The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Almost at the same instant, Jiu Fangzhi took a step forward and stepped aside to block Tang Xixue.

The dark, mechanical cube had been taken out of his sleeve, and his fingertip pressed against the spirit pattern, causing the cube's surface to glow with a fine silver light.

"Junior sister, stay behind your brother."

He said in a deep voice.

"Senior brother, I can protect myself."

Tang Xixue did not hide behind him.

She stepped out from beside him and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, her gaze fixed on the entrance to Yaoguang City.

There, a slender figure wrapped in a cloak was slowly walking towards them.

The hood was pulled down very low, obscuring her face; only her fair, jade-like chin was visible.

And her flowing pink hair, like cherry blossoms in spring, exuded a desolate and withered beauty.

"Ha, this place is really well hidden; it took me quite a while to find it."

The woman's steps were unhurried and steady, each step firm, and her body was enveloped in a faint silvery-white light.

The light was so fine, like a speck of dust, that it seemed to freeze the air.

Wherever it went, the flowers blooming in full glory along the street closed their petals.

"Thank goodness, we had them to guide us."

The glass lamps under the eaves moved erratically without any wind, the eerie blue flames in their wicks trembling uneasily, as if fleeing from something extremely terrifying.

The moss in the cracks of the bluestone withered at a visible speed, turning into grayish-white powder that was scattered by the wind.

"Otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to find this place."

The figure moved extremely fast, and soon appeared in Tang Xixue's sight.

"What is that silvery-white light?"

Tang Xixue narrowed her eyes.

She didn't recognize what the silvery light was, but her intuition told her that it was extremely dangerous.

It wasn't a straightforward confrontation with swords drawn, but rather a chilling, bone-chilling erosion.

The moment Jiu Fangzhi saw the Pavilion Master of Fengxiao Pavilion, without saying a word, he hid Tang Xixue behind his back and immediately took out a veil to cover her up completely.

"stop."

The old Taoist priest stood up.

Just moments ago he looked like a dozing old man, but now his back is ramrod straight, and he looks like a sword suddenly drawn from its sheath.

A sharp glint flashed in his cloudy eyes, and his voice, no longer hoarse, became loud and clear, carrying an unassailable air of authority.

"Under the Tree of Three Lifetimes, no outsider shall be allowed to act presumptuously. Who goes there? What brings you to trespass into Yao Guang City?"

The woman stopped in her tracks.

She slightly raised her head, revealing a pair of extremely beautiful peach blossom eyes beneath her hood.

But those eyes held no warmth whatsoever, as cold as the frost of December, as deep as a bottomless abyss.

Where her gaze swept across, even the air seemed to freeze.

"I have come here not to kill, nor to cause trouble."

Her voice was clear and cold, like ice water striking stone, and every word was devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"I have only one question. Where is the heartwood of the Three Lives Tree? And beneath which piece of bark is the clue to the elixir of immortality hidden?"

The old Taoist priest's expression changed drastically.

His hand reached into his sleeve, and when he pulled it out, several bright yellow talismans were held between his fingers.

The cinnabar patterns on the talisman paper subtly flowed in the morning light, exuding an ancient and solemn aura.

The runes were written with flowing dragon and phoenix strokes, with a faint golden light flowing between the strokes, making it clear at a glance that they were high-grade talismans for warding off evil.

"You won't find what you're looking for in Yaoguang City. Leave quickly, and this old Taoist can pretend nothing happened and let you go."

"Huh? Let me go? What a joke!"

The figure chuckled softly.

The laughter was extremely faint, like the wind blowing through an empty valley, revealing not a trace of joy.

"The old Taoist priest who guards the Three Lives Tree has been doing so for generations, risking his life to protect it. How many years have you been guarding this tree? Have you ever received any benefit from it?"

The old Taoist priest's lips trembled slightly, and his white beard swayed gently in the wind.

"The Three-Life Tree is not for profit. It is a blessing left to Yaoguang City by the Flowing Cloud Medicine God, not a treasure that demons and monsters like you can covet."

"Protection?"

The Pavilion Master of Fengxiao Pavilion laughed again, this time with a hint of sneer.

"Whom did you protect? Those mortals who don't even know what immortality is? They're nothing but ants; what do I care whether they live or die?"

She raised her hand and flicked her fingertips lightly.

A silvery-white light surged from her sleeve, like a winding silver snake, swimming along the ground towards the old Taoist priest.

The light was extremely fine and dense, leaving a shallow burn mark on the bluestone slab wherever it passed.

Tang Xixue's heart skipped a beat. She was being tightly protected behind her senior brother and looked over from behind him.

She didn't recognize what it was, but she recognized the method.

蛊。

Moreover, it is a Gu of extremely high quality.

"Taoist priest, be careful!"

She blurted out.

"You monster! How dare you!"

The old Taoist priest reacted extremely quickly.

He flung the talisman in his hand, and the four talismans exploded in the air, transforming into a wall of light burning with golden flames, which stood in front of the silver light.

The flames flickered incessantly, tracing mysterious runes in the air and radiating a scorching yet solemn aura.

"boom--"

The silver light struck the golden wall of fire, like boiling oil being poured into a raging fire.

In the end, it turned into wisps of smoke and dissipated into the air.

"This technique looks familiar; it's like the talismanic arts of Holy Spirit Mountain."

Tang Xixue recognized the old Taoist priest's technique for casting talismans; it was very similar to the way the Imperial Preceptor He Lichen had taught her.

"Judging from his appearance, he should be from Holy Spirit Mountain. I had heard before that a certain hall master of the Holy Spirit Mountain's Fate Hall seemed to have a close relationship with the Flowing Cloud Medicine God."

Jiu Fangzhi whispered to Tang Xixue.

He knows a lot of secrets.

"Hmm. It should be right."

Tang Xixue nodded.

The old Taoist priest's expression softened slightly, and he pulled out several talismans from his sleeve, quickly drawing on their surfaces with his fingertips.

"Form ranks!"

His fingers were withered and thin, yet his movements were astonishingly fast, leaving shimmering, iridescent patterns on the talisman paper with the cinnabar.

The talismans flew out on their own and stuck to the ground around the Three Lives Tree, forming a semi-circular protective array.

The talisman array took root on the ground, and golden light surged from the talisman paper, spreading along the ground and enveloping the entire Three Lives Tree.

The Silver Dust Gu were blocked outside the rune array, unable to advance even an inch. They hovered and probed around the outer edge of the light barrier, like a swarm of poisonous bees unable to find an entrance, emitting a faint buzzing sound.

The Pavilion Master of Fengxiao Pavilion narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Controlling talismans? That's quite an ability."

Her voice betrayed no emotion.

"However, how long can your talisman array last? A cup of tea? An incense stick? Or half an hour?"

The old Taoist priest remained silent.

His fingers kept forming hand seals to keep the talisman array running, and fine beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

Sweat trickled down his graying temples and dripped onto the coarse cloth robe on his shoulders.

"Senior brother, what kind of Gu is that?"

Tang Xixue's gaze was fixed on those silvery-white lights.

"The Silver Dust Gu, with its blazing flames, can scorch everything."

Jiu Fangzhi said with apprehension.

Tang Xixue gasped, then asked a question.

"Is that person the Master of Fengxiao Pavilion?"

Upon hearing this, Jiu Fangzhi remained silent for a moment before responding.

"Yes."

Upon hearing his affirmative answer, Tang Xixue glanced at the Pavilion Master of Fengxiao Pavilion.

Yet it felt strangely familiar.

"It seems—I've seen her somewhere before?"

"Where exactly is it?"

"Do I know her?"