Upon hearing this voice, the guard captain shuddered violently and hastily sheathed his blade.
He turned around and bowed deeply. “Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince! Replying to Your Highness, this woman tore down the imperial bounty board to treat His Majesty!”
Yan Yunxiao, the Crown Prince of Great Yan, raised his eyebrows slightly, a trace of exhaustion and urgency showing on his face. “If someone has accepted the bounty, that is a good thing. Why are you causing a scene and drawing your blade here?”
The guard captain wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said in a low, somewhat aggrieved voice, “Your Highness, please understand. I questioned her just now, and this young lady is neither a renowned master of medicine in the cultivation world nor a powerful figure of an immortal sect who possesses secret arts. She is even...”
“...even completely devoid of any spiritual energy fluctuations! She is merely a mundane martial artist! I was worried she was here to mock and make sport of us, which is why I was bold enough to try to drive her away...”
“A martial artist?”
Yan Yunxiao's eyes narrowed, his gaze falling upon Su Yueli.
At this sight, he could not help but inwardly praise her stunning beauty.
Even with his high standards as the Crown Prince of Great Yan, he had rarely seen such a cold, refined, and peerless elegance.
Yet, as he focused his senses, there was indeed no trace of worldly spiritual energy on her. The young girl beside her was also merely a Third Realm martial artist.
Yan Yunxiao suppressed his astonishment and darkened his expression, his voice carrying the authority of a high ruler. “Young lady, this imperial bounty concerns my royal father's safety. Without true capability, mocking the royal family and delaying His Majesty's treatment is a capital offense punishable by the execution of nine generations in Great Yan! Are you certain you want to accept this bounty?”
Hearing these threatening words, the corners of Su Yueli's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.
“There are countless paths under heaven. The spiritual magic and medical skills of cultivators are not the only things that can heal and save people.”
Su Yueli's beautiful eyes calmly looked at Yan Yunxiao. “As for whether I can cure him... Your Highness is currently turning to any doctor in times of desperation. Rather than bickering with me over my identity here, why not take me in to have a look? If I cannot cure him, with Your Highness's capability, surely you do not fear that I will escape?”
Yan Yunxiao stared into Su Yueli's eyes, attempting to find any hint of panic or bluffing.
However, the blue-dressed woman before him was as calm as water, her gaze as deep as an ancient well, completely unfathomable.
He could not help but ponder. His royal father was currently on the verge of death, and the imperial physicians in the palace as well as the renowned experts invited from the immortal sects were all at their wits' end.
Although this woman possessed no spiritual energy, her bearing was by no means comparable to that of an ordinary mortal. Perhaps she truly possessed some unknown, miraculous art!
“Good! What courage!”
Yan Yunxiao made a swift decision, waving his sleeve as he said, “Since you are so confident, follow me into the palace to give it a try!”
“Lead the way,” Su Yueli said, perfectly composed.
Beside her, Han Yu quickly caught up, feeling both nervous and filled with admiration.
Her master's presence was simply too powerful. Speaking to the Crown Prince of a grand dynasty was actually as natural as greeting a neighbor.
Upon entering the imperial palace, row after row of heavily armed Imperial Guards verified their identities, creating an atmosphere filled with gravity and oppression.
Along the way, Yan Yunxiao asked probingly, “Listening to your accent, it seems you are not a native of Great Yan?”
“My disciple and I are from Great Li,” Su Yueli replied flatly.
Great Li?
Yan Yunxiao's heart stirred. That was an extremely ancient dynasty.
Among the eight major dynasties, the Li Dynasty was the oldest; most of the others were newly established or had only existed for about a thousand years.
The Li Dynasty had already endured for several thousand years.
He had not expected a martial artist from Great Li to have the courage to travel all the way to Great Yan.
He sighed and took the initiative to bring up the illness. “To tell you the truth, my royal father contracted this strange disease half a year ago. A death-fiend poison manifested out of nowhere within his body, eroding his blood qi and meridians.”
“The Tenth and Eleventh Realm consecrated experts in the palace tried to disperse it with their immense spiritual magic, but that poisonous fiend energy could actually devour spiritual magic to feed itself. The more they channeled spiritual magic, the faster my royal father's condition deteriorated. Now, his breath is as weak as silk, hanging by a thread.”
Hearing this, Su Yueli became increasingly certain.
A death-fiend poison that absorbed spiritual magic to feed itself?
This seemed to be some sort of masterless worldly fiend energy!
When a cultivator's spiritual magic encountered this kind of thing, it was like dry wood meeting a blazing fire; the more it was fueled, the brighter it burned.
But to her Martial Soul, this was a complete, natural tonic!
Passing through layers of corridors, the group finally arrived at the depths of the imperial bedchamber.
The moment they entered the palace doors, a bone-chilling, cold deathly energy rushed over them.
Beside the dragon bed, a haggard middle-aged woman dressed in phoenix robes was wiping away tears. She was none other than the Empress of Great Yan. Standing around her were several elderly consecrated experts of Great Yan, all with solemn expressions.
“My son, why have you brought two outsiders in?” The Empress frowned and looked at Su Yueli and her disciple. Seeing Su Yueli's attire as a mundane martial artist, a flash of disappointment and displeasure instantly crossed her eyes.
At a time like this, why would the Crown Prince bring in a martial artist without any spiritual energy to make trouble?
Yan Yunxiao quickly stepped forward and whispered into her ear.
After listening, the Empress let out a deep sigh.
Looking at Su Yueli with a hint of despair, she said, “Young lady, since you have accepted the bounty, I will treat this as a last-ditch effort. As long as you can save His Majesty's life, in addition to the Grade Eight Myriad Tribulations Blood-Washing Vine offered as the reward, I will personally make the decision to grant you an extra Heaven-grade high-rank immortal artifact from the royal treasury! Furthermore, you will be the most honored friend of our Great Yan royal family in the future!”
Hearing this, Su Yueli raised her eyebrows in slight surprise.
A Grade Eight main herb, a Heaven-grade high-rank immortal artifact, and the favor of the entire Great Yan royal family?
It seemed this old emperor held an extremely high status in the hearts of the royal family. Or perhaps the royal family had truly reached such a desperate state that they were turning to any doctor, offering conditions that were incredibly lavish.
“A good offer. It's a deal, then.”
Su Yueli smiled slightly, then turned and instructed, “There must be no disturbances during the treatment. Except for the Crown Prince and Her Majesty the Empress, all other unrelated persons must leave.”
The elderly consecrated experts originally wanted to berate a mundane martial artist for boasting so shamelessly, but seeing the Crown Prince and Empress nod, they could only snort coldly and reluctantly withdraw from the bedchamber.
For a moment, only the Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, Su Yueli, and Han Yu remained in the spacious bedchamber.
Su Yueli slowly walked to the dragon bed.
The Great Yan Emperor on the bed had a ghastly black complexion, his breath as weak as silk. A bizarre mass of black fiend energy swirled wildly within his meridians, continuously devouring his vitality.
Su Yueli scrutinized him for a moment, and the corner of her mouth could not help but twitch slightly.
Good grief. What strange disease or evil poison? It was simply a mass of profound-nether deathly fiend energy that had managed to slip into his body by pure chance!
Cultivators viewed it as a deadly poison, but to her...
“Oh well, my gain.”
Su Yueli focused her mind, spreading her fingers slightly as she pressed her hand gently against the Great Yan Emperor's chest.
The next moment, the blood qi within her body suddenly surged!
Boom!
An illusory Martial Soul dharma form faintly emerged out of thin air behind Su Yueli!
Although it was only a faint, developing form, the domineering martial path intent of sweeping across the eight wildernesses and suppressing all creation instantly enveloped the entire bedchamber!
“Roar—!”
In the unseen depths, what sounded like the roar of an ancient malevolent beast echoed in their minds.
Faced with this Martial Soul pressure, the black deathly fiend energy within the Emperor's body began to tremble. Then, drawn by a terrifying suction force generated from Su Yueli's palm, it was pulled out!
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