The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

"Old sir, your words are quite strange. It was only because Ali felt sorry for you and didn't want the Wei family to cause you any trouble that she agreed to your lie and treated you to good food and drink. Why are you acting like this now? It's really not the demeanor an old man should have." Yi Bicheng found the old man's words rather awkward. He looked at Ying Li, who also had a blank expression, and tapped the red plum fan handle in his right hand against his left palm with a questioning look on his face.

Suddenly, in this desolate town, I encountered an old beggar. The old man's behavior was suspicious, and I wondered what his plans were...

"Heh, you're not taking pity on me, you're probably hoping to use some 'kindness magic' to get some good stuff out of me. Let me tell you the truth, there's nothing good out of you, so don't even think about it. I won't make things difficult for you, I'll just stay here for a few days and then leave. For the next few days, you'll serve me the same way you did today, no more than five days. If it weren't for how cute this little girl is, I wouldn't bother talking to you." The old man waved his hand dismissively, then leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and hummed a few tunes, looking quite content.

"Given your appearance, we'd rather avoid you than ask for anything. Rest assured, we were just meddling. Now that you've eaten and drunk your fill, please move on." Yi Bicheng's smile had vanished, his tone utterly indifferent. He had disliked this kind of old man since childhood—arrogant and oblivious to his own limitations. If Ying Li hadn't been there, he would have already taken action to teach him a lesson.

"You little brat, you're really good with words. You want me to leave, but I'm not going to. I only wanted to stay for five days, but now I think fifty days would be better. The more you make me uncomfortable, the more uncomfortable I'll make you." The old man got up, grabbed the nearest bottle of wine, shook it a few times, then tilted his head and brought the bottle to his lips, licking the last few drops of wine into his mouth. His eyes held a hint of provocation as he looked at Yi Bicheng!

"You!" Seeing the old man pushing his luck, Yi Bicheng unleashed his spiritual power, reached out with his right hand to the old man's arm, grabbed him, and pulled him away from the chair. Then, Yi Bicheng kicked open the door, doubled his spiritual power in his right hand, and pulled the old man out of the room. He then suddenly let go, and the old man was thrown out.

Suddenly, Yi Bicheng's expression changed. He felt a tingling sensation in his right hand, and half of his body began to tremble. Meanwhile, the old man landed steadily on the ground, blocked the door behind his back with both hands, and the door was slammed shut again. The whole process took less than three seconds.

Those outside only heard the sound of a door opening and closing. When they looked up at Ying Li's room on the second floor, the door was tightly closed, and nothing had happened. Boss Wei was still very sleepy. He forced his eyelids open and, seeing that nothing unusual had occurred, he slumped back into a deep sleep.

The waiter seemed used to Mr. Wei's behavior. He draped his face towel over his back, and when he heard someone calling in the hall, he shouted, "Coming to you!" and scurried over to serve him in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, there was an inexplicable strange atmosphere in Ying Li's room. Yi Bicheng's face showed some anger. Seeing the old man like this, she was unwilling and was about to step forward to argue again when the old man waved his right hand. A six-sided barrier stood beside Yi Bicheng. The six barriers kept flowing and the spiritual power was strengthened. Yi Bicheng, who was inside, felt a tightness in his chest and could not raise his spiritual power at all.

The Northern Red Plum Fan flew up and down within the barrier, constantly striking it, and indeed, gaps appeared in the barrier. However, the gaps were constantly being patched up as the barrier continued to rotate. Even if the Red Plum Fan had a strong destructive power, the force of patching the gaps would double.

"Hehe, it's quite impressive that a young man of this age can wield the Northern Red Plum Fan so skillfully! But a young man is still a young man; being too ambitious is not a good thing!" The old man looked at Yi Bicheng, who was standing in the barrier and constantly using the Red Plum Fan to break through, and his eyes showed more appreciation than before.

"This is a spirit magic array!" Ying Li suddenly stood up and looked at the six barriers with great shock. Back then, the daughter of the wealthy Hu had created a spirit magic array that trapped her inside, and she had to exert a great deal of effort to escape. Later, even after obtaining a beginner-level spirit book, she could only create a spirit energy barrier that was more powerful than that of ordinary people, but she had never been able to create this spirit magic array even once.

The old man's spiritual array was even more exquisite and sophisticated. With just a wave of his hand, he trapped Yi Bicheng inside, rendering him unable to move. This old man was indeed a spiritual master, and at least a spiritual master of a certain level.

"Girl, you do have some insight." A glint of light flashed in the old man's eyes, and his expression toward Ying Li held an additional layer of meaning.

"Ugh!" Yi Bicheng snorted coldly, enlarging the Northern Red Plum Fan and spreading it out between the six barriers. However, the increasingly intense pressure made it difficult for him to breathe, and he was covered in cold sweat. He even felt a little dizzy.

"If it weren't for the Northern Red Plum Fan, you would have been crushed into mincemeat long ago. It's really powerful to have a good family. I'm so envious, tsk tsk!" The old man curled his lips and shook his head, and the six barriers were layered again.

He wanted to see just how capable this kid was, enduring the pressure of the spiritual array for so long. It was clear the kid had considerable talent. If this kid would acknowledge him as his master, then his skills would have a successor. Unfortunately, after searching for so many years, he hadn't found a single disciple with mind control abilities. Otherwise, he wouldn't have abandoned his principle of "better to have none than a bad one" and gone to these run-down places searching for a disciple.

"Stop!" Ying Li's expression changed when she saw Yi Bicheng in such pain. She waved her hand and a spirit sword suddenly appeared in her hand. She had used heavenly lightning to kill Hu Yuanwai's daughter before opening the barrier. Now that she was in You Tang Inn, she dared not use heavenly lightning, so she had to fight with her bare hands.

Just as Ying Li slashed his spirit sword at Yi Bicheng's six spiritual energy barriers, the old man's expression turned somewhat displeased. He waved his right hand lightly, directly setting up a barrier in front of Ying Li. He had a look of contempt on his face, "Little brat, just watch and don't ruin my big plan! Stay inside obediently, and when the time is right, I will naturally let you all out."

He had his eye on Yi Bicheng from the start. This person was a prodigy of Tianfu, and it would make him look good if word got out. Moreover, this kid was indeed quite capable, having reached the fourth level of spiritual cultivation at such a young age. Just now, he had unleashed his spiritual power within the barrier, and he was quite surprised when he learned of the other party's spiritual cultivation level.

Ying Li, that little girl, is only at the spiritual cultivation stage. It's unknown whether she's suppressing her spiritual power to keep it a secret from outsiders, but suppressing spiritual power is definitely not a skill a child like her possesses. For someone so young, her spiritual cultivation ability is already genius-level. But what he wants isn't a disciple training plan; he wants a ready-made, powerful disciple to ensure his victory in the disciple-showing battle a month later. Clearly, after all these years, Yi Bicheng, whom he encountered today, is the perfect choice.

He considered the situation for a moment, and seeing Yi Bicheng in the spirit magic array, he decided to take her as his only closed-door disciple. Unexpectedly, just as he was about to put away the barrier, he heard a loud "Bang!" behind him. Ying Li swung his sword and shattered the spirit magic barrier, leaning forward and attacking him violently!

The old man's expression changed. "Interesting!" He then waved his right hand and created seven or eight more barriers in front of Ying Li. With another series of loud "bangs," Ying Li's spirit sword was already at his neck.

"Let him go," Ying Li said. "Otherwise, I'll kill you!"

The old man smiled as he looked at Ying Li, a surge of joy welling up inside him. He quickly waved his hand to remove the spiritual array in front of Yi Bicheng. "Little girl, don't be angry. See, I've let it go. Quickly put down the sword so you don't accidentally get hurt. Why do you like wielding swords so much? It wouldn't be good if you hurt yourself."

Ying Li looked back at Yi Bicheng, whose face was covered in sweat, but who had escaped the spirit magic array and was now slumped against the door. Only then did she feel relieved. But she was no fool to just put down her weapon. Her opponent was a high-level spirit magician, and she didn't think she would have any chance of winning if she put down her weapon.

But the old man didn't play by the rules, something even the clever Ying Li hadn't anticipated. Just as Ying Li turned her head, the old man, a smile playing on his lips, swiftly swung his right hand towards her!

"Not good!" Ying Li's face turned pale. He was about to dodge, but the spiritual array was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it bound Ying Li within it.

Yi Bicheng emerged from the spirit array, his spiritual power rapidly recovering. Seeing Ying Li in trouble again, he continuously waved his Northern Red Plum Fan, and his right hand instantly emitted a dazzling light that shot towards the old man!

The old man's eyes flickered, and he turned Ying Li to stand in front of Yi Bicheng. Just then, the attack almost struck Ying Li's back. Yi Bicheng's expression changed drastically. He flashed behind Ying Li and flicked out the Northern Red Plum Fan, managing to block the attack from his own body. His face turned pale, and he swallowed the blood with a metallic taste in his throat. His chest felt like it was burning. He turned to look at the gloating old man, a chill running down his spine.

Who exactly is this old man, and what is his intention?!

"I didn't realize you were such a loyal and righteous young man!" The old man chuckled, but when he caught sight of Ying Li out of the corner of his eye, his smile vanished. The girl's eyes were slightly red, and the spirit of heaven and earth was constantly flowing around her. Six spiritual energy barriers were imprisoning her around the six barriers, which were constantly being compressed. However, the girl created another barrier within the existing one, directly resisting the barrier he had set up. He had thought that the girl would also be subjected to the pressure like Yi Bicheng, and that what he needed to do was to find out who had stronger endurance so that he could take her as a disciple.

Looking back now, it's a different kind of gain. Not only is that girl more resilient, but what's even more astonishing is that she's actually the other genius with mind control abilities that I've been searching for for many years! People with mind control abilities are extremely rare, and even among those with such abilities, there are differences in quality. But this girl's abilities are among the best. At such a young age, she has already achieved so much; she is sure to have a great future!

What's more, he also has a pair of terrifying deep pupils that everyone envies. This trip was truly worthwhile!