“Oh? Interesting.”
Looking at Wei Qingyi who had broken free from the control of the Dao Slave Seal, Xu Ning raised an eyebrow.
Although she hadn’t completely escaped the binding of the seal, her life and death still rested in Xu Ning’s hands. Even so, it was already an impressive feat.
Xu Ning attributed it to two reasons. First, Wei Qingyi’s cultivation was higher than his. Second, she likely had other hidden talents that weren’t as simple as they seemed. This had been mentioned briefly in the original novel.
Seeing that Wei Qingyi wasn’t under control, Long Lingtian laughed proudly and gave Xu Ning a disdainful glance, saying, “Xu Ning, don’t waste your time. Master belongs to me!”
Compared to her disciple’s arrogance, Wei Qingyi’s expression was grave, her beautiful eyes filled with vigilance. She knew this matter was far from over.
She had already realized during the Xu family’s forced marriage attempt that Xu Ning was deeply shrewd and ruthlessly decisive. He would never act unless he had absolute certainty.
Seeing her cautious expression, Xu Ning couldn’t help but sigh. “I really don’t get it. Long Lingtian is stubborn, narrow-minded, and indecisive. What exactly do you see in him?”
Hearing Xu Ning constantly belittle him, Long Lingtian’s face turned red with anger. He opened his mouth to argue, but didn’t even know where to start.
“Xu Ning, don’t try to drive a wedge between us. Lingtian may have his flaws, but even so, he’s far better than a heartless devil like you!” Wei Qingyi’s face turned cold as ice, her tone haughty and unyielding.
She had heard what Xu Ning was implying—he saw her as still valuable and wanted to make her submit. In that case, he definitely wouldn’t harm her or Long Lingtian easily!
She knew she couldn’t refuse him outright right now, so she had to appear defiant, just to gain some room to bargain.
Long Lingtian felt incredibly moved. His master truly was the best—she didn’t fall for Xu Ning’s nonsense at all!
“Tch, foolish woman,” Xu Ning shook his head slightly, a flash of coldness in his eyes.
He wasn’t the type to grovel. For a woman who couldn’t see the situation clearly and still tried to negotiate terms with him, he didn’t even want to waste words.
He raised his hand and formed a seal. The previously icy Wei Qingyi suddenly widened her eyes, her face twisting in pain.
Color drained from her face, and the light in her beautiful eyes gradually dimmed. Her expression went blank and lifeless.
“Xu Ning, what did you do to my master!” Long Lingtian couldn’t believe what he was seeing and roared in helpless rage.
“Want to know? Not telling,” Xu Ning said with a wicked smirk, keeping him in suspense.
He had directly erased Wei Qingyi’s seven souls.
Cultivators had three souls and seven spirits. A so-called remnant soul meant the three primary souls—Heaven, Earth, and Human—were damaged, but the seven spirits remained intact.
The seven spirits—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire—if completely erased, the person would become emotionless, a puppet-like being.
As her seven spirits were wiped out, Wei Qingyi stopped resisting. She looked at Xu Ning and emotionlessly said, “Master.”
Xu Ning clasped his hands behind his back and nodded in satisfaction.
Long Lingtian was struck as if by lightning. He stood frozen, dumbfounded.
He couldn’t believe that the beautiful master he adored would one day become a puppet serving his enemy!
Memories of their time together flashed in his mind. Anger, grief, resentment, hatred… all surged within him until they erupted in a furious roar.
“Xu Ning, I swear upon my Dao heart—if I don’t kill you, I am not human!”
[Ding! Child of Destiny’s Dao heart is damaged. Plundering three strands of Primordial Purple Qi. Automatically converted into 600 Fate Points.]
Xu Ning’s lips curled into a cold smirk. His handsome face now held a touch of dark allure.
He raised a middle finger toward Long Lingtian and said with contempt, “You? Worthy?”
Just those four words made Long Lingtian scream with madness. He beat his fists against the prison bars, but it was all futile.
Foolish Child of Destiny… if you want to kill me, then hate me, loathe me, push yourself to the brink of insanity to open the Demon Lord’s Tomb and become my treasure-hunting tool!
Once your value is gone, I’ll consider giving you a swift death.
Xu Ning’s smile faded slightly, replaced by a look of genuine interest.
…
That night, the moon hung like a silver plate, casting its glow across the land.
Inside the lavish royal palace, the lights were brilliant, and music and song filled the air.
In the grand hall, Xu Ning sat at the head seat, with Yao Ling’er and the Yuwen sisters seated on either side of him.
Before them, a group of graceful, elegant palace maids were singing and dancing. Their movements were enchanting and fluid, accompanied by music that intoxicated the soul.
Zhou Yan and Xiao Yi arrived with three royal princesses and took their seats in order.
Xu Ning glanced at the three princesses and noticed Zhou Shuxian among them. A cold smirk tugged at his lips.
“It’s said the Eldest Princess of the Great Zhou is reclusive, peerlessly beautiful, and though a woman, her strategies rival any man’s.”
He spoke calmly, his tone carrying subtle implications.
Zhou Yan beamed with delight. The reason he brought his daughter to meet Xu Ning was simple—to propose a marriage alliance!
Xu Ning’s current identity and background were terrifyingly powerful. As the Xu family’s young master, the Northern Guardian King, and a favored subject of the Empress, any one of these titles alone was enough to dominate the Xuansheng Heaven Domain.
But with all three combined? This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
If the Great Zhou royal family could secure ties with Xu Ning, they would flourish for millennia to come.
He immediately signaled his daughter with his eyes, as if saying: His Highness is speaking to you—hurry up and answer!
Zhou Shuxian’s expression turned sour. Her rosy lips pressed into a tight line.
The scene of Xu Ning suppressing Long Lingtian days ago still haunted her mind.
I have to butter up the man who hurt Brother Lingtian… Her delicate hand trembled slightly as she held her wine cup, but she still forced a smile.
“Your Highness flatters me. I am merely a woman and lack such capabilities.”
“Is that so?” Xu Ning smiled faintly. “When you rescued Long Lingtian right in front of me the other day, your decisiveness didn’t seem like something an ordinary woman could achieve.”
His words caused an uproar in the hall.
Yao Ling’er and Yuwen Rou exchanged a look, both seeing the same shock in each other’s eyes.
They clearly hadn’t expected that Long Lingtian had ties with Zhou Shuxian.
So the fangs are finally showing… Yuwen Shuang’s eyes darkened.
Zhou Yan’s expression turned grim. His gaze burned like fire as he glared at his daughter.
“Shuxian, you dared to hide this from His Highness?” His tone was harsh and accusatory, not even bothering to ask for an explanation.
Zhou Shuxian felt as if she’d been struck by lightning, her face turning deathly pale.
She had believed her plan was flawless—yet Xu Ning had seen through it all from the start!
Why hadn’t he exposed me then?
Could it be… he had another motive?
As that thought crossed her mind, Zhou Shuxian’s body trembled. A chill ran down her spine, leaving her cold all over.
Just then, Xu Ning continued speaking.
“I visited the prison earlier and spoke with Long Lingtian. He confessed everything.”
“That includes you secretly opening the royal treasury for him, ordering the prison warden not to harm him, and giving him the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul-Nourishing Wood.”
To strengthen his point, he directly took out the Soul-Nourishing Wood from his storage ring and waved it in front of Zhou Shuxian’s eyes.