“It was Qiu Kecheng who suddenly stopped maintaining the formation. Huayang Formation Sect truly raised an excellent disciple.”
The elders gathered before the light screen had been worried sick about the children inside. Now, that worry had turned entirely into fury.
“Snatching storage pouches in the secret realm is one thing, but at a moment like this, when everyone should be united against a common enemy, he actually betrayed his companions.”
“A despicable person like this has no right to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the cultivation world.”
“Such vicious intentions cannot be tolerated in the cultivation world!”
The elder of Huayang Formation Sect was scolded until his face alternated between green and white, yet he didn’t dare utter a single word in defense.
The moment Xi Qing returned to the hall, he saw the scene of his youngest disciple being knocked off the cliff through the light screen.
His pupils contracted sharply.
Had that tribulation finally arrived?
He infused spiritual energy into his fingertips and directed it toward the light screen, attempting to switch to his disciple’s perspective.
But he found nothing.
The screen was completely gray.
A frost-like chill gathered in his eyes.
“What happened?”
By all rights, the light screen should have been able to switch to any participant’s viewpoint.
The sect master sighed, unable to bear it.
“She may have fallen into a place no one has ever reached before. The light screen can’t capture what’s happening there.”
…
Splash!
An Jin fell into a vast sea of flowers.
Although she had protected her vital organs with spiritual energy at the last moment, the impact still felt as if her internal organs had shifted out of place.
Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
The pain lasted only a moment before the system quickly activated pain suppression.
[Host, your body has suffered severe impact damage. I recommend using the Great Rejuvenation Art immediately to heal yourself.]
An Jin sat cross-legged among the flowers and circulated her spiritual energy.
A gentle green glow enveloped her body.
Soon, the suffocating pressure in her chest gradually disappeared.
She let out a long breath.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying amidst crushed blossoms.
Before her stretched an endless field of flowers, dazzling and dreamlike, like a beautiful yet absurd illusion.
The air was thick with an overly sweet floral fragrance.
And the scent was becoming stronger.
A strange heat stirred deep within her body.
An Jin looked around uneasily.
[System, where am I? Something feels wrong.]
[This is the Sea of Bewitching Flowers. The Bewitching Flowers possess powerful aphrodisiac properties.]
What?
An Jin shot to her feet.
Her teeth trembled as she clenched them tightly.
The heat inside her intensified.
She instinctively circulated the Great Rejuvenation Art, but to her dismay, it had no effect.
[There’s a lake southeast of here. Hurry there and see if it helps relieve the symptoms.]
Her mind had already begun to grow hazy.
Following the system’s instructions almost instinctively, she staggered toward the southeast.
Soon, she found the lake.
Her entire body felt as though it were on fire.
Without thinking, she jumped into the water.
Unexpectedly, a whirlpool seemed to exist beneath the lake.
It seized her and dragged her downward.
Just as she was about to use her spiritual energy, a hand suddenly wrapped around her waist and pulled her back toward the shore.
“Cough! Cough!”
Like a drowning person grasping at driftwood, An Jin clung tightly to the stranger.
The moment she emerged from the water, she began coughing violently.
Water shimmered in her eyes.
Color had finally returned to her previously pale face.
Her soaked black hair hung loose behind her, revealing her flawless features completely.
The wet clothes clung tightly to her slender figure.
When she lifted her gaze, she met an intensely invasive stare.
A young man sat in the water near the shore.
His upper body was bare, exposing most of his chest and the clean lines of well-defined muscles.
Strangely, although he still looked like a youth, his physique resembled that of a fully grown man.
“Jia Huo?”
An Jin hadn’t expected to encounter someone she knew here.
She was still leaning against him.
The coolness radiating from his body eased the burning heat within her, making her want to remain close to him.
But she couldn’t.
Fortunately, the water near the shore wasn’t deep.
Once her feet touched the lakebed, she quickly stepped away.
Yet the buoyancy of the water made her lose her balance.
She stumbled forward.
The young man casually reached out and caught her again.
Looking thoroughly amused, he asked,
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I…”
An Jin bit her lip in embarrassment.
She couldn’t bring herself to explain the nature of her condition.
“Then how did you fall down here?” Jia Huo asked instead.
Relieved by the change in topic, she answered honestly.
“A Taotie suddenly appeared in the secret realm. Senior Brother and the others fought it. I got caught in the aftermath and was knocked off the cliff.”
A meaningful smile curled at his lips.
“Taotie? How frightening.”
“The fact that they’re still alive is quite impressive.”
An Jin looked at him suspiciously.
Something about him felt strange.
Everyone else in the secret realm had either been hunting beasts or fleeing from Taotie.
Yet he was leisurely soaking in a lake.
More importantly, he was completely unconcerned about the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt.
“Could you… put your clothes on first?” she asked quietly.
She didn’t even know where to look.
The heat she had barely suppressed with the cold water was beginning to return.
The young man appeared completely relaxed.
“Why?”
An Jin avoided his burning gaze.
Her cheeks flushed crimson.
“It’s improper… and I inhaled the Bewitching Flower pollen, so I’m already…”
He looked surprised for a moment.
Then he burst into laughter.
“Then isn’t this perfect?”
“Why bother getting dressed? Maybe I should help you take yours off too.”
An Jin froze in shock and hurriedly grabbed the hand reaching for her clothing.
“N-No. You can’t.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Why not?”
His palm rested against her burning cheek.
Those beautiful peach-blossom eyes carried an almost irresistible temptation.
“I’m helping you.”
“My cultivation is far higher than yours. Dual cultivation would benefit you greatly.”
“You should be thanking me.”
Desire and reason battled fiercely within An Jin’s mind.
A mist gradually filled her eyes.
Everything in this world had already become far more complicated than she expected.
She still hadn’t even met the Demon Lord.
Instead, countless unnecessary troubles had appeared first.
If only the person before her were the Demon Lord.
Then everything would be much easier.
At that moment, the system spoke hesitantly.
[Host… he is the Demon Lord.]
What?
The revelation struck An Jin like a heavy blow.
For a brief instant, her muddled thoughts became clear.
Suddenly, all the things she had found strange about him made sense.
No wonder he always acted as though the world revolved around him.
She didn’t know how to describe her emotions.
There was relief at unexpectedly finding the answer she’d been searching for.
But there was also resentment at having been kept in the dark.
[Why didn’t you tell me sooner?]
[You two got along well. I was worried you’d become uncomfortable if you knew his identity. Please trust my judgment. Everything I do is for your benefit.]
Compared to the Demon Lord described in the original story, the one who would eventually treat her like a possession and abduct her, she found it easier to accept the young man she already knew.
Before she could think further, the unbearable heat surged once again.
Humiliation and discomfort overwhelmed her.
Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.
A hot tear landed on Jia Huo’s hand.
He clicked his tongue.
“I haven’t even done anything yet, and you’re already crying?”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“The next time we met, I wouldn’t let you go.”
He lifted her chin.
Then he leaned down and kissed her.
The kiss was forceful enough to make her want to retreat.
Yet the coolness of his body made her instinctively move closer.
Her eyes gradually became unfocused.
Almost unconsciously, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
After a long while, he finally pulled away.
Staring at her flushed lips, his voice turned hoarse.
“Who am I?”
An Jin panted softly.
Her eyes sparkled with moisture.
“You… you’re Jia Huo.”
The man’s lips twitched.
The fake name he had casually invented clearly displeased him.
Yet the desire in his gaze deepened.
“No.”
“Ningning.”
“My name is Cen Wang.”
As he spoke, his appearance began to change.
The previously ordinary features gradually transformed into strikingly handsome ones.
Combined with his peach-blossom eyes clouded by desire, he looked almost dangerously alluring.
“You…”
Before she could finish speaking, her words disappeared between them.
Time seemed to lose all meaning.
…
Much later, Cen Wang suddenly noticed something unusual.
Although he had taken advantage of the situation, he had still used a dual cultivation technique to help improve her cultivation.
The results were astonishing.
Her cultivation advanced rapidly.
She even broke through to the Golden Core Realm in one leap.
But that wasn’t what shocked him.
The old injuries within his own body were recovering.
Five hundred years ago, the battle between him and Xi Qing had left both of them with wounds that never fully healed.
Even after centuries, he had never regained the strength of his peak years.
Yet now, not only were those hidden injuries recovering, but even the bottleneck that had trapped him for years was beginning to loosen.
His eyes burned with excitement.
“An Immaculate Body?”
A physique so rare it appeared only once in ten thousand years.
And Jianyue Sect had treated its owner as worthless?
If Jianyue Sect couldn’t recognize a treasure and allowed a pearl to gather dust, then that treasure belonged to him now.
The thought made him even more excited.
An Jin’s eyes were unfocused.
“No… no more…”
A trace of gentleness flashed through Cen Wang’s gaze, one he himself didn’t notice.
“Be good, Ningning.”
“The aphrodisiac hasn’t been fully resolved yet.”
…
The secret realm had no night.
An Jin lost all sense of time.
She only knew that exhaustion eventually overwhelmed her.
It felt as though years had passed.
When she finally recovered somewhat, she found herself resting in Cen Wang’s embrace.
He cupped her face possessively.
“The secret realm won’t close until tomorrow.”
“We’ll continue then.”
The blush on An Jin’s cheeks had mostly faded.
With the aphrodisiac gone, her mind gradually cleared.
Only then did she realize how much time had passed.
She turned her face away.
“I need to find Senior Brother and the others.”
She still remembered Xiao Jiang’s severe injuries before she fell from the cliff.
She had no idea what had happened to them afterward.
Cen Wang immediately looked displeased.
The first thing she thought about after recovering was another man.
“Injured?”
“Maybe he’s already dead.”
An Jin glared at him.
How could someone speak so terribly?
“Besides, what if you run into Taotie again?”
“You can’t beat it.”
“This place is safe. Nobody can find it.”
“Even Taotie can’t.”
“Just stay here until tomorrow. When the secret realm closes, we’ll leave together.”
“At that point, first place will be yours.”
Because, in his mind, everyone outside should already be dead.
And now that his injuries had recovered, the entire cultivation world would soon belong to him.
“No.”
An Jin shook her head stubbornly.
“I’m still going to find them.”
She knew that Taotie’s sudden appearance was almost certainly connected to him.
But she couldn’t simply stand by and watch so many people die.
She still remembered her mission.
She couldn’t allow the villain to destroy the world.
The little villain hadn’t even been born yet.
But if the little villain’s Father destroyed the cultivation world first, her mission would fail all the same.
A dangerous glint flashed through Cen Wang’s eyes.
“Even if it means giving up first place?”
“Even if it puts your life in danger?”
“You still want to go?”
“I do.”