Translator: CinderTL
"What... what's going on here?" Huan Xi'er murmured, staring at the mud blocking the stone chamber's entrance. "Did it collapse?"
"Let's clear it and find out," Xu Sanyan said, pushing forward with one hand. A torrent of Spiritual Power erupted from his palm.
Boom!
The mud exploded, revealing a pitch-black void.
They listened intently, but no sound came from outside.
"Let's check it out," Xiang Tan said without hesitation, leaping upward. A moment later, her voice echoed from above: "Senior Brother, it's a room—looks like a house from Endless Central City."
Xu Sanyan followed her up and confirmed it was indeed an ordinary house.
Huan Xi'er and Lin Fan hurried after them. The four of them pushed open the massive wooden door, letting a sliver of dim sunlight spill inside.
"The sun... it's up?" Xu Sanyan frowned, gazing at the sky in astonishment. When they had entered the stone chamber, it had been nearly dusk. By now, it should have been pitch-dark.
His gaze swept across the landscape, revealing a vast expanse of Endless Central City's architecture. Towering pavilions rose from the ground, and... he even spotted a well!
A well from Endless Central City!
The two secret realms had fused completely!
Xu Sanyan pursed his lips and retrieved his mother-child stone, sending a message to everyone:
"Who's still alive?"
"Holy Son, this is Ren Sixiu. Elder Qin and forty-one others have returned to the ghost city. We also saw Jingyi and his monks."
Xu Sanyan narrowed his eyes. This was Elder Ren's message.
More messages trickled in. After a quick tally, the total came to roughly one hundred and thirty people.
"Everyone, leave the ghost city and head south for about seventy li. I'll be waiting there."
Xu Sanyan put away the mother-child stone, closed his eyes, and focused for a moment. A sudden chill ran through him.
With the fusion of the two realms, the rules of this secret realm had changed. The heavens and earth no longer absorbed divine souls.
This was both good and bad news for everyone.
Because the heavens and earth no longer absorbed divine souls, the original residents of the ghost city no longer needed to toil day and night for survival. They now had more time for other pursuits.
What would they do with this newfound freedom?
Xu Sanyan put himself in their shoes. The answer was obvious:
They would undoubtedly seek to enhance their strength!
If that were the case... chaos was imminent!
The existing power structure would crumble, and the once-stable ghost city would descend into turmoil.
A sense of urgency surged through Xu Sanyan. He turned and hurried back to the underground stone chamber, instructing Xiang Tan and Lin Fan, "Guard this place well. Don't let anyone approach!"
"Yes," the two replied without further questions.
Xu Sanyan frantically absorbed the spirit stone in his hand, glancing at the panel where his Vitality had already exceeded four hundred points. He shook his head inwardly.
Not enough. Too slow!
He needed to raise his cultivation level to the Soul Refining Realm as quickly as possible to protect himself.
As for further increasing the weight of his divine soul...
Xu Sanyan sighed, gazing at the soul crystal in his hand. With his current cultivation level, he couldn't directly absorb the divine soul power within the crystal. He would have to abandon that for now.
A three-pound divine soul would have to suffice. After all, nothing in this world was ever perfect.
Xu Sanyan stopped fretting over minor gains and losses, focusing instead on absorbing the spirit stone.
After a long while, his subordinates gradually arrived and quietly waited in the room.
Xu Sanyan exhaled deeply, activating the panel with a thought. His Vitality had reached thirteen hundred points—enough to advance his cultivation level.
Before advancing, however, there was an even more crucial matter to address.
He retrieved the discipline ruler, his expression grave. Inside the ruler, the girl's voice rang with delight: "Brother, are you finally going to let me out?"
"Yes..." Xu Sanyan forced a smile. "How about I bring you into my body?"
"No!" the girl shook her head. "I don't want to."
"Heh..."
"You have no choice in the matter now!"
Xu Sanyan meticulously unsealed layer after layer of the discipline ruler, channeling a torrent of spiritual power into it, intent on capturing her.
"What are you doing?" the girl cried out, her voice trembling with fear. Thick black smoke billowed from the discipline ruler, blocking the invading spiritual power.
A fierce battle erupted within the discipline ruler, a pure clash of cultivation levels, devoid of any embellishment.
If the girl's soul power depleted first, Xu Sanyan would capture and refine her.
If Xu Sanyan's spiritual power gave out first, the girl would be completely freed.
Neither side yielded. By now, the girl understood that this man harbored ill intentions toward her.
In the desolate secret chamber, two beams of light—one black, one white—clashed fiercely. Xu Sanyan's spiritual power flowed from his body, manifesting as a faint white glow that gradually forced the girl's dense black mist back into the discipline ruler.
In the end, his superior cultivation level prevailed.
"Heh heh, stop struggling and submit to me obediently. I will guide you to glimpse the Great Dao and show you the wonders beyond the Nine Heavens."
Xu Sanyan's smile carried a hint of smugness and cruelty.
"Pah! Shameless!"
The girl grew increasingly furious, yet she could only watch helplessly as vast amounts of Spiritual Power surged into the discipline ruler, gradually compressing her space.
"Creeee!"
A piercing phoenix cry suddenly echoed through the stone chamber, penetrating the discipline ruler and reverberating through the room.
The girl's figure vanished, replaced by a phantom image of a phoenix. Its colorful feathers drifted above its head, strikingly conspicuous, while its radiant eyes glared fiercely at Xu Sanyan.
Lin Fan and the others in the distance heard the cry clearly and turned to peer down the corridor, wondering what Xu Sanyan was doing inside.
"Heh, don't waste your energy. Just surrender quietly!" Xu Sanyan sneered, abruptly intensifying his Spiritual Power infusion, his face flushing crimson.
"Even if I die, you'll never have me!"
The girl's voice was sharp, carrying a resolute determination to shatter like jade rather than be preserved like clay.
Xiang Tan peeked curiously from the cave entrance, her mind buzzing with questions. What's the holy son forcing that girl to do now?
Lin Fan lowered his gaze. I never knew the holy son had such... peculiar tastes.
If you like someone, just pursue them. Why resort to force?
He didn't understand, and felt a pang of pity for the woman inside.
Qin Manyang, Elder Ren, and the others had long grown accustomed to such scenes. Male-female relationships were natural human desires, nothing worth commenting on.
Besides, they were members of the Demonic Path, whose creed was simple: "If you like someone, pursue them. If pursuit fails, force them. If force fails, drug them."
With enough effort, there was always a way to get what you wanted.
Huan Xi'er curled his lip, curiosity piqued. He hadn't seen Xu Sanyan bring anyone here. Who was the woman inside?
Xu Sanyan couldn't care less about the rumors swirling outside. He was at a critical moment:
The Nether Phoenix was about to self-immolate!
Panic surged through him. He couldn't let her burn herself; otherwise, he'd lose everything—the discipline ruler, the woman, and all his efforts.
With ruthless resolve, he conjured a void spike that pierced the discipline ruler in an instant.
Screech!
The Nether Phoenix felt her head splitting with pain. A piercing shriek tore through the air, and the dense black mist momentarily dispersed.
Seizing the opportunity, Xu Sanyan unleashed a torrent of Spiritual Power to bind her, instantly pulling her into his body.
(End of the Chapter)
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