Liuli City is the largest city in the Middle State, renowned for its numerous temples, but in fact, it’s not only abundant with temples; there are just as many Qin Buildings and Chu Pavilions.

In the city, there is an extremely bustling Flower Street that runs through the central area of Liuli City and crosses two artificial rivers. The long street is lined with no fewer than a thousand flower towers, entertainment houses, taverns, and shops.

Many people come to Flower Street to seek pleasure, both men and women.

Some seek physical desires, while others come just to enjoy music and singing, to drink and be merry.

On ordinary days, the passersby on Flower Street are usually endless; the buildings and shops on either side of the street are always bustling with women inviting guests. But today is different, because of Ning Fan’s presence, the entire Flower Street is empty, not a person in sight.

There isn’t a single woman inviting guests by the street.

No sound of music emanates from any flower building.

No idler comes here seeking pleasure.

Each of the rosewood flower buildings is tightly closed, each entertainment house’s high gates are locked, taverns are closed, shops shuttered; the entire Flower Street is desolate, accompanied by the gloomy weather, giving an indescribable sense of bleakness.

Even Xiu Fang, the largest entertainment house in Liuli City, sees not a single guest today, its doors wide open to an empty courtyard.

Xiu Fang is not a pure flower building; its main source of profit comes from selling Spiritual Wine at sky-high prices and the performances of dancing maidens. On normal days, most of the guests come solely to enjoy the music, though if a high enough price is paid, one could engage in a night of pleasure with some obscure singing maidens.

Of course, famous singing maidens generally do not entertain guests. As for Afeng, the leading figure of Xiu Fang, she doesn’t even need to accompany guests for drinks; she remains masked in light gauze all day, and no one holds her accountable. As the headliner, she has significant freedom; she can lead dances as she pleases, or disappear for ten or twenty days if she wants to rest.

The so-called headliner of Xiu Fang, Afeng, is actually the Ten Bees Supreme, though virtually no one knows this, except for a few in the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain.

Xiu Fang is a place where ordinary Daxian Cultivators do not dare to act rashly, not because of the Ten Bees Supreme’s identity, but because behind Xiu Fang stands the Lingzong lineage of the Twelve Lineages of the Holy Mountain, an entity rarely provoked.

The position of the Lingzong lineage in the Holy Mountain is similar to that of the Hex Family in Sanyan, not the strongest Immortal Emperor’s Power, but ranked relatively high due to their superior dan refinement skills.

Each faction on the Holy Mountain has worldly businesses on the plains; one of Lingzong’s industries is Xiu Fang. The master behind Liuli City’s Xiu Fang is the Spirit Sect Saint Son.

The Spirit Sect Saint Son, with a bone age of eight million, has cultivated a Nine Revolutions Golden Medicinal Soul. Whether by birth or by talent, he is counted among the Holy Mountain’s proud sons. Some Immortal Emperors even believe he can break through to an Imperial Grade Medicinal Soul within thirty million years, becoming a Ninth Revolution Imperial Grade Alchemist. Even when faced with Immortal Emperors, this person is treated with respect, addressed as a little friend, showing their high regard.

His domain is certainly not a place Liuli City’s residents dare to act recklessly in.

Every time the Holy Mountain Mausoleum opens, the Holy Mountain Tomb Guardians conclude their thousand-year closed-door cultivation and emerge. At these times, the Spirit Sect Saint Son walks out from the mausoleum to Xiu Fang in Liuli City to gather various rare medicine souls for his Cauldron Furnace.

To him, the existence of Xiu Fang is not for profit, but for personal enjoyment.

This time, he did not participate in the mausoleum war, as he was at a crucial point in his Medicine Soul cultivation; success would pave the way to an Imperial Grade Medicine Soul, needing only time accumulation, which he greatly values.

Deep within Xiu Fang is a forbidden courtyard bathed in golden Buddha Light, isolated from the outside world, impervious to any external sounds, allowing uninterrupted cultivation within.

Before the second round of the mausoleum takeover began, the Spirit Sect Saint Son arrived at Xiu Fang, closing himself in the forbidden courtyard, busy with harvesting women daily. Due to the massive presence of prohibitions, if the Spirit Sect Saint Son does not take the initiative to exit the forbidden area, no one can enter, much less disturb his cultivation by sending him messages.

Within the forbidden area, there are hundreds or thousands of golden prison rooms, some home to women, others empty.

Among the women living there, some are still virgins, some have been picked by the Spirit Sect Saint Son, and some, having been played with, turned foolishly silly...

These women include slaves he raised from childhood; others were cauldron furnaces he bought for a hefty price from other Daxian powerhouses; some were women he forcibly seized. Toward these, he is even more excessive; and some are wives and daughters presented by certain Daxian cultivators to curry favor with the Lingzong lineage. He is entirely accustomed to this, even inviting those who presented the women to join in enjoying them...

The occupant of the nine hundred seventy-third prison room is Duolan.

The interior is styled predominantly in gold; the tables and chairs are all made of gold. The so-called golden house secret, however, is just this. Doran is dressed in a festive bridal gown of Bright Red Lion silk brocade, her eyes vacant and bewildered, half-reclining on the couch. She has been in such dayless, nightless confinement for months, akin to a caged canary awaiting death.

The prison room is under prohibition; she cannot exit, outsiders cannot enter, only the Spirit Sect Saint Son may come and go freely.

Occasionally, from distant prison rooms come the exuberant laughter of the Spirit Sect Saint Son, the cries of women, the sounds of panting... She knows that is when the Spirit Sect Saint Son is cultivating here, enjoying cauldron furnace after cauldron furnace, harvesting and refining.

At the moment, she remains a virgin. But how long this virginity can last is unknown...

She is lost in a daze, not knowing what she is thinking, occasionally mumbling to herself, bizarrely repeating the phrase ’Senior’...

The ’Senior’ she refers to is Ning Fan.

She was locked up here by the Spirit Sect Saint Son on the eve before Ning Fan’s second round in the mausoleum takeover, knowing nothing of what occurred thereafter in the outside world. Her impression of Ning Fan remains as it was before the start of the second round.

At the time, she very much wanted to go to the scene to cheer for Ning Fan, but she couldn’t.

Later on, she wanted to represent the Chu Lie Lineage to participate in the third round of the mausoleum takeover, but there was no longer a chance.

She is not entirely captured forcefully; partly, she walked into the Spirit Sect Saint Son’s prison voluntarily, partly under coercion. Once detained, one can never leave; this is a decision she set herself.

From the first day Duolan followed Ning Fan to Liuli City, she had heard that her clan was in trouble, with the source being the Spirit Sect Saint Son.

The trouble was not something she shared in detail with Ning Fan, nor did she wish for Ning Fan to become involved in this matter, because she knew that Ning Fan, being a foreign cultivator, had a sensitive identity. If this involved a power like the Spirit Sect Lineage, Ning Fan’s involvement might lead to a fatal disaster...

In fact, the clan’s trouble wasn’t a major one; with her abilities, she could barely settle it if she paid the price.

After dealing with the issue, she initially wanted to head straight to the Great Brightness Temple plaza to cheer for Ning Fan, who was participating in the Tomb Fighting. Unfortunately, she couldn’t leave.

The Spirit Sect Saint used a condition to imprison her...

[My informants say that you are close with a foreign cultivator surnamed Ning? Hmph! I’ve heard that foreign cultivator is quite skilled, having made quite a ruckus at Baihua Peak recently, something even we at the Holy Mountain have heard of. But that’s all there is to it; a foreign cultivator is just a foreign cultivator, no matter how powerful, they’re still a lowly existence. You’re supposed to be the Chulie Holy Maiden, yet you’ve fallen to associating with a foreign cultivator, truly self-degrading!]

[You ask where I heard this from? It doesn’t hurt to tell you, the information came from Bai Lu, who is publicly affiliated with Baihua Peak, but secretly has long sided with me, responsible for searching the plains for special cauldron furnaces for pill refinement. For the sake of benefits, he even offered up all his female disciples for me to harvest at will; his loyalty is absolute. He said you were associating intimately with others, and I believe him; after all, you’re like your mother, just another worthless plaything!]

[I’m considering killing that Ning Fan. Do you think this person deserves to die?]

[You ask me why I want to kill him? Hmph, you were once my fiancée, I can abandon you, sever my engagement with Chulie, but I won’t allow anyone I have no interest in to associate with a foreign cultivator and disgrace the Spirit Sect’s reputation! I don’t want my discarded trash to be touched by anyone else! Moreover, there’s a point that foreign cultivator has a consort with a Five-Color Medicine Soul, which you know I love doing—killing the husband and taking the wife. The pleasure is indescribable! Especially when a Five-Color Medicine Soul is extremely rare, and incredibly useful to me!]

[You want to plead for me to spare that foreign cultivator? What right do you have to beg me, how laughable! Just a worthless woman with a broken Saintess tattoo, if you had any value, I wouldn’t have abandoned our engagement years ago and marry another woman! Of course, for me, ’marriage’ is just a nice sounding term. Saintesses I marry end up being just high-ranking cauldron furnaces, ultimately, I’ll drain them dry!]

[What! You still retain the mother Yin energy within your body! This is impossible! Your Saintess tattoo was clearly... could it be your father’s doing! The former Chulie!]

[Fine! If you agree to marry me again, become my nineteenth dao companion, I promise not to kill that foreign cultivator! After all, compared to a Five-Color Medicine Soul cauldron furnace, your vast Yin energy is obviously more valuable, haha! Such quantity, good, that’s great! No, I can’t harvest you right away, I must prepare before absorbing your Yin energy... Hmph! Until I’m ready, you’ll stay here, waiting for my privilege! If you dare run away, I’ll kill that foreign cultivator, then slaughter all your clan members in this city!]

[That’s it! I love seeing that hateful gaze, hatred yet forced to yield! The more you hate me, the more delightful it will be when I’m entering you, hahaha! Just wait, that day won’t be far! Before then, I have many women to harvest, no time to waste on you, so farewell for now, my nineteenth wife!]

Silent tears slid down from Duolan’s eyes.

She endured countless schemes, concealed secrets, and survived till now for the rise of the Chulie Lineage, but to protect Ning Fan, she revealed her greatest secret.

That secret was... the fact that the mother Yin energy from the pool within her body still remained, and its magnitude far exceeded all other Saintesses’ combined, truly astonishing!

Within her body lies enough Yin energy to support her cultivation all the way to the Immortal Emperor Realm, the legacy left by her father before he died, the entire hope for the revival of the Chulie Lineage...

That’s what she chose not to be harvested by Ning Fan, even if it meant dying, upon her initial encounter with Ning Fan.

But now, to protect Ning Fan, she voluntarily disclosed the matter of the Yin energy to the Spirit Sect Saint and used it to haggle...

Later, both parties reached an agreement.

She, once previously freed from her engagement by the Spirit Sect Saint, was set to marry him again. There would be no grand wedding ceremony, no rituals, no guests or friends or blessings, only the imprisonment of this room, and the distant sounds of women’s sorrowful groans and breaths...

Duolan deeply understood the terror that was the Spirit Sect, populated with Immortal Emperors, its power exceeding that of the five emperor forces of the Middle State and truly comparable to the Holy Mountain forces, pulling at one part shook the entire body!

Despite the fierce internal strife among the twelve lineages of the Holy Mountain, if any foreign cultivator provoked one lineage, they would unquestionably face suppression by all twelve lineages combined!

This was the main reason she kept Ning Fan from being dragged into this—any mistake would lead to Ning Fan facing the siege of countless Immortal Emperors from the Holy Mountain, a confrontation that Duolan believed was certain death...

Thus when the Spirit Sect Saint threatened to kill Ning Fan, Duolan felt fear, compromise, and led to this transaction...

"...It’s been several months now. Senior should have already concluded the second round of the Tomb Fighting, right? With Senior’s capabilities, securing a top-three position is undoubtedly achievable, and thus his aspirations can be fulfilled."

"Senior is a foreign cultivator, here in the Holy Domain with special intentions. If all went well, he should already have achieved his goal and left the Holy Domain by now..."

"I instructed the clan members not to disclose this matter to Senior. After all, given his strength, getting involved would be futile, those clan members shall not defy my command or speak of this..."

"The Spirit Sect Saint was originally my betrothed, although the engagement was briefly annulled, but... marrying him is only logical, it has nothing to do with Senior; thus, Senior won’t be implicated by this causality..."

"To this day, I seem to somewhat understand the feelings of father. I once resented father, for breaching the Dabei decree, for his actions without considering consequences. The bloodshed at Baihua Peak, the Thunderkill involving the Three Flames, the Sword Finger aimed at the Bright Buddha... I resented the excessive killing he committed, his early death, leaving me alone and helpless, resented the countless clan members involving them and turning them into prisoners in Liuli City... At the time, I couldn’t comprehend father’s feelings, his sorrow as he reminisced about mother before his departure from the Lost World Palace... Now I seem to understand a bit. In this world, there will always be someone who can make you abandon all beliefs, even abandon yourself..."

"...Right, I still owe Senior an Innate Soul-Nourishing Spiritual Medicine, never given to him. This item I left in the Holy Mountain Mausoleum, without me to retrieve it, Senior cannot enter to obtain that item... I further promised Senior not to run around, if I break this promise, would Senior blame me?"

Duolan wiped her tear stains away, sighed deeply, her girlish thoughts swirling within.

Despite her life nearing destruction, despite already being reduced to the toy of the Spirit Sect Saint, she minded only the agreements made with Ning Fan, rather than her own dire situation...

The thought of Ning Fan unable to find her, thinking she ran away, deceived, and betrayed him troubled her, yet she was unable to contact Ning Fan or explain to him any longer.

Enough, let it be like this...

Let Senior think of her simply as a Soul-Locked Slave, that’s all...

"Senior, thank you, for on Baihua Peak, taking me to pay respects at mother’s grave, that was the happiest I’ve been since father’s death... Thank you..."

Fatigued, Duolan yearned for a nap, no longer wanting to hear the distant moans and breaths outside her window.

But suddenly, she felt the strands of her hair moved by the wind, a sense of coolness settled around her.

Did the window not close tightly, did the wind blow in? No, that’s impossible; the cell is filled with restrictions, and yet there’s wind...

Opening her eyes, Duolan was in disbelief, her mouth forming an O, too shocked to speak.

The window of the cell, which was filled with restrictions, had been broken open by someone unknown!

Under the window, accompanied by the golden light of restriction shining through from outside, a figure in white appeared clearly in her sight.

It was... Ning Fan!

Was she hallucinating?

If it wasn’t a hallucination... why was the senior standing under the window!

"I heard from your clansmen that you are being held here. Does this matter have anything to do with me?" Ning Fan asked with a frown.

"No, no, it’s not that, who blabbed to the senior, this matter has nothing to do with you, actually, I’m..." Duolan was about to explain when she suddenly felt as if Ning Fan could see through everything.

At that moment, Ning Fan’s Mind Reading Technique unfolded, revealing many facts from within Duolan’s heart.

In an instant, he understood the full story of Duolan sacrificing herself to be imprisoned here!

Ning Fan’s originally frowning expression relaxed, turning into a look of complex sigh.

Duolan gave a bitter smile; how could she forget that the senior could read minds, it was too easy for him to see through her heart, she could never lie to the senior...

Alright, then I won’t lie...

Why lie!

Why, when the person she liked was right in front of her, did she not dare to admit it!

Duolan bit her lip, she wanted to tell Ning Fan, she liked him, she rushed out from the couch, running straight into Ning Fan’s arms, wanting to tell him about the despair of these days!

But halfway there, she suddenly noticed Ning Fan wasn’t alone; he had brought another woman with him.

Of course, she wouldn’t recognize the Emperor Butcher, assuming she was just another of Ning Fan’s many red beauties, like Ouyang Nuan and Burying Moon. The Emperor Butcher’s appearance was exceedingly beautiful, and there was an innate regal aura that made Duolan feel a touch of inferiority and a faint smile of bitterness.

The only moment of courage she accumulated over countless days and nights extinguished just like that, and she stopped her running steps one step in front of Ning Fan.

Suddenly, caught off guard, a jade hand pushed her directly into Ning Fan’s arms.

"What a lovely little bride, Ning Fan, your luck with women is truly extraordinary..." It was the Emperor Butcher who shoved the hesitant Duolan into Ning Fan’s embrace.

Generally, no matter how generous a woman is, she wouldn’t push another woman into the arms of the man she likes.

This action showed that the Emperor Butcher truly had no romantic feelings for Ning Fan.

Duolan exclaimed in surprise, losing her balance and bumping headlong into Ning Fan’s embrace.

Ning Fan did not dodge but supported Duolan, casting a strange glance at the Emperor Butcher, seemingly asking why she gave such divine help.

The Emperor Butcher shrugged, as if to say it had nothing to do with her, leisurely examining the furnishings of the room, while an inexplicable melancholy filled her heart, from nowhere it originated.

"Senior, how did you enter this place? This place has Spirit Sect’s Vajra Seal, even an Immortal King can’t break in. Even if they did break in, why does the Spirit Sect Saint Son seem completely unaware of your arrival, still panting, still absorbing... By the way, how did the senior perform in the tomb-snatching fight, surely you secured a top-three spot in the second round, right? If you did, you could continue to participate in the third round. The Spirit Sect lineage... they haven’t caused you any trouble, have they..."

After the initial emotions subsided, Duolan considered a series of questions, confused and asked them without pause.

How has Ning Fan been...

Ning Fan seemed to have broken into the restriction, but this intrusion apparently didn’t alert the owner of the restriction, who was too busy battling intestines with a woman...

Too many things to ask, isolated from external information, she had no idea of the chaos outside, all due to Ning Fan’s solitary actions.

What difficulty is it to break through this little restriction?

Ning Fan can come and go as he pleases in the Three Flames, and roams freely on the Holy Mountain, what is a little Xiu Fang compared to that!

Ning Fan didn’t explain much to Duolan, only briefly stating the purpose of his visit.

Since he had come here, it was naturally to take Duolan away. He disliked owing favors, and if Duolan truly imprisoned herself here to shield him from the plans of the Spirit Sect lineage, then he couldn’t stand idly by!

The Spirit Sect Saint Son?

He had already scared off the Immortal Emperor of the Spirit Sect lineage, what fear does he have of the Saint Son!

Now, with not a single Quasi-Saint in the Central Continent, this Supreme Pill Sacred Domain holds nothing that can make him wary! The Spirit Sect Saint Son is far from enough!

"To be unaware of my intrusion in the slightest, this Spirit Sect Saint Son is indeed overly focused... I’ll go meet this Spirit Sect Saint Son, are you coming?"

Ning Fan asked Duolan.

"Don’t go! The Spirit Sect Saint Son is a Four Calamity Immortal King, Senior, you can’t beat him. Please don’t save me, no matter how you got in, hurry and leave..."

Ning Fan flicked Duolan’s forehead not very kindly.

So what if he’s a Four Calamity Immortal King?

Even during the second round of tomb plundering, when suppressed by the Punishing Ring, he wasn’t afraid, let alone now when he has killed Immortal Emperors. He would not regard an Immortal King as a formidable enemy now.

"I’m not as weak as you think, nor do I fear any Spirit Sect Lineage or Holy Mountain. I dislike trouble and am not fond of getting involved in muddy waters, but that doesn’t mean I’ll run away when karmic repercussions actively provoke me. From within your heart, I’ve learned that the Spirit Sect Saint Son first schemed against Nuan’er and then used my life and death to force your submission... he’s violated my taboos, so his life cannot be spared!"

Ning Fan no longer sought Duolan’s opinion, instead, his robe sleeve rolled up, ignoring the restrictions of the room, wrapping in golden light, and vanished with Duolan and the Emperor Butcher from the spot.

When they reappeared, the three stood outside one of the thousand prisoner rooms, inside there were the sounds of a woman insulting and a man’s angry voice, and the excited laughter of the Spirit Sect Saint Son.

"Husband, don’t look, don’t... ah, ah... kill me, kill me..." It was a voice of a woman who could neither live nor die.

"Spirit God Monarch! Release my wife, release her! I beg you, please don’t, don’t ah ah ah ah!" It was the heart-wrenching roar of a man, seemingly witnessing the humiliation of his wife firsthand.

"Haha! Look, such tender skin, such marvelous crevice, so moist, so passionate. This is your wife, see, twisting and turning with joy under me, haha, do you want to join in? If you want to, I can remove your restrictions and let you enjoy other parts of her body!"

"Shameless! You’re shameless! I’ll kill you, kill you!!!" was the man’s desperate roar.

And then a self-explosion destroyed the entire prisoner room—it was the power of a Thought-Shattering Cultivator’s self-detonation!

The gold room was obliterated, and the Spirit Sect Saint Son stood nonchalantly among the ruins, ignoring the self-exploded man, continuing to press a woman, whose face was flushed and tears streaming down, against the wall, wantonly moving in and out.

The woman’s face was full of grief, gradually harboring a will to die, and her body, covered in red marks, suddenly exploded without warning, emitting waves of Shedding Void Stage self-explosion energy, but was easily suppressed by the Spirit Sect Saint Son nearby.

Whether it was the Thought-Shattering explosion or the Shedding Void explosion, neither could harm him in the slightest; even under his suppression, the ripple couldn’t even escape the range of this prisoner room.

If it weren’t for wanting to try out the sensation of playing amidst the ruins, he would have ways to prevent the prisoner room from being destroyed.

"What a misfortune, I didn’t expect these Jinling Dao Companions to be so fierce, I haven’t even had enough fun yet, and they destroyed themselves..."

The Spirit Sect Saint Son snorted and with a surge of mana, conjured clothes to cover his body.

Smoke and dust were still lingering around and took a while to settle.

The moment the smoke and dust settled, the Spirit Sect Saint Son saw a bizarre scene!

Just tens of steps away, a gigantic bluish-green fire dragon thunder barrier enclosed the area; it wasn’t clear how long it had been there.

The fire dragon thunder barrier was evidently not far, yet he couldn’t sense a single trace of its presence! Below the thunder barrier, it seemed there was some audacious intruder hidden!

"An intruder managed to enter silently into the Spirit Sect Vajra Seal! How is this possible! Even an Immortal King... gasp, it’s an Innate Treasure! Could the intruder be an Immortal Emperor! Could it be that Senior!"

Upon closer inspection, the Spirit Sect Saint Son recognized the origin of the golden thunder barrier!

The Five Thunders Annihilation Cover!

It belonged to Lei Cao, one of the Three Ancestors of the Thunder Sound Lineage, his Life-bound Innate Treasure!

Could it be that the intruder was Lei Cao, the Seven Calamities Immortal Emperor?!

If Senior Lei Cao has come, it indeed could be silent, as the Seven Calamities Immortal Emperor was an existence that the entire Spirit Sect Lineage dared not provoke...

At the thought that the other party might be a Seven Calamities Immortal Emperor, even with the Spirit Sect Saint Son’s flamboyant personality, he was somewhat bitter.

"This junior, Spirit God Monarch, did not know Senior Lei Cao visited this humble abode, lacking a distant welcome, hoping Senior would forgive."

While speaking politely, Spirit God Monarch internally mused on the reason for Lei Cao’s arrival.

Such an existence, without a cause, would not possibly be here for no reason. If it was to instruct something, a subordinate could have easily conveyed the message without having to lower oneself to come personally.

To appear personally, it was mostly that there was something to settle with him on the spot...

The Spirit God Monarch secretly calculated in his heart, his deeds notorious, yet he often avoided the disciples or descendants of powerful Immortal Emperors when harming women—he feared getting entangled with these Immortal Emperors’ karmic repercussions.

He secretly guessed, could it be that in the thousand years of cauldrons he gathered, there was something amiss closely related to this Lei Cao...

If so, this matter could become quite tricky, though not to the extent of dying because of it. After all, he is the Spirit Sect’s Saint Son, quite different from Duolan’s lost status as Saintess. He is a Saint Son who is expected by many Immortal Emperors to become a Nine Revolution Pill Refinement Master of Imperial Grade in the future!

Even if Lei Cao came here to settle accounts, it’s impossible to harm his life. At most, he would only be slightly punished. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t matter too much, he could just compensate Lei Cao a bit...

The Spirit God Monarch, with deep scheming, immediately prepared numerous responses to the arrival of ’Lei Cao’. Unfortunately, all those responses became frighteningly ineffective the moment the Cyan Fire Dragon Thunder Cover was unveiled.

The visitor was not some Great Emperor Lei Cao!

The visitor turned out to be just one man and two women. Besides Duolan who recognized them, the other two were unfamiliar in appearance, and their cultivations didn’t seem all that high!

"Who are you! What is your relation to Senior Lei Cao, and why is the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover in your hands!" the Spirit God Monarch exclaimed.

"My name is Ning Fan. You’ve been secluded here for a long time, probably unaware of the things I’ve done outside." Ning Fan spoke coldly.

Ning Fan? This name sounds familiar... Ah, he’s the Foreign Cultivator associated with Duolan...

The Spirit God Monarch’s gaze immediately darkened.

Although he did not know why Senior Lei Cao would lend the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover to a Foreign Cultivator, he certainly had no fondness at all for the Foreign Cultivator before him!

He wasn’t aware of Ning Fan being rid of the Punishing Ring in the second round of seizing the tomb.

He wasn’t aware of Ning Fan killing Bai Lu, causing chaos with Sanyan, and then slaying the Four Emperors of the Middle State upon returning.

He was even less aware that the entire Holy Mountain was beaten into retreat with no trace by Ning Fan...

If he knew, he wouldn’t dare to be so calm in front of Ning Fan. Unfortunately, he knew nothing. After all, before the second round of seizing the tomb ended, he had already entered a fatal meditation here, living a beautiful life of daily absorbing women...

"Hmph! So it’s you, this Foreign Cultivator. Are you here for Duolan? I see, I understand now, old man Lei Cao is quite calculating! He most likely learned about the vast Yin energy within Duolan through some channel, wants to plot against it, but doesn’t wish to openly offend our Spirit Sect. That’s why he lent his life-bound magical treasure to you, allowing you, this Foreign Cultivator, to offend the Spirit Sect and seize Duolan... Quite the calculation! No wonder Senior Lei Cao is known as the ’Hundred-Life Thunder Fox’..."

The Spirit God Monarch began to self-righteously hypothesize about the reasons Ning Fan possessed the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover, leaving Ning Fan utterly speechless regarding the Spirit Sect Saint Son in front of him.

Ning Fan had no idea what fame Lei Cao had as the Hundred-Life Thunder Fox, but he remembered the scene where Emperor Butcher and Burying Moon joined forces to annihilate the Three Emperors of Thunder Sound. It seemed that among the Three Ancestors, Lei Cao was indeed the hardest to kill, resurrecting again and again. Ning Fan questioned himself, had it not been for Emperor Butcher and Burying Moon unleashing Divine Skills, with Ouyang Nuan’s pre-arranged methods to restrain the Thunder Sound Secret Technique, they most likely wouldn’t have been able to kill the Three Great Emperors of Leiyun Kingdom, Lei Jing, and Lei Cao...

Even in the end, when they killed them, the credit wasn’t mainly Ning Fan’s...

"Not speaking? Seems you’ve tacitly agreed with my speculation. Indeed, Senior Lei Cao has set his eyes on Duolan, this could be quite troublesome... Duolan’s Yin energy is very important to me. Of course, if Senior Lei Cao fancies her, I, Ling Mou, won’t dare to monopolize. How about this, you, Foreign Cultivator, run an errand for me, convey a message to Senior Lei Cao, if he’s willing, Ling Mou is willing to share Duolan with him. I’ll take thirty percent of the Yin energy, and Senior will take seventy percent, how about it?"

Ning Fan’s gaze instantly darkened.

He couldn’t possibly accept the bottomless words of the Spirit God Monarch.

Though he too was a flower devil, when he picked flowers, he did so like an exclusive act, never sharing with others as the Spirit God Monarch did, the thought alone was revolting.

He would never seduce another’s wife and daughters in front of them. He was definitely a villain, but not entirely without boundaries...

"What! Not even seventy-thirty? You, this Foreign Cultivator, are indeed astute, even wishing to bargain for more benefits for Senior Lei Cao. It seems Senior Lei Cao must have promised you something too. How about this, if you are willing to sell me this favor, speak well of me in front of Senior Lei Cao, from today on, you will be a friend of my Spirit Sect! How about it!"

The Spirit God Monarch posed as if he was doing Ning Fan a great honor to be a friend of the Spirit Sect.

Ning Fan finally gave a cold smile.

He was no longer interested in watching the Spirit God Monarch’s solo act.

"There will never be a possibility for me to become friends with the Spirit Sect."

"Hmph! What arrogance, you don’t know how to appreciate favors!" The Spirit God Monarch was furious.

Ning Fan, however, no longer intended to waste words with the Spirit God Monarch, directly wielded the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover.

Suddenly, the Spirit God Monarch’s face changed drastically, turning to retreat, but was firmly held by the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover, unable to dodge, as the lightning cover grew larger, enveloping him entirely.

Five Thunder Dragons, rampantly collided within the lightning cover, inside which resounded Spirit God Monarch’s muffled groans, evidently as his injuries continued to worsen under the cover of lightning.

In battles between Immortal Venerables, Twelve Nirvana Magical Treasures were already enough to be considered pivotal treasures influencing the outcome.

In battles between Immortal Kings, if one side held an Innate Treasure, the chance of defeat was almost negligible!

At this moment, even though Ning Fan merely used an Innate Treasure, the Spirit God Monarch, being a Four Tribulation Immortal King, faced a life and death crisis, with no chance of survival without escape.

The fact he was easily subdued by Ning Fan wasn’t just due to the might of the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover, but also because henceforth, the Spirit God Monarch’s path to power was cultivated through harvesting, rendering his realm superficial. Nominally a Four Tribulation Immortal King, his actual strength was only slightly stronger than an ordinary Three Tribulation Immortal King. This was the helplessness faced by most Dual Cultivators, but not Ning Fan...

"So what if you have an Innate Treasure! I can’t defeat you, but if it’s just about escaping, there are many methods! Spirit Scattering Technique!"

With a roar of anger from the Spirit God Monarch, his body suddenly turned into billions of void light specks, ignoring the suppression of the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover, abruptly flying out.

Once escaped, transformed into countless Spirits Monarchs, instant joy arose, yet this joy did not last long. Suddenly in mid-air, a lightning-flashing rope appeared, the rope connecting head to tail, forming a loop, the entire body gleaming with lightning, with a hint of innate aura emitted.

The Spirits Monarch tried to transform into countless rays of light to escape. However, all transformed rays were absorbed by the rope loop; as the light gathered, the Spirits Monarch was forced out into solid form, tightly bound by the interwoven black thunder rope. Once bound by this rope, even mana couldn’t be mobilized at all!

"Prison Thunder Rope! It’s actually the second innate treasure, belonging to Lei Jing, one of the two ancestors of Thunder Sound! You really borrowed even Lei Jing’s treasure!" The Spirits Monarch was utterly terrified.

"..." Ning Fan, too lazy to explain much about borrowing the treasure, once again activated the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover, enclosing the Spirits Monarch tightly.

It must be said, treasures seized from the Thunder Sound Three Emperors, when used together, create exceptional results.

The Prison Thunder Rope is heaven-defying for binding, insufficient for attack; the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover is fierce in attack, but people can easily escape the enclosure.

If these two are combined, one for binding, the other for blasting, they are undoubtedly a formidable weapon for killing foes.

Facing the Spirits Monarch, a Four Calamity Immortal King whose reputation did not match reality, Ning Fan didn’t even move his feet, only maneuvered the two magical treasures, forcing the Spirits Monarch to the brink of death.

"You really intend to kill me!" The Spirits Monarch was shocked, realizing Ning Fan’s murderous intent was genuine, not like as if representing Thunder Sound lineage for negotiation.

Unclear! Unclear!

His identity was so unique, his alchemy talent so high, even if Lei Jing and Lei Cao came personally, they wouldn’t dare truly kill him on the spot, as it would certainly declare war on the entire Spirit Sect lineage! As powerful as the Thunder Sound lineage might be, they wouldn’t want endless conflicts with other sects.

Why does Ning Fan want to kill him!

Isn’t he afraid of offending the Spirit Sect lineage!

Isn’t he afraid of offending the entire Holy Mountain!

Wait, he seemed to overlook the matter of Ning Fan’s Punishing Ring being destroyed, why as a foreign cultivator, was the Punishing Ring... Reprieve Cold Dew, or privately destroyed...

Could he have secluded himself for too long and missed too many external major events...

Seeing death approaching within the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover, the Spirits Monarch gritted his teeth and suddenly activated the life-bound spiritual talisman refined within his body for countless years.

In the Spirit Sect’s lineage, almost everyone possesses a life-bound spiritual talisman, each talisman differs, as do their divine skills.

The Spirits Monarch’s life-bound spiritual talisman has the ability to open a space passage! And it’s the kind that disregards confinement to open!

Even when being suppressed by Ning Fan’s Five Thunders Annihilation Cover, as long as he wishes, he can directly open a passage to the Holy Mountain Mausoleum, calling forth the elders within to strike down Ning Fan!

"My Spirit Sect lineage’s life-bound spiritual talismans, in a lifetime, only three can be created, choices must be cautious; one can only be used once, must be used sparingly. Today, I cannot care for this much; this is my last Spirit Scattering Shuttle Talisman! Ning Fan child, you’ve forced me to use this talisman, soon I will settle this score with you properly! Prepare to face the wrath of my Spirit Sect lineage! Passage, open!"

The Spirits Monarch shouted a single word, suddenly a spirit-energy-rich paper talisman flew out from his body, self-igniting before his eyes.

Once the talisman ignited, the Spirits Monarch’s aura significantly withered, seeming to bear a great loss.

Meanwhile, within the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover, astonishingly, a spatial black hole manifested directly!

One end of the black hole connects to this place, the other end directly to the Holy Mountain Mausoleum!

"Ancestor save me!"

"Elders save me!"

The Spirits Monarch shouted towards the other end of the black hole.

Immediately, responses came from the other end of the black hole.

"It’s the voice of the Saint Heir!"

"The Saint Heir was forced to use the Spirit Scattering Shuttle Talisman!"

"Who is it that forced the Saint Heir onto a path of life and death!"

"We must quickly accept the opening permission of this black hole, shuttle through it to rescue the Saint Heir!"

"Hmph! Do you really think our Holy Mountain is in turmoil and can be bullied as you wish? I’ll see which old undead on the prairie is oppressing the Saint Heir of my Spirit Sect lineage!"

Countless angry voices echoed back!

According to the speakers, it is heard that most Spirit Sect lineage cultivators were in a coma state, rescued by the Holy Mountain as survivors.

The battle of the Holy Mountain became a shadow in all Holy Mountain cultivators’ hearts. Without the Bright Buddha overseeing the Holy Mountain, they dare not appear in the outside world, fearing another attack from Ning Fan.

All the Holy Mountain’s Immortal cultivators who survived the calamity, while extremely frightened by Ning Fan’s demon power, also accumulated a stomach of grievances.

Those spiritual cultivators dared not rush to Ning Fan, and at that moment, the Spirit God Monarch’s plea for help became the perfect point for them to vent their anger!

These Lingzong cultivators wanted to see exactly which ignorant old monster from the grasslands was oppressing the Saint Heir, so they could make him their punching bag!

Some were about to open the black hole passage sent by the Spirit God Monarch, but a few prevented this.

"Do not rush to open this end of the passage. First, ask who is pursuing the Saint Heir. If it’s that person, once we open this side, wouldn’t it allow that person direct access to invade the Holy Mountain!"

"Hiss! I forgot this possibility, but it shouldn’t be such a coincidence..."

"Not that coincidental? Haha, although the Holy Mountain has lost some face, it’s not something ordinary people dare to provoke. To force our clan’s Saint Heir into a dead end, besides that foreign cultivator, I can’t think of another candidate!"

"So, let’s clarify before opening the passage..."

Thus, some cautious individuals inquired with the Spirit God Monarch about the ins and outs of the situation.

When they learned the person trapping and killing the Spirit God Monarch was Ning Fan, the Lingzong cultivators gasped, changing their expressions, and no one dared to privately open the passage to rescue the Spirit God Monarch...

"What do you mean! Why are you not coming to rescue me! Does it satisfy you to see the Saint Heir die here? Where is the old ancestor? He loves me dearly, why hasn’t he come to save me yet!" The Spirit God Monarch was enraged by his clan’s behavior watching him die without aiding.

"The old ancestor... fought off the lightning tribulation and has been injured, not yet awakened... even if he does wake, he likely wouldn’t dare to save the Saint Heir."

"Why! It’s just a foreign cultivator, why are you so afraid of him? Just because he has a deep connection with the Thunder Sound lineage, and borrowed two Innate Treasures!" the Spirit God Monarch cried.

"Deep connection? *cough cough cough*, the Saint Heir must have been in seclusion outside for too long and unclear of the drastic changes on the Holy Mountain. The foreign cultivator trapping you has no connection with the Thunder Sound lineage at all. Not only is there no connection, but he has blood debts with the Four Emperors, which can be attributed to this demon. Because of this demon, the Four Thunder Sound Emperors have all perished!" the other side of the black hole replied bitterly.

"Wha, what! Lei Yun Kingdom’s Senior with Eight Tribulations cultivation, Lei Jing, Lei Cao, Lei Cang Seniors with Seven Tribulations cultivation, all dead? The causes relate to this child?" The Spirit God Monarch’s face turned ashen instantly.

At this moment, he harbored a seemingly absurd yet near-factual conjecture!

Ning Fan possessing Thunder Sound Immortal Emperor’s Innate Treasure might not be due to borrowing, but... murder and robbery!

But is that conceivable? That’s an Immortal Emperor! How could an Immortal Emperor be slain by a foreign Immortal Venerable, Ning Fan isn’t the Ancient Immortal Lord...

"The Saint Heir seems unaware, stumbling upon this devil. This devil first killed the True Person Bailu in the Sea Witch Sect, then somehow invaded Sanyan, after which the Hex Family of Wood Flame was wiped out by him, killing the Hex Family Immortal Emperor! Vacant Flame Corpse Bone Mountain was invaded by him, and the Wood Master, Stone Master stationed there were helpless against this demon! The Stone Flame Meng Family was annihilated by him, and the Meng Family Immortal Emperor fell! And then this demon returned to the grasslands, went to Middle State, killing four of the Central Continent Five Emperors in one night! Later, the demon became even more rampant, attacking the Holy Mountain by himself, slaughtering countless, if it weren’t for our tomb illusion technique for protection, the entire Holy Mountain might have been wiped out by this child!"

The other side of the black hole, the Lingzong cultivators recounted Ning Fan’s recent crimes one by one, leaving the Spirit God Monarch dazed.

Too overwhelming, too immense!

Making him unable to believe the words these people were speaking could be true!

"Utter nonsense! How could this child kill an Immortal Emperor, how could he annihilate the Holy Mountain, stop wasting time, quickly open the other end of the passage, come to rescue me, hurry up!" the Spirit God Monarch nearly collapsed, bellowing.

Yet, the passage on the other side of the black hole never opened...

Those Lingzong cultivators, even if watching the Spirit God Monarch perish, wouldn’t open the passage.

Once they open it, they could span countless distances from within the Holy Mountain, arrive at this place, but even arriving here, they wouldn’t possess the ability to rescue anyone from Ning Fan’s hands, instead might get captured by Ning Fan breaking into the Holy Mountain Mausoleum through the black hole.

Heaven have mercy, they barely managed to hide the Holy Mountain back into the endless void to evade Ning Fan! If they let Ning Fan invade the Holy Mountain, the mountain would surely perish!

"Do it! All of you, do it! Quick save me, save me! Whoever saves me, I will give him all my Cauldron Furnaces! Ahhh!"

"Where is the old ancestor, old ancestor save me! Old ancestor where are you!"

"Where are the outer elders, why hasn’t anyone come to save me! I don’t believe it! I don’t believe what you’re saying is genuine, I don’t believe this foreign cultivator is so frightening!"

"A mere foreign cultivator, a mere foreign cultivator!"

"Fake, fake! I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it!"

Bang!

With the sound of five thunderous booms, Ning Fan withdrew the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover and Prison Thunder Rope, leaving nothing but ashes, where was there any Spirit God Monarch?

Already completely obliterated by the Five Thunders Annihilation Cover!

Ning Fan naturally didn’t concern himself with the Spirit God Monarch’s unwillingness before death, for this world’s affairs, cause brings effect, the Spirit God Monarch had angered him first, such an outcome can’t blame others.

What piqued Ning Fan’s slight interest was not the Spirit God Monarch’s meager storage pouch, but the black hole left behind.

The other side of the black hole leads directly to the Holy Mountain Mausoleum, an interesting ability, though the Lingzong Saint Heir wasn’t incompetent, if indeed it could summon the Holy Mountain Immortal Emperor to aid, it could lead to a battle.

Regretfully, within the Holy Mountain Mausoleum, none dared to open the other side of the black hole, arriving here to assist...

It seemed that upon sensing Ning Fan probing the black hole passage, curses erupted from the other end of the passage, hastily extinguishing it out of fear that Ning Fan might have other means to forcibly open the passage and directly traverse to the tomb through heavens and earth.

The curses, naturally, were without much confidence, instead giving a feeling of trembling fear, treating Ning Fan as a monstrous flood or beast.

Unrelated to cultivation levels.

Related to battle achievements!

The devil lord Ning absolutely stands as an existence comparable to the Ancient Immortal Lord. A single misstep could lead to the destruction of the Holy Mountain, leaving these Holy Mountain Cultivators in inevitable fear.

What does being a foreign cultivator matter! Nowadays, in the entire Supreme Pill Sacred Domain, who would dare look down on Ning Fan in the slightest over his status as a foreign cultivator!

Emperor Butcher remained calm and composed, not at all surprised by Ning Fan’s swift killing of the Spirit God Monarch. She even thought that Ning Fan was a bit slow in his kill; given the number of trump cards Ning Fan possesses, a being like the Spirit God Monarch probably couldn’t survive even one encounter if Ning Fan showed all his cards...

If he were to go all out, offering no regard to losses or injuries, executing eight hundred Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strikes, even a Sixth Calamity Immortal Emperor could possibly have their physical form blasted apart by Ning Fan within ten breaths!

Her little butterfly is indeed powerful, or else it wouldn’t have been able to successfully rescue her from the Holy Mountain.

Emperor Butcher knew this, but Duolan did not.

Like the Spirit God Monarch, she was equally out of touch, and at this moment, seeing Ning Fan effortlessly killing the Spirit God Monarch, a Four Calamity Immortal King cultivator, her worldview nearly crumbled.

"From your being, I see fragments of myself, that inferiority felt when facing the little butterfly... are you, too, one of my smiles?" Emperor Butcher smiled gently, delivering her words to Duolan with an inexplicable kindness.

Duolan didn’t feel pressure facing Emperor Butcher, not knowing how powerful she was, and replied in sound transmission with a puzzled question, "I don’t quite understand, sister, what little butterfly, what inferiority, what smile..."

"It’s not surprising that you don’t understand; even I don’t comprehend what I’m saying..." Emperor Butcher smiled wistfully again, adding,

"If you were one of my smiles, then carry my obsession with you and properly accompany the little butterfly. Don’t be so timid anymore, don’t inherit this shortcoming of mine..."

"I still don’t understand..."

"It’s fine if you don’t understand. I don’t understand either, can’t make sense of anything... but I hope that little butterfly can be happy. In a world without me, in those forever parallel paths that never intersect, in that world where all is hostility, might they be no longer alone..."

"..."

Duolan couldn’t comprehend anything.

But she could read Emperor Butcher’s eyes, that fleeting gentleness when speaking of Ning Fan, not related to romance, yet heavier than any.

"If possible, I would rather the little butterfly stay forever in the Dreamland Realm, never to leave, never to understand that all these smiles are false, merely my deception toward him... I wish him happiness; I don’t wish him pain... but I fear more that he might be disappointed once he knows everything..."

"If possible, I would willingly become the chain that blinds his eyes, keeping him from seeing clearly forever..."

"But if he truly is determined to return to his homeland in the Real Realm, I would also be willing to let my tears transform into a key to send him home..."

Emperor Butcher completely didn’t understand what she was talking about.

She just knew that at this moment, she was stepping toward death, toward the mortality arranged for her by the Ten Bees Supreme, and even if it meant dying, she wouldn’t want the little butterfly to face any schemes from the Ten Bees Supreme because of her...

This is just fine...

Having a smile for company is enough...

He surely won’t be lonely...

As long as he doesn’t open his eyes...

"What are you two chatting about in sound transmission?"

Ning Fan had sorted through the spoils from the Spirit God Monarch, then wiped out numerous prison seals here and casually released the imprisoned women, now asking Emperor Butcher and Duolan with some curiosity.

He always felt Emperor Butcher’s actions were peculiar, mysterious. So reflexively, he used the Mind Reading Technique to probe into the inner thoughts of the two women.

He couldn’t fathom Emperor Butcher’s mind, but Duolan’s was easy; he easily grasped all of their exchanged thoughts.

Every word of Emperor Butcher made Ning Fan feel as if he understood yet didn’t, bringing myriad reflections within him but none to break through.

He suddenly felt a peculiar sensation, as if he was both very close to Emperor Butcher and yet very far...

It was as if a thin dream separated the two of them...

Emperor Butcher... Ji Qingling... sword ancestor...