Journey to the Hidden Realm

Three days later, Su Luo prepared to set off for the secret realm.

But before departing...

"Little Yu, I have a favor to ask of you."

Little Yu's face lit up with joy. Su Luo usually handled most things on her own and rarely asked for help.

This was a rare opportunity to prove herself.

"Help me gather some materials."

Originally, there were many materials that needed collecting, all arranged by the Left Envoy.

But now that the Left Envoy was gone, Su Luo's workload had doubled. Even slacking off was difficult—handling two roles at once wasn't easy.

To make things simpler, she decided to let Little Yu handle the gathering.

Of course, Su Luo would still personally visit Lin Xuan—how could the plot proceed without her?

Su Luo explained the locations of the materials and the precautions to Little Yu. With Little Yu's current strength, there shouldn’t be any issues.

At the Void Refinement stage, she was already among the ranks of the powerful.

Little Yu nodded, indicating she understood everything.

Just as she was about to leave, she found herself unable to move.

[Gaze Binding Technique]

Little Yu was utterly confused. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move, and there were no traces of any spell around her.

At that moment, Su Luo embraced her from behind, hands wandering freely.

Little Yu stiffened—it was broad daylight, and Nangong Xiyun was right outside.

"Su Luo... stop fooling around..."

Only then did Su Luo release her, satisfied.

This, she felt, was the true purpose of the Gaze Binding Technique.

How shameless.

Though five seconds was a bit too short.

"We can continue when I get back..." Little Yu quickly fled the scene.

Su Luo stepped out of the room, where Nangong Xiyun was waiting.

"What’s wrong with Little Yu?"

"Nothing. I just assigned her a task."

"What about me?"

"You don’t need to do anything. You already have some of the materials—just hand them over directly."

"Tsk, when did you become so bold?"

Nangong Xiyun couldn’t recall Su Luo ever asking her for anything before, even though she was quite wealthy herself.

It was a shame this advantage had gone to waste.

But now that Su Luo was asking, didn’t that mean their relationship had grown closer?

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Su Luo replied.

"Not at all. I’m actually happy about it."

Nangong Xiyun handed over everything Su Luo needed. Though some items were precious, they had just been gathering dust in her storage ring.

Su Luo inspected the materials carefully. With the Left Envoy dead, she was now responsible for forging the Thousandfold Thunderbell—no room for carelessness.

"I’ll be away for a while. You take over as the East Extreme Demon Lord and keep an eye on the Heavenly Demon Sect," Su Luo instructed before preparing to leave.

"Wait, I can’t come with you?"

"If you come, things might get complicated. I’m going to mess with Lin Xuan."

"Oh, go ahead. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything."

A master leads you to the door, but cultivation depends on the individual.

Besides, Lin Xuan probably didn’t harbor hatred for Su Luo at this point.

Nangong Xiyun didn’t mind.

"Just stay here. If Lin Xuan finds out, I have a feeling things will go very badly."

There’d be no way to explain it. In Lin Xuan’s eyes, it would look like she and Nangong Xiyun had inexplicably gotten together.

He’d definitely blame Su Luo, and his desire to kill her would skyrocket.

Well, not that it hadn’t always been there—but no need to complicate things further.

"Fine."

"Alright, I’m off." Su Luo departed.

Nangong Xiyun wanted to give her a farewell kiss, but remembering she couldn’t touch Su Luo for now, she could only watch her leave.

Damn that Jiang Ningshu.

But maybe the separation was for the best. These past few days, seeing Su Luo and Little Yu being affectionate had stirred desires in her too.

A few days apart to cool off might be good.

......

Not long after setting out, Su Luo ran into the Right Envoy.

"Right Envoy," she greeted respectfully.

The Right Envoy nodded. "Everything alright?"

"What do you mean?" Su Luo was momentarily confused—why was the Right Envoy suddenly concerned about her?

"Did the Left Envoy punish you?"

"Yes."

Su Luo made up some random punishments and added, "The final penalty was sending me to the Thousand Souls Secret Realm to retrieve a Soul Heaven Stone—to atone for my failure."

The Thousand Souls Secret Realm was another death trap, and coincidentally, the same one Lin Xuan was heading to.

"I see. You’ve suffered."

"No, it’s only right. I failed, and I accept the consequences."

"Still, it’s excessive. The Heavenly Demon Sect is short on capable hands—letting you redeem yourself should be enough. The Left... no, the Demon Lord really has no sense of mercy."

Su Luo stayed silent. This wasn’t a topic she should engage in.

Though it was odd hearing the Right Envoy talk about "mercy."

The Right Envoy continued, "Here, take these. They might help you in the secret realm."

"Thank you, thank you."

Su Luo was baffled. Why was the Right Envoy suddenly giving her things—and good ones at that?

But she wasn’t about to refuse. If it was offered, she’d take it.

Consequences? Su Luo couldn’t care less. If the Right Envoy had ulterior motives, she’d just flip the table if necessary.

"Go on, then. Return safely. The Heavenly Demon Sect can’t afford to lose a key powerhouse right now."

The Right Envoy had only come to test the waters.

Su Luo nodded and left without another word.

Whatever the Right Envoy was scheming, she’d just focus on her own goals.

Su Luo headed for the Thousand Souls Secret Realm.

As always, with greater strength, everything became easier.

And as long as she stuck to the main plot, the details didn’t matter.

The secret realm was hidden within a perilous forest teeming with vicious demonic beasts.

Even Void Refinement experts could face danger here.

But Lin Xuan would handle that. Wherever he went, battles followed—naturally, he’d clear the path.

By now, Lin Xuan had probably already entered the Thousand Souls Secret Realm.

Su Luo could see traces of combat along the way.

In the original plot, it was thanks to Lin Xuan that she could enter the secret realm with ease.

The Thousand Souls Secret Realm had a unique feature—a peculiar type of grass that could conjure illusions of the dead.

These grasses were everywhere in the realm. When someone passed by, the grass would read their memories and manifest the dead to deceive them.

The illusions took the form of spectral entities but could still attack.

This was the origin of the realm’s name.

Right now, Lin Xuan was fighting these apparitions. Of course, he hadn’t lost anyone truly important to him—most were just past enemies.

A recycling of old villains.

Lin Xuan could slaughter them again without hesitation.

Now far stronger than before, he crushed them effortlessly.

But if someone truly dear to him appeared, even he might hesitate.

Su Luo entered the secret realm and went straight for her objective, her path familiar.

Any obstacles in her way were trivial with her current strength.

Before long, she found the Soul Heaven Stone she needed for forging, as well as the Soul Anchor Pearl Lin Xuan sought.

Now, all that was left was to wait for Lin Xuan to arrive.