Mysterious mirror hanging high

Shendingtian, Qingzhou Prefecture

The blue brick walls of the Qingzhou Mu Mansion were cracked by the passage of time, and the copper bells under the eaves remained motionless in the twilight.

The black boots of a Foundation Establishment Palace guard rolled over the mossy stone slabs of the mansion courtyard. In his hand was a black iron chain as thick as a baby's arm, and at the end of the chain was tied a prisoner in a death row uniform. The chain touched the ground, making a sharp friction sound, which startled the little Qi-cultivating bird hanging in the corridor and made it flutter and fly into the golden cage.

When passing through a corridor, the prisoner had an unspeakable fear on his face. His shackles were hooked on the stone base on the corridor beside him. However, the foundation-building guard shook his wrist, and the black iron chain suddenly straightened.

The condemned prisoner staggered and fell into a puddle of water. Half of his purple face floated on the surface of the turbid water, and the blood scabs at the corners of his mouth cracked into fine lines as he gasped.

"Don't mess around. Your magic power has been wasted. You may not be able to defeat a mortal who knows some martial arts. Just be honest."

The Foundation Establishment Guard glanced at the condemned prisoner and said calmly, "Stop making trouble, and maybe you can have a quick death."

He escorted the condemned prisoner to an elegant courtyard. Standing at the door were palace guards who were also at the foundation-building stage. Each of them was holding a magical spear and standing guard in front of the courtyard in a majestic manner.

"Captain Wang."

One of the palace guards, who was leaning on a spear, politely greeted the palace guard holding the black iron chain: "Who is this person?"

"That's right." The captain surnamed Wang nodded. "We've brought in death row prisoners from the Qingzhou City Prison and are about to deliver them to His Highness... Is His Highness in the courtyard?"

"Yes, he has been recuperating in the courtyard these days and hasn't been out and about." The palace guard said, "Since this is the person the prince wants, Captain Wang, please send him in quickly... Don't delay the prince's business."

Captain Wang nodded, tightened the black iron chain in his hand, and dragged the death row prisoner, who was like a puddle of mud, into the yard.

"Hey...which one is this?"

"This is the eighth one... I'm afraid I'm going to suffer again."

The two palace guards at the gate chatted quietly, "After returning to Shending Heaven from the mortal world, the prince did not return to the imperial capital, but instead temporarily rested here in Qingzhou Prefecture. He seems to be in a bad mood. Every few days, he brings a death row prisoner out of prison and tortures him in the courtyard. I don't know when it will stop..."

"So what? Which of those death row prisoners the prince mentioned wasn't a heinous and ruthless person? Just chopping them off would be a bargain. It just so happens that they are handed over to the prince to be processed. As the saying goes, evil will be punished by evil..."

"But this happens too often..."

One of them whispered, "That's as it should be. I heard... the prince was severely injured in the present world by a cultivator who appeared out of nowhere. He escaped at great expense. The reason he stayed in Qingzhou for the time being was to recuperate here and not let the imperial descendants in the imperial capital see his predicament."

"How can I feel good about this? Even if I torture a few prisoners, this master will tolerate it!"

"But I don't know how it was concocted... We can hear the screams of the condemned prisoners through several layers of formations." One of them blinked. "Among the royal heirs, this [Prince Liquan] is notoriously secretive and mean, with an unstable mind. We don't know if it will be a blessing or a curse for us to take on this guarding job..."

"Don't worry about your life!" Another person was shocked: "Don't ask anyone to listen."

"What are you afraid of? He's just a Jindan cultivator, not a Yuanying Zhenjun with opened ears. How can he hear our voice transmission?" The man curled his lips.

"We are at least Foundation Establishment Guards. If we were to be transferred to a county, we could be appointed as local officers. Now we have to guard the gate for this perverted prince..."

"Stop complaining. I was born a descendant of the Divine Cauldron Emperor. In this Divine Cauldron Immortal Dynasty, descendants of the Emperor are the heaven!"

----

Captain Wang led the death row prisoner into the courtyard, only to see a tall young man in a blue satin robe with cloud patterns sitting cross-legged under a locust tree in the courtyard, seemingly pondering an idea.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived."

The young man in the python robe didn't even open his eyes, but said calmly: "Where should we put him? This man is a Jindan prisoner on death row."

"That's right. He was originally a famous evil cultivator in Qingzhou. He committed many murders. Later, he was captured by the provincial guards and his magic power was sealed. The original plan was to execute him in the autumn." Captain Wang whispered.

"Okay, go down."

"Yes……"

Captain Wang lowered his head and slowly walked out of the yard. Only then did the young man in the python robe slowly open his eyes, stand up from the mat under the tree, walk to the death row prisoner, and gently put his hand on his face.

The Jindan prisoner who was tied to the spot and had lost all his cultivation suddenly trembled all over and let out bursts of heart-wrenching wails.

As the wailing gradually weakened, the young man in the python robe finally loosened his grip and threw the prisoner, who had become an empty shell, aside.

At this moment, a voice came from his mind:

"Boy, this is the eighth death row prisoner you've searched. When will you set off for the Imperial Capital?"

"What's the hurry, Senior Yunding?"

The young man in the python robe was Jing Yu in disguise. He chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. Senior, it has been three thousand years since you left Shending Heaven. Even Ying Wuyi may not be able to understand everything... If I don't find a few more local cultivators to search their souls and understand the situation, I'm afraid that if I reveal my true intentions, I will bring trouble to you."

"Your transformation technique is quite amazing. Both your form and spirit are similar. As long as you imitate your daily habits and demeanor perfectly, even those who are very close to you will not be able to find any flaws. Your body refining ability can also simulate the blood of the Divine Cauldron Emperor. Even if the previous generation of Immortal Emperor came in person, I am afraid he would not be able to tell that you are an imposter."

Yunding Tianjun sneered and said, "You are quite cautious."

"Better safe than sorry." Jing Yu said with a laugh, "If you had been more cautious back then, you wouldn't be in this situation today."

Yunding Tianjun almost fainted after hearing this: "You kid..."

Jing Yu now sat down cross-legged again, carefully combing through the memories he had just extracted from the condemned prisoner. "The experiences of a Jindan cultivator are indeed not comparable to those of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. This has given me a deeper understanding of Shen Ding Tian... But this person is such a jerk. Just searching his soul would be a waste of his time."

At this moment, Jing Yu's expression changed, and a communication talisman flew from outside the yard and floated into his hand.

"Hmm? There are cultivators causing chaos in the mountains of Qingzhou, and the Qingzhou Governor invited me to join him in suppressing the rebellion?"