What Monster Is This?

As "Qing Dai" spoke, she set the porcelain bowl in her hand gently on the desk with practiced ease. "I passed the kitchen just now and saw that some calming jujube seed porridge was still being kept warm, so I took the liberty of bringing you a bowl. Have a little, and you can retire early without delaying tomorrow's business."

The porridge still gave off a little steam, its scent carrying a strange, sweet fragrance!

Alarm bells rang in Lu Changfeng's mind, but his expression remained unchanged. He quietly circulated the Shennong Glazed Glass Art and followed her lead, saying mildly, "How thoughtful of you. But... that old injury by your shoulder blade still aches on damp nights like this, doesn't it? If the pain is bad, I have some salve here to promote circulation and clear the meridians."

"!!"

"Qing Dai" instantly stiffened, shock flooding her heart! How did this man know her greatest secret?! Could that Qing Dai have the same injury?!

That earth-shattering question made her mental defenses collapse!

In that flash of lightning-

"Hiss!"

A faint whistle cut through the air!

Lu Changfeng's right hand, poised for this moment, swept across the desk like lightning. The Huayang Needle shot from between his fingers and struck her Shanzhong Acupoint in the center of her chest with unerring precision!

"Urgh..."

The false Qing Dai felt her chest go numb. A sluggish heaviness instantly spread through her body, abruptly blocking her blood and qi. She stood rigid, unable to move.

With that little ability, you dared infiltrate the Princess's Residence?

Lu Changfeng sneered inwardly. Yet in the next instant, something unexpected happened!

"Hiss-"

A bloodcurdling hiss rang out as a streak of Black Radiance shot from the false Qing Dai's sleeve and expanded the moment it hit the ground. Originally as slender as a bamboo skewer, it became a black serpent as thick as a thigh in an instant and lashed its tail at Lu Changfeng!

More than a dozen jet-black scales with razor-sharp edges immediately flew free, shrieking through the air like concealed weapons and engulfing Lu Changfeng!

What the hell was that?!

Lu Changfeng was inwardly startled, but reacted swiftly. The instant the strange beast appeared, Xiantian true qi surged from his body, forming a solid barrier of protective qi before him!

"Clang, clang, clang-"

The scales struck Gang Qi with the ringing clash of metal. Their force was so great that ripples spread across it.

At the very instant Lu Changfeng blocked the scales, the black serpent's thick tail lashed out like lightning, striking the false Qing Dai squarely in the chest!

"Smack!"

With a soft crack, that deftly applied force knocked the Huayang Needle straight out of the acupoint where it had lodged!

The moment the needle left her body, the black serpent opened its enormous maw. Its mouth seemed to lead into endless darkness, generating an irresistible devouring force. It swallowed the false Qing Dai whole before she could react, just as her ability to move returned!

The entire sequence happened with unbelievable speed.

After swallowing its mistress, the black serpent shrank, turning back into a streak of Black Radiance. Trailing a foul wind, it made to smash through the wall and escape!

Lu Changfeng's brows drew tight. He had only the Huayang Needle, which clearly could not pierce its defenses. The black serpent moved so quickly that even aiming for its eyes would make a hit difficult. Charging outside would only put him in danger, but letting it leave with everything still so unclear would keep him on tenterhooks...

While he hesitated-

An aged voice thundered, "What monster dares come here!"

Before the words had faded, a vast, matchless chill enveloped the entire courtyard.

Lu Changfeng looked outside. In the night sky, the moonlight seemed to stir, and an enormous palm imprint formed from supremely yin, supremely cold true qi appeared out of thin air. As though carved from ice crystals, it descended from the heavens with the will to freeze everything, striking the fleeing streak of Black Radiance with flawless precision!

"Boom!"

A deep crash rang out. Waves of air surged, and white frost instantly coated the plants in the courtyard.

The swift streak of Black Radiance was forcibly slammed to the ground!

The palm imprint dissipated, leaving only a lifelike ice sculpture!

The black serpent was utterly frozen within it, still caught in its leaping escape posture. Even the outline of the human figure inside its belly was faintly visible!

At some unknown moment, a black-robed figure had appeared silently atop the courtyard wall. Her robes fluttered lightly in the night breeze, and a heart-chilling cold radiated from her.

"Holy shit..."

Having witnessed that heaven-shaking palm strike, Lu Changfeng felt a chill shoot from the depths of his heart to the crown of his head. He looked down at the slender needle between his fingers, then at the enormous serpent-shaped ice sculpture in the courtyard. An unprecedented shock welled up within him.

What cultivation realm must she be in? If someone like her had wanted to harm me tonight, I'd probably have died eight times over...

While his mind reeled, the entire Princess's Residence erupted into activity!

"Enemy attack-"

A piercing whistle split the night sky, followed by a rush of swift, closely packed footsteps converging from every direction.

Dark figures flashed like phantoms across rooftops and beneath corridor eaves. The clang of swords and sabers leaving their sheaths rang out incessantly, while powerful auras interwove into a net that enveloped the Snow Listening Tower and the surrounding area.

The Plum Blossom Guards, the most mysterious and elite force under Princess Taiping's command, completed their deployment and sealed off the area in an exceedingly short time.

"Sir! Are you all right?!"

Only now did the real Qing Dai hurry back. Her breathing was slightly uneven; clearly, she had sprinted all the way.

When she saw the serpent-shaped ice sculpture and the wreckage strewn across the courtyard, her pretty face went deathly pale. She immediately darted in front of Lu Changfeng to shield him, drawing her flexible sword and scanning their surroundings warily.

"I'm fine."

Lu Changfeng waved a hand, his gaze passing beyond Qing Dai to settle on the black-robed figure who had appeared atop the courtyard wall without his noticing.

Moonlight fell over her, outlining a slender, upright figure.

She appeared advanced in years, silver strands faintly visible in her hair, but her face was exceptionally well preserved. Only her phoenix eyes were deep as icy pools. She merely stood there in silence, yet the supremely yin, supremely cold aura radiating from her seemed enough to freeze the surrounding air, making others afraid to look directly at her.

Qing Dai followed Lu Changfeng's gaze. Upon seeing the woman, much of the tension immediately left her expression. She bowed, her voice filled with the utmost respect:

"This servant pays her respects to Lady Guizhou!"

The black-robed woman respectfully addressed as "Lady Guizhou" swept an indifferent gaze over the scene. It lingered briefly on Lu Changfeng, and she gave a slight nod before turning to the ice sculpture.

"Such petty vermin, daring to run wild in the Princess's Residence."

With a gentle sweep of her sleeve, an invisible force lifted the heavy ice sculpture and set it lightly in the center of the courtyard.

"Aunt Lanjun."

At that moment, Princess Taiping approached slowly, surrounded by the Inner Guard.

"Sorry for troubling you to intervene, Aunt."

Lady Guizhou, Zhao Lanjun, inclined her body slightly toward Princess Taiping. "You are too kind, Your Highness. It was my duty." Her gaze turned once more to Lu Changfeng. "This must be the newly arrived Director of Medicine Lu? You remained calm in danger. Your reactions were passable."

Lu Changfeng had now collected himself. At her words, he stepped forward and saluted with clasped hands. "I am Lu Changfeng. Thank you for coming to my aid, my lady."

Zhao Lanjun nodded slightly and said nothing more. Her figure flickered, and she vanished from the wall like a phantom, as though she had never appeared at all. Only the ice sculpture, radiating a bitter chill, remained to testify to that earth-shattering palm strike.

"Disperse, and strengthen the watch."

Princess Taiping swept her gaze over the Inner Guard standing solemnly around her and ordered calmly, "Jinghong, Qing Dai, stay."

"Yes!"

The Inner Guard answered in unison. Their figures flickered as they withdrew like an ebbing tide, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

Princess Taiping walked slowly to the ice sculpture. Her gaze fell on the faint human outline within the frozen black serpent's belly, and a cold glint flashed through her eyes.

She said nothing. Casually raising her right hand, she held two fingers together like a sword and pointed through the air! An incomparably fierce strand of Sword Qi burst from her fingertips, instantly piercing the ice and driving into the black serpent's belly with unerring precision!

"Aaargh-"

Within the ice, the black serpent let out a pained, savage hiss. Its enormous body writhed violently, shaking cracks into the surface of the icy shell!

Dark red blood instantly gushed from the wound in its belly, spreading into shocking stains within the crystalline ice sculpture.

The next instant, the giant serpent instinctively opened its enormous maw in agony-

"Thud!"

A human figure was spat out, shattering a few shards of ice before crashing heavily to the ground. It was the false Qing Dai.

Her face was deathly pale, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Clearly, she too had been injured by the Sword Qi that had pierced through the serpent. Yet, strangely, there was no slime or filth anywhere on her body, as though she had merely entered some special space rather than a serpent's belly!

Princess Taiping looked down at the woman and serpent lying on the ground. "'In the Wilds of Cangwu stands Broken Mountain. Upon that mountain dwells a great serpent, its scales as though cast from black iron, its whole body ink-black. It can grow or shrink at will, soar through the sky upon clouds, and holds a world within its belly. Its name is the Ba Serpent'... I have long heard that the Great Vehicle Sect enshrines a strange beast at its headquarters, regarding it as one of the sacred creatures that guard the sect. It has always been personally controlled by each successive holy maiden."

Her gaze settled on the false Qing Dai's pale face, her voice carrying the authority of one who saw through everything. "A holy maiden and a strange beast... It seems you are determined to get your hands on Mr. Lu."