Chapter 85: Encountering Ji Dong and Wu Xiaofei

Wei Qu had mentioned a pharmaceutical company, and Lin Buwan had imagined it to be quite large. But upon arrival, she realized it was just a small firm.

The burly man was immediately embarrassed, his face flushing scarlet. As a rough-and-tumble fellow, he could never produce such a valuable item for a wager. Just as his awkwardness peaked, a drumbeat rang out from the dais, and at once the crowd fell silent.

“So... is it our turn next? Have you made up your mind?” Manwu asked, her eyes glinting with a half-smile as she looked at Zhongli Canfeng.

For the second time, Li Xu climbed into the cockpit of a true combat mecha. This time, he would not make the same rookie mistake as before. He carefully fastened the safety harness on his seat and pressed the mecha’s ignition switch.

“You... I am the mistress of the inner palace! Without my consent, don’t even think about making Nangong Cangli the new empress!” The Empress Dowager grew ever more agitated, her chest heaving violently.

Beneath the boundless blue sky, clouds drifting like tufts of cotton, a soft breeze stirred the grass, painting it in mingling shades of green and yellow.

A thunderous crash, like a bolt of lightning exploding beside his ear, jolted Ling Yun to his core. He could no longer remain seated on the stone bench, but his reflexes were swift and his stance firm. After stumbling back several steps, he finally steadied himself and avoided an ignoble tumble.

Yet that did little to dispel Cangli’s momentary embarrassment. She lifted her head for a glance, only to pause in surprise and mutter, “Prince An is here too?” As if something had dawned on her, she turned and whispered a few words into Lianrong’s ear.

“That Grand Tutor has long claimed illness to avoid court affairs, staying secluded in his idyllic hometown and refusing to relinquish his power. It seems, after hiding away so long, he fears losing his authority and wants to test the Emperor’s current strength,” Prince Qi analyzed.

Thunder rumbled as dark clouds churned, the sky turning ominous and strange. It was as if a malevolent demon had revealed its true face, greedily eyeing the alchemy furnace, gaping its blood-red maw, eager to devour it in one gulp.

A severed meridian meant that this channel didn’t exist at all. At its core, it was an imbalance within the human body. If one were to forcibly carve out a new meridian, it would impact the body’s equilibrium.

However, no matter how he struggled, it was in vain—the elders of the Thunder Clan stood in his way. Gaia could no longer hope to escape from the five elders, each more powerful than the last.

With that, Leopard passed a red invitation card edged in gold to Guo Nianfei. The characters “Invitation” were written in gold dust on the cover. Guo Nianfei accepted it with one hand, cast it a cursory glance, and passed it to Zilong.

As Sima Xuan spoke, he produced a black bandage and carefully wrapped it, layer by layer, around Liu Xian’s eyes.

Hattori Taisuke asked with a hint of complaint. If he had known that youth’s true identity in advance, he never would have started a conflict with him.

In the city of Shouchun, Sun Ce had assumed that Zhang Yu and his companions had long since departed, never expecting them to be hiding right under their noses.

Another gust of wind arose. Lin Peng closed his eyes. This time, instead of using the sword-riding technique, he focused intently on discerning the directions of the various sounds around him.

Their journey had carried them as far as the official road by Meigong Mountain, within the borders of Yanggu County. Evening clouds now colored the sky. Dense woods lined both sides of the path, silent and still. Everyone was worn out from travel; no one spoke, and only the creaking of the escort wagon broke the quiet.

“The power of the curse is Cassius’s own! How could that possibly count as an external force?” Gaia protested indignantly.

After a heated kiss, Xiyan’s body seemed to melt, collapsing limply in Su Chen’s embrace. Her arms wound around his neck, letting him take whatever he desired.

But to be skilled enough to claim first place in any technique—could it really be possible that even an established cultivator of the Yuanhou rank might not compare to her? How could she possess such ability?

Back then, she’d asked Sun Jiaming to help investigate which factory Liu Yuan was at, and used her dreams as a pretext to have his factory inspected.