Chapter 4

The forest road Elder Mo dragged me through had long since twisted into monster-trampled earth. Not a soul in sight, yet hundreds—if not thousands—of gazes seemed fixed on us.

I had already retrieved my soul sense the moment he entered the core area of the forest. If a monster above Core Formation stage found me peeking, that would be disastrous.

The deep forest was silent. Only the wind slicing through the leaves and his heavy, perverted breaths remained as music in my ears.

I hung like a ragdoll on his shoulder—limp, silk strips clinging to my body like wet shame. But my eyes were open, calculating every step he took.

Without him noticing, I absorbed his yang bit by bit, slowly filling my dantian. After I killed this man, I could begin my official cultivation through Body Tempering.

My memory held many breathing techniques tailored for a yin constitution to sense qi. After Body Tempering, I'd reach Qi Awakening, and then… I could start learning Astra techniques.

My soul already stored enough Astras to last me until Nascent Soul stage. And with each seal I unlocked, more would come.

"Hey, no need to be scared," Elder Mo said, glancing back at me. I blinked for a moment, then smirked. He thought I was scared?

"You'll thank this elder later… if you do as I say," he mumbled to himself.

Sure, I'll thank you later.

"I'll never allow your potential to go to waste. A yin-type constitution. In the entire Crimson Fall, only I can protect you."

Said the man who's been terrified shitless up until now. I couldn't stop myself from laughing. It seemed to excite him, because his filthy hands began moving across my body without restraint.

"I'll refine your body into a perfect furnace and together we'll rule this entire Crimson Fall!"

Oh?

"After I destroy Crimson Cloud, you'll be sect master there. All this will happen if you obey me, okay?" The coaxing and pretension in his words made me roll my eyes.

I'm sure even the previous Li Yue would never fall for these childish promises.

"Why do you want to destroy Crimson Cloud?" I acted tempted. He became agitated by my question, his movements turning chaotic for a few steps.

Then, gritting his teeth, he spoke. "That woman doesn't know what's good and bad. She wants equality in cultivation. What a joke! And the old man dared to appoint her as the next sect master!"

Right. Go ahead and wrap your fragile masculinity in a rebellion.

"Don't think I'm jealous. It's just—if the world hears that Crimson Cloud has a female sect master, how can we walk in the world with our heads held high?"

Sure, justify your rebellion by masking your jealousy and hunger for power.

"Then… why do you want me to become sect master there? Wouldn't it be better if you became sect master?"

His expression was priceless. He nearly choked on his own saliva. I barely contained the grin on my lips.

Elder Mo remained silent while moving like a shadow through the forest, slipping between trees and avoiding monsters with uncanny precision.

I remained silent too, watching the deliberate pattern of his steps—his breathing was controlled, his spirit sense restrained but sharp. He knew this route. Not by theory, but by repetition.

He had walked it many times before.

Interesting. That meant he hadn't yet fully looted the treasure here.

Eventually, we reached a narrow clearing veiled by hanging vines. He pulled them apart, revealing a gaping cave entrance. Almost like a vertical cut in the mountain.

The vines had grown perfectly to hide the entrance. The moment we stepped inside, I felt it.

A subtle fluctuation of space. A small door blocked the path ahead.

Elder Mo moved toward a corner where boxes lay scattered, their lids thrown open. So, this was where he got his talismans. I glanced again at the door.

He hadn't noticed it.

A secret realm… but with entry conditions. That explained why he didn't sense its existence.

He dropped me onto the cold stone, and I let out a soft whimper. He liked that. I could see it in the twitch of his lip, the tightening of his trousers.

"Good girl," he cooed, but my gaze turned elsewhere. Dozens of scattered bones and torn garments decorated the edges of the chamber, half-buried in dust.

I frowned.

My heart turned biting cold at the sight. At least sixty female skeletons. This animal had killed all of them. Elder Mo followed my gaze and chuckled.

He didn't seem to care.

"You don't have to worry if you obey me. They were naughty birds I ate clean."

I sat up slowly, keeping my posture submissive, eyes downcast. Without him noticing, my soul sense flared outward. My reach touched the edge of a nearby ridge. No cultivators around.

No monsters either… well, except this man.

I had some doubts.

I tilted my head, watching as he began removing his clothes. "Why go through all this trouble just to bring girls here?" I asked, pointing at the skeletons.

From his clueless actions, he clearly didn't know about the secret realm. So why risk so much?

He could've just done this in any inn in the city. And judging by his actions in the auction house, he wasn't the type to care about appearances.

"Doing it here doubles my cultivation speed," he said, now fully naked. My eyes flicked toward his shriveled, unkempt cock, and I barely suppressed the urge to retch.

Disgusting.

He mistook my aversion for awe and forced my head to look at him using spiritual pressure.

"And I like the silence… just like now. It excites me more."

You mean the silence of death.

Despite the growing fury inside me, I smiled. Slowly, I pulled the last bit of silk from my body.

Gulp.