My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

The torchlight dyed half the night sky crimson.

Hundreds and thousands of refugees, beggars, and ordinary citizens who were unaware of the truth surrounded the towering walls and vermilion gates of the Qin Prince's Mansion like a dark, surging tide.

"Burn this evil Taoist! Give us back our lifespans!"

"Liar! You demon kept by the Li Tang royal family, come out and face your death!"

"Don't be afraid, everyone! Break down the door together! Only by smashing down this demon's palace can we survive!"

Among the crowd, a dozen or so burly men dressed in coarse linen clothes and deliberately smeared black ash on their faces were shouting and frantically inciting others.

They held large battering rams and stones in their hands, pounding them incessantly on the gate of the Qin Prince's mansion, producing dull, loud "bangs."

Under the influence of these spies, the already panicked people at the bottom of society completely lost their reason.

Their eyes were bloodshot as they brandished hoes and carrying poles, as if rushing into the mansion would allow them to reclaim the lifespan that had been "sucked away."

Inside the Qin Prince's Mansion, in the courtyard behind the gate.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian, Duke of Yi Qin Qiong, and eldest son Qin Huaidao.

These three top-tier body cultivators of the Tang Dynasty stood behind the gate, weapons in hand, their faces filled with murderous intent.

"Your Highness! The mob outside is growing larger and larger!"

Qin Huaidao gripped his spear tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. "If we keep smashing it like this, this gate won't hold for long. Should we rush out and make an example of them, killing those ringleaders first?"

Qin Qiong also frowned, his golden mace creaking in his hand.

He had fought battles his entire life, but he had never seen such a difficult situation. Those outside were all subjects of the Tang Dynasty! If he were to really start a massacre, His Highness's reputation as a "wicked Taoist" would be impossible to clear even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

"Don't be reckless."

Li Chengqian pressed down on Qin Huaidao's shoulder, his voice steady.

"These people have been deceived. If we strike first and draw blood, we'll fall right into the trap of those treacherous villains. Let's wait for Sixteenth Brother to arrive before making a decision."

Before he could finish speaking...

A series of slow, unhurried footsteps drifted leisurely from the backyard corridor.

The three of them turned around and looked back.

Li Chen, dressed in a spotless moon-white robe, walked over leisurely with his hands behind his back, as if taking a stroll in a garden.

In such a tense and critical moment, where the door could be broken down by a mob at any moment, his face showed no panic whatsoever, but rather a chilling coldness and mockery.

"Sixteenth brother, what's the situation outside..." Li Chengqian was about to report.

"I heard everything."

Li Chen waved his hand, interrupting the Crown Prince.

He walked to the two crumbling vermilion doors, listening to the foul language outside, a chilling murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

"Fools who don't know their own mortality. I originally wanted to leave some dignity for ordinary people, but since they insist on courting death, then I'll grant their wish."

Li Chen turned his head, looked at Qin Huaidao beside him, and uttered two words indifferently.

"Open the door."

"ah?!"

Qin Huaidao was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard. "Your Highness, if we open the door now, all those rioters will rush in!"

"I told you to open the door." Li Chen's tone became more forceful, exuding an undeniable domineering air.

Qin Huaidao dared not disobey any longer, so he gritted his teeth and, together with several guards, suddenly pulled off the thick bolt on the gate.

"Squeak—"

The heavy, vermilion gate creaked open slowly to both sides with a dull scraping sound!

The noise outside the gate paused briefly at that moment.

The mob, who were holding stones and battering rams ready to continue pounding on the door, were all stunned. They never expected that the gates of this "demon's palace" would open on their own!

The firelight flickered.

A handsome young man dressed in pure white stood quietly on the threshold of the gate.

His dark, deep eyes coldly surveyed the hundreds of faces outside the door, contorted with anger and fear.

After a brief silence.

The few spies from the powerful families in the crowd immediately reacted and pointed at Li Chen, shouting wildly!

"It's him! He's that evil Taoist priest who sucks people's life essence!"

"Charge! Kill him! Burn down the demon's palace!"

Incited by the mob, thousands of rioters, once again like mad beasts, charged toward the gate, brandishing their weapons and roaring!

Ten steps!

Five steps!

Three steps!

Just as the mob at the front were about to smash their wooden sticks into Li Chen's head...

Li Chen frowned slightly, a look of extreme impatience flashing in his eyes.

"It's so noisy."

His lips parted slightly, and his voice was soft.

But then, a terrifying roar, like thunder from the heavens, mixed with the vast and unparalleled divine sense of a Golden Core cultivator, exploded directly in the depths of everyone's minds!

"Shut up, all of you!!!"

boom--!!!

With this angry shout, a terrifying pressure, almost tangible, surged out of Li Chen's body without warning!

That was an absolute crushing power that transcended human cognition and stood above all living beings!

If the Crown Prince's murderous aura was a sharp steel knife, then the Golden Core stage pressure that Li Chen released at this moment was a ten-thousand-foot-tall divine mountain that crashed down directly from the heavens!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

No one could see what was happening.

A series of thuds that made your teeth ache were heard. The dozens of rioters at the front were as if they had been hit hard in the back by an invisible giant hammer. They were thrown to the ground with their bodies prostrate on the hard bluestone slab!

Before they could even scream, the ground was already cracked with spiderweb-like patterns from their smashing!

But this is just the beginning!

That terrifying pressure was like an invisible storm, sweeping wildly outwards from the gate of the Qin Prince's Mansion!

Within a radius of a hundred feet, the air seemed to be sucked out in an instant, and the gravity increased more than tenfold!

Those thousands of rioters who were originally holding torches and shouting that they wanted to burn the evil Taoist priest to death.

At that moment, I felt an irresistible, overwhelming force suddenly pressing down on my shoulders!

"Thump! Thump! Splash!"

Like harvesting wheat.

Under this oppressive force, hundreds and thousands of people's knees buckled and they uncontrollably knelt on the ground! Some people couldn't even maintain their kneeling position and were pressed down, lying face down in the muddy mixture of snow and water, unable to move!

Hundreds of torches fell to the ground, and most of them were extinguished instantly.

The once bustling and noisy Qin Prince's mansion fell into absolute, deathly silence in the blink of an eye!

Quiet!

A terrifying silence!

All that could be heard were the heavy breathing of thousands of people in extreme fear, and the chattering of their teeth.

All the mob lying on the ground, including those spies from powerful families mixed in with the crowd.

At this moment, they were all completely terrified by this power that was like the might of heaven!

Only one thought swirled wildly in their minds.

Wasn't he supposed to be... a charlatan sorcerer who pretends to be a ghost?!

Wasn't this supposed to be a magic trick performed by Li Shimin?!

How could a conman possibly suppress thousands of people with just one shout, rendering them unable to lift their heads?! This isn't a conman, this is a living demon descended to earth!

"Now it's quiet."

Li Chen, with his hands behind his back, took a step forward, slowly crossed the threshold, and walked up the steps.

He looked down at the trembling ants, a cold smile curving his lips.