The four of them had spent three days in the underground tomb chamber, plus the better part of a day causing a stir in Myriad Merchants Ancient City. In total, it had only taken four days to locate the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire.
That was nothing like the script.
In the script, Yan Zhen had lingered in Myriad Merchants Ancient City for three full days before hearing any word of the Earth Spirit Child Flame. Then he had trudged off to the Desolate Sect Ruins, searching endlessly. Once inside the underground tomb chamber, he had been left battered and dirtied by those Earth Puppets… It had taken him half a month in all to finally subdue the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire.
Of course, even that pace had been impressively swift, owing in large part to sheer luck.
As for now, there was no need to compare. With the script’s guidance, they hadn’t taken a single wrong step.
Still, there was one more task to complete.
Yan Zhen signaled for the three women to leave ahead of him. He lingered behind, tossing the Earth Spirit Child Flame back into the incense burner once more.
The pillar of light snapped shut. Spatial Power forcibly ejected every Mystic Cultivator still inside the underground tomb chamber.
He would return to this place after joining the Jialan Holy Land.
The reason was simple: the corpses of the powerhouses within the tomb chamber had all undergone corpse transformation. Over time, Baleful Qi had corroded their seals, causing the portals to open on their own. Zombies had emerged, inflicting considerable damage.
As a disciple of the Holy Land, Yan Zhen would join the campaign to exterminate the zombies. He would purify the souls of the Desolate Sect’s successive sect masters. Thanks to his connection with the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire, he would be recognized as their inheritance’s successor and granted the Desolate Sect’s secret techniques.
With those secret techniques in hand, Yan Zhen would be able to unleash the full might of the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire, allowing him to shine brilliantly in the competition for the position of chief disciple.
…
He had veered off track there.
After sealing the space portal to the underground tomb chamber, Yan Zhen departed with a flourish. He caught up to the three women and joined them aboard the Flying Skiff, heading back to Myriad Merchants Ancient City together.
“What are your plans next, Jiuyou?” Yan Zhen asked as he piloted the Flying Skiff. “If you return empty-handed, won’t the Evil Consort hold it against you?”
Jiu Youyue, seated in the passenger spot, gazed at him with shining eyes. “Then will you come back with me, Little Zhen Zhen?”
“I have no intention of marching to my own doom,” Yan Zhen replied, his expression one of pained resignation. “I’m asking how you plan to deal with the Evil Consort.”
Jiu Youyue leaned back against her seat. “I’ll stick around here for a few more days before heading back to make my report… After all, you’re a prized prospect favored by the Holy Land’s higher-ups, Little Zhen Zhen. It’s only natural that I couldn’t catch you. I’m just a Mystic Ancestor, after all.”
“Then come back to Myriad Merchants Ancient City with us. I’ll arrange lodging for you at the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce.”
“Little Zhen Zhen is a big boss now~”
“Ahem, it’s going decently.”
Jiu Youyue giggled merrily.
“I’d wager Sister Ji Ya will come chasing after you soon enough, just like Sister She Ji.”
Cai Lian’s cheeks flushed pink. She wanted to retort but couldn’t find the words, so she settled for a cold huff.
Night fell.
In the backyard of the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce in Myriad Merchants Ancient City, the Branch President had prepared a spacious suite for the four of them: one master bedroom, two secondary bedrooms, and a full living room, kitchen, and bathroom.
Steam filled the bathroom in thick white clouds. Yan Zhen lounged naked in the hot water, his toned body relaxed as he tilted his head back and let out a contented sigh.
The water had been infused with medicinal liquids that soothed the muscles and bones, allowing him to unwind completely. All the stress and fatigue accumulated during their time in the tomb chamber melted away.
—It would be even better if a pretty maidservant gave his shoulders a massage.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a pair of soft, tender hands settled on his shoulders, kneading them with varying pressure.
Without turning around, Yan Zhen asked, “Jiuyou, how did you get in here?”
A sly curve tugged at Jiu Youyue’s lips. Her sleek, pale body pressed against his back as her red lips brushed his ear. “To repay Little Master’s kindness in offering me shelter, of course~”
The plush sensation against his back set Yan Zhen’s mind racing with desire, but he kept his face stern. “Please show some restraint, madam. I am a married man.”
“Does this humble girl fail to please you?”
“Hmph, it’s not a matter of whether it feels good or not.”
“Then what is the issue?”
As she spoke, Jiu Youyue pressed a bit harder with her hands, drawing a pleasurable groan from Yan Zhen.
“Oh~ Right there. Harder. A bit more…”
“You shameless thing.”
A quarter of an hour passed before Jiu Youyue finally released her grip. She shook out her hands in the air, her voice tinged with playful resentment. “My arms are sore now, you bad guy. Even your shoulders are this hard and unyielding~”
Yan Zhen turned to face her. He took her hands in his, gave them a gentle squeeze, then planted a kiss on the backs of her snowy-white hands.
Seeing him fawn over her like this filled Jiu Youyue’s heart with sweetness. She leaned in proactively, offering her lips.
Their mouths met in a deep kiss, tongues entwining for a long moment before they parted.
The demoness’s face was flushed with arousal, her eyes heavy-lidded and seductive as she stared at her lover. Her hands pushed him back against the edge of the bath, seating him properly. Then she gripped his shoulders, parted her legs, and slowly lowered herself onto his lap.
With a soft moan, the two became one, intimately joined.
Cai Lian’s arrival had disrupted her plans to relive the sweet memories of her past life, so this would have to serve as a makeshift substitute.
With that in mind, Jiu Youyue began to move her hips. At the same time, she circulated the Body Union Chapter from the Heavenly Sovereign Earthly Queen Yin-Yang Miraculous Method.
Yan Zhen instinctively followed suit, activating the corresponding dual cultivation technique.
The sounds from the bathroom naturally did not escape the ears of the two women in the living room.
Long Ying puffed out her cheeks in indignation. “That demoness is seducing Zhen Zhen again.”
Cai Lian kept her eyes closed, pretending to nap, and offered no comment.
Long Ying spoke up again. “I shall go and see.”
She had just started to rise when Cai Lian grabbed the back of her collar and yanked her back down beside her.
“There are fluctuations of Mystic Power. They are dual cultivating. Do not disturb them.”
“Dual cultivation?” Long Ying blinked in confusion. “Why?”
Half an hour later, the commotion gradually subsided.
The bathroom door creaked open. Jiu Youyue emerged, her face radiant and glowing, wrapped in a vibrant robe. “Sister She Ji, I’ve saved some for you.”
With that, she retreated to her own room.
Cai Lian hesitated for a moment, her cheeks tinged with red. In the end, she said, “Long Ying, you go back to your room first.”
Long Ying stared in stunned silence as Sister Cai Lian rose and entered the bathroom. Before long, the same sort of noises resumed from within—accompanied by even more intense Mystic Power fluctuations.
Another half hour passed before Cai Lian emerged, her legs pressed tightly together as she walked.
By now, the Mystic Power fluctuations in the bathroom had reached a certain peak. A nameless wind stirred throughout the entire Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce.
This commotion was the herald of a Mystic General’s breakthrough to the Mystic King Realm—the initial communion with the heavens and earth!
Circles of energy ripples spread out above the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce. These were the tangible manifestation of the Power of Heaven and Earth.
The size of the ripples indicated a Mystic King powerhouse’s potential, as well as the scope of heaven and earth they could draw upon.
Typically, they extended about ten zhang, with the upper limit reaching a hundred.
The disturbance drew nearby powerhouses like moths to a flame. They leaped onto rooftops to observe.
As the energy ripples continued to expand, their range grew ever wider—from an initial ten zhang to dozens, and finally halting at one hundred and eight zhang. The onlookers were left dumbfounded.
What sort of freakish prodigy was this?
The energy ripples ceased spreading and instead converged into a massive vortex. It poured downward, drilling straight into the crown of Yan Zhen’s head and surging his aura violently upward into the Mystic King Realm!
Boom!
Mystic King Realm—achieved!
At the same moment, all three conditions for System-chan’s upgrade had been fulfilled. With a crisp ding, the familiar mechanical voice rang out:
“System rebooting. Please wait, host…”
