181: Chapter 181 Shadow Assassin Caught: This is Not a Place You Can Come Here To?

"Let go!"

Pressed against the white jade desk, Mo Han let out a low, raspy growl.

The humiliation of being crushed by absolute power was like a red-hot iron, searing her proud assassin's heart.

As a "slaughter weapon" cultivated by the Heavenly Court with endless resources, she had lived for three thousand years. Although she spent most of that time in slumber, whenever she awoke, she was a God of Death who struck terror into all who heard her name.

No one had ever dared to treat her like this.

Like an ant that could be crushed at will, or like a novel toy to be played with.

Buzz!

A heart-palpitating black ripple suddenly erupted from deep within Mo Han's petite body.

That was the ultimate burning of the Law of Shadows. Beneath her paper-white skin, eerie ink-colored patterns actually emerged, as if a slumbering primordial beast was awakening.

Even a Quasi-Saint Peak physical body began to crack under the wash of this power, seeping traces of black blood.

Origin Secret Technique—Shadow Sacrifice!

Burning three thousand years of cultivation in exchange for that instant of ultimate sublimation.

This was a move meant for mutual destruction.

"Oh? Preferring to be shattered jade rather than intact tile?"

Feeling the sudden surge of high temperature and destructive aura beneath his palm, Xu Chen's eyebrows twitched slightly.

If it were an ordinary Quasi-Saint facing this mad-dog-like self-destructive counterattack, they would likely choose to withdraw and retreat immediately. After all, the origin self-detonation of the number one on the Tian Sha List was enough to level half of this Imperial Palace.

But he did not retreat.

He didn't even relax the force holding down her wrist by half a bit.

"Trying to self-detonate in front of this Young Master?"

In Xu Chen's deep eyes, golden light suddenly flared, as if two brilliant suns were rising to illuminate and break through all darkness.

"Do you even think you're worthy?"

With his light snort, the Hongmeng Creation Origin Body within him, which had already been developed to the second stage, finally revealed its ferocious and overbearing side.

Ancestor of ten thousand paths, source of all laws.

Boom!

A supreme golden blood-qi gushed out from Xu Chen's palm like the Heavenly River pouring downwards, instantly suppressing the black shadows that attempted to counterattack.

That was not just a suppression of power, but an absolute crushing of life levels.

Like melting snow under a blazing sun.

The origin fire Mo Han had just ignited didn't even have time to throw off a single spark before it was forcibly "pushed" back into her body by this overbearing golden torrent.

“Pfft!”

Mo Han spat out a mouthful of blood, her entire person feeling as if struck by lightning.

The originally violent spiritual power within her, under the washing of the Primordial Qi, was like a mouse encountering its natural enemy, shivering as it shrank back into her dantian, unable to be mobilized in the slightest.

"How... is this possible..."

She slumped on the desk, a thick sense of horror finally surfacing in her deathly still eyes.

Speaking law into existence? Impervious to all methods?

Could this be the legendary means of a Great Emperor? But he is clearly only a Quasi-Saint!

"Nothing is impossible."

Xu Chen unhurriedly released his hand, looking at the girl sprawled on the table like a puddle of mud, a mischievous smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

With a flip of his wrist, a golden rope appeared in his palm.

Complex runes flowed over the surface of the rope, emitting a sealing aura that made the soul tremble.

This was something those old men in the Xu Family's Artifact Refining Pavilion had specially crafted—the Immortal-Binding Rope (Supreme Enhanced Version)—modeled after an ancient divine artifact to curry favor with him, the Young Master.

Originally, Xu Chen had planned to use this to add some "new flair" when playing with Luo Hongyi in the future.

He hadn't expected to let this little assassin benefit from it first today.

"Since you've come to my Xu Family, trying to leave without being a guest for a bit would be quite disrespectful to me."

Xu Chen flicked his finger, and the golden rope seemed to gain life, instantly turning into a streak of light and wrapping around Mo Han's body.

"You... what are you doing! A warrior can be killed but not humiliated!"

Although Mo Han could not move her body, her mind was still clear. Seeing the strange rope, she instinctively felt a wave of shame and panic.

Xu Chen ignored her protests entirely, his fingers nimbly manipulating the rope.

"This is the Xu Family's unique way of treating guests. Bear with it; the first time might be a bit tight."

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The golden rope interlaced in the air, weaving across the black-clothed girl's body like a spiritual snake.

Xu Chen did not use a crude method of hog-tying her; instead, he very "exquisitely" adopted a certain highly artistic binding style.

The rope bit tightly into her black night-suit, looping over her shoulders and tied into an elaborate knot at her chest, forcibly creating a startling sense of fullness from curves that were originally not very prominent.

Then the rope slid down her spine, tightening at her slender waist, and finally bound her hands behind her back, tied together with her legs.

A fantasy version of the "tortoise shell bind."

Under Xu Chen's mischievous aesthetic, this Shadow Kill, who struck terror into others, now looked like a carefully packaged gift, exuding an indescribable beauty of mistreatment.

"Perfect."

Xu Chen clapped his hands, admiring his masterpiece.

Mo Han was currently filled with shame and indignation.

The sensation of the rope biting into her skin and the helplessness of her spiritual power being completely sealed made her perennially pale face flush bright red. She would rather Xu Chen give her a killing blow than suffer this humiliation!

"Bastard... kill me if you have the guts!"

She gritted her teeth, her voice trembling.

"Kill you? That would be too wasteful."

Xu Chen chuckled, grabbing the knot of the rope with one hand, lifting her up directly like he was carrying a disobedient kitten.

Then, he tossed her casually.

Thud.

Mo Han's entire body traced an arc through the air, landing heavily on the wide, soft dragon bed not far away.

The soft brocade quilt sank down, and her whole body bounced twice due to inertia. However, because her hands and feet were bound, she could only squirm with difficulty on the bed like a caterpillar, unable even to turn over.

Xu Chen walked slowly to the bedside, looking down at her from above.

"Warm-up is over. Now let's see what this 'guest' who dared to break into my Bedchamber actually looks like."

He reached out his hand, slowly moving toward the black veil on Mo Han's face that masked her aura.

"No... don't!"

A flash of panic appeared in Mo Han's eyes.

For an assassin walking in the darkness, having one's true face exposed often meant death, or consequences more terrifying than death.

But her protest was meaningless before Xu Chen.

Rip.

The veil was gently lifted by Xu Chen's two fingers.

The flickering candlelight illuminated a face that made even Xu Chen slightly lose himself.

It was an extremely exquisite face, yet it carried a strange sense of youthfulness.

She looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old. Her skin was a sickly pale from lack of sunlight, and her lips were very thin, exuding a sense of cold indifference.

But what Xu Chen cared about most were her eyes.

Even though she was currently a prisoner and filled with shame, the depths of those eyes remained a scene of deathly stillness, like a withered well, devoid of any of the vibrancy that should belong to this age.

If one ignored those eyes full of the vicissitudes of life and deathly stillness and only looked at this face, who could have imagined this was an old monster who had lived for three thousand years?

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Xu Chen couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration, his gaze scanning her face wantonly before finally reaching out to pinch her small chin.

"A bone age of three thousand years, yet wearing a sixteen-year-old face."

"Those old fogies in the Heavenly Court really raised you as a weapon that only knows how to kill."

Hearing the term "three thousand years old," Mo Han's pupils shrank violently.

This was her greatest secret!

Except for those few core giants of the Heavenly Court, absolutely no one knew her true age! How could this man... see through it at a single glance?!

"You... who exactly are you?"

Mo Han's voice was somewhat dry, and for the first time, she felt a fear originating from her soul toward this seemingly cynical man before her.

"Who I am is not important."

Xu Chen leaned down, his warm breath fanning across her sensitive earlobe. Watching her ear quickly flush red from shame, the smile at the corner of his mouth grew even more intense.

"What's important is that this is the Young Emperors Palace, not some vegetable market where you can come and go as you please."

"Since you've come..."

Xu Chen's finger slid down her cheek, gently flicking open the collar of her tight night-suit, revealing a breathtaking patch of snowy white.

"Then you'll have to pay a bit of a price."