What were you doing earlier

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Ye Chuan raised his eyes nonchalantly, a smirk curving the corners of his lips.

"In a while, I even plan to pay a personal visit to the Wutong Sacred Land to see how much of a foundation they have left, and how many Ascension Realm patriarchs they can offer up as my nourishment."

At these words, Ji Lingxuan and the other two gasped in shock.

Pay a visit to the Wutong Sacred Land? And use Ascension Realm patriarchs as nourishment?

Only Ye Chuan would dare to say such a thing. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't even dare to approach the mountain gates of the Wutong Sacred Land.

Ultimately, Ji Lingxuan didn't try to persuade him further. She knew that although Ye Chuan appeared casual, he actually understood the pros and cons better than anyone else. Saying more would be useless.

She briefed Ye Chuan on a few more movements of the Wutong Sacred Land and the support the Taichu Sacred Land could provide. Then, she, along with Elder Ling and Elder Zhao, bowed in farewell, boarded their flying ship, and led the people of the Taichu Sacred Land away from the territory of the Yuxu Sect.

The flying ship pierced through the air and departed. On the mountain peak, only Ye Chuan remained, along with Su Yao, who was slumped on the ground with eyes full of venomous resentment.

Ye Chuan glanced down at her, raised his foot, and lightly kicked her arm. His tone was frivolous:

"Your Highness the Holy Maiden, everyone has left. Get up and shine my shoes. After fighting for so long just now, I'm actually a bit tired."

"In your dreams!"

Su Yao jerked her head up, her bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at him. Even though the spiritual energy in her body had been devoured by the Chaos Mark until only a trace remained, she still stiffened her neck and gritted her teeth with every word,

"I, Su Yao, am the Holy Maiden of the Wutong Sacred Land! Even if I die, I will absolutely never do such a lowly thing for a demon like you! You'd better give up on that idea right now!"

"Oh? Still got a tough mouth, I see."

Ye Chuan let out a dark, sinister chuckle. He leaned down and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to look up at him.

"It seems this Yuxu Sect has left you with too much dignity and failed to make you see reality, hasn't it? Fine, I'll take you to a nice place and properly teach you what it means to be someone who submits to circumstances."

As his voice fell, he didn't give Su Yao any chance to resist. After greeting Qian Shuang, he grabbed the back of her collar and flew into the air.

In merely the blink of an eye, the two of them went from the peak of the Yuxu Sect and appeared on the most bustling main street of Xuanjing City, right in front of Ye Chuan's blacksmith shop.

Inside the shop, the fox-eared young girl, Xiao Huli, was crouching behind the counter, taking inventory of the enhancement materials reserved by customers.

Hearing the commotion, she immediately looked up. Her fluffy fox ears twitched, and upon seeing Ye Chuan, her eyes instantly lit up. She bounded over to welcome him:

"Boss! You're back!"

Halfway through her sentence, she caught sight of Su Yao being dangled from Ye Chuan's hand. Seeing the woman's thin clothing, tear-stained face, and humiliated appearance, Xiao Huli froze instantly. Her fox ears stiffened atop her head as she asked in a small voice:

"Boss, who is this...?"

Did he pick up another one?

After all, Xiao Huli herself used to be a slave, so she assumed Su Yao was one too.

No... accurately speaking, Su Yao could indeed be considered a slave now.

"A disobedient ornament," Ye Chuan casually tossed Su Yao onto the ground and instructed Xiao Huli,

"Go to the backyard and bring over that black iron cage I casually made a while ago. Find a wooden board, too, and bring a brush and ink."

Although Xiao Huli was full of confusion, she obediently agreed and turned to run toward the backyard.

On the ground, Su Yao looked around and frowned. "Huang Haotian! What are you doing?! In broad daylight with everyone watching, what are you going to do to me?!"

"Doing what?" Ye Chuan crouched down and patted her pale cheek.

"Since you aren't willing to serve me, you should at least have some other use. My blacksmith shop happens to be lacking a living signboard. Your title as the Holy Maiden of the Wutong Sacred Land is still quite valuable here in Xuanjing City."

"Are you crazy?!" Su Yao shrieked involuntarily.

"I am the Holy Maiden of the Wutong Sacred Land! You dare lock me up for public display?! My patriarch will never let you off! Not a single sacred land in the entire Profound Sky Continent will tolerate you!"

"Hehehehehe, so what?" Ye Chuan laughed with unbridled arrogance.

"By the time your patriarch arrives, you might already be willingly warming my bed. What's the rush?"

Right then, Xiao Huli came huffing and puffing, dragging a half-person-tall black iron cage over. She was also holding a wooden board, a brush, and ink.

This cage wasn't exactly indestructible; it was even quite ordinary. But for Su Yao, whose spiritual energy was sealed, it was utterly impossible to break.

Ye Chuan waved his hand, his spiritual energy sweeping Su Yao up and tossing her directly into the cage. With a click, the lock snapped shut.

Then, he picked up the brush and wrote a few lines of flamboyant calligraphy on the wooden board, casually propping it up right in front of the cage.

The board conspicuously read:

[Exhibit: Su Yao, Holy Maiden of the Wutong Sacred Land]

Su Yao slumped against the bars of the cage. Upon clearly seeing the words on the board, her vision went dark, and she nearly fainted from anger on the spot.

Bastard!

What are you doing?!

Is this some kind of joke?!

Her entire body was trembling. She pointed at Ye Chuan, her voice cracking:

"Huang Haotian! You animal! You will die a horrible death! My Wutong Sacred Land will definitely grind your bones to dust and scatter your ashes! You will never be reincarnated! Even if I die, I will never let you humiliate me!"

She slammed into the bars of the cage like a madwoman, but the black iron cage didn't budge an inch. Instead, the impact made her own arms ache. Sensing her agitation, the Chaos Mark inside her body once again began to frantically devour her spiritual energy. The pain caused her to let out a muffled groan as she curled up in the cage, cold sweat pouring down her body.

Ye Chuan couldn't be bothered to listen to her incompetent rage. He waved a hand at Xiao Huli:

"Open the doors and welcome the customers. We're doing business as usual. We'll take orders for equipment enhancement and artifact forging."

"Ah? Oh... o-okay, Boss!" Xiao Huli gulped. Looking at the Holy Maiden in the cage, and then at her own boss's indifferent face, she felt that her boss had truly gone mad.

He actually dared to lock up a Sacred Land's Holy Maiden as an exhibit! Still, she obediently ran over, pulled open the main doors of the blacksmith shop, and hung up the "Open for Business" sign.

The cultivators of Xuanjing City had long been keeping an eye on the activity at the blacksmith shop.

The Master was a legend in Xuanjing City. Any equipment enhanced by his hands would see at least a ten percent improvement. Countless people would fight tooth and nail just to beg him to take action once.

At this moment, seeing the shop doors open, a crowd instantly surrounded it, swarming into the blacksmith shop in a massive throng.

"Master! You've finally opened your doors! I've been waiting for you for days! Please help me enhance this spirit sword!"

"Master! I have a piece of extraterrestrial meteorite iron here, and I'd like to ask you to forge a saber for me! Money is no object!"

The crowd surged in clamoring and shouting, but after taking only two steps, everyone froze in place. Their eyes widened into perfect circles, and their mouths hung open wide enough to fit a fist. The excitement on their faces instantly transformed into extreme shock and utter disbelief.

Right in the center of the shop's main hall sat a black iron cage. Locked inside the cage was a breathtakingly beautiful woman in a red dress. Although her clothes were thin and she looked thoroughly disheveled, that innate, noble arrogance of hers could not be concealed, even when locked in a cage.

And the wooden board in front of the cage made everyone gasp in horror.

Holy Maiden of the Wutong Sacred Land? Su Yao?!

That youngest Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert of the Profound Sky Continent, the Holy Maiden held in the palm of the Wutong Sacred Land's hand?!

She was just locked in a cage like this by Master Ye, treated as an exhibit to collect viewing fees?!

"A-Am I seeing things? Is that really Holy Maiden Su Yao?!"

"Crazy! This is crazy! The Master actually locked up the Saintess of the Holy Land?! The Wutong Holy Land is guarded by an Ascension Realm patriarch!"

"No way, is this real?"

The crowd instantly exploded into an uproar. Everyone gathered around the cage, pointing at Su Yao inside and whispering among themselves. Their eyes were filled with shock, curiosity, and a trace of incredulous amusement.

Su Yao was born a favored daughter of heaven. Wherever she went, she was always surrounded by an entourage and revered like a goddess. When had she ever been surrounded and pointed at by so many common mortals, gawked at like some rare novelty?

Countless pairs of eyes landed on her, sweeping over her thin clothes and her wretched, disheveled state. The murmurs pierced her ears like needles, and a tidal wave of humiliation completely engulfed her.

She buried her face in her hands, curling up in the corner of the cage. Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably as tears streamed down her face. Overwhelmed by shame and indignation, she wished she were dead.

Her proud status as a Saintess, the dignity she had upheld her entire life—at this very moment, Ye Chuan had mercilessly crushed it into the dirt and trampled it to pieces.

Finally, unable to endure it any longer, she abruptly raised her head. With tear-blurred eyes, she looked at Ye Chuan, who was leisurely sipping tea behind the counter. Her voice choked with utter despair and pleading:

"I... I am willing to give you a massage! Please, stop this!"

Ye Chuan, however, acted as if he hadn't heard her at all. He said nonchalantly, "You should have thought of that earlier. Stay on display for a day, and then we'll talk."

"What?!!!"