Wu Guanyue was no fool. She had realized quite some time ago that something was wrong with the game… Of course, anyone with a normal human intellect would have realized, after encountering what Wu Guanyue had encountered, that they were traveling back and forth between two worlds.
Miaolangjun had gone to such lengths, even enduring a resounding slap without leaving, all for the sake of obtaining Wu Guanyue’s extraordinarily special soul. Realizing this was hardly difficult either.
The truly difficult part was… returning to face this predicament after escaping from the xianxia world.
Yet Wu Guanyue had not hesitated in the slightest.
At that very moment, she stood calmly before Miaolangjun, her gaze level as she stared at him.
Miaolangjun was staring intently at Wu Guanyue as well—as though he were meeting her for the first time.
Before this, the impression Wu Guanyue had given him was that of a Wenren-brain… a lovesick fool with nothing but Wenren Ying on her mind!
But now… he had finally realized that this girl was genuinely clever.
Miaolangjun drew a deep, deep breath and said with extreme reluctance, “You want me to release Wenren Ying?”
Wu Guanyue answered honestly, “That’s not all.”
Miaolangjun: “…………”
The corner of Miaolangjun’s mouth twitched. Wu Guanyue was being so honest that, for a moment, he did not even know what to say.
After three breaths, he snorted and said, “That’s right. What I want is indeed you. It’s because you possess the soulfire left behind by your grandfather…”
With his hands clasped behind his back, Miaolangjun began speaking at a leisurely pace, as though telling an old tale. He started with how he had cultivated the Soul-Absorbing Art, then went on to describe how he and Wu Guizhen had entered Donghua City together… He even bluntly explained that the source of energy driving Wu Guanyue was the soulfire.
When he had finished, Miaolangjun gave a cold, sinister laugh. “That’s right, what I want is you, not Wenren Ying. I can agree to release Wenren Ying, since finding someone else who possesses soulfire would be rather troublesome. But if you push your luck and anger me… hmph, I’m not dependent on you. I can kill both of you and find someone else!”
His words appeared frank, but in truth, they were not. He had mixed three parts falsehood into seven parts truth, weaving truth and lies together precisely to conceal his bottom line and prevent Wu Guanyue from discovering it.
Wu Guanyue studied him thoughtfully.
After a long while, she suddenly let out a long sigh, seeming both deeply forlorn and terribly sorrowful.
Wu Guanyue said, “Wenren Ying and I underestimated you. I admit that… But I don’t understand. How do you know so much about us? Even if I’m going to die, I want to know exactly why!”
So that was what she wanted to ask.
“Wanting to die with a clear understanding” was not a difficult request to comprehend. When people lost, they were always unwilling to accept it, and so they always wanted an explanation.
And what about the victor?… In truth, the victor also wanted very much to reveal their ingenious plan in its entirety. Otherwise, what was the point of having brocade robes if one could only walk about in the dark? Where was the fun in that?
Sure enough, a smug smile appeared on Miaolangjun’s face.
With a rustle, his folding fan opened. He held it before himself and waved it lightly, looking pleased with himself as he said, “When I, Miaolangjun, set out to do something, how could I possibly proceed blindly? I understood the relationship between the two of you long ago.”
Wu Guanyue’s eyes widened, and she cried out in exaggerated surprise, “What! You actually had a spy in the inn… How despicable! I didn’t notice at all! Who was it?”
…What a perfect setup!
She was practically the ideal straight man’s comedic partner.
Unfortunately, the self-satisfied Miaolangjun failed to realize that she was acting. He let out two smug chuckles and said in an inscrutable tone, “You’d never guess who it was…”
“That’s right! It was me! You never would have guessed, would you!”
Before he could finish, a mass of blood-red mist suddenly flew out from some unknown corner, speaking in an unbearably arrogant and triumphant voice!
Wu Guanyue: “!!”
Two huge ellipses appeared above Wu Guanyue’s head!
She was genuinely shocked. “It was you… Who are you?”
Blood-red mist: “…………”
Miaolangjun: “…………”
Blood-red mist: “………………”
The blood-red mist flew into a rage. “This is outrageous! You actually forgot about me, the Blood Demon Ancestor!”
The Blood Demon Ancestor! He was still alive!
Wu Guanyue was truly stunned this time… Wenren Ying, however, did not react at all. At that moment, he was wholly focused on circulating his minor heavenly cycle, trying to suppress the effects of the aphrodisiac within him.
But how could he possibly succeed?
Even a cultivator with an intact spirit residence who had been struck by this drug would be unable to escape the clutches of those demonic practitioners from the Hehuan Sect. Wenren Ying’s spirit residence was damaged—could he really force the drug out of his body with nothing more than the spiritual energy of a single minor heavenly cycle?
Large beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead, while the veins in his neck bulged. This swordsman, who was always composed, capable, and decisive, was actually reduced to such a state of disarray.
The Blood Demon Ancestor’s primordial spirit burst into laughter. “Wenren Ying! So you have your day after all!”
The Blood Demon Ancestor’s primordial spirit naturally hated Wenren Ying. Wenren Ying had killed him twice—how could he not hate him?
Today, he had never intended to let Wenren Ying off in the first place. Miaolangjun’s willingness to spare Wenren Ying did not mean that the Blood Demon Ancestor would spare him as well… Hmph. Although he was now terribly weakened, with less than half a percent of his former power remaining, he could still take advantage of the opportunity to burrow into Wenren Ying’s body and make him explode from within.
Wenren Ying ignored him. He kept his eyes tightly shut, but a thin trickle of blood had already begun to run from the corner of his mouth.
The Blood Demon Ancestor’s primordial spirit circled Wenren Ying twice. Unable to contain his smug delight, he said, “This wonderful medicine is truly wasted on you… If you don’t like those two little sisters from the Hehuan Sect, you might have survived if you went along with them. What a pity, what a pity…”
Wu Guanyue spun around and angrily demanded, “You were the one who drugged Brother Ying!”
The Blood Demon Ancestor’s primordial spirit answered smugly, “If not me, then who else could it have been?”
Miaolangjun lightly waved his folding fan and said languidly, “Now, can you finally die with a clear understanding?”
Wu Guanyue slowly turned her head back and studied Miaolangjun thoughtfully.
Suddenly, she smiled.
An ominous feeling rose in Miaolangjun’s heart… For some reason, there was something wicked about Wu Guanyue’s smile—a kind of wickedness that felt extremely familiar to him!
“You…”
His brow furrowed. He raised his folding fan horizontally before his chest. Although he had no idea what was happening, he had already protected the vital point over his heart!
It had to be said that this was a very reasonable response—but it was already too late!
A dazzling light suddenly burst from Wu Guanyue’s eyes. Then she shouted, every syllable crisp and perfectly pronounced—
“I’m using a one-use skill card—The Room You Can’t Leave Unless You OOXX! The targets are Miaolangjun and the Blood Demon Ancestor’s primordial spirit!!!”
…W-What?
It was an exceedingly difficult sentence to understand—in fact, Miao Langjun could only make out his own name and that of the Blood Demon Ancestor.
But of course, that hardly mattered, because a sudden change occurred at once!
All at once—without warning—the air surrounding Miao Langjun and the Blood Demon Ancestor’s primordial spirit shifted… The change was extraordinarily strange, and terrifying in equal measure. In that instant, Miao Langjun suddenly remembered the final page of the half-volume of the Soul-Absorbing Art. It seemed to have recorded that soul fire possessed the immense power to tear through space and time…
At that very moment, the space around them was suddenly ripped apart. In the next instant, the two of them were dragged into an utterly unfamiliar “palm domain.”
The palm domain was a tiny bedroom containing nothing but a bed.
Miao Langjun stood there dumbfounded.
What… What was this…?
The situation had taken a complete turn. One moment, he had been a triumphant victor, full of confidence; the next, he did not even know what had happened to him!
Only after a long while did he vaguely recall the words Wu Guanyue had shouted at the end—
Could this be… the room you couldn’t leave unless you did OOXX…?
Soul fire really could transform a place into a palm domain. After all, the essence of soul fire was a kind of energy that could be manipulated, much like spiritual power. Secret-realm domains required a powerful expert with profound cultivation to create them using refined spiritual power, whereas soul fire… soul fire only required a sufficient number of souls.
That was also why cultivating soul fire was considered a demonic and unorthodox path.
Miao Langjun quickly figured out the crux of the matter. Now, the only problem was…
Frowning, Miao Langjun asked, “Ancestor, do you know what OOXX means…?”
The Blood Demon Ancestor’s primordial spirit: “…………”
The Blood Demon Ancestor’s primordial spirit had not even realized that it had been locked away…
After a long pause, it suddenly began leaping about in fury. “Damn it! Damn it! You two shameless lovers! I’ve fallen for your trick again! Wu Guanyue, Wenren Ying—you really stop at nothing!!!”
***
Naturally, Wu Guanyue could not hear those curses.
In fact, she was still badly shaken herself…
Phew… Thank heavens! It worked!
At first, she had logged out of the game solely to create a card from the void and give herself some leverage in negotiating with Miao Langjun. Then, she had deliberately flattered him and encouraged him to keep talking because she suspected that he had an accomplice and wanted to see whether she could lure that accomplice out.
As long as she could draw his accomplice out, she could send both of them to the little black room!
Although she and Brother Ying could also hide in the little black room… only two people could enter it. If they went in, what would happen to Wuyun?
…Fortunately, villains really did perish from an overwhelming desire to share!
Wu Guanyue was still shaken, gasping for breath. Behind her, Wenren Ying let out a muffled groan of unbearable pain… She came to her senses, turned around, and hurried toward him.
“Brother Ying!!!”
Wu Guanyue caught hold of Wenren Ying.
Wenren Ying was, of course, extremely heavy. As Wu Guanyue supported him and called for Wuyun, Wuyun flowed beneath their feet like a mass of black water before beginning to… gallop on all fours, charging into the room!!!
Phew… They had finally made it inside…
Wu Guanyue wanted to help him to the bed to rest. Wenren Ying’s eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and his breathing was as harsh and heavy as a beast’s. His entire weight was pressing down on Wu Guanyue, his teeth clenched tightly.
Suddenly, her legs went weak. Wenren Ying lost all his strength and collapsed, pressing her directly onto the bed.
