Chapter 66: Life-Death Talisman

"Who are you?"

Zhu Fenglan reacted in time, her face filled with shock and suspicion as she stared warily at Li Muxian.

Though the man appeared young and emitted not a trace of martial energy, the fact that he had single-handedly blasted away Marquis Cangyuan and two elders from the Taiyin Yuan Sect was more than enough to prove he was no ordinary man.

At the same time, the old woman and the pursued Shangguan Qingqing also paused, turning their gazes toward Li Muxian.

The scene they had just witnessed had left them utterly stunned; under these circumstances, staying still was undoubtedly the wisest choice.

Meanwhile, Cang Yin Yue’s figure leapt swiftly through the night, arriving behind Li Muxian.

Her eyes were filled with disbelief, her face etched with utter astonishment.

Though she hadn’t seen anything clearly just now, she knew for certain that Li Muxian had been the one to act.

But this man was truly terrifying!

He hadn’t just sent her stinking father flying with a single blow—he had also effortlessly defeated those two elders whose martial strength was clearly immense.

Didn’t he only reach the Semi-Master level last night?

Did he break through in just one night?

Even if he did, how could he possibly overpower a group of Martial Masters?

Cang Yin Yue was filled with doubt—not because she insisted on questioning Li Muxian.

But any martial cultivator knew well how arduous martial cultivation truly was.

It required not only talent, but also immense accumulation and painstaking effort; every advancement demanded vast time and labor.

To find someone as young as Li Muxian who had reached the Martial Master realm—even scouring the entire martial world might not yield a handful.

At this moment, Zhu Fenglan spotted Cang Yin Yue and narrowed her eyes, her expression cold and venomous:

"So it was you, you wretched woman, who brought this help."

Then she turned to Li Muxian and said:

"You’d better know exactly who you’re dealing with."

"Behind me stand the Taiyin Yuan Sect and the Imperial Consort—powers you dare not provoke. Leave now while you still can, and tonight I’ll pretend nothing happened."

Upon hearing this, Li Muxian paid no heed to Zhu Fenglan’s words.

He turned his head slightly toward Cang Yin Yue behind him and said:

"Cang Miss, watch closely—I’ll only teach you how to show off once."

Cang Yin Yue blinked in surprise, still not reacting.

Then Li Muxian snapped his fingers lightly.

Instantly, Cang Yin Yue watched in shock as the old woman, who had just stopped, suddenly curled like a boiled shrimp, bending sharply backward and hurtling away at a speed too swift to track.

At the same time, Zhu Fenglan and her two maidservants suffered the same fate.

In an instant, they were blasted away by an invisible, terrifying force of true qi, joining Marquis Cangyuan and the two elders—each flying through the air as mere afterimages before crashing heavily into the courtyard.

Soon, a thunderous crash echoed again through the Marquis Mansion.

"H-How did you do that?"

This time, Cang Yin Yue saw clearly… well… she still saw absolutely nothing of Li Muxian’s action.

On the other side, Shangguan Qingqing—with her sharp features and high ponytail—stared wide-eyed, her lips parted so wide they could have swallowed an egg whole.

What had she just witnessed?

The old woman, who had been so close to her, had simply vanished with a "whoosh"—by the time she reacted, the woman was gone, replaced only by a distant, heavy thud as she struck the ground.

Shangguan Qingqing had never understood what had happened.

After standing frozen for a long while, she instinctively turned to Li Muxian:

"Did he do all this? This is too terrifying!"

…

Meanwhile, Li Muxian, facing Cang Yin Yue’s question, merely waved his hand calmly.

He led Cang Yin Yue toward the direction where Zhu Fenglan and the others had fallen, arriving at the courtyard where they had crashed.

All seven were now buried in a sunken pit, completely incapacitated by Li Muxian’s earlier blow.

Seeing Cang Yin Yue still staring at him intently, Li Muxian understood her confusion.

He rubbed his chin, speaking slowly:

"Cang Miss, at my level, things are simply like this—you wouldn’t understand."

"Even if I explained it to you, you still wouldn’t comprehend. You’ll need to work hard in your cultivation for years to grasp it."

Cang Yin Yue: …

…

Watching Cang Yin Yue’s face once again clouded with bewilderment, Li Muxian shook his head and sighed inwardly:

Indeed, when it came to showing off, he was growing increasingly masterful.

But he had no choice—his power had already been restrained immensely.

Had he not intended to spare their lives for now, they would have been reduced to nothing but dust and ash moments ago.

At this moment, Li Muxian shifted his gaze toward the courtyard before him.

The entire courtyard had collapsed into a deep, sunken pit.

Within the soil of the pit lay a dense heap of women’s white bones, scattered haphazardly, glowing a ghastly pale under the hazy moonlight.

Some bones retained faint human contours; others were shattered into fragments, scattered across the pit’s bottom.

Hollow, cracked skulls, broken ribs, limbs tangled chaotically—each element exuded a horrific aura, clearly indicating these women had suffered unspeakable torment before death.

Beside him, Cang Yin Yue also stared into the pit. Seeing the horrifying sight, she was instantly filled with rage and horror, her face turning ashen.

"None of them were good people!"

Li Muxian turned his gaze away and looked toward Zhu Fenglan and the others.

The seven lay sprawled among exposed white bones, their internal organs ruptured, meridians severed, utterly paralyzed by Li Muxian’s overwhelming force.

All they could still move were their intact eyeballs, fixed in terror upon the unfamiliar young man before them.

Li Muxian surveyed them coldly, then nodded:

"Perfect. I’ll use you to test the power of my Life-Death Talisman."

He had already refined his Life-Death Talisman technique from its earlier prototype; testing it on these people was entirely deserved.

Li Muxian flicked his fingers, sending seven invisible threads of true qi into Zhu Fenglan and the others.

Instantly, the seven lying among the bones trembled violently; their remaining intact blood vessels swelled grotesquely, their eyes bulging like fish, bloodshot and expanding until they seemed ready to burst.

Inside their bodies, countless tiny qi threads writhed like swarming ants, relentlessly stabbing their nerves.

The unbearable, maddening itch and pain—like ten thousand ants gnawing—forced them to moan, blood gurgling in their throats, breaths growing ragged, as if they would choke to death at any moment.

Yet they would not die immediately—only trapped forever in this agony between life and death, unable even to end their own suffering.

(End of Chapter)