Chapter 733 - 189: Emotional Silk Severed, the Killing Scheme Begins

"Hong Mei'er is a demon from the Moon Worship Sect," Chu Fan interrupted again, his voice steady, each word a knife slicing straight to the bloody truth. "Ah Linglong of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and Sword Traceless of Celestial Sword Mountain are also members of the Moon Worship Sect."

"And Zhang Tianyu, whom you consider your greatest rival—"

Chu Fan stared at Xia Qiu's suddenly constricted pupils and added, enunciating every word, "and the Zhang Family Ancestor, are all members of the Moon Worship Sect."

"..." Xia Qiu stood frozen as if struck by lightning, his mind a complete blank.

Chu Fan's voice continued, coldly weaving a despairing web of conspiracy.

"Did you really think Hong Mei'er was hunting you down all this time just to eliminate a competitor?"

"She was ordered by the Zhang Family to capture every 'prodigy' who entered the Profound Origin Secret Realm, one by one, and present them before Zhang Tianyu!"

"Hong Mei'er, Ah Linglong, and even Sword Traceless... they were all deceived by the Zhang Family Ancestor as well."

"They thought that by capturing enough cultivators for a Blood Sacrifice, they could force open the gates of the Burial Immortal Valley."

"Too bad that old monster's true goal is to devour everyone here, including these pawns from the Moon Worship Sect!"

"And then open the Burial Immortal Valley himself and seize the legendary 'Immortal Demon Blood'."

"The fact that you 'happened' to learn about the Burial Immortal Valley and the 'Immortal Demon Blood' was just bait deliberately released by the Zhang Family."

"A group of self-proclaimed 'prodigies', all scrambling to take the bait... How pathetic and sad."

"..." Xia Qiu opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single syllable.

'So the so-called opportunity, the so-called battle for the path of immortality, was a bloody trap targeting us "prodigies" from the very beginning.'

'And here we were, fighting to the death over that illusory "Immortal Demon Blood".'

"Sign the contract."

Chu Fan said no more, pointing to the blood-red contract in the air. "What I want are allies whose loyalty is beyond question."

"In this Secret Realm, I can't trust any 'friend' who might stab me in the back."

"Either sign it and be of use to me."

"Or..."

His gaze swept over the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his hand, which seemed to contain the wails of endless Resentful Souls. "Join Hong Mei'er in the banner. That would also be of some value."

"Unless you belong to me and are under my control, I absolutely cannot let you remain here."

"And become a nourishing snack for that old monster."

Everything had been said.

A choice, it seemed, had never existed.

The color had long since drained from Xia Qiu's face, leaving it a ghastly gray-white.

He looked at the floating, blood-red contract, then at Chu Fan's cold and merciless face, and finally, his gaze flickered to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, which made his very soul tremble in fear.

'At this point... what choice did he have?'

He gave a wretched smile, filled with self-mockery and despair. He extended a slightly trembling finger, forced out a drop of crimson essence blood, and flicked it forward.

The bead of blood flew toward the blood-red contract and was instantly absorbed.

The light from the contract document flared, and it grew more solid. The words of its clauses seemed to come alive, emitting an even stronger binding force.

Immediately after, the contract transformed into a ray of blood-red light, which split in two. The larger part sank into the space between Chu Fan's eyebrows, while the smaller part drilled into Xia Qiu's forehead.

In that instant, Xia Qiu felt an invisible yet indestructible shackle suddenly appear in the depths of his soul.

A sense of reverence and obedience born from instinct welled up within him, and he couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance or defiance toward the person before him.

Feeling another controlled Soul Seal appear in his Sea of Consciousness, Chu Fan's expression relaxed slightly.

'This Ancient Demon Contract is really useful.'

'First, I subdued the Zhang Family Shadow Guard, Tang Yu, in the Earth Vein Flame Fire Forbidden Land, and now I've added Xia Qiu from Sword Heart Island.'

WHOOSH!

With a thought, the Five Elements Cauldron swiftly shrank and flew back into his palm. The surrounding scenery returned to that of the original forest clearing.

The cold, damp air enveloped them once more. Only the pervasive stench of blood and the faint, strangely sweet scent had yet to dissipate.

Chu Fan glanced at Xia Qiu, whose face was still pale and aura was weak, and asked, "Hong Mei'er is dead. The backlash from the Emotional Silk should have dissipated."

"Can you still hold on with those injuries?"

Xia Qiu subconsciously wanted to lower his head, but because of the contract, his body maintained an unnaturally respectful posture before Chu Fan.

"Thank you, Chu... Thank you for your concern, Master..."

"It's just an excessive loss of Primordial Qi, and my internal organs are a bit shaken. I'll be fine after taking a Healing Elixir. It's nothing serious."

"Address me as 'Lord Chu'," Chu Fan said indifferently. "I have no interest in raising slaves."

"My actions now are only to deal with the crisis in this Secret Realm."

As he spoke, he took out the "All-Seeing Mirror," aimed it at the surroundings, and replicated the environment into the All-Seeing Mirror.

Then, he looked at Xia Qiu and said, "This 'All-Seeing Mirror' of mine can replicate the surrounding environment, form an illusion, and seal living beings inside."

"The illusion will only dissipate after three days."

"Go inside and heal. When I need your power, I will call you out." ℯℯ𝑙.

"Yes!" Xia Qiu bowed his head.

Chu Fan, holding the All-Seeing Mirror, shone it on Xia Qiu.

A ray of light enveloped Xia Qiu, pulling him into the All-Seeing Mirror.

Chu Fan put away the All-Seeing Mirror and turned his gaze deeper into the forest.

From that direction, a richer scent of blood and an ancient fluctuation seemed to faintly drift over.

...

「Profound Origin Secret Realm, Bewitching Stone Forest.」

The sky here was a perpetual, somber dark red, shattered into pieces of broken glass by towering, forest-like stone peaks.

The wind whistled through the holes in the stone stalagmites, creating a sobbing shriek, like the lingering lament of ancient Resentful Souls.

Every rock here was immense, with rugged and bizarre shapes.

Some resembled giant beasts roaring at the sky, while others looked like Demon Gods with bowed heads, lost in thought.

The surfaces of these rocks were all covered in a thick layer of seemingly living, blue-black moss. Deeper within them, lost and profound Ancient Talismans were inscribed. They flickered intermittently with the abnormally abundant Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism in the Stone Forest, pulsing with a vast and ancient aura.