My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

As soon as the crisp sound of the sword rang out, the hairs on Li Chen's body stood on end.

Without even turning his head, he formed a sword incantation with his right hand, instantly draining the last trace of liquid true essence from his fingertips, which transformed into a soundproof seal and slammed it hard against the cracks in the doors and windows of the side hall.

"Buzz—"

The clang of the sword struck the invisible magic seal, filling the room and transforming into visible shockwaves. The chipped teacup on the table shattered, shards scattering across the floor.

Li Chen's back was instantly soaked with sweat.

He pressed down on the storage bag at his waist, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The little ox on the bed rolled over, smacked its lips twice, but didn't wake up.

Li Chen held his breath, staring intently at the storage bag in his palm. The extremely pure golden light did not dissipate due to the soundproof seal; instead, it grew brighter and brighter, casting a dark gold hue on half of his sleeve through the coarse cloth.

This is not spiritual energy.

This golden light contained no elemental attributes; instead, it carried a heavy, majestic aura, even evoking images of war and the prayers of the people.

In the half-breath he was in a daze.

The golden light suddenly transformed into a sharp arrow, piercing directly through the storage bag and flowing along the meridians in Li Chen's palm, crashing headlong into his dantian without any obstruction.

"Ugh—!"

Li Chen's legs buckled, and he knelt heavily on one knee on the blue brick floor. A muffled groan of pain escaped his throat, but he clenched his teeth tightly, not daring to make a sound.

too large.

As soon as the golden light entered the dantian, it instantly transformed into a surging liquid true essence, like the Yangtze River.

The dantian, which had been depleted due to the forced continuation of Emperor Changsun's life, was almost instantly replenished. Immediately afterward, true essence overflowed the barriers of the dantian and began to frantically purify his eight extraordinary meridians.

A chilling "crackling" sound came from deep within the bones. It was the meridians being violently widened.

Fine black impurities were squeezed out through the pores and instantly evaporated into ash by the high temperature on the skin.

Li Chen's consciousness was forcibly dragged into the soul space.

The normally lifeless and chaotic space now seemed to be swept by a Category 5 typhoon. The central, suspended compass was spinning wildly at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, and the golden water droplets that usually dripped only once a day were now forming a golden line, flowing down with a rushing sound.

Li Chen suddenly opened his eyes.

He spread his hands and flicked his fingertips.

Five crimson fireballs instantly hovered in mid-air, their flames no longer the previous orange-red, but faintly tinged with a glaring dark blue. The surrounding air crackled and popped from the intense heat.

No incantations or energy gathering were needed. The amount of liquid true essence stored within his body had increased threefold compared to a few hours ago.

Mid-stage Foundation Establishment!

Li Chen extinguished the fireball, feeling the overflowing power in his meridians.

He looked down at the storage bag at his waist, which had returned to its calm state, and the tattered low-grade flying sword had stopped trembling.

"The will of Heaven, the merits of the imperial dynasty."

Li Chen wiped the sweat from his chin.

Empress Zhangsun was the pillar of stability in the early Tang Dynasty. She should have died tonight, and the history of the Tang Dynasty would have completely slid into the abyss of Li Shimin's tyrannical killings and the struggle for the throne among his sons.

But tonight, she survived.

The torrent of history was forcefully smashed into a boulder here, taking an extremely slight detour.

As for the cultivator who smashed this stone, the immense fortune of the Tang Dynasty directly crossed the void of cause and effect and poured into his body.

Li Chen's lips slowly parted into a grin, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.

"If you stay in the side hall, you'll only receive one drop of welfare each day..."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the distant, undulating palace buildings in the night.

"Since altering history allows me to directly exploit the power and fortune of Heaven, why should I bother calculating and scheming for my true essence every day?"

He rubbed his fingers together and let out a very low, slightly creepy chuckle.

……

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, like raindrops falling on glazed tiles.

In the past two weeks, the imperial family has practically emptied the herbal medicine shops in Chang'an. Cartloads of century-old wild ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum, still smelling of earth, were escorted into the palace by the imperial guards.

Every day at midnight, Li Chen would put on his transformation mask and step into the gate of the Lizheng Hall.

After his true essence surged to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he felt much more confident. In front of Li Shimin, he conjured a bluish-red flame with one hand, refining ordinary medicinal herbs into a medicinal liquid, which he then forcibly injected into Empress Zhangsun's body.

On the first day, Empress Zhangsun was able to drink half a bowl of rice soup.

On the third day, the deathly pallor faded from her face, and she regained some color.

On the seventh day, she was able to sit up with the help of a palace maid and a soft cushion.

On the morning of the fifteenth day.

The Imperial Garden, beside Taiye Pond.

The summer heat was somewhat dispelled by the gentle breeze blowing from the water. Under several large weeping willows, there was a long table made of Phoebe zhennan wood.

Li Chen was still wearing that gray-white coarse cloth robe, with his white hair, and he sat slumped in the head seat of the guest room without any regard for his image.

He held a glass cup, a tribute from the Western Regions, but instead of drinking tea, he casually teased a kingfisher that had landed on the corner of the table, pinching a tea leaf between his fingers.

The little kingfisher seemed oblivious to his presence, chirping and pecking at the tea leaves.

In the main seat, Li Shimin, dressed in casual clothes, stood ramrod straight. The tyranny he had shown half a month ago was gone from his eyes as he looked at the old man; only deep reverence remained.

Empress Zhangsun sat beside him. Although she was still thin, her breathing had become long and steady, and her face had regained the warmth of a living person.

Standing behind the Emperor and Empress were three trembling young men.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian, Prince Wei Li Tai, and Princess Changle Li Lizhi.

"Immortal Master."

Li Shimin picked up the teacup in his hand, his voice low and cautious.

"For the past two weeks, Immortal Master has expended his divine power for Guanyinbi, and I have no way to repay him. Today, I have arranged this private banquet, firstly to welcome Immortal Master, and secondly, to let these few good-for-nothing rascals meet Immortal Master and express their gratitude."

Li Chen didn't even lift his eyelids, still intently watching the little kingfisher pecking at the tea leaves.

"No need."

"I was entrusted with this task; it was merely my duty."

Li Shimin was not embarrassed when he was rebuffed; he simply turned to look behind him.

"Chengqian, Qingque, what are you all standing there for?"

Li Chengqian quickly stepped forward, lifted his robe, and respectfully kowtowed, his forehead hitting the bluestone slab with a dull thud.

Before he could even speak, a round, chubby figure squeezed in next to him.

King Li Tai of Wei.

Although the fat man was huge, he was extremely agile. His face was full of ingratiating smiles as he bowed deeply to the ground.

"This junior is Li Tai, courtesy name Qingque. I have long admired your extraordinary abilities, Immortal Master. To have the honor of seeing your esteemed face today is truly a blessing beyond measure..."

Li Tai's voice was bright, revealing a cleverness that was eager to show off in front of the emperor.

Li Chengang stuffed the tea leaf into the kingfisher's beak.

Upon hearing the name "Li Tai," memories of the Tang Dynasty's history reflexively surfaced in his mind.

The historical passages I memorized in my past life are truly profound.

He casually patted the tea in his hands and subconsciously replied.

"Oh, I know."

The old man's voice was calm, as if he were casually discussing what kind of noodles to have for dinner.

"That future prince, in order to seize the throne, went to your father and said that if you were made crown prince, he would kill all his own sons and then pass the throne to his younger brother, Li Tai."

Click.

The little kingfisher on the corner of the table was startled and flapped its wings and flew away.

In that instant, the air in the Imperial Garden seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

Even the wind has stopped.

Li Tai's smile froze instantly, and the fat on his face twitched violently like dehydrated orange peel. His knees buckled, and he crashed directly onto the bluestone slab.

Li Chengqian stared wide-eyed at Li Tai kneeling on the ground, a layer of white sweat instantly breaking out on his back.

The silk handkerchief that Empress Zhangsun was holding fell to the ground without warning.

"Click."

The imperial celadon teacup in Li Shimin's hand shattered into powder without warning.

The scalding tea, mixed with shards of porcelain, dripped from between Li Shimin's fingers onto the golden nanmu wood table. He didn't blink, nor did he look at the red marks on his hands.

Li Chen's movements froze for a moment.

He turned his head and looked at the people in the room who seemed to be frozen in place.

Oh no, I blurted it out. This lousy mask doesn't protect against slips of the tongue.

"Forehead……"

The old man coughed twice, trying to salvage the eerie atmosphere.

"Well, I was just circulating my true energy and accidentally went into a qi deviation, so I said a few incoherent words."

Li Chen picked up the glass cup and tactically took a sip of water.

Do you believe it?

Li Shimin did not answer.

He slowly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Li Tai kneeling on the ground, the veins on his neck bulging one after another, like coiled venomous snakes.