The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Even the place he hid after escaping the Star-Picking Sect was the Huang Family, distant relatives of Huang Xiaoyu. It was clear how deeply he loved that woman!

Huang Yongfeng's voice was hoarse. Clenching the detonator switch between his teeth, he asked, "Are you ready, Xiaoyu?..."

In that instant, the members of the Star-Picking Sect were terrified, their souls nearly leaving their bodies! With their True Qi circulation severely disrupted, they would undoubtedly perish under the force of two tons of explosives—even Wu Xing, who was at the Celestial Spirit Peak.

"No, no! Wu Liu, I've changed my mind! I'm willing to find a place where no one knows us and live a simple life with you!" Huang Xiaoyu shrieked.

Huang Yongfeng took the detonator switch back into his mouth and said with a tearful smile, "I've said it before, even if you're just acting, I'm willing to believe you. You've been my only light, the one thing I've lived for all these years."

With that, he bit down on the button with a CLICK!

A DING sound rang out, and the members of the Star-Picking Sect clutched their heads in frustration, squeezing their eyes shut.

But the expected violent explosion didn't happen. Instead, the sound of a second-by-second countdown began.

Huang Yongfeng spat a small glass orb from the button mechanism and held it out to Huang Xiaoyu. "This is the Array Talisman for the Array of Qiu Niu. With this, you won't be affected by the Trapping Array and can get out. But the Array Talisman can only be used once. The explosives will detonate in one minute. Go, quickly!"

Without a second thought, Huang Xiaoyu reached for the glass orb. Just as she was about to grab it, it flew through the air and landed directly in the hands of Chen Dong, who was perched in a high spot.

Huang Yongfeng saw Chen Dong and cried out in astonishment, "Chen Dong! How did you get here?!"

Wu Xing and the others were frantic. Seeing Chen Dong, he immediately shouted, "Quick! Give me the Array Talisman and the Mingxi Grass!"

Chen Dong ignored Wu Xing and the others, putting on a look of surprise. "Didn't you bring me here?"

Huang Yongfeng looked awkward. He had only lied to Huang Xiaoyu and had no idea how Chen Dong could have known.

But Chen Dong just clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Ah, Yongfeng! I see your life's greatest weakness has always been women! With this Array Talisman, even if it only creates a one-time, one-person opening, it's enough for these Celestial Spirit Realm cultivators to escape. Didn't you notice how they stopped being afraid the moment they knew about it?"

Huang Yongfeng's expression froze. He had never cultivated to the Celestial Spirit Realm. Even though he had tried his best to account for the power of its practitioners, he had still left a loophole.

Huang Xiaoyu frantically pleaded with Huang Yongfeng, "Wu Liu, don't listen to him! Get the Array Talisman back, quick! I promise I'll be the only one to leave! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

Chen Dong teased, "Why are you begging him? You should be begging me! I'm the one with the strongest attack power, after all!"

Huang Xiaoyu could hear the mockery in Chen Dong's voice, but in a life-or-death moment, she had no other choice. She faced Chen Dong and pulled down the collar of her hollow-patterned qipao, revealing a large expanse of pale skin. "Sir, if you give me the Array Talisman, I'll do anything you want!"

A flash of disgust crossed Chen Dong's eyes. 'From the looks of her, she's had quite a few boy toys. It seems that Sect Leader's head is very... healthy.'

Feigning nonchalance, he glanced at his phone and said slowly, "Thirty seconds left. I think I'll just keep it. Watching you all get blown to bits together sounds pretty good, actually."

Wu Xing shouted, "Just give me the Array Talisman, and I'll give you anything you want!"

"Three of your four Guardians died by my hand. Your Star-Picking Sect is a real headache for me. I have no intention of letting a Sect Leader like you get out!"

The three Celestial Spirit Realm cultivators quickly closed in on Chen Dong. "I don't need you to give me the Array Talisman anymore. I don't believe you won't try to escape yourself. The instant you open the Trapping Array, we can get out too!"

Chen Dong sneered mockingly, "Who said I was going to leave? I'm staying right here for a front-row seat! I've been close to a mental breakthrough lately; this will be perfect for tempering my heart."

The three Celestial Spirit Realm cultivators stared at Chen Dong as if he were a complete moron. 'You're about to lose your life and you're worried about tempering your heart?!?'

Only Huang Yongfeng, among everyone present, had an inkling that Chen Dong, with his Outer Manifestation abilities, might actually survive the explosion.

Chen Dong closed his eyes, listening to the countdown and sensing the Star-Picking Sect members frantically searching and digging for the explosives throughout the factory. He had never been a saint, but in that moment, he felt a sliver of his own cruelty. The twelve Grandmasters and three Celestial Spirit Realm cultivators were one thing, but the seventeen True Qi Realm members below were mostly young people under twenty. They had no real grudge against him; they were just members of the Star-Picking Sect.

At that moment, Chen Dong's mind split in two: one good, one evil.

The good Chen Dong: 'Save them! As one who heals, you cannot stand by and let the innocent be slaughtered!'

The evil Chen Dong: 'Just sit back and watch the fireworks. Isn't less trouble a good thing? Aren't you the one who hates trouble the most? All you have to do is sit still for ten more seconds, and it will all be over!'

Chen Dong's state of mind fluctuated, and his Realm wavered with it. He understood now that this was one of the trials of the Inner Realm Mystic Passage. Every choice between good and evil was a form of Inner Realm cultivation.

When knowledge and action become one, when one awakens to their true self and achieves spiritual clarity, that is when one breaks through the Outer Manifestation and reaches the Inner Realm.

The good side was Chen Dong, and the evil side was also Chen Dong. Facing his first true choice between good and evil, he was momentarily indecisive.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Huang Yongfeng, eyes closed, waiting for the explosion. In that instant, Chen Dong's sea of consciousness cleared. The good and evil voices in his head vanished. It was just like Huang Yongfeng's all-consuming love for Huang Xiaoyu. 'I love you deeply, not because of who you are, but simply because I love you.'

Celestial Spirit energy coalesced around Chen Dong, and his Outer Manifestation erupted from the ground. 'Yes. I'm saving them simply because I want to. That's all there is to it!'