Tempering the Dao Heart, the Group Leader Goes Berserk

It’s undeniable that ‘The Cold Palace Stubborn Tenant’ is quite the beauty.

Just a mere photograph was enough to stir an inexplicable unease in Chen Yi.

Bear in mind, he was an ancient monster at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, someone who had seen countless peerless saintesses and divine maidens. His Dao heart was as solid as eternal bedrock, and he rarely felt anything special about a woman’s appearance anymore.

Yet, ‘The Cold Palace Stubborn Tenant’ managed to provoke a reaction—because her beauty was pure, unaltered, an innate and primal allure, not the artificially perfected refinement cultivated through cultivation.

"Good. It seems my Dao heart still has flaws to temper. I must refine it further!"

Chen Yi’s gaze sharpened. Youth was an advantage, but sometimes it could also be a weakness. Suppressing the strange emotions in his heart, he spoke calmly.

[TMD the Heavenly Tribulation is Still Chasing Me: Hold your horses. Send a high-def video first.]

[Two-Sleeved Breeze is a Sword Immortal: Uh, Group Leader, you...]

[I Really Don’t Want to Be a Sacrifice: Hahaha, the Group Leader is truly a man of culture! To be honest, I’d like to see it too!]

The two muted members had plenty to say, but alas, their two-and-a-half-hour ban wasn’t up yet, leaving them hopping in frustration.

In the cold palace, Liu Ruyan blinked in bewilderment. "This Group Leader seems a bit unreliable?"

She knew she was captivating—after all, even the dog emperor, who could barely function, had insisted on taking her as a concubine, and on his deathbed, he still wanted to drag her down with him...

But her fatal charm should only work on mid-tier cultivators, right?

Top-tier experts might spare her a glance or two, but it was mostly appreciation, devoid of any worldly desires.

So why was this old Group Leader, with his 900 million combat power, acting like this?

Could it be... that a 900 million combat power Group Leader is only on par with mid-tier cultivators of the Great Zhou Dynasty?

Then I’m doomed!

Sniffles

This tragic beauty script is too hard. I don’t wanna play anymore...

[‘The Cold Palace Stubborn Tenant’ shared a short video: The Eight-Layered Coquetry]

[‘TMD the Heavenly Tribulation is Still Chasing Me,’ ‘I Really Don’t Want to Be a Sacrifice,’ ‘Two-Sleeved Breeze is a Sword Immortal,’ ‘Runner-Up of the Cultivation World,’ ‘Unemployed God of Light’ are watching.]

"Pretty please...? Begging you...? Just this once...? Can you...?"

A sultry yet aloof, sweet yet velvety mature voice echoed softly.

Chen Yi remained expressionless, watching the palace-dressed beauty’s exaggerated antics in the video without the slightest reaction.

Pfft. That’s it?

You think this can test a Tribulation Transcender?

What kind of Tribulation expert would fail such a test!

Of course, Chen Yi hadn’t been moved much to begin with. He’d only used this as an opportunity to temper his Dao heart, so there was no way he’d lose composure.

But the other group members? Every single one of them was struggling to hold their ground!

Fang Zheng, ever the upright gentleman, stared intently. "Hmph, such shallow beauty can’t sway me. Let me watch it again, again, again..."

Zhou Zheng (Two-Sleeved Breeze is a Sword Immortal) dropped his sword, clasped his hands, and trembled. "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form... where there’s emptiness, there’s form..."

One of the muted duo, Adolf Anlan, suddenly pushed away the wild, exotic beauty clinging to him and muttered, "How could I sink so low, indulging in Western passions for so long? Look how haggard I’ve become..."

Runner-Up Chen Bo was the worst of them all, drooling with a creepy grin. "Hehehe..."

The group chat fell silent for a long while. Liu Ruyan suddenly smirked in disdain. "Tch. Men."

[The Cold Palace Stubborn Tenant: Big brothers, it’s an emergency! Can anyone come save me? (Puppy eyes.jpg)]

[Two-Sleeved Breeze is a Sword Immortal: Sweetheart, will you pledge yourself to me in return?]

[The Group Leader has muted ‘Two-Sleeved Breeze is a Sword Immortal’ for two and a half hours.]

"AAAAH! Group Leader, are you trying to hog her for yourself?! Don’t think just because you’re strong you can do whatever you want! Forced fruit isn’t sweet, NOT SWEET!!!"

Zhou Zheng wailed.

[I Really Don’t Want to Be a Sacrifice: I’ll follow the Group Leader’s arrangements!]

Fang Zheng, on the other hand, was far more composed.

Though he was tempted, he already had a son and wasn’t as impulsive as he’d been in his youth.

[The Cold Palace Stubborn Tenant: If it’s the Group Leader... I wouldn’t say no (shy.jpg)]

Liu Ruyan continued her teasing.

Unfortunately, Chen Yi, now with a rock-solid Dao heart after tempering, wasn’t biting.

[TMD the Heavenly Tribulation is Still Chasing Me: Not interested. Fang Zheng, what’s your situation now?]

Liu Ruyan: ???

N-not interested?

Are you kidding me?

I didn’t even say I wanted to be with you. You’re really full of yourself...

First, you call me sweetheart, now I’m just ‘some woman’?

Why do you care so much about other men?

Hmph. Man, you’ve successfully piqued my interest!

[The Cold Palace Stubborn Tenant: Group Leader gege, let’s give it a try~ I’m easy to get—just come over and I’m yours~]

[The Group Leader has muted ‘The Cold Palace Stubborn Tenant’ for two and a half hours.]

"Wait, what the hell, you damn Group Leader?!"

Liu Ruyan’s face flushed red with anger.

Meanwhile, the sole survivor, Fang Zheng, sucked in a sharp breath.

The Group Leader’s on a rampage today. Who pissed him off?

Why so trigger-happy with the mutes?

Stay calm, stay calm. If I behave, I’ll be fine.

Not daring to joke around anymore, Fang Zheng carefully replied to the Group Leader’s question.

[I Really Don’t Want to Be a Sacrifice: Group Leader, things are getting intense here. The twenty-four Supreme Venerables have stopped engaging with me—they’re all focused on setting up formations to pressure me. I’ve already unlocked forty-five seals on the Star-Suppressing Seal. At this rate, I’ll have to unlock all of them within half an hour to hold them off!]

[TMD the Heavenly Tribulation is Still Chasing Me: You’ve got two and a half minutes. Trigger a rescue mission request by any means necessary. I’m waiting—hurry!]

[I Really Don’t Want to Be a Sacrifice: No problem. Leave it to me—it’s in the bag!]

After sending this, Fang Zheng’s avatar grayed out.

At the same time, within the Illusory Star Cave Abode, Chen Yi’s expression was uncharacteristically grave.

He was in a foul mood.

Because just moments ago, his three one-star clones had successfully transformed into immortal bodies, forming inner worlds that cycled self-generated spiritual essence. They could now continuously nourish his true self, allowing him to halt lifespan depletion without relying on external spiritual energy—a pseudo-immortality of sorts.

Now, some might ask: Isn’t this an incredible breakthrough? Shouldn’t Chen Yi be overjoyed? Why the bad mood?

Sure, Chen Yi had been excited at first—so much so that he’d even been in the mood to banter in the group chat and let ‘The Cold Palace Stubborn Tenant’ test his Dao heart with her coquetry.

But as he delved deeper into the implications, he realized—this was a massive trap!