The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

At the critical moment.

A figure stepped out of a carriage on the forest path, her moon-white robes fluttering gently in the breeze.

It is sagehood, not enlightenment.

The cinnabar between his brows was still as bright red as a flame, but his complexion was even paler than that of the unconscious Ling Zixian.

Those eyes, as clear as the blue sky after rain, remained peaceful, but a faint layer of weariness was clearly hidden beneath them.

He walked to the stream and came to the place where the snake and the spirit were at ease.

The bamboo viper's tongue almost touched the hem of his clothes before its head suddenly retracted, assuming an attack posture.

Saint Feiming did not move.

He looked down at the snake, his gaze still filled with his usual peace and compassion.

He stood there, blocking Ling Zixian's way.

A moment later, the bamboo viper slowly lowered its head, as if its spine was being pressed down by some invisible force.

It retracted its fangs, turned around, and silently swam back to the depths of the grass on the other side of the stream, disappearing from sight.

Saint Feiming bent down, and the boy reached out his thin hand to gently check Ling Zixian's breath.

He then took his pulse and examined it carefully for a moment, a faint trace of worry flashing across his face.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something to Liao Fan behind him.

Between the opening and closing of the lips, only a silent breeze passed by.

Like the wind passing through an empty valley, it can't hold onto anything.

He lowered his eyelashes and remained silent for a moment.

Then he took out a small piece of plain silk from his sleeve, dipped his finger in the stream water, and wrote a few words on the silk.

His calligraphy is beautiful; every stroke exudes Zen-like wisdom, a quality cultivated through years of copying scriptures.

"Take him with you."

When the young monk Liaofan took the piece of silk, he noticed that the ends of the characters trembled slightly.

It's not that I can't write well, it's that my fingers don't have enough strength.

When he revealed the secret of heaven, he saved Tang Xixue's life, but Sheng Feiming was also punished by the five signs of decay of heaven and man.

When a sage enters the world, it is as if a celestial being has fallen to earth.

The pure body is stained by the dust of the turbid world, like a fallen flower, and the five senses gradually decay.

"Holy Monk..."

Liao Fan clutched the piece of silk, his throat tightening.

He raised his head and looked at his holy monk's face, which was so pale it was almost transparent, and his lips, which could no longer utter a sound. He felt extremely distressed.

He knew how beautiful the holy monk's voice used to be.

Ethereal, mellow, like the lingering sound of distant mountain bells and the first snow melting on pine needles.

When chanting sutras, golden lotuses bloom throughout the entire Buddhist hall; when giving sermons, even the birds on the branches stop to listen.

But now, their holy monk has even been deprived of his voice, becoming a mute.

Saint Feiming didn't notice Fan's sad expression.

He simply took back the piece of white silk, straightened Ling Zixian's slightly tilted head, and let him lean against a dry bluestone.

"We can't pick up things from strangers on the street. What if they're bad people?"

"You were just ambushed by the Heavenly Dao Apostles. Who would have thought that the pitiful-looking child was actually one of their henchmen..."

The martial monk Liaofan had his thick eyebrows furrowed.

Now that the Crimson Dust Gu in the Nine Provinces has been brought under control, the Guixu Palace's plan has failed.

The Imperial World Pavilion then began its plan to behead the prodigies, and the holy monk Sheng Feiming naturally became their target.

"Holy Monk, you are too kind. Those Heavenly Apostles... are truly inhuman."

Not long ago, the holy monk put himself in the trap, using himself as bait, and saved the lives of more than a dozen innocent children from a Heavenly Apostle disguised as a child.

However, he was also poisoned by the curse. If the curse was not lifted for seven days, his heart meridians would be completely severed on the eighth day.

Four days have passed since that night.

Sheng Feiming pointed at Ling Zixian again, as if he was about to take action himself.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it! Holy Monk, please don't move!"

Upon seeing this, the martial monk Liaofan quickly bent down and carefully picked up Ling Zixian.

They escorted him to the carriage and laid him flat on a soft couch covered with thick carpets.

If he doesn't make a move, the holy monk will definitely intervene.

He settled Ling Zixian in a safe place before retreating outside.

Saint Feiming sat back in his carriage.

His fingers slipped into his sleeve, gently grasping the string of Bodhi prayer beads, warmed slightly by his body heat.

That was all the warmth he had left.

Liao Fan sat outside the carriage, holding a heavy vajra in his hand, his eyes scanning the surrounding mountains and forests warily.

His mission this time was to protect the safety of the holy monk.

"drive--"

The coachman drove the carriage very fast; their destination was the Valley of Divine Medicine.

Zhiyun Xiaozhu (Weaving Clouds Cottage)

Tang Xixue slowly awoke from her cultivation. When she opened her eyes, the sun was already setting.

The old peach tree in the courtyard was bathed in the glow of the setting sun, its petals swaying gently in the breeze, like a tree full of butterflies with their wings folded.

"Your Highness, Lord Yun has gone to the valley to buy ingredients."

Upon seeing her open her eyes, Li Shuang immediately began to report. Her voice was light and cheerful, and a faint smile graced her round face.

She squatted by the doorway, fiddling with an unidentified little plant, clearly having waited for quite some time.

"Okay. I understand."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xixue's lips curled slightly; Ayan had said he would reward her that evening.

Could it be just cooking?

She thought he was...

"Your Highness, this is the latest intelligence. Please take a look."

At this moment, the guard commander Chao Han walked in from outside the courtyard and presented him with a summary of intelligence from various parts of the Nine Provinces over the past few days.

Tang Xixue flipped through the pages one by one.

The progress of the burning of the Crimson Nest, the distribution of the Snowfire, and the countermeasures of various countries.

"Now most of the Crimson Nests across the Nine Provinces have been burned down, and the spread of the Crimson Dust Gu has finally been contained."

"Each country has its own way of dealing with the situation, and although they are not exactly the same, they have all temporarily stabilized the situation."

"But what truly turned the tide was the intelligence provided by Regent Qi Si."

The habits of the Crimson Nest, the location of the Snow Firefly, and the weaknesses of the Gu Mother.

Qi Si was aloof by nature, and if it weren't for Tang Xixue saving his life, he probably wouldn't have taken the initiative to inform the various countries of this news.

In this way, the countries are like headless flies, unable to effectively utilize their manpower and resources.

Her act of saving Qi Si was almost the decisive factor in this game.

In the Wenhua Hall of the Beichen Empire, it was announced to the world that this was Mr. Fuxue's benevolent act, and now Mr. Fuxue's name resounds throughout the Nine Provinces once again.

"Ah Lin is now the new emperor of Yun Chuan. With him in charge of Yun Chuan, it is a blessing for all the people."

Tang Xixue wasn't deliberately scheming anything; she just saw that Pei Yanchuan was about to break, so she wanted to keep the last elder in the world who could protect him.

Unexpectedly, this move landed in the most crucial position on the chessboard of Kyushu.

"Your Highness, Qi Zhan is so wicked, why did Young Master Pei spare his life? Wouldn't it have been better to just kill him?"

Li Shuang asked in a low voice.

"Perhaps it's because of Qi Wang! After all, that person is Qi Wang's only older brother."

Tang Xixue knew that Pei Yanchuan was a very gentle person. He certainly didn't want Qi Wang to see the scene of brothers killing each other again, so he spared Qi Zhan's life.

But she didn't know that Pei Yanchuan had personally placed a Gu poison on Qi Zhan. The Gu was not fatal, but it would cause the person afflicted to have an attack every seven days.

When it flares up, it feels like a thousand ants are gnawing at your heart, causing unbearable pain, yet you can't die.

Seeing Qi Zhan's hysterical state in the prison, his gaze was as cold as frost.

He is no longer the gentle and refined young man he once was.

"Qi Zhan, weren't you always worried that I would take your throne? Now, I'll sit on this throne for you."

At that moment, Qi Wang was outside burning down the Crimson Nest when he received the news, and his heart sank.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that his brother was still alive.

"Ah Lin, thank you for sparing his life."

However, the next moment, a large formation rose up in the forest.

A burst of light appeared simultaneously from all directions, like countless glowing vines bursting forth from the ground.

It spread rapidly, intertwined, and climbed, weaving a vast net of light in mid-air.

As the light patterns flowed, ancient runes could be faintly seen emerging in the void, each character like a red-hot branding iron, burning one's eyes.

"Qi Wang, today, you are doomed to die!"

The Hall of Heavenly Punishment.

Yu Shi Ge.

Countless masters emerged from the forest, a dark mass, like a tide converging from all directions.

"kill--"

Their breaths blended together, so intense that the birds in the forest took flight, the beasts fled, and even the wind dared not blow.

Ambush and kill.

Qi Wang stood in the center of the great formation, with towering flames behind him and countless blades in front of him.

He didn't panic; he simply reached out and slowly pressed his hand against the hilt of the sword at his waist.