Having listened to Jinghong's description, the entity within the jet-black ancient ring spoke in a voice as calm and unrippled as an ancient well.
"The Immortal Palace's disciples having their deepest desires stirred to fight over this Lu Yang reminds me of a tragic affair in ancient times.
"Has someone caused a rudimentary Dao fruit of the seven emotions to spin out of control, or does this Lu Yang have countless ties to the Harem Golden Core—having met an ancient figure who helped him condense it, thus brewing today's calamity?
"Since no cultivators at the Body Integration stage have entered the fray, it means the disparity between them and Lu Yang is too vast for them to feel desire toward him.
"Disciple, regardless of how matters unfold, do not step onto the battlefield. This person is far more dangerous than you imagine."
"B-but Master, I like Lu Yang too!" Jinghong felt her heart pounding wildly. Just thinking of Lu Yang stirred an indescribable possessiveness, an urge to make him hers alone.
Her master had indeed warned her to stay away from Lu Yang, but having heard so many tales about him, she had already harbored a modest fondness for him. Under the influence of today's unknown phenomenon, that fondness had magnified without limit, leaving her entirely unable to suppress her feelings!
An upward grunt came from the jet-black ancient ring. "Hm? Then quickly enter the ring's pocket world. I shall suppress it for you..."
"Master, please grant your disciple this one indulgence!"
"..." The corner of the entity's eye twitched within the jet-black ancient ring.
***
"Junior Brother Lu Yang is mine!" Daggers in hand, Jinghong barged in, wedging herself between Lan Ting and Tao Yaoye and neatly deflecting their attacks.
"To think Senior Sister Jinghong was hiding her strength all along," Lan Ting noted the anomaly the moment they clashed.
Not to boast, but even among the cloud of prodigies in the Immortal Palace, her own talent was terrifying. With her early Soul Formation cultivation base, even senior sisters at the mid Soul Formation stage who were renowned for combat prowess could barely fight her to a draw.
Yet Senior Sister Jinghong, a mid Soul Formation cultivator not known for combat, was able to match her blow for blow from the very start. That proved she was definitely not as simple as she appeared on the surface.
"Only the strong deserve to possess the strong!" Senior Sister Jinghong declared her claim, showing not the slightest retreat as she took on both of them at once.
True to her name, she moved like a startled swan, darting at high speeds through the cramped space. Even the Kunpeng Clan, celebrated for their swiftness, could do no better with their extreme-speed arts.
As the three fought, the scene grew increasingly chaotic. Lu Yang finally spotted a chance to escape and used the To Inches Art to shrink himself. Yet Lan Ting's two sashes were imbued with some unknown spell, shrinking in tandem with Lu Yang and keeping him bound just as tightly.
*Should I just cut the sashes?* Lu Yang saw that Lan Ting had been using the sashes as weapons and worried that they might be her natal magical treasure. If he severed them rashly, it might harm her.
The Immortal Fairy chimed in at just the right moment to put his mind at ease. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. Girl Lan's natal magical treasure is the axe in her hand."
"What?" In an instant, Lu Yang's image of Lan Ting was completely overturned.
No matter, now was not the time to dwell on that. As long as it wouldn't hurt Junior Sister Lan Ting, that was all that mattered.
Lu Yang summoned the Green Blade Sword, easily slicing through the sashes and breaking free of the restraints.
***
"Senior Sister, shouldn't we step in and stop this?" Elder Zhu Hong sat before a water mirror, which reflected Lu Yang trussed up like a dumpling as well as the wood clone being chased by countless Immortal Palace disciples.
Luo Hongxia had received a voice transmission from Master Zhuiyue and knew the whole story.
She gave a cold snort. "What's the rush? It won't be too late to intervene once the boy is actually caught.
"Didn't you see him on his first day locked in the Hall of Sinners? The disciples bringing him prison meals came in an endless stream. Anyone who didn't know better would think our Immortal Palace was his harem.
"We need to scare the boy a bit so he doesn't dare build a harem on a whim."
***
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, don't run!" Seeing her sashes cut through, Lan Ting hurriedly moved to chase him.
Tao Yaoye and Jinghong had no intention of giving her the chance, however, joining forces to block her at the doorway.
"Fine, fine, fine—you forced my hand!" Lan Ting had nearly caught Lu Yang's sleeve, only to have such a golden opportunity ruined by these two. Besides, Senior Brother Lu Yang was no longer here, so there was no need to care about her image anymore.
The sashes lying severed in several pieces on the floor flew together, fusing seamlessly back into their original state.
Lan Ting wrapped the sashes around the axe. With a light flick of her wrists, the axe spun with a fierce roar, radiating astonishing power.
Lu Yang fled in disarray, not daring to stop for a single moment. If the three of them joined forces, he would never make it out alive.
"Even the guest quarters aren't safe anymore."
"Don't be afraid, Junior Brother. Senior Sister will protect you." A figure suddenly appeared and yanked Lu Yang away.
Lu Yang looked up and saw that it was actually Senior Sister Jinghong!
That made no sense—wasn't Senior Sister Jinghong still fighting back in the guest room?
"The one fighting in the room is a clone she crafted," the Immortal Fairy remarked. "And frankly, the girl's skill in crafting clones is quite impressive. Looks like she studied artifact refinement well."
"Junior Brother Lu, let's leave the Immortal Palace together and wander to the ends of the earth!" Senior Sister Jinghong pulled Lu Yang into a tight embrace, her voluptuous figure smothering him to the point where he could barely breathe.
As expected of an artifact refiner, her strength was startling; Lu Yang struggled just trying to break free.
*Senior Zhuiyue, you've committed a heinous sin!* Lu Yang had already cursed Master Zhuiyue several times over in his heart.
It was one thing for her rudimentary Dao fruit of the seven emotions to go out of control, but she could have made all the disciples fall for her instead! How on earth had it ended up with everyone infatuated with him?
"To Inches, Shrinking the Earth!"
Lu Yang instantly shrank and burrowed into the ground. But Senior Sister Jinghong was no pushover either; casting some unknown technique, she displayed an earth-burrowing effect of her own.
What was more, she moved through the ground faster than Lu Yang.
Unable to use sword flight underground, Lu Yang had no choice but to break through the surface and skim low along the ground.
If he flew too high, he feared other disciples would spot him.
Senior Sister Jinghong produced a shuttle-boat of her own crafting. Its speed was incredible, keeping pace with Lu Yang's sword flight without falling behind in the slightest.
"Someone has broken into the Immortal Palace," the Immortal Fairy said with a frown.
"Huh? Who?" The Immortal Fairy's sudden remark caught Lu Yang completely off guard.
"I don't know who they are, but there are at least two cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, and they don't look friendly."
"How did they get in? What about the sect-protecting grand formation?"
"They knew how to undo the formation and bypassed the palace's detection."
"Then what should we do? Notify the Immortal Palace?" Compared to unknown Tribulation Transcendence figures infiltrating the palace, being chased by a mob of disciples was hardly a concern.
"If I notify the Immortal Palace directly, I won't be able to explain how I found out. Fairy, tell me where they are!"
"They just passed through the entrance of the Immortal Palace."
"That works out perfectly."
Lu Yang banked the Green Blade Sword beneath his feet and flew straight toward the palace entrance.
He was willing to bet Luo Hongxia knew his situation and had been watching this whole time, and Master Zhuiyue might be doing the same. In that case, he would simply draw the intruders right into their line of sight!
The intruders had cast an invisibility spell, making them impossible to see with the naked eye. Even with the Immortal Fairy pointing out their exact location, all Lu Yang could see was a vast expanse of white snow.
Using his divine sense, Lu Yang spotted the relentlessly pursuing Jinghong throwing a rope at him. He veered sharply, causing the rope to miss and whip straight toward that empty stretch of snow.
"What rotten luck."
A figure appeared, muttering as he shattered the rope. He had been hiding perfectly well, only for the sudden attack to force him to intercept it.
"Intruders!" Luo Hongxia shot to her feet, realizing that something was terribly wrong. Aiming straight through the water mirror at the intruder, she unleashed a beam of azure light!
Chapter 1037