Sword Qi to the Sky

Chapter 358 The Crown Prince
After the crowd dispersed, Li Fan bowed towards the distance and said, "Thank you, senior."

"It's alright, but you'll have to be careful in the future." A voice from afar responded calmly. In front of Li Fan, an elder from the Cui family said, "That Taoist priest just now is no ordinary person. His master, Taoist Hanya, is a cultivator at the seventh realm of the Myriad Manifestations Realm, which is the same person you saw when the talisman was burned. This Taoist priest has many tricks up his sleeve. It is said that he came from the Taiping Temple, the number one Taoist temple in the Great Li Dynasty, but he was an abandoned disciple. I don't know if that's true or not."

"The Taiping Temple, the number one Taoist temple in the world?" Li Fan secretly noted it down. However, in the fight with the disciple of the Cold Crow Taoist just now, the young Taoist had many tricks up his sleeve. His talismans were extremely unique and could generate all kinds of magical attacks.

"This Cold Crow Taoist is active in Qinghe County and is quite close to the Prince of Qinghe County. I wonder what he's planning by sending his disciple to search for the demon this time." The Cui family member said, "In any case, be careful. This Cold Crow Taoist is no benevolent person. It is said that he has a strange personality and is vengeful."

"Understood, thank you for the reminder, senior," Li Fan replied.

Cui Kun looked at Li Fan seriously and said, "Not bad in combat strength. Let's spar sometime."

In the distance, Xie Lingxuan also looked at Li Fan. They had all witnessed the battle just now, and that Taoist's methods were definitely not weak. Even if they were to deal with him, it wouldn't be so easy. Li Fan was able to force his opponent into a desperate situation, which showed how strong he was.

They were itching to try their hand at it; sword cultivators possessed formidable offensive power, but truly top-tier sword geniuses were few and far between.

Li Fan did not respond. Although Cui Kun was the pride of the Cui family, he did not regard him as his opponent, or rather, he did not think that he had any opponents in the Core Formation realm.

After the Cui and Xie families left, Wang Yuyao looked at Li Fan with even more curiosity. In her eyes, he became more and more mysterious. He had extraordinary talent and was powerful in battle. Moreover, he had directly killed the imperial cultivator. If it weren't for that talisman, the Taoist priest would have died under his sword.

After Cui Xuan and the others returned, they went to the inner courtyard of the Cui family to see the patriarch of the Cui family.

"Grand Ancestor, do you have something to tell me?" someone said softly.

"Yes." The old man nodded. "Qinghe County has been quite unsettled lately. Something big is probably about to happen."

Everyone looked surprised. The matter of Shenmu Manor and the appearance of the old beast were already major events, especially since the ancestors of the Cui and Xie families had both suffered injuries to varying degrees.

But the important matter that our ancestors were talking about at this moment was clearly not just this.

So, what else happens?
"Please enlighten us, our ancestors."

"For many years, that prince has been indulging in pleasure, but he is not as simple as you think. Moreover, there must be a reason for the sudden appearance of the Cold Crow Daoist." Old Ancestor Cui said, "The imperial court will probably use this as an excuse to make trouble. This demonic calamity will be a fuse."

"Of course, there is another matter, which concerns that young, talented swordsman."

"What's wrong with him?" Cui Kan asked.

As Old Ancestor Cui gazed into the distance, a memory seemed to flash through his mind, recalling the scenes he had witnessed back then, and that elegant and unparalleled swordsman.

“Sword cultivators excel at offense and have great combat power, but there are relatively few sword cultivators, and even fewer truly top-tier sword prodigies. His background is probably not simple, especially considering that he has arrived at this time.” The Cui family patriarch said, “Be careful of this person and don’t get into a conflict with him. I hope I’m just overthinking it.”

After saying this, he turned and left, leaving a group of Cui family members looking at each other in confusion, not understanding what their ancestor meant.

Who exactly is that young swordsman?
"Extraordinary origins?" Cui Kan murmured. A sword-wielding force that even the ancestor valued so highly must have at least a seventh-level swordsman.

There are not many like Dali under heaven.

In the days that followed, the imperial court continued to search for and hunt demons, and even sent a large army to the wilderness to kill them. Many people heard loud noises coming from the outskirts, as if a great battle had broken out.

Soon news spread that the Prince of Qinghe had captured the master of Shenmu Manor and brought him to justice.

Afterwards, the Prince of Qinghe invited various forces to a banquet at his palace to discuss the exorcism of the demon. He also planned to behead the old demon from Shenmu Manor and execute many other captured demons at the banquet.

The news was met with great excitement in Qinghe County.

The events at Shenmu Manor were extremely heinous. Now, the imperial court has swept away the demons with overwhelming force and captured the ringleaders, which is naturally inspiring.

Li Fan felt something was off after hearing the news.

The imperial court actually captured the old demon of Shenmu Manor?

Moreover, since the execution was announced publicly, it must be genuine. Therefore, this matter has nothing to do with the imperial court.
But he also felt something was strange. Why did the imperial court hesitate to take action before, after the demons caused chaos and many cultivators died tragically after the Shenmu Manor incident broke out?

So, was it intentional? To suppress the power of Yukun Academy and the families of Qinghe County?

But if that's the case, how can the imperial court be sure that it can capture the old demon?

All of this puzzled Li Fan.

"Are you going to the banquet?" Wang Yuyao asked Li Fan outside the courtyard.

“Let’s go take a look inside the city,” Li Fan replied. Wang Yuyao seemed thoughtful and said, “But, about that day…”

"I know what I'm doing," Li Fan replied. His junior brother had also arrived in Qinghe County, so what exactly was in Qinghe County?
Wang Yuyao didn't say anything more after hearing Li Fan's words.

…………

Qinghe County was extremely prosperous and had many cultivators, after all, it was a city in the heart of the dynasty.

In a restaurant in the city, Li Fan and his friends were drinking and listening to the conversations of the people around them.

"It is said that the Prince's Palace captured over a hundred demons this time, and all of them were demons of the fifth realm or above. In fact, a sixth-realm demon was caught while lurking in the city. I never expected that demons were right next to me."

"Demons that have cultivated themselves into spirits can transform into human form and are no different from humans. Moreover, there are forces among humans that raise demons. So, as long as the demons don't cause trouble, they can basically live among humans. But this incident has caused them to reveal their true forms."

"The imperial court is the imperial court after all. With swift and decisive measures, they wiped out the demons in Qinghe County in such a short time, and even captured the old demon. We thought that the county prince was a good-for-nothing, but it seems we were wrong."

There was much discussion around, and everyone praised the imperial court.

Li Fan listened quietly, and from the discussions around him, he could tell that the court's prestige had been dramatically boosted by this incident. On the contrary, powerful families such as Cui and Xie, as well as the Yukun Academy, were not mentioned at all.

After all, this time they not only gained nothing, but also suffered heavy losses.

Just as everyone was discussing, a commotion arose, and everyone's eyes turned to one direction. They saw Cui Jian walking in, followed by many cultivators, including Xie Lingxuan.

These people are all practitioners from the Yukun Academy.

"Brother Lu." Cui Jian's eyes fell on Li Fan at a glance. He walked over and sat down next to them. The people around him were curiously looking at Li Fan. Was this the sword cultivator who dared to kill the imperial court's cultivators?
According to Cui Kan, this sword cultivator's strength is extraordinary.

"Brother Cui, what brings you here?" Li Fan asked curiously, looking at the person opposite him.

"Hearing that Brother Lu was here, I came to see him as well," Cui Jian replied. Li Fan raised an eyebrow, and Cui Jian, as if understanding his thoughts, explained, "Brother Lu, please don't misunderstand. This restaurant is owned by my Cui family. I did not intend to inquire about your whereabouts."

"It's alright," Li Fan said nonchalantly. With the Cui family's influence in Qinghe County, he could hardly escape their notice anywhere he appeared, let alone come to their restaurant.

Just as they were speaking, a violent tremor occurred outside, followed by shouts. The group scanned the area with their divine senses, and Cui Kan and the others' expressions changed slightly.

"The sword cultivator and the demoness are in the restaurant?" A flippant voice came from behind. Li Fan frowned, and then he sensed a powerful gust of wind coming, causing the restaurant to tremble instantly.

"Those who have nothing to do with this, leave immediately!" A loud shout rang out, and everyone in the restaurant got up and left.

Cui Xuan and the others also stood up and walked outside.

Li Fan looked up at the shaking roof of the restaurant, then got up and walked outside.

On the street, Cui Kan, Li Fan, and the others came out. They saw a group of figures riding demons appear opposite them. The leader was very young, with sharp eyes, disheveled hair, and an air of arrogance. He was riding a unicorn.

The crowd on the street stopped and looked in this direction. Was it that纨绔 (a spoiled brat) from the Prince's mansion?

“An Shicheng,” a cultivator from Yukun Academy whispered. An infamous playboy from the Prince’s mansion, whom they always despised, stood beside him—the very same Taoist who had been injured by Li Fan that day.

An Shicheng glanced at Li Fan, then looked at Lu Yuan, Yue Qingqiu, and the others with an extremely impolite gaze, causing Lu Yuan to frown and release a faint chill from her body.

An Shicheng seemed to notice her displeasure, but a smile appeared in the corner of his eye as he stared at the group and said, "You have quite the nerve."

They actually dared to come into the city?
However, this female demon was undeniably alluring.

How could you bear to kill such a demon?

“An Shicheng, the Cui family has already explained what happened before.” Cui Kuan looked at An Shicheng, who was sitting on the demon’s back, and said that he did not want to have a conflict with the prince’s son in Qinghe County.

"Did I ask you?" An Shicheng glanced at Cui Kun and said with a smile, "What is your Cui family anyway?"

The surrounding area immediately erupted in an uproar. Everyone said that An Shicheng was a playboy, but they never expected him to be this much of a playboy.

What is the Cui family anyway?
The atmosphere around them instantly tensed up. Sensing the aura emanating from Cui Kun and the others, An Shicheng looked at him, his eyes flashing with a strange excitement.

I've heard that Cui Kuan of the Cui family is a prodigy from a distinguished family, with exceptional talent.

So, just how high is his talent?
(End of this chapter)