From the fake emperor to the concubine

Zhang Yunfan could still feel the slight warmth from the dissipation of the contract runes. When he looked at Wei Siling, who was slender and had beautiful features, his understanding of the master-servant relationship had not yet fully settled, and his tone was still somewhat distant and polite.

“Miss Wei, you don’t need to worry. If there’s an opportunity, I will definitely find a way to dissolve our master-servant contract,” he said earnestly, his gaze fixed on her slightly pale face.

Upon hearing this, Wei Siling's eyes sparkled, her cherry lips parted slightly, and her voice, as if coated with honey and carrying a perfectly balanced softness, was so sweet it almost seeped into her bones: "Thank you for your kindness, young master."

She bowed slightly, revealing a section of her snow-white neck, her posture respectful and submissive. A gentle breeze stirred, lifting a few stray strands of her hair, which clung to her cheeks, adding to her pitiful appearance.

Seeing her now looking so demure and charming, Zhang Yunfan found it hard to connect the person before him with the fierce female cultivator who had been so ruthless and ready to kill him not long ago.

The contrast was so stark that it gave him a strong sense of unreality.

Zheng Yi's mocking voice suddenly rang in Zhang Yunfan's mind, carrying undisguised sarcasm: "I'm telling you, kid, don't fall for this woman's honey trap. She's only using these sweet words to coax you because she's under someone else's control."

He paused, his unseen will seemingly intensifying his tone: "Believe it or not, once this woman is out of danger and breaks free of these shackles, the first person she'll kill is you!"

Zhang Yunfan rubbed his throbbing temples and replied with a wry smile in his heart, "Senior, since you know she harbors evil intentions, why did you force me to sign this deadly master-servant contract with her?"

He glanced at Wei Siling, who seemed so docile beside him, and felt as if there was a furnace about to explode next to him: "I think this woman is an absolute pain, the kind that you can't shake off."

Zheng Yi's thoughts were chilling: "If you don't want to keep her alive, just kill her and be done with it. Now you are her master, and your will is her shackle. You can make her do whatever you want, and her life and death are in your hands. Making her sever her meridians and scatter her soul is just a matter of you thinking about it, it's very simple!"

Zhang Yunfan fell silent; all around him, the low chirping of unknown insects could be heard beneath the decaying leaves.

He instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword, feeling its icy touch. Kill someone who was unable to resist? Especially someone like this… His gaze swept over Wei Siling's lowered, exceptionally beautiful profile, and a wave of unease washed over him.

“Although she tried to kill me before, she didn’t succeed, so killing her like this just doesn’t feel necessary.”

As for releasing this woman? Of course not!
Zhang Yunfan wasn't so pedantic as to talk about forgiveness and benevolence when he wanted to kill his enemy.

But if, as Zheng Yi said, he were to consider taking the man's life, looking at that now docile face, he truly couldn't bring himself to do it. A conflict entangled him like vines.

So, he had no choice but to wander aimlessly through the secret realm with this beautiful yet extremely dangerous "trouble."

The two stood a few steps apart, one in front of the other, the air thick and heavy like solidified amber. Wei Siling maintained a respectful posture, half a step behind, her head bowed and eyes submissive, her steps light and silent, like a silent shadow.

Having just crossed a wetland covered with strange fluorescent moss, and having walked less than ten miles, Wei Siling, who had been quietly following behind Zhang Yunfan, suddenly raised her head, a barely perceptible glint of light flashing in her eyes.

Her face was full of surprise, and her voice was still that sweet, cloying tone: "Master!"

She quickened her pace, almost touching Zhang Yunfan's side, and pointed her slender finger to the left, towards the bottom of a cliff shrouded in mist: "I sense that ahead, behind that crevice, there's a very good spiritual plant! The spiritual energy fluctuations are very pure, it should... it should be very beneficial to Master's cultivation!"

Her tone was eager, as if she wanted to claim credit, and her gaze was fixed intently on Zhang Yunfan, awaiting his reaction.

Wei Siling's graceful figure was particularly eye-catching. Her cultivation level far surpassed Zhang Yunfan's, so it was not surprising that she could sense the spiritual aura that he could not detect.

only……

Zhang Yunfan was not blinded by the contract. Even with the master-servant contract imprinted deep in his soul, he still dared not be careless in the slightest.

This woman, not long ago, had meticulously plotted to kill him, luring him into a trap. That carefully woven snare was dangerous and deadly.

If it weren't for the intervention of that mysterious senior in his sea of ​​consciousness, he would probably be dead by now.

While the contractual constraints were powerful, Zhang Yunfan absolutely refused to believe that a woman as cunning and ruthless as Wei Siling would so easily resign herself to her fate.

Beneath her compliance, there must be a turbulent undercurrent.

"Really? That's wonderful!" Zhang Yunfan's face showed a perfectly timed look of surprise. "I've recently reached a bottleneck in my cultivation and need suitable rare and precious materials to aid my progress."

His eyes were sharp and fixed on Wei Siling's seemingly calm and unwavering gaze: "Now that you've found a suitable spiritual plant, pick it for me."

His tone was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable air of command.

Wei Siling's long eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly, while she maintained a gentle and respectful smile on her face.

However, deep in her eyes, a fleeting look of disappointment and frustration, like ripples caused by a stone thrown into a deep pool, was clearly captured by Zhang Yunfan, who had been watching her intently.

"Damn, this woman isn't going to give up so easily after all." Zhang Yunfan's internal alarm bells rang, and he secretly felt lucky.

This seemingly simple test immediately confirmed his concerns.

There must be something fishy about that spiritual plant! It might be a ferocious beast guarding it, or it might be a natural trap. This woman probably wants to lure him into it!

At this moment, Wei Siling's heart was also in turmoil.

Although she knew that Zhang Yunfan was not as dull and easy to bully as he seemed, the fact that he could see through her initial trap and even force her to sign a master-servant contract showed that his intelligence was extraordinary.

But Zhang Yunfan's young, even somewhat dull, face was so deceptive that it made her subconsciously feel that with her beauty and skills, she could easily manipulate this greenhorn with a few gentle words.

Unexpectedly, the other party was so cautious that they pushed her out instead.

If it weren't for this damned contract, she had a thousand ways to lure Zhang Yunfan to her side—whether through coquetry, flattery, or adoration. However, the power of the master-servant contract was like an invisible shackle, firmly binding her soul. No matter how much she plotted and schemed, how many wicked plans churned within her, all that came out of her mouth was a humiliating and submissive word: "Yes!"

Her voice was still sweet, but beneath that sweetness lay a subtle, almost imperceptible stiffness.

She lowered her eyes, concealing the resentment and icy killing intent churning within them, and turned to walk towards the swamp shrouded in a faint purple miasma.

Wei Siling harbored resentment in her heart, but dared not show it on her face, and had no choice but to do as she was told.

Reluctantly, she leaped into the air, her body moving like an arrow released from a bow, but deliberately slowing her pace, landing lightly with each step, carefully hopping towards the place below the cliff, where the spiritual plants were shrouded in thick, misty fog.

The toes tapped on the slippery rocks, making a soft "tap-tap" sound.

The spiritual plant grew in a crevice at the bottom of the cliff, surrounded by a thick, grayish-white mist that was so viscous it was like an unyielding soup, impossible to penetrate with the naked eye; one could only vaguely sense the vibrant life force it contained.

With her cultivation level far surpassing Zhang Yunfan's and her keen perception, Wei Siling was almost certain that a deadly danger was hidden deep within this seemingly calm fog.

This is an ironclad rule in the cultivation world: any rare treasure must have a powerful guardian.

After all, it's not just human cultivators who crave to devour the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; the demons and monsters lurking in the shadows of secret realms also covet these rare treasures.

Just as Wei Siling's toes touched the damp mossy ground at the bottom of the cliff, still several feet away from the edge of the swirling mist, a sudden change occurred!

The mist, which had been flowing slowly, seemed to be stimulated and suddenly began to surge and churn violently, like boiling water.

An extremely sweet yet fishy smell instantly spread.

She had only inhaled a tiny wisp of the odor when she suddenly felt a strong wave of dizziness rush to her head, her vision went black, and she swayed slightly.

"What a powerful poisonous fog!" Wei Siling was shocked. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her back. She immediately held her breath and frantically circulated her spiritual energy to force out the trace amount of toxins that had invaded her body.

Seeing that the poisonous fog could not harm the intruder, the surging fog seemed to have a life of its own, and began to rapidly shrink and converge towards a central point!
The fog thinned and became transparent at a visible speed. In the center of that gradually clearing vision, the first thing to appear was a pair of huge, cold, emotionless vertical pupils, gleaming with a chilling green light!

The height of those pupils kept increasing!
Accompanied by a tooth-grinding hissing sound and the scraping of rocks, a colossal creature raised its ferocious head from the mist, stopping only when it was two or three zhang taller than Wei Siling!

A huge shadow instantly enveloped her.

At this moment, the last wisp of miasma completely dissipated, revealing a gigantic venomous snake that sent chills down your spine!

The snake's body was as thick as the trunk of an ancient tree, so thick that two adults might not be able to encircle it. It was covered with colorful, vibrant scales that resembled poisonous flowers, shimmering with an eerie luster in the dim light.

The enormous snake's head is shaped like an inverted triangle, and its scarlet forked tongue, like a burning flame, stretches and contracts in the air at an extremely high frequency, emitting a chilling hissing sound.

Even though Zhang Yunfan was far away, he could almost smell the nauseating stench of blood, and his stomach churned.

"As expected, there is a guardian beast!" Wei Siling felt a bitter taste in her mouth and sighed helplessly.

Originally, she hoped that this venomous snake could take advantage of Zhang Yunfan, this troublesome master, to kill him unexpectedly. Now, however, she had to confront this ferocious beast head-on! The huge disparity made her feel extremely frustrated.

The next moment, the giant snake's cold vertical pupils suddenly contracted and locked onto Wei Siling!

It suddenly opened its blood-red maw, and a stench assaulted our senses! The inside of its mouth was a nauseating dark purple, and two fangs, like scimitars, gleamed coldly!

Without any warning, two streams of dark green venom, emitting a pungent, fishy stench, shot towards Wei Siling from the left and right, like two poisoned crossbows, with a piercing shriek that tore through the air!

Wherever it passed, even the air hissed and corroded!
It goes without saying how toxic this thing is, and Wei Siling certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to take it head-on.

Just as the venom was about to hit her, her slender figure bent backward at an incredible angle, like a supple willow branch swaying in a gentle breeze. With light, graceful steps, she left a trail of afterimages, narrowly avoiding the two deadly streaks of venom.

The venom landed on the wet rocks behind her, immediately sending up plumes of white smoke. In the blink of an eye, the hard rocks were corroded, creating two deep pits!
Seeing the magnificent, multicolored tail, like a giant steel whip, silently swirling towards Wei Siling, who had nowhere to grab hold in mid-air, with a fierce wind tearing through the air, Zhang Yunfan's heart tightened, and he blurted out, "Be careful!"

While Wei Siling's lithe figure was still in the air, her old strength exhausted and new strength yet to be generated, that cold, slippery snake tail covered with hard scales had already coiled around her like a ghost!

The speed was far beyond expectations!
The enormous snake body suddenly contracted, like several thick iron hoops, instantly wrapping Wei Siling's slender figure tightly, turning her into a huge snake ball!

After completely controlling its prey, the venomous snake's incredibly strong muscles contracted violently like a winch. A terrifying squeezing force erupted instantly, and one could almost hear the groans of its bones straining under the immense pressure.

Zhang Yunfan's expression changed slightly. He seemed to be able to hear, from a great distance, the sound of Wei Siling's body being squeezed and deformed and her bones breaking under the immense force of the venomous snake.

He instinctively reached out to grab the hilt of the greatsword, wanting to rush over and save the person immediately.

In his mind's eye, Zheng Yi's lazy yet somewhat mocking voice rang out: "Silly boy, what's there to worry about? Don't you even open your eyes and take a look? This little snake is at most at the early Foundation Establishment stage. What realm is that woman? How could she possibly be injured?"

"Young man, listen to my advice." Zheng Yi's voice carried the warning of someone with experience. "When you are in the world of cultivation, do not look down on someone just because they are a woman. Countless fools have fallen because of this and died without knowing why."

Sure enough, no matter how frantically the venomous snake tightened its body, the rustling sound of its scales rubbing together was chilling, but the expected scream of Wei Siling did not come.

From the center of the tightly coiled serpent ball, only a cold, piercing snort filled with disdain emanated: "Hmph! A beast without any intelligence, does it really think it can harm this young lady?"

Before he finished speaking, a terrifying spiritual power suddenly erupted from inside the snake ball!
The tightly coiled, colorful snake body resembled a detonated lightning bomb; a deafening, thunderous roar followed, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. (End of Chapter)