"What the hell is she doing?" Looking at her figure standing in the rain under the umbrella, Yang Ze didn't know what she was trying to accomplish. She was just standing there in silence, quietly looking at him.

"....." Yang Ze even lifted his hand to wave at her, but received no response.

"Weirdo." For a moment, he wanted to go ahead and have a proper conversation with her, but it wasn't the time yet. He still had that lass in the basement and needed to focus on her first. He would have plenty of time to deal with Chen Meili later.

After taking one last look at her figure, he turned around and headed inside the house.

"Interesting." Chen Meili, on the other hand, who was quietly observing his figure, couldn't help but mutter to herself as her eyes narrowed into slits as she clenched the portrait of a young girl in her hands. Every time she glanced at the familiar figure in the distance, her eyes would flash occasionally.

As for what she was thinking, perhaps only she knew.

Back in the basement, Yang Ze took a glance in the other room only to see the girl sitting in meditation, practising with all her might.

Compared to the children in the village that he taught before, her talent was countless times better.

At her current speed, it was going to take her a few years to officially embark on the cultivation path. Perhaps, in three years at most, she would be able to step into the Body Refining stage.

Of course, the process could be sped up if she were to consume precious pills and resources. As for whether she was going to get them or not… It wasn't Yang Ze's concern.

After taking one more glance at her meditating figure, Yang Ze walked back and sat in front of the talisman book as he began to plan his future course of action.

He didn't know if he was overthinking it, but he felt a sense of unease living in this place. Not only was this city weird, but there was also someone or something in the Imperial Palace that made him feel a sense of dread.

"I should hurry and get out of here." Even though he was confident in his skills, he didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

With this in mind, Yang Ze thought about the most important thing that needed to be done.

"First, I will complete the mission for the Cauldron of Creation."

"And then, I will gather more information about the imperial palace."

After realising that something might be hiding in the Imperial Palace, his plan to simply waltz in to take a look around and take the treasure was not going to be possible. He needed to find a way to make his way there in a non-conspicuous way. Besides, he didn't even know what kind of treasure he was looking for.

Though Lin Meilin told him that someone was going to contact him, Yang Ze had no idea who the person was or how they were going to find him.

"How about just complete this system mission and walk away from this place?" It would be a lie to say that this idea didn't cross his mind occasionally. But every time this idea came up, he would shut it down.

He had already decided not to run away from any difficult situation. And the fact that his current situation was one of Lin Meilin's teachings made it even harder.

He didn't know what the woman was thinking, but she had saved his life many times before and was even his teacher. Even though he never really considered her to be his master, it didn't change the fact that the things she had taught him were perhaps the most precious knowledge of this world.

"Let's just complete this system mission first and then try to explore this place." After thinking for a long time, Yang Ze finally made his choice.

By now, there have been two failures in Cauldron of Creation because he couldn't complete the missions. He didn't want to face the same situation once again. Even though the cost of materials might be negligible, the time and effort weren't.

"So, how should I proceed with it?" Making up his mind, Yang Ze began to think about what his next course of action was going to be.

—----------------------------

Three days passed in the blink of an eye as Yang Ze sometimes meditated, practised his healing technique, further polished his Mystic Nether Art and thought of ways to handle Chen Meili.

He even used the state of Enlightenment to think about different ways he could interact with her for his advantage.

From the moment he discovered Enlightenment could be used in other things besides practising techniques and cultivation, he had been using it at every chance he got.

Except for the talisman making, which wasn't making any progress, the results were gratifying.

He had even thought of a hundred different ways to complete the mission regarding Chen Meili.

Sitting in front of the talisman book, he glanced at the tied-up middle-aged woman who didn't dare to meet his eyes.

Initially, he was going to finish her off, but after witnessing the crazed state of the girl in the room, he had another plan in mind.

"Chen Meili…" Exhaling a mouthful of air, Yang Ze was hesitant as to whether he should proceed with what he had planned or find another way.

"But there's just not enough time." He knew that given enough time, he would have found a way to make things work effortlessly, but now…

Due to the constraints of time, he had to make a decision whether he liked it or not.

*Sigh

Shaking his head, Yang Ze seemed to have made up his mind. Taking one more look at the woman tied up beside him, he stood up, patted the dust off his clothes and headed outside the house.

—-----------------------------

"Am I overthinking?" Inside a dimly lit room, the figure of an enchanting woman was twisting and turning on her bed.

From her looks, she seemed to be a woman at the prime of her youth, but she had a mature charm about her that was usually absent in young girls. Her every action was filled with charm, which was strengthened even further by her naked body and a pile of discarded revealing clothes.

She kept on twisting her body on the bed like a snake, unsure of whether her doubts were true or not.

"Should I report it?" Narrowing her eyes, she kept on looking at the portrait of a young girl with furrowed brows.

When she first got this portrait, she didn't think too much about it. Though it was a surprise that someone was running amok in the imperial city, it didn't have anything to do with her. In her mind, the only thing she was thinking of was Sun Qiao… the bitch that she hated with every ounce of her being.

But after interacting with her a bit more, coupled with her awkward behaviour, she was beginning to have doubts.

Whenever the two of them met, they would always engage in a heated exchange. They would use every possible insult against each other.

But her latest interaction with her was completely different.

The middle-aged woman who usually never spared any effort to insult her was awfully quiet. Not only did she not insult her, but she even ignored her completely.

Such a thing was completely out of character for someone like Sun Qiao.

Initially, she didn't think too much about it, but after seeing the scene of the woman boiled alive in the pot, the portrait, coupled with Sun Qiao behaving awkwardly, her imagination began to run wild.

And in the end, she managed to make a wild guess that the girl had somehow managed to replace Sun Qiao.

It was such an absurd thought that even she was having a hard time believing it. But Sun Qiao's act of waving her hand towards her was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"But what if I am wrong?" Chen Meili was still having second thoughts about it. Hence, the reason for her current turmoil.

"Should I report it or not?"

And just when Chen Meili was thinking about her next course of action, she felt a sudden breeze that made her body shiver in response.

"What the…" feeling the cold wind on her skin, she pulled the besheet, trying to cover her body with it, but before she could even do that, she felt a sudden gust of warm air on her neck as if someone was breathing just behind her.

In that instant, Chen Meili's eyes widened in response, and her breathing almost came to a halt. She wanted to turn around and see what was behind her. She even wanted to jump forward and attack the intruder, but no matter what she thought, her body refused to move.

The incomparable fear of someone sneaking up on her made her entire body stiff.

She knew perfectly well that with her strength at the Mid-stage Pulse Opening realm, only an expert in the Foundation forging or higher could sneak up on her.

*Gulp

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she didn't dare to make any rash moves. Someone who could appear so suddenly wasn't someone she could deal with.

Her belief only strengthened when she felt a pressure that made her breathless. It was as if an entire mountain was pressing down on her.

"Internal energy." She almost screamed at the top of her lungs. Only someone who had managed to master internal energy and could release it outside the body could do something like this.

It means that the person behind her was someone who had stepped into the realm of Vein Expansion.

A realm that was at the very top of this Imperial City.

Although she didn't know why someone like that was behind her, she didn't dare to ask.

She merely waited patiently for the other party to speak.

Unfortunately for her, the person behind her has no intention of speaking.

She only felt the person behind her lifting her hand, holding a thick black cloth that was placed on her eyes, preventing her from seeing anything.

But it didn't just stop there. She felt the rough texture of the rope that was slowly tightening around her body, perfectly binding her hands and legs.

During the entire time, Chen Meili didn't dare to struggle. At the moment, the other party didn't seem to be after her life. In that case, she might as well just stay still and survive.

With this in her mind, the tiny flame of struggle was extinguished completely.

"...." The person behind her was, of course, Yang Ze, who was pleasantly surprised by how smooth sailing this all had been.

He was expecting Chen Meili to fight back and was even prepared to knock her unconscious, but to his surprise, she didn't even put up a struggle.

Shaking his head, Yang Ze took a quick glance at the naked figure lying in front of him. With her body tied up with a rope and a blindfold on her eyes, she was emitting a different kind of charm.

But after admiring her for a moment, Yang Ze immediately shook his head and focused on his mission. He was here just to complete the absurd task of making her climax ten times. He had no intention of doing anything else to the woman.

Raising his hands, he didn't waste another second and slowly moved them towards Chen Meili's legs.

The moment his hands came in contact with Chen Meili's smooth legs, he felt her body stiffen for a moment before trembling in response. He could even hear her ragged breathing.

After touching her smooth thighs, which were soft and elastic, he slowly moved his hand up, gently moving towards the most sacred place of the woman and his destination…