Facing the woman's stern, piercing gaze and her overwhelmingly powerful aura, Ye Chen's legs gave out beneath him. His throat trembled, and cold sweat streamed down his face.
I understand it as clear as day! This time, it's completely different from the apprentice acceptance ceremony! Back then, in broad daylight and with so many people around, Su Mei, as the Chairman of a branch, naturally couldn't make a move against a junior like me who came to become a disciple! But now! I've been framed with baseless accusations, reduced to a prisoner. This woman might actually execute me in private! I have an incredibly strong premonition... The dominant life I envisioned, suppressing the current age, conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths... it might very well end tonight!
"Old Shi, save me... This woman... she's really going to kill me! You have to think of something! Your remnant soul is now parasitic within me. If I die... you won't fare well either! If you save me today, from this moment on, I, the Princely Heir, will listen to your every word!" Ye Chen screamed inwardly.
At this moment, his only hope lay with the mysterious old man residing in the ring.
However, there was no response.
"Old Shi... have you... given up on me?" Ye Chen mumbled in despair, his face turning deathly pale, the hopelessness in his heart reaching its absolute peak.
BANG!
Following a deafening crash, the sturdy prison door, forged from Penglai Spirit Iron, was blasted open.
Humph, the Son of Destiny in the script, blessed with great fortune, capable of single-handedly throwing the Qinglan Sect, and even the entire Central State, into turmoil—is this the kind of cowardly wretch he is? Heavens, the 'me' in that Heavenly Dao script actually developed feelings for such trash! How... utterly ridiculous and foolish! So be it! Today, I'll make a clean break from that 'me' who never truly existed!
Seeing the terrified youth crumpled on the ground before her, Su Mei's heart filled with contempt. Her killing intent intensified as she advanced step by step.
Suddenly, she raised her jade hand, palm upward. A powerful and vast Yin-Sha True Power surged forth, coalescing into an incredibly chilling Netherworld Ghost Claw that seized the black-clad youth by the throat, lifting him into the air.
"Do you know, your current appearance truly disgusts me," Su Mei's gaze was cold and brutal, a stark contrast to the charming, dignified, and beautiful image she usually presented to outsiders. At this moment, she resembled a merciless Asura witch. "I'm not even inclined to grant you a quick death. This 'Soul Catching Demon Claw' of mine, I've never revealed it to an outsider. Today, I shall use it to torture you slowly to death!"
"Ah... ah..." Ye Chen gasped. "It's... it's so painful! My skin feels like it's riddled with thousands of holes, like ten thousand ants are burrowing into my organs! You... you woman... you're not using orthodox techniques of the Immortal Sect, but the ploys of Demonic Cultivators! You're shameless! AHHH!"
Under the extreme physical torment, Ye Chen's eyes rolled back. His body convulsed violently, and he quickly lost consciousness.
Am I... going to die...? I, Ye Wudi, my journey in this life hasn't even truly begun, and I'm to perish at the hands of this venomous woman?
Ye Chen closed his eyes in despair.
Just then, a voice, one that reignited his spirit, echoed in his mind:
"Young friend! Quickly! I've exhausted my soul power to create a transmission gate that can only be perceived internally. Hurry, use your Divine Thought to escape into it! This is your only chance!"
"Old Shi?! Great! You didn't abandon me after all!" Ye Chen was overjoyed. Using the last vestiges of his mental strength, he focused his Divine Thought and, indeed, discovered a deep, dark transmission gate within his Consciousness Space. The interior of the gate was shrouded in darkness, its destination unknown.
"Thank you for your help, Old Shi!"
Instantly, with no time for further thought, he held his breath and concentrated. His Dharma Appearance from the Eighth Stage of Martial Arts surged out, rushing towards the transmission gate!
WHOOSH.
After a hollow sound, the black-clad youth's physical body vanished from the dungeon.
"This..." Seeing him actually break free from the dungeon's restraints and escape on the spot, Su Mei's willow-like brows knitted tightly. Even someone as shrewd and composed as her found her beautiful eyes filled with shock and astonishment at this moment.
Right! The script mentioned that Ye Chen has a mysterious expert protecting him. This has always been the primary reason for his heaven-defying luck and his ability to move unhindered! Alas, the script only provided a cursory outline of the future. The further it progressed, the more vague the details became. It only revealed that Ye Chen would bring a cataclysmic disaster upon the Qinglan Sect, but the identity of the expert behind him was never shown... Forget it. It seems this boy's destiny isn't over yet; he's not fated to die now! If he flees far from the Qinglan Sect this time, I'll spare his miserable life! But if he continues to seek refuge with Senior Brother Yuanyi and participates in the upcoming Five Branches Martial Arts Competition...
At this thought, Su Mei's brows furrowed deeper. An image of a man in snow-white robes, as handsome as a Fallen Immortal, suddenly materialized in her mind.
That's right. If events follow the script, he will next participate in the Five Branches Martial Arts Competition, and his first challenge will be against Lin Xiao, the Head Disciple of Divine Phoenix Peak! After defeating him, he will gain renown throughout the sect, earning the appreciation of the Sect Leader and several Grand Elders! And this Martial Nephew Lin, according to the script, was supposed to be a minor character who would die in obscurity. Yet, at the apprentice acceptance ceremony, he rewrote his own fate, beating Ye Chen, the Son of Destiny, until he knelt and begged for mercy. Therefore... this person might be the crucial piece to change the entire situation!
As this realization dawned, Su Mei's expression gradually softened. A profound, bewitching smile graced her exquisitely beautiful, oval face.
Junior Sister Hongling, you and I have competed our entire lives, and I, your Senior Sister, have always been a step behind. You, you freak of nature, are an unparalleled supreme talent, the kind rarely seen in millennia. I've come to accept many things. But this time... this eldest apprentice of yours, I am determined to snatch him! I, your Senior Sister, possess the script of the future in my mind; I can help him alter his wheel of fate! And you? What can you offer him?
Thinking this, the delight on her face intensified. She licked her lips, her long, slender, fair, and shapely legs rubbing against each other restlessly...
「Meanwhile.」
At Divine Phoenix Peak, on Bright Moon Cliff.
Lin Xiao opened his drowsy, intoxicated eyes, only to be shocked to find himself bound tightly, unable to move.
Is this a High-grade Ground Rank Magic Treasure... the Immortal Binding Rope?
Lin Xiao's heart pounded with shock and alarm. He looked down and saw his Second Junior Sister, Guo Yourong, lying across his lap. Her beautiful, mature face was pressed against his lower abdomen, as if sensing something. Her eyes held a mixture of dazed allure and a somewhat morbid enjoyment.
"Second Junior Sister! What... what are you doing?" he gritted his teeth and demanded, a sense of foreboding washing over him. "Where is Youwei?"
"Oh, my kind and gentle Eldest Senior Brother," Guo Yourong's cheeks were flushed crimson under the moonlight, her beautiful eyes gazing at her senior brother with deep affection. "All these years... you've worked so hard pretending, haven't you? And some... rather embarrassing things... must have been even harder to suppress, right?"
The next moment, she casually slipped off her dress, revealing her stunning, curvaceous figure in its entirety. Then, she removed her hair ribbon, and her waterfall of long hair cascaded down, fluttering in the wind, further enhancing her mature allure.
Watching this, Lin Xiao felt his mouth go dry, and he was somewhat dumbstruck, even entertaining the thought of abandoning all resistance.
"Eldest Senior Brother," Guo Yourong's heart raced, her cheeks burning hot. She leaned close to his ear, her luscious lips slightly pursed, her breath like orchids as she whispered, "Those Photo Stones... they probably didn't show things clearly enough, did they? Now, your little Yurong has grown up. Today... I'll let you see clearly... what Yurong looks like, all grown up."
WHAT THE HELL?! Stop! Don't come any closer! Youwei is still fast asleep right beside us! Second Junior Sister, this is... this is a twisted kind of love! Lin Xiao screamed in his heart.