I am the snake demon!

"Auntie, what's wrong?"

Looking at the sad Duan Baiyu, Xu Yuhua was puzzled. She could understand the sadness, but what did "so that's how it is" mean?

Why did her voice convey such grief and indignation? An ominous premonition gripped Xu Yuhua's heart.

"Shi'an is dead. Xuan'er is my adopted son." Duan Baiyu looked at Xu Yuhua and revealed the cruel truth.

"My third brother is dead?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuhua was struck dumb, her delicate body trembling violently, and she showed an expression of disbelief.

died?

How could he die?

Anyone in this world can die, but my third brother cannot die!

The old man who had followed Xu Yuhua in without speaking suddenly gleamed with a chilling light in his eyes upon hearing the news. He glanced at Bai Xuan beside him and then said, "Your Highness, this matter is of great importance. Is there a quiet place in the temple for us to discuss this further?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Baiyu looked at Bai Xuan and said, "Xuan'er, you help me pack up. I'll go and discuss it with them."

Bai Xuan nodded and watched the three leave, leaving one person in the room. In reality, he secretly activated his profound power, his senses covering the entire Jade True Temple, so that he could hear their voices no matter where they went.

He wants to become an immortal to repay a debt of gratitude.

However, it seems that repaying this debt of gratitude is quite troublesome.

He originally thought that his benefactor was reincarnated and would be similar to Xu Xian, born into poverty, and that he would help her realize her dreams and make her rich, whether she married her beloved husband or took in a son-in-law to protect the family business, it didn't matter.

He must be from a wealthy family; with his abilities, he can surely help her achieve her dreams.

Who would have thought that apart from sharing the same surname, Xu, they had nothing in common?

The princess of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.

This identity is no simple matter. He had heard of the reputation of the Prince of Zhenbei. He was the military god of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a prince of a different surname. In the War of the Eight Princes thirty years ago, he assisted the Prince of Jin to ascend the throne. He was invincible in battle, pacified the vassal kings, and destroyed three kingdoms in succession.

He guarded the two states of Liang and Bing, and both the great demons of the Demon Kingdom and the wild men of the Northern Wilderness feared him like a tiger.

So Xu Yuhua wasn't a princess, but she was no different from one, and perhaps even more carefree.

The current trouble seems to be that her father and her brother are dead, and no one will inherit her father's throne, which will affect her future status.

But how can I help her?

He couldn't very well offer himself up as a son-in-law, marry into her family, have her bear a child, and then inherit the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.

Not to mention that children born this way wouldn't be able to inherit the title, there wouldn't be enough time either.

The gap in ability between him and Xu Yuhua is too great; even if they try for decades, they might not be able to have a child.

And he actually succeeded, settled the karmic debt, abandoned his wife and children, and ascended to become an immortal.

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to bring himself to be ruthless when the time came.

We must learn from the mistakes of our predecessors.

Simply repay a debt of gratitude, without getting married, having children, or creating trouble for yourself.

Bai Xuan was pondering when he heard a voice beside him, and he immediately focused his attention and listened intently.

Meanwhile, Duan Baiyu, Xu Yuhua, and the old man arrived at a secret room.

"Auntie, what exactly happened? The guards at Yuzhen Temple are not weak. Who killed Third Brother?"

In just a few steps, Xu Yuhua managed to control her emotions and looked at Duan Baiyu.

"Blood Shadow Cult."

Duan Baiyu slowly recounted the story.

"Damn reptiles, how dare they lay a hand on my Zhenbei Prince's Mansion! When I return, I will use all the strength of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion to wipe out the Blood Shadow Sect." Upon hearing the words "Blood Shadow Sect," the old man's face immediately turned fierce, like a raging tiger.

A hint of murderous intent also surfaced in Xu Yuhua's clear eyes.

"If Zhongwen were still alive, this would be the case, but is the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion still under our control?" Duan Baiyu asked a more crucial question.

She married into the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion along with her elder sister.

Her elder sister was the principal wife, while she was a concubine, somewhere between a wife and a concubine.

When a prince dies, his wife's son shall inherit the throne; if his wife's son dies, his concubine's son shall inherit the throne.

But now Xu Zhenlan is dead, and Xu Shian is dead too.

Therefore, the one who inherits the throne is Xu Yanheng, the eldest son of the Prince of Zhenbei.

With Xu Yanheng succeeding to the throne, he naturally wouldn't be as concerned about finding the real culprit as they were.

She even suspected that the real culprit behind it all might be Xu Yanheng.

After all, if Xu Shi'an hadn't died, Xu Yanheng wouldn't have been able to take the position of Prince of Zhenbei.

Upon hearing Duan Baiyu's words, everyone fell silent.

After a long silence, Xu Yuhua broke the silence and asked, "Auntie, who is Bai Xuan? How come he's the only one left alive? Is he reliable?"

"Xuan'er is my adopted son. I raised him from childhood to adulthood, and he is no different from my own son. If he is unreliable, then there is no one reliable in this world," Duan Baiyu said.

To her, Xu Yuhua was indeed her niece, but after ten years apart, she was far less close to Bai Xuan, whom she had raised since childhood.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuhua turned to look at the old man beside her. Her aunt was no ordinary person; her father had also been here before and should have investigated.

The old man controlled the largest intelligence network of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.

"Bai Xuan was found unconscious by the roadside ten years ago and was rescued by the princess. After waking up, he lost his memory, presumably due to an accident on the mountain. He was mentally impaired for nearly a year before regaining his senses, but he still cannot remember his past memories. However, based on the investigation, it can be basically confirmed that he is not a spy sent by other forces. In addition, he has a special body and cannot cultivate advanced internal energy, only rudimentary external martial arts. However, he has superhuman strength and is rarely matched below the seventh rank, suggesting that he may have a special physique," the old man replied.

"Unable to cultivate internal energy?" Xu Yuhua looked surprised upon hearing this.

Martial arts in the world are divided into nine ranks.

The lower three grades are for body refinement, the middle three grades are for qi refinement, and the upper three grades are for spirit refinement.

The seventh grade is an insurmountable barrier.

Once a demon cultivator reaches the seventh rank, they can transform into a human and progress a thousand miles in a day.

Only when a person cultivates to the seventh rank can they borrow the power of heaven and earth, thus becoming a powerful figure and entering the inner sanctum of the sect.

However, pure external martial arts skills can only rival those of the sixth rank.

In other words, if one cannot cultivate to the seventh rank, in the eyes of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, one is no different from an ordinary person.

On the other side, Bai Xuan, who had heard all these words, had a subtle expression on his face.

It wasn't that he didn't want to pretend, but his magical power was a bit too strong, and he simply couldn't cultivate that little bit of internal energy, which was instantly absorbed.

The magical power of a demon is different from the aura of a mortal. Although ordinary people cannot detect it, it is better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, he can only use his physical body to pretend that he has mastered external martial arts.

"Yes, Xuan'er's physique is not suitable for cultivating internal energy, which is counterproductive. On the contrary, cultivating external energy is more efficient." Duan Baiyu paused here, having just directly defeated a seventh-rank expert, whose strength was even higher than she had expected.

"Can Auntie be sure he's alright?" Xu Yuhua suppressed her doubts and looked intently at Duan Baiyu, her gaze even carrying an inappropriate scrutinizing quality.

"Of course," Duan Baiyu affirmed, then turned a sharp gaze to Xu Yuhua. "Yuhua, you don't actually think he brought the Blood Shadow Cult members and harmed Shi'an, do you?"

She has already lost one son; she cannot afford to lose another.

"No, I mean, if you're really sure that Bai Xuan is alright, then everyone in Yuzhen Temple is dead, and the Blood Shadow Sect assassins are in our hands. If we kill them all, besides the three of us, who else will know whether it's our third brother or Bai Xuan who died?" Xu Yuhua took a deep breath, her chest heaving, her heart pounding.

Making this decision is tantamount to playing with fire.

But right now, I absolutely have to play!

Upon hearing this, Duan Baiyu's eyes widened as she looked at Xu Yuhua in disbelief. She had long heard that her niece was shrewd and resourceful, but she never imagined that she would be so bold.

If the impersonation of Shi An and the succession to the throne were exposed and the court found out, none of those present would survive.

Bai Xuan, who was eavesdropping, also widened his eyes. "No way?"

Does this mean I should become a prince?