At the street corner, a young figure hurried over, looking extremely anxious.
Upstairs, Ye Yu watched the newcomer and smiled faintly.
"I remember that man is the Crown Prince of the Wu Dynasty, isn't he? You wanted to lure him out?" Qin Ruoxian asked beside Ye Yu.
Ye Yu gave Qin Ruoxian a surprised look.
Sensing Ye Yu's gaze, Qin Ruoxian curled her lips and said, "I'm not stupid."
"Not entirely. Whether Wu Lei comes or not doesn't really matter. Of course, it would be best if he came. If he doesn't, Liu Ruyan still won't meet a good end," Ye Yu said with a light chuckle.
"Didn't I remember you being on rather good terms with him when you were Crown Prince? Why are you plotting against him now?" Qin Ruoxian asked, somewhat puzzled.
That woman Liu Ruyan was no harmless sort. Once she latched onto someone, it was no laughing matter.
Ye Yu had arranged so much precisely because he wanted Wu Lei and Liu Ruyan to become entangled.
"That was in Great Flame. The Wu Dynasty was our neighboring country, so naturally we had to placate them. But now, I am Great Qin's Imperial Son-in-law. Naturally, I must consider things for your sake." Ye Yu looked at Qin Ruoxian gently.
Qin Ruoxian's face instantly reddened, but she nodded, having understood the gains and losses involved.
They were not merely cultivators; they were also members of the imperial family. Sometimes, cultivation made them overlook matters at court.
"Liu Ruyan is now alone and without support, while Wu Lei is the Crown Prince of Wu. She will naturally cling tightly to this towering tree and refuse to let go. If the Crown Prince is without virtue, the court will surely fall into chaos. Then we can march our army forth and take the Wu Dynasty in one stroke."
Ye Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he grinned.
"Alright, focus on regulating your breath. The secret realm should open tomorrow. Rest well." Ye Yu rubbed Qin Ruoxian's head. Having lost the mood to watch the show, he turned and left.
After returning to his room, Ye Yu sat cross-legged on the bed, suppressing the spiritual power within his body.
The Small Cauldron absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth far faster than even a Saint Spiritual Root.
Over the past half month or so, the spiritual power accumulated within Ye Yu's body had become sufficient for him to attempt a breakthrough into the Nascent Soul Realm.
However, Ye Yu was not yet very confident in condensing a high-grade Nascent Soul, so he had been suppressing the spiritual power in his body and slowing his cultivation.
At dawn the next day, news arrived that the spatial storm around the secret realm's outskirts was gradually weakening and was about to dissipate.
In the next instant, streams of light shot into the sky from Bianhuang City, racing toward the heart of the savage wilderness. The once bustling Bianhuang City became desolate once more.
At the center of the savage wilderness, black spatial fissures were visible to the naked eye. Endless storms blew from within them, though they were already much weaker than in the previous days.
At the center of those spatial fissures, a halo could clearly be seen. That was the passage into the secret realm.
At this moment, the outskirts were packed with people. All the various factions had tacitly kept some distance from one another.
Looking at the halo, Ye Yu suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of unease. He reached out and took Qin Ruoxian's small hand, saying in a low voice, "Something feels wrong. Stay close to me later."
Qin Ruoxian nodded sweetly.
Not far away, Liu Ruyan watched the two of them acting so intimate and gritted her teeth in fury. She truly wished she could rush over and tear Ye Yu and Qin Ruoxian apart with her bare hands, but she also knew her strength was insufficient.
"Sister Ruyan, I have a method that can increase cultivation speed. Do you want to try it?" Seeing Liu Ruyan's expression, Ye Xuan guessed her thoughts and immediately spoke.
"Little Xuan, are you serious?" Liu Ruyan said, her eyes widening.
Ye Xuan glanced around, then secretly took an ancient book from his robe and handed it to her. Written boldly upon it were the words: Blood Refinement Great Method.
Ye Qingshuang, standing to one side, did not notice their small movements. Her gaze remained fixed on Ye Yu, her expression somewhat complicated.
Great Qin Dynasty had taken a detour in searching for Ye Yu, and she had only just arrived in Bianhuang City. The moment she arrived, she had rushed here in a blaze of haste, without even having the chance to speak to Ye Yu.
"It seems I can only find you after entering the secret realm and have a proper talk with you." Ye Qingshuang murmured to herself before withdrawing her gaze.
But in the next moment, a sudden change occurred. After the spatial storm weakened, inky green miasma actually began to seep from within the passage, spreading outward with a thick, bloody stench.
Those cultivators standing nearby were infected by the miasma and immediately let out miserable screams. Then, their entire bodies instantly dissolved into pools of blood.
At the sight, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air and hastily retreated.
Several Nascent Soul Realm Guardians acted at once, spiritual power scattering as they attempted to disperse the miasma.
Yet it was like a clay ox vanishing into the sea—there was no reaction whatsoever.
"This is... Blood Origin Miasma?!" someone suddenly cried out in alarm.
Quite a few people came to their senses, their expressions turning ugly. This was no ordinary miasma. With one careless misstep, even Nascent Soul Realm experts could perish within it.
Hearing this, Ye Qingshuang frowned. With a flick of her hand, she took numerous pills from her Ring of Holding and distributed them.
"These are third-grade Clear Heart Pills that I refined. They have some resistance against the Blood Origin Miasma. Everyone, be careful and pass through the miasma as quickly as possible."
As soon as she finished speaking, many people looked over, strange lights flickering in their eyes.
This was the first time miasma had appeared in a secret realm, so none of these people had prepared pills to counter miasma before coming.
If they went back to fetch them now, they would inevitably lose the initiative.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan took that bottle of Clear Heart Pills from Ye Qingshuang's hand. After keeping several for himself, he tossed it toward Ye Yu and said, "Imperial Brother, these Clear Heart Pills are for you."
Ye Qingshuang frowned, but unusually, she did not stop him. She wanted to use this opportunity to do Ye Yu a favor, so that future discussions would be easier.
Yet Ye Yu merely sneered. At a time like this, that bottle of Clear Heart Pills was like a hot potato. How could he fail to see through such petty scheming?
Ye Yu immediately pointed a finger. A flash of spiritual light burst forth and shattered the porcelain bottle.
The Clear Heart Pills inside were instantly destroyed as well.
"Imperial Brother, what are you doing? Sister Qingshuang painstakingly refined all these pills. If you don't want them, you could have given them to someone else! Why did you have to destroy them?" Ye Xuan said with a wronged expression.
"Trash, you really don't know what's good for you. Little Xuan is generous enough not to argue with you, yet you just keep pushing it, don't you?!" Seeing Ye Xuan suffer such a grievance, Liu Ruyan immediately cursed him out.
Liu Ruyan's reputation had already been ruined, so she naturally no longer needed to put on an act. She could not wait to defend Ye Xuan.
Ye Yu glanced blandly at the two of them and said, "I have no use for such trash pills. Stop putting on an act and pretending to be a good person."
At those words, Ye Qingshuang's face darkened. She said coldly, "Are you saying the pills I refined are trash?!"
Before you continue