When Ye Ran woke up, there was still a smile on her lips.
She remembered having a wonderful dream, but when she tried to recall the details, she couldn’t remember anything. All she knew was that the dream had been so beautiful she almost didn’t want to wake up.
But wasn’t she inside the secret realm? How had she fallen asleep?
Ye Ran immediately tensed up and glanced around vigilantly. Finally, she spotted Lu Li standing not far away.
“Senior Brother!”
The moment she saw Lu Li, Ye Ran instinctively relaxed, and her heart felt much more at ease.
“Let’s go.”
Lu Li extended a hand toward Ye Ran.
Ye Ran was a bit surprised and stared at Lu Li for a few moments.
She felt that something about Lu Li seemed different compared to before, but when she looked closely, she couldn’t pinpoint any change.
His hand, as always, waited patiently in front of her for her response.
Ye Ran glanced at Lu Li once more. Unable to find anything unusual, she finally placed her hand in his.
Lu Li’s hand was still ice-cold. Even though she had braced herself, her fingertips still trembled slightly the moment they touched his palm.
The next moment, Lu Li took her hand and pulled her up with a gentle tug.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
The chill continued to envelop Ye Ran’s hand. Not wanting to struggle, she tried to remind Lu Li with her thanks.
“No need for politeness, Junior Sister.”
Lu Li remained modest and courteous, but he made no move to let go. He led Ye Ran directly into the depths of the forest.
Ye Ran wanted to speak several times, but each time she held back. Finally, she simply gave up.
Oh well. The big villain is probably afraid of getting separated from me again. I won’t say anything.
Thinking of that, she remembered the hands that had covered her eyes in the mist earlier, and the whisper she had heard by her ear.
That voice had sounded somewhat familiar, but when Ye Ran tried to recall, she realized she could no longer remember its timbre, nor could she remember what the voice had said.
Unable to figure it out, Ye Ran looked at Lu Li beside her.
“Senior Brother, what happened in the mist earlier? Why did I suddenly pass out?”
“The mist was formed by Dream-Leading Butterflies. You were accidentally drawn into a dream by one.”
So that’s it.
Ye Ran nodded thoughtfully. But as she turned her gaze, she noticed Lu Li was still looking at her.
“What did you dream of, Junior Sister?”
At his question, Ye Ran’s expression softened unconsciously, and even the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
“I don’t remember, but I think it must have been a beautiful dream.”
As Ye Ran’s mood brightened, the fragrance emanating from her grew sweeter and more intense, wafting toward Lu Li and stimulating his senses.
But this time, Lu Li didn’t resist the scent. He closed his eyes and gently inhaled, letting the fragrance merge into his body with his breath.
His restless body finally calmed, and a look of satisfaction appeared on Lu Li’s face.
When he opened his eyes, the way he looked at Ye Ran carried a hint of lingering fondness.
But Ye Ran was busy trying hard to remember what she had dreamed about and didn’t notice anything unusual about Lu Li. By the time she gave up and snapped back to the present, Lu Li had already returned to normal.
The two continued advancing deeper into the secret realm.
But soon, Ye Ran noticed something strange.
Lu Li didn’t seem to be searching for the demons. Instead, he moved with a clear sense of purpose, as if he had already planned where to go.
But wasn’t this secret realm just discovered?
How did he know it so well, as if he were strolling through his own backyard?
Ye Ran was full of questions but didn’t dare to ask.
After all, she hadn’t forgotten that Lu Li was the big villain. If she asked something she shouldn’t, she might lose her life right here.
So she followed Lu Li nervously, not daring to say a word.
Before long, a disturbance came from the forest ahead, accompanied by a surge of demonic energy.
Ye Ran immediately went on alert, ready to fight the demons at a moment’s notice.
But Lu Li acted as if he had expected this. He didn’t react at all and continued leading her forward unhurriedly.
Only when the demonic energy grew so dense that Ye Ran could barely breathe did Lu Li stop and let go of her hand.
“I’ll take you to watch a good show.”
Ye Ran shot him a puzzled look just as his voice reached her ears.
Then Lu Li wrapped his arm around her waist, and in the blink of an eye, they were standing on a sturdy tree branch.
Their figures were hidden by the thick foliage, but they had a clear view of what was happening below.
On an open patch of ground not far away, strange formations were laid out everywhere. At the center of the formations floated a red jade pendant, surrounded by many demons.
They were activating the formations, as if performing some kind of ritual.
Given how demons typically operated, such a grand setup surely meant some sinister plot was underway.
Watching the formations below being activated one by one, Ye Ran grew a little anxious.
This original novel had a very high “heat” level and almost no plot, with no description of the demons at all.
Everything happening now was beyond the original storyline, and Ye Ran was especially afraid of triggering a chain reaction that would cost her her life.
So she tugged at Lu Li’s sleeve and used her eyes to ask when he would act.
“No need to rush. It’s about to begin.”
There was a hint of excitement in Lu Li’s voice.
The moment he finished speaking, several sword energy strikes came flying in, interrupting the demons.
Then several disciples of the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect appeared.
Ye Ran recognized them. The sect leader had sent them just today.
Back outside the secret realm, they had insisted on forming their own team and said they didn’t need artifact cultivation disciples to follow, so Ye Ran hadn’t assigned any to them.
Now, watching their coordinated teamwork, she understood why they hadn’t wanted other disciples around. They were probably afraid others would disrupt their rhythm.
But the one thing Ye Ran didn’t understand was why Lu Li remained motionless beside her while the disciples below were already engaging the demons.
Seeing Lu Li like this, Ye Ran didn’t dare to act rashly either. She began carefully observing the situation below.
But soon, she noticed something unusual.
The disciples below didn’t seem to be targeting the demons—they were after the jade pendant at the center of the formations.
On the surface, they appeared to be fighting the demons, but in reality, they were slowly moving toward the center. As they got closer and closer to the pendant, one disciple seized the opportunity, slipped past the demons, and charged toward it.
The demons finally realized what was happening. The demon leader, ignoring the remaining disciples, was willing to take injuries to stop the disciple from grabbing the pendant.
In the end, the disciple couldn’t outfight the demons. Just as he was about to reach the pendant, a demon snatched it away first.
“Retreat!”
Once the demon leader had the pendant, he immediately ordered a withdrawal.
The faded formations on the ground lit up again, likely a teleportation array.
“What a bunch of useless fools.”
Just as Ye Ran was watching intently, a mocking voice sounded beside her ear.
She turned to Lu Li in surprise. His face carried a hint of disdain, and he was casually playing with a leaf in his hand.
Just as the demons were about to escape through the teleportation array, Lu Li flicked the leaf from his hand. In the blink of an eye, it embedded itself into the array’s eye.
The formation instantly failed, and the demons below fell into chaos.
The next moment, Lu Li wrapped his arm around Ye Ran’s waist and landed with her in the midst of the demons.
Before the demons could react, Lu Li had already drawn his sword. A fierce wave of sword energy swept through, and the surrounding demons fell instantly. Even the disciples not far away were caught in the blast, stumbling and crashing to the ground.
The jade pendant that had been fought over ended up in Lu Li’s hand.
All of this happened in an instant. By the time the disciples nearby picked themselves up and steadied themselves, nothing remained but demon corpses scattered across the ground.
The leading disciple’s expression darkened. But then he spotted Lu Li standing not far away, along with the red jade pendant in Lu Li’s hand.
The disciple’s eyes lit up. He straightened his robes and walked over to Lu Li with his back straight.
“Since the demons have been dealt with, please hand over the pendant, Senior Brother.”
Although he addressed Lu Li as “Senior Brother,” there was not a trace of respect in his tone—only arrogance.
He had joined the sect earlier than Lu Li and had always worked closely with the sect leader, so deep down, he looked down on Lu Li.
But Lu Li did not hand over the pendant as the disciple wished. Instead, he casually toyed with it for a few moments. Only when the disciple’s expression soured did Lu Li look up at him.
“Did our master send you here with some other mission?”
Lu Li’s tone was indifferent, almost lazy, but the disciple had already grown impatient.
“That’s none of your business, Senior Brother. We’re acting on orders. You’d better hand over the pendant now.”
With that, the disciple stepped forward, intending to snatch the pendant away.
But before he could get close to Lu Li, an invisible force struck him, pushing him back.
This embarrassed the disciple. His gaze toward Lu Li now burned with anger.
“Lu Li! How dare you disobey our master’s orders?! I will report this to the sect leader when we return!”
“How tiresome.”
Lu Li frowned, and his aura suddenly turned cold.
In the next instant, he teleported in front of the disciple and slit his throat with a single sword stroke. Before the remaining disciples could process what had happened, Lu Li appeared before them as well.
In the blink of an eye, all of the disciples had fallen.
Lu Li moved so fast that Ye Ran hadn’t even registered what had happened. Only when a splash of blood landed on her cheek did she realize that Lu Li had just massacred his own sect members.
And right in front of her!
Had he stopped pretending altogether?
Although Ye Ran knew that Lu Li would kill without hesitation when provoked, this was the first time she had witnessed his brutality so viscerally.
Ye Ran was too stunned to speak. Meanwhile, Lu Li had already turned and was walking toward her, step by step.
Perhaps because he had just killed, a trace of murderous intent still clung to him. Ye Ran instinctively wanted to flee, but her body had frozen. Her legs wouldn’t obey—she couldn’t move an inch.
“S-S-Senior Brother…”
Ye Ran was so terrified she could barely speak. By then, Lu Li had already reached her. He reached out and steadied her trembling body.
“Did I frighten you, Junior Sister?”
Lu Li’s voice was as gentle as ever. He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood from Ye Ran’s cheek.
As if the person who had just unleashed such slaughter wasn’t him at all.
“N-No…”
Ye Ran quickly shook her head, but her body continued to tremble violently.
Her heart was wailing inside.
Is the big villain trying to force me to join his side? But I really don’t want to…
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