Chapter 1145: Chapter 718: Secret Meeting_2

“Crown Prince, you have two personal eunuchs?”

Li Yucheng froze momentarily upon hearing this, then immediately realized something. He lowered his gaze and shook his head, saying:

“The Imperial Family traditionally only assigns one personal attendant to each royal.”

“I see…”

Xu Yuan murmured softly, staring at the rear courtyard as he spoke quietly:

“I just mentioned that I dislike being tethered by Origin Qi controlled by a eunuch, and yet here we go again. Is your behavior not a bit too disrespectful?”

…..

The night wind swept across the lawn, stirring a rustle of wheat-like waves.

Li Yucheng stood silently to the side, his expressionless face betraying nothing of his inner thoughts.

He could roughly guess who was hiding in the rear courtyard.

The Emperor’s personal attendant, Eunuch Nie.

Li Yucheng was prepared for surveillance and had anticipated either engaging in cryptic dialogue or communicating through transmission techniques. However, he hadn’t expected Xu Changtian to abruptly overturn the table straight away.

In the absence of any reply, the silence began to spread with an air of bloodthirsty tension.

After some time,

Xu Yuan suddenly grinned.

Initially, he hadn’t noticed anyone hiding in the rear courtyard, but only realized it when the opposing party recklessly probed him with their will-spirit. That had alerted him to the fact that Li Yucheng, the Crown Prince, was being monitored on this outing.

Still, Xu Yuan understood the reason behind it.

His previous remark had been a deliberate attempt to persuade the hidden party to retreat.

If the other side was tactful, they should leave immediately—since their presence had been discovered, lingering further would be unbecoming.

Yet the other side dared to ignore him.

Nodding slightly to the Crown Prince, Xu Yuan directly bypassed him, heading toward the rear courtyard.

As he walked, Xu Yuan spoke slowly:

“I’ve already made my point, yet you still insist on staying?”

As his words fell,

Xu Yuan’s figure suddenly vanished from the spot.

Almost simultaneously, an explosive sound burst out from the rear courtyard!

“Boom————”

The tranquil Sishui Temple was disrupted by the sudden blast of energy waves.

Scattered lantern lights in the forest’s residences flickered to life,

and powerful cultivators, previously undisturbed, began to follow the direction of the commotion…

“If you don’t want to die, it’s best to learn how to behave and keep your eyes to yourself.”

An unperturbed voice echoed across the skies of Sishui Temple, carrying the overwhelming pressure of Mortal Transcendence.

Sensing this presence, the Primordial powerhouses hidden within retracted their exploring will-spirits, while two among them directly transformed into escaping light to flee.

After peace was restored,

Xu Yuan cast his gaze upon the black-clad figure before him.

A massive pit had appeared in the middle of the rear courtyard.

At the center of the pit,

Xu Yuan maintained a downward sword strike stance.

The black-clad figure stood motionlessly, his eyes deep and cold.

The sharp edge of the sword gleamed ominously, stopping just an inch before his forehead, unable to advance further.

It was as though time had frozen.

Only the blood-ink sword marks Xu Yuan had just unleashed lingered in the air, forming elegant arcs.

This was perhaps Xu Yuan’s first time encountering a figure dressed in stealth attire.

An entirely black outfit made of exceptional material, paired with the figure’s Concealing Breath Technique—so much so that even Xu Yuan’s Spiritual Vision initially hadn’t detected him.

“The Third Young Master is as temperamental as ever.”

The voice of the black-clad figure came muffled from beneath his veil, making it hard to discern its original tone: “Such cultivation is indeed exceptional, but the path of cultivation also requires the tempering of time.”

Xu Yuan flipped his palm, causing the sword to vanish from his grasp. With a glance at the black-clad figure, he moved toward the front courtyard:

“Get lost now; I’d rather not tear this pretense apart.”

The black-clad figure dusted off his clothing, gazing at Xu Yuan’s departing back, and laughed:

“Third Young Master, that won’t do. The orders I’ve received don’t allow for quitting halfway.”

Xu Yuan halted his steps, turning around to regard the blood-ink marks lingering in the air. His gaze shifted to the black-clad figure as he asked:

“You say that,

“because you’re confident in your cultivation, or in whoever supports you?”

…

The corner of the black-clad figure’s eye twitched.

Xu Changtian seemed to have guessed his identity, yet still dared to utter such words.

Xu Yuan didn’t bother dwelling on this, his blood-tinged pupils glinting with murderous intent:

“I’ll say it one last time: get lost.”

The black-clad figure suddenly chuckled:

“Third Young Master, I’ve already made my explanation—I cannot leave.”

Xu Yuan smiled in response and spoke cryptically:

“Eunuch, I’m not a Sword Cultivator, but if you refuse to respect yourself, I’ll make you respect yourself.”

With that,

he vanished from the rear courtyard.

Just as the black-clad figure felt puzzled, the shift in surrounding energy caused his pupils to constrict sharply.

The blood-ink marks lingering in mid-air suddenly underwent a transformation, exuding an eerie crimson glow as they wove together into a net-like prison that enveloped the entire rear courtyard!

At the same time,

above the rear courtyard,

a vortex of blood energy mysteriously appeared.

As the waves of energy churned,

the vortex’s center condensed into a fingertip-sized ink sphere.

The terrifying fluctuations emanating from the sphere made the black-clad figure’s eye twitch involuntarily. He suddenly felt he might have underestimated this calamity’s audacity.

Despite knowing his identity, Xu Yuan dared to attempt a lethal strike.

As these thoughts raced through his mind,

the black-clad figure raised his hand and conjured a layer of light shield, readying himself to counter the incoming spell.

But the very next instant,

his peripheral vision caught a scene that made his hairs stand on end.

The fingertip-sized ink sphere had suddenly materialized at his side without warning.

The moonlight fell onto it, yet it reflected no light whatsoever.

….

A flash of white light followed, and the ink sphere expanded instantly to cover dozens of yards, engulfing the entire rear courtyard.

As it dissipated,

everything within the courtyard aside from the black-clad figure had been obliterated, leaving nothing behind but a spherical pit.

The black-clad figure gasped heavily, his gaze filled with shock and incomprehension.

Despite being a “First Meeting Kill” spell,

as someone nearing the Saint realm,

he had been forced to such an extent by a mere novice in Mortal Transcendence?

In an instant, countless thoughts swirled in his mind.

When the black-clad figure glanced toward the front courtyard,

Xu Yuan’s cheerful voice floated over:

“Eunuch Nie, wise men adapt to the times. That spell displayed only thirty percent of its power, so please return. His Majesty will not hold you accountable.”

…

After a moment of silence, Eunuch Nie bowed toward the front courtyard and replied:

“Third Young Master’s words, I shall relay to His Majesty directly.”

“As you wish, though before that, Eunuch Nie, kindly deal with the approaching Imperial City Department and Imperial Guards.”

“As the Young Master commands.”

“Many thanks. In the future, I shall seek your advice on certain matters regarding eunuchs and palace maids’ shared meals.”

…

Eunuch Nie’s face twitched before he ascended and departed.

Upon sensing the departure of the Chief Eunuch, Xu Yuan, who had already returned to the front courtyard, walked toward the moonlit pavilion where the Crown Prince stood and respectfully bowed, offering a calm and composed smile:

“Well then, Your Highness the Crown Prince, with idle hands driven away, we can discuss important matters now. Please, let us begin.”

With that,

Xu Yuan half-lowered his eyelids and gestured toward the courtyard’s stone table and chairs, inviting the Crown Prince to sit.

Li Yucheng’s expression remained unchanged, but he didn’t move.

A grand show of force indeed.

After a brief silence,

Li Yucheng finally spoke in a detached tone:

“Third Young Master’s actions truly place me amidst the flames—one misstep and I shall be burned to ashes.”

Xu Yuan chuckled lightly, shaking his head as he stepped across the shaded greenery, seated himself at the stone table, and mischievously replied:

“Your Highness, you misunderstand. I’m helping you.”

As he spoke,

he lifted his gaze to the still-standing Li Yucheng and smiled as he inquired:

“Crown Prince, won’t you sit?”

…..

Clearly, Xu Changtian had taken control of the situation, yet Li Yucheng found himself unable to refuse.

Silently, he walked to the table and sat across from Xu Yuan.

“Crown Prince, do you prefer wine or tea?”

As he casually asked, Xu Yuan retrieved a bottle of fine wine and cups from his Sumeru Ring, poured a cup for each of them, and smiled:

“The last time I drank was with Yunqing. Since his departure, finding someone to share a fine drink with has proven difficult.”

Li Yucheng had no intention of falling into Xu Yuan’s rhythm of negotiation, so he merely replied:

“As things stand, my father will undoubtedly view me as conspiring with your Prime Minister’s Mansion.”

“Well, that’s not on me—it’s that Li Junqing who summoned me here. Given his temperament, I suspect he already communicated with you before leaving the capital. Your presence here tonight is evidence of your tacit approval, is it not?”

“But Yunqing likely didn’t anticipate the Third Young Master would directly confront my father’s attendant.”

“Does it make a difference?”

Xu Yuan took a light sip of wine, gazed at Li Yucheng, and sighed:

“Your Highness, let’s stop deceiving ourselves.

“Li Zhaoyuan has stationed his army of ten thousand north of Di’an City, ready to march into the capital upon command. Once he enters the capital, for you, there will truly be no turning back.”