Chapter 282: Chapter 279: Devoted Lovers Die Together

The Array Plate was in their hands. All they had to do was crush it to escape the danger.

But as simple as it was, with escape just a breath away, Liu Hui and Nangong Yan couldn’t manage it.

"I never thought a Dragon Blood Talent would appear in the Mortal Territory. How interesting."

The middle-aged man sized up the transformed Liu Hui, a glint of appreciation and greed in his eyes.

"Nangong An, how goes the task I gave you?" the middle-aged man asked, suddenly withdrawing his gaze.

Nangong An pointed at Nangong Yan and said, "My lord, this is the woman you personally selected as tribute eleven years ago. I have not forgotten your instructions and have been watching her ever since. I swear on my life that she is still a virgin and has never been with a man."

"Oh? Then what’s he all about?" The middle-aged man’s expression shifted from appreciation to displeasure and killing intent as he looked at Liu Hui, whose fingers were tightly interlaced with Nangong Yan’s.

A woman offered to the Young Master couldn’t just be a virgin; her absolute purity had to be guaranteed.

The most basic requirement was that after coming of age, she could have no intimate contact with any member of the opposite sex—not even relatives. More importantly, she could not develop feelings for another man.

"His name is Liu Hui... He’s... he’s..." Nangong An stammered, unsure how to explain.

He could only bite the bullet and say, "A while ago, during the Empire’s annual selection assembly, Nangong Yan was out of my sight for only three days, and in that time, she privately pledged herself to this man. It was impossible to prevent. But please rest assured, my lord. The most they’ve ever done is hold hands. There has been no other intimate contact."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man’s expression softened slightly, but his killing intent remained undiminished.

Eleven years ago, he had descended upon the Mountain and Sea Empire and happened to see Nangong Yan.

He discovered she had a special constitution, making her one of the most suitable candidates to be the Young Master’s Cultivation Furnace Cauldron.

If he could offer this woman to the Young Master, it would surely be a great accomplishment.

So, he had made his intentions clear to the Nangong Family back then and claimed Nangong Yan.

A Furnace Cauldron that could perfectly match the Young Master was a rare find. Therefore, unless he had absolutely no other choice, the middle-aged man was unwilling to give up on her.

’Since they’ve only held hands, there’s still a chance to salvage this.’

"You have two choices." The middle-aged man looked at Liu Hui and Nangong Yan, holding up two fingers.

"One: Completely open your Seas of Consciousness and allow me to erase your memories of each other. Nangong Yan will then serve the Young Master in peace, and Liu Hui will come with me."

"Two: Die!"

He offered them two choices for two reasons. First, he didn’t want to lose this great opportunity for merit. Second, he coveted Liu Hui’s Dragon Blood Talent.

If he could take him out of the Mortal Territory, he would have the chance to strip the Dragon Blood from his body and infuse it into his own.

At that point, his own talent would experience a qualitative leap!

In fact, if the Young Master were not a factor, Liu Hui was personally more valuable to the middle-aged man than the merit he would gain from Nangong Yan.

Unfortunately, however, he had to put the Young Master first.

As he finished speaking, the Array Plates in Liu Hui and Nangong Yan’s hands flew into his grasp, and the pair regained their ability to move.

"I’ll give you the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn to consider. You..."

But Liu Hui cut him off before he could finish.

"There’s no need to consider. We can give you our answer right now."

Liu Hui squeezed Nangong Yan’s hand, gazing deeply into her eyes.

"We’ll never let you erase our memories. We’d rather die! Of course, you’re welcome to try and force us."

The middle-aged man’s face darkened. "So, you choose death?"

’Forcing them is impossible.’

’Even though he had touched the threshold of a Demi-Immortal, he couldn’t invade their Seas of Consciousness and erase their memories without causing damage if they resisted.’

’In that case, all he’d be left with were two idiots with severely damaged Seas of Consciousness.’

’He obviously couldn’t offer an idiot as tribute to the Young Master, unless he wanted to become an idiot himself.’

"What is there to regret about dying with the one you love?" Nangong Yan’s face broke into a smile.

She took the initiative, wrapping her arms around Liu Hui’s neck and offering him her lips.

Their lips pressed tightly together as they shared a passionate, wild, and unrestrained kiss.

"Insolent!"

’They just said they only held hands, so how the fuck are they kissing now?!’

BOOM!

A tremendous force violently tore Liu Hui and Nangong Yan apart.

The two of them slammed hard onto the ground, blood spraying from their mouths.

If the middle-aged man hadn’t retained a shred of reason, that single blow would have been enough to kill them.

"Lovebirds dying together? Hmph, you think you can ruin my plans and get off that easy? I’ve changed my mind. You’re in love, are you? Then let’s see just how much you love each other!"

With that, the middle-aged man waved his wide sleeve.

A wind rose, sharp as blades, whistling as it shot past the onlookers.

SHLICK! SHLICK! SHLICK!

The sound of tearing flesh rang out.

Two sprays of blood mist erupted from Nangong Yan’s cheeks.

The flesh on both sides of her face was completely shredded, exposing her gums and stark white teeth. The scene was bloody and horrifying.

This went beyond simple disfigurement; she barely looked human anymore.

"NO!" Liu Hui screamed, his eyes stretched wide with fury. Dragon Energy erupted and coiled around his body as he charged recklessly toward Nangong Yan.

However, he didn’t even make it half a foot before a massive Spiritual Energy Hand descended from the sky and slammed him to the ground.

"Don’t be in such a hurry. This is only the beginning."

The middle-aged man had no intention of letting them off so easily.

"You’ve gone too far!"

Seeing his daughter’s fate, Nangong Yi erupted in a furious rage.

He summoned his Grotto Heaven, preparing for a desperate, final battle, but Nangong An ran him through the chest with a spear, pinning him to the ground.

Nangong Yi was stunned. In terms of strength, Nangong An should have been his inferior.

But now he had been defeated in a single move. It was obvious that the spear was no ordinary weapon.

"Nangong An, you traitorous beast! The clan elders won’t let you get away with this!"

"How naive!" Nangong An sneered. "Haven’t you noticed that not a single one of the clan elders has shown up?"

Nangong Yi froze. ’That’s right... With all this commotion, the clan elders should have appeared by now.’

’There was only one explanation: the clan elders had abandoned him!’

"Nangong An, go find some young, able-bodied servants and bring them here," the middle-aged man commanded.

He looked at Liu Hui. "You love her so much, don’t you? I’d like to see if you’ll still stand by her after you’re forced to watch other men take her, one by one."

Liu Hui gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, the fury in his eyes reaching its peak.

"You... deserve... to... die!"

If looks could kill, the middle-aged man would have died a thousand times over from Liu Hui’s glare.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man crushed Liu Hui’s jaw with his foot and said disdainfully, "An insignificant ant like you has no right to talk about death without the strength to back it up."

"This is too much!"

Qian Duoduo trembled with rage, but he was held back by three Void Realm Guards, unable to step forward.

"Let go of me!" Qian Duoduo roared.

"Young Master, don’t be reckless. We’re no match for him," the three Guards urged with bitter smiles.

Just as Qian Duoduo was about to say something, a sudden chill shot up his spine.

"There seems to be something inside your body that I’m quite familiar with."

The middle-aged man had appeared in front of him at some point, his finger touching the spot over Qian Duoduo’s heart.

"The Soul-Draining Mother Spider. So you’re the one it was used on," the middle-aged man chuckled lightly.