At that very moment, inside the Earth Dragon Sect's main hall.
Built from heavy blocks of gray stone, the hall was where the Earth Dragon Sect discussed its affairs and received visitors.
Ordinarily, it was a place of deliberation, filled with the sect's steady presence. Now a thick, clammy chill gripped the entire hall. A faint stench of blood and rot hung in the air, and the few Earth Dragon Sect disciples still inside scarcely dared to breathe aloud.
Nan Shuishui stood motionless at the center of the hall, her posture straight. She was strikingly beautiful, with a graceful figure. Years of leading the Earth Dragon Sect had given her a composed, sharp bearing, but that composure had been torn apart.
Her back was rigid, every muscle on high alert. Her clear eyes fixed coldly on the black-robed man opposite her.
Luo Yu raised his head slightly. His hood slipped back enough to reveal a sinister face and eyes that held decades of obsessive longing.
His gaze clung to Nan Shuishui, and a bone-chilling smile tugged at his lips. His low, hoarse voice echoed through the cavernous hall. "Nan Shuishui, you're unmarried, and I've never taken a wife. Won't you consider it?"
Nan Shuishui's chest heaved. Anger surged through her, and her brows drew tight. Disgust and contempt filled her eyes as she forced herself to speak, though she could not keep the tremor from her voice. "Luo Yu, you bastard! I'm already married. And you're an Evil Soul Master—how dare you even entertain such a thought?"
"Dare?" Luo Yu gave a low scoff. Beneath his black robe, several fleshy tentacles writhed. Their surfaces were slick with slime, and foul-smelling dark-red fluid dripped from their tips onto the stone floor, eating shallow pits into it.
He looked at Nan Shuishui