Thinking of her brother Ye Tian, Ye Li couldn’t help but deliberately rein in her emotions again. She didn’t want these two maids, who clearly already had second thoughts, to see through her mood and thus even find out that she still had a brother—one she cared about very, very, very much.

Otherwise, her brother would be in danger.

Ye Li knew her brother had very good Martial Arts Talent; she even felt that in the future, one day, her brother would also be able to achieve Ascension and leave the Earth Plane.

Going by what her parents said about her brother’s talent, becoming a Xuanwu Realm Strong People by now shouldn’t be a problem.

But a Xuanwu Realm Strong People facing a force like Immortal Sound Valley—though she didn’t want to admit it—the fact was, the majority of Immortal Sound Valley’s Outer Disciples were all in the Earth Martial Realm, right?

"What my brother lacks is only Martial Arts Resources. If he had enough Martial Arts Resources, he wouldn’t necessarily be worse than anyone else."

Ye Li had great confidence in Ye Tian. This was also why she had made up her mind to leave the Quasi-Emperor Treasure to Ye Tian.

"Young Valley Master, if it really won’t work... then... then just hand over the Quasi-Emperor Treasure, okay? At least you can still gain the approval and rewards of the Valley Master and the elders." At this moment, one of the maids spoke cautiously.

Ye Li directly ignored her.

Hand it over?

Ridiculous.

If Immortal Sound Valley had great kindness toward her, if they truly treated her, this Young Valley Master, with sincerity, she’d accept it even if she had to hand over the Quasi-Emperor Treasure.

But as it happened, Immortal Sound Valley had harbored ill intentions from the very beginning.

What bullshit Young Valley Master???!!

If she hadn’t eavesdropped by accident, how could she have known that her good Master wanted to first cultivate her, completely awaken her Martial Arts Bloodline, and then use an Ancient Times Forbidden Secret Technique to seize her Bloodline. That was all.

This so-called Young Valley Master sounded nice, but there wasn’t the slightest bit of power in it. It was entirely an empty title, given only to rope her in.

And to achieve this goal, over the past year, every time her good Master gave her those massive amounts of Martial Arts Resources, he would always add a certain ingredient into them—a colorless, tasteless "good thing" called Heart Condensing Grass, which seemed like Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures brimming with Spiritual Energy, but was actually poison.

Once this "Heart Condensing Grass" was taken over a long period, the heart would be poisoned, and gradually, one would die without anyone being the wiser...

Moreover, Heart Condensing Grass had another special trait: the person who took it would slowly move toward Death, yet their Bloodline would not be damaged.

That so-called good Master of hers, as the Valley Master of Immortal Sound Valley, was also the dream Goddess of countless overlord Strong People among the Hidden Forces of the entire Small Thousand World—always wearing the image of a kind, compassionate, desireless Immortal Sound Goddess. Yet inwardly she was so vicious, so greedy, so cruel... It was truly jaw-dropping.

But even knowing all of her Master’s schemes, Ye Li still obediently took all the Martial Arts Resources her Master gave her, including the Heart Condensing Grass.

Because she didn’t have the strength to refuse.

Once she refused, perhaps her Master would make a move immediately, and there’d be no need to wait for her so-called natural Death.

On the contrary, by pretending not to know, at least in the short term she wouldn’t die, and in the future there might still be a sliver of hope.

One had to admit, Ye Li was very brave and very tenacious. She clearly knew it was poison, yet she pretended not to and took it calmly. Precisely because of this, she actually won her Master’s trust instead. Her Master thought Ye Li knew nothing, that she was just a fool. Little by little, her guard relaxed, and she even hesitated only briefly before agreeing when Ye Li requested to go out and temper herself some time ago.

And it was precisely because of this trip for experience that she accidentally stumbled into the Purple Nether Quasi Emperor’s ruins and, with incredibly good luck, took all the treasures within the Purple Nether Quasi Emperor’s ruins for herself.

But the problem was, the fact that she had entered the Purple Nether Quasi Emperor’s ruins was known to many people, because at the time, quite a few young geniuses of the younger generation from other forces had also been present.

They had all seen her enter the Purple Nether Quasi Emperor’s ruins.

Just then—

"Dong, dong, dong..." The room door was knocked on.

At the same time, a gentle voice came from outside the door: "Li’er, are you there?"

"Master, I’m here." Ye Li answered quickly, standing up as a flash of coldness flickered deep in her beautiful eyes.

The door was pushed open.

It was a woman in a Red Dress, very beautiful, with peerless features and astonishing bearing. Every frown, every smile, every step and movement stirred infinite imagination.

Very womanly.

"You two may go down."

The woman was none other than Immortal Sound Valley’s Valley Master, Mo Tingyu, a strange woman with peerless looks and terrifying strength. Mo Tingyu lifted her hand, signaling the two maids to leave.

The two maids left respectfully. Mo Tingyu walked to the table, sat down, poured a cup of tea for Ye Li, and sighed: "Li’er, that Quasi-Emperor Treasure was something you risked your life to obtain. Now the sect wants you to hand it all over. It’s only natural that you feel unwilling. If it were your Master, I certainly wouldn’t be willing either. Unfortunately, Immortal Sound Valley doesn’t belong only to your Master; it also belongs to the Great Elder, the Second Elder, the Supreme Elder and the others. Your Master alone does not have the final say."

A touch of guilt and bitter helplessness appeared on Mo Tingyu’s beautiful face.

If Ye Li hadn’t already learned Mo Tingyu’s true nature, she really might have been moved by this beautiful Master’s performance right now.

Of course, a performance still had to be put on.

Everyone was competing in acting skills.

"Master, you don’t have to blame yourself. I know you did your best." Ye Li said softly.

"Ye Li, your Master knows there’s a Teleportation Array in the back mountain of Immortal Sound Valley that can directly send you out of the Wuming Sea. If it really doesn’t work, then just run. With your talent, combined with the Quasi-Emperor Treasure, it won’t take many years before you surpass your Master. By then, who would still dare force you to hand over the Quasi-Emperor Treasure?" Mo Tingyu lowered her voice and spoke earnestly.

On the surface, it looked like she was ready to disregard the interests of Immortal Sound Valley for the sake of her disciple.

What a loving Master.

But Ye Li felt a chill all over, a coldness spreading from the depths of her heart.

This Master was far too terrifying.

Ye Li was certain that if she truly agreed, then after Mo Tingyu sent her away via the Teleportation Array, the moment she left the Wuming Sea, Mo Tingyu would secretly kill her. By making a move outside the Wuming Sea, Mo Tingyu could both obtain all of the Quasi-Emperor Treasure for herself and keep Immortal Sound Valley’s other high-level members in the dark, swallowing the treasure alone while also taking her Bloodline.

Too ruthless!!!

And far too calculating.

Mo Tingyu cared only about herself in her heart. Even Immortal Sound Valley meant nothing to her.

Ye Li fell silent for a moment, looking as though she were hesitating.

A hint of expectation and cruel amusement flashed deep in Mo Tingyu’s beautiful eyes: My good disciple, just agree and fulfill your Master. Your Master will be grateful to you.

"How could that be okay, Master! You’ve already been good enough to me. If, for my sake, you go on to offend the Great Elder, the Supreme Elder and all the other high-ups, then your situation within the sect will surely become very difficult."

Ye Li shook her head hard. "Master, I won’t leave!"

Of course she couldn’t leave.

.....