“You… don’t come any closer! Stay away from me!”
Seeing Jiang Huai closing in step by step, Zhu Siyao instinctively pushed off the ground with her slender calves, backing away, her voice filled with obvious panic and resistance.
“What did you do to my mother? Why does the Pure Yang Body reside within you?!”
Countless terrifying thoughts churned in her mind.
Imagining some sinister forbidden art combined with Jiang Huai’s rapidly advancing strength, she couldn’t help but shiver.
Could that evil dragon have used some disgraceful means on her mother just to enhance Jiang Huai’s cultivation?
Jiang Huai slowly sheathed his long sword and took a step closer.
The faint glow of the Storage Ring on his finger flickered, and an object appeared in his palm.
It was a small, exquisite necklace, glowing warmly with a reddish-gold hue, emitting a soft radiance.
Zhu Siyao’s eyes narrowed. Though she didn’t understand its significance, the shape of a “necklace” alone stirred extremely unpleasant associations.
“What are you doing? I’m not your pet! You filthy man!”
She was both shocked and furious, her voice sharp: “Get lost! Go away!”
The sudden reversal in their strength balance left her completely disoriented and full of fear.
She didn’t understand.
Although she wasn’t a Zifu Foundation Establishment cultivator, she was at least late Foundation Establishment, and lately her cultivation had accelerated as if divinely aided.
Why was her opponent, still early Foundation Establishment, so incredibly strong?
Her back pressed against the cold, massive stone with no way to retreat, she could only watch Jiang Huai approach with the reddish-gold necklace in his hand, her heart sinking to the bottom of a valley.
The wind blew, stirring the still-damp bloodstains on Jiang Huai’s dark robe. Strands of hair fell slightly disheveled.
He slowly crouched down and met her gaze, extending the necklace closer.
“Put this on. It’s a good thing.”
Zhu Siyao recoiled her neck with disgust. “How can this be a good thing?!”
Jiang Huai’s tone was calm: “Your mother entrusted me with this before she left. She asked me to pass it to you.”
“This isn’t a mere necklace. It’s the Yunling Golden Collar, which protects the soul and nourishes the origin.”
Honestly, the golden collar did look a bit like a necklace.
“My mother gave it to you? You must be joking!” Zhu Siyao stared at the collar, her delicate brows furrowed in disbelief.
Jiang Huai said no more, instead retrieving a smooth jade stone from his bosom and handing it to her.
“This contains a cultivation method your mother specially recorded for you.”
“You’ve just entered Foundation Establishment, so it’s the perfect time to switch your method. From now on, you shouldn’t practice the Blazing Sun Sect’s technique anymore.”
His words revealed genuine concern. If he could bring her back to the Nine Heavens Palace, they could reunite mother and daughter and ease Zhu Rongxin’s worries.
Seeing Jiang Huai’s tone remain gentle and free of hostility, Zhu Siyao accepted the jade stone with hesitant trust.
Jiang Huai then settled cross-legged, quietly meditating to recover while watching the girl before him.
Zhu Siyao hesitated before sinking her divine sense into the jade stone.
In an instant, Zhu Rongxin’s figure appeared within, clad in red armor.
In front of her daughter, she tried to maintain her usual dignity and composure.
“Siyao.” Zhu Rongxin called softly.
“Mother!” Zhu Siyao responded emotionally, the depth of her longing unmistakable.
She missed her mother dearly, especially since their relationship had only recently begun to mend.
“Since you can obtain this jade stone, you must have met… the Husband Lord.” Zhu Rongxin said this with two obvious blushes crossing her face.
Hearing this, Zhu Siyao even doubted her own ears.
Did her mother really call Jiang Huai “Husband Lord”? Why?
And why was her mother’s expression so shy? Was this a face her mother would even show?
She had never seen such an expression on her mother before.
At this moment, an indescribable sourness and pain welled up inside Zhu Siyao.
It was as if a treasured possession long held close had been suddenly taken away—both person and heart.
She felt as if she was no longer her mother’s only one.
“On the way, listen carefully to what he says. Let him bring you back to Nine Heavens Palace. Don’t stay in the Blazing Sun Sect any longer.”
“Be obedient. Listen to your… father. Understood?” Zhu Rongxin’s reminder echoed softly.
Zhu Siyao stared numbly as her mother’s image rambled on until the figure faded away.
Father? He?
Someone about her age, maybe even younger?
She yearned for a father figure inside, but not like this.
Jiang Huai slowly stood, dusting off his robe, and extended his hand to Zhu Siyao. “Alright, now that everything’s clear, come with me.”
“We’ll head deeper into the Secret Realm to see if we can find some opportunities. Once we exit, you will return with me to Nine Heavens Palace.”
With Zhu Rongxin’s jade stone as proof, Zhu Siyao hesitated only briefly before removing the mask from her face.
Revealed was a face strikingly similar to Zhu Rongxin’s—nine parts alike.
Only younger, lacking some of Zhu Rongxin’s cold elegance and mature charm, replaced by a youthful delicacy and stubbornness unique to a girl.
This face even made Jiang Huai pause for a moment.
He hadn’t examined her closely in the Hehuan Sect, but after spending more time with Zhu Rongxin, this face was like seeing the young Zhu Rongxin standing before him.
Zhu Siyao’s face remained cold as she stood and ignored Jiang Huai’s outstretched hand.
Jiang Huai sighed helplessly, retracting his hand and shaking his head.
This kid really had no manners.
“I’m going to that so-called Nine Heavens Palace to find my mother and get the truth.”
Zhu Siyao spoke lightly as she put away the collar and jade stone.
Without seeing her own mother, she wouldn’t give up.
Jiang Huai bore no ill will toward her; otherwise, he would have killed her long ago.
So trust was not the issue.
“So, where are we going now?” she asked, tilting her head toward Jiang Huai.
He looked up at the increasingly darkening sky inside the Secret Realm and muttered, “Honestly, the aura in this realm feels off.”
“Let’s first check the central area. If there’s anything worth the risk…”
“If not, we leave immediately. The Nine Heavens Palace isn’t lacking because of this.”
Zhu Siyao nodded expressionlessly, following Jiang Huai but couldn’t help furtively scrutinizing him.
Why did her mother accept him so quickly?
Outside the Secret Realm.
Qin Qingyue wore the same dark robe as Jiang Huai, her presence suffused with Dragon Might.
Her red vertical pupils swept over the female scattered cultivators who had come to apply for sect membership.
All the applicants were female, their cultivation levels varied.
Most eyes held expectation, curiosity, or a desperate hope for shelter from a rising sect.
Patiently, she examined their innate talents and constitution one by one, occasionally asking about their temperament and past.
However, after filtering them all, not one met her approval.
A few had decent foundations but appeared timid and weak, unfit for serious responsibility.
Qin Qingyue felt a secret disappointment.
She had hoped to find one or two talented women with excellent innate qualities and temperament, close in age to Jiang Huai, to nurture carefully—perhaps becoming his trusted aides or consorts in the future.
But for now, it seemed she had overestimated her chances.
Such gems were not easily found.
Though disappointed, her face remained composed.
She lightly waved her hand and instructed Su Yingman beside her, “Record these people as outer disciples for now. Their future status will depend on their performance.”
“Yes, Mistress,” Su Yingman replied respectfully, beginning the orderly registration process.
At that moment, Qin Qingyue’s delicate body suddenly trembled, her expression changing drastically.
She clearly felt that the Black Dragon Mark she had embedded in Jiang Huai’s lower abdomen had been triggered.
Though it was only a fleeting, faint sensation, it unmistakably indicated that a trace of her primordial power had been used.
What was going on?!
Qin Qingyue’s heart clenched tightly.
She knew Jiang Huai’s strength better than anyone.
How could his trump card be triggered so soon?
The Black Dragon Mark she and Wu Zhaohua had left, fused from their Great Ascension essence blood and containing Heavenly Immortal realms, was their ultimate life-saving backup for Jiang Huai.
How long had they even been inside the Secret Realm? How could they have encountered a threat that forced them to use such a card?
Could it be a coordinated attack by multiple Zifu Foundation Establishment cultivators?
Thinking that Jiang Huai might be in grave danger or seriously wounded, Qin Qingyue’s aura instantly turned icy and fierce.
A terrifying Dragon Might uncontrollably spread, crushing the newly selected outer disciples beneath it, causing them to tremble and barely dare to breathe.
“Is our sect master really this terrifying?”
She suddenly looked up, as if recalling something, her sharp gaze slicing across the surrounding sects’ camps, filled with unhidden suspicion and murderous intent.
The elders of other sects swept by her gaze paled in terror, as if plunged into an ice cellar, their scalps tingling, lowering their heads to avoid meeting the murderous aura, secretly cursing their luck, fearing she might lash out at any moment.
Suddenly, an extremely subtle aura began spreading from the direction of the Secret Realm.
This aura was peculiar, carrying an ancient and deathly stillness that made hearts shudder.
Wu Zhaohua suddenly raised her head, sensing this aura.
Around her, the Great Ascension and Integration cultivators showed no change, their expressions calm.
Yet Wu Zhaohua was certain she had detected it.
She instinctively glanced toward Qin Qingyue, and their eyes met across the space.
Qin Qingyue had also sensed the strange aura coming from within the Secret Realm, a trace of worry flashing across her face.
What was that thing? Only the two of them had noticed something was wrong inside the Secret Realm.