There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 26 Even so, they didn't forget to say some polite words.
The Yin God Talisman erupted with a roar. It was an extremely evil object, crafted from the resentful and vengeful remnant soul of a third-realm cultivator! It contained the overwhelming resentment and Yin energy of the dying cultivator, specifically designed to corrode the cultivator's body and defile their soul!
The moment Li Xiao's right arm touched the talisman, his entire arm was instantly covered in black frost, and his flesh withered and shriveled at a visible speed!
"laugh--"

Blood suddenly appeared!
But he reacted extremely quickly, his left hand forming a knife-like shape with his fingers, and with a "swoosh," he severed his right arm, while simultaneously letting out a low shout: "Yuan Du Protector, Divine Illumination Without Flaw!"

"Om-"

The cinnabar dot between his eyebrows suddenly lit up, transforming into a crimson light shield that enveloped his entire body, temporarily blocking the invading chilling aura.

But this is just the beginning. The true killing move of that Yin God Talisman is not merely to erode the physical body!

"Uh-"

Li Xiao suddenly groaned, blood gushing from his seven orifices, his face contorted in pain.

The countless vengeful spirits within the talisman were turning against his divine consciousness, frantically attacking his dantian!
At that moment, he felt as if he had fallen into the deepest hell—

The wails of countless wronged souls filled his ears, and countless bloody scenes appeared before his eyes—the fragments of what the third-realm cultivator saw and felt before his death!

Even with the strength of his Yin spirit, he could not withstand the shock to his Dao heart, and his protective light shield fluctuated violently.

"Crack!"

He staggered back three steps, the bluestone beneath his feet shattered, and the flesh at the severed arm began to slowly regenerate.

"Chen! Xu!"

Li Xiao's eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted like a demon, all traces of his gentle demeanor gone. He stared intently at Chen Qing, his killing intent almost tangible: "You dare to use such an evil object to ambush me?!"

Chen Qing said seriously, "Looking at your hypocritical face already makes me uncomfortable. Not to mention, you're a riddle-maker, refusing to answer any questions. If I really let you come and go so easily, leaving behind a graceful figure, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep well."

In the distance, the sound of air being torn apart could be heard from the direction of Yujing City. Clearly, the patrolling Yujing Guards had noticed the unusual fluctuations in spiritual energy here and were on their way.

Li Xiao's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty, then he suddenly gave a sinister smile: "Fine! Very well! You think you can turn things around by siding with Xi Yao? She can barely protect herself, let's see how long she can protect you! Once the princess falls, we'll settle our scores!"

Before he finished speaking, his figure had already turned into a wisp of black smoke and disappeared. Only the lingering cold and malevolent aura remained, silently eroding the surrounding vegetation and causing it to wither and decay rapidly.

“You are decisive. I thought you were really going to swallow your anger and let that person be arrogant.” Xu Zhaoying’s sword light faded and landed beside Chen Qing. “This person’s cultivation is very profound. If it weren’t for the Yin God Talisman’s surprise attack and his reluctance to go all out because of the Jade Capital Guard, even if I had used the Qingqiu Seal, I might not have been able to withstand it.”

"Even in such a sorry state, he still manages to say some polite words." Chen Qing stared at the black smoke where Li Xiao had disappeared and sighed softly, "It's a pity we couldn't stop him. How could he have progressed so much in thirty years?"

The ashes of the Yin God talisman on the ground were scattered by the night wind.

This item is powerful, but it can only be used once.

"However, judging from his tone, he's clearly waiting for the princess to fall from power before dealing with me!"

As he pondered this, his gaze swept across the ground, then suddenly froze—

A jade slip lay quietly on the ground.

"Perhaps when Elder Lü was investigating the whereabouts of your spirit bone, he alerted someone, which is why this person suddenly appeared." Xu Zhaoying drew her sword, and a green light circled the jade slip three times, cutting off all the attached Yin energy, and then swept it over from mid-air.

Chen Qing nodded.

Xu Zhaoying then said, "Once we enter Yujing, you should go and meet up with the princess first. I will contact our old friends in Yujing to confirm whether the Holy Emperor is really in seclusion and who issued the edict to summon the princess back to the capital to receive the reward."

Chen Qing's gaze sharpened: "You suspect it was really the Empress's scheme?"

"At the beginning of the resettlement policy, there was a lot of resistance." Xu Zhaoying suddenly changed the subject, her tone becoming cold. "But after the princess eliminated them one by one, and with the effectiveness of your policy, all parties in Yujing praised the princess highly. However, the Empress may not be happy to see such a situation."

"What conflict exists between the princess and the empress?" Chen Qing pressed.

Xu Zhaoying's eyes narrowed as she looked around at the night scene before saying, "This is not the place to talk. Let's go back to the post station first."

Chen Qing nodded.

Xu Zhaoying then handed the jade slip to Chen Qing: "Take it. Since it is your old inheritance, you might as well take a look. Now that your natal spirit talisman is complete, you can condense other spell spirit talismans. But be careful, that person seems to have deliberately left this item out. I wonder if he has some kind of scheme hidden in it."

Chen Qing was startled upon hearing this.

In the real world outside of dreams, although there are occasional rumors that cultivators can actually condense multiple spirit talismans, most of these are hearsay, and some say they are secrets kept by major sects. I never thought that there would actually be such a mysterious method in this dream world!
He took the jade slip, and the moment his fingertips touched it, the life talisman in his body suddenly trembled, as if resonating with the jade slip. A ray of starlight overflowed from the slip and entered Chen Qing's brow.

"This is……"

In a daze, he seemed to see a vast starry sky, with thousands of stars moving along mysterious trajectories, each star corresponding to a rudimentary talisman.

Seeing him lost in thought, Xu Zhaoying said softly, "It is said that the 'Zhou Tian Xing Su Jie' is a secret transmission of the ancient star sect. When it is mastered, one can condense 365 star symbols within the body, which is equivalent to the number of the Zhou Tian..."

Several sounds came from afar, and she suddenly stopped talking, saying instead, "Let's go back first."

"Alright!" The two had just moved when suddenly golden clouds filled the sky above the official road ahead.

Twelve golden-armored divine generals descended through the air, the leader holding a jade tablet, his voice booming like a bell: "Which cultivators are here to fight?"

Xu Zhaoying immediately revealed the Princess's Mansion token: "Xu Zhaoying and Chen Xu of Princess Xiyao's Mansion were attacked on their way to the capital."

The general examined the token, his gaze sweeping over Chen Qingshi, whose pupils contracted slightly. He then nodded: "Private duels are forbidden inside and outside the capital. This matter has a cause, so you may proceed. What did the assassin look like?"

"That person is skilled at concealment; we probably won't be able to catch him for a while." After a brief discussion, Xu Zhaoying and the other generals went to search for the assassin's trail.

After the divine general departed, Xu Zhaoying drew her sword and said, "Let's go!"

After the two returned to their room at the post station, Xu Zhaoying set up a soundproof barrier and said in a deep voice, "The feud between the princess and the empress begins with the princess's mother. Back then, the holy maiden of the Qingqiu Heavenly Fox lineage married the Holy Emperor and gave birth to the princess before mysteriously dying. The empress has always regarded the Heavenly Fox bloodline as an anomaly, and since the princess has shown her talent, she has taken every opportunity to reprimand her."

Chen Qing's eyes flickered slightly: "Is it because of the struggle over bloodline and whether the son is legitimate or illegitimate?"

“That’s not all.” Xu Zhaoying shook her head and picked up the teapot and teacup from the side. “The princess inherited her mother’s will and advocated the coexistence of all tribes. In recent years, some people in the court have advocated treating the Northern Han tribes well, and the princess has supported them a lot. This has touched the interests of many people, so some people have gone to the Empress to slander her.”

Chen Qing touched the jade slip and asked, "If the Empress Dowager really wants to deal with the princess, how should we respond?"

Xu Zhaoying pondered for a moment and said, "If the situation becomes unfavorable after we enter the capital tomorrow, you should leave! It's not the Emperor's order that forces the princess to leave. As long as you leave Yujing, there will always be a way to deal with it."

“In that case, Yujing has become a den of dragons and tigers,” Chen Qing said. “Then why go there knowingly, even though it’s a dangerous place?”

Xu Zhaoying said, "Since the Celestial Dynasty has summoned you, you must first occupy the position of righteousness and cannot disobey. In any case, tomorrow... no, I will send you to Qingwu Villa later to meet the princess."

Chen Qing had been reminded of this, but something else came to mind, and he suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist Xu, do you know of any method that allows someone in the early stage of the second realm to suppress someone in the early stage of the third realm?"

Xu Zhaoying paused as she poured tea, spilling a few drops.

"Are you alright?" She put down the teapot, her brows furrowed. "Could it be that you got too carried away dealing with that man in the animal skin?"

She stood up and paced back and forth, then warned, "That time it was a surprise attack, and I was suppressing it with the Qingqiu Seal. The difference in cultivation level is like an insurmountable chasm; it's not something that can be easily crossed. If that person had left his body immediately, we would have had no choice but to flee. What other options would we have had?"

Chen Qing's eyes flickered slightly: "Is it really impossible?"

“Not exactly.” Xu Zhaoying suddenly lowered her voice. “Legend has it that there is an ancient ‘Life-Burning Method’ that can temporarily improve one’s cultivation level, but the price is extremely high. At best, it shortens one’s lifespan; at worst, it destroys one’s foundation. Apart from that, one must seize the initiative, just like before. But it is only when a great cultivator who has just entered the third realm has not yet mastered the Yin Spirit or the illusory image of the Dharma Robe that such an opportunity can be seized.”

"Having just entered the third realm?" Chen Qing pondered silently upon hearing this.

Xu Zhaoying suddenly moved closer: "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

“The situation is delicate right now,” Chen Qing had prepared his explanation long ago: “If the situation gets the worst, we have to find a way to fight to the death, at least so that we won’t be killed in one blow, and can hold out for a while and escape.”

Xu Zhaoying's eyes flickered slightly. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said, "You're thinking the wrong way."

"Ok?"

"Instead of thinking about fighting head-on, you should specialize in an escape technique." She said bluntly, "Your purpose in fighting head-on is to buy time to escape, so why not specialize in this from the beginning?"

Chen Qing was taken aback.

"You have just inherited the Starry Sky Sect's technique of transforming into starlight," Xu Zhaoying continued. "If you can comprehend this technique, you can travel thousands of miles in an instant. Once you master it, even the fourth realm cannot catch up! Moreover, time is of the essence now, and you don't have time to learn other methods. Why not focus on this one?"

"Transform into starlight?"

He stroked the jade slip, feeling the stellar energy flowing within it.

Seeing that he was interested, Xu Zhaoying continued, "The escape techniques of the Star Constellation lineage are the most profound. If you can comprehend even a fraction of them, it will be enough to save your life. In addition..."

She flicked two talismans from her sleeve.

The jade talisman gleamed brightly, while the black talisman exuded a chilling and malevolent aura.

"This is the Qingqiu Concealment Talisman, which can hide your aura. If things don't go well, activate this talisman. As for this Yin Spirit Talisman, I don't have much use for it. Since you've already used yours, take another one. Make sure you protect yourself and don't put yourself in danger! Understand?"

"Thank you."

He carefully put it away, but then he remembered what Bai Shaoyou had said about "Tianhu Xiyao".

"If the Tenth Princess is indeed the sealed-off Heavenly Fox, is the current situation just the beginning?"

　The second update is coming soon...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)