"Are you really going to become the Flame God Realm King?"
Inside the chamber made of icy crystals, beside the lake where the Buddha Lotus floated, Xuanyin stared at Yun Che and asked.
A look of confusion washed over her face as she stared at Yun Che.
"Of course not," Yun Che smiled. "That's too much work. I'd rather not do it."
"Then why?" Xuanyin frowned. "Getting this much attention might not be a good thing for you, especially when you are so weak."
"Are you worrying about me?" Yun Che looked at Xuanyin, who averted her gaze.
"You are tied to the Snow Song Realm now, one way or the other. Any problem you will face would be the problem of my Snow Song Realm," Xuanyin explained.
"With the treasures that you hold, if the information regarding them becomes public, it might bring unimaginable consequences. You might be able to evade them, but can you say the same regarding your wives and family members? Do not take the greed of people within the God Realm lightly, Yun Che. It is beyond what you can imagine."
Heavenly Treasures were something that every single cultivator greedily desired.
And Yun Che had three of them. It was enough for people to discard whatever morals they held to get their hands on them.
Xuanyin was worried, mostly that such attention might bring more problems than anything else.
"I know. That's why I said I won't become the Realm King. In fact, someone else might already become the Realm King before I can even reach the appointed time."
"What do you mean?" Xuanyin frowned.
For as much as she could remember, there wasn't anyone who could reach the bottom of the God Burning Inferno Prison.
"You will know it once it's the right time. Before that…" Yun Che looked directly into Xuanyin's eyes and smiled. "We need to push you to the peak of the Divine Realm first."
He was planning to leave for the Darkya Star Realm to save the Wood Spirit Race.
He needed He Ling to work as the spirit of his Sky Poison Realm and Shen Xi as a teacher for Ling'er.
Since he already planned to visit Shen Xi, he thought he might as well take the Wood Spirit Race with him.
Not only would it make He Ling indebted to him, it would also increase his chances of making her the spirit of the Sky Poison Pearl.
"Is it possible?" Xuanyin asked in doubt.
She had been trying to break through for such a long time and yet she found it almost impossible to do so. It was a sign that an invisible wall was placed in front of her which she couldn't break no matter what.
"Nothing is impossible with me by your side. Since you have decided to become my wife, I'll, of course, be more than willing to help you."
A small, almost negligible, shade of redness appeared on Xuanyin's face as she stared at Yun Che with her iconic cold expression.
This made Yun Che chuckle.
She really was too bad at expressing her feelings. It really reminded him of Yuechan.
'Or all ice beauties in general. They do share the same expressions but different bodies.'
"How will you do that?" Xuanyin's voice was tinged with expectations and curiosity as she inquired.
Not only her, but even the soul of Wuyao inside her was quite attentive in listening to the way to reach the peak of Divine Realm that Xuanyin hadn't been able to do all these years.
"Well…" Yun Che smirked. "Obviously, we will dual cultivate."
"..." Xuanyin gave him a blank stare, which caused Yun Che to cough to hide the awkwardness.
"Don't stare at me like that; I am telling the truth. I possess the purest form of True Dragon God Bloodline. Whenever I have sex, the purest energy would be passed onto my partner. It will help you not only to break through but also to expedite the process of fusion between you and the Ice Phoenix Origin Soul that you possess."
"My lord is right," Xuerong, who stood behind Yun Che, nodded. "My lord's bloodline indeed is the purest and most perfect for dual cultivation."
Xuanyin was speechless.
Despite her willingness to marry him, where most of it was because she wanted to use Yun Che's power for her sect, Xuanyin didn't think that she would be giving up her purity so fast.
It happened way too abruptly. It took her some time to process it.
But she wasn't some maiden who would blush or stutter at the mention of such an intimate contact.
So after some thinking, she nodded.
"I'll bring Bingyun with me. If that's the case, she might break into the Divine Master Realm too."
"Perfect! The more people, the better."
"I didn't take you for a lustful man, my lord," Xuerong stared at Yun Che and calmly said. "But, I guess, Dragon God's Bloodline plays a huge part in it too."
Yun Che smiled, and his eyes turned crescent.
"Rong'er will also come then."
"My lord?!" Xuerong's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting this!
But seeing Yun Che's expression, she knew he wasn't changing his decision anymore.
Who would have thought that Ice Phoenix, one of the three Divine Ice Beasts, would lose her purity just like that.
"Oh, by the way, do you think you can get the Sword Sovereign to visit the Snow Song Realm? I want to discuss something with him."
He would be a perfect teacher for Cang Yue.
1
The Darkya Star Realm was an extremely special existence within the Eastern God Realm.
Although its strength wasn't in the upper echelons of the Eastern Divine Region, its reputation was not inferior to any one of them.
Out of all Eastern Divine Region star realms, it possessed the most number of merchant guilds.
If profound practitioners lacked any strange objects or treasures, they would never return empty-handed if they went on a trip to the Darkya Realm, the only prerequisite being that they brought along enough purple stones or crystals.
There existed a large number of hidden underground black markets. These underground black markets were extremely well-hidden and absolutely wouldn't allow the entry of untrustworthy people.
In an inconspicuous forest, the Wood Spirit Race hid themselves here.
Despite the taboo of hunting them for their natural beauty and the spirit orb, these underground guilds would usually hunt them at the moment's notice.
This prompted them to hide their existence within this small Star Realm, away from any possible civilization.
They used the mastery of nature to bend it to their will and hid themselves in the forest.
Today, an unexpected guest appeared in front of the entrance of their village.
The space bent and twisted before a small hole appeared in it.
Yun Che, wearing his Demon Emperor robes, walked out of it.
His long black hair, lustrous and silky, naturally waved in the air. His reptile-like golden gaze stared at the intricate weaving of tree branches in front of his eyes.
"Hmm. I don't want to use force if possible," he muttered to himself.
Naturally, he had no way of controlling nature like the Wood Spirit Race.
So he was left with two options, either forcefully break into the village or directly teleport inside of it.
Either way, he knew he wouldn't be appreciated.
"Well, let's just announce my purpose. I remember they could feel the negative emotions from other people, so it might work."
Betting on the fact that he hasn't come with any bad will, Yun Che cleared his throat and softly said, profound energy enhanced his voice so it could easily be heard by the people inside the village.
"I am Yun Che. And I'm here to meet with the leader of the Wood Spirit Race."
The moment his voice fell, silence returned to the forest.
Seconds passed but no one answered him.
"Sigh… Guess I'll just teleport directly inside."
Just then, the vines in front of him suddenly moved and formed a circular passage.
The passage wasn't long nor narrow, Yun Che could see some people on the other side.
Once these people walked closer to him, he found out that it was some young people, adorned in green clothes, their natural beauty shone with brilliance.
At the forefront, an elder walked with a stick in his hand.
Due to his skills, Yun Che could feel the fear emanating from every single person in front of him.
"Oh mighty cultivator, why have you come to our humble village? We have nothing of interest to give you."
The old woman that walked at the forefront said.
Like all the people beside her, she had emerald hair and eyes. Both gave her a distinct feeling of purity and cleanliness.
She stared at Yun Che with a scared gaze as sweat seemed to trickle down her face.
'Well, you do have things worth being interested in. For example, the Spirit Orb…'
Of course, he didn't say that out loud.
"I have come here with an offer." Yun Che smiled as harmlessly as he could and said. "I have become a Realm King of a small realm and wanted someone to look after my herbs. I was wondering if you people are willing to work for me. Obviously, in return, I'll make sure that no one dares to even touch your people and would provide you my protection."
That was part of his reason for coming here, but they didn't need to know.
It was true that he was interested in their abilities to grow any spirit grass or herb, with their natural talent, if he could have them work for him, it would immensely help the Blue Pole Star.
At the same time, it will make He Ling indebted to him. It was hitting two birds with one stone.
"H-hire us?!" A surprised expression appeared over everyone's face as they all looked at each other, baffled by Yun Che's offer.
"I have heard that people of the Wood Spirit can tell if someone has bad intentions towards them. I hope you can feel my sincerity."
"A-are you telling the truth? Will you really protect our race?"
They have already been through this when the Brahma God Realm promised to give them their protection just to kill most of their race.
So the doubt regarding Yun Che's offer remained in their minds.
Sadly, they were too pure. So pure, that as long as Yun Che had good intentions towards them, they had already started to trust him.
It was also one of the main reasons why they were so low in population now.
Being gullible would never land you a happy ending.
"I am willing to take an oath with Heaven as my witness."
For cultivators, taking an oath with Heaven as their witness was the peak of irony for Yun Che, yet he understood how valid it would be for other people.
Since if one broke an oath with Heaven as a witness, they would have to face the wrath of heaven.
It really was funny, knowing cultivation itself was going against heaven.
"Then, can you do us a favor? If you can do it, we are willing to work for you."
'A quest? I'm in!'
"Please, what is it? As long as it's within my powers, I am willing to help you."
"One of our people was kidnapped some days ago, his name is He Lin. If you can bring him to us safely, we will never forget such a favor all our lives."
'He Lin? Isn't he one of the last remaining loyalists? Damn. That kid still got kidnapped even though the canon has been messed up so much. He really has a knack for acting like a damsel in distress.'
"Not a problem." Yun Che gave a smile, his eyes scanning the map and soon finding the location of He Lin. "Please wait, I'll be back soon."
And with that, leaving the dumbfounded faces of the Wood Spirit, he vanished.
As they say, it is never too late to cause a small massacre.
...
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