Just because you're a woman, you think you can block my path

An Linghui unleashed her power, steadied herself, and let the black robe she had thrown up fall back into place.

She grabbed hold of Xu Mu's arm, and the two of them hovered in midair.

Xu Mu looked down and saw a bottomless abyss below, but the surrounding area was also pitch black—there was nowhere to set foot.

An Linghui looked at Xu Mu and asked, "Would you say I just saved your life?"

"Not really. I can fly too."

Xu Mu pulled his arm free from An Linghui's grip, activated his Cloud Step technique, and stood beside her in the air.

But then he grabbed her arm again. "Though, this is a martial technique. I want to save some Qi."

"By the way, what exactly happened to you back there? How did you manage to break that formation?"

An Linghui asked, confused.

"It's simple. The formation is illusory, but the heavenly treasure is real. That treasure grew up from the ground somewhere, piercing through the formation, and reached the spot we were at."

Xu Mu explained. "I studied it carefully—the treasure didn't completely destroy the formation, but it revealed the core runes to me."

"Then why are we here?"

An Linghui continued to ask.

"Maybe we've entered the next stage."

Xu Mu closed his eyes to sense the surroundings. There were no living creatures anywhere—just darkness everywhere.

An Linghui flew off into the distance, but she flew for a long time without finding any land.

"Why don't we go down and take a look?" Xu Mu suddenly suggested.

An Linghui nodded. Since there was finally a chance to get out, she was determined to follow Xu Mu's lead the entire way.

The two of them descended, but after a full five minutes, they still hadn't reached the ground.

Xu Mu rubbed his chin, then unleashed the Burning Heaven Sword Qi downward.

Whoosh!

A blood-red sword aura shot toward the depths, but within ten seconds, it reappeared from the sky above and continued downward again.

Seeing this, An Linghui suddenly understood.

They had been going around in circles all along—that was why they couldn't get out.

"What should we do?" An Linghui looked at Xu Mu and asked.

Xu Mu raised his hand, and more than twenty long swords spun around his body.

He pointed his finger, and the swords flew off in different directions.

After a few attempts, he noticed one of his swords was missing.

Xu Mu pointed diagonally upward. "Fly that way."

An Linghui acknowledged, grabbed Xu Mu's arm, and flew in that direction.

After more than twenty seconds, they really did spot a stone door standing alone in midair.

【Affection +5】

"Xu Mu, you really are clever."

An Linghui pushed hard against the stone door, and the two of them stepped inside.

On the other side of the stone door was another stretch of rocky peaks, but now the surroundings were filled with weeds and trees.

It already looked no different from an ordinary mountain forest.

"Wait for me for a moment!"

An Linghui went behind a large tree. She took a casual outfit out of her spatial ring.

Then she took off the black robe, put on the casual clothes—she wasn't too fond of the drafty feeling.

After getting dressed, she tied her hair into a ponytail before walking back toward Xu Mu.

Xu Mu looked at An Linghui. He had to admit, she looked exactly the same as in her photo.

Several years had left not a single trace on her.

The two of them continued walking into the distance. After crossing the mountain peak, they spotted a white palace in the distance.

An Linghui grinned. "This time, it's definitely the end."

She grabbed Xu Mu's arm and flew rapidly toward it.

When they reached the palace, the architecture looked more like a Western castle.

They entered through the entrance, and the world before them shifted again.

Xu Mu couldn't help but feel exasperated. Did the formations here cost nothing?

They were everywhere.

This time, they found themselves on a grassy plain, with a stone statue up ahead.

The statue depicted a woman sitting on a throne, wearing a crown, her hands resting on the armrests.

It stood two meters tall.

"I didn't expect you to make it this far. You do have some skill."

The statue's mouth opened, and a woman's voice spoke.

"Cut the chatter. Hand over the treasure!" An Linghui grinned and lunged toward the statue.

Suddenly, vines grew from both sides of the statue, forming two human-shaped figures.

One charged at An Linghui, the other came at Xu Mu.

Seeing this, An Linghui released flames from her body again.

She waved one hand, conjuring a dozen fireballs in front of her.

All the fireballs slammed into the vine figure.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of thunderous impacts rang out, but the vine figure walked through the explosions completely unharmed and reached An Linghui.

The vine figure threw a punch.

An Linghui met it with a punch of her own.

Boom!

A loud crash—neither side gave ground.

Then, suddenly, the vine figure's fist unraveled, turning into vines that wrapped around An Linghui's arm.

An Linghui's expression changed. She quickly grabbed at the vines, trying to tear them off.

But the vines burrowed into her body at a visible speed.

On the other side, Xu Mu also got his arm caught by vines, but he used his Shadow Shift to teleport away instantly, shaking them off.

Whoosh!

He activated the Burning Heaven Sword Technique and sliced the vines to pieces in one strike.

The vines burned to ash and slowly dissipated.

"Not bad. But that's not because your ability is strong—it's because this formation is designed so that lower-cultivation individuals deal more damage to it."

The distant statue spoke without emotion.

"So the whole point is to impose restrictions on those with higher cultivation levels, right?" Xu Mu asked with a smile.

"Correct."

The statue acknowledged.

"Impressive. It can even hold a conversation with me." Xu Mu was genuinely astonished.

The statue woman continued, "There will be plenty of dangers ahead. I'll give you this woman. Once you've had your fun with her, I'll open the exit and let you leave."

As she spoke, An Linghui began walking toward Xu Mu.

"Xu Mu! Get out of here! I think I'm being controlled—my limbs won't obey me."

An Linghui said quickly.

At the same time, a green light flickered on the back of her hand. Her hands moved against her will, tearing at the casual clothes she wore.

"Xu Mu! Don't look! Turn around right now, or I'll kill you!" An Linghui's forehead broke out in a sweat, and tears welled up in her eyes.

If the first time had been due to forces beyond her control, this time was completely different.

Her mind was perfectly clear, but her body simply refused to obey her.

"Not a bad deal, right? If you keep going deeper, you'll most likely die. But right now, I'm giving you a woman, and afterward, I'll let you leave. Isn't that a wonderful opportunity?"

The statue's voice came again.

"Xu Mu, if you dare agree, I will kill you!" An Linghui shouted from afar.

"Don't worry, she can't kill you. Once you're done, I'll kill this woman first."

The statue said.

An Linghui's face burned with fury. What the hell had she done to deserve this?

The first time, she'd been caught by Spring Night Grass and ended up with a child.

Was this going to happen all over again?

"I refuse!" Xu Mu said firmly.

Hearing that, gratitude filled An Linghui's eyes.

【Affection +10】

"You said the rear is more dangerous, so why not let me keep going deeper? Wouldn't it be better to just let me die in there? So I'm guessing there's no real danger behind—it's where the treasure is."

Xu Mu paused. "And with just this one woman, you think you can block my path?"

"What do you intend to do?"

The stone statue woman asked.

"I want to play with every woman in this formation. Bring them all to me."

Xu Mu said with a domineering look on his face.

[Affinity -10]