On Lu Mingxuan’s side.
Guided by the remnant map, he and his entourage arrived before the most magnificent main hall.
The hall doors were tightly closed.
"This is it, the Xuanli Main Hall marked on the map!"
Lu Mingxuan took a deep breath, channeled his spirit power, and slowly pushed open the heavy doors.
The light inside was dim, with only a few stray beams filtering in from unknown sources, barely illuminating the interior.
The hall was incredibly cavernous, with dozens of cracked stone statues standing on both sides, silently watching the intruders.
At the end of the hall was a high platform holding a single dragon throne, the carved dragon heads glaring down with wrathful eyes.
Seated upon the dragon throne was a skeleton draped in tattered, opulent robes.
The skeleton remained in a sitting posture, its empty eye sockets seemingly still looking down upon the entire hall.
Even after ten thousand years of death, it still radiated a heart-pounding majesty.
Just as everyone’s gaze focused on that imperial corpse,
A massive wave of mental energy erupted from the skeleton, spreading outward like a shockwave.
Lu Mingxuan bore the brunt of it; his vision went dark, and the surrounding scenery instantly shattered into fragments...
......
Only a moment passed in the illusion before everyone returned to the dim hall.
However, each of them was pale, looking at the skeleton on the throne with lingering fear.
Their eyes were filled with terror.
They looked at each other, knowing that the others must have seen the same words they did...
A disciple’s voice trembled as he spoke, "Just... just now, it said we had to..."
"Shut up!" Lu Mingxuan barked. His own breathing was slightly erratic, but his eyes quickly regained their cold composure.
He surveyed his panic-stricken sect members, knowing he could not allow chaos to erupt now.
But fear was like a plague.
A disciple with only middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, whose mental fortitude was naturally weak, turned and bolted toward the exit.
This flight acted like a lit fuse.
Several other disciples, already consumed by terror, began to waver, their feet shifting as if they too wanted to flee this place.
"Seeking death!"
A cold light exploded in Lu Mingxuan’s eyes! He would never allow his team to collapse under his watch, nor would he permit anyone to ruin his plans.
Swish!
A sharp, pale green sword qi reached the fleeing disciple first, slicing across his neck.
His running motion came to an abrupt halt as his head flew high into the air, blood spraying several feet away.
The headless corpse lurched forward a few more steps before collapsing limply.
Then, a deathly silence fell.
The remaining disciples were stunned by this merciless strike.
Fortunately, the wavering hearts of the crowd steadied.
They watched as Lu Mingxuan slowly sheathed his sword, his handsome face devoid of any emotion...
"I dare anyone else to try and leave. Anyone who spreads panic, regardless of the reason, will be executed on the spot without mercy!"
"If we can get out together, I will naturally not mistreat you. I swear upon the name of my father, Lu Qingsong, that each person will receive a thousand spirit stones and a spirit artifact of their choice."
Under the dual pressure of a death threat and a bribe, the remaining disciples managed to suppress the fear in their hearts...
......
Meanwhile.
The perspective shifted back to Fengluan Hall...
Ning Xian walked half a step ahead of Fang Xuan with her head bowed, but she kept a consistent, cautious distance.
She didn't dare get too close to him now.
She felt that if he so much as brushed against her, her entire body would instinctively tremble with agitation...
After what had just happened, what should she do? How would her junior brother look at her?
Would he think she was a wicked woman who coveted his body?
Her mind was a jumbled mess.
Especially whenever she recalled the feeling of being pressed tightly against the wall by Fang Xuan and kissed so deeply she could barely breathe...
Her legs began to feel weak again, and her cheeks burned.
It was all her fault... her junior brother was still young, he was only... he was only seventeen, three years away from his coming-of-age ceremony.
He didn't understand anything, and he couldn't help himself after being affected by the maddening toxin. Not only did she fail to help him steady his mind and find an antidote immediately,
She... she even thought about going further...
Truly... she was unworthy of being called a senior sister!
......
Following behind her, Fang Xuan appeared perfectly natural.
However, his gaze occasionally drifted toward the tips of Ning Xian’s reddened ears.
He hadn't expected that his senior sister, who was usually as cold as ice, would have such a sensitive body.
One touch and she went soft... if this continued in the future...
But she had snapped out of it a bit too quickly. He had thought there would be many more things to put into practice...
What a pity, a real pity.
He didn't consider himself a seventeen-year-old boy at all.
After all, he had been in his twenties before transmigrating; it was just that the system had placed him in his seventeen-year-old body upon arrival.
Back then, he had only been a sophomore in high school, so he indeed looked very young.
However, in his eyes, Ning Xian’s age—being in her early twenties—made her a few years younger than he had been in his past life. It was... the perfect time for training and development.
......
With different thoughts in mind, the two silently explored Fengluan Hall.
The palace lived up to its name; although the interior furnishings were dusty and dilapidated, one could still see the exquisite beauty of years past.
The style was graceful and ornate, a stark contrast to the solemnity of the halls outside.
Bypassing the remains of several screens, they arrived at what appeared to be the side hall living quarters. The discoveries here were an eye-opener for both of them.
Several oddly shaped jade items and gold ornaments were scattered on the floor, some with rather suggestive forms.
In a corner, there were several open jade boxes containing residues of pink scented balms rather than pills.
The titles of the books tilted on the shelves were enough to make one’s heart race—Essentials of Yin-Yang Harmony, Scripture of the Reversing Phoenix and Luan, Su Nu’s Dialogues...
Ning Xian’s face flushed a deep red, and she didn't know where to look.
Forcing herself to remain calm, she walked quickly past the unsightly items, but from the corner of her eye, she spotted a half-open drawer.
Inside were a few well-preserved pills and a thin jade slip.
Dual cultivation pills? And... a dual cultivation method?
Would... would these be useful...
While Fang Xuan was bent over studying a peculiarly shaped physical artifact, she quickly snatched up the small bottle of pills and the jade slip, hiding them in her sleeve.
Once she had done this, her face felt even hotter, and she was too guilty to look back.
......
Fang Xuan, of course, saw everything clearly.
Since he was already in the Void Core Realm, there was no way he wouldn't notice his senior sister hiding smutty books.
But he pretended to have seen nothing. He stood up and patted the non-existent dust off his hands.
It seemed there wasn't much of value left; they were all... well, bedroom supplies?
It was truly a place where imperial concubines lived.
Seeing that Fang Xuan hadn't noticed, Ning Xian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly spoke up, though her voice was still a bit strained, "Um... this place isn't suitable for a long stay. Let’s... let’s go look elsewhere?"
She wanted to leave this place where she had hidden her "stolen goods" as quickly as possible.
"Alright," Fang Xuan replied.
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