"Master, are you alright?"
Su Wanyin's voice transmission sounded again, laced with deep concern.
"I noticed your aura seemed a bit unstable when you spoke just now. Could it be that last night at the Unfeeling Cold Pool, you suffered some hidden injury while helping the Young Master channel the power of fortune?"
Su Wanyin's dewy peach-blossom eyes were full of vigilance as she stared fixedly at Yun Zhiwei opposite them.
"You must stabilize your aura. This is Holy Heaven City; if this venomous woman sees that you are weak on the inside despite appearing strong on the outside, who knows what malicious schemes she might hatch once we leave the Heavenly Fragrance Treasure Pavilion!"
Hidden injury?!
Channeling the power of fortune?!
Zhao Yuelian bit her pale lower lip hard, her eyes already brimming with a mist of desperate tears.
Oh, Yin'er... your master hasn't suffered any hidden injury.
Right now, your master is, is...
[Ding! Detected extreme shame and sense of immorality from the target.]
['Nine Yin Fortune Dao Seed' condensation progress: 14%... 15%...]
The pale blue light screen on his retina kept flashing.
Gu Yang's deep black eyes remained entirely placid. He merely picked up the cup of spiritual tea that had already cooled slightly and took a careless, shallow sip.
His silence was the best catalyst for this drama.
Despite being reprimanded by Zhao Yuelian, Yun Zhiwei, sitting opposite them, was not angered in the least. Instead, her smile grew even more gentle and refined.
She looked at Fairy Lingshuang in the illusion, whose back was ramrod straight like an ice sculpture.
"You are right to lecture me, Sister. It was presumptuous of me."
Yun Zhiwei set down her teacup, folding her hands over her aqua-blue skirt, her tone filled with sincere admiration.
"I was just truly astounded seeing how pure and flawless you are now, Sister, with an aura as steady as a deep abyss."
Her gaze shifted, landing on Zhao Yuelian's drab gray dharma robe, as if she could see through everything.
"The cultivation world is rife with material desires, yet you have upheld the strict rules of Lingshuang Peak day in and day out for a decade. Such an untainted Dao heart and such dignified, noble bearing truly make you a paragon for us female cultivators. No wonder you could raise such an outstanding disciple as Saintess Su."
Pure and flawless?
A steady aura?
Dignified and noble bearing?
Yun Zhiwei's flattering words of praise felt like loud, stinging slaps landing viciously on Zhao Yuelian's face right now!
She was dignified?!
She was noble?!
Beneath that gray dharma robe, her body was burning hot.
The sensations transmitted from the Concentric Gu were growing stronger and stronger.
It made Zhao Yuelian's mind go completely blank.
She was going crazy.
She even wanted to recklessly tear apart this illusion, exposing all the unbearable truths to the light of day, and let the world curse her to death!
But she didn't dare.
She could only lower her head.
"Matriarch Yun."
Su Wanyin suddenly spoke up.
She sharply sensed the anomaly in her master's aura, assuming that Yun Zhiwei's probing had angered her.
The demonic sect saintess sneered unceremoniously, her dewy peach-blossom eyes filled with an untamable, icy glint.
"Stop beating around the bush. The state of my master's Dao heart is not for a gutter rat like you, who relies on sacrificing rogue cultivators to extend your life, to judge."
Su Wanyin tilted her chin up slightly, stepping in front of Zhao Yuelian like a protective little leopard defending her prey.
"Since the array diagram has been handed over, put away your hypocritical pleasantries. My Young Master likes peace and quiet. If you dare utter another word of nonsense, you won't even need the Young Master to act; you are more than welcome to try the methods of my Joyous Union Sect."
Being insulted to her face by a junior at the Foundation Establishment stage.
The resentment in Yun Zhiwei's eyes nearly overflowed, but glancing at Gu Yang sitting in the seat of honor—a trace of dark gold flame still lingering on his fingertips—she forcefully swallowed her killing intent.
"The Saintess is right to scold me. I spoke out of turn."
She lowered her head submissively, gritting her teeth hard, and said no more.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yuelian, hiding behind Su Wanyin.
Hearing her disciple speak with such righteous indignation.
She finally couldn't hold on any longer.
A line of clear tears slid down her burning cheeks.
"Wanyin... stop talking... stop talking..."
She wept despairingly in her heart.
The more you defend your master's nobility, the more unbearable your master appears.
[Ding! Detected the target's emotions have reached a phased threshold.]
['Nine Yin Fortune Dao Seed' condensation progress: 18%... 20%!]
It's done.
Quit while you're ahead.
If pushed any further, this Fairy Lingshuang's Dao heart would truly shatter completely.
Gu Yang's wrist suddenly relaxed.
That absolute control, akin to iron pincers, was instantly withdrawn.
In reality, she was like a puddle of mud sliding down a wall.
...
After waiting for Zhao Yuelian for a moment.
Gu Yang stood up.
He casually stored the cyan jade array diagram into his spatial ring, the drab gray corner of his robe tracing a cold, hard arc in the air.
"Let's go."
There was no unnecessary nonsense.
He deactivated the Lesser Formless Illusion Array, and the faint ripple shrouding everyone's vision instantly dissipated.
Physical space and visual space realigned once more.
Su Wanyin quickly stood up, her dewy peach-blossom eyes full of obedience and docility.
She turned her head, just about to help her master up.
Only to discover in astonishment that Zhao Yuelian's face was covered in a fine layer of sweat.
Her eyes were unfocused.
Her breathing was rapid.
"Master! What's wrong with you?!"
Su Wanyin was startled and hurriedly reached out to support her.
"Were you sneak-attacked by that venomous woman when breaking the array just now?!"
Su Wanyin whipped her head around, her killing intent-filled gaze locking onto Yun Zhiwei on the carpet.
"N-no."
Zhao Yuelian withdrew her arm from her disciple's grasp as if she had been electrocuted.
She bit her tongue hard, using the sharp pain to forcibly gather a sliver of her scattered consciousness.
"I am fine... it's just, just that the incense in this Heavenly Fragrance Treasure Pavilion is a bit... pungent. It disrupted my aura."
She didn't dare to look at Gu Yang's back at all, nor did she dare to meet her disciple's concerned gaze.
"Let's go... we shouldn't keep the Young Master waiting."
Zhao Yuelian lowered her head, her footsteps unsteady as she walked out of the elegant pavilion.
She looked as if she were stepping on clouds.
Yun Zhiwei knelt on the carpet, staring fixedly at the retreating backs of the three.
Especially when her gaze swept over Zhao Yuelian's extremely unnatural gait and her incredibly weak aura.
A flash of extreme doubt and wild joy crossed the eyes of this hypocritical female demonic cultivator.
Zhao Yuelian was heavily injured?!
She couldn't even stabilize her aura enough to walk properly?!
"Hahahaha... Good! Very good!"
Yun Zhiwei laughed maniacally in her heart.
"No matter how strong you are, you gray-robed youth, you're bringing along a useless Foundation Establishment burden with zero combat power, and a half-crippled Core Formation cultivator who can't even walk straight."
"As long as you dare to step even half a pace into the underground palace..."
"You don't know this, but there are unmarked traps on the array diagram."
"The Weeping Blood Puppet Array on the third floor will ensure you never return!"
...
Outside the Heavenly Fragrance Treasure Pavilion.
On the stairs paved with white jade.
Zhao Yuelian stepped onto the hard stone stairs, her footsteps so unsteady it felt like she was treading on cotton.
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
