Chapter 161: The Male Lead Is Living Off a Woman (Fourth Update)

As the Crown Prince of Yunzhou, Dongfang Shang was now approaching forty, retaining the appearance of a man in his prime.

This indicated that his spiritual roots had not been implanted very long ago.

Yan Shu was quite surprised by his arrival, but Xiao Jihan showed not the slightest trace of emotion, clearly having anticipated it all along.

He stepped out of the house, looked at Dongfang Shang, and asked, "Is Your Highness the Crown Prince here for the Longevity Pills?"

Dongfang Shang nodded. "Precisely. Might I ask if the Daoist friend would be willing to part with them? Your remaining lifespan is still vast, but my imperial father is already on his deathbed. I do not ask the Daoist friend to hand over all the Longevity Pills, just two of them will suffice. Naturally, I would not expect you to relinquish them for nothing; I am willing to purchase them at the price of ten thousand superior spirit stones each."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jihan cast a glance at Dongfang Shang. "The Crown Prince desires these Longevity Pills not for your father, am I right? A person may consume up to ten Longevity Pills in a lifetime, and even a first-tier Longevity Pill can extend one's life by forty years."

"If you truly wished to save the life of the Emperor of Yunzhou, given the resources of the imperial house of Dongfang, even if an eighth-tier Longevity Pill were unattainable, second or third-tier ones would be well within reach. Let alone ten pills, if they wanted even one, the Emperor of Yunzhou would not be in his current state."

These words were so piercingly accurate that Dongfang Shang narrowed his eyes instantly, a flash of cold light gleaming in his depths.

Observing his expression, Yan Shu silently prepared herself for defense.

Xiao Jihan, however, acted as if he noticed nothing, continuing in an unhurried tone, "Since the Crown Prince has recently obtained spiritual roots, you must have already begun your cultivation. Though I know not the quality of your spiritual roots, for you to have reached only the Qi Condensation stage as you near forty..."

"You urgently need a high-grade Longevity Pill to extend your life, lest your allotted years run out halfway and your efforts fall short of success. Therefore, these two Longevity Pills are sought by the Crown Prince for your own use. Am I right or wrong?"

Outside the courtyard hung a deathly silence. Dongfang Shang stared coldly at Xiao Jihan, as though looking at a corpse. "Daoist friend is truly clever, living up to your reputation as the man who cuckolded Yuwen Che. Yet sometimes, being overly clever will only hasten one's death."

Having spoken these gloomy words, he suddenly took two steps back.

The few individuals who had accompanied him instantly stepped forward, shielding him behind them. At the same time, those people raised their hands in unison, and a barrier descended from the sky.

This was a barrier of the Divinity Transformation stage.

The moment the barrier appeared, Yan Shu's heart skipped a beat. She was likely done for today.

Of the four before them, at least two were in the Divinity Transformation stage. Meanwhile, she and Xiao Jihan were merely at the late Nascent Soul and early Divinity Transformation stages respectively—how could they possibly fight against these four?

Standing outside the barrier, Dongfang Shang looked at Xiao Jihan and sneered, "Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeiture, don't blame me."

Xiao Jihan's expression remained calm as he looked at Dongfang Shang. "Since you know who I am, you should also know that Yuwen Che's fiancée is inside this house. If you kill us, are you not afraid of Yuwen Che's retaliation?"

Far from being frightened, Dongfang Shang chuckled upon hearing this. "If that fiancée were not here, perhaps I might not have made a move."

Hearing this, Yan Shu was instantly stunned.

The amount of information contained in those words was massive. It meant that Dongfang Shang was actually targeting her after all.

Targeting Yuwen Che's fiancée?

Without any intention of wasting more words, Dongfang Shang waved his hand and commanded, "Attack!"

At his command, the four cultivators launched themselves at them instantly. Three of them lunged at Xiao Jihan, while one charged toward Yan Shu.

Xiao Jihan parried the joint attack of the three with a single sword stroke and transmitted his voice to Yan Shu: "Do not reveal your identity; I have already summoned the Demon King, and he will arrive immediately."

Hearing this, Yan Shu instantly checked the urge to summon her lightning whip. Gripping her flying sword, she engaged the incoming attacker in combat.

Her opponent was a Divinity Transformation cultivator. His moves were vicious, targeting her vital points with nearly every strike. Since Yan Shu was not wielding her natal weapon and her cultivation was considerably lower than his, she quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

As for Xiao Jihan, his situation was even worse. He was at the early Divinity Transformation stage, and his magical treasures had been destroyed during his heavenly tribulation. The sword in his hand now was merely the superior spirit tool Yan Shu had previously given him.

Although he possessed Divinity Transformation cultivation, he was besieged not only by one Divinity Transformation expert but also by two Nascent Soul cultivators.

Fighting three opponents at once, one of whom possessed a higher cultivation level than his own, Xiao Jihan was completely suppressed, utterly devoid of any room to counterattack, left with no choice but to parry and dodge.

Yan Shu was faring no better, dodging with utter wretchedness.

For the first time, she truly experienced the agony of having low cultivation.

In the heat of battle, the gravest taboo was a momentary distraction, especially when the opponent's cultivation surpassed one's own.

A brief lapse in Yan Shu's focus allowed the Divinity Transformation expert to seize the opportunity. With a surge of spiritual energy, he struck fiercely toward her chest with a palm strike.

By this time, Yan Shu had no way to evade.

She hurriedly channeled her spiritual energy to protect her chest, bracing herself to take the blow. Yet at that very moment, a figure materialized before her with unimaginable speed.

Bang!

The immense force of the palm strike sent her stumbling backward several steps before she managed to steady herself. Paying no heed to her own condition, she rushed to support Xiao Jihan and asked anxiously, "How are you?"

"I'm fine—*cough*!"

Xiao Jihan wanted to say he was unhurt, but the moment he opened his mouth, a mouthful of fresh blood gushed out.

Looking at that vivid red blood, and seeing his face turned pale from the impact of that palm strike, Yan Shu flew into a rage!

She had gone through hell and high water to save the male protagonist, carefully guarding him every step of the way, enduring who knew how many bolts of heavenly lightning just to protect him—only for him to take a palm strike meant for her!

How could she not be angry? How could she not be furious?

She pulled Xiao Jihan behind her, glared at the four individuals, and pronounced with chilling frost in her eyes, "You are all finished!"

True!

Her cultivation was indeed only at the late Nascent Soul stage. In a direct, head-on clash of pure cultivation, she truly could not defeat these four.

Let alone all four, she might not even be able to defeat either of the two Divinity Transformation experts individually.

However, they must not forget that she still possessed the Karma Fire Red Lotus, capable of incinerating everything!

If worst came to worst, she would summon heavenly lightning to shatter this barrier and blast these bastards to death!

She refused to believe that the Heavenly Dao, operating with such intelligence, would fail to cooperate with her in avenging its own beloved son!

Standing protected behind her, Xiao Jihan looked at her furious expression. He wanted to tell her not to expose her identity, but the moment he saw the slender arms shielding him so tightly, all such thoughts instantly vanished.

In fact, the moment he realized she might be injured, he had already regretted his plans.

What conspiracy, what grand strategy—none of it mattered as much as her happiness.

Who stood behind Dongfang Shang and why it could not yet be investigated—what did any of that matter? The messy mess of the Xuantian Sect was for the Xuantian Sect's own people to clean up!

His Shu'er need only live freely and happily!

Xiao Jihan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, took a step back, and spoke in a gentle voice at her back: "Go ahead. It matters not if you expose your identity; simply kill them. I shall take care of myself."

Yan Shu: "???"
Why did it feel like the male protagonist was freeloading with such a clear conscience?!