Young Song: The Hidden Sword God, Han Yi and Her Child Arrive at the Door.

In the depths of the imperial city of Tianqi, at the Taiji Hall.

This magnificent palace, a symbol of the highest power in the Northern Li, is now filled with blood and slaughter.

The towering, vermilion gate, standing three zhang tall, had been smashed to pieces, and several poisoned arrows gleaming with a ghostly blue light were still stuck in the broken door panels.

Outside the main hall, thunder and rain raged.

Lightning flashed intermittently across the night sky, the pale beams of electricity shining through the broken doors and windows into the hall, illuminating the corpses scattered on the floor and the pools of blood.

"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!!!"

Grand Eunuch Jin Xuan roared hoarsely, his purple python robe torn in several places, his hair disheveled, making him look utterly wretched. But the soft sword in his hand wielded with impenetrable skill, like a silver venomous snake, firmly blocking the dragon throne.

As the head of the Five Great Supervisors and a master at the half-step Divine Realm, Jin Xuan's strength was beyond doubt. However, when faced with the surging, fearless, and seemingly painless Crimson King assassins, he also felt a sense of powerlessness.

"Your Excellency, stop struggling in vain!"

Crimson King Xiao Yu stood in the center of the hall, holding a blood-dripping longsword in his hand. His face was twisted to the extreme, a kind of madness from a dying man.

He knew he had no way out. The Prince's mansion had been razed to the ground by lightning drawn by Su Changqing, and most of his wealth, connections, and even his prized army of medicine-wielding soldiers had been lost. His reinforcements from Nan Jue's side had also been intercepted by Su Changqing and disappeared without a trace.

He was now like a gambler who had lost all his chips and had no choice but to stake his life and the safety of the entire Tianqi City on this last gamble!

"Father, you are getting old, it's time for you to rest."

Xiao Yu approached the dragon throne step by step, the tip of his sword scraping across the gold-brick floor with a grating sound. "If you hand over the imperial seal and write the edict of succession, I guarantee you a peaceful old age. Otherwise... tonight, this Taiji Hall will be your mausoleum!"

"evil creature!"

Emperor Mingde sat on the dragon throne, his face pale, but his eyes still sharp as knives. He clutched his chest and coughed violently several times, each cough seeming as if he were coughing up his lungs.

"Do you think that by killing me, you can secure your throne? Do you think the people of this world will submit to a madman like you who murdered his father and usurped the throne?!"

Although Emperor Mingde's voice was weak, it carried an undeniable imperial majesty.

"Disobey? Then kill them until they submit!"

Xiao Yu burst into wild laughter, his eyes flashing with bloodlust. "Those who submit to me prosper, those who defy me perish! Once I obtain the Imperial Seal and control all the military power in the land, who dares to utter a single word of dissent?!"

"How arrogant!"

Jin Xuan gave a cold shout, and the soft sword instantly straightened, transforming into a sharp sword aura that aimed straight for Xiao Yu's throat.

"court death!"

Xiao Yu did not dodge. Suddenly, two black-robed elders behind him darted out like ghosts, meeting Jin Xuan's sword energy from the left and right.

"Clang! Clang!"

With two crisp sounds, Jin Xuan's sword energy was actually blocked by the two black-robed elders with their bare palms!

"What?!" Jin Xuan was shocked.

Only then did he realize that the two old men's hands were a strange bluish-black color, as if they were made of fine steel, and even his soft sword could not leave a mark on them.

"Poison Sand Palm? You're from the Poison Sect of the Western Regions?!" Jin Xuan recognized this long-lost evil skill, and his face turned extremely ugly.

"The chief eunuch has a good eye."

One of the old men let out a grating laugh like that of an owl, "We brothers have lived in anonymity for twenty years, never expecting that someone would recognize us today. Since you've recognized us, then obediently prepare to die!"

The two old men attacked together, their palm strikes carrying a nauseating stench. Although Jin Xuan possessed profound internal strength, he dared not easily withstand such a deadly poisonous palm technique and could only retreat step by step, the situation instantly becoming precarious.

"Father, do you see this? This is your trusted confidant?"

Looking at Jin Xuan, who was being forced into a retreat, Xiao Yu's smug expression deepened. "Your era is over! Now, it's my turn to rule this world!"

He raised his longsword again, pointing it at Emperor Mingde.

At this critical moment.

"when--"

A distant, clear bell suddenly rang out from the direction of the observatory deep within the palace.

The bell wasn't loud, but it possessed a magical power, as if it could penetrate the rain, pass through the palace walls, and strike directly into everyone's heart.

Upon hearing the bell, the Crimson King's assassins, who had been attacking frantically, paused briefly, and even the frenzied killing intent in their eyes dissipated somewhat.

"What's going on?!" Xiao Yu was startled, with a sense of foreboding.

"Your Highness, the sea of ​​suffering is boundless, but there is always a shore to turn back to."

An aged yet powerful voice echoed throughout the hall along with the tolling of the bell.

Followed by.

A figure with an air of otherworldly grace slowly walked through the broken doors of the main hall.

He wore a Taoist robe with Bagua symbols, held a snow-white whisk, and had white hair and beard, but his eyes were as bright as stars, revealing a wisdom and compassion that had seen through the ways of the world.

Qi Tianchen, the Imperial Preceptor of the Northern Li Kingdom and Director of the Imperial Observatory!

"The Imperial Advisor?!"

Emperor Mingde's eyes flashed with excitement upon seeing the newcomer, but it quickly turned to worry. "Imperial Preceptor, what brings you here? It's dangerous here, please retreat!"

Emperor Mingde knew that although Qi Tianchen held a high position and was proficient in divination and astrology, he was not known for his martial arts prowess in killing. Now, facing the crazed Xiao Yu and those evil sect masters, he would likely be unable to withstand them.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, now that this old minister is here, I will certainly protect Your Majesty."

Qi Tianchen bowed slightly, then turned to look at Xiao Yu.

"Your Highness, why are you doing this? This throne was never yours to begin with. You can't force it."

"Shut up! You old charlatan!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Xiao Yu roared hysterically, "Don't give me that talk about destiny! My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens! Anyone who stands in my way today will die! Kill him!"

Upon receiving the order, the assassins immediately abandoned their attack on the others and turned to pounce on Qi Tianchen.

Faced with these ferocious assassins, Qi Tianchen not only remained calm, but didn't even move an inch.

He simply waved the whisk in his hand.

"Whoosh—"

In that instant, hundreds of pure white whisk strands seemed to come alive, transforming into hundreds of agile snakes that instantly bound the assassins tightly!

"receive!"

Qi Tianchen gave a soft shout, and the whisk threads tightened abruptly.

"Pfft pfft pfft!"

Before those assassins could even scream, their bones were crushed by the seemingly soft whisk threads, and they died instantly!

This move not only shocked Xiao Yu, but also stunned Jin Xuan, who was in a fierce battle, and the two elders of the Poison Sect.

Is this really that old Taoist priest who only knows how to do feng shui and fortune telling?!

Such control over internal energy and such methods of killing are probably no less than those of a half-step divine traveler!

"You...you were hiding your strength?!" Xiao Yu pointed at Qi Tianchen, his voice trembling.

Qi Tianchen sighed, put away the blood-stained whisk, and looked on with a hint of helplessness.

"This old minister cultivates the path of immortality and does not wish to be tainted by killing. But this Tianqi City is the home I have protected for half my life. Since Your Highness intends to destroy it, this old minister has no choice but to break the precept against killing."

"I see……"

Xiao Yu gritted his teeth, the madness in his eyes undiminished. "So what if you're hiding your strength? You're alone, but I have hundreds of elite soldiers here! We'll wear you down!"

"Elders, forget about Jin Xuan, kill this old charlatan first!"

Upon hearing this, the two elders from the Poison Sect immediately abandoned Jin Xuan and, one on the left and one on the right, pounced on Qi Tianchen like two black clouds of poisonous mist.

"Old man, prepare to die!"

The Poison Sand Palm, accompanied by a nauseating, foul stench, instantly sealed off all of Qi Tianchen's escape routes.

Qi Tianchen's eyes narrowed, and he waved his whisk again, creating an impenetrable defensive barrier in front of him.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two heavy palm strikes landed firmly on the air wall.

The violent collision generated a shockwave that sent the surrounding corpses flying.

Although Qi Tianchen blocked the attack, his face turned pale and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"This Poison Sand Palm is indeed insidious."

He could feel a highly corrosive poisonous gas trying to invade his meridians along the whisk threads. If it weren't for his years of taking various elixirs and his refined internal energy, he would probably have suffered a great loss.

"Hahaha! You old charlatan, you won't last long!"

Upon seeing Qi Tianchen injured, Xiao Yu burst into wild laughter.

Just then.

The mysterious man in black robes, who had been hiding in the shadows and had never shown himself, finally made his move.

He appeared behind Qi Tianchen like a ghost, without a sound. In his hand, he held a jet-black dagger, its surface gleaming with an eerie purple light.

"Watch out behind you!" Emperor Mingde exclaimed in alarm.

But it was too late.

The man in black robes was incredibly fast, and his timing was impeccable. It was precisely at the critical moment when Qi Tianchen had just exhausted his old strength and hadn't yet generated new power, and was fully focused on defending against the two Poison Sect elders facing him!

"laugh!"

The black dagger, like the fangs of a venomous snake, stabbed fiercely towards Qi Tianchen's back!

It seemed that the great national advisor was about to die on the spot.

"Buzz—"

Sudden.

The air inside the Taiji Hall underwent a strange distortion.

An irresistible, terrifying pressure, as vast as a sea of ​​stars, descended without warning!

It wasn't just the black-robed man who launched the sneak attack.

This includes Xiao Yu, the elders of the Poison Sect, Jin Xuan, and even those assassins who have no sense of pain.

Everyone present froze instantly under this oppressive force, as if they had been frozen in place and could not move!

They were all too familiar with this oppressive aura!

Just a few days ago, outside Tianqi City, before the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning that shattered the Crimson King's Mansion descended, they had experienced it once!

That is……

"Su Changqing?!"

Xiao Yu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He desperately tried to turn his head and look around, but the locked space prevented him from even blinking.

Isn't he in the East China Sea?!

Didn't he go to some overseas fairy mountain?!

How could it possibly be here?!

but.

No one answered him.

Inside the main hall, apart from the suffocating pressure, there was no other sound.

The black-robed man behind Qi Tianchen remained in the same position, holding his dagger down. But his eyes were filled with extreme fear and despair.

because.

He saw it.

Behind Qi Tianchen.

In the void.

Suddenly, a slender, fair-skinned, and seemingly ordinary finger appeared.

That finger remained suspended silently in mid-air. It didn't touch the man in black; in fact, it was three feet away from him.

But it's just that three-foot distance.

"Pop".

A very faint sound, like a bubble bursting, rang out.

The finger flicked lightly at the man in black.

"boom--!!!"

An indescribable, terrifying power erupted from the man in black robes in an instant!

There was no blood splattering, no flying pieces of flesh.

The man in black robes, along with the poisoned dagger in his hand, was like a sand sculpture encountering a Category 10 hurricane, instantly disintegrating before this power!

It turned into the finest powder.

It dissipated into the air.

Not a single crumb was left.

Sold out instantly!

Absolutely a knockout!

As the man in black robes disappeared, the terrifying pressure that had enveloped the Taiji Hall receded like a tide.

Only then did everyone feel that their bodies had returned to control, and they were all panting heavily, as if they had just walked through the gates of hell.

"What... what's going on?"

Xiao Yu slumped to the ground, staring at the spot where the black-robed man had disappeared, feeling his worldview completely collapse.

That man in black robes was a top assassin sent by Nan Jue, his strength was no less than his! Just like that... gone?

What destroyed it?

He didn't even see a shadow of the other person!

Qi Tianchen turned around, looked at the empty void, a flash of understanding in his eyes, and then bowed deeply.

"Many thanks to Mr. Su for saving my life. Although you are thousands of miles away, your heart is still with Tianqi. This old Taoist... bows in admiration!"

A thousand miles away?!

Killing someone remotely?!

Upon hearing Qi Tianchen's words, everyone present gasped.

Is this even martial arts?!

This is clearly divine intervention!

A man in the East China Sea, with a single finger traversing a thousand miles, precisely and instantly killing a top assassin?!

What kind of monster is this?!

"Su... Su Changqing..."

Xiao Yu murmured the name in despair.

He finally understood.

I was just a clown from beginning to end.

He thought he had planned everything, and he thought he could do whatever he wanted while Su Changqing was away from Tianqi City.

Little did they know that in that man's eyes, the entire Tianqi City was nothing more than a chessboard he could manipulate at any time.

"thump."

The long sword in Xiao Yu's hand fell to the ground.

All his ambitions and madness were utterly crushed at this moment by that finger that spanned thousands of miles!

……

at the same time.

Far above the East Sea lies the fairy island of Penglai.

Su Changqing was lying in a rocking chair on the white jade beach, holding a cup of fruit tea that he had just brewed with the Phoenix True Fire.

He slowly withdrew his right hand, which had been pointing into the void, and gently blew away the foam on the teacup.

"Daddy, what were you doing just now?"

Little Nuomi was squatting nearby playing in the sand when she saw Su Changqing's strange actions and asked him curiously.

"Nothing."

Su Changqing took a sip of tea, feeling the warmth flow through his body, and closed his eyes contentedly.

"I just thought it was a bit noisy over in Tianqi City, so I flicked a big fly away. Now it's much quieter."

He turned his head, looked at the shimmering sea in the distance, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"The scenery of the East China Sea is indeed beautiful, making it a suitable place for retirement."

"However, after Xiao Se finishes his bath, we should go and meet the owner of this island."

"I heard he has something called obsession? Perfect, I'm the best at treating this kind of mental illness. I specialize in curing all kinds of stubbornness."