"Ah Zu, there are many eyes prying on you. I cannot act right now, or I won't be able to escape the notice of those old fogeys."
"Be careful in everything. Bring her into the Void Refining Space to see me; it can shield us from the secrets of heaven!"
A cold, clear voice drifted from the sword box.
This was the first time Li Yaozu had heard Sister Fang speak with such grave caution.
The Heavenly Palace was resplendent, with jade pavilions and magnificent towers floating in the air. It was Li Yaozu's first time stepping into such a prosperous place.
Beneath these Empyrean Walkways with their carved beams and painted rafters, it seemed that anyone—no matter who they were—was no more than a blade of grass.
Ahead, the imperial carriage rested at the foot of the jade steps, surrounded by only a scattered few.
Crown Prince Sheng supported Lin Wan as they retreated, his expression twisted into a mask of utter ferocity.
"Crown Prince Sheng, I will give you 20 minutes."
Li Yaozu spoke the words faintly, then closed his eyes to rest his spirit right there in the Heavenly Palace, allowing the biting winds of these lonely heights to blow against him.
As for the imperial majesty of this Heavenly Palace, he simply chose to follow the saying "out of sight, out of mind."
Otherwise, this oppressive royal nobility might truly dampen his own momentum.
As for what was happening within the Imperial Capital, what dark undercurrents were surging behind the scenes, or what power struggles were at play—Li Yaozu cared for none of it.
He only knew that while he was traveling the world with his sword, the hands of the Immortal Zhao Clan had been stained with the blood of his juniors.
He only knew what the Old Ancestor had said: the children of the Immortal-Martial lineage had shed tears of blood, and a blood debt must be paid in blood.
...
"Void Refining... How can the Li family have a Void Refining expert?!!"
Crown Prince Sheng was in a state of utter panic.
Li Yaozu stood quietly at the edge of the Heavenly Palace, eyes closed to rest his spirit, yet the Void Refining aura enveloping him was as biting as frost.
In a flash of terrified rage, the Prince shouted, "Guards! Come! Come and kill him!"
"Where is the Heaven-Suppressing Department? Get them here to see this Crown Prince!"
"This Crown Prince governs the court on behalf of the Father Emperor! Pass down my command! Guards!!!"
Gone was the noble bearing Crown Prince Sheng had displayed when he first visited the Merchant Li residence.
Now, his long hair was in disarray; even his white jade crown had fallen to the ground in his frenzy.
With his hair scattered like a mad demon, he roared in all directions, flailing wildly, his clothes disheveled and unkempt.
Yet, even now, his body remained positioned to shield Lin Wan behind him.
Furious roars echoed.
Lin Wan, whose face had been pale and empty for so long, covered her face and wept without control.
She crawled to Crown Prince Sheng's side, her purple dress in disarray.
The fabric slipped from her shoulder, revealing ice-cold skin and jade-like bones, a beauty capable of overturning a city.
She clung desperately to Crown Prince Sheng's thigh.
The Prince's body swayed violently, and Lin Wan's delicate frame swayed with him.
It was as if the shaking forced out every tear and every hidden piece of guilt buried in her heart, her sharp, miserable cry echoing through the Heavenly Palace.
The sound was like frozen ice cutting through the air, freezing Crown Prince Sheng in place.
The cold shattered the last thread inside him, draining all color from his face and leaving his bloodshot eyes empty.
"Your Highness, this concubine is not named Lin Wan. This concubine is Zhao Wan. This concubine is..."
"A man!"
The shrill cry silenced heaven and earth. Above the Heavenly Palace, even a falling pin would have been heard.
The cold wind snapped Li Yaozu's long robes again and again.
During the next twenty minutes, it felt as though thunder rolled through the Heavenly Palace, mixed with Zhao Wan's unending sobs.
Li Yaozu shook the longsword in his hand.
Metal clashed from the sword box, and his killing intent arrived right on time.
He slashed out. Cracks in the sky appeared, and he stepped into the air above them.
Zhao Wan slowly rose, tears clouding his eyes.
He looked deeply at Crown Prince Sheng, who seemed to have lost his soul.
Standing on tiptoe, he touched the Crown Prince's face. A flash of pain crossed his eyes.
"Your Highness, everything this concubine told you was true."
"This concubine wanted to leave for the mountains with you and spend the rest of this life together."
"This concubine wanted to stay by your side forever."
"This concubine only wished... to have been born a woman."
Crown Prince Sheng showed no reaction.
Pain in Zhao Wan's eyes darkened to blood-red. His silk skirt and black gauze whipped through the air as his spiritual power surged.
He turned toward the tear in space left by Li Yaozu and rose into the sky with absolute resolve.
He could sense Divine Souls approaching from all across the Azure Dynasty, powerful recluses watching from afar.
But Zhao Wan did not plan to escape.
Only his death could stop the Li family and the filthy nobles of the court from bringing their blades down upon His Highness.
...
The Void Refining Space was pitch black and filled with bone-chilling cold.
This was Li Yaozu's Void Refining Space, filled with boundless Rules of Ice.
Within the world of solid ice, a great terror seemed to be sealed.
Li Yaozu stood upon the ice surface, sword in hand. Watching Zhao Wan step into the space of his own accord, a trace of admiration flashed in Li Yaozu's eyes.
There was no hatred in Zhao Wan's eyes, either.
Purple silk fluttered around his body as Void Refining spiritual power began to flood Li Yaozu's Void Refining Space.
His Dharma Body was actually a Rouge Skeleton.
Ding-a-ling.
An ancient, unadorned bell landed in Zhao Wan's hand.
Li Yaozu felt his mind waver for a moment, and his expression grew grave.
In the Void Refining realm, the utilization of Dharma Treasures was even more powerful.
With one hundred and sixty thousand years of accumulation, Zhao Wan's strength was truly extraordinary; the moment he appeared, he had already employed two Dharma Treasures, both of which affected the human mind.
Inside the icy space, raging flames blazed. Yet, these scorching fires did not burn the body; they burned only the soul.
In just an instant, Li Yaozu's expression changed.
He had also used the "Void-Soul Exchanging Dao Technique".
This Void Refining Space granted him the Rules of Ice and Void Refining spiritual power, yet his Divine Soul was far inferior.
As Zhao Wan unleashed his power, the scene Li Yaozu perceived became incredibly bizarre.
Whether through his Divine Soul or his physical sight, the Void Refining Space was filled with... a seductively posing Fang Linglong—Sister Fang!
Her words were obscene and filthy, her voice decadent.
Li Yaozu clenched his jaw tight, yet he nearly failed to maintain his composure.
"You bewitching man, how dare you try to delude me!"
Meanwhile, within the space.
Zhao Wan continued to channel his power, shaking the bell.
His Void Refining Daoist techniques had never failed him.
Seeing that Li Yaozu's power was so quickly suppressed by his own, he immediately frowned.
"You possess Void Refining techniques but lack a Void Refining soul? And with just that, you dare come to kill me?!!"
Zhao Wan glared furiously, lunging forward.
The long fingernails on his hands radiated a chilling menace as he clawed viciously toward Li Yaozu's chest.
His arts of seduction had never failed him.
Let alone Li Yaozu—a Void Refining cultivator with an incomplete Divine Soul—even those old monsters with twenty or thirty thousand years of cultivation could not withstand the Seductive Dharma Bones and Void Refining Charm techniques he had honed for over a hundred thousand years!
"Kill!" Zhao Wan let out a hoarse scream.
But in that instant, his expression changed. Behind Li Yaozu, who stood dazed and motionless, black qi surged from the sword box.
Within this icy Void Refining Space, it darted in a flash into Li Yaozu's mouth and nose.
That aura made Zhao Wan instantly feel a fear that penetrated deep into his marrow.
As black light flickered in Li Yaozu's eyes, a surge of black qi erupted from his body, and an irresistible force of spiritual power blasted Zhao Wan back!
Li Yaozu actually spoke in a woman's voice—icy, cold, and laced with anger:
"You think you can kill him with just this? Ah Zu, wake up! This bewitching man may have extraordinary charm techniques, but his other techniques are mediocre. I will guard your mind!"
"You..." Zhao Wan was struck with indescribable horror.
"A man's body with a woman's soul?!! You... what kind of monstrosity are you?!!"
In that pair of black pupils, the left eye gradually regained its clarity, radiating cold beams of light.
"Trickster Flashstrike!"