stone surface beneath his feet again, Xu Yuan's heart finally settled back into his stomach.

The real world is indeed just like Cangyuan.

Forcibly destroying the Kunwu Mirror will cause some damage to the teleporter.

However, obtaining the Kunwu Mirror in the game means that the player is already capable of defeating Nan Jinxi, a neutral boss who is barely clothed.

This kind of teleportation damage is nothing to players, but for Xu Yuan, whose cultivation level is currently very low, it can be fatal.

But it doesn't matter, the bustier princess will step in.

He trusted her so much; she couldn't possibly let him die during the teleportation process, could she?

In the pitch-black darkness, Xu Yuan struggled to his feet, bracing himself against the cold ground. Just as he was about to look around, he heard a faint "clicking" sound.

It was very light, but it stood out in the silence.

It felt like something hard was breaking apart.

Frowning, Xu Yuan used the remaining Source Qi in his body to circulate his cultivation Cultivation Method and looked back.

It was the armor she was wearing.

The cracks on the surface of the inlaid array pattern armor spread, and finally shattered into pieces with a "crack". The slender red body was also cut into pieces by the spatial turbulence.

The spatial pressure during teleportation does not discriminate between people and objects.

Her skin was as white as ice and her bones as white as jade; she was captivatingly beautiful.

"."

They looked at each other silently.

"Boom--"

The tattered bodice, unable to withstand the strain, bounced open once more, this time more thoroughly than before.

So, under Li Qingyan's calm gaze, Xu Yuan shifted his gaze away and then looked down.

As a gentleman, one should refrain from looking at anything improper at this moment.

The problem is that he's a playboy, and playboys don't care about these formalities.

Moreover, opportunities are fleeting and once lost, they don't come again.

Even if you can't eat it, it's always good to appreciate it as an art form.

Seeing that the other party showed no intention of looking away, Li Qingyan's cool face showed no trace of feminine coyness as she stared at Xu Yuan:

"The material of your blood-stained robe is quite astonishing, but my consort, is my body really that beautiful?"

Xu Yuan grinned, his eyes fixed on Xu Yuan, just about to speak.

"Vomit"

"." Li Qingyan.

The aftereffects of the teleportation arrived late; a series of discomforts, including chest tightness, dizziness, and nausea, caused Xu Yuan to collapse to the ground and begin dry heaving.

It feels a bit like a hangover from a past life, but even a hangover that lasted for over ten days wasn't this intense.

Xu Yuan reluctantly raised his eyes and gave a thumbs up:

"So beautiful, ugh."

"You really are something, phew."

With a helpless look in her eyes, Li Qingyan ignored Xu Yuan and glanced down at her tattered clothes.

Then, she clenched her jade-like hand slightly.

"Buzz--"

A gust of wind burst forth from her body, tearing apart and scattering the tattered clothes. Xu Yuan instinctively covered his face.

"Splash--"

With a rustling of her robes, Li Qingyan quickly donned the wide red robe, completely concealing her alluring curves. She slowly walked to Xu Yuan, half-kneeling and placing a hand on his back, softly saying:

"Relax."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yuan felt Li Qingyan's Source Qi flow into his body again, guiding his remaining Source Qi to circulate along his meridians.

After a while,

Xu Yuan let out a long breath, looked at the neatly dressed woman in red, and smiled with regret in his eyes:

"This kind of long-distance teleportation is truly beyond human endurance."

"This is also the first time for me."

Seeing that Xu Yuan was unharmed, Li Qingyan slowly stood up, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding darkness. "So, my consort, can you tell me now where we are?"

How should I know?

"You don't know?" Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes turned back, a hint of surprise in them.

Xu Yuan sat on the ground, spread his hands, and answered decisively:

"How am I supposed to know where I'm going when I'm randomly teleported over extremely long distances?"

Li Qingyan was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath, her chest heaving, and leaned down to sit beside him.

"Then how did you know the efficacy of that small mirror treasure?"

That thing is the Kunwu Mirror.

Xu Yuan made no attempt to hide anything. "It's the key to entering the Kunwu Realm, but if it's destroyed, the internal array patterns will teleport everything around it before they collapse."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow.

"Key?"

"Don't think about it."

Xu Yuan grinned and pointed to the sword she was holding. "You've destroyed the Kunwu Mirror, which serves as the key. The so-called Kunwu Realm will probably only be able to emerge when it's destroyed."

Unless someone with incredible luck, like the Big Ice Block, most secret realms can only be discovered by the outside world when the Levitation Stone within them age to the point of collapse, creating spatial anomalies around them.

Li Qingyan nodded slightly and asked with great interest:

"But you seem quite familiar with these things, Prince Consort, and you even seem to know that vixen from earlier?"

"That's what Lou Ji said."

"." Li Qingyan.

Having shifted the blame to the succubus, Xu Yuan, regardless of whether she believed him or not, continued speaking:

"Nan Jinxi, the Heavenly Snow Spirit Fox, is one of the three Fox Clan Kings, but I really didn't expect her to come and assassinate us."

Li Qingyan's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she spoke in a clear voice:

"Ancient Abyss actually chose to intervene in our Great Yan's war at this critical juncture."

Xu Yuan's eyes looked somewhat strange:

"Didn't you previously suspect that Nan Jinxi's assassination attempt was for the sake of the person she loved?"

Li Qingyan's eyes were strange, and he chuckled softly.

"A beloved? I acknowledge that there are people in this world who would sacrifice themselves for love, but the chances are too small. Besides, the words of the enemy, the consort, can only be taken as a reference at best. What if what she says is a lie meant to mislead us?"

Xu Yuan considered it for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"Ancient Abyss has no reason to intervene in the war between Great Yan and the Barbarian Tribe at this time. Ancient Abyss is far more powerful than the Barbarian Tribe. So many Demon Beast have been spying on our Great Yan territory, plus those high-ranking members who have infiltrated in human form. They have no reason to provoke Great Yan at this time."

Li Qingyan pondered for a moment, then looked up at the dark cave ceiling:

"It was indeed my oversight. If it was truly Ancient Abyss's doing, then Nan Jinxi's target should only be you."

"."

Xu Yuan was taken aback, but after a moment's thought, he understood.

Li Qingyan's approach differed from his.

He relied more on his past experience of being God to predict future trends, judging that Ancient Abyss would choose to enter the fray after the internal strife in the Great Yan ended.

Li Qingyan, however, was more concerned with the delicate relationships between the various factions.

Especially the royal family and the Prime Minister's Mansion.

If Nan Jinxi only killed Xu Yuan, then Ancient Abyss would have had a perfectly valid motive.

If he is killed within the Beifeng Army as a hostage, the second and Third Prince, who are also hostages, will most likely die of illness in the Northern Border due to acclimatization problems.

The relationship between the Prime Minister's Mansion and the royal family was already strained due to Li Yaoxuan's health, and this incident will inevitably create an irreversible rift.

But if Li Qingyan and Xu Yuan are eliminated together, then things will be different.

Although Xu Yuan was designated as the "Crown Prince" of the Prime Minister's Mansion, this was done in secret.

Li Qingyan, as the only member of the royal family who held military power, was clearly far more important than him on the surface.

It is impossible for the royal family to sacrifice her to have a son with a dandy.

In other words, there is someone else behind it all.

As Li Qingyan pondered, he habitually Sumeru Ring between his index finger and thumb, and asked slowly:

"Your Highness, who do you think is behind this attack? Could it really be the one that vixen claims to love?"

Speaking of this,

Li Qingyan chuckled and shook his head, "Forget it, even if it was instructed by someone she loves, we don't know who it is. Blindly speculating here won't lead to any conclusions. Let's find a way to capture and interrogate them later."

"."

Xu Yuan turned his head to look at her smiling profile, but didn't say anything.

Make quick decisions based on available information and have unwavering confidence in your judgment.

After deliberating for a long time, Xu Yuan still chose to speak directly:

I think it's your second brother.

"."

The sound echoed softly within the silent cave.

Li Qingyan slowly turned her eyes. "Second brother? He certainly had a motive to do this, but what about the evidence?"

This answer indicates that Li Qingyan already had doubts about the Second Prince.

Meeting Li Qingyan's serene gaze, Xu Yuan's mind raced, trying to figure out how to explain this theory.

He said it was Li Zhaoyuan.

Most of the information comes from the minor details and storylines in Cangyuan.

Although Kunwu Mirror is useful, it can't compete with Nan Jinxi's beautiful character art, and she's dressed very little.

When Xu Yuan first met her, he thought she was a heroine he could win over, so he put in a lot of effort.

However, it seems the production team for Cangyuan doesn't have any "Bull Warriors" (a term used to describe skilled or tough characters). At least, the writer in charge of the Nan Jinxi storyline isn't a "Bull Warrior."

Even after completing the entire storyline, you still can't win over the character.

Excluding some of the more complicated conversations, there are now three or four pieces of useful information.

First, Nan Jinxi and the Prime Minister's Estate have a feud.

Secondly, there is very little connection between Nan Jinxi and Ancient Abyss.

Third, the person Nan Jinxi loved once held a very high position.

As for the fourth point...

Xu Yuan wasn't entirely sure about this, as he couldn't quite remember some of it.

He wasn't one of those child prodigies who could memorize every detail of a game after playing it once.

I vaguely remember that Nan Jinxi didn't appear in the storyline in the timeline where the second prince ascended the throne.

Based on this information, we can roughly deduce that Nan Jinxi is indeed a demon who would sacrifice herself for love, and the person she loves is very likely the Second Prince.

Now the problem is, how do we explain all this to Li Qingyan?

Just tell me, buddy, I've opened my third eye?

After a long period of silence,

Xu Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground, his hands clasped in the crook of his knees, and said in a soft voice:

"Actually, I deduced it by looking at the direction of the beneficiaries."

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Qingyan's expression, and Li Qingyan nodded, signaling him to continue.

Xu Yuan exhaled and whispered:

"First, Qingyan, you also know that given the current situation in the Northern Border, we are no longer needed. The Barbarian Tribe have lost a batch of people in your surprise attack, another batch in your assault on Beifeng City, and yet another batch in the decisive battle with the sect. With Mr. Zong in charge during the final battle, the Barbarian Tribe have no chance of winning."

Li Qingyan nodded. "That's true, and then what?"

"Second."

Xu Yuan hesitated for a moment. "Secondly, given the current situation, the sects in the Northern Border will be destroyed, the Barbarian Tribe will be destroyed, and the sects, unless they are stupid, will not take the lead at this critical juncture. Hmm, the conflict between your royal family and my Prime Minister's Prime Minister's Mansion is very likely to escalate into the main conflict."

"That's the truth, so why is the prince consort suddenly becoming so wary?"

Li Qingyan seemed completely unconcerned about these things. She tilted her phoenix eyes and smiled gently, "My father's determination to eradicate the sects was to consolidate the imperial power of our royal family and to maintain the royal family's rule over the world. For this purpose, he even went so far as to support and allow powerful ministers like Lord Xu to appear in the court."

That's roughly the idea.

Xu Yuan was speechless, his impression of this extraordinary woman deepening slightly. He then became more direct. "If your father, well, your father surnamed Li, were healthy, the conflict could be temporarily concealed. Before the sect is completely destroyed or a compromise is reached, we could all continue together. But the problem is that it's not possible now."

"Your father will surely take some action before he dies. I think that with his great talent, he would not allow a Prime Minister like my father, who has military and financial power, to be dealt with by his own son."

A fleeting, almost imperceptible emotion flickered in Li Qingyan's eyes, and he nodded.

"So what does this have to do with my second brother?"

"Kill you to weaken your elder brother's influence; kill me to weaken the heir to the Prime Minister's Estate."

"Quite foolish," Li Qingyan commented softly. "Although we are blood relatives, I am not necessarily going to support my elder brother."

Xu Yuan grinned:

"But you can't be used by him, so he has to kill you."

Li Qingyan rubbed his temples:

"From what I can see, I am indeed not someone they can use."

After a moment's pause, Li Qingyan asked with interest:

"But the most crucial question is, can he survive doing this?"

"Able."

Xu Yuan answered decisively:

"Under these circumstances, if we succeed, even if Li Zhaoyuan is exposed after we return to the Imperial Capital, your father will personally protect him and cover up everything he has done."

Li Qingyan rested her chin on her hand and tapped her cheek with her slender index finger:

"He has connections with sects."

"Qingyan, you just said that everything your father did was to consolidate his imperial power."

"..." Li Qingyan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Xu Yuan pressed his knuckles to his brow, and pressed his clasped hands together with a slight pressure:

"We can see that the Second Prince has connections with the sect, so your father couldn't possibly not see it."

"The Prime Minister's Mansion threatens imperial power. Wouldn't it be a good option to unite with the sects to eliminate my Prime Minister's Mansion?"

"If this method is confirmed to be feasible, your father will not only not kill him, but will even take the initiative to help the Second Prince consolidate the Crown Prince's power in his final days and put him on the throne."

Don't forget,

"Your second brother is the one who most resembles your father, the Emperor."

It was a little late.