Seeing An Lingxiu hesitate, Qi Yuan let out a cold snort, his expression darkening instantly.

“Are you implying that this Holy Scion is not worthy of meeting your wife?”

“You misunderstand, truly!”

A layer of fine sweat instantly beaded on An Lingxiu’s forehead. His face twisted into a bitter grimace. “My humble wife is… genuinely indisposed. How about I let my daughter pour wine and apologize on her mother’s behalf? What do you think?”

As he spoke, he waved urgently to An Cailan, who was standing nearby. “Lan’er, come quickly! Serve the Holy Scion wine. Do not lose your manners!”

These words sent a shockwave through the main hall.

The local dignitaries looked at An Lingxiu with increasingly strange expressions. Some gazes even held a trace of… admiration.

Huh?!

This guy is truly ruthless!

To keep his wife from being tainted, he’s willing to sacrifice his own biological daughter?

But thinking about it carefully… it’s actually a brilliant move. He avoids the humiliation of wearing a green hat, while simultaneously giving his daughter a chance to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

If his daughter catches the Holy Scion’s eye—even just as a concubine—it would be a tremendous stroke of fortune for the clan.

“Y-yes, Father.”

Hearing the summons, An Cailan snapped out of her daze in the corner. With cheeks flushed red, she walked forward, took the jade ewer from a maidservant, and poured wine into Qi Yuan’s cup with trembling hands.

“Lord Holy Scion, please… have some wine.”

Qi Yuan picked up the cup with a playful look, swirling the liquid as he chuckled lightly.

“So, this young lady and your wife are mother and daughter… That’s even better. Hurry up and call the Madam over. I choose both!”

Holy shit.

Do the Seven Great Sanctuaries play this hard nowadays?

As his words fell, everyone in the room was dumbfounded. Their faces were the picture of “you live and you learn.”

This Holy Scion was indeed extraordinary. His words and actions completely defied common logic. To be this brazen in front of so many people… he didn’t know the meaning of restraint.

Facing the myriad of shocked gazes, Qi Yuan didn’t care in the slightest.

One hand rested lightly on Bai Xirou’s slender waist, while the other leisurely swirled his jade cup. His attitude was utterly lawless.

“Holy Scion, you are…”

Realizing the other party wasn’t joking, a vein throbbed violently at An Lingxiu’s temple. His face went green, then white. After a long pause, he forcibly suppressed his rage and squeezed out a sentence.

“Very well. Since the Holy Scion insists, I will invite my humble wife out to drink with you!”

With that, a barely perceptible glint of cold malice flashed deep in his eyes. He flicked his sleeves, turned around, and strode quickly out of the hall.

Once the City Lord left, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly heated up.

Many of Reed River City’s influential figures saw an opening. Eager to curry favor with the Supreme Mystery Holy Scion, they flocked forward to offer toasts, filling the air with shameless flattery.

“I have long heard of the Holy Scion’s great name. Seeing you today, you truly are a dragon among men, peerless in grace!”

“Holy Scion, this lowly one has a bottle of top-grade Sun-Returning Pills. I guarantee that after taking them, you will be as vigorous as a tiger and mighty beyond compare. They might come in handy in a moment…”

“Although I am not yet married, I have a younger sister at home. She is lovely in appearance and gentle in nature. What do you think…”

“Lord Holy Scion, my daughter is just sixteen. Though her cultivation is low, her looks are passable. Most importantly, my third wife was originally the top courtesan of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion! If you are interested, please, come visit my manor…”

Seeing these people getting more and more outrageous, Qi Yuan quickly cleared his throat to interrupt the madness.

Just as he was about to refuse, someone exclaimed in a hushed voice:

“Look! The City Lord’s wife is coming!”

The noisy, chaotic hall instantly fell deathly silent. All eyes swiveled toward the entrance.

City Lord An Lingxiu entered first. Behind him followed a beautiful woman with high-styled hair, exuding an air of mature charm and allure.

She appeared to be around thirty, with striking features and exquisite brows. She wore a grand crimson gauze dress that accentuated her curvaceous, enchanting figure.

The only strange thing was her skin. Though fair and delicate, it possessed a sickly, grayish pallor.

Her exquisite peach-blossom eyes seemed covered in a layer of frost, exuding an indescribable sense of detachment and coldness.

Under the excited gazes of the crowd, An Lingxiu showed none of his previous panic or embarrassment. He calmly guided his wife to the table, his tone carrying a profound, hidden meaning.

“Madam, this is the Holy Scion from the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary. Today, you must entertain him well. Do not neglect our honored guest.”

Hearing this, the City Lord’s wife nodded woodenly. she curtsied slightly.

“This concubine pays her respects to the Holy Scion.”

After the greeting, without waiting for Qi Yuan to speak, she walked directly to his side. She respectfully lifted the wine pot and spoke softly.

“Lord Holy Scion, this pot of Eight Treasures Rejuvenation Wine was personally brewed by me. It is blended from eight types of five-hundred-year-old heavenly treasures. It nourishes the flesh and replenishes vitality. Please, taste it and see if it suits your palate.”

“Is that so?”

Qi Yuan smiled faintly. “Very well. Come a little closer… and feed this Holy Scion with your own hands.”

Beside him, An Cailan watched nervously, her hands twisting the hem of her dress, her heart pounding against her ribs.

Bai Xirou, however, shot a sharp glance at An Lingxiu, her beautiful eyes filled with vigilance.

“How could this concubine dare to disobey the Holy Scion’s command?”

As she spoke, the City Lord’s wife slowly stepped into Qi Yuan’s personal space, raising the jade cup to his lips.

However, the unexpected happened.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire banquet, Qi Yuan took the cup but did not drink. Instead, he smashed it violently onto the floor.

BANG!

The jade cup shattered, fragments flying everywhere.

The crowd was stunned. Even An Lingxiu froze, momentarily unsure how to react.

In the next instant, Qi Yuan exploded into motion.

He grabbed the City Lord’s wife, slammed her onto the floor, pinned her down, and slapped a talisman-charged palm directly onto her forehead.

SMACK!

“ARGHHHH—!”

Accompanying the crisp sound of the strike, the City Lord’s wife let out a sharp, ear-piercing shriek.

Bizarrely, the voice was completely different from her previous soft, melodic tone. It was low, hoarse, and grating—like two pieces of rusted iron grinding together. It sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

Wisps of pitch-black smoke erupted from her body like a geyser. Simultaneously, the temperature in the hall plummeted to freezing. A sinister, gloomy, and resentful aura boiled up, choking the air.

Before the ominous black mist could spread, Qi Yuan snorted coldly.

Blinding light erupted from his body. It was as if a blazing sun had ignited within his chest, radiating majestic glory in all directions.

Vast, mighty Yang energy flooded the room, instantly incinerating the lingering ghostly mist and restoring clarity to the great hall.

In mere moments, the “beautiful” City Lord’s wife pinned beneath him had completely lost her flesh and blood.

She had dissolved into a pile of rot, leaving behind only a stark white skeleton.

Faced with such a shocking and horrific transformation, the guests fell into a state of stupor. They looked at Qi Yuan with eyes full of pure, unadulterated confusion.

What is happening?!

A perfectly good City Lord’s wife… pop, and she’s gone!

The entire hall was now deathly silent. You could hear a pin drop.

“You… what are you doing?!”

Staring at his wife—now a pile of bones—An Lingxiu regained his senses. His eyes looked ready to split open, his expression a mix of shock and fury.

“You know exactly what I’m doing.”

Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice calm. “This Holy Scion does not dare to drink wine brewed by the dead.”

He swept his gaze toward An Lingxiu, his tone turning icy.

“The City Lord’s wife died a long time ago. As for the real City Lord An… his body has been seized by you.”

“If I’m not mistaken, given your expertise in ghost manipulation, you must be a demonic practitioner from the Nether River Cult, correct?”

“How did you know?!”

Hearing this, “An Lingxiu’s” expression changed drastically.

He never expected that despite his deep cover, he had been seen through by this Supreme Mystery Holy Scion!

But he quickly regained his composure, a savage grin spreading across his face.

“Kid, you should have played dumb. Considering your powerful background, this Seat didn’t actually want to kill you.”

“But since you are determined to seek death, this Seat doesn’t mind sending your soul to the Nether River. At worst, I’ll just abandon this City Lord identity and find a new shell afterward.”

He spread his arms wide.

“I’m not afraid to tell you: after years of meticulous modification, this entire manor has been transformed into a Ten Thousand Evil Yin Extinction Array. Since you killed my ghost servant, you shall repay the debt with your flesh, blood, and vital energy!”

As he spoke, dense Yin energy poured down from the void like a waterfall. It felt as if the entire City Lord’s Manor was being peeled away from reality, isolated in a pocket dimension of death.

Above the manor, the sky vanished, replaced by a blood-red moon rising silently in the darkness.