Meanwhile, in a secluded inn in Yongxingfang, Fengjing.
Jiang Wuyai sat cross-legged on the couch, his brows furrowed, trying his best to sense the subtle traces of that night.
The celestial compass was clearly located within Fengjing City; he couldn't believe he couldn't find any clues.
He tried for more than ten consecutive days, his almost obsessive desire sustaining him, and he has not given up to this day.
Just then, an unusual fluctuation suddenly occurred!
The wooden door to the guest room opened by itself without any wind. Jiang Wuyai jerked his eyes open, his exhaustion instantly overwhelmed by ecstasy. He leaped to his feet:
"Junior sister, you've figured it out! Quick, quick, quickly connect your auras with mine!"
"Clang clang..."
A clear, resonant sword rang out, and a cold blade pointed directly at his throat, its chilling light reflecting off the man's icy face.
Jiang Wuyai stopped abruptly, his enthusiasm completely dampened: "Junior Sister, what do you mean by this?"
Chu Xinglan's face was ashen, his voice steady yet carrying an undeniable question:
"Jiang Wuyai, is the matter of exchanging examination papers in the provincial examination related to you?"
Jiang Wuyai tilted his head in astonishment: "What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by changing the exam papers? What does the provincial examination have to do with me!"
"Even under the close surveillance of a third-rank expert from the Xuanji Guard, the exam papers were still switched. Who else besides a second-rank expert could have such an ability?"
Jiang Wuyai immediately jumped up and down: "You can't just throw all sorts of accusations at me just because I'm a second-rank official!"
Junior sister, you know me. Besides this cultivation level, what else do I care about?
I don't even care about the Tianyan Sect. What are these provincial examination papers? I don't even know which way the main gate of the examination hall faces.
"Stop making excuses! You know the provincial examinations are held in the examination hall, and you still dare to say it has nothing to do with you?"
Jiang Wuyai: ...
He was so angry he almost laughed: "Junior sister, if you want to stab me, just say so. Why make up such an excuse?"
Chu Xinglan focused intently on discerning every expression on his face, relying more importantly on the intuitive perception of a cultivator.
It seems... he wasn't lying.
Just then, her internal organs began to tremble violently without warning.
Jiang Wuyai also sensed this anomaly at the same instant, his expression freezing instantly and turning into unbelievable ecstasy.
"The celestial plate is the fluctuation of the celestial plate!"
He exclaimed in surprise and abruptly turned in the direction from which the fluctuations were coming.
The Imperial Palace?
...
Outside Qinghui Palace, the sounds of fighting were deafening, and the stench of blood and the glint of blades intertwined to create a brutal and tragic scene.
Although the Qilin Guards fought desperately, the attacking assassins were extremely powerful, almost all of them being experts at the fourth rank!
The casualties were heavy, the defense line continued to crumble, and it seemed that the entire city was about to fall.
On the stone steps in front of the palace, Ling Muxue was fighting with the leader of the assassins.
As soon as they exchanged blows, she realized that her opponent was a third-grade Divine Martial Realm cultivator, while she had already entered the second grade.
Her "domain" suddenly expanded, and an invisible force field pressed down like a tide, greatly suppressing the opponent's "momentum".
Just when she thought victory was assured, the opponent's previously suppressed blade suddenly erupted with terrifying ferocity.
A near-mad force surged back, forcing her to take a step back before she could react.
Ling Muxue immediately composed herself and focused all her energy on the battle.
The sword light was as white as snow, and the blade's momentum was as fierce as a madman; every collision produced a deafening roar.
The air currents surged, and for a moment they appeared to be evenly matched!
How is that possible?
Within the Divine Martial Realm, the difference between each rank is like an insurmountable chasm.
Even if she was a newcomer to the second rank and the other party was at the peak of the third rank, she should not have acted this way.
Soon, she saw a desperate madness in his eyes, and sensed the boiling, almost violent vitality emanating from him.
At this moment, Ling Muxue understood that the other party was forcibly increasing their combat power at the cost of consuming their life essence!
That was a powerful expert at the Divine Martial Realm, one of the most outstanding figures in the world, yet he chose such a tragic method.
It could be said that every strike the opponent made burned away his lifespan!
Ling Muxue's expression was solemn. As long as the fight dragged on, she would surely win.
Inside the hall, the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess, who were guarding the front, both changed their expressions drastically and turned around in horror.
They clearly sensed a surge of powerful and vast true energy surging wildly behind them.
Qin Zhaoyue had blocked out all external noise at this moment.
She was gambling that her three older siblings could buy her enough time.
Merit points were consumed instantly like flowing water, and surging power poured into every part of the body.
The barrier of the fifth-grade realm shattered instantly, and true energy surged through her meridians like a burst dam.
It brings a tearing sensation that is both painful and extremely fulfilling, as if every inch of flesh is screaming for regeneration.
"Damn it, let's go for it!"
Qin Zhaoyue steeled her heart; a fourth-rank official wasn't enough!
With another thought, he directly challenged the unattainable third-grade divine martial realm!
In an instant, the space around her began to distort, rippled with obscure and incomprehensible fluctuations.
A hazy, ancient-looking book slowly emerged from above her head, its light and shadow flickering.
The immense force nearly tore her body apart, and her consciousness was blurred by the torrent, as if something crucial was missing.
Countless top-level martial arts techniques that I had memorized by rote in the past flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern, but I could not retain any of them.
Until... the "Eternal Calamity Formless Eight Desolations Six Harmonies Boundless Technique"!
The supreme martial art created by the founding emperor finally resonated with her.
This method progresses from the myriad forms to the formless, drawing on the strengths of many, and its ultimate goal lies in integration and embracing all things.
Qin Zhaoyue's true energy was all transformed from the Book of Merit, and was originally pure and clean, without any affiliation or form, which perfectly matched the true essence of this technique.
In an instant, strange phenomena appeared around her!
Whirlwinds, fire shadows, mountains, forests...
The various phantoms rapidly evolved and switched, but in the end they collapsed with a bang, turning into a chaotic and hazy mist.
The illusory image of the book above his head solidified completely, only to be swallowed up by the mist and disappear without a trace.
The next instant, Qin Zhaoyue suddenly opened her eyes.
His usual laziness and nonchalance had vanished, leaving only a deep, unfathomable stillness in his eyes.
She slowly stood up, her back ramrod straight, and casually brushed the dust off the corner of her clothes.
With a formidable enemy at hand, the three men in front couldn't help but turn around, as if they had seen a ghost.
The Fifth Prince stammered, "You...you...Sixth Sister, what realm are you at now?"
Qin Zhaoyue raised her proud head, her tone calm and composed:
"I am but a humble mortal, at the third-grade Divine Martial Realm."
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