Chapter 958: Intruder Suddenly Appearing

The dark presence within the ancient ring listened to Jing Hong’s account, its voice remaining as utterly unruffled as a stagnant well.

"The disciples of the Immortal Palace have succumbed to the deepest desires of their hearts, fighting for this boy, Lu Yang. It brings to mind a certain tragic event from antiquity."

"Is it that someone lost control of the nascent form of the Dao Fruit of Seven Emotions? Or perhaps this Lu Yang shares a labyrinthine connection with the Harem Golden Core, having made the acquaintance of some ancient entity who aided him in condensing it, thereby sowing the seeds of today’s calamity?"

"Since no cultivators of the Body Integration Stage have descended into the fray to claim him, it indicates the gap between those seniors and Lu Yang is too vast for them to harbor any desire toward him."

"Disciple, no matter how this affair unfolds, you must not involve yourself. This person is far more perilous than you conceive."

"But Master, I... I like Lu Yang too!" Jing Hong discovered her heart was thumping violently. The mere thought of Lu Yang kindled an inexplicable, possessive urge, a longing to claim him as her own.

Her master had indeed forbidden her from associating with Lu Yang, yet she had overheard numerous tales of him, harboring a quiet affection in her heart. Beneath the sway of today’s mysterious anomaly, those slight feelings had magnified boundlessly, leaving her entirely unable to suppress her heart.

A sharp, questioning grunt sounded from the depths of the black ring: "Hmm? Then hurry into the minor world within the ring, and I shall suppress it for you..."

"I beg Master to allow your disciple to indulge herself just this once!"

"..." The corners of the ancient entity’s eyes twitched within the dark ring.

...

"Junior Brother Lu Yang is mine!" Jing Hong interjected herself into the fray, twin daggers in hand. Striking right between Lan Ting and Tao Yaoye, she managed to neutralize both of their assaults.

"I never would have guessed Senior Sister Jing Hong was concealing her true strength on ordinary days," Lan Ting remarked, discerning the anomaly the moment their weapons clashed.

It was no boast; even within the Immortal Palace, where geniuses clustered like clouds, her own talent was formidable. Armed with her initial Soul Formation cultivation, even a senior sister of the mid Soul Formation stage renowned for martial prowess could scarcely hope to fight her to a draw.

Yet Senior Sister Jing Hong, whose mid Soul Formation cultivation did not specialize in combat, had matched her stroke for stroke upon her opening gambit. This proved that Jing Hong was far from as simple as she appeared on the surface.

"The strong deserve only the strong!" Senior Sister Jing Hong proclaimed her sovereignty, facing the two of them without the slightest hint of retreat.

True to her name, which evoked a startled swan, her movements were as swift as a fleeting shadow as she darted through the confined space. Even the Kunpeng race, renowned for their unparalleled velocity, could scarce surpass such agility.

As the trio clashed, the melee grew increasingly chaotic. Lu Yang finally caught a window to escape. Invoking the Art of Inches, he shrank his form, but Lan Ting's twin silken ribbons were imbued with some unknown spell; they contracted in perfect unison with Lu Yang, remaining tightly bound around him.

"Should I sever these ribbons?" Lu Yang observed that Lan Ting continuously deployed them as weapons, and he worried they might be her soul-bound treasure. If he severed them recklessly, it might inflict harm upon her.

The Immortal Fairy emerged at the opportune moment to put his mind at ease: "Oh, you needn't worry about that. Little Girl Lan’s soul-bound treasure is the axe in her hand."

"What?" In an instant, Lu Yang's perception of Lan Ting underwent a drastic transformation.

No matter, now was not the time for such idle thoughts. So long as it would not injure Junior Sister Lan Ting, it was fine.

Lu Yang summoned the Azure Peak Sword and sliced through the ribbons with ease, breaking free from his bonds.

...

"Senior Sister, shouldn't we step in to put a stop to this?" Before Elder Zhu Hong sat a water mirror, its surface reflecting Lu Yang bound hand and foot, alongside his wooden clone being pursued by an endless swarm of Immortal Palace disciples.

Luo Hongxia had received a telepathic message from Daoist Master Zhui Yue and understood the root of the matter.

She let out a cold snort: "What is the hurry? It will not be too late to act once the boy is truly captured."

"You did not see how he looked on his first day confined in the Sinner's Hall. The disciples delivering prison meals formed an unending stream. Anyone unaware would have thought our Immortal Palace was his personal harem."

"We must give the lad a proper fright, so he will think twice before casually building a harem."

...

"Senior Brother Lu Yang, don't run!" Lan Ting noticed her ribbons had been severed and hastened to pursue him.

But Tao Yaoye and Jing Hong were hardly about to grant her that opportunity, joining forces to block her at the doorway.

"Fine, fine, fine! You forced my hand!" Lan Ting had nearly brushed the hem of Lu Yang's robes. To have such a golden opportunity shattered by these two, coupled with the fact that Senior Brother Lu Yang was no longer present, meant she no longer needed to maintain her ladylike decorum.

The ribbons that had fallen to the ground, severed into several pieces, knitted back together seamlessly, looking exactly as they had before the damage.

Lan Ting wrapped the silken ribbons around her axe. With a gentle shake of her wrist, the weapon whirled with a ferocious howl, possessing terrifying might.

Lu Yang fled in a wretched state, not daring to tarry for a single heartbeat. If Lan Ting and the other two joined forces, he doubted he could escape with his life.

"Even the guest quarters are no longer safe."

"Do not fear, Junior Brother. Your Senior Sister shall protect you." A figure materialized abruptly, dragging Lu Yang away.

Lu Yang stole a glance and discovered it was none other than Senior Sister Jing Hong!

This defied reason. Was Senior Sister Jing Hong not still engaged in combat back in the guest rooms?

"The one fighting in the guest quarters is merely a clone she forged. I must say, the girl's skill in crafting avatars is quite high. It seems she studied the art of artifact refining well."

"Junior Brother Lu, let us leave the Immortal Palace together and wander to the ends of the earth." Senior Sister Jing Hong wrapped her arms tightly around Lu Yang, her voluptuous figure smothering him so entirely that he could scarcely draw breath.

As expected of an artifact refiner, her physical strength was astounding. Lu Yang found it an ordeal just to struggle against her grip.

Senior Zhui Yue, your sins are truly monstrous!

Lu Yang had already cursed Daoist Master Zhui Yue several times over in his heart.

It was bad enough that the nascent form of the Dao Fruit of Seven Emotions had spun out of control, but they were supposed to fall in love with *you*, the elders of the Immortal Palace. How had it turned into everyone falling in love with *me*?

"Inches contract, earth shortens!"

Lu Yang instantly shrank and dove into the soil, but Senior Sister Jing Hong was no easy target either. She invoked an unknown spell that granted her the same earth-burrowing capability.

Moreover, her speed underground surpassed his own.

Unable to fly with his sword while submerged in the earth, Lu Yang was forced to burst through the surface and fly low to the ground.

If he flew too high, he feared detection by the other disciples of the Palace.

Senior Sister Jing Hong produced a shuttle-boat, a vessel she had personally refined. Its speed was astonishing, keeping pace perfectly with Lu Yang's sword-kinesis.

"Someone has trespassed into the Immortal Palace," the Immortal Fairy remarked, her brow furrowing.

"Ah? Who?" The fairy's sudden utterance caught Lu Yang entirely off guard.

"I know not who they are, but there are at least two in the Tribulation Transmutation Stage. They do not appear to come with good intentions."

"How did they enter? What of the Sect-Defending Grand Array?"

"They know the method to deactivate the grand array, completely bypassing the detection of the Immortal Palace."

"Then what should we do? Should we notify the Palace?" Compared to the clandestine infiltration of unknown Tribulation-stage experts, his being chased by a horde of disciples shrank to insignificance.

"Notifying the Palace directly makes it difficult to explain how I came by this knowledge. Fairy, tell me, where are they?"

"They have just crossed the threshold of the entrance."

"That is perfect, then."

With a sudden twist of the Azure Peak Sword beneath his feet, Lu Yang altered his course directly toward the entrance of the Immortal Palace.

He wagered that Luo Hongxia was well aware of his predicament and had been observing this area all along. Perhaps Daoist Master Zhui Yue was doing the same. If that were the case, he would simply draw the intruders directly into their line of sight!

The intruders had deployed an invisibility spell, rendering them invisible to the naked eye. Even though the Immortal Fairy pointed out their precise location, Lu Yang could see nothing but a vast expanse of white snow.

Sensing through his divine consciousness that the relentless Senior Sister Jing Hong had cast a binding rope toward him, Lu Yang veered sharply, causing the rope to miss its mark and strike the blank expanse of snow.

"What wretched luck."

A figure materialized, muttering as he shattered the rope. He had been hiding perfectly well, only for this sudden attack to force his hand in defense.

"Intruders!" Luo Hongxia bolted to her feet, realizing the gravity of the situation. Reaching across the water mirror, she unleashed a beam of azure light aimed squarely at the exposed interloper!