I long to return home!

Holding two swords, Huai Zhen felt a familiar and gentle sensation sweep over his entire body from one of them, making the biting cold feel like spring warmth and blooming flowers.

The other hand was filled with a malevolent energy that made him feel extremely uncomfortable, and he inexplicably had the urge to kill.

The spiritual energy of the two swords surged into his body from his palms. At the same time, a piercing pain shot through his head, and images flashed through his mind, but they all disappeared before he could see the faces clearly.

First, a white-haired man dressed in pristine white robes wielded an ice sword, giving him a seemingly stern yet gentle impression. The next scene was extremely bloody, like a massacre, with the speaker vaguely hearing himself calling out "Ling Jiao's" name. The only thing he could clearly see was a golden-feathered phoenix.

As his memories faded, the clash between the two spiritual energies caused him to cough up blood and nearly collapse.

"Damn sickly brat, get out of my way!" Shangguan Tou rushed over.

On the other side, Xu Tao charged forward with his last ounce of strength, shouting, "Give me back my sword!"

Their spiritual energy dissipated, and they could no longer sustain the use of magic. Suddenly, Huai Zhen's eyes slowly turned blood red, and she told herself that she really wanted to take her sword and slash at the blood-haired man.

Just as they were about to make their move, an overwhelming spiritual pressure struck. Except for Lei Mengying, all the cultivators were subjected to varying degrees of pressure. The most severely affected were the three who made their move, who were almost pinned to the ground.

"Arrogant! I thought you were just having a simple exchange, how dare you be so ignorant!" A powerful voice of an old man came from the horizon, and a moment later two old men came flying through the air.

They are the four offerings and the five offerings, respectively.

Before long, Ximen Po also flew over. Looking at the mess on the ground and the biting ice covering the city walls, he was somewhat shocked. He was quite surprised. He had sensed a fight taking place here earlier, but he thought it was just a battle between cultivators. How could he have imagined that it was a deadly fight, with even Lei Mengying involved?

As Huai Zhen's frail body suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, everyone panicked and hurriedly withdrew their spiritual pressure. The two elders looked at Huai Zhen on the ground and couldn't help but have a thought.

How could this child be so weak?

Upon seeing this, Mu Qingfeng and the other disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect on the city wall hurriedly cupped their hands and said, "Senior, this is my senior brother from the Xiaoyao Sect. He only intervened to stop the other two. We hope that you will understand."

Upon hearing this, the two looked over. Although Xu Tao and Shangguan Tou on the ground were suppressed and temporarily powerless to resist, they were still able to glare at each other, determined to fight to the death.

Lei Mengying was taken aback, and hurriedly helped Huaizhen up, personally giving her a Nourishing Yuan Pill to regulate her body.

After a short while, having learned the situation, Wu Gongfeng stroked his beard and said to Ximen Po, "General, this is a military matter, and we should not interfere. We will leave this matter to you to handle."

Ximen Po cupped his hands in response, took a few steps forward, and looked at Xu Tao and the other man with a stern expression. He shouted, "Xu Tao, a disciple of the Sword Sect, was the first to provoke trouble. I hope that he will be punished with thirty lashes during the negotiations between the two countries. Shangguan Tou, a disciple of the Falling Cloud Sect, will be punished with twenty lashes."

After the punishment was announced, looking at the dying Huai Zhen, Lei Mengying pondered for a few moments, then carried the latter on her back and left in front of everyone's shock.

"Senior Brother Huaizhen is truly amazing! Her Highness the Princess carried him on her back herself!" A disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect on the city wall exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this scene.

"Senior Brother Huaizhen is truly blessed with good fortune. Judging from their relationship, he must have had many interactions with His Highness. Senior Brother Xiaoyao is right; I'm afraid that in a few days, they might even have a child," another disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect added.

"Don't speak nonsense! Many fellow Daoists are here. If your words are heard, what will others say about my Xiaoyao Sect?" Mu Qingfeng immediately reprimanded him, then smiled and said, "Seeing is not necessarily believing. Before they go far, we need to investigate to find out."

Upon hearing this, the other disciples of the Free and Unfettered Sect bowed and praised, "As expected of Senior Brother Qingfeng, what you said makes sense." Then, the group chased after Lei Mengying in the direction she had gone.

Inside a nicer house, after Lei Mengying had settled Huaizhen on the bed, she quickly noticed Mu Qingfeng and the others sneaking around outside the door. She shouted sternly, "Come out!"

Hearing this stern shout, the group hesitated for a moment before hurriedly stepping forward. Then, Lei Mengying instructed, "Since you are cultivators of the Xiaoyao Sect, then look after him for me." With that, she left.

Inside the house, everyone seemed to realize something and panicked. Finally, a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect spoke up: "Senior brother, have we messed things up? Senior brother Huaizhen will be angry if he finds out we took care of His Highness instead of him, won't he?"

"Shut up!" everyone shouted in unison.

“You know this, I know this, we all know this. Besides, Senior Brother Huaizhen is currently in a coma. If he wakes up and finds out that we were taking care of him, he will be more than grateful,” Mu Qingfeng said.

...

at night.

Inside a lit tent.

Xu Tao sat in meditation with his upper body naked and his eyes closed. The bloody whip marks on his back were a shocking sight.

The military whips used in the past were not ordinary whips; they were specially made for cultivators. Those who received a hundred lashes would be unable to get up for several months at best, and at worst, their cultivation would drop.

Behind her, Mu Xiyao carried a basin of water and gently wiped the wound. Before long, the water in the basin was stained with blood, and there were blood-stained strips of cloth on the ground.

"Senior Brother Xu, if it hurts, just bite down." Mu Xiyao stretched out her fair left arm and placed it in front of Xu Tao's mouth to wipe away the blood.

"It's alright, just wipe it off." Xu Tao said weakly, enduring the pain.

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiyao's eyes held a complex mix of emotions. She gently applied the hemostatic powder and suddenly said, "Senior Brother Xu, you shouldn't have acted impulsively today."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tao seemed to have touched a raw nerve. Ignoring the pain, he suddenly turned around, grabbed Mu Xiyao's wrist, and pressed it onto the bed. His brows were filled with boundless rage: "I've already told you, you don't need to mention what happened today. That's the man who killed my father and brother. If that person hadn't stopped me, I would have killed him. I don't care about the consequences!"

On the bed, Mu Xiyao avoided looking directly at him, her beautiful eyes darting away. She was pressed down on the bed without using her spiritual power to resist.

Perhaps sensing something, or perhaps due to the pain in his back, Xu Tao's expression softened. He slowly loosened his grip, took a deep breath, and whispered apologetically, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Senior Brother Xu." Mu Xiyao rubbed her red wrist, then continued to wipe Xu Tao's wound.

Before long, the basin was covered in blood, and Xu Tao's body was wrapped in many strips of cloth. Mu Xiyao let go of his hand: "Senior Brother Xu, you should rest well today. Xiyao will find another tent."

Fortunately, Xu Tao still had a shred of reason. As soon as the man left, he quickly grabbed him and pulled him into his arms, whispering, "It's late at night, there are no tents here, and I don't need to rest. How can such a minor injury delay my cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiyao, who was in his arms, looked somewhat disappointed. She had thought that her icy senior brother had finally come to his senses, and all her expectations had vanished.