Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

The thought that she might have been haunted by a vengeful spirit made Ye Yuchan quickly pull her hand back, shrinking herself into a tiny, shrunken shape. With each step she took, she began to calculate whether she would encounter anything she shouldn't.

Seeing Ye Yuchan's appearance, Yun Ping couldn't help but smile and transmitted his voice—

"Don't listen to that silly woman's nonsense. There are no lingering wronged souls here. Even if there were, so many years have passed. Why would they stay in the human world? Those that were meant to disperse have already dispersed."

Ye Yuchan turned her head blankly. Yun Ping's words had somewhat alleviated her fear, but the girl still looked frightened as she moved closer to Old Yun.

"Then... if they've all scattered, what about the Soul Guiding Disc? Is it fake?"

“No, that’s the real thing.” Yunping thought for a moment and explained, “I’m just saying there are no remnant souls here, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any remnant souls in the Lightning Thunder Sect ruins. In fact, we’re heading in the right direction.”

"Eh……"

As she was speaking, Ye Yuchan suddenly tripped over something and fell forward.

Before she could regain her balance, Hua Yurong suddenly appeared in front of Ye Yuchan and placed her hands on her shoulders, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"Miss Ye." Hua Yuerong smiled politely at Ye Yuchan, who was still in shock and doubt, "Please be careful."

Ye Yuchan blinked and replied blankly, "Ah... okay. Sorry—"

"It's nothing, compared to this—"

Hua Yurong stood in the dark and cold passageway, a smile playing on her lips. She placed the Soul Guiding Disc in front of Ye Yuchan, her face beaming.

Ye Yuchan looked at the Soul Guidance Disc with curiosity and found that the direction of the pointer above had changed.

The pointer slowly wobbled twice, and finally... stopped on its right side.

She slowly turned around, and then her eyes narrowed.

That was a door.

A door, entirely red, stood in the darkness, as if smeared with the blood of thousands.

Moreover, judging from the stone steps that seemed to have been drenched in blood, this door seemed to lead to a deeper underground... and for some reason, Ye Yuchan always felt that what awaited her behind that door was definitely not a good thing.

"We...are we going down?"

Ye Yuchan pointed to the blood-stained door, feigning ignorance, with an unwilling expression on her face.

Hua Yurong and the others put on terrifying, sinister smiles, especially Hua Yurong, whose cold laugh, as if a conspiracy had succeeded, covered her hypocritical and fake smile.

"To be precise, you should go down first."

71. Hostages – A desperate fight

You want us to clear the way?

Ye Yuchan wasn't stupid; she reacted quickly and immediately figured out what the other person was thinking.

Behind that blood-red door probably lies something unimaginably terrifying. Since they are tomb raiders, they must have seen countless deadly traps in tombs.

Ye Yuchan, who had read many tomb raiding novels, knew this all too well.

Generally speaking, if one does not have sufficient strength, venturing out to explore the area rashly will almost certainly end badly in 90% of cases.

Hua Yue Rong's beautiful lips curled into a sinister smile, and the others around her also wore strange, wicked grins as if their schemes had succeeded, as they surrounded Ye Yu Chan.

"This is the ruins of the Lightning Thunder Sect. I don't believe there aren't some dangerous items hidden in the tombs of these Lightning Thunder Sect disciples. If possible, Miss Ye, could you clear the way for us?"

The silver-haired girl's eyes shone brightly. She immediately took a step back to create distance, and at the same time, she poured her spiritual energy into her storage ring. A dark longbow, almost blending into its surroundings, immediately appeared in her hand.

Drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, Ye Yuchan smoothly assumed a guarded stance, her tone unusually cold.

What if I say no?

She had already observed the cultivation levels of these cultivators. The highest level, Hua Yuerong, was only at the entry level of the Transformation Peak, while the others were fluctuating around the Spirit Platform stage.

Although Hua Yurong was a whole realm higher than him, recalling the people he had fought in the underground martial arts arena, he wasn't entirely confident of winning, but he figured he could still fight them without much trouble.

What's more, we still have an elderly cheat user on our side.

Just when Ye Yuchan thought the old rogue would definitely make a move, Hua Yurong suddenly sneered, spread her hands, and clicked her tongue at Ye Yuchan.

"Don't worry, Miss Ye, you won't say no."

She slightly raised her right index finger, and one of the Spirit Platform stage cultivators behind her suddenly transformed into a swift hurricane, quickly appearing behind the unsuspecting Yun Ping. He grabbed Yun Ping's snow-white neck with his right hand, and pressed a sharp blade against his throat.

The whole process seemed to Ye Yuchan as slow as a dog crawling, but Yun Ping seemed to be completely oblivious, letting the other party hold a sharp weapon to his neck, while at the same time showing a look of terrified shock.

A series of performances comparable to an Oscar-winning actor made Ye Yuchan's lips twitch incessantly—was this old rogue getting addicted to this?

Completely unaware of the situation, Hua Yurong mistook Ye Yuchan's helplessness for her master's astonishment at being captured, and immediately burst into a flamboyant laugh.

"Miss Ye, as a servant, you wouldn't want to watch your master die, would you?"

Ye Yuchan stared at Hua Yurong with dead fish eyes, as if she were looking at an idiot.

Unable to think of any expression to use when facing her, he could only say indifferently, "You're playing with fire, do you know that?"

This well-intentioned reminder, which came purely from the heart, was completely ignored by Hua Yurong. In her opinion, it was nothing more than a harsh remark made when there was no other way out.

Hua Yurong sneered, as if victory was already in her grasp—

"I don't know if we're playing with fire, but if Miss Ye hesitates any longer, your master's precious health may not be safe."

As she spoke, Hua Yurong, with a charming smile, moved closer to Yunping, who was being coerced at the moment, and looked at her with great interest.

When Yunping saw her approach, he also showed considerable anger and annoyance. His dark eyes flashed with unbelievable fury, and he clenched his teeth tightly, as if he hated her terribly.

"You woman, how dare you lie to me?!"

Ye Yuchan raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that this old rogue's acting skills were quite good. Whether it was his tone or his expression, he perfectly reproduced the arrogant and haughty attitude of a rich young man, and the anger he felt when he suddenly fell into someone's hands and was deceived.

However, since she was someone who knew the inside story, the old rogue's acting... while realistic in her eyes, had a strangely comical quality.

Hua Yue Rong didn't notice anything wrong with Yun Ping at all; instead, a wicked and cruel smile crept onto her lips.

"Young Master? You really think you're something special? Here, whatever I say goes—"

Yun Ping glared angrily, struggled a couple of times, but couldn't break free from the cultivator's restraints behind him. "Do you know who I am?!"

"I don't care who you are! Here, you are nothing!"

Hua Yurong was a worldly person, and to her, a spoiled brat was no different from an ant crawling on the ground.

She had flattered him before only so that she could secretly get close to him now and take him as her captive.

Yunping gritted his teeth, as if he had a bellyful of anger that he could not vent. He stared at Hua Yurong with all his might. If looks could kill, the hatred bursting from Yunping's eyes at this moment would have already torn Hua Yurong to pieces.

"Now then—" Hua Yue Rong turned around with a radiant smile, gazing at Ye Yu Chan, who had been watching the show a moment ago but had now reverted to an icy expression: "Miss Ye, would you please clear a path for us?"

"I……"

Ye Yuchan hesitated for a moment, then her gaze involuntarily fell on Yun Ping.

If he just wanted to play around, then now is probably the best time to make his move. These few oddballs are probably not even worth a slap from Lao Yun.

However—while Ye Yuchan awaited Yun Ping's instructions, Yun Ping suddenly shouted with a sense of utter shame:

"Yu Chan, lead the way for them!"

"Eh?"

Ye Yuchan was dumbfounded. What was going on?

Why isn't that old scoundrel making a move?

Before Ye Yuchan could reply, Yun Ping, his face pale and eyes filled with fear, started shouting again—

"What are you standing there for? Go and clear a path! Do you really want to watch me die here?!"

Ye Yuchan: "???"

She felt like she was almost being fooled by Yun Ping. The old rogue acted so convincingly that she had the illusion that she was actually the maid of some good-for-nothing playboy.

Fortunately, Yunping's telepathic message immediately entered her mind, dispelling her unrealistic idea.

"Don't rush, listen to me, there aren't many traps here. Let's clear a path for them first—besides, there's something I'm looking for in here too."

So in the end, I still have to pave the way myself...

The silver-haired girl glared at Yun Ping with a gloomy expression. Since she couldn't transmit her voice, this was the only way she could express her dissatisfaction with that old bastard who was endlessly harassing his disciples.

But Yunping seemed not to see it at all, and continued to play the role of the kidnapped, idiotic rich kid.

Ye Yuchan sighed helplessly. As a disciple, she seemed to have no other choice but to listen to the old rogue.

"Alright, I promise you, I'll clear the way for you."

"That's right." Hua Yurong nodded with satisfaction, then waved her hand, signaling the people behind her to follow her. She then said to Ye Yuchan in a mocking tone, "Then, Miss Ye, I'll have to trouble you."

"Tsk."

The silver-haired girl curled her lip in disdain, thinking to herself that if they didn't share the same goal, she would be the first to tear off Hua Yurong's hypocritical face right now.

Thus, Ye Yuchan took the lead, walking at the very front of the group, while Hua Yurong and the others, holding Yun Ping hostage, followed behind Ye Yuchan with sinister smiles.

Ye Yuchan silently walked down the blood-red steps, placed her hands on either side of the door, took a deep breath, and then circulated her spiritual energy to push the door, which seemed to conceal something ominous, inward.

--boom!

Facing them were faint, flickering lightning bolts and an even more eerie passageway.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

the other side.

The gloomy sky seemed poised to collapse at any moment, the gray floor tiles beneath their feet crumbled into endless rubble, and a raging, eerie wind hissed in their ears. Before the cultivators, their vision was obscured by terrifying lightning.

Yes, it was as if one had plunged headlong into a flash of lightning in the dark clouds. Blue and purple light and electricity darted back and forth rapidly, and the "buzzing" sound almost filled everyone's ears.

Before my eyes—

The colossal creature, tens of meters tall, raised its proud head. It had a slightly elongated head with six white, pupil-less eyes on either side of its head, and between its sharp teeth, faint purple lightning flashed.

More than a demonic beast, it resembled a canine enveloped in lightning. Its fur was a dazzling silver, with countless bolts of lightning swirling around its smooth hair. The element symbolizing speed and destruction was like an armor covering every inch of the demonic beast's fur.

Moreover, its whip-like tail, hanging high behind it, is covered with countless sharp spikes. These spikes seem to be sources of electricity, constantly emitting blue electric orbs large enough to engulf a person.

It descended upon the world with an absolutely terrifying presence.

"This is really troublesome..."

On the square battlefield, Chen Feng stared in fear at the terrifying monster before him, panting heavily.