The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Two moons hung in the sky. Amid the ruins of Liu Family City, the monster Puhuo was bound in the center of an Octagonal Array as E Xuanfu walked toward it, shortsword in hand.

Tian Sisi's escape had left him seething with rage. His face grim, he plunged the shortsword into Puhuo's heart. Blood instantly gushed out, crawling up the blade to his arm. The torrent of blood began to trace black inscriptions across the other half of his face.

The draining of his life force began to rouse Puhuo. His brown muscles receded, and his form returned to normal.

He looked in horror at the shortsword in his chest and at E Xuanfu, his voice a hoarse rasp, "It's you!"

E Xuanfu's voice was sinister. "Yes, it's me. Tian Sisi has reached the Fake Pill Realm and escaped, though she's heavily injured. Only by using your power will I have a better chance of defeating her! If she can break through this world's suppression, so can I! I'll just have to do it for the both of us!"

Puhuo shook his head miserably, screaming, "No! Don't! Don't!"

Controlled by the Array, he couldn't even struggle. As his blood drained away, the burly, formidable Puhuo shriveled into a dried husk. At the same time, the black inscriptions on E Xuanfu's face finished taking shape.

In the moonlight, his entire face, now covered in black inscriptions, looked sinister and terrifying.

He then raised his right fist and clenched it. His muscles instantly bulged, and a brown radiance spreading from the ground enveloped his arm. He sneered at the dead Puhuo, "You idiot! You possessed the Earth Veins but had no idea how to use them! If I had such talent, I would have been the first one to break the world's suppression, not Tian Sisi!"

The radiance on his hand swirled, and with a single punch, he pulverized Puhuo's mummified corpse. Then, he gave an order: "Have our men search the Tian Family's lands, Liu Family City, and the surrounding areas for any trace of Tian Sisi. If we don't find her in three days, gather everyone and withdraw from the Qiankun Realm immediately!"

"Yes!" the remaining men in black replied, their resentment clear.

"Wait!" E Xuanfu changed his mind again. "One day. Search for just one day. If you don't find her, we leave immediately!"

"Yes!"

A sinister light glinted in E Xuanfu's eyes. 'So what if you've formed a Profound Pill, Tian Sisi? Without undergoing a Thunder Tribulation, it's just a Fake Pill. And there are no Thunder Tribulations in the Qiankun Realm. If you want to face your tribulation, you have to go to the real world. All I need to do is lay a grand Array at the entrance to the real world, and I won't have to fear a mere Fake Pill cultivator!'

Beneath the same two moons, in a Cold Pool in the north, Chen Dong was still enduring the torment of internal heat and external cold.

"KAW! KAW!" A grating squawk echoed. Chen Dong's head emerged from the Cold Pool, and he looked at the Corpse Dove with anticipation. "Brother Bird, have you found what I need?"

The Corpse Dove proudly puffed out its chest and angled its head, its voice entering Chen Dong's mind. "You forget who you're talking to. There is nothing I cannot accomplish!" Then, it spat out an ancient, simple-looking mirror.

"I've found the thing for you. Refine it well, and deal with that troublesome problem of yours. The sooner you complete Lord You's mission, the better. I won't be keeping you company!" With that, it flew off.

With a pull of his True Qi, Chen Dong drew the Ancient Mirror into his hand. It was palm-sized, with a body of white jade and an edge carved with floating clouds. The mirror's surface, however, clearly reflected a person's image. The entire Ancient Mirror exuded a faint coolness that calmed the mind.

'It really is a Purifying Heart Divine Artifact. That featherless bird is good for something after all.'

Chen Dong extended his spiritual sense toward it and frowned. 'This Divine Artifact already has an owner.'

'But on second thought, it's only normal for it to have an owner. It'd be stranger if a Divine Artifact in the Qiankun Realm *didn't* have one.'

Relying on his status as an Outer Appearance Peak cultivator, Chen Dong immediately used his powerful cultivation to forcibly seize the Divine Artifact. A vast amount of True Qi enveloped the Ancient Mirror and began to invade it.

Instantly, a wave of backlash force struck him. Chen Dong choked and spat a mouthful of blood onto the Ancient Mirror.

"Damn it, where did that stupid bird get this Divine Artifact? The backlash is so strong!" Chen Dong cursed.

Chen Dong silently speculated, 'The backlash alone was enough to injure me. The mirror's owner is probably at the Profound Pill Realm or the Inner Realm Peak!'

He then shook his head with a bitter smile. 'But then again, besides Li Wang, there's probably no one in this world above the Inner Realm.'

'Since I've already coughed up blood, I might as well use the Essence Blood Technique to slowly grind it down.'

Chen Dong held the mirror upright and used his essence blood to perceive the Ancient Mirror. Unexpectedly, a line of text appeared in the mirror, making Chen Dong's eyes widen.

The characters were written in Small Seal Script: "Today, you will successfully break through from Outer Appearance and can achieve the Inner Realm!"

Chen Dong was stunned. 'What is this?'

'Could this Ancient Mirror have the power of prophecy? It's true that I'm at the Outer Appearance Peak, but the Inner Realm Mystic Passage is profound and mysterious; breaking through is a matter of fate. Many spend their entire lives at the Outer Appearance Realm without ever breaking through. How could the Ancient Mirror possibly know that today is the day I'll step into the Inner Realm?'

Even so, Chen Dong didn't dare to underestimate the Ancient Mirror. Between its owner's high Realm, its unfathomable power of prophecy, and its mind-purifying effect, it was obvious this Ancient Mirror was far from simple.

Chen Dong wasn't in a hurry to break through. His own body's problem was the priority. He spat out another mouthful of essence blood and continued to probe the Ancient Mirror's connection.

At that very moment, a figure shot out of the Ancient Mirror. Before Chen Dong could get a clear look, the gleam of a blade struck at him.

The suffocating chill of the attack filled Chen Dong's eyes with terror. He knew from the terrifying might behind it that he stood no chance of blocking it.

'Am I going to die under the light of this blade?!'

Chen Dong was not the type to sit and wait for death. Even if he knew he was going to die, he would not accept his fate!

Immediately, the True Qi around his body erupted without reservation. His Tiangang Aura flared into existence, his Outer Appearance manifested, and incredibly solid inscriptions wrapped around it.

The blade's light struck his Outer Appearance. It held for a mere instant before shattering. The inscriptions were cleaved in two by the blade's light and scattered into the air. His Tiangang Aura was like tissue paper, offering no defense whatsoever.

In the final instant before death, Chen Dong clearly saw the figure that had emerged from the mirror. A pair of stunningly beautiful eyes, filled with an icy chill, were locked onto him.