Chapter 204: Departure

Vermilion Bird bone?

Li Muxian couldn’t help but recall the previous Qilin blood and Azure Dragon true qi—these things all shared one common trait: they originated from legendary divine beasts.

Moreover, they all contained power utterly unlike heavenly and earthly Qi, each possessing strange effects.

Li Muxian’s expression turned thoughtful; more importantly, unlike other martial arts divine pills or miraculous medicines, these things actually had some effect on him.

“Mister Murong’s figure is still quite good.”

At this moment, Li Muxian’s gaze swept lightly up and down, then suddenly spoke.

As soon as he spoke, Murong Xiaoya’s pale face flushed crimson; she instinctively pulled her robe tighter, bit her lip, and looked at Li Muxian.

“Why doesn’t His Highness act?”

Hearing this, Li Muxian raised an eyebrow.

“I see—if I take the Vermilion Bird bone from your heart, you won’t survive.”

“So, Miss Murong, are you deliberately seeking death?”

Murong Xiaoya made no denial; she slowly lowered her head and said:

“Your Highness is right. Though I’ve avenged the Murong family, I’ve killed too many people, and I no longer wish to kill.”

Speaking, she looked at her heart and added:

“Besides, though the Vermilion Bird bone grants me great power, it is slowly devouring my life force—even if Your Highness does not take it, I won’t live much longer.”

Then she raised her head, fixing her gaze on Li Muxian:

“With Your Highness’s strength, you can surely master the Vermilion Bird bone. Xiaoya willingly offer it to you.”

Li Muxian glanced at her, then shook his head.

“If I wanted to kill you, I would have acted just now. Now, I have no interest in your life.”

He paused, then changed tone:

“Still, I do want the Vermilion Bird bone. In a few days, once I’ve perfected a certain cultivation art, I can extract its power without harming Miss Murong’s life.”

Upon hearing this, Murong Xiaoya’s eyes widened in shock.

She had already made peace with death, but Li Muxian’s words left her utterly uncertain what to do.

At this moment, Li Muxian walked slowly to her side, hands behind his back:

“The Murong family likely has only you left as its last descendant. If you die, the Murong bloodline will truly be extinguished. Isn’t your suicide selfish?”

At these words, Murong Xiaoya fell silent. After a moment, she let out a soft sigh:

“Then Xiaoya will wait a few more days for Your Highness. Whether or not you succeed, I will not blame you.”

Li Muxian waved his hand.

“Rest easy. Tonight’s matter is dropped. But to prevent you from being consumed by bloodlust again, for the next few days you’ll stay by my side.”

Murong Xiaoya glanced at Li Muxian, then nodded lightly.

She lowered her head, tightened her robe, and the lingering flush on her face faded.

“Your Highness, I must attend to the Murong family’s aftermath. Please allow me to leave temporarily.”

Hearing this, Li Muxian nodded slightly, and a thread of spiritual energy subtly settled upon her.

“I leave the state capital tomorrow morning. Miss Murong, finish all your business tonight if you can.”

Murong Xiaoya nodded, then said:

“Please convey my apologies to Lord Hu and the others.”

With that, she moved, transforming into a streak of fire that vanished into the ruined courtyard.

…

Not long after, Hu Rui’an and the others, seeing the fire largely extinguished and Murong Xiaoya’s terrifying aura gone, cautiously returned to the Mei residence.

Upon seeing Li Muxian unharmed, Shen Anran suddenly flashed forward and lunged toward him.

But she missed—she collided with empty air.

Her face, moments ago filled with joy and relief, froze. She halted abruptly and spun around.

She saw Li Muxian wasn’t embracing her—he was holding the large black cat.

During Murong Xiaoya’s attack, the black cat had vanished somewhere; Shen Anran and the others hadn’t seen it during their escape. Now, after everything ended, it appeared again from some hidden corner.

“This damn cat is annoying.”

Shen Anran bit her lip lightly. She had worried endlessly for Li Muxian; now that he was safe, she’d finally found a chance to show her feelings—only for a cat to ruin it.

After a near-death separation, reunion is the perfect moment to draw closer—such opportunities are exceedingly rare.

Shen Anran glared at the black cat, but the cat acted as if it saw nothing, persistently mewing sweetly at Li Muxian, looking perfectly obedient.

At this moment, Hu Rui’an approached Li Muxian and glanced around before speaking.

“Your Highness, Miss Murong—”

At this moment, he and Wu Shang and the others had all breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Earlier, seeing Murong Xiaoya’s terrifying power, they’d feared for Li Muxian’s life.

Now, it seemed their fears had been unnecessary.

Li Muxian briefly explained the situation, then patted the black cat’s head.

“Rest tonight. We depart at dawn.”

…

The next morning.

Overnight, the entire Shengzhouzhoucheng had changed utterly.

The Murong family was exterminated; the Yuan, Zhu, Cen, and Baili martial families were reduced to ashes in a single night—all perished.

General Han Chuiyuan was dead; the Han residence stood empty. These sudden events plunged the entire city into panic.

Meanwhile, Li Muxian’s party joined the stream of people leaving the city, gradually distancing themselves from Shengzhouzhoucheng behind them.

“My lord, last night nearly half the Mei residence burned to cinders; Master and Lady Mei were reduced to ash. With no evidence left, we needn’t worry too much about the Martial Saint Mu Tianxing.”

Wu Shang spoke cheerfully, but Hu Rui’an shook his head slightly, frowning.

“I hope so. For now, we needn’t worry—but we didn’t kill every soul in the Mei residence. If Mu Tianxing investigates, he’ll still find traces.”

Of course, Hu Rui’an said this only in passing—he hadn’t gone mad enough to slaughter every innocent in the Mei residence.

At this moment, Cheng Zhong, riding a large horse beside them, sighed softly.

“I say, we don’t need to dwell on this now. After all, when we attack Luoshen Peak, who knows if we’ll even survive?”

Hearing this, Wu Shang fell silent and glanced back at the carriage.

Li Muxian’s terrifying power was undeniable—but destroying Luoshen Peak isn’t a task for one person alone.

They couldn’t rely on the Eighth Imperial Prince’s protection forever. At Luoshen Peak, survival would depend entirely on themselves.

Dear readers, today only one chapter. We’re approaching Luoshen Peak, but I’m stuck.





(End of Chapter)