Volume One, Chapter 56: Naier's Unfading Beauty

“No need.” Zhu Quan waved his hand, a deeper smile spreading across his face. Then he chuckled again, “Go to Jiangpu yourself and tell Third Brother and the others that if they don’t wish to enter the palace and serve Father Emperor, then they should attend the court ceremony directly the day after tomorrow.”

As everyone reopened their eyes, they fixed their gaze on the empty air, tension mounting; beads of sweat formed on their foreheads. After all, Xu Qixiu and I were old acquaintances, and the weight of our connections... only he could truly gauge.

“Let him think so, then,” Xin Mo said quietly, a faint smile playing on her lips as she looked at me thoughtfully.

Outside, I also lit an incense stick and waited patiently. No one knew what Zha Zhang had said to his three sons. As the incense was about to burn out, I knocked on the door and said, “Time’s almost up. Heaven’s will is inevitable. No matter the regrets, one must come to terms with it.”

Hearing that Baili Shouyan personally led the demon army to assault the Celestial Realm, I could not help but feel anxious. The Heavenly Emperor was at Xumi Palace, deliberately delayed by my master, unable to return to Lingxiao Hall. The Empress Dowager, reliant solely on the Emperor’s indulgence, simply could not hope to stop Baili Shouyan’s advance with her cultivation.

In truth, Ye Feng did not fully understand either; he merely extended his spiritual power to probe the depth of the blade to some extent.

My nose tingled with emotion. A thousand years ago, a young man once told me: “From now on, wherever Awu is, that will be my home.”

I stared at Liyuan’s hand, stunned. In my memories, it was slender and elegant, gripping mine with a gentle strength. That single handshake—warm and tender—was a touch I longed for even in my dreams. I turned my head away, no longer looking, took a deep breath, forcing a smile. When I looked back, Liyuan had already withdrawn his fingers.

Bihuo Ling’er smiled through tears, “Everyone thought he had long since died, but I always believed he was alive. Until a few days ago, when my heart suddenly sank—I felt I had lost something, and forever at that. Did he pass away just days ago?”

“Qingse” was a bar she liked, secluded and elegant, quiet. She frequented it often, though she did not drink alcohol, only lemon tea, sitting silently without speaking to others or responding to their overtures.

Four hands paired off, gripping tightly. The flames of battle burned fiercely in their differently colored eyes, as if each wished to consume the other entirely.

Guests from all corners of the land flocked here by reputation. Tianfu Pavilion’s business was booming every day; without a reservation, one could only queue outside and wait.

Shui Yuan’s face turned icy cold as he unleashed a volley of ice arrows with a sharp “shhh.” A five-headed golden lion flicked its tail, its massive claws smashing through the arrows with several loud thuds, then leapt forward, claws rending again.

Before a word was finished, the elder flicked his hand, flinging Qi Hengxuan aside. With a gentle press, a faint, chaotic glow shot forth from his palm.

Silent and sudden, a huge fish appeared exactly where it had just hovered.

But Xia Chiwan’s display looked far more significant to onlookers than a mere incident.

Leeches themselves secrete hirudin, an anticoagulant that numbs wounds, dilates blood vessels, and causes bleeding to persist. Generally, a leech must be flushed out with an equal amount of blood to prevent harm. Because this blood contains hirudin detrimental to the human body, it must be thoroughly expelled before natural clotting can resume.

Though Qiu Mo had lost an arm, he now erupted in fury. Surrounded by over a hundred disciples from the Northwest Liujin Hall, their killing arrows drawn and aimed at Xie Yangtian and his group, he no longer hesitated. With a bound, he struck toward Wang Ya with a powerful palm.