Seamless

The forest at dawn.

Faint white mist drifted like smoke, and the humid air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees.

A group of people from the Su Family and the He Family stood there, their expressions varied as they gazed at a hollow ancient tree in the woods.

"That tree isn't very thick, and the space inside the hollow is limited. Wouldn't it be crowded for two people to be in there together?"

Su Meng, wearing a look of naive ignorance and maintaining her delicate, charming demeanor, asked her father in a low voice, "What do you think?"

Su Yuntian coughed softly, glared at her, and scolded, "Mind your own business!"

Not far away.

He Rong leaned his back against a tree, his eyes deep and heavy as he stared at the tree hollow ahead.

The hollow was clearly a concealed hiding spot, but it was obviously not spacious. Thinking of the two people squeezed together inside, He Rong's expression naturally soured; after all, He Ziren was his nephew.

The engagement between He Ziren and Ning Yao was the result of careful calculation by both families. In his view, even though Ning Yao and his nephew hadn't married yet, there was still an intimate bond between them.

If the two of them needed to talk, they could have gone further away and chosen an open, secluded spot; there was no need to cram themselves into a tiny tree hollow.

"Ziren is dead, and he and that Ning girl were not married, so don't overthink it."

Su Yuntian saw his dissatisfaction and advised helplessly, "Besides, Brother Yuanshan also died at the hands of a Dark Ghost."

"The Dark Ghost has appeared in the Cenji Mountains and will inevitably target those of us from the Seven Great Families. I can only say that Ziren was unlucky."

"Next, we should think carefully about how we are going to survive."

After learning of the Dark Ghost's existence, Su Yuntian had been worried about the dangers of this trip, especially since his daughter, Su Meng, was also here.

His own cultivation talent was quite mediocre.

Even if he worked hard his entire life, he would at most reach the Xisui Realm. The Su Family, which had been stationed in the Fourth Realm like his father, would never have the chance to live in the Upper Realm.

Su Meng was different.

After the people from the Blazing Sun Sect of the Third Realm carefully tested Su Meng's talent, they confirmed that her cultivation potential was extraordinary.

Facts proved this to be true; at a young age, Su Meng had already reached the Pulse-Opening Realm, just like him.

The Blazing Sun Sect had clearly stated that when Su Meng was about to step into the Xisui Realm, they would send someone to bring her up and help her cleanse her marrow and refine her bones.

After that, Su Meng would be an official disciple of the Blazing Sun Sect.

This time, Su Yuntian had only brought her to the Cenji Mountains to explore because he couldn't withstand her pleading.

Who would have thought that the Dark Ghost would also hear the news and come to hunt down members of the Seven Great Families in various dangerous locations throughout the mountains?

"Something isn't right! That Ning girl seems to know he is in that tree hollow; she was the one who made us stop here. On the way, when we passed the corpse of that Grey Eagle, she took a few extra looks at it too."

He Rong, who was always cautious and observant, said in a low voice with a dark face, "I suspect that Grey Eagle was raised by her!"

Su Yuntian's expression shifted. After recalling the details, he also felt something was amiss.

The place they ultimately chose to rest happened to be the exact spot where Pang Jian had appeared; it was all too coincidental.

"You and I both know that the Ning Family is not skilled in raising spirit pets, and I have never heard of her having an eagle."

Su Yuntian said softly.

He Rong frowned, "In any case, she is acting strange."

Inside the tree hollow.

Pang Jian took a deep breath, feeling the contours of the young woman's chest against him in the cramped space.

Having never been in such close contact with a girl of his own age, he was momentarily stunned as he watched her offer a sincere apology.

He thought... after this woman survived the disaster and escaped Hong Tai's ambush, why had her temperament changed so drastically?

Looking at the girl's heroic face and her sincere expression, he frowned and remained silent.

He didn't know why her attitude had changed so much, but he thought of the dangers of the Blackwater Pool and the two other places he intended to visit, which would likely be no less perilous.

His future was uncertain, and with the Dark Ghost sweeping through the area, it would be extremely difficult for him to travel alone with his individual combat strength.

If the woman before him, along with the Su and He families, traveled with him, it could significantly reduce his risk of death.

Pang Jian, who originally found people troublesome and inconvenient for cultivation, felt his resolve waver when he thought about what he would have to face next.

Luo Hongyan narrowed her eyes slightly, and with a half-smile, she said, "Every time you breathe deeply, you keep bumping into me. Are you... doing that on purpose?"

Pang Jian exhaled upon hearing this, pressed his back against the tree wall, and said, "The space is too cramped. You should go out."

Luo Hongyan lowered her head with a soft laugh, her bright eyes fixed on an object protruding from Pang Jian's chest.

It was that bronze-gate-shaped token, which had first consumed a drop of Phoenix Marrow and then swallowed the blood-colored phoenix formed from the essence and blood of that Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard.

The token was beneath Pang Jian's clothes; she had clearly felt it just now, yet she hadn't detected any other abnormalities.

When their bodies touched earlier, the token had emitted no spiritual power fluctuations, nor was it surrounded by any divine sense.

"A strange artifact."

With a clear goal in mind, the reason she had followed Pang Jian into the tree hollow and deliberately stayed so close was to feign an accidental touch of that mysterious token, hoping to uncover the profound mystery and origin of the object.

Her first attempt yielded nothing, and she felt a touch of dejection.

As she mused, she heard the slightly ragged sound of Pang Jian's breathing, so she shifted her gaze from his chest and tilted her head up slightly to look.

She saw Pang Jian awkwardly suppressing the urge to gasp for air, his entire body appearing both rigid and strange.

She could not help but be rendered speechless.

Beneath the Blackwater Pool, this snake-riding youth who had slaughtered all her scouts had been ruthless and merciless, leaving no room for negotiation.

Jin Yang, along with two Pulse-Opening Realm experts from the Dark Ghost, had all been struck down one by one by this youth before her, not a single soul left alive.

Why was he like this now?

Her nimble mind whirred, and she feigned regret, saying, "Under the pool, while I was imprisoned by that silver net, you have no idea how much I hoped and rejoiced when you suddenly appeared and rushed toward me."

"I thought you had come to save me. At that moment, I thought that if you saved my life, I would be willing to..."

She did not finish the four words "give myself to you," stopping abruptly at the perfect moment.

She lowered her head, the snow-white skin behind her ears flushing with a rosy hue, appearing incredibly bashful.

"Pang Jian," she said softly, "please allow me to invite you once more to be my guide in the Cenji Mountains. This time, I will surely treat you well."

With those words, she took out the cloth bag Pang Jian had discarded, placed it by the tree hollow, and quietly departed.

Flushed with shyness, she left behind ample time and space for Pang Jian to ruminate and consider.

In the distance, Su Yuntian, Su Meng, He Rong, and a crowd of servants loyal to the two families watched as the usually cold and aloof eldest daughter of the Ning Family stepped out of the tree hollow, suddenly looking bashful after speaking with the young hunter.

"Ziren's body is not yet cold! She, she!"

He Rong stomped his feet and cursed in a low, angry voice.

Su Yuntian and his daughter were also stunned.

"I heard that Sister Ning always opposed her marriage to Brother Ziren. Could it be that her true beloved is that young man named Pang Jian?"

Su Meng's head filled with love stories of noble ladies falling for commoners, her eyes brimming with longing and yearning.

"This is what love should look like! In the future, I, too, will be like Sister Ning and never be bound by the marriage contracts set by the family!"

She clenched her fists, raised her hand, and slashed it downward with force, as if swearing a blood oath.

"Thump!"

Su Yuntian rapped her on the forehead, and when she cried out in pain, he scolded, "Stop reading those trashy books!"

"Is it not your body, so you must intentionally debase it?"

Ning Yao, imprisoned within her own sea of consciousness, looked at the beautiful, scarlet figure in the dark void and said angrily, "If you want to scheme for that bronze plaque of his, why not just snatch it and leave?"

In the empty sea of consciousness, Luo Hongyan's luxurious scarlet dress swayed, rippling with layers of spatial waves.

In this void where a spirit could fully manifest its mysteries, she was so breathtakingly beautiful that every smile seemed capable of infecting all male gods.

Unfortunately, only Ning Yao could see her.

She sneered and said with infinite charm, "Little girl, you don't know a damn thing."

Ning Yao fell silent.

"You think I am debasing your body?"

Luo Hongyan pursed her lips, red as fire, and chuckled, "Then you don't know what true debasement is."

"If I felt it necessary, I would strip off these clothes and press my naked body against him, as long as it allowed me to uncover the secret of that bronze plaque."

"Besides, this body isn't mine anyway, so why should I care?"

She laughed wantonly in this void.

"You might as well possess me completely!"

Ning Yao shouted in despair.

She could feel that this Demoness who had usurped her body was truly capable of doing such things.

The mere thought of the scene the Demoness described made her feel worse than if she had been killed.

"Possess you?"

Luo Hongyan shook her head and said with disdain, "Are you even worthy of being possessed by me?"

"Do you know the difference between inhabitation and possession? With inhabitation, I only need to keep your soul intact to act through your body. But with possession, I would need to refine your soul and accept all your lifelong memories and experiences."

"Possession means I would truly occupy your body and walk the world as you."

"Little girl, you overestimate your own abilities. With your talent for cultivation, how could I possibly look upon you with favor?"

"You, you aren't even worthy of being a target for my possession. I wouldn't pay such a high price for you."

After a series of cold, biting remarks that ground Ning Yao into the dust, she was satisfied to see Ning Yao's heart turn to ash. "I will allow you to watch. You will see how I, Luo Hongyan, use your body, Ning Yao, to obtain everything I desire."

At that very moment.

Pang Jian suddenly stepped out of the tree hollow, raised the cloth bag filled with silver shards, and waved it toward her. "I accept this bag of silver."

Luo Hongyan revealed a smile of irrepressible joy, looking utterly flattered as she cheered, "Really? That's wonderful!"

In the void of the sea of consciousness.

Luo Hongyan, whose beauty was enough to topple kingdoms and ruin cities, gazed at the pitch-black expanse and the faint, mist-like soul shadow of Ning Yao, saying:

"Next, I will let you see how I step by step earn his trust, make him open his heart to me, and even become willing to brave fire and water for my sake."

Ning Yao asked with boundless sorrow, "Is it by using my body to trade for his trust?"

"If it were truly necessary, I would do it without the slightest hesitation." Luo Hongyan nodded gently, smiling as she continued to strike a blow: "To me, your body is merely a tool. If I could trade it for his trust, I would naturally hand it over."

Ning Yao's soul shadow trembled violently.