Collapsed Jia Ling'er, Chi Nai Fainted in Anger

It was clear that the magical artifact Chi Nai had used was essentially a suicide weapon for a cultivator of her level. Once activated, it would backlash against the wielder before unleashing terrifying power.

If not for Jiang Che’s Immortal-Binding Rope suppressing the Crimson Serpent Blade, its spirit—not yet fully awakened—would have been frightened into dormancy. Had the Ten Thousand Poison Domain fully materialized... ordinary cultivators would have had no chance of resisting. With the might of the Nirvana Stage... the entire South Sea region would likely have been reduced to a lifeless wasteland!

“Heh, poor Chi Nai… used as a pawn by your own family,” Jiang Che remarked leisurely, completely unfazed by the fact that Chi Nai was on the verge of succumbing to the poison. With him here… of course, there would be no mishap.

“Exactly! Sister Chi Nai, your family is downright ruthless! They treated you like cannon fodder… You’d be better off sticking with Jiang Che—he’d even give you a divine artifact!” Yu Wan’er chimed in, playing the perfect echo to Jiang Che’s words.

The two of them, husband and wife in perfect harmony, left Chi Nai utterly silent.

She began reflecting on her past.

The Crimson Molten Gold Pythons were unlike other clans—they bred prolifically. Snakes were inherently lustful creatures, and a single male could mate with thousands of females in a year, producing hundreds of eggs in a single clutch. As a result, Chi Nai had countless siblings, numbering in the tens of thousands.

Her memories of her father were sparse, limited to just a handful of encounters. As for her mother? She had never even met her—the woman had laid the eggs and then vanished...

Yet from childhood, she had been brainwashed by the clan elders, told to obey her father without question.

So when her father finally sought her out, declaring her one of the rare females of their lineage and ordering her to seduce and assassinate Jiang Che in the mortal realm, she hadn’t hesitated—even knowing the mission was near-suicidal.

She had prepared for the possibility of failure and death… but never imagined the Crimson Serpent Blade, gifted by her own father, would be the thing to betray her!!!

“Heh, Chi Nai, need me to patch you up? I’ve got quite the healing touch!” Jiang Che’s divine hearing missed nothing—he had already caught every thought running through her mind.

“Sister Chi Nai, think about it… You’re an assassin sent to kill Jiang Che. If you failed and were interrogated, you might’ve revealed the mastermind. That’s why they gave you such a vicious artifact—to silence you along the way!” Yu Wan’er fanned the flames, her quick-witted mind spinning the narrative effortlessly.

Her words were the final straw.

“Pfft—”

Another mouthful of blood sprayed out as Chi Nai’s body swayed unsteadily before she collapsed, lifeless.

“Huh? Did I… talk her to death?” Yu Wan’er covered her mouth with her small hands, eyes wide.

“Not dead, but close. The poison’s already seeped into her organs…” Jiang Che said calmly.

“Ah?! Hurry, Jiang Che, quick—while she’s still warm… er, I mean, before it’s too late to save her!”

Jiang Che: “......”

He didn’t need Yu Wan’er’s prompting. He had already scooped up the unconscious Chi Nai. The virulent poison even attempted to invade his body, but Jiang Che was no ordinary cultivator—he possessed twin immortal physiques and had consumed countless emperor-grade elixirs, even celestial pills.

It was like Sun Wukong stealing Laozi’s golden elixirs—after gorging on them, he’d forged an indestructible body.

Jiang Che wasn’t invincible, but this level of toxin was nothing to him.

“Tsk tsk tsk, this girl’s got quite the figure…” With Chi Nai slung over his shoulder, Jiang Che headed home.

“Jiang Che, bye-bye! And don’t you dare stay mad at me!” Yu Wan’er stuck out her tongue playfully before darting off like a gust of wind.

Jiang Che chuckled and shook his head. Any ordinary man would’ve been wrapped around her finger, hopelessly hooked.

But Yu Wan’er had misunderstood—he had never been angry with her. It was just that, for a while, a few mermaids had been far too delectable, keeping him thoroughly occupied.

On his way back with Chi Nai, Jiang Che happened to run into Jia Ling’er.

Once the proud princess of the Jialan Clan, she had now been reduced to a lowly maid—assigned all the grunt work: cleaning, serving tea, washing bedsheets, even laundering underwear.

Their eyes met, and Jia Ling’er’s lit up instantly. She had been waiting for Jiang Che for far too long!

Demoted to a servant, she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him most days—her world had shrunk to the endless cycle of handling his clothes.

“Jiang Che! I don’t want to do this anymore! Fine, I’ll be your woman—just end this misery!”

Jia Ling’er had lived a life of privilege, accustomed to being waited on hand and foot. A single month of menial labor had shattered her pride.

Most of her arrogance had already been ground to dust by Jiang Che. Now, she faced reality: being with this man couldn’t possibly be worse than her current existence.

“Tsk tsk tsk, has the noble princess finally lowered her exalted head?”

Jiang Che, still carrying Chi Nai, couldn’t resist teasing her.

“You—!” Jia Ling’er gritted her teeth, infuriated by his smug expression.

“Sorry, Princess, but if you’re looking to share my bed… you’ll have to wait your turn. Look—I’ve just caught myself another wild beauty.”

Only then did Jia Ling’er notice the girl slung over his shoulder.

“Huh? A Crimson Molten Gold Python girl?”

“How am I inferior to some snake girl?!”

A woman’s competitive spirit was fierce, especially for a highborn like Jia Ling’er.

She could accept losing to someone like Qing’er, whose bloodline surpassed hers. But being overlooked for a mere serpent girl? Unthinkable!

“Jiang Che!!!”

“Mark my words—you’ll regret passing me up!”

Jiang Che merely smiled, adjusting Chi Nai as he casually fed her an antidote pill. Without it, she’d be a goner soon.

While his system had no shortage of revival elixirs and artifacts, they cost millions—no point wasting them when a simple antidote would do.

“Princess, farewell. And I’ll remember your words—give it two weeks, and you’ll be begging me again.”

Jia Ling’er trembled with rage.

“Never! I still have my pride!!!”

“Oh? Then what was that offer just now?”

“Since you’ve got so much energy, why don’t you hand-wash the rest of the laundry?” With that, Jiang Che strode off, leaving her fuming.

“You—! Aaaah!!!”

Stripped of her spiritual power, Jia Ling’er was now just an ordinary mermaid—forced to shuffle along on her tail like a mop.

Once, she had taken great pride in her immaculate, sapphire-and-gold tail. With her powers, she had floated effortlessly—what mermaid would drag such beauty through the dirt?

Yet now, after endless labor, her once-glorious tail had been reduced to a ragged, grimy mess.

This was the very reason that drove Jia Ling'er to despair!