180: Deterrence

"Who is this!"

Hua Hanxiang stood up abruptly, her water-blue long dress suddenly tightening like a drum skin, and the butterfly hairpin in her bun trembled violently, the tiny gems on the wingtips emitting chaotic arcs of light.

That face, usually seductive and soul-stirring, had shed all its charm, leaving only extreme gravity and a trace of... fear.

She never dreamed that within an hour of stepping into East Lin City, she would encounter such a life-threatening crisis.

Fragrant sweat seeped from her forehead and slid down her temples. Suddenly, her pupils constricted like needles—today's only offense was sending the bald man to investigate the experts in the city and probe the owner of Rain Embroidery Courtyard, whom Wang Cheng had entrusted with heavy responsibilities.

But this single probe had actually drawn out such an old monster!

No wonder even the City Lord, Wang Cheng, was willing to entrust the safety of East Lin City to Yuxiu Pavilion. No wonder the news from the spies said that East Lin City had always been peaceful as usual.

She finally understood what kind of terrifying existence she had provoked with this probe!

At this moment, inside the Rain Embroidery Courtyard.

Situ Jun took out a bronze mask and put it on. As the cool sensation touched his cheek, his figure turned into a faint shadow and vanished into the air.

On the top floor of the Drunken Immortal Tower, the luxury private room was deathly silent.

The atmosphere that had been filled with an eerie, seductive charm moments ago was now completely crushed by an invisible, almost suffocatingly terrifying pressure.

A cold Aura lingered in the air, and every breath brought a bone-chilling cold.

Hua Hanxiang's face was deathly pale. The previous eerie flush had vanished completely, leaving only a nearly transparent, wretched whiteness.

The colorful butterfly perched on her delicate shoulder had frozen like a specimen, its antennae shaking like a candle in the wind, and even the phosphorus powder on its wings was rustling off.

Her slender fingers gripped the snow-white cushion beneath her tightly, her knuckles turning pale from the force.

In those narrow Phoenix eyes, there was no longer any hint of charm or calculation, only the most primal shock and horror, as if facing a natural predator!

"Thump!"

The bald Guard could no longer hold out, his knees slamming heavily onto the hard floor, the sound of his kneecaps cracking clearly audible.

Veins bulged on his forehead, and pea-sized beads of sweat mixed with blood seeped from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. He was like a toad pinned down by an invisible giant mountain, unable even to lift his head, only able to squeeze a broken roar from deep in his throat with all his strength:

"Ma... Madam..."

"Shut... up!"

Hua Hanxiang squeezed out two words with difficulty through her teeth, her voice trembling in a way she hadn't even noticed.

The Late Golden Core Stage spiritual power in her body circulated frantically, trying to resist this monstrous pressure, but it was like an ant trying to stop a carriage. That power, as vast as a deep sea, carried an absolute will—indifferent and cold, like a high god looking down at ants in the dust, needing only a thought to crush her and the Drunken Immortal Tower into powder!

The target was too clear—it was coming for her, Hua Hanxiang!

"Who on earth is this! How can there be such a person in East Lin City..."

Hua Hanxiang lay weakly on the soft couch, feeling as if her Divine Soul was about to be crushed by this pressure.

Just as her consciousness was about to sink into darkness, that terrifying pressure, as tangible as substance, suddenly receded like a tide.

It came abruptly and left cleanly.

"Hoo—Hah—Hah—"

Heavy, life-after-death gasps echoed in the deathly silent private room.

Hua Hanxiang was like a fish out of water, her body arching suddenly as she gasped for air. Cold sweat instantly soaked the back of her luxurious water-blue dress, outlining her breathtaking curves, though she only looked pathetic now.

The colorful butterfly on her shoulder was as limp as a withered leaf, its life or death unknown.

The bald Guard was slumped on the ground, his bones seemingly out of place, blood constantly seeping from the corners of his mouth, his eyes vacant, leaving only the instinct of fear.

"Madam... we... we..."

A follower who was lucky enough not to die struggled to crawl over, his voice shaking beyond recognition.

Hua Hanxiang suddenly raised her hand, stopping his words.

She straightened up with difficulty, ignoring her appearance, and staggered to the carved wooden window facing the street, pushing it open!

The afternoon sun was a bit dazzling. There were many pedestrians on the street, but they didn't seem to feel that terrifying Aura, still chatting and laughing as if the previous horror had never happened.

Her gaze was fixed on the direction of the City Lord's Mansion, then looked further toward the Rain Embroidery Courtyard shrouded in an invisible power.

Nothing.

No world-shaking explosion, no brilliant light from Spirit Qi collisions. Only the wind, blowing through the fallen leaves at the street corner, spinning them around.

But Hua Hanxiang knew that everything just now was definitely not an illusion! That fear, deep in her bones and freezing her Divine Soul, was still there!

Just as she turned around.

There was an extra person in the room wearing a mask. That person had a pair of invisible, extremely indifferent eyes watching her.

In that gaze, there was no anger, no killing intent, only a kind of... indifference, as if looking down at dust.

A chill, even greater than the Aura from before, instantly surged from her tailbone to the top of her head!

Hua Hanxiang was startled, her pupils widening as her whole body trembled. She staggered back a few steps and hit the window frame, closing the window with a "bang."

The room instantly darkened a bit.

She leaned against the window, her full chest heaving violently, her seductive face pale with extreme lingering fear and shock.

What terrified her even more was that the bald Guard and the attendants were all unconscious on the floor, their life or death unknown.

"Your... Your Excellency, who are you! Why have you come here?"

Her voice carried a tremor that she even detested herself.

Situ Jun ignored her and activated the Eye of Detection, his gaze shifting slightly:

[Name: Hua Hanxiang]

[Age: 106 years old]

[Identity: Poison Scorpion Cult Elder]

[Rating: 94]

[Cultivation: Late Golden Core Stage]

[Physique (Spiritual Vein): Medium Grade Wood Spiritual Root, Hundred Flowers Charming Body (Excellent Dual Cultivation Cauldron)]

[Favorability: -50]

[heavenly luck value: 5000]

[Recent Evaluation: Intends to find the Opportunity in Daoist Ming Ya's Immortal Cave, probe the experts in East Lin City, and find out the background of the owner of Yuxiu Pavilion. Competitive, arrived in East Lin City ahead of other Poison Scorpion Cult experts.]

Situ Jun's eyes shone with divine light.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a servitude pill, wrapped it in Spirit Qi, and sent it to Hua Hanxiang's lips:

"Eat it!"

Hua Hanxiang took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.

Knowing she couldn't resist in front of such an old monster, she couldn't refuse even if it was a poison pill.

She tremblingly reached out her jade-like hand to take the pill, glanced at the Servant Girl lying on the ground, life or death unknown, and the heavily injured, unconscious bald Guard, a look of hesitation flashing in her eyes.

Glancing at the cold gaze beneath Situ Jun's mask, she didn't dare to hesitate any longer, tilted her head back, and swallowed the pill.

Seeing Hua Hanxiang swallow the pill, Situ Jun's cold gaze softened a bit. He took off his mask and said:

"My name is Situ Jun, the owner of the Yuxiu Pavilion you were looking for. Your Physique and Spiritual Vein are not bad. In the future, be my Cauldron."

Hua Hanxiang looked at his young face and was completely stunned—was this an old monster with a youthful appearance, or a peerless Genius who had reached this Realm at such a young age? To have such Cultivation at such a young age.

She originally wanted to scoff in her heart, but as the pill dissolved, a strange power was quietly changing her, making a mysterious awe and admiration for the person before her rise within her, as if it were only natural.

A moment later, her eyebrows smoothed out, and a hint of shyness appeared in her eyes:

"Thank you, Master. Then this Servant Girl..."

Her watery eyes shimmered with light, a faint mist rising, as she looked at Situ Jun with a face full of expectation.

Situ Jun felt a surge of heat in his heart as he looked at her. He took a deep breath and said:

"Next time. I'll use your Physique when you help me with my Breakthrough to the Middle Stage Nascent Soul. It would be a waste now."

Saying that, he took out a sound transmission talisman and tossed it to her:

"Send me a transmission if anything happens. Take care of yourself."

After saying that, his figure flashed and he returned to the Rain Embroidery Courtyard.