69novels Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Chapter Title: Madam Wen: So What If I'm a Slave or a Maid?
At the entrance to the valley, Russell and Mrs. Wen sat facing each other.
Unlike Mrs. Wen's restlessness, Russell had already leisurely taken out a tea set: a purple clay teapot, celadon cups, a tea scoop, and a tea spoon, placing each piece on the bluestone in front of him with a smooth and unhurried manner.
Negotiation, you know.
It's all about taking the initiative.
Deep down, Madam Wen longed to regain her freedom, but her pride as a Nascent Soul cultivator prevented her from being the first to bow down.
Then we can only wait and see who gives up first.
Russell calmly began to boil water, warm the cups, add tea leaves, and let the tea steep.
The stream babbles, and the aroma of tea wafts through the air.
Time passed by, second by second.
Madam Wen's brows furrowed more and more, her clasped hands secretly clenching her sleeves, her lips pressing and releasing repeatedly, as if she wanted to say something, but the words were swallowed back down her throat.
"Come here, madam."
Before long, a cup of tea was placed in front of her.
Madam Wen was startled and looked up.
Russell looked at her with a smile and gestured for her to try it: "This tea is the Shenyu Immortal Tea that I obtained from an elder. Please try it, Madam."
Mrs. Wen: "————"
Left with no other choice, she gracefully picked up the teacup, brought it to her lips, and took a small sip.
The moment the tea entered my throat, an indescribable refreshing sensation exploded between my mouth and chest!
The refreshing and sweet aroma slid down my throat and into my stomach, instantly spreading throughout my body. Wherever it passed, the fatigue accumulated from days of challenges dissipated somewhat!
"This is indeed excellent tea!"
Madam Wen spoke with some surprise, a glint of wonder flashing in her beautiful eyes.
As a rare female cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage, her cultivation was naturally far superior to that of roughnecks like Manhuzi and Jiyin, or maggots from the gutter.
She has a wide range of interests, including music, chess, calligraphy, painting, tea, flowers, incense, and art.
After all, she might be subjected to the Six Paths' cultivation and refinement at any time, so she had to find some meaning to her life in this limited existence.
Good tea should be savored slowly.
As Russell spoke, he picked up his teacup, brought it to his lips, and gently blew on it, creating ripples.
In fact, with his current physical strength, he could take a bath in lava without any problems. The reason he was blowing tea was simply a subconscious action of his body.
His strength improved too quickly. In less than three years, he went from an ordinary person who didn't even know how to cultivate to a great cultivator who could rival a Nascent Soul cultivator.
The two sat quietly, exchanging a few insignificant words occasionally. Before they knew it, three rounds of tea had been served, and the sun was setting in the west.
In cultivation, time seems to stand still. Even for a Core Formation cultivator, a single seclusion can easily last for several years or even a decade or more. Yet, in this half-hour, Madam Wen truly experienced what it meant for each day to feel like a year.
I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles; every minute and every second was torture.
She wanted to speak, but dared not, fearing that if she opened her mouth, she would lose completely.
But if we don't speak up, are we just going to keep dragging this on?
Mrs. Wen's gaze fell on Russell's face, trying to read something from his calm expression, but he remained nonchalant, which made her very anxious.
"Fellow Daoist Luo, you truly have remarkable skills." Looking down at the clear tea in her cup, Madam Wen sighed softly, stood up, straightened her clothes, and solemnly bowed to Luo Su: "I beg you, Fellow Daoist, to lend me your assistance."
As soon as she said that, she knew she had completely lost in this psychological battle. Her survival instinct ultimately overwhelmed her inner pride.
"You're too kind, Madam." Russell looked at the Nascent Soul female cultivator who was bowing respectfully, a slight smile playing on his lips. He stood up and helped her up. "It seems Madam has thought things through."
A hint of helplessness flashed in Madam Wen's beautiful eyes.
In fact, from the very beginning, she didn't have much of a choice.
Once her identity as a furnace vessel becomes known, she will be useless. The righteous path will spare no effort to hunt her down, and the six realms will also try to capture her first, not wanting her to perish and lose her value.
If it were the former, that would be better; death would end it all.
In reality, the latter is more likely to occur.
At that point, she would truly be in a situation where she could neither live nor die.
"Fellow Daoist, just state your conditions. I will grant you anything I have."
Russell looked at her, his gaze suddenly becoming direct, intense, and undisguised: "What if what I want is you, Madam?"
"Me?" She paused, then chuckled softly, meeting Russell's gaze directly into his eyes without flinching. "Now that you know my status in the Six Paths, aren't you afraid he'll come knocking on your door?"
"Then let him come quickly, so I don't have to search for him all over the chaotic starry sea." Russell narrowed his eyes, his killing intent surging wildly.
Madam Wen's eyes suddenly sharpened: "Fine! If you can kill him, I'll serve you as your slave, so what?"
Compared to living a life of hiding and running like a rat after the restrictions are lifted, she would much rather see the old thief Liudao suffer a terrible death!
For this, she was willing to pay any price she could.
"Oh?" Russell murmured, his gaze lingering on her face.
He reached out, his slender fingers gently tracing the curves of Madam Wen's cheek, the touch delicate and warm, like the finest mutton-fat jade.
His fingertips glided across her chin, gently lifting it.
Madam Wen was forced to look up and meet his gaze.
It was a charming and exquisite face, with picturesque eyebrows and eyes, and lips like cherries. At this moment, it was slightly tilted back, revealing a long and fair neck, which was gilded with a faint golden edge in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Russell studied the face, a slow smile playing on his lips.
"That would be perfect."
One hour later.
At the entrance to the Ice and Fire Path, Qing Yi, Manhuzi, and the others, who had already gathered there, looked up at the sky, where a stream of light flowed—
The light rushed in like a shooting star streaking across the sky, trailing a long tail of flame, and arrived in an instant, revealing its form.
"I thought Fellow Daoist Luo couldn't wait to go ahead," Qing Yi said with a smile, his tone slightly teasing.
Russell smiled slightly and cupped his hands in greeting: "It is my fault for keeping you all waiting."
I had a brief chat with Mrs. Wen just now, which almost made me waste time.
"Strange, where is my precious disciple?" The bearded man looked around anxiously.
Surely this young man surnamed Xu can't just skip the inner palace and head straight home; that wouldn't do, or he'd be at a huge loss.
"They've already gone ahead, and they should be inside the Ice and Fire Path now."
The bearded man slapped his thigh and urged in a gruff voice, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Russell naturally had no objections. He nodded to Qing Yi and took the lead, stepping into the Xuanjing Path on the left.
The moment you step inside, the world spins, as if you've crossed an invisible barrier, and the surrounding scenery instantly changes.
Inside the Xuanjing Path is a world of ice and snow.
All around were crystal-clear ice walls, which refracted a mesmerizing halo under the light of some unknown source. Underfoot was a winding ice crystal path, smooth as a mirror, from which one could easily slip and fall. The air was filled with a bone-chilling cold, and even a Core Formation cultivator would find it difficult to move an inch without protection.
What's worse, there are countless demonic creatures in this icy path.
A faint flapping sound came from ahead. Russell looked up and saw a white mist rushing towards him. Within the mist, countless ice crystal mosquitoes fluttered about. Each one was the size of a fist, and its mouthparts were like slender ice needles, gleaming with a cold, eerie light.
Ice mosquito.
A single one of these creatures is not a threat, but when they come in groups, they can drain a cultivator's life essence in an instant.
Russell uttered a single syllable without any expression.
This syllable is ancient and obscure, but any living being that hears it will surely understand its meaning.
death.
This is the command issued by the Supreme God to the world.
In an instant, the world fell silent, and dust began to fall from the sky.
Every living thing in nature has its purpose, and Russell would not easily destroy them unless necessary, except for mosquitoes.
Along the way, besides the Xuanbing Mosquito, there were also various ice-type monsters such as the Frost Tiger, Ice Soul Spider, and Snow Demon. After about half an hour, he finally arrived at the end of the Xuanjing Road.
Ahead, a patch of grass suddenly appeared amidst the ice and snow. This grass, though only a few feet in diameter, was teeming with life, its lush green grass forming a stark contrast to the surrounding snow and ice. In the center of the grass, Qingyi Jushi stood with his hands behind his back, stroking his beard, deep in thought.
Hearing footsteps, Qingyi turned around and saw Russell. He quickly went to greet him.
"Fellow Daoist Luo!"
"Why aren't you moving forward, Fellow Daoist Qing? What are you doing here?" Russell asked.
Qing Yi cut to the chase, asking, "Fellow Daoist, do you think the difficulty of this Xuanjing Dao is excessively absurd?"
Russell raised an eyebrow: "Fellow Daoist Qing, have you forgotten that this is my first time here? How would I know what the difficulty level is normally?"
Qing Yi was taken aback, then slapped his forehead and chuckled, "I forgot about that."
He shook his head, his expression turning serious again: "I've been in and out of this Void Heaven Palace quite a few times, and although the Ice and Fire Path has always been dangerous, it has never been this bad—"
He carefully considered his words, finally uttering two words: "Strange."
"Someone must have tampered with it."
"It seems that Fellow Daoist Qing has made some discovery?" Russell then asked.
Qing Yi nodded: "Fellow Daoist, please watch."
He raised his hand and tossed it, and the rolled-up bamboo slip in his hand flew into the air and suddenly opened.
The bamboo slips were covered with densely packed characters that shimmered with a bluish light.
The next moment, countless azure needles condensed from the text and shot out like a sudden rain towards a nearby earthen slope.
A flash of blue light appeared, and the earthen slope exploded with a deafening roar. Amidst the flying ice shards, a huge white creature was revealed.
The creature resembled a giant rat, covered in silvery-white fur, and was about the size of a calf. It was currently pinned to the ground by dozens of Qingming needles, twitched twice, and then stopped moving.
Qing Yi put away the bamboo slip, pointed at the corpse, and said in a deep voice, "This kind of monster is called Silver Light Rat. Once it appears, there are tens of thousands of them. However, in the Xuanjing Path, there has never been such a monster before."
"This doesn't even include the anomaly on Lava Road. Sigh, I wonder how many casualties this will cause."
"Star Palace, hehe." Russell chuckled and shook his head.
Qing Yi sighed, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "If that's the case, should you go and find your junior brothers? The dangers in the Ice and Fire Path have increased greatly; a slight mistake could lead to the destruction of both body and soul."
"That's not necessary."
Russell refused very decisively.
"Their methods are no less sophisticated than mine."
It's not an exaggeration to say that even if you dragged out the two Saints of the Star Palace together, they might not be able to cause any harm to Han Li, Xiao Yan, and Xu Qi'an in their current state.
The two continued forward, passing through the teleportation portal at the end of the Xuanjing Path. The scene before them changed again, and they arrived at a stone hall.
The stone hall was vast, spanning several tens of feet in circumference. Its four walls were smooth and undecorated, while the ceiling was inlaid with several luminous pearls that emitted a faint, cold light.
A dozen people were already seated in the hall, including Nascent Soul cultivators such as Ji Yin, Tian Wuzi, and Wan Tianming. Everyone had a gloomy expression, and no one spoke or talked. The only sounds were the occasional heavy breathing and the grinding of teeth.
It was filled with an extremely oppressive atmosphere.
Clearly, they had also discovered the Star Palace's methods. For three hundred years, the Star Palace had maintained order in the Chaotic Star Sea. Although there was constant open and covert struggle, at least there were some rules.
But what exactly does Xinggong mean this time?
Are we really going to break ties with both the righteous and demonic factions right here in the Void Heaven Palace?
Time passed slowly in this eerie atmosphere, and finally they arrived at the side of the Time Stone Hall where the third portal had opened. The long-sealed stone door slowly opened, revealing a deep passage. Light shone from the depths of the passage, shimmering with an eerie glow.
However, none of the cultivators inside the hall were in a hurry to set off.
It's not because I'm not in a hurry.
It's not because there's a lot of it, but because there's too little.
Everyone stood up and silently counted the number of people.
Apart from the few Nascent Soul cultivators and Xiao Yan, Han Li, and others around Russell, there were fewer than twenty people in total.
It should be noted that hundreds of cultivators came when the Void Heaven Palace opened!
"This behavior will bring great trouble to the Star Palace sooner or later!" Wan Tianming said bitterly.
Jin Kui glanced coldly at Wan Tianming, offering no explanation, and instead began to introduce the situation of the third level to everyone: "Three of these four passages lead to a pavilion, and each pavilion contains different items, including ancient treasures, elixirs, cultivation techniques, and other things left behind by ancient cultivators."
"But each item is sealed with a restriction, and each person only has one chance to take one item. Once they get it, they will be immediately teleported to the next level of the Wonderful Illusionary Realm."
As for the last passage, it leads directly to the next level. Anyone who goes in can only blame their bad luck and have wasted their time.
In addition, the restrictions here are peculiar; the passages do not lead to fixed locations, making it impossible to exit via the same route.
"If any fellow Daoists wish to avoid venturing into the Mysterious Illusionary Realm, simply remain in this stone hall for a period of time, and you will be automatically teleported out of the Void Heaven Palace. I hope all fellow Daoists will act accordingly."