In the end, Chen Xuan made a decision.
Between preserving his dignity and seizing the opportunity before him, he chose... neither.
Looking at the unconscious Luan Yuan before shifting his gaze to Honglan, who was still happily licking the metal lollipop, an idea gradually formed in his mind.
A rather convenient one.
--
"Well? Don’t I look imposing now? Hm...?"
Only a few moments later, the scene on the grasslands had changed completely. The unconscious Luan Yuan was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, she stood upright as though she had already awakened. However, the smug expression on her face and the way she carried herself made it abundantly clear that this was anything but the real Luan Yuan.
"Haha! Don’t think you can fool this ancestor with a single piece of candy this time."
"You’ll have to prepare a proper reward after this," "Luan Yuan" declared haughtily as she looked down at Chen Xuan, completely exposing her true identity.
She was naturally Honglan.
Using her own abilities together with the Origin Concealment Technique Chen Xuan had previously taught her, she had disguised herself perfectly as Luan Yuan.
As long as Luan Yi did not suddenly return, and no Soul Formation ancestor personally inspected her, no one would be able to discover the deception.
’Fortunately, all the Soul Formation ancestors seem to have already disappeared. Judging from the auras within the sect, only a few insignificant cats and dogs remain.’
At present, the Myriad Souls Sect only had a handful of Nascent Soul cultivators left, all of them at the Early Stage.
Had it not been for Luan Yi’s existence, the sect might very well have collapsed after the disappearance of its ancestors.
As for why Luan Yi herself had somehow escaped that catastrophe, Chen Xuan had no answer. Still, he strongly suspected it had something to do with her abnormal mental state.
Even the Soul Formation ancestors had never been able to restrain that madwoman.
If she decided to remain within the Tianxuan Domain for any reason—such as waiting for a certain man to return—then nothing would be able to change her mind.
Recalling this, Chen Xuan knew he could not waste any more time.
Ignoring Honglan’s boastful words, he maintained the appearance of an ordinary Myriad Souls Sect disciple and motioned for her to move.
Although she clearly wanted to continue teasing him, Honglan understood what mattered most. With a light snort, she turned around and began heading back toward the Myriad Souls Sect.
Surprisingly, she proved rather reliable.
Had it not been for the smug smile that occasionally appeared on her face whenever she secretly glanced back at him, Chen Xuan might have believed she had truly matured.
Their return journey was much shorter than before.
Earlier, Chen Xuan had traveled on foot, forcing him to spend considerable time climbing the mountain.
Now, disguised as Luan Yuan, Honglan simply rose into the air. Spiritual Energy enveloped Chen Xuan, carrying him alongside her as they flew toward the sect.
Even more importantly, none of the patrols dared stop them.
The aura Honglan deliberately released, together with the response of the identity token she carried, was more than enough to prove her identity.
Before long, the two landed before the grand palace at the center of the sect. It was the residence of the Sect Leader.
From the memories of the disciple he had previously captured, Chen Xuan already knew that only a select few individuals were permitted to enter this place.
Fortunately, Luan Yuan happened to be one of them.
"Young Leader!"
"Senior Sister Luan!"
"My Lady!"
As the pair walked through the palace gates, every disciple and Elder they encountered respectfully bowed.
Some briefly glanced at Chen Xuan, clearly failing to recognize him, but none dared ask any questions. After all, Luan Yuan was Luan Yi’s only disciple.
As long as she did nothing excessively outrageous, no one would question her decisions.
In response to their greetings, Honglan immediately put away her usual playful demeanor. Her expression turned cold as she casually waved a hand in what she believed to be an appropriately dignified fashion.
To Chen Xuan’s surprise, this worked remarkably well.
Even after they ventured deep into the palace, not a single person became suspicious of them.
Just as Chen Xuan began to believe everything would proceed smoothly, a cheerful voice suddenly echoed through the corridor.
"Sister Yuan! You’re finally back! You have no idea how much I missed you!"
A blur flashed across his vision. The next instant, someone threw themselves straight into Honglan’s arms.
It was a young woman.
With long blond hair, sapphire-blue eyes, and a flowing white dress, she resembled a fairy-tale princess.
Her face carried an innocent and elegant smile.
Unfortunately, her actions were anything but reserved.
Without the slightest hesitation, she wrapped both arms around Honglan’s waist and pulled herself closer, even leaning forward as though intending to kiss her.
Honglan froze. Despite possessing overwhelming strength, her mind seemed to go completely blank.
Only when the blonde woman’s lips were mere inches away from hers did she finally react. Instinctively, she raised a hand and chopped the back of the woman’s neck.
Thud.
The woman’s eyes rolled back as her vision darkened. Without even understanding what had happened, she collapsed unconscious onto the floor.
Only then did Honglan recover from her daze. She stared blankly at the unconscious woman.
Moments later, her cheeks gradually turned bright red.
Tears even began welling up at the corners of her eyes as she hurriedly paced back and forth, looking both embarrassed and wronged.
Seeing this scene, Chen Xuan found himself both speechless and amused. He had never expected Luan Yi’s disciple to possess such... unique preferences.
Judging from how naturally the blonde woman had thrown herself into Honglan’s embrace, it was obvious that her relationship with the real Luan Yuan was anything but ordinary.
"Alright, don’t make such a fuss. It was just an accident."
"Nothing actually happened. She only hugged you for a moment," Chen Xuan said as he reached out to gently comfort Honglan.
Unfortunately, his words seemed to have the opposite effect.
Not only did Honglan fail to calm down, but the tears welling in her eyes became even more obvious.
"I... I shouldn’t have agreed to this in the first place."
"How am I supposed to find a man to marry now?"
"I... I... I’m no longer a pure Artifact Spirit!"
Her voice grew increasingly shrill toward the end.
At first, Chen Xuan felt a trace of sympathy and was about to console her further. However, he soon noticed something.
Her crying looked just a little too exaggerated.
Coupled with the way she occasionally peeked at him through the corners of her eyes...
The corners of Chen Xuan’s mouth twitched.
"Fine. I promise I’ll give you one more lollipop after this is over." He sighed helplessly before shaking his head.
The moment those words left his mouth, Honglan’s sobbing came to an abrupt stop.
She instantly straightened up as though nothing had happened, casually waving a hand to drag the unconscious woman aside.
Then, seemingly afraid that Chen Xuan might go back on his promise, she turned around and briskly continued deeper into the palace.
The noticeably quicker pace of her footsteps revealed exactly how good her mood had suddenly become.
--
Chen Xuan noticed the sudden change in Honglan’s mood but chose not to comment.
As long as she didn’t ruin their plan, he wouldn’t mind even if she demanded a hundred more lollipops afterward.
After all, it wasn’t every day that a Nascent Soul-level Artifact Spirit could be kept obedient with nothing more than the promise of candy.
As these thoughts flashed through Chen Xuan’s mind, he couldn’t help but feel increasingly impressed by his own resourcefulness.
The pair continued deeper into the palace.
The farther they ventured, the more luxurious their surroundings became.
Elegant paintings adorned the walls, while lifelike statues of exotic spirit beasts stood on either side of the corridors.
Clearly, Luan Yi’s love for beauty extended far beyond the scenery outside. Even the palace itself reflected her refined tastes.
Unfortunately, Chen Xuan had little time to admire the decorations.
Only moments later, another cheerful voice echoed through the corridor.
"Sister Luan! I missed you so much!"
Bang!
Another unconscious body collapsed onto the floor.
Yet that was only the beginning.
"Sister Luan! Why don’t you visit my chambers tonight?"
"Sister Luan! Let me give you a smoo—"
Thud!
The deeper they went, the more frequently such scenes repeated themselves.
One after another, women eagerly rushed toward Honglan, only to be swiftly knocked unconscious before they could finish speaking.
At first, Chen Xuan remained indifferent.
Other people’s preferences had nothing to do with him as long as he wasn’t dragged into them.
However, as the number of overly enthusiastic women continued to grow, even he couldn’t help becoming increasingly speechless.
The blonde woman they had encountered at the entrance had been a Core Formation cultivator.
Further inside, however, there were Foundation Establishment disciples, Qi Refining disciples, and even ordinary mortal women.
Their appearances varied just as much.
Blondes. Brunettes. Black-haired.
Tall. Short.
Elegant. Cute. Dominant.
It seemed Luan Yuan had absolutely no preferences whatsoever.
As long as the other party was a woman and still breathing, she seemed perfectly willing to welcome her into her harem.
This made Chen Xuan shocked.
He couldn’t help but direct his gaze toward the unconscious Luan Yuan imprisoned within the Seven Trials Tower.
For a fleeting moment, the thought of killing this woman surfaced in his mind.
Otherwise, if she were allowed to continue like this, who could say that one day this little demoness wouldn’t even set her sights on her own Master?