Li Fei cradled the purple jade cricket, amusing herself alone. At the moment, she didn’t want to be too close to Lei Xiuyuan, perhaps needing some time to cool off and avoid being led around by him constantly.
Lei Xiuyuan glanced at her but didn’t approach. He squatted down to deal with the shells. Noticing Ji Tongzhou eyeing the shells longingly, he suddenly smiled and said, “Your lackeys are causing trouble everywhere. Remember to keep them on a tighter leash when you return.”
Ji Tongzhou sneered but didn’t respond.
Lackeys? He had encountered one earlier. Just before Sir Shen pushed him into the barrier, he met a former lackey who was now cultivating at Dragon Throne Sect. Upon seeing him, the man neither bowed nor greeted him, extremely disrespectful. Ji Tongzhou couldn’t help but look at him twice. Unexpectedly, the man casually nodded to him with an arrogant gesture, “Oh, it’s the Prince. It’s been five years, long time no see.”
Ji Tongzhou’s brows immediately furrowed. The man gave a cold smile and turned to leave. Ji Tongzhou was instantly furious, about to chase after him and reprimand him, but it would have been beneath his dignity. He stood there stunned for a moment, forced to endure it.
Dragon Throne Sect had once eyed the Yue Kingdom covetously, and he had always been wary of them. Since Elder Xuanshan Zi’s injuries had healed, they hadn’t dared to make any moves for a long time. Although Elder Xuanshan Zi’s injuries had healed, his power hadn’t fully recovered to its peak. It was common for immortals to compete secretly with each other. With his power not fully recovered, no matter how carefully he tried to hide it, it would still be noticed by those with ulterior motives. The long-dormant Dragon Throne Sect would naturally start to stir again.
Fortunately, Xuanshan Zi was still an elder of the Mysterious Sect. No matter how arrogant the people of the Dragon Throne Sect were, they wouldn’t dare to make any real moves. The provocation from that lackey was nothing. These people were originally fellow cultivators chosen by his royal brother as study companions from various places, some not even from the Yue Kingdom. Now that his talent had been discovered and he had the backing of a celestial cultivation sect, they naturally wouldn’t fawn over him as they did before.
He had understood these cruel rules of the world since he was young, but only now could he calmly contemplate them.
Ji Tongzhou, feeling frustrated, simply sat down hard in the sand, gazing at the deep blue and light blue where the sea met the sky in the distance.
Behind him, Lei Xiuyuan had already finished processing the shells, arranging them on fire to roast. The fishy, salty, and astringent aroma drifted with the wind. Bai Li Gelin and Ye Ye were both attracted. Gelin saw Lu Li standing alone far away on the beach, lost in thought, and immediately waved, calling out, “Senior Brother Lu! Come eat!”
After calling several times, he seemed not to hear, instead walking step by step towards the sea. At first, he walked very slowly, as if hesitating, but gradually he walked faster and faster. In the blink of an eye, the seawater had reached his waist.
“Senior Brother Lu?”
Bai Li Gelin was somewhat surprised. Could he also want to go into the sea to catch some shells or fish? And he hadn’t cast a water-avoidance spell, just going directly into the sea like that?
Lei Xiuyuan suddenly stood up, squinting for a while before saying in a low voice, “Something’s not right. Look at the sea surface, is there fog rising?”
Everyone looked carefully for a moment. At this time, the sky was blue, the sea was azure, the sand was silver, and the clouds were white—it was an extremely fine afternoon. Yet there was a thin layer of mist on the sea surface, not noticeable without careful observation. Bai Li Gelin had already run over to grab Lu Li, who was struggling hard, his expression blank, his eyes fixed on the distance, stubbornly trying to go into the sea.
Bai Li Gelin gradually couldn’t restrain him and called out anxiously, “Come help quickly! He seems to have fallen under some kind of enchantment!”
Everyone hurried over. Lei Xiuyuan suddenly saw Li Fei not far away, also staring blankly at the sea surface, about to walk into the sea. He picked her up in one swift motion and soared into the air on a cloud, “This place is strange, let’s go quickly!”
As soon as he finished speaking, an extremely ethereal and enchanting woman’s song could be heard from the sea surface. The mist on the sea surface suddenly thickened, rapidly spreading towards the island. No one dared to look back. Although they couldn’t sense any demonic aura, that made it even more terrifying. Demons or fierce beasts that could hide their aura were extremely difficult to deal with.
The sea made a huge, resounding churning sound. Bai Li Gelin, standing on the back of the centipede spirit, couldn’t help but turn his head to look back anxiously. He saw that the originally calm and wave-free blue sea surface had now turned grayish-black. A thick fog rolled, and the seawater churned with white waves. A lush green small island slowly rose from the bottom of the sea.
No one dared to stay any longer. They flew rapidly for about half a quarter of an hour, only feeling that the sound of churning seawater behind them gradually faded before they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Li Fei in Lei Xiuyuan’s arms also gradually stopped struggling, her blank eyes suddenly regaining their focus, looking around in confusion, “Where are those beautiful women? The ones who were singing?”
Behind them, Lu Li had also regained his senses, equally bewildered.
Ye Ye, still shaken, looked back for a long time. Confirming there was nothing unusual, he said, “Was it a demon? There wasn’t even a trace of demonic aura!”
Lei Xiuyuan was about to speak when his expression changed again. A lush green small island had appeared on the sea surface beneath their feet at some unknown time. Everyone was greatly shocked by this and hurriedly continued to fly and flee. However, that island was like a shadow. Just when they thought they had shaken it off, looking down, it would appear beneath their feet again. This situation was extremely bizarre and terrifying.
After flying for an unknown length of time, they suddenly saw a huge island ahead. They had unknowingly flown to the inner circle of the sea area.
“Fly towards the center of the island,” Lei Xiuyuan said concisely and clearly.
Everyone rushed again, followed by landing one after another in the forest at the center of the island. They saw many disciples from mountain and sea sects engaged in magical combat, with the light of five-element celestial magic flashing everywhere. When they suddenly saw these few people flash and land, they were all stunned for a moment.
Ye Ye saw their hostility was quite strong and hurriedly said, “We’re just passing through, we’ll leave immediately.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a whiff of fragrance brush past his side, followed by a nearly naked woman with half-torn clothes brushing past his shoulder. Ye Ye immediately felt somewhat embarrassed, but this embarrassment quickly turned into shock. He saw that many scantily clad, beautiful women had appeared around them at some unknown time, swaying gracefully, passing by these stunned cultivation disciples, dancing and swaying, with graceful figures, displaying the utmost in seductive ability.
Waves of ethereal and enchanting women’s songs seemed to come from extremely far away, yet also seemed to be right beside them. Lei Xiuyuan suddenly looked up and saw shadows looming overhead. That island was floating in mid-air. It was too late to escape now. The thick fog instantly enveloped the entire huge central island, swallowing up all the cultivation disciples on the island.
Ji Tongzhou only felt a white expanse before his eyes, unable to see anything. He hurriedly put up a layer of defense, remembering that Ye Ye was standing to his left. He instinctively moved several steps to the left but didn’t touch anyone. In his shock, he couldn’t help but call out, “Ye Ye?”
No one answered him, except for those waves of soul-stirring songs.
Ji Tongzhou couldn’t help but be greatly alarmed and called out loudly, “Ye Ye? Jiang Li Fei?! Lei Xiuyuan?!”
Still, no one answered him, but there was a rustling sound opposite as if someone was walking through the grass. Ji Tongzhou retreated several steps hastily, a fire lotus condensing in his palm as he warily watched the direction from which the footsteps were coming through the thick fog.
Suddenly, the thick fog was parted by a delicate jade hand, and the long-absent Princess Lan Ya appeared before him, dressed in court attire, elegant and noble. Now a graceful young lady, she was even more dazzlingly beautiful, with a gentle and deep affectionate smile on her face as she softly called him, “Your Highness.”
Ji Tongzhou was stunned. How could Lan Ya be here? Her clothes… No, he clearly remembered that earlier, outside the barrier, a female disciple from the Fire Lotus Temple said Lan Ya had a message for him, but since she hadn’t broken through the second bottleneck yet, she couldn’t come for this test. So who was the person in front of him? An illusion?
Princess Lan Ya threw herself into his arms like a swallow returning to the nest. In an instant, his arms were full of soft jade and warm fragrance. She looked up at him pitifully, her voice seductive and soft, “Your Highness, did you miss Lan Ya?”
Ji Tongzhou suddenly felt confused in his heart, as if Lan Ya had indeed come again. The body in his arms was soft and light. Out of male instinct, he couldn’t help but hold her tightly.
He was no longer a child. How could he not know Lan Ya’s feelings for him?
But it wasn’t right, it wasn’t her.
At some point, a vague ruler had appeared in his heart, and he always used this ruler to measure every woman around him. Lan Ya wasn’t the woman he wanted deep in his heart. He didn’t know who he liked or truly wanted, but it wasn’t her.
The woman in his arms raised her head again, but her appearance had changed. Now she was a female disciple from Xingzheng Hall, famous for her beauty. She looked at him just as coquettishly and longingly, her gaze as soft as spring water.
No, it wasn’t her either.
The woman in his arms kept changing her face, all the various beauties he had encountered in his life. But it still wasn’t right, it wasn’t them.
Ji Tongzhou closed his eyes. His heart seemed clear yet unclear, wanting to resist this bizarre and absurd illusion. Suddenly, the body in his arms became exceptionally soft, and he smelled an intoxicating exotic fragrance. His whole body shook violently, and he involuntarily opened his eyes to see Jiang Li Fei gently clinging to his embrace. At this moment, her eyes were full of tender and longing expressions, as if begging him to hold her, to kiss her.
He felt his throat go dry, as if there was a fire burning, making him confused to the extreme.
She held a lifelike purple jade cricket in her hand, smiling charmingly and saying softly, “Your Highness, do you like me?”
He… didn’t know. He had measured countless women with that ruler but had never measured her. Why? The vague, slender figure deep in his heart that even he didn’t know about—when did it start? He hadn’t noticed at all.
It was as if a voice in his mind was asking: Is it her?
No one answered this question for him. Ji Tongzhou was already entranced, not wanting to resist this absurd illusion at all. The fire lotus in his palm silently extinguished. His wrists were trembling slightly as he slowly embraced her slender waist, tightening his grip.
Yes, yes, it’s her.
He drew in a sharp breath. His vision blurred, and the thick white mist had long since disappeared, turning into his princely mansion in Duantu. Ah, that’s right, he had already become immortal, battling across the world, invincible, with no one daring to invade the Yue Kingdom anymore. The exceptionally soft woman in his arms wore the court attire of the Yue Kingdom, her long hair coiled into an elaborate celestial bun, her forehead bangs also drawn up, revealing a forehead as white as jade. Her face was full of shy charm, her starry eyes bright, her thick eyelashes lowered as she timidly called him, “Your Highness.”
Her fragrant breath was right in front of him, almost making him lose his mind.
Ji Tongzhou only felt a softness on his lips. Her arms gently encircled his neck, her cherry lips offering a kiss. The woman’s body in his arms seemed to suddenly become bare, every inch of her soft, smooth skin pressing against him, rubbing against him. All the blood in his body was about to boil. He grabbed her almost savagely, his fingers sinking into her jade-like skin, instinctively caressing her, kneading her.
The next moment, a canopy of black and white enveloped the entire world. Her skin, reflected against the ink-black bedding, was as white as moonlight.
The candle at the head of the bed was burning fiercely. He was already entranced, vaguely unaware of what day or night it was.