Huge beads of sweat dripped down Lan Luo’s forehead. The pain became more and more intense.

“Kneel!”

With a cold bellow, Lan Luo could not help slumping down to his knees. He was shocked, struggling desperately to control his body. But he could not help himself!

The fire had incinerated his finger. Lan Luo gave off a heart-rending growl.

“If you don’t agree, then in real life, I will let the Heart of Fire burn you in this way… tsk, tsk. A piece of trash without a face and without hands. Which woman can you attract? Your harem… would despise such a ugly monster too, I believe!” Hua Qiyue’s cold voice quietly rang out.

But Lan Luo could imagine how brutal this woman was!

Once he became such a person, the women he had worked so hard to abduct would lose all admiration of him!

Lan Luo had no great ambition. Otherwise, with his abilities, he could have become the Fifth or Sixth Palace Leader.

For him, he would be fine with beautiful women and sleep.

So if Lan Luo lost his handsome face, it was no different from taking his life.

“I… I agree!”

Lan Luo’s perspiration was dripping down his entire forehead. He painfully agreed to Hua Qiyue’s demand.

Hua Qiyue gave a light smile. “Lan Luo, you’re very handsome. I heard that you haven’t done much wickedness except for toying with women. That’s why I want to rope you in. Otherwise… hehe, I will kill without mercy!”

On her way here, Hua Qiyue had managed to trace Lan Luo’s unknown background.

She felt that Lan Luo could be reformed. This was why she had such a thought in her mind.

The fire disappeared; the scorching heat too disappeared. The illusionary scene was also gone.

Everyone only saw Lan Luo staring confusedly into Hua Qiyue’s eyes, cold sweat forming on his forehead. When he had come to himself, he quietly lowered his head. “Hua Qiyue, you’ve won! I shall join your team!”

His statement made everyone gasp!

Even more baffling was how Hua Qiyue managed to subdue this Eighth Palace Leader, this powerful Lan Luo, in just a glance.

One ought to know no one had returned alive after challenging Lan Luo.

Yet Lan Luo had joined Hua Qiyue’s team voluntarily—in other words, betraying the Dark Sect!

“Please think thrice… Palace Leader!”

The four sedan-bearers and his two female aides were terribly shocked. They were all Qi Artists at the Great Completeness of Cultivation Dimension and had followed Lan Luo for many years. But this was the first time they had seen Lan Luo so badly defeated, admitting defeat so quickly.

The concession of defeat this time was quite different from before. He was betraying the Dark Sect!

If the higher authorities of the Dark Sect knew about this, they would treat all members of the Eighth Palace as traitors!

Traitors to the Dark Sect would always be slain without mercy.

“All of you… go back and let them know. Those willing to follow me can wait at the capital. Others may leave.”

Lan Luo said dejectedly.

The faces of the four sedan-bearers changed greatly. They glared hatefully at Hua Qiyue. They had no choice but to leave.

“Very good. Very powerful… Sister Princess, you’re awesome! You managed to subdue Lan Luo in a few moves!” Murong Zhen’er widened her eyes. It was the first time that she had seen Hua Qiyue revealing her invincible might. She was excited and in great awe!

“Fine, let’s go back and rest. Lan Luo, you were trapped in my illusionary scene. Even if you managed to escape, my Hallucination Art can control you all the same. So you decide if you want to leave.” Hua Qiyue gave a quiet smile.

She told outsiders that her Spirit Summoning Art was a Hallucination Art. That at least could stop those old devils taking notice of her.

“Don’t worry, Princess. I know my limits!”

Lan Luo said respectfully, his body still shivering slightly from fear.

Hua Qiyue gave another light smile and turned, leaving for the inn. The crowds had just witnessed a not-too-intense battle. Yet everyone was deeply shocked!

Such a weak woman like Hua Qiyue had managed to stun the Eighth Palace Leader of the Dark Sect in a few moves. How powerful she was!

“The Hallucination Art of this Hua Qiyue must be very powerful? Otherwise, how can Lan Luo submit so easily to her?”

“That’s right. I see all terror in Lan Luo’s eyes. He must have been badly frightened!”

“What a terrible woman. No wonder she could slay the Venerated Supreme Devil. That had been more than one year ago. Probably she’s even more terrifying now… ”

Countless of them had started coveting Hua Qiyue’s divine weapon. But after watching this short battle, they dismissed their earlier thoughts.

Hua Qiyue’s success had been witnessed by Hua Mengshi nearby. She was terrified. She felt that Lan Luo was not a man who would easily submit to a woman!

Hua Qiyue must have used that Spirit Summoning Art again!

Hua Mengshi frowned. Although she now knew Hua Qiyue’s secret, no one would believe her if she simply revealed it.

Besides, if anyone knew that she had fought Hua Qiyue before, they would guess that those two dead maidservants had not been so “pitifully” slain. After all, she was the one who had made Hua Qiyue shoulder the blame!

“Damn! Even he can’t deal with you. Hua Qiyue, just you wait!”

Hua Mengshi gritted her teeth. But she had no other way since even Lan Luo had submitted to Hua Qiyue. She, a mere 11th Palace Leader, was even less likely to subdue Hua Qiyue!

Hua Mengshi turned to go. She was about to return to the Murong Family to ask for a sabbatical to cultivate. She would take the opportunity to go rapidly to the Main Palace and report the matter to the Sect Leader.

Hua Qiyue soaked herself in a huge bathtub. After learning that she had subdued Lan Luo, the owner of the small inn claimed that Hua Qiyue and her friends could eat freely without making any payment.

In the dim light, Hua Qiyue observed her fair, jade-like arms, sleek and tender. She shut her eyes, almost able to see Yun Shimo’s handsome face again.

“Perhaps we will meet soon. Yun Shimo, I really want to kill you!” Hua Qiyue said quietly. Her expression had instantly turned chilling.

For more than a year, she had suffered such pain and anguish. She would made Yun Shimo pay for all this!

After her bath, someone had knocked on the door. It was Xuanji.

Xuanji glanced quietly at Hua Qiyue. The scent of flowers still lingered on her body. Her black hair was still damp.

“They say that there’ll be an auction tomorrow. Some spirit medicines will be on auction. Do you need any? If you do, I’ll get someone to bid for them.”

Xuanji asked quietly. Hua Qiyue nodded. “Yes, I do. After all, we’ve finished all our pills. We need spirit medicines. Or we can directly purchase them.”

“You can’t buy certain precious spirit medicines. You can only bid for them. For example, the Long Red and the Ginseng with Nine Souls you once put on auction—not everyone can sell them.”

Xuanji said quietly.

As soon as he mentioned this, Hua Qiyue’s heart felt a stab of pain.

If only that green jade gourd was with her!

However, she still refused to query Xuanji, since Xuanji might not know the mystery of the gourd. If he had known, he would not have given it to her, would he?

“Alright, let’s bid. Bid as many as possible. And… Xuanji, I’d like to know why have you treated me so well?” Hua Qiyue stared perplexedly at the teal-robed man in the doorway, feeling a rich curiosity about him.

Yes, after all they had only seen each other a few times. Yet he had brought her into the Ten Thousand Spirit Cave and introduced Bai Qianxue to her. He had treated her like a real sister.

“You will know… in the future.”

Xuanji said quietly, turning to depart.

Hua Qiyue stood stupidly where she was, watching his handsome departing back. She did not know what to say.

The night wind blew, sending out the lingering flower scents.

And two other persons were by their doors at Hua Qiyue’s left and right rooms. They had overheard Xuanji and Hua Qiyue’s conversation.

Yes. Why was Xuanji so nice to her?

It must be for no other reason… than liking her? At least Ji Feng and Huangfu Xuan knew that they treated Hua Qiyue well because they liked her.

If there was no love, why would they follow her all the way from a thousand miles away?

——————————

The night scene was alluring.

Tianci quietly climbed up.

In the cave, there was an incense aroma to make people slumber deeply. But Tianci had earlier on taken some pills. He was not intoxicated by this aroma.

In the two years Tianci had been with Yun Shimo, he had learned quite a few skills, like refining simple pills. For Tianci, it was still quite simple.

Tianci walked out of the cave. Neither of two elders had woken.

The moon was bright in the sky. Under its silvery rays, silhouettes of trees were everywhere.

Tianci was a little scared. But he remembered that he would suffer pain every other day, and that he must drink his Dad’s purplish liquid to get better.

His body probably could not last for too long. He must surely, surely see his Mom!

“Man-Hunting Insect, please bring me to a place with an array. With you around, I don’t need to fear!” Tianci caressed the Man-Hunting Insect in his hand. The Man-Hunting Insect’s body emitted a faint green glow, illuminating the surrounding road dimly.

The Man-Hunting Insect led Tianci south. For the past few days, the Man-Hunting Insect would quietly commit to its memory a few points. But Tianci sensed that if even one of its points had been damaged, the big array would be ruined!

“Man-Hunting Insect, how long more is there to go?” There were tangling briars and woods along the way, with snakes and rats. All these made Tianci quite scared.

The Man-Hunting Insect emitted two chirps, meaning soon.

They walked on for a while. The Man-Hunting Insect finally took flight, landing on some place with a pile of crystals.

Tianci saw the place. Its crystals were all set up to resemble a four-pointed star.

“Wow, this must be one of the Great Crystal Arrays. Dad’s awesome! But Dad, sorry. Tianci needs to go out and locate my Mom. Boohoo… Dad, I’m not deliberately trying to make you angry!”

Tianci sat down, panting and weeping. His tears fell on the Man-Hunting Insect. The insect remained silent and immobile on his palm.

Yun Shimo had treated Tianci really well. Other than forbidding him to stray outside, Tianci could not pick any faults of his. Now that he wanted to leave, Yun Shimo would surely be mad.

Tianci did not want to. But he did not wish to die before seeing his Mom.

“Dad, I hope we will meet again some day. Boohoo!”

Tianci said this and broke up all the crystals on the array. They no longer formed a four-pointed star.

“Buzz… ” The boundary in the sky flickered a brief instant with a weak light. Tianci was overjoyed. He sensed that he could soon get out!

“Let’s go quickly. We will be trouble when Dad comes,” Tianci said. He took his Man-Hunting Insect and ran forward out.

After an hour, little Tianci could no longer run. He could only sit down to take a breather.

“I wonder if Dad knows that I have escaped. Man-Hunting Insect, once in the city, you must do your best to locate Mom for me. Otherwise, all my efforts would have gone to waste!”

Tianci sighed with emotion. Suddenly, he could sense a gust drifting in with a stench. It was accompanied by the growlings of a tiger!