"I am Bai Fengxin of the Wind and Moon Sect in the Red Firmament Heaven. I pay my respects to the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven!" Bai Fengxin hurried forward and bowed.
Even though he was from the Red Firmament Heaven, he had no choice but to take the initiative and pay his respects to Lin Xuan.
In fact, in Bai Fengxin's eyes, simply getting to meet the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven was already an honor.
The Wind and Moon Sect might have a little renown in the Red Firmament Heaven, but compared to the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven, it was as far apart as clouds and mud—he could only look up to him.
Seeing Bai Fengxin bow, Lin Tong and the others hurried forward to pay their respects one by one as well.
"I am Lin Tong of the Giant Sword Sect in the Red Firmament Heaven. I pay my respects to the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven!"
"I am Wang Wenyang of the Mysterious Profound Sect in the Red Firmament Heaven. I pay my respects to the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven!"
At the sight of this, Ling Rong, standing to one side, couldn't help trembling slightly again.
She lifted her head and gazed up at the extraordinarily handsome man standing before her.
"Even Bai Fengxin, who was just now pressuring me relentlessly, is acting so obsequiously in front of him."
"A man like him is the one who truly stands above everyone else."
"Compared to him, what are the ruler and crown prince of the Great Xia Kingdom?"
Ling Rong couldn't help shaking her head to herself.
That marriage contract had never been her choice.
It was the head of the Ling Family—her own father—
who had arranged her betrothal to the crown prince by force, for the sake of the family's interests.
She hadn't expected that as soon as the ruler and crown prince of the Great Xia Kingdom heard that she had lost her cultivation and no longer had a spiritual root, they would immediately change their tune.
Did petty, opportunistic men like them have the right to call themselves nobles?
They weren't even worthy of tying the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven's shoes!
"Mm." Lin Xuan responded indifferently.
Before he appeared, his spiritual sense had already covered the area where everyone was gathered.
He knew full well that Bai Fengxin had been pressuring Ling Rong, so he didn't think much of Bai Fengxin.
Although this had nothing to do with him, Lin Xuan had always looked down on people who used their strength to bully the weak.
"Daddy, Mom said every demonic beast has a Demon Core. Where do you think the Iron Lion Monster's Demon Core is hidden?"
Xuanzhu had returned to Lin Xuan's side and asked him.
"Of course, in its belly." Lin Xuan rubbed her little head.
Xuanxi came over, too. "Mom said Demon Cores are really useful. So do demonic beasts spit them out, or give birth to them?"
Xuanyou hurried over and raised her little hand. "I know! They definitely give birth to them!"
Xuanzhu, Xuanxi, and Xuanhan looked at Xuanyou in unison. "How do you know?"
Seeing that her three older sisters had no idea, Xuanyou proudly lifted her chin and huffed.
"Because the Nine-Scale Spotted Snake in my room gave birth to lots of Demon Cores."
Xuanzhu and the others shook their heads when they heard that. "Those were obviously snake eggs!"
Xuanyou protested, "No way! Last time I asked the Nine-Scale Spotted Snake if it had given birth to Demon Cores, and it kept nodding and saying yes!"
Xuanzhu covered her mouth and giggled. "That's because it was scared you'd bully it!"
Xuanxi sighed and shook her head. "Mom said the Nine-Scale Spotted Snake was naturally ferocious, but you bullied it into a well-behaved little pet."
Xuanhan nodded. "That's true. Those demonic beasts are so pitiful when they run into Xuanyou!"
Lin Xuan heard the girls' whole conversation and couldn't help laughing.
It seemed Donghuang Ziyou had only told the girls about Demon Cores, without explaining everything they needed to know about them.
Looks like he'd have to find some time to explain demonic beasts to them in detail.
As they spoke, Bai Fengxin came over, holding a pure white sphere.
The sphere was about the size of an egg, with nine golden rays of light swirling around it.
Even from a distance, they could feel its powerful aura.
"Your Imperial Highness, this is the Iron Lion Monster's Demon Core." Bai Fengxin wore a fawning expression.
He figured that, as the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven, Lin Xuan naturally wouldn't bother personally retrieving a Demon Core over something so trivial.
This was the perfect chance for him to take it out and curry favor with Lin Xuan.
"Wow, so this is what a Demon Core looks like! It's so interesting!" Xuanzhu and the others stared at it in amazement.
Lin Xuan smiled. "If you like it, go ahead and take it."
Xuanzhu nodded and took the Demon Core from Bai Fengxin.
The four little girls then gathered around it, all of them opening their eyes wide as they studied it.
Lin Tong and the others looked at the Demon Core with undisguised envy.
The Demon Core of a ninth-rank demonic beast was an absolutely priceless treasure in the cultivation world.
Refining and absorbing it wouldn't necessarily raise someone by an entire major realm right away, but it would certainly raise them by at least half a realm.
Still, this belonged to the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven.
No matter how envious they were, they didn't dare entertain the slightest improper thought.
Just then, a petite figure suddenly rushed toward Lin Xuan and dropped to her knees in front of him.
Ling Rong pleaded, "Your Imperial Highness, I am Ling Rong. I beg you to grant me permission to enter this secret realm."
Lin Xuan looked down at her impassively. "The secret realm is full of danger. They've already made the risks quite clear to you. Why are you still willing to risk almost certain death to enter?"
Bai Fengxin and the others immediately paled.
So the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven had heard everything they'd said just now.
What incredible ability—truly awe-inspiring!
"Because I want my parents to be able to hold their heads high! I want the people of the Ling Family to regain their dignity!"
Ling Rong thumped her forehead against the ground. "I only ask Your Imperial Highness to give me one chance. If I succeed, I'll repay you with my life!"
Lin Xuan saw an indescribable stubbornness and drive in Ling Rong's eyes.
It was the first time he had seen such an unshakable resolve in a woman.
"Besides the reasons you've mentioned, what you want most is still to regain your talent, then slap the ruler and crown prince of the Great Xia Kingdom in the face, isn't it?" Lin Xuan asked with a teasing smile.
Ling Rong swallowed. "At first, I did have that thought."
"But after meeting you, Your Imperial Highness, I realized that people like them aren't worth me wasting my energy on."
"So I've given up on that idea."
Lin Xuan nodded. He could tell Ling Rong wasn't lying.
He glanced indifferently at Bai Fengxin and the others, then asked, "What do you say?"
Bai Fengxin and the others hurriedly bowed. "We'll leave everything to Your Imperial Highness!"
In front of a powerful figure like him, they wouldn't dare make decisions on their own even if they had ten times the nerve.
Lin Xuan turned his gaze to Ling Rong. "All right. I'll give you a chance."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Highness!" Ling Rong hurriedly kowtowed, overwhelmed with excitement.
Lin Xuan gave a slight nod and turned his gaze away from her.
He was helping Ling Rong partly because he admired her tenacity.
More importantly, he wanted to set a good example for his daughters.
After all, he had a very lofty image in their hearts.
If he wasn't even willing to help with something as easy as lifting a finger, how would he be any different from Bai Fengxin and the others, who used their strength to bully the weak?
The image of the perfect daddy in his daughters' hearts couldn't bear even the slightest stain!
Sure enough, when Xuanzhu and the others saw Lin Xuan play the hero, they all smiled happily.
"Daddy really is a good person!"
"Mm!"
"Mm-hmm!"
"Mm-hmm!"
Bai Fengxin and the others blushed for no apparent reason.
If they'd known they'd run into the Emperor Consort, they wouldn't have interfered with Ling Rong just now.
Sigh, when all was said and done, Ling Rong was lucky—she'd managed to meet such an important benefactor even in a situation like this.
And just as everyone was still marveling at what had happened,
the swirling golden light suddenly burst open, and a surge of incredibly dense spiritual energy poured out through it.
"The secret realm's open!"
Before you continue