Zhi Yan gazed at the great gate of the Pagoda Tower. Inside, the relief sculpture of Suo Lun had already completely solidified and become exquisite.
Moreover, the Suo Lun in the relief was also entirely naked.
“Go in, then. Did you not come to save your dear husband? He is already dead inside. Why not join him in a lover’s suicide?” the demoness Wan Wan said with a coquettish laugh.
Zhi Yan stared coldly at the demoness and said slowly, “You deliberately led me here. You never truly believed Suo Lun could help you obtain the Dragon Seal sacred object inside. You are an extremely arrogant person. You spent several years without fully understanding this Pagoda Tower. You absolutely do not believe Suo Lun could figure it out within a few days.”
Wan Wan was startled, then smiled charmingly. “Do go on.”
Zhi Yan said, “At Black Furnace County’s Mount of Misfortune, you deliberately left energy traces for me to follow all the way here. At the Dada City wharf on the western frontier, you could clearly have set sail in the dead of night, yet you deliberately set sail in broad daylight for people to see. Not only that, you were worried I would not discover your whereabouts. When I inquired about your ship, as soon as I asked the third person, someone actively approached me and told me your destination.”
“Wow! This is getting more and more interesting.” Wan Wan laughed coquettishly.
Zhi Yan continued, “After I hired a ship to set sail, that captain carelessly navigated the vessel along the correct course. Later, when I thought you might have come to Pagoda Island, I pointed out the precise location, and that captain revealed a look of astonishment. I did not understand why at the time, but now I finally do. That captain was someone you had arranged all along, with the purpose of bringing me to Pagoda Island. He was probably quite troubled about how to bring me to Pagoda Island without leaving any trace. He never expected that I would voluntarily utter the words ‘Pagoda Island,’ which is why he was so surprised.”
A genuine look of surprise appeared in Wan Wan’s beautiful eyes as she gazed at Princess Zhi Yan. “All this time, I thought you were rather stupid. I never expected you to be wise in your foolishness.”
How could Zhi Yan possibly be stupid? She was absolutely one of the cleverest people in the world.
It was just that she was nearly devoid of emotion and desire, and had grown too lazy to display anything about herself, whether her beauty, martial arts, or even her intelligence.
Zhi Yan said, “You captured Suo Lun and then quietly led me here because you wanted me to die. Moreover, it would be me actively seeking death by entering this Pagoda Tower. You would not bear any responsibility. Afterwards, you could also tell Huai Bing Yi that I died for Suo Lun in a lover’s suicide. This would make him completely give up on me, and then you could seize the opportunity to step in.”
Wan Wan said coquettishly, “That’s right. I love that dead ghost Huai Bing Yi so much, but that sickly ghost only has eyes for you. I not only want to kill you, but I cannot kill you with my own hands. I also need to make him completely give up on you. Do you think this is easy for me? It just so happened that His Highness Zhi Li offered an astronomical price for me to eliminate Suo Lun, so I used him as bait to see if I could kill you without leaving any trace.”
Zhi Yan said, “My uncle, Duke Zhi Ting, once suspected that Huai Bing Yi played an unspeakable role in Suo Lun’s ambush this time. At the time, I could not refute this, but I knew it had nothing to do with him. I understand this person too well. He is arrogant beyond compare. How could he possibly use someone else’s hands to eliminate Suo Lun?”
Wan Wan said, “Of course. That dead sickly ghost’s eyes are so high they reach the heavens. How could he possibly make a move against Suo Lun? He would even find it beneath him to dirty his own hands. Of course, I am also unwilling to make a move against Suo Lun. Let me personally kill him? That would be raising him up too high, this little secular feudal lord. But there was no other way. I needed to use him to eliminate you, so I could only raise him up a bit.”
Zhi Yan said, “Is Huai Bing Yi that important to you?”
“Of course.” Wan Wan said, “Whether from the perspective of interest or love, he is incomparably important. There are only two or three men standing at the peak of this world. If I do not hold on tight, he will be snatched away by someone else. I must marry Huai Bing Yi. You are in the way here, so I can only think of a way to move you aside, and I cannot let Huai Bing Yi hate me for it.”
Zhi Yan sneered coldly. “In the eyes of your One Hall and Four Continents, apart from yourselves, everyone else in this world is an ant.”
“More or less…” Wan Wan said, “So we of the One Hall and Four Continents have only a handful of young men and women. We marry amongst ourselves and internally digest. You, an outsider, should not come to join in the fun!”
Zhi Yan said, “Rest assured. Huai Bing Yi and I are impossible. I have already promised to marry Suo Lun, and I will never change this.”
Wan Wan said, “But Huai Bing Yi still thinks of you. If you are not eliminated, he will not see my existence.”
Then, the demoness Wan Wan said, “What a pity. You are not as stupid as I imagined. You have seen through everything, so you probably will not fall into the trap. What a pity that I wasted over twenty days of effort on such a little feudal lord. He was still smug about his own intelligence, little knowing that so-called intelligence counts for nothing in the eyes of people like us. It is merely a boring trick!”
Zhi Yan smiled faintly and coldly. “Regarding Suo Lun’s unparalleled cleverness, do you truly hold it in contempt?”
The demoness Wan Wan curled her lip. Suddenly, she said, “By the way, do you remember the person Ji Meng Bai?”
Ji Meng Bai, how could she not remember? The man Meng Tuo Luo loved, the man who abandoned her at the wedding.
He was the foremost genius of the young generation of the Dragon God Temple!
At the time, apart from the Eastern Li Kingdom, the royal children of all nations were studying at the Yanjing Dragon God Temple.
Zhi Li, Ji Min, Zhi Yan, Zhi Ning, Fang Qing Shu, and so on.
Ji Meng Bai was not a true royal child of the Yan Empire. He was only the adopted son of Prince Ji Yin.
One could tell his identity from his name. The male children of the Yan Empire royal family had names of only two characters, while the females had three characters. As an adopted son, he also had three characters.
Although he was not an authentic royal child of the Yan Empire, whether in terms of martial arts talent, spiritual talent, or intelligence and wisdom, he was undisputedly the first.
Among the disciples of the Dragon God Temple of that generation, Ji Meng Bai’s fame was unrivalled for a time. Countless women adored him, and even Zhi Ning had once harboured a brief, innocent crush on him.
Meng Tuo Luo was the woman who admired him the most.
Because of her special charm, combined with the shared sympathy of their similar circumstances, Ji Meng Bai ultimately fell in love with Meng Tuo Luo.
Meng Tuo Luo was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of the Mi Yue Duchy. Her stay at the Yanjing Dragon God Temple was actually as a hostage.
The Mi Yue Duchy and the Yan Empire were nearly mortal enemies. For nearly a hundred years, warfare had been constant, and the Yan Empire had annexed more than half of its territory. Now it was on the verge of collapse.
Moreover, Meng Tuo Luo had a marriage contract. After her term as a hostage ended, she would marry into the Eastern Li Kingdom. Her husband would be the son of Duke Jiang Mo of the Eastern Li Kingdom.
So, when Meng Tuo Luo decided to fall in love with Ji Meng Bai, she faced fierce opposition from her parents and her nation. She also completely offended the Eastern Li Kingdom.
In the end, Meng Tuo Luo still bravely chose love and married herself to Ji Meng Bai.
To salvage the Eastern Li Kingdom’s dignity, Meng Tuo Luo’s father, the Duke of the Mi Yue Duchy, publicly announced that Meng Tuo Luo was expelled from the family and from the Mi Yue Duchy, completely severing the father-daughter relationship.
Thus, Meng Tuo Luo had nothing apart from love. She lost her family, lost her nation. Her only support was Ji Meng Bai.
Yet, she was still full of longing for her future life!
At the time, another woman who was madly infatuated with Ji Meng Bai was Fang Qing Di, the younger sister of the young master of the Hidden Continent, Fang Qing Shu.
On one side was Meng Tuo Luo, expelled from her nation and stripped of her inheritance rights. On the other side was the legitimate daughter of the Lord of the Hidden Continent.
In the end, Ji Meng Bai chose Fang Qing Di. On the eve of the wedding, he abandoned Meng Tuo Luo.
Instantly, Meng Tuo Luo had nothing. She was homeless. She was taken in by Zhi Ning, then became the Black Widow whom everyone feared. Now she had gone deep into the barbaric wilderness. No one knew her whereabouts, nor whether she was alive or dead.
Come to think of it, Suo Lun had always wanted to know who that man who abandoned Meng Tuo Luo was.
He was the former foremost young genius of the Dragon God Temple, the adopted son of the Yan Empire royal family, and now the favoured son-in-law of the Lord of the Hidden Continent.
At this moment, when the demoness Wan Wan brought up Ji Meng Bai, Zhi Yan naturally knew what she meant.
Wan Wan said, “Ji Meng Bai was far more clever and excellent than Suo Lun, yet in the end, he still chose to become the live-in son-in-law of the Hidden Continent. He was the clever one. He saw through everything and knew that our One Hall and Four Continents are the people above people. He would rather be a heartless man than squeeze his way in. So, as you can see, so-called intelligence means nothing before absolute power.”
Of course, Ji Meng Bai was acclaimed as the foremost genius of the Dragon God Temple. But Huai Bing Yi, Tian Hai Mu, and Ji Xiu Ning were not included because they studied at the Sky Temple.
Wan Wan continued, “Your brother Zhi Li also married Fang Qing Shu’s older sister, Fang Qing Zhuo. Too many outsiders have already entered our circle. Go and marry Fang Qing Shu. In any case, he still needs to preside over the Hidden Origin Society and still needs to muddle about in the secular world. Stop setting your sights on Huai Bing Yi, will you?”
Zhi Yan sneered coldly. “Rest assured. I will not marry Fang Qing Shu, nor will I marry Huai Bing Yi. I have already completely broken away from your circle, and I will not enter it again. You people look upon your own circle as noble, but Jiang Xue does not place you in his eyes, and I will similarly not place you in mine.”
Upon hearing the two words “Jiang Xue,” Wan Wan’s face twitched, revealing deep-seated hatred.
Then she laughed coquettishly and said, “Then who else are you going to marry?”
“Suo Lun, of course,” Princess Zhi Yan said.
Wan Wan said, “But Suo Lun is already dead. Could it be that you truly wish to die for him in a lover’s suicide?”
Princess Zhi Yan smiled with contempt, then slowly walked towards the great gate of the Pagoda Tower.
Instantly, the Demon Continent Princess Wan Wan was truly stunned. She looked at Zhi Yan in disbelief and said, “You, you clearly saw through my scheme. I am using Suo Lun to kill you, to completely cut off Huai Bing Yi’s longing. Why are you still going in? Could it be that you truly wish to die for Suo Lun in a lover’s suicide?”
Princess Zhi Yan said, “Seeing through your scheme is one matter. Whether or not to enter is another matter. My will is not something that a mere person like you can influence.”
Then, Princess Zhi Yan walked directly into the Pagoda Tower without looking back.
In an instant, her figure completely vanished.
A moment later, another relief sculpture appeared on the stone wall inside, that of the incomparably beautiful and exquisitely crafted Zhi Yan.
However, her relief sculpture was still wearing clothes, still possessing an immortal grace beyond compare, transcending the mundane.
All the other human relief sculptures inside were naked, desires intertwined. Only Zhi Yan’s relief sculpture was serene and far-reaching, her dress completely intact.
At this moment, Zhuang Zhi Xuan stared blankly inside, as if she had received a tremendous shock.
“What are you looking at?” Demon Continent Princess Wan Wan suddenly delivered a fierce slap towards Zhuang Zhi Xuan, sending her flying over a dozen metres away.
Why was she angry? Because she felt that her own lofty and superior aura had been completely suppressed and crushed by Zhi Yan, so she was furious and humiliated.
After Zhuang Zhi Xuan fell, she lightly sprang up, then stood with her head bowed.
“You are quite moved, are you not?” Demon Continent Princess Wan Wan stepped forward and delivered several more slaps, saying, “As a lowly commoner of the secular world, you must have quite a lot in common with them.”
Zhuang Zhi Xuan remained silent.
“You go in too. In any case, you have already slept with Suo Lun, that little secular feudal lord. You can also follow him in a lover’s suicide.” Wan Wan said coldly.
Zhuang Zhi Xuan bit her jade-like teeth, glanced at the demoness Wan Wan, then walked towards the great gate of the Pagoda Tower.
In the blink of an eye, she completely vanished behind the gate, vanishing from the demoness Wan Wan’s sight, becoming a relief sculpture on the wall.
Her relief sculpture was also without a stitch of clothing, entirely naked, her robust and fiery beautiful body fully exposed!
…
After entering the Pagoda Tower.
Instantly, Zhi Yan felt boundless desire surging towards her like towering waves and raging tides.
The entire interior of the great tower seemed like a world of nothingness.
Inside, countless men and women were entwined, exchanging partners.
Exceedingly explicit scenes, an exceedingly degenerate world.
But…
Zhi Yan was a person without emotion or desire. After seeing these scenes, she merely felt her thoughts sway slightly.
Once she calmed her mind, she instantly saw that these men and women degenerating in desire had transformed into skeletons entangled together.
The skeletons were the real world.
And the countless naked, entwined men and women degenerating in desire were illusions of nothingness.
This was a tower of desire. As long as one possessed the seven emotions and six desires, one could not escape upon entering.
So, they had all become living skeletons.
Only Zhi Yan, devoid of emotion and desire, after entering, still maintained her cold serenity.
That is why she could see the real world inside. Apart from endless skeletons, there was nothing else.
And these skeletons had all exhausted their vitality in desire, dying when their oil ran dry.
No wonder all the other human relief sculptures were entirely naked, degenerating in desire, unbearable to look at.
Only Zhi Yan’s relief sculpture was still divinely imposing, her dress completely intact.
Princess Zhi Yan continuously walked within the great tower, while resisting the invasion of desire and searching for Suo Lun’s figure.
Very quickly, she found Suo Lun.
At this moment, Suo Lun was already entirely naked, but he was not engaged in any unsightly behaviour. Instead, he was sitting cross-legged on the ground, desperately using his spiritual power to resist the invasion of desire.
Zhi Yan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked to Suo Lun’s side to lend him a helping hand.
But just at this moment, another figure rushed over. It was Zhuang Zhi Xuan.
Her fiery and robust beautiful body was also without a stitch of clothing, her entire body burning hot and flushed, her beautiful eyes filled with desire.
After rushing over, she directly threw Suo Lun to the ground, and the two of them became completely entangled together!