The One Who Stirs His Heart

Fu Hongchen was not breathtakingly handsome, but ever since he was young, his looks had always been praised.

No one had ever called him ugly.

Chu Zeming was the first.

Anger flared within him. His white robes snapped in the wind as his bonded artifact, the Soul-Piercing Cone, shot toward Chu Zeming once more.

Seeing this, Scabby Head hurriedly retreated far away with the rest of his underlings.

They stared at Chu Zeming as though watching a show.

He himself could not defeat Chu Zeming, but Fu Hongchen was different.

A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator against a Jindan Stage cultivator was absolute suppression across a major realm. Chu Zeming would not meet a good end. He was just waiting to get beaten up.

Chu Zeming's expression turned grave. The Luminous Glaze Sword in his hand hummed as he raised it before himself, blocking the Soul-Piercing Cone's strike. Then, with a flash, he appeared beside Fu Hongchen and struck at his chest with his palm.

Fu Hongchen caught the wrist of the black-robed, black-haired youth. A cold smile appeared on his fair face. "You think close combat means you can win?"

As he spoke, Fu Hongchen's fingers tightened slightly.

Crack—

The crisp sound of breaking bone came from where he gripped him.

Fu Hongchen leaned a little closer to the black-robed youth before him. As he continued applying force, he murmured, "In the eyes of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, your movements are so slow they are riddled with openings."

Pain brought fine beads of sweat to Chu Zeming's forehead. Looking at that handsome face less than a fist's distance from his own, Chu Zeming raised his other hand toward him again.

A hint of amusement spilled into Fu Hongchen's eyes, mixed with several parts contempt.

"I told you, don't delude yourself into attacking me..."

Before he could finish, Fu Hongchen's expression froze—

Because Chu Zeming was not attacking him. He was reaching for his waist.

Watching helplessly as Chu Zeming swiftly crushed the Teleportation Jade Token hanging at his waist, astonishment appeared in Fu Hongchen's eyes.

Chu Zeming raised his head and gave Fu Hongchen a dazzling smile. "Who told you I wanted to attack you?"

Chu Zeming looked at Fu Hongchen and silently mouthed two words to him—"Bye-bye."

Then the handsome man in snow-white robes vanished from the spot in an instant.

Chu Zeming saw that, before Fu Hongchen was teleported away, his handsome face had twisted with fury.

The originally one-sided situation suddenly reversed.

With Fu Hongchen no longer getting in his way, Chu Zeming, at the peak of the Jindan Stage, was the strongest.

Rolling his wrist, Chu Zeming lifted his eyes toward the stunned Scabby Head and the others nearby and said pleasantly, "Who should I deal with first?"

Lu Benxiong swallowed and quietly retreated behind the crowd.

Before he had taken two steps, the Luminous Glaze Sword, glowing faintly red and brimming with chilling Killing Intent, pressed against his throat.

"So you finally caught me? You said you'd make sure I died here today?" Chu Zeming asked with a smile.

Lu Benxiong's eyes widened as he stared at the sword against his neck. He stammered, "Y-you... Chu, don't go too far! I'm Elder Lu of the Heavenly Remnant Sect's only son. If you dare... dare touch me, the Heavenly Remnant Sect won't let you off!"

The moment his words fell, the Luminous Glaze Sword edged another half inch closer to Lu Benxiong's neck. The sensation of a sharp weapon cutting skin came from his throat. Lu Benxiong finally lost his nerve. Trembling, he directly crushed the Teleportation Jade Token at his waist. Before leaving, he cursed loudly, "Chu Zeming, you're finished! I'm going back to find my father!"

Chu Zeming stood where he was, the Luminous Glaze Sword circling the group of disciples at his command.

"And you? What are you waiting for? Waiting until a sword is at your throats?"

The crowd exchanged looks. Though unwilling, they still gritted their teeth and crushed their own jade talismans.

The space became silent once more.

Only then did Chu Zeming put away the Luminous Glaze Sword.

He lowered his head and looked at the hand that had been squeezed purple-red, softly hissing in pain.

It hurt.

But for the time being, he had eliminated one powerful competitor.

There was only one jade talisman. Once used, the elders would not give out another. Fu Hongchen could choose to climb up again from the first level, but without a jade talisman, the danger was effectively doubled, and the risks he would have to bear were outrageously high. Chu Zeming believed that Fu Hongchen would not catch up to him anytime soon.

After sitting down to regulate his breathing and meditate for a while, the injury to his hand improved slightly.

Chu Zeming returned to the Scarlet Scale Fruit. He had just plucked one when another terrifying pressure suddenly surged from the cave. Then, a Crimson Serpent Python with a diameter of one meter poked its head out of the cave.

Heavenly treasures were always guarded by demonic beasts.

Perhaps his fight with Fu Hongchen had just awakened the giant python guarding the Scarlet Scale Fruit within the cave.

The giant python's vertical pupils fixed unblinkingly on Chu Zeming. Man and snake confronted one another, and the atmosphere tightened to its limit.

He had just sent away wolves, only for tigers and leopards to arrive.

Chu Zeming's mood was incomparably heavy.

This giant python should be a Spirit Condensation Realm demonic beast, comparable to a human cultivator at the Out-of-Body Stage.

The pressure radiating from its body alone was nearly too much for Chu Zeming to withstand.

Suddenly, the Crimson Serpent Python moved.

It opened its jaws and lunged at Chu Zeming.

Chu Zeming sucked in a cold breath and drew his sword. Before he could defend himself, a cool snake tongue unexpectedly flicked across his face, then—licked him?

Chu Zeming was left in utter chaos.

The giant python withdrew its tongue, nudged Chu Zeming, and looked at the fruit beside them with its vertical pupils.

Chu Zeming:?

After hesitating for a moment, Chu Zeming cautiously reached out and plucked a Scarlet Scale Fruit.

Sure enough, the Crimson Serpent Python did not attack him. Instead, it nudged his body again with its enormous head, as if encouraging him.

Only after Chu Zeming had harvested every Scarlet Scale Fruit growing around the cave entrance did the Crimson Serpent Python stop nudging him with its head.

Chu Zeming said thank you.

Just as he turned to leave, the Crimson Serpent Python suddenly crawled out of the cave and slowly lowered its noble head like one offering submission.

Before Chu Zeming could figure out what it wanted, Xiao Hei crawled out from inside his robe, climbed onto the Crimson Serpent Python's head, and rapidly patted the space beside it with the tip of its little tail, eagerly signaling for Chu Zeming to come sit with it.

Chu Zeming: "..."

It seemed he truly had contracted something extraordinary.

The fiery-red giant python, its scales hard as iron, sped through the second level of the Divine Wood Realm. Wherever it passed, the earth shook violently. The Demonic Beasts and monsters watching covetously from all around stared at the black-robed youth atop its head, yet none dared rashly attack to seize him.

Sitting atop the Crimson Serpent Python's head, Chu Zeming experienced for the first time what it felt like to have an expert carry him through a game dungeon map.

Across the entire second level of the Divine Wood Realm, before Chu Zeming had even clearly seen what dangers lay hidden here or what the place looked like, he had already arrived at the passage onward.

After thanking the Crimson Serpent Python, Chu Zeming took Xiao Hei and headed straight for the third level of the Divine Wood Realm.

Fierce gale winds, a desolate Gobi, broken banners everywhere, and weathered ruins. Within this vast heaven and earth wandered countless ghosts and walking corpses—this was an Ancient Battlefield, and both the corpses and ghosts had once been cultivators from over ten thousand years ago.

No cultivators had come up yet. Deathly energy filled the surroundings.

Other than Chu Zeming, there was not a second living person.

One of the treasures awarded to the top ten was hidden within this Ancient Battlefield.

Chu Zeming carefully avoided the wandering resentments and corpses.

He had no intention of tangling with these things. Chu Zeming was not interested in the third level's contents. His sole target was the secret treasure in the immortal estate at the peak of the Divine Wood Realm, and he needed to preserve his strength until the end.

Keeping as close to the edges as possible and avoiding the wandering ghosts and specters, Chu Zeming searched for a long time, yet still could not find the entrance to the fourth level.

The surroundings were utterly silent.

War chariots, broken banners, wandering ten-thousand-year walking corpses, and resentful spirits...

Within the Ancient Battlefield, where Killing Intent surged into the sky, the black-haired youth in dark robes stood silently between heaven and earth.

For a moment, Chu Zeming felt somewhat lost.

The method of clearing the second level had been far too easy, so the Divine Wood Realm had returned it all to him on the third level.

Just as everything reached an impasse, the scene before him suddenly changed completely—the terrifyingly silent Ancient Battlefield became an earthly paradise. Peach blossoms filled the sky, running water murmured in his ears, and then came the silver-bell laughter of a young woman...

"Come on, young master, come play in the water..."

A warm yet cool touch brushed his neck. Chu Zeming lowered his head and saw a smooth, fair arm like a jade lotus root reaching around him from behind, wrapping around him.

Chu Zeming froze.

This... was an illusion?

Chu Zeming turned around and saw a veiled woman with a fiery figure standing behind him. She seemed to have just emerged from the stream nearby, her entire body dripping wet as she gazed at Chu Zeming with eyes overflowing with allure.

The pair of eyes exposed beyond the thin veil were large, dark, lively, and clear.

Chu Zeming's heart immediately entered the Heart-Movement Stage.

The woman's eyes shimmered. Covering her lips, she let out a silver-bell laugh. She cast Chu Zeming a shy glance, then slowly loosened her robes. As she fell into his arms, she removed the veil from her face.

—A peerlessly beautiful face capable of toppling cities and kingdoms.

Chu Zeming's heart, halfway through its leap, suddenly seized up. He nearly could not draw another breath.

He threw a punch, knocking the "beauty" in his arms' nose crooked, then picked her up and smashed her onto the ground.

The "beauty" lay naked on the ground, staring at Chu Zeming in disbelief before cursing loudly, "What is wrong with you?! Isn't she the one from the Heart-Movement Stage?! I've stripped naked, so why are you hitting me?! Come on, fuck me!"

Author's note:

Chu Zeming: cnmua, did you hear that?! Illusion, I cnmua!!!