Could it be...?

[Netherworld Soul-Destroying Seal].

This divine ability was formed from five ghost baleful intent, soul-shocking baleful intent, and mind-misleading baleful intent. It could annihilate a cultivator's primordial spirit and soul, and its power ranked among the finest wielded by Qi Refinement Perfected. It was Li Jieyan's signature divine ability.

He could tell that Zhang Yuan had reached third-turn qi refinement, so his opening move was a killing technique. He would give Zhang Yuan no chance to survive.

He did not know what fortuitous opportunity Zhang Yuan had obtained to enter third-turn qi refinement on the Gang Sha Path, but so what? Before the Eastern Bian Li Clan, even someone at third-turn qi refinement was an ant they could casually slap to death!

Li Jieyan sneered, as though he could already see Zhang Yuan being killed with a single palm strike.

Yet just then, a gust of wind suddenly swept up. The hand seal hurtling forward dispersed in an instant, like a tiny flame gently pinched out.

"How is that possible?!"

Li Jieyan's face drained of color.

How had his signature divine ability collapsed so easily? Had Zhang Yuan done it?

"Fivefold Body-Rending Qi!"

Xiao Yuanjun's voice rang out. The defiling wind that had extinguished the hand seal swelled into a small tornado in the courtyard, then swept toward Li Jieyan in an instant.

"Watch out, Brother Li."

Chu Ruifeng, a Chu Clan descendant who had come with him, reacted in time to warn him.

Li Jieyan hastily retreated two steps while unleashing a divine ability to protect his entire body. Even so, when the defiling wind struck him, patches of his flesh rotted away, exposing stark white bone.

"Who's there!"

Li Jieyan's gaze grew grave. He scanned the courtyard before finally noticing Xiao Yuanjun, who had been standing in its center all along.

She was standing in such a conspicuous spot, yet he had never noticed her. What level of cultivation did she possess?

Could she be a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being...? No, impossible. Apart from the Third Princess herself, there could not possibly be another Foundation-Building Heavenly Being in the Third Princess's Residence.

Xiao Yuanjun slowly turned around and said calmly, "Step back, Zhang Yuan. Leave these three to your master."

Zhang Yuan nodded and decisively placed Xiao Yuanjun in front of himself as protection. At the same time, he looked toward the dozen or so people who had entered the courtyard and used [Read People] to examine their tags.

Zhang Yuan looked at Li Jieyan first.

[Li Descendant] [Minor fortune] [Mediocre aptitude] [Shock] [Calamity of bloodshed].

Of the five tags, [Li Descendant] was purple, [Minor fortune] was blue, [Mediocre aptitude] was cyan, and [Shock] was gray. The last, [Calamity of bloodshed], was the most unusual.

Black.

Gold tags are the rarest, followed by purple, blue, cyan, and gray, along with the special red and black ones. Black is probably the worst kind of tag.

Zhang Yuan made his assessment based on the tags' colors.

Like [Heavenly Vision], [Read People] came without instructions. He had to feel his way through using both himself.

A quick glance showed that the three people beside Li Jieyan had similar tags, with the best having only two purple ones. The two clans' Outer Dao Cultivators were even more ordinary. Most had only one blue tag, with the rest being cyan or gray.

They're miles behind Xiao Yuanjun. I wonder what tags I have above my own head. Could I see them in a mirror?

As Zhang Yuan pondered this, a gleam of golden light suddenly flashed through his vision.

Huh? There's actually a hidden talent here.

Zhang Yuan followed it with his gaze and found someone standing among the Li party, wearing a black cloak that concealed most of her body. He could not make out her face or tell whether she was male or female.

[True Lord's transmission of the law] [True Lord aptitude] [Li Patriarch's Illegitimate Daughter].

Three tags: two gold and one blue.

Zhang Yuan was somewhat surprised.

Incredible. Even Xiao Yuanjun only has two gold tags. This person is actually almost on par with her.

Sensing Zhang Yuan's gaze, Li Zhongshuang frowned at the rear of the group.

He's looking at me. Why? Has he discovered me?

Li Zhongshuang lowered her head slightly and pulled the brim of her hood farther down.

After last night, she had made some inquiries at the Li Residence. Only then had she learned that Zhang Yuan was the Li clan's Live-in Son-in-Law. The Li patriarch—her father, Li Houcheng—had personally arranged his betrothal to a daughter of the Li clan.

Zhang Yuan called himself Li Jieyan's brother-in-law, which means the Li daughter betrothed to him belongs to Li Jieyan's branch—the patriarch's branch. But there doesn't seem to be a woman of marriageable age in that branch...

No... there certainly isn't anyone suitable in the genealogy, but there is one unmarried woman who hasn't been entered into it. Could it be...?

Li Zhongshuang pondered with her head lowered, and her thoughts naturally turned to herself.

An illegitimate daughter could not be entered into the Li clan genealogy, especially one born before the eldest son.

Moreover, the [Supreme Unity Heavenly Dipper] had a karmic connection with Zhang Yuan.

Following that reasoning, the [Supreme Unity Heavenly Dipper] she had refined was actually Zhang Yuan's immortal spiritual root!

Li Zhongshuang was exceptionally clever. After discovering a single clue, she kept filling in the details and soon pieced together the truth.

I've wronged him.

Li Zhongshuang thought to herself.

Although she had covered for Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun when Li Houcheng questioned her last night, she still felt indebted to Zhang Yuan, who had nearly died.

After all, she was the one betrothed to Zhang Yuan, not anyone else.

Zhang Yuan clearly had no idea what Li Zhongshuang was thinking. After a brief moment of surprise at the tags above her head, he looked away.

"Keep yourself safe."

Leaving him with those words, Xiao Yuanjun rose into the air, supported by two surging currents of qi coiling around her.

[Fivefold Body-Rending Qi], [Ninefold Harmonizing Qi].

Li Jieyan, Chu Ruifeng, and Chu Xiyin were enveloped by the two divine abilities. For a time, they could barely move, confined to a small area.

"Let's join forces and kill her first!"

Li Jieyan spoke, his eyes flickering.

He understood now. This woman was the opponent corresponding to his [Strong enemy trial]. As long as he killed her, he could pass this trial!

This heaven-and-earth trial certainly deserved the name "strong enemy." His opponent's strength exceeded his imagination. If he did not have two Chu Clan cultivators at eighth-turn qi refining beside him, he might truly be unable to win.

He was at ninth-turn qi refining, with two eighth-turn qi refining cultivators supporting him. Surely, no matter how powerful this formidable enemy was, there had to be a limit?

Chu Ruifeng and Chu Xiyin nodded. Without so much as glancing at Zhang Yuan, they unleashed their divine abilities and attacked Xiao Yuanjun.

The battlefield split apart, with Li Jieyan and his two companions on one side, and the remaining Outer Dao qi refining cultivators from the two clans on the other.

No, there was also Li Jiejian, at fifth-turn qi refinement.

Only when the battle between those at eighth-turn qi refining and above gradually moved farther away did Li Jiejian finally get a chance to speak.

"Brother, what's going on with you two?" Li Jiejian was utterly bewildered.

They had only just met during the day. How had Zhang Yuan and his master ended up at the Third Princess's Residence that evening?

He remembered that his fifth uncle had clearly warned them both.

Coming to the Third Princess's Residence at a time like this, and even helping the Third Princess fight their two clans—wasn't that courting death?

Both his Eastern Bian Li Clan and the Western Bian Chu had made their stance absolutely clear. This time, they were determined to uproot the Demon Empress's forces, cutting down the grass and tearing out its roots.

"To tell you the truth, Brother Li, I'm the Third Princess's newly chosen Princess's Consort." Zhang Yuan gave a helpless smile, bitter to the extreme.

Li Jiejian: ...