Seeing that the other party was about to step forward and forcefully apprehend them, Su Wan’er’s expression changed drastically. She drew her sword in response, its tip pointing straight ahead.

Swish—

The people of the Law Enforcement Hall reacted with astonishing speed, drawing their swords in unison at the exact same moment.

Flashes of sword light intertwined and Spiritual Qi scattered. A suffocating pressure filled the small hall; the rest of the guests had long since retreated into the distance, not even daring to breathe heavily.

Su Wan’er stood at the very epicenter of the Spiritual Pressure, her scalp tingling in waves, but she gritted her teeth tightly, refusing to retreat even half a step.

“Insolent!” Su Wan’er swept her peripheral vision toward Lai Li’an. She was just about to speak when she felt a hand gently press down on hers.

Her Honored Master’s hand rested on the back of her hand. The force wasn’t heavy, but it carried an irrefutable weight. She bit her lower lip and ultimately sheathed her sword.

Seeing this, Li Xiuyuan let out a sneer. “Now this is someone who understands the circumstances.” He waved his hand, signaling the subordinates behind him to lower their weapons. “If you two cooperate with the Law Enforcement Hall’s investigation, everything will naturally be made clear once we reach the Law Hall. If there truly is a misunderstanding, the Law Enforcement Hall will not wrong good people.”

These words sounded high and mighty, but the mockery in his tone was completely unconcealed. The anger in Su Wan’er’s heart instantly flared up again.

They could insult her, but they could not insult her Honored Master. “Do you know who my Honored Master is?” she said with fierce intensity. “If my Honored Master wanted to kill you, it would take but a flick of a finger!”

The entire hall fell silent.

This clear rebuke exploded, causing everyone in the Law Enforcement Hall to change their expressions simultaneously. Searching gazes, filled with suspicion and shock, once again fell upon Lai Li’an.

Destroying a Late Golden Core with a flick of a finger, what a boastful tone! If he truly possessed such strength, how could he remain silent here? He was probably just posturing.

However, the more everyone looked, the more they felt something was off. This person had been surrounded until now without changing his expression, not even batting an eyelid. Could it be that he truly had nothing to fear?

Lai Li’an, the focal point of everyone’s gazes, currently had a face as calm as water, but his heart had already exploded into chaos.

He only had one Immortal-Slaying Truth-Revealing Talisman. If, by any chance, he couldn’t kill all these people, he wouldn’t even be able to run away when the time came.

Wanting to cry but having no tears, he could only force himself to remain calm. Lai Li’an slightly raised his eyes, his tone composed and peaceful: “Fellow Daoists, I’m afraid there might be some misunderstanding here…”

“What other misunderstanding could there be!”

Before he could finish speaking, a person in the Law Enforcement Hall preemptively shouted sternly: “You injured our sect’s disciple! The witnesses and material evidence are all here, yet you still dare to quibble!”

Lai Li’an nearly crushed his back molars. Couldn’t this guy let someone finish their sentence?

He cursed fiercely in his heart, but his face showed not the slightest ripple of emotion. He patiently tried to explain a bit more, but Li Xiuyuan was no longer giving him the chance.

“Save your words for the Law Hall,” Li Xiuyuan said expressionlessly. He reached out to grab Lai Li’an’s shoulder, Spiritual Power faintly flowing between his five fingers, clearly intending to forcefully detain him.

Lai Li’an’s eyes darkened. Acting was one thing, but he refused to suffer this grievance. In the three years since he transmigrated, although he often scammed people for food and drink, he had never been subjected to humiliation.

A Law Enforcement Hall leader was throwing accusations right in his face and was about to lay hands on him without even letting him finish his explanation.

He shoved Li Xiuyuan’s hand away. “If there is a misunderstanding, this Venerable will naturally clarify it. There’s no need to get physical.”

Li Xiuyuan’s expression suddenly changed. The several Law Enforcement Hall disciples behind him didn’t understand what had just happened; seeing their leader being pushed away, they all took a half step forward in unison, raising the edges of their swords a bit higher.

However, Li Xiuyuan himself froze in place, a wave of shock and uncertainty surging in the depths of his eyes.

He had previously probed Lai Li’an and saw as clear as day that he only had a Mid Golden Core Cultivation Base, a full minor realm lower than his own.

Yet when that push came, he hadn’t caught a single trace of Spiritual Power flowing at all. What was even more terrifying was that he hadn’t even been able to dodge it.

If the other party had been holding a weapon just now…

A layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on Li Xiuyuan’s back. He steadied his nerves, suppressing the stormy waves in his heart. When he spoke again, his tone was noticeably more restrained: “Forgive me, fellow Daoist, but these are the rules.”

He unfastened a pair of Spirit-Restricting Shackles from his waist. This was a Magic Tool specifically used by the Law Enforcement Hall to apprehend cultivators. Once worn, one’s Spiritual Power would be suppressed, and no matter how high your Cultivation Base, you would have to obediently bow your head.

“Please cooperate, fellow Daoist.”

Lai Li’an slowly raised his gaze, sweeping it across Li Xiuyuan’s face.

Suddenly, a surge of sword qi burst forth from his body. Lai Li’an had secretly retrieved the Immortal-Slaying Truth-Revealing Talisman from his System Space.

The sword qi silently swept through the entire hall. Li Xiuyuan looked as if he had been struck head-on by something invisible, and the Law Enforcement Hall disciples behind him stumbled backward repeatedly, their longswords nearly flying out of their hands.

The sword qi arrived suddenly and left just as quickly, dissipating in merely the span of a breath.

Lai Li’an stood in place, his gray robes completely still, as if that world-destroying sword intent from just now had absolutely nothing to do with him.

He looked at Li Xiuyuan, his tone calm: “This Venerable does not wish to cause trouble, but neither am I afraid of it.”

“Please, fellow Daoist, conduct yourself accordingly.”

Li Xiuyuan stood rooted to the spot, heavy sweat rolling down his forehead, yet he didn’t even dare to raise a hand to wipe it. He stared fixedly at the man in front of him, trying to find any flaw on that face.

That sword qi just now, in his hundred years of cultivation, he had never felt such pure sword intent.

He completely couldn’t see through this person. The silence lasted for a full ten breaths before Li Xiuyuan finally put the Spirit-Restricting Shackles slowly back at his waist.

“Since you are willing to cooperate, fellow Daoist, there is no need to wear the Spirit-Restricting Shackles.” He involuntarily became much more polite. “Please come with us. Right and wrong will naturally be judged fairly in the Law Hall.”

Lai Li’an nodded slightly, raised a hand to adjust his cuffs, and set off. Su Wan’er hurriedly put away her sword and followed, staying close behind her Honored Master, her heart still beating a bit fast.

She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Her Honored Master clearly could have killed him with one strike, yet chose to reason with the other party. That sword qi just now was merely a slight display of her Honored Master’s majesty.

The members of the Law Enforcement Hall silently made way, and unexpectedly, not a single person dared to walk in front of Lai Li’an to lead the way. A few disciples lingering at the back quietly exchanged glances, seeing the lingering fear in each other’s eyes.

Just who exactly was this person?

The distance from the Hundred Flavors Pavilion to the Law Enforcement Hall’s dungeon was not long, but being escorted made it exceptionally excruciating.

The cultivators on the street hurriedly made way. A few bold ones stopped to watch from a distance, whispering among themselves.

Lai Li’an didn’t need to listen to know what they were saying. It was nothing more than idle gossip like, “The Law Enforcement Hall is arresting people again,” or “What’s the background of these two?”

His face remained expressionless, but in his heart, he had already greeted Qian Fu’s eighteen generations of ancestors over a dozen times.

If he had known this would attract the Law Enforcement Hall, he never would have greedily accepted that sum of money. It was a pity he hadn’t even gotten to eat his grand feast yet.

But what exactly were they being charged with? Lai Li’an’s mind raced. He must have been reported by that Hong Wu who had escaped.

However, the key to the problem was Qian Fu. Qian Fu was the true owner of the Spiritual Field. As long as he could come forward to testify, he could prove that Hong Wu and his gang were the robbers forcefully occupying the Spiritual Field, and that he and Su Wan’er were merely intervening to help against an injustice. It was just a pity that Qian Fu wasn’t around right now.

Wait. Lai Li’an suddenly recalled Qian Fu’s final smile. At the time, he thought it was out of gratitude, but looking back on it now, it seemed like there was something else hidden beneath that smile.