Three punches shattered the demonic soul, young hero, I'm an honest man!

Inside the waterside pavilion, though the music and singing had ceased, their lingering melodies still echoed around the rafters.

Yunniang's performance of "The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate" amazed the audience and won thunderous applause.

With the bet between Prince Yan Xu and Sun Shaoyou and the others settled, the tense atmosphere from before vanished without a trace.

The excitement of the bet and the exquisite music made the atmosphere at the table even more lively.

Princess Yongle smiled sweetly and whispered a few words to Prince Yanxu beside her from time to time.

She glanced again at Pei Yun, who was sipping his drink with a smile, and at Yun Niang, who was standing beside him, looking incredibly shy.

Princess Changyang sat regally in the main seat, exuding elegance and grace, with a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Commander Pei," Princess Changyang said gently.

"The song that Miss Yunniang just sang was truly heavenly."

"I never imagined that Commander Pei would also have such profound attainments in music."

Pei Yun put down her wine cup and said with a faint smile, "Your Highness is too kind."

"It's just a bit of leisurely enjoyment; it shouldn't be taken seriously."

Pei Yun smiled, but felt no pride whatsoever.

Even now, he still hadn't detected any obvious unusual activity belonging to the Candle Shadow Sect in the Jade Garden, and this unusual calm only deepened his suspicions.

Just as Pei Yun was pondering to himself, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of several guards adjusting a [Spirit Gathering Array] not far away.

On the base of the formation, a wisp of almost invisible black energy flashed and disappeared in an instant.

Pei Yun's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition surged into her mind. She subconsciously wanted to speak up to warn him.

However, before he could speak—

"Buzz—!"

A sharp, piercing buzzing sound suddenly shattered the still harmonious atmosphere inside and outside the waterside pavilion.

Inside the Jade Garden, several spirit-gathering devices used to collect spiritual energy emitted a piercing, high-pitched buzzing sound almost simultaneously!

On the array plate, the originally gentle spiritual light suddenly became wildly flickering, its brightness uncertain.

The peaceful and soothing spiritual energy seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand, instantly becoming violent and chaotic!

The countless exotic flowers and plants carefully cultivated in the garden withered and died rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into a desolate wasteland.

A chilling, oppressive feeling, like an invisible hand, suddenly gripped everyone's throat!

"What's going on?!"

"This spiritual energy...it's so uncomfortable!"

Exclamations erupted from all sides.

The violent spiritual energy raged in the garden, and then subtly gathered, forming several fine streams of energy that were almost invisible to the naked eye.

These turbulent air currents, like invisible venomous snakes, silently slithered toward the pavilion where Princess Yongle was!

"Le'er, be careful!"

Princess Changyang's expression changed drastically.

He suddenly stood up, shielding Princess Yongle behind him, his phoenix eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Protect the princess!"

Prince Yan Xu was also filled with shock and anger.

He drew his sword and, together with his guards, protected Princess Yongle and Princess Changyang in the center.

"There's an assassin!"

"Protect Her Highness!"

Panic, like a stone thrown into a lake, created ripples that spread rapidly.

Some of the more timid noble ladies had already screamed.

"Don't panic, everyone!"

A clear, sharp shout rang out.

The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man in brocade robes push through the crowd and step forward.

"This is a malfunction of the formation, not an assassination attempt! Watch the methods of the Ouyang family, we will surely quell it!"

Someone recognized him as Ouyang Jie, a direct descendant of the Ouyang family, a renowned family of array formation masters in the capital.

Despite his young age, he had already gained some fame in the field of array formations and was always arrogant.

Ouyang Jie spoke with considerable confidence, seemingly unconcerned about the current turn of events.

He strode forward and stood before a spirit-gathering array that shone with the most intense light.

He muttered incantations while rapidly forming complex hand seals with his hands.

He drew upon his own spiritual power, attempting to tidy up the chaotic spiritual energy.

His technique was quite skillful and fluid, and quite methodical.

Many people felt somewhat relieved upon seeing this.

However, the next moment, something happened that left everyone speechless.

The violent spiritual energy seemed to be aware of what was happening and completely ignored Ouyang Jie's attempts to channel his spiritual power.

Instead, it pounced like a hungry tiger, and with a sudden swirl, it devoured Ouyang Jie's meager spiritual power completely!

After being swallowed, those streams of air seemed even more ferocious, and then launched a fierce counterattack!

"puff!"

Ouyang Jie felt as if he had been struck by an invisible hammer, and let out a muffled groan.

He was sent flying backwards like a kite with a broken string, staggered a few steps, and fell heavily to the ground.

A trickle of blood slowly oozed from the corner of his mouth.

His face turned ashen instantly, and he looked utterly disheveled.

"This formation is strange..."

Ouyang Jie's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.

Everyone was shocked and horrified upon seeing this.

Even a scion of a family specializing in formations like Ouyang Jie was injured; the extent to which the formation was out of control far exceeded their expectations!

Princess Changyang's expression grew increasingly solemn.

She knew that Yuqin Garden was a royal garden, and the array formations and restrictions were all made by the Imperial Observatory and top array masters, so it was impossible for it to have gotten out of control so easily.

Unless someone is secretly and maliciously instigating this against Le'er!

The thought filled her with murderous intent.

Pei Yun also noticed this, and his expression turned slightly cold.

So the Candle Shadow Sect couldn't sit still any longer?

Just as Pei Yun's eyes were sharp as an eagle, searching the area around the tea banquet, a beautiful figure stepped out from beside him.

Yunwei Star Official's pretty face was frosty, and her expression was solemn.

As an official in the Imperial Observatory, it was her duty to oversee the entire realm and protect the capital region.

Moreover, this matter has directly threatened the safety of Princess Yongle!

Yun Wei gently raised her hand.

A pure white token, engraved with intricate star patterns, had already appeared in her palm.

A Brief Order from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau!

"Imperial Edict!"

Yunwei parted her red lips slightly and uttered a single word of truth.

The little lyric suddenly flew into the air, emitting faint, gentle light that rippled outwards like waves.

They attempted to suppress the riotous spiritual energy and prioritized protecting the area within three feet of Princess Yongle.

Wherever the light reached, some of the violent and rampant spiritual energy actually calmed down a little, as if it had encountered its nemesis.

The several streams of poisonous energy that were attacking Princess Yongle were also momentarily blocked by this clear light, and their speed was significantly reduced.

Upon seeing this, everyone's spirits lifted.

"As expected of a star official from the Imperial Observatory!"

"There's hope!"

But before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, the situation changed again.

Inside the Jade Garden, the humming of the spirit-gathering arrays that served as the foundation of the array grew increasingly mournful.

There was more than one spirit-gathering array, and at this moment they were all like powder kegs that had been lit, echoing each other, with chaotic torrents of spiritual energy flowing one after another.

The hazy light emanating from the Celestial Decree could suppress some of the spiritual energy.

However, it seemed like a drop in the ocean compared to the overall chaos of the Jade Garden formation.

As the light in the short poem was being rapidly depleted, it began to flicker uncontrollably, and the halo of light continued to shrink.

Fine beads of sweat had already seeped from Yunwei Xingguan's forehead.

She bit her lower lip tightly, clearly under immense pressure.

Maintaining the operation of the Celestial Decree requires an extremely high level of spiritual energy consumption from her.

Yunwei bit her lower lip tightly, her gaze quickly sweeping across several key points in the garden, trying to find the crux of the problem.

However, due to the interference of the turbulent spiritual energy, even divine sense exploration was extremely difficult.

Princess Changyang's heart sank.

Even the astrologer was barely holding on; the other side was clearly well-prepared.

Pei Yun stood in the crowd, calmly observing everything that was happening before him.

He gently put his arm around Yunniang, whose face had turned pale with fright.

Those deep eyes reflected the chaos at the tea banquet.