In the quiet room of the secluded courtyard, the air was filled with the gentle fragrance of incense.
Chu Yunfei pushed open the door and entered.
The two people sitting opposite each other in the room turned their heads at the same time.
Wen Jiao wore an elegant light purple flowing dress, her figure graceful, but her pretty face was full of vigilance and coldness.
Hearing the door open, she turned her beautiful eyes slightly, and the moment her gaze fell on Chu Yunfei, her heart skipped a beat.
The man before them had clearly restrained his aura to the extreme, like a deep pool without ripples.
However, the spiritual power of the Divine Sea Realm Third Level within her body generated an almost instinctive fear and suppression the moment she approached Chu Yunfei.
In just four short days...
Her husband's strength had actually reached a terrifying level that she could hardly match.
Wen Jiao was filled with shock and turmoil, and instinctively wanted to get up and leave.
"Just sit down, no need to avoid me." Chu Yunfei raised his hand and casually sat down in the main seat.
On the other side of the table, the Third Prince, who had been sitting quietly, also raised his head.
In just half a month, the young man who had once been calm and composed in the Jingyuan Hall appeared extremely thin and haggard.
His deep-set eyes were filled with dark bluish-black shadows, and his ordinary blue robe looked somewhat empty on him. A sense of weariness, as if he were about to die, lingered between his brows.
However, the moment Ling Chengxuan's gaze swept over Chu Yunfei, two terrifying beams of light suddenly burst forth from the depths of his seemingly dull, dark eyes.
I can't figure it out!
With his extremely hidden divine soul perception, when he fell upon Chu Yunfei at this moment, it was like a mud ox entering the sea; he only felt that there was an ancient ferocious beast lurking within the other party that could tear the sky apart at any moment.
In the Jingyuan Hall, this person was still at the Heavenly Origin Realm.
Now... it has actually transformed to this extent?!
Ling Chengxuan took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and slowly rose to his feet, bowing deeply with great courtesy.
"Brother Chu, how have you been?"
" Chengxuan for disturbing you, Brother Chu. I hope you will forgive me."
Chu Yunfei remained indifferent, casually picking up the teapot and pouring himself a cup of tea, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
"Your Highness, let's skip these formalities."
"Between you and me, we only met once at the Jingyuan Hall, and we haven't even exchanged a single word, let alone developed any kind of friendship."
"Just say it, what do you want from me?"
Chu Yunfei didn't dislike the Third Prince, but he certainly didn't have any affection for him either.
Ling Chengxuan gave a wry smile and sat back down in his chair.
He picked up the now-cold tea in front of him, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp, his actions revealing a desperate madness born of desperation.
Brother Chu is a man of few words.
Ling Chengxuan wiped the tea stains from the corner of his mouth, raised his bloodshot eyes, and said, word by word:
"Then please allow me to... reintroduce myself."
"Besides being the Third Prince of the Great Qian, I have another identity... the Young Master of the Blood Baleful Intent Tower."
The moment the words left his mouth.
The temperature in the quiet room plummeted to freezing.
Wen Jiao face changed drastically. Her spiritual power, at the Divine Sea Realm Third Level, surged forth from her body, radiating a chilling killing intent. "You're the young master of the Blood Baleful Intent Tower?!"
A prince of the Great Qian Imperial Family family is actually the young master of the number one assassination master in the Eastern Continent?!
This utterly absurd thing completely overturned her understanding of the world.
Chu Yunfei's pupils also contracted slightly.
In an instant, numerous questions flashed through his mind like lightning.
The assassination attempt by the Cloud-Chasing Boat, the undercurrents within the royal family...
"Young Master of the Blood Baleful Intent Tower..."
Chu Yunfei stared intently at Ling Chengxuan, a cruel sneer curling at the corner of his lips:
"So, the ambush of me and Xueyao in the Black Wind Mountain Range, forcing us deep into the mountains, was your doing?"
Despite the terrifying killing intent that seemed to materialize throughout the room, Ling Chengxuan remained remarkably calm.
He didn't even activate his protective spiritual energy, simply letting Chu Yunfei's killing intent crush his body.
Brother Chu, you've misunderstood.
Ling Chengxuan shook his head, his voice hoarse:
"Although I hold the title of Young Master of the Blood Baleful Intent Tower, strictly speaking, my relationship with the Blood Baleful Intent Tower is merely one of cooperation and conspiracy. This identity is only to facilitate my deployment of their manpower in the Imperial City and even the Eastern Continent."
"As for the ambush in the Black Wind Mountain Range..."
A hint of mockery flashed in Ling Chengxuan's eyes:
"That was a mission secretly issued to the Blood Baleful Intent Tower by the eldest prince, Ling Chengyuan, who spent a huge amount of spirit stones under the guise of an assassination."
"I only learned about this later."
Chu Yunfei's gaze was sharp as a knife; he didn't entirely believe his words and pressed him coldly:
" The Soul-Devouring Nether Poison in Ling Zhantian's body, and the Purple-Faced Deputy Lord's forced intrusion into the palace a few days ago... these must have been your doing, right?"
Ling Chengxuan met his gaze frankly and nodded without any hesitation:
"Yes, I did it."
"I personally injected the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison into the spiritual spring where he was in seclusion, and I also sent people to probe him in the deep palace, but unfortunately... it all failed at the last moment."
At this point, Ling Chengxuan gave Chu Yunfei a deep look, a bitter sigh of admiration rising in his eyes:
"Originally, everything was within my calculations; Ling Zhantian was doomed. But despite all my calculations, I never anticipated... that there would be someone like Brother Chu in this world, capable of eradicating such an ancient and rare poison."
Chu Yunfei sneered:
"According to you, now that the dog emperor has awakened, he naturally knows it was you who did it."
"And Blood Baleful Intent Tower, seeing that things have been exposed, has already completely abandoned you, this pawn, hasn't it?"
Ling Chengxuan's body trembled slightly, and an undisguised shock appeared in his eyes.
He knew Chu Yunfei was exceptionally intelligent, but he never expected that this man's mind would be so meticulous.
With just a few words, he accurately predicted his current desperate situation.
"Brother Chu truly lives up to his reputation; his insight is unparalleled. I admire him greatly." Ling Chengxuan gave a bitter laugh and sighed deeply.
Wen Jiao had recovered from her shock and asked in a doubtful voice:
"Since you admit that you poisoned him, then why did you do it? After all, he is your biological father. Wouldn't doing this be patricide?"
However.
The moment I heard the words "biological father" and "parricide".
Ling Chengxuan, whose face had been as calm as still water, suddenly contorted and convulsed.
"Biological father? Hahahaha!!"
A shrill, maniacal laugh shattered the silence of the quiet room.
Ling Chengxuan's eyes were bloodshot, with streaks of crimson blood even bursting from the corners of his eyes. He looked like a demon crawling out of the deepest hell, his whole body trembling violently.
He is not my father!
Ling Chengxuan lowered his voice, and a beast-like, Weeping Blood roar escaped from deep within his throat:
"He is not only not my father, he is also the enemy who killed my biological parents and slaughtered thousands of elderly, weak, women and children in my entire village!!"
boom.
Wen Jiaojiao trembled violently and cried out in shock, "What?!"
Ling Chengxuan gripped the corner of the table tightly, his fingernails digging deep into the hardwood, drawing blood.
"Back then, I was only five years old. I watched with my own eyes as he donned the imperial dragon robe and pierced the hearts of my own parents with a sword."
"The entire village was wiped out; not a single chicken or dog was spared, and flames raged everywhere."
"He took me, who was terrified, back to the palace, named me the Third Prince, bestowed upon me the name Ling Chengxuan, and declared to the world that I was his child born out of the common people..."
Ling Chengxuan raised his head, his face covered in tears, his smile twisted and distorted.
"Miss Wen, Brother Chu... tell me, facing such a hypocritical, brutal, and utterly ruthless devil, should I hate him?! Should I tear him to pieces and grind his bones to dust?!"
The room was deathly silent.
Wen Jiao stood there, stunned, her beautiful eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
In her memory, the Great Qian Emperor was always dignified and benevolent. When she was young, she entered the palace to play with Xueyao, Ling Zhantian would even gently reward her with spiritual fruits.
How could such a horrific and bloody atrocity have been committed by the revered Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty in the Eastern Continent?!
Looking at Ling Chengxuan, who was practically grinding his teeth to powder and filled with boundless hatred, anyone could tell that this was no pretense.
A cold glint flashed in Chu Yunfei's eyes as well.
He had already experienced Ling Zhantian's ruthlessness firsthand.
It is not surprising that an emperor who could ruthlessly kill the benefactor who saved his life and intercept him outside the city would also commit the act of massacring entire villages to silence witnesses.
only...
Chu Yunfei's eyes narrowed slightly, his calmness terrifying:
"Since he slaughtered your entire village, why did he spare your life and even take you back to the palace to raise you?"
"Moreover... now that he knows you poisoned him, given his cruel methods, why hasn't he taken your life yet?"
Ling Chengxuan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the violent rage churning within his chest, and bitterly mocked himself:
"Because... he needs me."
"To be precise, he needs the essence of my constitution!"
Special physique?!
Wen Jiao's heart skipped a beat. Among the rumors about this prince of Great Qian, there was never any mention of him possessing a special physique.
"What does he want your physical essence for?" Chu Yunfei pressed.
Ling Chengxuan raised his head and said in a cold voice:
" The Great Qian Imperial Family possesses a forbidden secret technique. Using this technique allows one to temporarily transcend realms to defend against enemies, but the price is terrifying... that is, leaving irreversible Dao injuries within the body."
"Years ago, when he practiced this technique, he suffered a Dao injury, causing his cultivation to stagnate at the Divine Sea Realm Ninth Level, preventing him from ever reaching the Dao Mystic Realm."
"There is only one way to repair this kind of Dao injury."
A deep-seated hatred and fear surfaced in Ling Chengxuan's eyes:
"That involves collecting the essence of a special physique, using a demonic array to extract and refine it, and then using that essence to heal the Dao wounds within their bodies."
"My Soul Origin Spirit Physique... is the medicinal ingredient he carefully prepared many years ago."
Chu Yunfei's mind jolted, and he suddenly realized what was going on.
No wonder...
No wonder Ling Zhantian was willing to go to any lengths to seize his Myriad Poison Tyrant Body when he tried to kill him outside the city.
No wonder he spared Ling Chengxuan's life even though he knew Ling Chengxuan had poisoned him.
But what's even more fatal is...
The method Ling Chengxuan just mentioned—extracting the body's essence to repair Dao injuries—is indeed feasible, but it has stringent conditions and limitations.
The cultivation level of the medicinal catalyst cannot be too high or too low.
With a cultivation level too low and an incomplete development of its essence, it is simply unable to support the demonic array.
If one's cultivation level is too high, their essence will be completely integrated with the martial artist's, and forcibly extracting it will trigger a backlash.
Only when it is in a certain special range can it become the most suitable medicinal guide.
Of course, regardless of the outcome, the medicinal ingredient will not have a good ending.
At best, it will destroy one's foundation and render them a cripple.
In severe cases, the body's vital energy is depleted, leading to immediate death.
Just then, Xiaoxiao Dragon's voice rang out in Chu Yunfei's mind.
"Tsk tsk, this dog emperor has quite the scheme. He's trying to heal his Dao injuries in this way. If word gets out, this Great Qian emperor will probably face condemnation from all the righteous sects in the martial arts world."
"I wonder what your Great Qian princess will think when she learns of what her father has done?"
The words had barely left his mouth.
Chu Yunfei trembled violently.
Cultivation range...
The origin of physical constitution...
Flawless Spirit Physique...
Princess Ling Xueyao of the Great Qian Dynasty!!
At this moment, a series of pieces of information were completely connected.
boom!
An unprecedented, overwhelming killing intent, like a raging tsunami, erupted from Chu Yunfei's body without reservation.
He suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot, his voice seemingly coming from the deepest hell.
"Ling Zhan Tian, you're asking for death!!"