Chapter 106: Next Month’s Secret Realm—I’ll Capture He Yimo and Force Him into Marriage!

The moment the Wuji Sect Master arrived, Luan Xinyao’s vanity exploded.

She held her head high, savoring Liu Ruying’s utterly shattered expression, her grin practically splitting her face.

After all, just last night, Jian Qian had reported to her about He Yimo’s performance at Wuji Sect. Though Jian Qian found his movements suspicious, none of that mattered now—He Yimo was powerful and had achieved great merit, finally letting Luan Xinyao, her silent shareholder, bask in reflected glory!

Just as Luan Xinyao was preening, the middle-aged man on the platform laughed heartily:

“Haha! Old He, don’t get me started—even without his merits, that brat of yours is a smooth-talker, sweet-talking girls left and right!”

“Take my own daughter Mo Yuyan for example. You know her icy personality—yet He Yimo still gets close to her. I even saw her holding his hand during this morning’s ceremony! The way they looked at each other…”

Mudao Sheng clapped He Chen’s shoulder, his eyes sparkling with gossip—he might as well have written “gossip” on his forehead.

This was just banter between middle-aged men over tea.

But the moment Mudao Sheng spoke, the two girls below who had been arguing turned deathly pale.

Liu Ruying was already dumbfounded by the news of He Yimo’s heroic campaign against cultists in Wuji Sect.

But Luan Xinyao, who had been enjoying the show, froze at the words “holding hands.”

Her grin vanished instantly.

The hall fell silent except for the laughter of Mudao Sheng and He Chen.

“Old He, your boy truly has your flair!” Mudao Sheng continued. “My daughter Mu Yanran says besides Mo Yuyan, several other girls at Wuji Sect are fawning over him too. Who knows—maybe in a few months, he’ll bring your daughter-in-law back to the mansion!”

But this time, before he could finish, He Chen jolted, realizing something. He cleared his throat sharply, shooting Mudao Sheng significant glances.

Mudao Sheng blinked, following He Chen’s gaze to see Liu Ruying, petrified below.

“Uh… who might this young lady be?”
Mudao Sheng, as Sect Master of Wuji Sect, naturally didn’t recognize the Liu family maiden from distant Jiangnan.

For a fleeting moment, Liu Ruying felt like a sixteen-year-old nobody standing below the dais.

“This, this is Miss Liu Ruying of the Liu family…” Seeing her spirit collapsing, He Chen hastily intervened.

Mudao Sheng snapped his fingers, putting on a polite act:
“Ah! So this is the Liu family’s daughter! —

!!!!
I am He Yimo’s fiancée—!”

Suddenly, Liu Ruying blurted out, her eyes blazing—she could no longer hold back.

At her words, the other three present exchanged bewildered looks.

“I’m going to Wuji Sect to find He Yimo!”
“?”
“I challenge him to a duel!”
“??”
“If I win, I’ll drag him home and marry him!”
“???”

Liu Ruying’s rant grew more impassioned, her inner willfulness surfacing.

But just as the atmosphere turned awkward, Mudao Sheng interjected unexpectedly:

“But what if you lose? Perhaps Miss Liu could stay at Wuji Sect and cultivate instead?”

His tone was meaningful, his scheming practically written on his face.

Liu Ruying, however, scoffed dismissively:
“How could I lose? I’m now mid-Golden Core—a world apart from my half-Foundational Establishment self back then! This isn’t a gap skill can bridge!”

“So what if you’re Golden Core? He Yimo just broke through Golden Core this morning too.”
“—?!”

The silence returned.

Karma had come full circle too fast. Before Liu Ruying’s smirk could even form, her face fell—just like Luan Xinyao’s moments ago.

She seemed soulless, her last lifeline snapping. She staggered backward, leaning weakly on a pillar for support.

“How is this possible… I spent nearly ten years finally escaping He Yimo’s shadow, painstakingly reaching mid-Golden Core…”
“I refuse to believe it! A waste like He Yimo, catching up to my cultivation overnight?

Impossible… This has to be some trick… Could it really be like those fantasy novels? That he awakened the Innate Sword Saint Physique overnight? What nonsense…”

Liu Ruying’s voice trailed off into delirium.

Seeing the girl’s dreams shatter before her eyes, Mudao Sheng hastily tried to salvage the situation with a cheerful tone:

“Miss Liu, why not wait? Next month, the Western Regions will open a secret realm. The Imperial Alliance is hosting a grand exploration event—open to all sects and factions…”

“Besides Wuji Sect, cultivators from all over will likely participate.
Why not wait a month for the bounty announcement? Then you can go to the Western Regions and test He Yimo’s true strength?”

Mudao Sheng spoke with unwavering confidence.

But as he finished, not only Liu Ruying regained her senses—Luan Xinyao also widened her golden phoenix eyes in shock.

“A Western Region secret realm opening?”

“Yes, I heard the Cangyuan Forest has been restless lately. Time for the younger generation to get some real experience…”
“—!”

At the mention of Cangyuan Forest, Luan Xinyao covered her mouth, recalling recent rumors about the Moon Cult.

Before she could react, Liu Ruying jumped at the chance:

“Perfect! I’ll go see exactly how strong He Yimo really is in that secret realm!”

“You think you’re gloating now, old hag? Next month, I’ll drag He Yimo back home in chains and show you!”

To cap it off, Liu Ruying even stuck her tongue out at Luan Xinyao in defiance.

“?”

Luan Xinyao, who had been lost in thought, was suddenly face-slapped by the taunt. Her mind snapped back to another worry:

With that lecher’s personality, if Liu Ruying resorts to shameless seduction… who knows what might happen in a month? And besides Liu Ruying, he’s already charming other girls at Wuji Sect…

“Tsk! One month without supervision, and that brat runs wild the moment he’s out of my sight!”
Luan Xinyao gritted her teeth, her tone turning sour.

She secretly pinched her jade pendant, sending a message to Jian Qian far away at Wuji Sect:

[Watch He Yimo! A shameless woman is coming next month—don’t let her trick him into marriage!]

***

In the Crowd of Wuji Sect’s Training Grounds

The black-clothed woman listened to her mistress’s distant orders while watching the black-haired youth under the sun—sandwiched between the pigtailed girl and the cold immortal.

“…”
Jian Qian blinked, speechlessly scratching her head.
How do I even explain this to the Mistress?

Is it possible… that He Yimo doesn’t need Liu Ruying to seduce him? He’s already busy seducing other people’s daughters?

—