Mortal Mirror

Dragon scales, an incredibly mysterious existence. This dragon scale is no ordinary object. If the golden dragon soul within the dragon scale isn't eliminated, it will be impossible to refine it for one's own use.

What he yearned for the most was the enormous palace within the dragon scale world, the Divine Dragon Palace.

He always felt that the Divine Dragon Palace was extraordinary. He remembered seeing a massive stone platform in the center of the main hall of the Divine Dragon Palace, with a book on it.

In fact, he also saw another stone platform in front of the central one, but because the first stone platform had something blocking it, he couldn't see what was on the second one.

If he had the time and opportunity, he still wanted to enter the dragon scale to search around. Most importantly, that Divine Dragon Palace was incredibly magical and could help him cultivate his divine sense, making it more resilient.

He had too many things to do. In the following days, he began to cultivate frantically.

Meanwhile, on the eastern side of Fish City, at Sky Sword Pass.

Let's rewind to half a year ago. There was a young man here with a similar background and age to Li Ergou; this person was Li Muzhen.

Time flies like water. If he calculated correctly, it had been four years since he killed his elder brother and sister-in-law, was sentenced to heavy punishment, came to Sky Sword Pass, and secretly began cultivating the Hongmeng Heaven and Earth Art.

Now, Li Muzhen, although dressed in tattered clothes and covered in dirt, couldn't conceal his tall stature and handsome face.

His face was like a chiseled sculpture, with distinct features, sword-like eyebrows, and star-like eyes. He was the epitome of a promising young man.

Moreover, his cultivation had already reached the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage, only a step away from the Golden Core stage.

Four years. Who could have imagined that the boy from back then could be so patient? It was even more astonishing that he could achieve such high accomplishments in such a short time and in such a harsh place. This showed that this boy was truly no ordinary youth, but a peerless genius disciple.

However, he kept a low profile, only wanting his master to quickly bribe those officials and take him out of here. He only wanted to be a free man.

Currently, no one besides himself knew that he possessed cultivation. Most importantly, the Hongmeng Heaven and Earth Art had a minor divine ability to conceal cultivation. Therefore, not to mention his master, Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar, even those border soldiers with cultivation were deceived by him.

On this day, Sky Sword Pass suddenly became lively, filled with colorful flags. After inquiring, he learned that the Eighteenth Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty was inspecting the border and would arrive today.

He was surprised, as it was the first time he had heard of someone with such high status coming here.

Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar looked at Li Muzhen and said with a grin, "What's wrong? Excited? What does a princess amount to? My disciple, when you become capable in the future, we'll marry a princess and let everyone see that we beggars are not to be trifled with."

Li Muzhen couldn't help but shake his head. His cheap master really dared to think big. Was that something he could even consider? Instead of thinking about that, he should first think about how to leave this place and achieve freedom.

Amidst everyone's anticipation, at noon, with the sound of gongs and drums and the crackling of firecrackers, they saw a woman wearing gorgeous armor walking ahead with a domineering aura. Behind her were the generals of Sky Sword Pass and several eunuchs.

Wherever she passed, all the laborers had to kneel down. Li Muzhen only stole a few glances, feeling that this woman was full of heroic spirit and looked very valiant. Her demeanor was extraordinary, worthy of being a member of the royal family.

The Eighteenth Princess's name was Murong Qianxue.

At this moment, the woman looked out at the vast grasslands beyond the pass and couldn't help but sigh, "The barbarians' pastures are still so fertile. I really can't understand why these guys don't just herd sheep properly and insist on invading my Great Xia Dynasty. They're truly ignorant."

A general couldn't help but say, "These barbarians are just wolves with wild ambitions. We have impregnable passes and are not afraid of them at all. No matter how many come, we will make them return without success."

These words pleased the Eighteenth Princess greatly.

Murong Qianxue looked at the land ahead and suddenly became interested, saying, "Prepare a horse for me. I want to go hunting in the barbarians' territory.

Why should only they come here? I want them to know that the people of Great Xia can also hunt in their pastures."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked. The face of the guarding general changed, and he hurriedly said, "Princess, you can't! The barbarians outside the pass are like wolves and tigers. We can't easily leave the pass. If anything happens to your noble self, we can't bear the responsibility."

Murong Qianxue said nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? This princess is not a delicate young lady. I learned martial arts at four, became an apprentice at seven, started Qi refining at ten, and established my foundation at thirteen. Now, at twenty-one, I have already achieved the Golden Core stage. Tell me, how many talented people in the world are like me?

We women are also heroines. Don't underestimate me. Could it be that you look down on me?"

Hearing this, the border general couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. He thought to himself, 'My little grandmother, I've long heard that this Eighteenth Princess is very willful. I didn't expect her to be so crazy.

Your cultivation is high, but isn't it built up with precious medicines and peerless golden pills? Although your cultivation is high, have you ever experienced life-and-death struggles? Have you ever experienced real killing?

How much combat power do you have? If you want to die, then die, why do you have to harm us?

If he led the troops himself, it would be fine, but the border generals could not leave the border without the emperor's order, otherwise, they would "die".

At this moment, being questioned by the princess, he was in a dilemma.

Fortunately, at this time, the Grand Eunuch beside the princess said, "General Zhao, no need to worry, with this old servant here, I will definitely keep the princess safe."

This Grand Eunuch, named Liu Jinyan, was a master of the late Golden Core stage. If he accompanied her, it should be fine as long as they didn't go far. General Zhao hesitated for a while and could only say:

"Princess, if you really want to go down, please don't go too far. The farthest you can go is a hundred miles from this pass, which is the limit of our rescue. Otherwise, we can only watch helplessly.

After all, according to the Great Xia military order, border soldiers cannot leave the border for a hundred miles without the emperor's order, otherwise, they will be treated as traitors and executed immediately."

The Eighteenth Princess nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I understand. I won't make things difficult for you. I just want to experience the feeling of hunting beyond the border. My father said that only those who hunt for the world are worthy of being true members of the royal family."

At this moment, Murong Qianxue raised her head, and the aura emanating from her body was so imposing, like the light of the sun, making people dazzled.

Li Muzhen, who was kneeling aside, trembled slightly in his heart. He couldn't imagine how confident a person had to be to act like this.

Seeing that things had come to this, General Zhao had no choice but to follow up and say, "Princess, the barbarians outside the pass are fierce. Although you are powerful, you still need someone to protect you. I will choose a powerful figure from the army for you. Please don't refuse."

Although Murong Qianxue was arrogant, she was not a fool. Hearing General Zhao's words, she naturally understood his meaning. After all, he didn't believe her and didn't want her to have any accidents.

Well, she couldn't leave a reputation for being a willful and headstrong person here. After thinking about it, she could only agree.

At this time, the Grand Eunuch Liu Jinyan said, "I think we should also pick some laborers. When hunting, someone has to pick up the prey, right?"

Murong Qianxue said, "Okay, that's a good idea. At critical moments, they can also help attract prey."

Hearing this, the laborers kneeling on the ground couldn't help but gasp. Everyone heard from the princess's tone that she didn't intend to treat them as human beings.

For a time, everyone could only pray not to be chosen.

General Zhao did not object. Anyway, most of these laborers were prisoners who had committed crimes and were imprisoned for a long time. What if they died? Were their lives still considered lives?

Li Muzhen was also pulled back by the Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar, who whispered, "Damn it, this damned princess is really ruthless. You should stay away. If you are chosen, there is a high chance that you won't be coming back."

Li Muzhen was not stupid either. Now he cultivated immortal arts, and the future was promising. He didn't want to die here. His master said that he had already found connections and was working on it, and the two of them could go out and regain their freedom.

At this time, he must not cause any trouble. With this in mind, he also lowered his head as much as possible, almost burying it in his crotch, praying in his heart, 'Please don't choose me.'