The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 24

Chapter 5: The Wanderer

By the time Li Xun returned to the study, it was already dark, but the room was illuminated by a fist-sized pearl, illuminating it like daylight.

Under the pearl’s light, Yin Sanren’s delicate features seemed to glow, a beauty beyond compare.

Li Xun didn’t dare look at her. He lowered his head and placed his written “confession” on the desk. Without waiting for Yin Sanren to speak, he knelt again.

“Get up,” Yin Sanren’s tone was lazy, and there was really no trace of anger—the same tone she had just used before slapping him.

Li Xun felt a chill in his heart. He wanted to stay on the ground, but he was afraid of making things worse. He hesitated for a moment, but finally stood up and bowed to listen.

Yin Sanren was flipping through the stack of confessions. Fearing that he wouldn’t be detailed enough and would be reprimanded, Li Xun wrote down almost every detail of his time with Xue Sanren. Fortunately, his memory was amazing, otherwise he wouldn’t have been so detailed.

For a moment, the only sound in the study was the gentle rustling of paper. This subtle sound was like thousands of tiny insects, wriggling in Li Xun’s heart.

Life or death, it all depended on this moment!

Time passed in this life-or-death situation, minute by minute. It was already completely dark outside. A maid brought tea and snacks, but Li Xun still didn’t dare to move.

Yin Sanren read the stack of papers from beginning to end four or five times. After reading it, she closed her eyes again and pondered carefully. There was no movement for more than half an hour.

Li Xun knew that she was trying to gauge Xue Sanren’s intentions so that she could come up with the most practical response.

Finally, he saw Yin Sanren move, and the wide sleeves of her robe lifted a breeze, causing the temperature in the study to drop sharply.

“Forget it, follow me.”

She stood up and walked straight out of the room.

Frightened, Li Xun could only cautiously follow behind. Only when they reached the courtyard did he muster the courage to ask, “Uncle-master, where are we going?”

Yin Sanren smiled faintly and said, “Uncle-master, that’s just right. We’re going to see your master!”

“Master?” Li Xun was momentarily lost for words, but in the blink of an eye, his legs gave way and he knelt again. “Uncle-master, spare me!”

Yin Sanren paused and asked curiously, “How could I have harmed you?”

Li Xun, gazing into her eyes, suddenly realized that Yin Sanren had never considered him a person worth taking seriously. To Yin Sanren, Li Xun was like a cat or dog to its owner: kept for fun, or not, no more.

However, he was still at the level of “entertaining,” so Yin Sanren probably wouldn’t take his life lightly.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke his worries. “If that man sees me leading my uncle forward, he’ll activate the Blood Nightmare in a rage, and I’ll be dead for sure!”

“Don’t you have the Spiritual Resonance Technique with you? If I kill you, where’s he going to find another?”

Hearing Yin Sanren’s nonchalant response, Li Xun could only smile wryly. If Xue Sanren could truly spare his life upon obtaining a copy of the Spiritual Resonance Technique, then why would he have lingered in the capital for a month and ended up in this situation?

He was about to say more when Yin Sanren suddenly leaned over and grabbed him by the collar. Their faces were now only a few inches apart, their breathing audible.

Li Xun was startled and instinctively stepped back, but Yin Sanren pinned him to the spot, unable to move. He only heard Yin Sanren chuckle, “You’re considered incredibly intelligent, but how come you don’t even know how to use the treasures you possess?”

“Huh?”

Yin Sanren tapped the jade talisman on his chest and said leisurely, “Jade talisman, jade talisman, it repels all evil, and invulnerable to all demons! With this jade, unless that person is truly willing to endure a hundred years of arduous cultivation, endure the pain of the backlash, and fight tooth and nail to kill you! But do you think he would?”

Li Xun stared down at his chest, utterly amazed. He couldn’t believe this jade could have such an effect. He thought of the peculiarly beautiful woman on Zuowang Peak, and for a moment he was stunned.

Yin Sanren said nothing more, waved his whisk, and continued on his way. Li Xun hurriedly followed.

Although East City, home to many high-ranking officials and members of the royal family, was heavily guarded, carriages and horses continued to pass through.

Against the backdrop of carriages and horses, the two Taoists walking on foot were already conspicuous, and Yin Sanren’s striking appearance quickly made them the focus of everyone’s attention.

The previously orderly flow of traffic suddenly became chaotic. Who dared to disregard the living god at the emperor’s side? In a short while, over a dozen high-ranking officials stopped their cars and dismounted their sedans to greet Yin Sanren.

Li Xun sensed something was amiss, so he found a moment and whispered, “Uncle-shi, how are we going?”

“To see your master, of course we have to go openly! What else do you want?”

Hearing this, Li Xun was nearly frightened to death. In a moment of desperation, he grabbed Yin Sanren’s sleeve and said, “Uncle-shi, that man is in Prince Fu’s mansion. Are we just going to go knocking on his door?”

Yin Sanren didn’t shake his hand off, but simply smiled. “So, Prince Fu’s mansion? Can’t I go?”

Her words weren’t harsh, but that single sentence left Li Xun speechless. Forget the mortal realm; even the key locations of the thirty-three sects of the Tongxuan Realm would be easy for Yin Sanren to reach.

Suddenly, he understood what Yin Sanren meant by “You’re not even close to being a cultivator.”

A figure like Yin Sanren would never care about the power and might of the mortal world. It was like looking at an insect from the perspective of an ant; they were clearly not on the same level, so why bother?

Despite the vast difference in strength, Li Xun’s essence was not much different from Yin Sanren’s. It was no wonder Yin Sanren felt this way; perhaps in her eyes, Li Xun was truly a strange cultivator!

Clearly, Li Xun wasn’t ready to dominate most people.

He and Yin Sanren eventually arrived at the gates of Prince Fu’s mansion.

Yin Sanren waved her whisk and entered as if she were at home.

A blind guard tried to stop her, but her glance froze him, nearly killing him.

Yin Sanren, disregarding the thoughts of these ordinary people, led Li Xun with her, moving like flowing water, and in the blink of an eye, they entered the heart of the mansion.

She appeared unhurried, yet her speed was incredibly fast. A rather astute gatekeeper from behind gave chase, but he was only getting further and further away.

Li Xun’s breathing stopped after he entered the room. He seemed to have sunk into deep water. His eardrums kept swelling, making his head buzz.

Is the air in Prince Fu’s Mansion thicker than outside?

He was thinking groggily, but he didn’t notice that Yin Sanren in front of him suddenly stopped. Li Xun rushed towards him in a daze.

However, at the moment before their skin touched, Yin Sanren’s whisk hit his throat: “You are useless!”

Although Yin Sanren didn’t turn around, the tone of his scolding was somewhat i*imate. Li Xun looked at her in surprise, but saw her looking up at the sky and softly said: “Good arrangement, good method.”

Li Xun followed her upwards, initially unperturbed. But the more he examined the night sky, the more he felt the dark hue seemed strangely deep. It didn’t seem like a natural shift in the light, but rather layer upon layer of crimson, red turning purple, purple turning black!

With this understanding, he looked more closely, and the sky seemed washed by a wave of blood-red. His six senses were filled with the aura of blood and slaughter, chilling the very sight.

Yin Sanren smiled and turned back: “I knew you were coming!” “

Just as he finished speaking, Li Xun felt a tightness in his chest, and a low, cold laugh rang out, mysterious and low, as if rising from the depths of his heart and spreading throughout his body with the blood.

Li Xun was horrified.

At this moment, the jade evil-repelling talisman on his chest made a resounding sound. This sound was unprecedented, clanging and faint, as if strong and weak, and it also rose from the bottom of his heart and ran through his body.

Li Xun’s mind also became trance in this resounding sound. In the haze, he seemed to be back to Zuowang Peak, beside the misty hot spring, listening to the clear sound of the rings and pendants clashing in the mist, watching He watched the elegant, calm and serene beauty coming out of the mist. With

a clear chant, all the scenes shattered in an instant, turning into thousands of fragments, flying in all directions, and finally returning to nothing.

He screamed and suddenly woke up!

Right in front of him, a beautiful woman with an appearance that was no less beautiful, but with a completely different charm, was observing his expression changes with deep interest.

Li Xun seemed to have fallen from the fairyland to the underworld. He felt cold sweat all over his body. It was just a trance, and the clothes on his body were as if washed with water!

He asked with lingering fear: “What’s going on?”

Yin Sanren tapped the whisk lightly with his palm and smiled slightly: “Your master said hello to you, that’s all.”

“Hello? “

Li Xun touched his chest and suddenly felt that the jade, which was always cool, was a little warm at this moment. He took it out and saw that there were several faint blood lines on it! He was shocked at first, but when he saw that these strange lines were disappearing at a visible speed, he was relieved.

“Poor drop of his blood!”

Yin Sanren said this inexplicably, waved his whisk, and continued to move forward.

Li Xun was surprisingly weak, his feet seemed to be stepping on a pile of cotton, and he followed with one foot high and one foot low.

Because of this delay, the inner courtyard of the palace finally got the news first. A group of people holding lanterns came out from the side corridor and made eye contact with the two men.

Li Xun’s heart choked again. If the person in charge was not his father Li Xin, who else could it be?

Li Xin’s face showed no joy or anger, and his pace was neither fast nor slow, always consistent. He walked to three steps away from the two men and then greeted them: “How is the Imperial Master! “

Yin Sanren bowed in return, looking even more respectful than he did to Longqing: “Your Highness is in good health, and doing very well!”

Li Xun said nothing and did not salute, looking dull and without a trace of energy.

Li Xin did not even look at him, but stared into Yin Sanren’s eyes with a smile: “The Imperial Master has been in Beijing for two years and has never been to my house. But today he is free, why didn’t you let me know in advance and let me prepare a vegetarian meal as a sign of respect!”

Yin Sanren smiled faintly: “There is no need for Your Highness to spend money. I came here today just to see an old friend. It has nothing to do with Your Highness. “

These words are serious. In Prince Fu’s mansion, of course Prince Fu is the most senior. These words, however, left Li Xin aside, and also implied something like “don’t bother me”, which was extremely disrespectful. No

matter how well-educated Li Xin was, he couldn’t help but change color slightly after hearing this.

But he was not comparable to ordinary people after all. He suppressed his anger in the blink of an eye, but his voice turned cold: There is an old friend of the National Master in the mansion? This is the first time I have heard of it. The National Master does not have to go to visit in person, but just sit in the hall and tell me the name of your friend, and I will send someone to invite him over!”

Yin Sanren smiled brightly, and this bright and dazzling smile was like thousands of flowers in full bloom, charming and beautiful, incomparable. Even Li Xin was stunned.

While everyone was still stunned, Yin Sanren had taken another step and disappeared in a flash. Li Xin heard only a laugh: “My old friend has a strange personality, the prince can’t invite him.”

He frowned, but saw that the young Taoist priest surnamed Li, who had been following Yin Sanren, had not caught up in time, but was still looking at him with a rather strange look in his eyes. A thought struck him, and he said with a smile: “Brother Li, who is the Imperial Master looking at?”

Li Xun was surprised that Li Xin would actually speak to him. His heart tightened, and he almost blurted out a cry, but fortunately he stopped himself in time. He dared not linger any longer, simply shook his head and hurried after Yin Sanren.

Li Xin couldn’t believe that a small Taoist priest would dare to treat him like this. He was furious again, but his face was a cold smile.

“You evil scoundrel of the country, one day you will be left waiting for death without a burial place!” He was about to follow, but suddenly a thought occurred to him. He called over a family guard, whispered a few words in his ear, and finally followed.

A quick-witted servant had arrived earlier to report Yin Sanren’s whereabouts. Li Xin listened, a wave of confusion brewing within him: “What’s she doing in the back garden?”

Passing through an archway, their destination was in sight. Li Xun’s turbulent mood began to calm, only to be crushed again by the impending threat.

It was a vast rockery complex, towering in the night, eerie and strange, like a ferocious beast baring its fangs at the approaching force.

Yin Sanren paused, standing by the archway, gazing out from afar.

Standing behind her, Li Xun felt his heart pounding violently, its ferocious beating rapidly sapping his energy. If he continued standing like this, he might soon even lose all the strength to escape.

Li Xin approached from behind, accompanied by servants carrying two lanterns. Their dim light filtered through the cracks in the courtyard wall, casting dappled shadows across the garden.

The night grew increasingly sinister—a gentle breeze blew, and the lights suddenly went out.

Two servants gasped simultaneously, and Li Xun could sense the heartbeat of Li Xin behind him, suddenly losing its rhythm.

Li Xun felt a surge of heat, an impulse breaking through his throat, causing him to cry out softly, “Back off!”

He could sense Li Xin’s eyes, filled with surprise, and even that gaze conveyed a certain warmth.

His heartbeat began to steady, and he leaned slightly toward Li Xin, saying, “Your Highness, for your safety, please proceed to the front courtyard!”

Before Li Xin could reply, the Yin Sanren in front of him laughed again, “If Your Highness wishes to stay here, then let him be. If you truly care about him, then protect him!”

The surprise in Li Xin’s eyes deepened, and Li Xun even wondered if he had sensed something.

At that moment, the Yin Sanren swung his whisk, making a clanging sound in the air, and then stepped forward.

Li Xun took a deep breath and took a step forward. Li Xin did not move again, and in the distance, the sound of uniform footsteps was heard, and the sound of armor and weapons colliding could be heard faintly.

Li Xun took another step, and the world suddenly became quiet.

At this moment, in his eyes, there was only a mountain, a person, and a world.

And in the next moment, a bit of blood-red robe was blown by the night wind and flashed before his eyes.

The garden was filled with the smell of blood.

A laugh rang in Li Xun’s ears, rough and fierce: “Good boy, you have guts!”

With this laugh, a majestic and tall figure appeared on the rockery. The night wind blew, and the blood-stained robe made a “rustling” sound, which hit Li Xun’s heart.

As if falling into a nightmare, Li Xun raised his head with difficulty, listening to the “creaking” sound of the bones in his neck. Then, he saw the pair of blood-red eyes burning with blood again – the Blood Sanren!

Li Xun’s legs went weak and he almost fell to his knees again. At this moment, Yin Sanren next to him waved his whisk and smiled: “Wei Bufan, you have been so thick-skinned in the past few years! Don’t you even say hello when you meet an old friend?”

On the rockery, Xue Sanren laughed loudly, and his laughter shook the whole courtyard. He took a step forward, and his huge body came to the bottom of the rockery, only more than ten feet away from Yin Sanren.

“No matter how thick-skinned Wei Bufan is, he wouldn’t dare to show off in front of Lady Yin! It’s just that I find it strange that this kid has developed a lot of courage! But now it seems quite normal. A man who has embraced Lady Yin’s thigh, even if he doesn’t have the courage of a tiger, he still has some courage of s*x!”

Yin Sanren didn’t get angry when he heard him talking in a sarcastic tone. He just smiled and said, “You are not surprised, but I am! Over the years, I have only heard that wherever Xue Sanren passed by, blood flowed and corpses piled up like mountains, but I have never heard of moles digging holes… How come he was injured in his gallbladder after being hit by Zhong Yin’s sword?”

A fierce light flashed in Xue Sanren’s eyes, and the flesh on his face twitched slightly, but in a very short time he turned into a hideous mass. “No, I’m just cultivating my character… Even killing people gets boring eventually. Even you, after a year or two of roaming around in bed, would probably get bored!”

He nodded at Li Xun with his chin and added, “Isn’t this a fresh and tender little prince? It’s refreshing, a change of pace.”

Yin Sanren also glanced at Li Xun, his smile unchanged. “Wei Shaxing’s foul mouth is probably more troublesome than the ‘Blood Demon Transformation Heart **’. Come on! This is your disciple, I brought him to you, and yet he has to eat such a feast. Even if he’s an acquaintance, it’s unreasonable!”

Xue Sanren chuckled and didn’t deny it. He looked at Li Xun like a butcher looking at a pig or cow on the chopping board, wondering where to cut.

Li Xun swallowed, his legs trembling, but he finally stood firm.

The two Sanren’s eyes were fixed on him, which was more powerful than a thousand knives cutting through meat. Li Xun breathed in and out repeatedly until he could breathe normally. Then he managed to speak: “Father!”

Compared to calling Lin Ge, this one was even more insincere, but Xue Sanren didn’t care.

Once he spoke, the rest of the story would be much easier. Li Xun glanced at Yin Sanren again, seeing her standing there gracefully. With a sense of reassurance in his heart, he bowed to Xue Sanren and said, “Master, I’ve got the Rhinoceros Secret Technique back.”

Xue Sanren raised a thick brow. “Got it back? The Spiritual Reflection Secret Technique?”

Hearing the hint of doubt and surprise in Xue Sanren’s words, Li Xun somehow felt a tinge of pleasure and pride. “Indeed, this disciple learned the Spiritual Reflection Secret Technique on Lianxia Mountain and returned to present it to you, Master!”

There was a sound of clapping nearby, it was Yin Sanren gently clapping his hands. “To be able to obtain one of the Four Techniques and Three Secrets right under the noses of Zhong Yin and Qingming… Wei Bufan, you’ve got a fine disciple!” As your uncle, I am also proud of it!”

Xue Sanren’s eyes flashed, and it was obvious that the words of Li Xun and Yin Sanren had ruined his plan. On normal days, he would have had thousands of ways to deal with Li Xun, but tonight, Yin Sanren, whose cultivation was no less than his, showed up and disrupted all his plans.

Because of Yin Sanren’s high-profile attitude, he had long known that Yin Sanren was in the capital. And with his keen sense of blood nightmare, he also knew that Li Xun stayed near the capital, but it was not until the two of them stepped into Prince Fu’s Mansion that he realized Li Xun was in the capital. This kid had actually climbed up to the high branch of Yin Sanren.

Initially, he wanted to use the blood nightmare planted in Li Xun’s heart to teach this kid a lesson, but he didn’t expect that this unworthy young man was carrying an extremely powerful body protection treasure. He was caught off guard and suffered a loss.

If it were just like this, it would be fine. In his opinion, Li Xun must have returned without any achievements, and happened to run into Yin Sanren, and then be bewitched by this enchantress and reveal his information. .

This way, he would have enough reasons to kill this waste, and he believed that Yin Sanren would not fight him for a mere junior.

At this moment, Li Xun righteously brought out the “Lingxi Jue”, which really made him lose his composure.

He didn’t care about the Lingxi Jue or Lingma Jue. He would kill Li Xun without blinking an eye. But now he had to consider Yin Sanren.

He was not afraid of him, but because if a war really broke out, all the situations he had painstakingly arranged over the years would be destroyed. This was something he could not ignore.

He suddenly hoped that Li Xun could lie about this matter. However, looking at Li Xun’s eyes, which were frightened but without any disguise, Xue Sanren understood that Li Xun was not lying about this matter.

But how could this be possible? Why did he let Li Xun secretly learn the “Lingxi Jue” in the first place? Wasn’t it because…

As he was thinking about it, he suddenly felt a half-smile in Yin Sanren’s eyes, and he was slightly startled.

“Oh no, this little bitch has something up her mind!”

In the Tongxuan Realm, the three Sanren are equally famous, and their strengths are almost the same. Even their calculations are similar.

However, Yu Sanren is arrogant and rarely uses tricks to harm others; Xue Sanren is, after all, hot-tempered and scheming, but not good at it. Only Yin Sanren almost takes scheming against others as a great pleasure. It can be said that she is the biggest conspirator in the world!

And how can Xue Sanren not be on guard against such a person!

In just the blink of an eye, he had made up his mind. Although he didn’t know what went wrong However, his long-planned plan had indeed been discovered by Yin Sanren. If he continued to hold out, he would gain absolutely nothing! After all,

he was a rare master-level figure in the world, able to take on and let go, and once he made a decision, he would never drag his feet. He laughed loudly: “Excellent! I can’t believe that you, a young prince who has been living a life of luxury, can actually make the Mingxin Sword Sect run wild… Excellent! Truly excellent!”

His praise was so heavy that Li Xun could hardly bear it. He was terrified.

Xue Sanren had a loud voice, and his voice could be heard clearly throughout the entire palace, not just the garden.

Li Xun could already sense the extremely complicated look in Li Xin’s eyes not far away.

However, the situation before him did not allow him to be distracted. He quickly gathered his thoughts, put on a submissive appearance, and listened attentively.

However, Xue Sanren ignored him and turned to Yin Sanren, saying, “It is truly an honor for our humble home to have Miss Yin here. How about going in for a drink?”

Yin Sanren smiled faintly in response, “Just plain tea. I’m really looking for a change of pace!”

Xue Sanren laughed heartily, flicking his robe sleeves before turning and walking away. Li Xun was startled, and unsure where he’d gotten the courage, he shouted, “Master, this Blood Nightmare…”

Xue Sanren paused and turned back, a sharp glint in his large, copper-bell-like eyes, interrupting Li Xun’s next words.

However, Xue Sanren didn’t embarrass him. Instead, he chuckled, “What’s the rush? The Blood Nightmare has been in your heart for nine years, nourished day and night by your sperm and blood, fused to your flesh and blood. Removing it now would be like ripping your heart out. Are you willing?”

Li Xun shook his head hastily. Xue Sanren’s smile was thick with sarcasm, “That’s it. I promised you, and I won’t break my word. Why all the nonsense!”

His voice took a sharper turn with the last part, leaving Li Xun speechless.

Xue Sanren ignored him, turning his gaze to Yin Sanren. With another gesture, the two of them retreated behind the rockery.

Li Xun was stunned on the spot, not knowing whether he should give chase.

Just when he was stunned, the sound of armor and spears clashing suddenly became clearer behind him. He turned around and saw teams of fully armed guards, holding torches in their hands, passing through the archway and surrounding this side. Dozens of torches lit up the garden like daylight.

There was also a team of archers occupying the high ground on all four sides. The whole garden was filled with unsheathed swords and drawn arrows, and murderous aura.

What, are they going to kill people?

Li Xun looked around. He was unarmed now, and he was really nervous. However, this nervousness was completely different from the fear when facing the Blood Sanren.

To be on the safe side, he activated the true energy in his body. Without the soldiers noticing, he pointed out in the air, drew a few lines on the ground, and surrounded himself.

At this time, Li Xin spoke loudly: “Master Li, can you explain to me what the relationship is between that person in my garden and the Imperial Master? I don’t remember taking this person in. He entered without permission, so he is either a traitor or a thief. I want an explanation!”

Is he looking for a reason to act openly?

Li Xun saw it clearly, and he knew even more clearly that this should be a reason to commit suicide.

No matter what, he could not watch his father seek death!

So, he could only smile bitterly, spread his hands and replied: “Shouldn’t the prince have the tolerance of a prince? These two are both otherworldly masters who have never cared much about worldly affairs. If there is any conflict, it is not their intention…”

There was silence outside, and then the soldiers in front revealed a passage that was only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Li Xin walked steadily through it, stopped twenty steps away from Li Xun, and spoke again, but his tone was much gentler.

“Master Li, you’ve just arrived in the capital and don’t understand the situation. I don’t want to argue with you. Today, I intend to arrest the treacherous thief who broke in without warning, but swords are merciless. I’m afraid both sides will be shattered. If you were wise, you would know how to proceed!”

Perhaps it’s not a case of both sides being shattered, but rather a case of moths flying into a flame?

Li Xun didn’t even have the energy to smile bitterly. Seeing Li Xin’s confident expression, he knew it was pointless to say anything more. He sighed, his inner energy surging, and finally activated the talismanic barrier on the ground.

At that moment, a cool breeze blew through the garden—a series of snapping bowstrings, like the sound of a mediocre zither player, mingled with the screams of several soldiers and the faint sound of falling arrows, eerie and comical.

In that gust of wind, the strings of dozens of powerful bows perched high in the surrounding area snapped in unison! The most terrifying killing weapons in the world were instantly reduced to a pile of waste.

Silence fell upon the entire place—everyone’s eyes changed.

“Demon magic!” Someone shouted, and it resounded through the crowd like a thunderclap, causing an immediate commotion. The soldiers in the front row couldn’t help but step back, only to exacerbate the chaos.

The tense atmosphere quickly turned chaotic.

The cacophony of voices reached Li Xun’s ears, like the sweet sound of nature.

No one knew the joy he felt. When he skillfully manipulated the wind patterns as if by divine intervention, simultaneously severing fifty-three bowstrings, it demonstrated his mastery of the true energy within him, his mastery of the art of forbidden patterns.

But these were nothing. What truly mattered were the pairs of surprised, terrified, and bewildered eyes. These hundreds of gazes formed a vast web, each thread connecting to his most sensitive nerves. Every vibration brought him unparalleled pleasure!

He suddenly felt taller, observing these ordinary people with a condescending gaze. He could even gently touch their necks with his still-clumsy fingers…

A cool breeze blew, wiping away the layer of pleasure.

Now, when he looked at Li Xin again, his previous resignation was replaced by a hint of prickliness. “Your Highness, there’s no need to worry so much!”

Li Xin was speechless, his mind rapidly assessing the destructive power of this strange “magic.”

As a prince, he had seen many masters in his life, but he had never heard of anyone capable of severing a bowstring dozens of steps away without moving a finger—this must have transcended the realm of martial arts!

At this moment, Li Xin finally understood that his assessment of Yin Sanren had been significantly off.

Perhaps due to the lesson learned from the late Prince Fu, Li Xin had always believed that all sorcerers were frauds, having deceived not only his father but also his son!

But now he understood. This woman was no con man, using illusions or even beauty to seduce the emperor. Even if she wasn’t the living immortal she claimed to be, she was a demonic being of immense power!

Even if he couldn’t use this power, he couldn’t oppose it!

At this point, Li Xin’s mind was fully enlightened, and he naturally understood how reckless his actions had been.

He was also a man of great decisiveness, and since he had a way out, he immediately let go.

“So that’s how it is. I truly misunderstood!”

Li Xin gestured for the soldiers to retreat. He then took a few steps forward and addressed Li Xun, “I didn’t understand the temperament of a master like the Imperial Preceptor, and my actions were somewhat rash. I hope the Imperial Preceptor will forgive me… Master Li, please ask the Imperial Preceptor to show some leniency on my behalf!”

Li Xun could only smile wryly. Whether Yin Sanren would take offense depended on her own decision. Li Xin’s words were rather presumptuous.

But what else could he say to his own father? Now all he could do was beg, “Is Yin Sanren truly magnanimous enough to not bother with Li Xin?”

He didn’t dare to speak fully, only responding vaguely.

Li Xin also noticed his demeanor, and with a flicker of his mind, he grasped Li Xun’s current state of mind.

Just now, when the two demonic Daoists spoke, their voices were loud, but for some reason, they were always vague and inaudible.

However, he could clearly see and understand Li Xun’s expression of respect and fear, and he also knew that Li Xun’s relationship with these two demonic Daoists was probably very complicated.

Li Xin was no fool. The young Taoist’s strange attitude, the casual yet suggestive words from Yin Sanren, and the faint echoes of the sound drifting from the garden all led him to a possibility—if he dismissed reason and relied solely on intuition, he would have almost accepted it as true. However, once reason entered the picture, things became complicated! This

couldn’t have come at a worse time!

Li Xin regarded the young Taoist with a complex gaze—seventy years old, maybe seventeen!

“Well… Taoist Li, it’s late at night, how about joining me in my room for a cup of hot tea?”

Li Xun’s heart skipped a beat. He almost agreed, but the thought of the two unpredictable Sanren inside faltered his nerve.

Just as he was about to refuse, he felt a sudden push on his back. The force wasn’t strong, but it was incredibly skillful. Despite Li Xun’s stable stance, he couldn’t help but take a step forward.

He was also a man of extraordinary intelligence, so he clearly understood the Sanren’s intentions. Although he felt puzzled, he also felt a sense of gratitude.

At this point, he had no reason to refuse.

He took a deep breath and bowed to Li Xin: “In that case, I will respectfully obey your command.”