The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

As soon as the door opened, warm amber light poured out like a tide, scattering golden fragments all over the floor.

Shen Yan stepped over the threshold, her embroidered shoes landing on the jade-paved ground without making a sound.

Tang Xixue followed behind her, stepping into the warm light.

Light and shadow flowed across her plain white dress, splashing golden halos.

The next moment, she heard a very faint click.

The sound came from beneath her feet, as faint as the fleeting sound of a withered leaf being crushed by the wind.

She looked down.

Three inches inside the threshold, a jade brick, the same color as the surrounding ground, sank slightly by half a line when she stepped on it.

The sinking was extremely slight, so light that it was as if it were just the trembling of a shadow cast on the ground by a gust of wind. If she hadn't happened to be looking down, she wouldn't have noticed it at all.

"Oh."

A cold laugh came from ahead, carrying the exhilarating feeling of finally being released after being suppressed for too long.

Shen Yan turned around, the warm light outlining the smug smile on her lips.

"Is this all you've got?"

Tang Xixue raised her eyes, her gaze falling on her face.

"We can only rely on the mechanisms of the Guixu Palace. Is that all they're capable of?"

"So what?"

Shen Yan was stung by her gaze.

That same expression again.

From Baiyujing to Shenyao Valley, she always maintained this aloof and superior expression.

"Any means will do as long as it works to deal with you."

Shen Yan chuckled softly, her laughter echoing throughout the hall.

"Those useless trash couldn't even be taken down by you. In the end, we still have to rely on me."

"You, Tang Xixue, are nothing special."

"You only dare to attack me from behind."

Tang Xixue's voice was calm and unhurried, like a cool breeze, without a trace of worldly warmth.

"When have you ever dared to speak to my face like that?"

Shen Yan's expression changed slightly, but then she regained her smug smile.

"Times have changed. Princess Mirror, do you still consider yourself the high and mighty princess of Baiyujing? Here..."

She opened her arms as if embracing the entire hall.

"Here, I, the Holy Maiden of Guixu Palace, have the final say."

Feng Zhuo's footsteps stopped behind Tang Xixue, his boots kicking up a wisp of fine dust as they rolled across the ground.

"Ah Xue... be careful, it might be a trap!"

As soon as he spoke, the black iron gate silently closed behind him.

The heavy iron gate closed without making a sound; only a cold draft swept across the ground and over everyone's ankles.

At that moment, the star map on the facade lit up all at once, and the dazzling silver light spread out from the center of the door like a huge net of light, enveloping the entire hall.

The interplay of light wove together a dense, impenetrable cage within the hall.

"I knew it!"

Feng Zhu gritted his teeth, and the Crimson Flame Sword emitted a low hum from its sheath.

"I knew this woman was up to no good. She acted all pitiful in Baiyujing, but behind your back she's a venomous snake!"

"Hahaha……"

Shen Yan's laughter suddenly rose in pitch, sharp as a rusty knife scraping against bone.

"So what?"

She stopped laughing, and her voice suddenly turned gloomy.

"It's because General Feng failed to kill me. Now, the hunter and the prey have switched places."

She raised her hand, her fingertips pointing towards Tang Xixue.

"Let me kill you."

"You dare!"

Feng Zhuo stepped forward, his Crimson Flame Sword already drawn three inches from its sheath, the firelight illuminating his handsome profile.

"Shen Yan, if you dare lay a finger on her, I, Feng Zhuo, swear to the heavens I will make you wish you were dead!"

"Wow, what a boastful tone."

Shen Yan tilted her head, her smile carrying a hint of cat-and-mouse playfulness.

"Young General Feng, you can't even protect yourself, yet you're thinking of protecting your princess? Really..."

She drew out the last syllable, enunciating each word carefully.

"wishful thinking."

"Burn it."

Tang Xixue spoke, calling him by his courtesy name, her voice clear and melodious like a spring.

Feng Zhuo felt as if he had been doused with cold water, and he forcefully suppressed his surging anger, but still held his sword horizontally in front of him, not retreating even half a step.

"Don't stray too far from me."

Tang Xixue's gaze swept over the surrounding silver light that had converged, her eyes remaining completely calm.

"Don't be afraid, Xue, I'll always be here."

Feng Zhuo's voice was resolute.

"exist?"

Shen Yan felt as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Hahaha, General Feng is so naive! What can you do here? Just add another corpse to the pile."

Feng Zhuo ignored her, but instead focused his gaze on Tang Xixue's profile, his eyes swirling with unspoken words.

The young general, who grew up with his childhood sweetheart, has nothing but his beloved princess in his heart and eyes.

From my youth to the present and into the future, it has never changed.

Even though he was trapped in a cage at this moment, his eyes were still bright, as if as long as she was there, there was nothing in this world to fear.

"brush--"

The evening chill began to rise.

Without a single wasted word or a single warning, he transformed into a blur, his sword silently sweeping across the air, as if even the light itself had been sliced ​​open.

The threat of death loomed large, chilling to the bone.

That sword strike was too fast.

Shen Yan's smile was still on her face, and her pupils hadn't even had time to contract.

The sword was already pressed against the side of her neck.

The next moment, she was pulled back by a pair of hands, and staggered back two steps.

The cold blade of the sword grazed her neck, and a strand of her black hair silently drifted down into the air.

If it had been a fraction of a second slower, what would have fallen wouldn't have been her flowing hair, but her severed head.

The sword of Mu Liang was swift and ruthless.

"careful."

A cold voice fell into Shen Yan's ears.

Shen Yan immediately turned around abruptly.

Sang Tingke stood behind her, his face so pale it was almost transparent, his eyes as empty as two dry wells.

His lips moved slightly, but the words that came out were devoid of warmth.

"Du Liang. Come back."

Tang Xixue's voice rang out.

Her first priority was to ensure that Feng Zhuo and Mu Liang were still within her protection.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Mu Liang sheathed his sword and took a half-step back, but his killing intent remained undiminished.

His gaze passed over Shen Yan and landed on Sang Tingke, his thin lips parting slightly.

"A dead man dares to block my sword?"

Sang Tingke did not react.

Those empty eyes stared fixedly ahead, like a body whose soul had been ripped out.

"He's not dead."

Tang Xixue's gaze fell on Sang Tingke, her pupils slightly contracting.

"He is still alive."

There was no fear in her voice, only a thoughtful seriousness.

"Sang Tingke is actually still alive."

"You have good taste."

Shen Yan steadied herself, raised her hand to straighten her clothes that had been ruffled by the sword wind, and spoke with a hint of smugness.

"That's right, he's still alive. How could you mere mortals understand the methods of the Guixu Palace?"

"What's the point of being alive?"

Mu Liang's voice was as cold as a knife that had just been quenched in ice.

"Can you withstand one of my swords? Can you withstand ten of my swords?"

"Then give it a try."

Shen Yan retreated behind Sang Tingke, the smile on her lips growing wider.

"Mu Liang, I know you're powerful. But no matter how powerful you are, can you be more powerful than this entire Guixu Palace? There's more than just my cousin here!"

Before she finished speaking, the lights in the hall went out at the same instant.

The darkness came too suddenly.

The warm light, which was originally as gentle as amber, suddenly went out.

A thick darkness descended, pressing down on everyone's heart.

Only the star chart above still shimmered with a cold, silvery light; it was the only eye in the darkness, looking down from above upon everything in the hall.