He Lan Tianxia

Murong Junlan pushed the barrier to its maximum, and Ling Yi and Jiang He were ready to unleash their power. Murong Junlan slashed with his right hand, breaking one barrier; then another, and another. There was one more. The mercury outside shimmered as if it were about to break through the barrier itself. This inescapable sense of pressure caused a momentary fear to flash through the three seasoned young talents. But it was only for a moment, just a moment. Their nerves snapped back together, and all three pairs of eyes fixed on the large stone slab where they had fallen. Murong Junlan had said that was the only way to break through.

With a "snap," Murong Junlan removed the last layer of restriction. At that moment, three people whose bodies reacted faster than their thoughts leaped up and simultaneously struck the large rock above.

With a deafening roar, the large rock remained motionless. Murong Junlan inwardly cried out in alarm, and due to the rebound force, all three of them were simultaneously thrown in opposite directions, plummeting rapidly. Murong Junlan reacted swiftly, his hands making two quick arcs as he was about to exhale when he heard a "thud" as the entire barrier fell into a large mercury vat. Ling Yi and Jiang He were still reeling from the shock.

"Indeed. Your skill in setting up restrictions has improved dramatically in ten thousand years. I admire you greatly." The pale-faced scholar's voice rang out coldly.

"Elder brother?" Murong Junlan asked in confusion.

"Perhaps you have long forgotten me, but I have not forgotten you, nor do I intend to forget you," the pale-faced scholar chuckled self-deprecatingly, and continued, "And there is also my beloved Yan sister who originally belonged to me. Great King, today I will let you witness our wedding night with your own eyes, and show you how well-matched we are."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a blinding light suddenly shone from the dark cave. Through the glass-like transparent walls, outside lay a sunlit pavilion and courtyard. In the flower bushes, a woman lay asleep on a swing with her head tilted to one side. A pale-faced scholar sat leisurely beside her, casually putting one arm around her shoulder, making it appear as if the woman was nestled in the scholar's arms, a very warm and cozy scene.

Surprise, worry, and anger flashed across Murong Junlan's eyes in succession. His hands unconsciously clenched into fists, his suppressed resentment almost bursting out in his eyes. He gathered his strength and was about to punch the glass wall when Ling Yi suddenly grabbed Murong Junlan.

"Your Highness, calm down."

"He's pushing me to my limits." How can he remain calm when his queen is in someone else's hands?

"Do you think that's a wall that can be easily breached?" Lingyi reminded him.

"Your Highness, we might fall into the mercury pool before the wall even breaks down. The Princess is still waiting for you to save her." Jiang He was also worried about Murong Junlan's impulsiveness, so he stepped in front of her to block her way.

"I warn you, if you dare to lay a finger on her, I'll make you vanish into thin air." Murong Junlan's aura was enough to bombard the entire Mercury Cave Pool.

"You wouldn't dare." The pale-faced scholar deliberately stroked the woman's hair on her forehead and said in the most gentle way, "Look, my little sister Yan loves it here. It's sunny and bright, and she just wants to stay with me."

"What did you do to her?" Murong Junlan's words were as cold as ice.

“I didn’t do anything to her, I just wanted her to stay by my side. I want to keep all my love for her in the years that belong to us.” With that, the pale-faced scholar bent down to kiss the woman’s forehead.

"Bang." Murong Junlan pushed his palm against the glass wall, and the rebound force made the three people in the cave stagger.

"I advise you to save your energy for this pointless effort, Your Highness. From now on, you must learn to be considerate. Consideration is a good thing for everyone." The pale-faced scholar turned to Murong Junlan, his eyes fixed on him with a deep, unsettling gaze.

"I don't know you." Murong Junlan was too lazy to answer this stranger. He only cared about his princess, Yan'er. However, he had a vague feeling that this pale-faced scholar was after him, aiming to take Yan'er away from him. Who was this person? He racked his brains, but still couldn't figure it out. Could this be a romantic entanglement left behind by his father? But whoever it was, kidnapping his princess meant death. Murong Junlan looked up again, meeting the pale-faced scholar's cold, menacing gaze.

"If you want to live, you'd better not touch her." Murong Junlan's patience was about to snap.

"Ha..." The pale-faced scholar let out a chilling, maniacal laugh.

Murong Junlan glared fiercely, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

"Save my life? Eldest brother, I don't know if you believe it or not, I have lived for ten thousand years. Back then, I stole the elixir of immortality from Father Emperor at all costs, just to wait for you to be reincarnated." As he spoke, the pale-faced scholar suddenly changed from a vicious expression to a gentle tone, staring at the woman with adoration, "And my sister Yan. However, I still have to settle my score with you."

"I don't know who you are, and I certainly don't know who you hate so much, but let me tell you, the woman before you is my queen, and she has absolutely nothing to do with you." Murong Junlan finally understood. They had encountered a deeply resentful and poisonous fool. Murong Junlan regretted it. How could he not have seen through it? Perhaps in his eagerness to save her, he had lost his judgment. And Jiang He and the others? Why didn't they see through it either?

"Forget it, I didn't expect you to remember me. In fact, you have no chance of remembering me anyway. But I didn't intend to remember you either. In that case, the three of you can stay in the Mercury Cave obediently." After saying that, the pale-faced scholar waved his hand, and the Mercury Cave immediately became pitch black.

Murong Junlan got angry and shouted, "Stand firm!" He then pushed the glass wall with both hands.

"Boom!" Another deafening sound rang out. Although Ling Yi and Jiang He had steadied themselves immediately, they were still thrown to one side by the impact. Before they could regain their footing, Murong Junlan thrust out another palm strike.

"Boom!" Even more powerful than the previous strike.

"Boom boom boom." Before Jiang He could even utter a sound to stop him, Murong Junlan had already launched several attacks in succession. It must be said that the mercury stone cave was indeed very sturdy. Apart from a slight tremor, everything else was as stable as Mount Tai, and not even a single stone fell down.

"Your Highness," Lingyi couldn't help but speak up, "Continuing like this will only lead to exhaustion."

"So what?" Murong Junlan retorted in a muffled voice, his inner repression reaching its peak. His eyes were bloodshot from the pressure, and even in the darkness of the cave, they emitted two dazzling beams of cold light.

"Listen up, from now on, I will set up ten restrictions. The three of us will exert force on that glass wall at the same time. I refuse to believe that it is an indestructible wall." Before he finished speaking, Murong Junlan had already set up ten restrictions in a flash.

"Your Highness, wait!" Lingyi blocked the way with his tail. He knew that setting up each restriction required expending some of his power. If the prince kept setting up restrictions and constantly smashing the wall, his stamina would eventually be exhausted. This was exactly what the pale-faced scholar wanted. It wasn't that the pale-faced scholar was particularly powerful, but his schemes were far more insidious than the prince's, and the prince, in particular, always seemed lost when dealing with matters concerning the princess.

"Your Highness, this glass wall should be an impenetrable wall. We should look for weaknesses elsewhere."

"This is the only way out," Murong Junlan affirmed. Before Ling Yi could speak, Murong Junlan had already unleashed his first burst of power.

"Boom boom boom." Jiang He and Ling Yi immediately stood in the same direction as Murong Junlan. With the combined power of the two of them, their four hands, and the snake, explosions resounded continuously in the Mercury Cave.

"Boom boom boom."

……

The five bursts of power were unleashed in succession, but the Mercury Cave only lost a few fragments of stone; everything remained unharmed.

"Again." Without waiting for their reply, Murong Junlan unleashed five more palm strikes. This time, the impact was far more significant than before, and many more stones fell down. Just as Murong Junlan was about to unleash an eleventh palm strike, the glass wall suddenly opened, and a beam of sunlight shone directly in, momentarily blinding them.

"Brother King, if you keep shoving her around like this, you'll wake Sister Yan up." The pale-faced scholar gently smoothed the woman's hair from her forehead.

"Stop!" Murong Junlan shouted angrily.

"What do you mean by 'stop'?" The pale-faced scholar turned and glanced contemptuously at Murong Junlan, continuing, "Elder brother, let me remind you, Sister Yan is my childhood sweetheart. What right do you have to marry her? Sister Yan is mine, she is my, Murong Dubai's, queen..." The pale-faced scholar grew angrier and angrier, finally roaring loudly.

"Hmph, no one can stop me from loving her. I have waited for her for ten thousand years. Tonight, I will make her my bride, Murong Dubai."

"You dare?" Murong Junlan's eyes blazed with fury.

"What wouldn't I dare to do? What else wouldn't I dare to do? Back then, I stole the only elixir of immortality from my father, just so I could meet you again today. Heaven has eyes, and I actually ran into you. Moreover, neither of you has changed your appearance. Fate is playing tricks on us."

"I really don't know what nonsense you're spouting!" Murong Junlan glared fiercely at the madman in front of him. Yes, this was definitely a hypocritical madman.

"Your Highness, you hold him off while I look for an opening." Lingyi suddenly discovered a way to discern the thickness of the cave walls by sound.

"Spirit Serpent, you'd better stay out of this, or I'll make sure you die a horrible death." Although the voice was soft, the pale-faced scholar had clearly heard their conversation.

"Heh, I'm already doomed, do you think you'd let me go out alone?" Lingyi retorted.

“Snake, do you think you can judge the thickness of the cave walls from the sound? Let me tell you, the walls of this cave are all the same thickness, so you don’t need to waste your energy.” The pale-faced scholar said, reaching out to touch the woman’s face again.

"Boom!" Murong Junlan panicked and shoved his palm against the glass wall again.

"I've already told you, all your efforts are in vain. Brother King, instead of making these pointless efforts, you might as well stay inside and watch our wedding night. Also, I almost forgot to tell you, Brother King, it's stuffy in the cave, and there's a shortage of food and water. Don't suffocate in there and miss the wonderful scene."

Murong Junlan's anger was reignited, escalating even further. He unleashed several more powerful palm strikes, while the pale-faced scholar outside remained calm and composed.

"Your Highness, the right side of the cave wall," Lingyi suddenly said.

"Boom boom boom..." Murong Junlan attacked the cave wall continuously without thinking.

"Jiang He, come along."

Although Ling Yi's guess was just a casual remark, he saw a fleeting moment of panic in the pale-faced scholar's eyes when Murong Junlan unleashed his first palm strike. The right side was where the mercury was injected, which did have a flaw, but the pale-faced scholar quickly regained his composure. Since it was where the mercury was injected, wasn't that an even riskier place? The pale-faced scholar smiled strangely, his hand about to strike the woman's face again.

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck him, and Lingyi suddenly spoke up: "She is not the Yan sister you are looking for."

The pale-faced scholar cast a cold glance his way, squeezing out a sentence through clenched teeth: "She is, she is."

“You don’t love her,” Lingyi continued.

"I love her!" the pale-faced scholar suddenly exclaimed. "I have waited for her for ten thousand years. She is my Yan'er, I love her!"

"You are not worthy!" Ling Yi said firmly, and his voice made Jiang He pause for a moment.

"Spirit Serpent, shut up." The pale-faced scholar seemed to know the shocking secret Ling Yi was about to reveal. He glared at Ling Yi menacingly, then suddenly withdrew his hand from the woman's face and viciously slapped the glass wall.

"Boom!" The force was considerable. Don't let the pale-faced scholar's frail appearance fool you; when he gets going, he's a force to be reckoned with.

"If you don't want me to tell you, then let us out," Ling Yi said mercilessly.

"Hmph, what a pipe dream." The pale-faced scholar scoffed.

"Then I'll let the prince know your ugly face." Lingyi tried to sway the pale-faced scholar's mind.

"Serpent, just say whatever you want. As long as the person I care about doesn't know, it's fine. Besides, you'll all die in there eventually anyway." The pale-faced scholar was reckless. "But if you dare to talk nonsense, you'll be the first one to die without a burial place in the Mercury Cave."

“Just you wait and see…” Lingyi said.

"Lingyi, keep the secret to yourself." Murong Junlan was worried about the pale-faced scholar's underhanded tricks. They were already in a very passive position, and if they provoked the pale-faced scholar's anger again, the consequences would be severe.

“Your Highness, look.” Jiang He, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

Following Jiang He's gesture, Murong Junlan saw a surge of blood-red liquid suddenly flow into the mercury pool. This liquid was incompatible with mercury, neither able to penetrate the other, but the two liquids pressed against each other, initially merely plundering each other, then rapidly coalescing into a Bagua diagram. The Bagua diagram rotated slowly, with blood-red threads sparking like dazzling flames. Before the three could understand what was happening, what followed was unsettling: the blood-red Bagua diagram spun faster and faster, eventually forming two bizarre, rotating spheres of liquid.

"Hold on tight." As soon as Murong Junlan finished speaking, his hands shot out, and two powerful gusts of air struck the left cave wall. Left side? Jiang He and Ling Yi were not mistaken, it was the left side.

"Boom!" A huge crack suddenly appeared in the left side of the cave wall. Good heavens, what kind of operation is this? The mercury leak was clearly on the right side, so how did it become the left?

A look of shock flashed across the pale-faced scholar's face. He had twice feigned panic when the other man mentioned the right side, intending to confuse him. He hadn't expected the shrewd Murong Junlan to see through his deception. He was unwilling to accept defeat. In his previous life, he had been defeated by his elder brother, the First Prince; in this life, he would be defeated by him as well. He couldn't lose, he couldn't, absolutely couldn't. He glared fiercely at Murong Junlan, then scooped up the unconscious woman and fled inside.

"Quickly." Murong Junlan took the opportunity to remove the last restriction, and the three of them flew out of the hole when the restriction broke down to their feet.

Emerging from the cave, they saw a glass wall on their right. Murong Junlan exchanged glances with the two men, and the three of them attacked simultaneously. With another "boom," the glass wall shattered. Murong Junlan was the first to walk to where the woman had been sitting. Looking down, he saw the glass lock lying on the ground, undoubtedly dropped from the woman's pocket when the pale-faced scholar carried her away. Without time to think, he picked it up, put it in his pouch, and strode after them.

"Your Highness, watch out behind you!" Ling Yi suddenly shouted a warning. It turned out that Murong Junlan had been so focused on the woman in front of him that he had forgotten about the mercury pool behind him. He turned his head and was shocked! The mercury had already reached his feet, only halfway up his shoe. He leaped into the air, stretching out his hands and lifting Jiang He and Ling Yi up with him. The two of them flew off like swallows, chasing after Murong Junlan as the mercury continued to spread.