Say whatever you want to the Sword Lord.

The flying boat started silently, cutting through the wind as it rose.

The mountains shrank rapidly beneath them, and clouds covered most of the main peak of Snow Maiden Sect. That mountain grew smaller and smaller, farther and farther, until it finally vanished into the thick layers of clouds, leaving nothing behind.

Wu Lingfeng thought that Cold Moon Fairy was probably still standing at the mountain gate right now. Those eyes were probably still staring in this direction.

She closed her eyes, pressed that image down, and stopped herself from wandering thoughts.

Heading east, the sky gradually shifted from pale white to deep blue. On the distant horizon, a thick band of pink-purple mist floated faintly, stretching for hundreds of miles, shrouding the entire mountain range in an ambiguous, somewhat dangerous haze.

Ying'er squinted, stretched her hand over the side of the boat, letting the wind slip through her fingers, and giggled: "Husband, where are we going next?"

"Ten Thousand Demon Ridge."

As those two words fell, the atmosphere on the flying boat suddenly tensed.

Ying'er pulled her hand back, her expression shifting: "Ten... Ten Thousand Demon Ridge? The one belonging to the Green Hill Fox Clan?"

"Yeah."

"Husband, that place..." Ying'er frowned, hesitating. "I've heard it's a gathering ground for ten thousand demons. Ordinary cultivators who wander in by mistake rarely make it out..."

Ye Xuan picked up the tea warming on the small stove, blew on it, took a sip, and said nothing. His calm, leisurely demeanor made it seem as if their next stop wasn't the infamous Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, but a teahouse in the next village.

Wu Lingfeng's brows had already quietly twisted into a knot.

Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

She had heard of that place.

The Green Hill Fox Clan had held this territory for generations, with the nine-thousand-year-old Bai Su as their sovereign. Her magic power was immense, her methods unpredictable. The area was layered with arrays, and on the outskirts, a "Soul-Eroding Fog" stretched for hundreds of miles. For ordinary cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, stepping inside meant their divine sense would be eroded within three hours, reducing them to puppets, their very souls unable to escape.

Let alone the master of the Green Hill Cave itself—that nine-thousand-year-old Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox. Legends said her innate charm magic had reached its peak, making it difficult even for Tribulation Transcendence realm experts to retreat unscathed.

What realm was Ye Xuan in now?

Having rebuilt his foundation, at most he was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

This wasn't like throwing an egg at a stone—this was...

Wu Lingfeng was silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"Benefactor."

Her voice was steady, only a barely perceptible tightness hidden in its depths. "Benefactor, you must not go to Ten Thousand Demon Ridge."

Ye Xuan turned his head, gave her a calm glance, said nothing, and averted his gaze.

Wu Lingfeng continued: "The Green Hill Fox Clan is ruled by Bai Su, the Nine-Tailed. She has cultivated for over nine thousand years, at the peak of the Unity realm. Her innate charm magic is unrivaled. Even a Tribulation Transcendence realm expert entering her territory must tread carefully."

"Moreover..." she lowered her voice, "this place is set with a 'Thousand Illusion Soul-Eroding Grand Array.' Anyone who steps into it will have their divine sense silently devoured. At first, you won't notice anything. But by the time you detect the anomaly, most of your soul will already be damaged beyond recovery. With Benefactor's current cultivation..."

She paused here.

"If you go in, there will be danger."

Ye Xun set down his teacup, turned his head, and looked straight at her.

"Wu Nianxuan," Ye Xuan said, his tone calm, "do you think I don't know what Ten Thousand Demon Ridge is?"

Wu Lingfeng faltered, at a loss for words.

"I know Bai Su's background. I know about the Thousand Illusion Soul-Eroding Grand Array," Ye Xuan said unhurriedly, his gaze returning to the pink-purple mist ahead. "I know better than you where the danger lies, and I know better than you where its weaknesses are."

"But..." Wu Lingfeng's heart tightened, and she responded faster than she expected, her voice dropping unconsciously. "That doesn't mean it's wise to go in now. Benefactor's cultivation is currently limited. If you run into Bai Su herself..."

"So what?"

Ye Xuan's tone was dismissive.

"She won't hurt me."

Wu Lingfeng frowned: "How can you be so sure?"

"Because she can't afford the consequences." Ye Xuan said only this, offered no further explanation, picked up his teacup, took another sip, and dropped the subject.

His relaxed demeanor left Wu Lingfeng speechless.

She wanted to keep persuading him. The words had already risen to her throat:

If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do? If you disappear from my sight again, I...

But she couldn't say it.

She suppressed it, rebuilt the barrier inside herself, and closed her mouth.

Ying'er glanced between the two of them. Seeing Wu Lingfeng fall silent, she leaned closer to Ye Xuan and whispered, so only the two of them could hear: "Husband, that Wu Nianxuan... he's so strange. He keeps staring at you."

Ye Xuan didn't answer. He just gently poked Ying'er's forehead with his finger, signaling her not to talk too much.

Ying'er covered her forehead, pouted, and silently shrank back.

The flying boat descended lower.

The pink-purple mist was now right in front of them. In the last glimmer of the setting sun, it glowed softly like warm jade—beautiful, hazy, but like a phantom floating above an abyss, making one hesitate to believe it.

In the air, there was already a faint, sweet scent.

Rich, thick, as if something had risen from the deepest depths, seeping silently into the lungs with every breath.

Ying'er wrinkled her nose: "So sweet... but... weird. I'm having trouble breathing..."

"Hold your breath. Move."

Ye Xuan said firmly, stepping off the flying boat first and landing on the edge of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

Behind him, the flying boat silently contracted, transforming back into that gleaming white jade token and falling into his palm.

Wu Lingfeng followed and stepped down. As her feet touched the soft earth, the sweet scent intensified threefold. She immediately tightened her spiritual power and blocked most of her divine sense.

Looking up, a winding stone path led into the forest. On both sides, ancient trees towered, their crowns so dense they almost completely blocked out the sky.

Pink spirit flowers bloomed on every branch. Petals drifted down with the wind, silently landing in the mist and vanishing without a trace.

Deep on the stone path, a faint glow of light flickered in the distance—ambiguous and hazy.

Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

The great gate of the Green Hill Cave was carved from two ten-thousand-year-old jade-green trees, adorned with pink spirit flowers. Petals fluttered lightly down, landing silently on the ground and dissolving without a trace.

The air was thick with a sweet, pink fragrance, so dense it felt as if someone had distilled the soul of an entire peach grove and infused it into this realm.

Ying'er took just one breath, and her face flushed. She covered her cheeks and whispered, "Hus... Husband, the air here... it feels strange. My body's getting hot..."

"Don't breathe it in." Ye Xuan casually handed her a purification pill. "Use your energy to suppress it."

Ying'er obediently took it and placed it in her mouth. The heat at the tips of her ears gradually subsided.

Wu Lingfeng reacted faster. She had already quietly activated her spiritual power, forming an invisible barrier within her meridians to block the pervasive seductive energy outside.

But even so, she could still clearly feel the enchanting magic permeating the air. This was the innate divine ability forged from nine thousand years of training by the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox—far beyond ordinary charm arts.

Deep within the cave mansion, sheer silks drifted gently, layer upon layer of pink gauze curtains cascading down. At the deepest part, lamp light glimmered faintly, soft whispers and hidden fragrance mingling—a gentle trap that made one willingly sink into it.

"Ooh!"

Before her figure was seen, her voice was heard.

The sound was like honey blended with strong wine: languid, soft, and melting, yet carrying a careless danger. It was like a hand reaching into one's chest, unhurriedly and lightly scratching within.

"Isn't this Paramour Ye?"

The pink gauze curtains parted without a breeze.

A woman lay languidly on her side atop a white jade couch. She wore sheer, translucent red silk gauze, light as smoke, veiling without concealing. Behind her, nine snow-white fox tails swayed gently, each tip burning with a ghostly blue foxfire, flickering like nine stars about to fall.

Bai Su.

The Sovereign of Qingqiu, a nine-thousand-year Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, at the peak of the Unity realm, only half a step away from undergoing her tribulation.

Her seductive eyes were like silk, her gaze casually sweeping over Ying'er, pausing briefly on the male-attired Wu Lingfeng with a faint hint of scrutiny before losing interest, drawing all her focus back to Ye Xuan.

In that moment, the expression in her eyes changed.

No longer careless, but a fervor and hunger so long suppressed, finally unleashed—almost burning.

She slowly rose from the couch.

With a whiff of fragrant wind, she appeared before Ye Xuan, her nine white tails silently curving halfway behind them, as if to shut out the entire world.

She moved like an extremely alluring serpent-woman, winding herself around Ye Xuan unhurriedly. Her slender fingers slid gently down his shoulder, stopping at his chest. Her breath was like orchid, her words carrying a tenderness that made his soul tremble:

"It's been thousands of years, Paramour Ye. This vessel of yours has become even more handsome."

She leaned in, her breath landing on his jaw, her voice dropping so low it seemed meant only for him: "Do you know... all these millennia, I've missed you so much my heart aches. Every night, every inch of my skin—all of it is you."

Her eyes grew dazed, her fingers slowly hooking onto Ye Xuan's belt, her voice carrying an irresistible magic, pleading yet seductive: "Please... ease this millennia-long longing of mine."

"Just tonight. If only for tonight..."

Wu Lingfeng stood two zhangs away, watching the scene.

It was as if her throat and heart had been seized all at once.

That fox-spirit's hands pressed against Ye Xuan's shoulders, against his chest, wrapped around his waist...

She wanted to blast that shameless creature away from him.

But she couldn't. The other party was a peak Unity realm great demon at full power, her cave mansion bristling with numerous arrays. Wu Lingfeng herself was still unhealed from the backlash of the Dragon Transformation Art, and a fight would not necessarily end well.

Moreover, right now, she was Wu Nianxuan.

A disgraced imperial castoff, a stranger of a man who could only follow Ye Xuan. What right did she have to be jealous, to make a move, to speak?

Wu Lingfeng stared fixedly at Ye Xuan, cold sweat seeping from her palms.

She suppressed the surging emotion within, pressing it down with all her might, forcing it deep into the depths of her heart.

Beside her, Ying'er's face had gone pale with fright. Her eyes darted about blankly, not knowing where to look. She tugged gently at Wu Lingfeng's sleeve and whispered hoarsely, "Brother Wu... Brother Wu... what do we do..."

Wu Lingfeng did not speak.

Ye Xuan simply stood there.

He did not push Bai Su away nor respond to her advances. Instead, he unhurriedly extended a finger, gently pressing it against her seductive, rose-red lips.

"Bai Su."

His voice was calm, like a finely polished piece of old jade—gentle, nonchalant, carrying an indescribable hint of mockery: "In theory, this matter wouldn't be an issue."

Bai Su's eyes suddenly lit up, and her nine fox tails quivered with excitement all at once, their foxfires brightening.

"But..."

Ye Xuan's tone shifted. With an innocent look, he spread his hands, as if stating the most natural thing in the world: "I'm a man who values rules. For such an important matter, I must first consult my Dao partner's opinion."

Bai Su paused, then lazily raised an eyebrow, a coquettish smile spreading across her face. "Dao partner? Paramour Ye, you've reincarnated a hundred times; you have many Dao partners. Which one are you referring to?" She puffed out her chest, her tone carrying the self-confidence of nine thousand years of cultivation backing her up. "No matter who it is, I, Bai Su, am not afraid. At worst, let her come too—sisters serving one husband together. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Oh, it's not Cold Moon."

Ye Xuan shook his head gently, a subtle, unfathomable smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"I'll ask my Dao partner, Ye Jiuhuang."

As if something silently exploded the moment those three words landed.

Within a hundred zhang radius, all sound suddenly ceased.

Bai Su's nine swaying tails all stiffened in an instant. Three of the nine ghostly blue foxfires at their tips silently went out.

The delicate body wrapped around Ye Xuan slowly, bit by bit, stiffened.

The lazy, coquettish smile on her face froze, shattered, and was utterly overwhelmed by a wave of uncontrollable terror surging from the depths of her soul.

"Who... who?"

Her voice was no longer soft and melting. The mesmerizing magnetism vanished completely, leaving only a faint, trembling hiss from her throat. "You said... your Dao partner is..."

"Ye Jiuhuang."

Ye Xuan said it calmly, his tone as if mentioning the most ordinary old acquaintance. "The one known as the greatest sword under heaven, the Sword Sovereign whose single strike suppressed three thousand Dao prefectures, overshadowing the sun, moon, and stars. You should remember her, right?"

He paused, as if recalling carefully: "That time she passed by the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, found you all too noisy, and casually swung her sword, leveling three of your ancestral peaks."