Jiang Huai’s lips curved into a bitter smile.
“No, I’m just a little down temporarily. Older Sister, you don’t need to worry.” Jiang Huai didn’t understand why Jiang Zhi wanted him to call her that, but since just a simple change of address could make her happy, why not?
“There’s always a reason for being in a bad mood. What is it? The person you hate isn’t dead yet, or the person you like doesn’t care about you? You just got spirit stones a few days ago, so it shouldn’t be about money. What is it? Tell me.”
“No, it has nothing to do with those things.”
Jiang Zhi crossed her slender legs beneath her skirt, her arms folded, and looked at Jiang Huai with confusion. “Then what is it about?”
“I just thought about True Person Qingmu facing a catastrophe tomorrow. We’ve been getting along very well these past few days. Even though True Person Qingmu herself said she didn’t care, I still felt a sense of inexplicable loss in my heart.”
Jiang Huai finally revealed the reason, but what good would it do to say it? Even though Jiang Zhi before him was already at the Ninth Realm cultivation level, she couldn’t stop the Eighth-Ninth Lightning Tribulation. Jiang Huai had vaguely heard of the Eighth-Ninth Lightning Tribulation from old scrolls.
Whether the cultivation world had a concept of the Heavenly Way was still a mystery. Most people believed the Heavenly Way existed, but its rules were not determined by human morality. Cultivators had to undergo a lightning tribulation sent down by the Heavenly Way at the end of every eighth realm. Some tribulations could be easily passed, while others could destroy a cultivator’s thousand years of effort. The lightest consequence was the loss of cultivation, and the heaviest was complete annihilation.
And the Eighth-Ninth Lightning Tribulation was one of the most desperate tribulations in history, with almost a ten percent chance of survival. Legend had it that the third prince of the Southern Sea Dragon Clan had once experienced an Eighth-Ninth Lightning Tribulation and barely survived thanks to the Dragon Clan’s innate physical strength. However, he wailed day and night, with countless lightning bolts crawling across his scales, unable to dissipate by any means. In the end, unable to bear the torment, he rushed towards the sky and immolated himself.
Jiang Zhi’s pupils trembled slightly.
*Why don’t you just tell me to die?*
Although Jiang Zhi knew Jiang Huai didn’t want her to do anything, she couldn’t help but mutter this to herself. She stared intently at Jiang Huai’s face for several seconds before softly asking, “Do you wish for True Person Qingmu to live?”
“Of course, I do, but I can’t do anything,” Jiang Huai sighed softly.
“I really can’t do anything about this matter,” Jiang Zhi calmly admitted. Jiang Huai wasn’t disappointed; he hadn’t expected anything from Jiang Zhi and had only answered because she pressed him. But a moment later, Jiang Zhi looked up at Jiang Huai. “But I know there is one person in this world who can.”
“Who?” Jiang Huai looked up.
But Jiang Zhi just stared at him. Jiang Huai suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. His gaze was drawn to Jiang Zhi’s eyes again. He gradually became distracted until his consciousness was completely lost. Before he fainted, Jiang Zhi stepped forward, reaching out to gently support his shoulder. With a slight movement of her lips, the space before them tore open. She brought Jiang Huai back to the room in the courtyard and placed him on the bed.
Jiang Zhi sat by the bedside, her fingertips gently stroking Jiang Huai’s cheek. Gradually, her fingertips began to emit a faint light. Jiang Huai’s cultivation level was a full nine great realms lower than hers. It should have been easy to invade his soul sea.
Indeed, it was. Soon, Jiang Zhi reached Jiang Huai’s soul sea. Although Jiang Huai had also diligently cultivated his soul, his soul world was simple and monotonous, a vast expanse of gray. At this moment, Jiang Huai’s consciousness was hazy, completely unaware of Jiang Zhi’s presence.
But soon, Jiang Zhi found what she was looking for.
It was a door.
To Jiang Zhi, it was a door, but it could have been anything. The crucial point was that she didn’t have the key to open it. Even with her current cultivation, she couldn’t budge the door in the slightest.
Unless… she could obtain his consent.
But her Master had explicitly instructed her not to reveal her existence easily until he voluntarily ascended to the upper realm. Therefore… to open this door, she could only think of other methods.
Some unorthodox methods.
This was Jiang Huai’s soul sea, so Jiang Zhi immediately and effortlessly read all of Jiang Huai’s memories from this life, no detail spared. Instantly, she understood everything about the young man before her. Yet, the more she understood, the more confused she became. What was his relationship with her Master? Why did her Master pave the way for him to this extent yet refuse to reveal his name?
To open that door, she needed to gain his subconscious favor. And to gain his subconscious favor, she had to do something… that would interest him.
Fortunately, after cultivating the secret technique left by her Master for nearly a thousand years, she had become adept at weaving illusions. This was the first time she would use her own soul as a guide to cast it upon a man.
…
Jiang Huai had a hazy dream.
In the dream, he was no longer Jiang Huai, but inexplicably transformed into… the protagonist of A Mumu’s book. He began to play the role of the protagonist, embarking on all sorts of wicked deeds. But gradually, he discovered something terrifying in the dream… Although A Mumu had written nearly dozens of female characters in the book, in the story he was playing, every female character seemed to have Jiang Zhi’s shadow. There was a loli-type Jiang Zhi, a maiden-type Jiang Zhi, an older sister-type Jiang Zhi, a gentle-type Jiang Zhi, a cold and proud-type Jiang Zhi, twin Jiang Zhies, a seductive and hot Jiang Zhi, a super sensitive Jiang Zhi, a fox demon-type Jiang Zhi, a cat girl-type Jiang Zhi… various kinds of Jiang Zhies, cooperating with him to enact the story’s plot.
Jiang Huai was hazy, subconsciously acting out the scenes according to his own memories. These were the most despicable and dark desires in his heart, now being unleashed upon various “Jiang Zhies” again and again… Jiang Huai only felt fortunate that the plot he wrote was dark and evil, yet it was the ultimate pure love harem, devoid of any cliché cuckoldry.
He was hazy in the dream, yet his feelings towards Jiang Zhi were so clear. He had only seen Jiang Zhi’s true appearance once. In terms of beauty alone, she was already one of the most beautiful celestial maidens Jiang Huai had ever seen.
Even though he knew it was a dream, he was unwilling to wake up, subconsciously playing out all the scenes. It felt like everything was happening in an instant, yet everything was also so long. The plot gradually progressed to his third book, “Warm Jade Exquisite Melody,” where the fox demon Jiang Zhi pinned him down. Her snow-white tail playfully brushed his face. Her delicate pink lips parted slightly, her warm breath on his cheek, her eyes, seemingly filled with pink hearts, softly asking him, “So… do you like me or not?”
As she spoke, her legs beneath her black sling dress tightly gripped his waist, as if she would punish him severely if he said anything he shouldn’t. And that was indeed the case. The fox demon was currently sitting on Jiang Huai. No matter how much he struggled, he was pinned down tightly and couldn’t resist at all. Only if he answered correctly would the fox demon grant him the chance to taste her lips. Her cheeks were slightly flushed pink, holding a hidden expectation.
*Damn it, this feels so good.*
*What a strange dream.*
“I like you, I like Older Sister the most.”
In the dream, he answered almost according to his true feelings. But the fox demon’s eyes became increasingly charming and playful. Her delicate pink tongue gently licked her lips, and she looked down at him from above. “If you like Older Sister… then you have to lie down obediently and not move. If you dare to talk back to Older Sister without her permission…”
Her voice suddenly changed from sweet and tender to chillingly cold. Her seductive fox eyes stared at him sternly, exuding a chilling killing intent. “You know the consequences.”
“Hehehe…”
…
Jiang Zhi’s eyes twitched slightly.
As an illusion weaver, she could naturally see what was happening in the illusion. Elite illusion weavers usually didn’t bother weaving illusions themselves; they only needed to guide the deepest desires of the person’s heart and then transform the subject of those desires into themselves, making their subconscious accept her and develop feelings for her. Thus, she had read all the plots of Jiang Huai’s three unorthodox books and watched herself transform into various appearances, being mistreated and disciplined by this little bastard.
Jiang Zhi didn’t feel much shame about this. She didn’t have any real feelings about it anyway. But it was interesting, watching illusory figures of herself being bullied like this, though not particularly interesting. She wasn’t angry either. The darkest and most despicable desires in everyone’s heart, when faced directly, were always ugly. Instead, Jiang Huai’s reaction was slightly surprising. His darkest and most despicable desires were merely a slightly excessive teasing of women.
Jiang Zhi sighed softly and walked to the door. She gently pushed the door. A moment later, the door opened a tiny crack. A sliver of white light flew out from behind it. Instantly, the door slammed shut again, and she clasped that sliver of white light in her palm.
But in that instant, her eyes widened. She couldn’t help but cover her lips. She felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her body slumping to the ground. Her eyes looked at the door with a lost and terrified gaze.
“So, so Master really, really…”
…
Jiang Huai slowly opened his eyes.
He had just had a very, very long dream. The plot inside the dream was particularly strange. As the protagonist of A Mumu’s three books, he had thoroughly experienced the pleasure of being a scoundrel. But what was strange was that all the female characters in the dream, apart from their descriptions in the text, had faces that were strikingly similar to Jiang Zhi. Yet, because Jiang Zhi was so extraordinarily beautiful, he didn’t get tired of it at all.
But a moment later, he came to his senses. Why had he suddenly fainted? Why was he dreaming? And where was this place?
He looked up. Jiang Zhi was sitting by his bedside. Compared to her previous lazy and composed demeanor, as if everything was as light as a feather, Jiang Zhi’s face was now pale. Crystal sweat beads appeared on her snow-white forehead. She seemed a bit lost. Jiang Huai gently called out to her, “Older Sister… can you tell me… why did I faint?”
Jiang Zhi slowly regained her senses. She turned stiffly and looked down at Jiang Huai. Her gaze suddenly held a hint of inexplicable fear. After a few more seconds, she softly said, “My charm technique sometimes gets out of control. Your cultivation is too low, and you were inadvertently affected when you met my gaze, so you fainted.”
Although there was still a trace of suspicion in his heart, Jiang Huai could only accept this explanation. He nodded gently. “Then this… is your room?”
“Yes,” Jiang Zhi nodded.
Jiang Huai quickly sat up. Sleeping in someone else’s bed made him feel a little uneasy. But Jiang Zhi still seemed to be in a state of shock. She glanced at Jiang Huai, her gaze particularly complex. After a moment, she simply waved her hand. “You should go and bathe first…”
“Bathe?”
Jiang Huai was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.
*Wait, why does my waist suddenly feel like it’s aching?*
