Chapter 113: Entice Him

The honorary senior brother glanced deeply at Grand Elder Ye, gritted his silver teeth, lowered his head and retreated: "Yes, sir."

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

A jade slip message sent from the frontier beyond the domain announced that they had already reached Heavenly Origin City.

At this moment,

Above the hall of the Azure Abyss Divine Sect,

The many elders and the sect leaders and clan heads of the Eastern Wasteland lowered their heads in fear, occasionally glancing up to scan the expression on Ye Xuan's face atop the golden throne.

Ye Xuan swept his divine sense over the jade slip just sent from Cloud Sea City; his face, which had held a hint of expectation, fell as his divine sense scanned its contents.

His whole person instantly grew grim, emanating a heaven‑shaking pressure that made everyone shudder.

Bang!!

Ye Xuan slammed his palm down heavily; the entire Azure Abyss Divine Sect hall trembled violently, his eyes fierce, his lips shaking as he shouted: "A bunch of useless trash!! Worthless!"

"Three thousand disciples wielding spirit‑rank high‑grade spiritual treasures couldn't even stop Su Chen's three hundred men; in the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they fled!"

"What use is he to me? If the Ye clan lets such people hold power, we will surely decline!"

Ye Xuan's face darkened; the space around the golden throne warped, a strong pressure surged, causing the elders inside the hall to flush red.

He wished he could crush Su Chen's bones and scatter his ashes.

He had plotted for three full years.

He had expended so much energy and effort, pouring in vast resources.

Could it be that a dike a thousand li long would collapse from an ant hole?

As the time of harvest approached, he planned to exterminate the Heavenly Mystery Dao Sect, establish his prestige, and make all the clans of the Eastern Wasteland submit to him.

But just at that critical juncture, the notorious good‑for‑nothing second‑generation heir of the Eastern Wasteland, who only thinks about women, suddenly struck luck, obtained the supreme inheritance, mastered the talisman‑crafting art, turned the tide against the wind, and caught the Ye clan's hidden guards in Heavenly Origin City off guard.

Fine, fine, let it be.

He again sent six thousand disciples of the Azure Abyss Divine Sect to Dragon City to ambush Su Chen.

But the result was beyond expectation.

Those six thousand cultivators were dead or injured, trapped by a nine‑level formation in the treasure vault for seven days and seven nights, while thousands watched helplessly as Su Chen and his companions walked away openly.

Since things had come to this, Ye Xuan could only pin his hopes on the frontier beyond the domain, but even Elder Ye's useless efforts failed to keep a few hundred of Su Chen's men, despite setting up a spirit‑rank killing formation.

How could Ye Xuan not be annoyed?

How could he not be angry?

"Sect Leader, please calm your anger."

"Sect Leader, please forgive us."

All the leaders of the clans that had defected to the Azure Abyss Sect knelt in terror, shouting, "Sect Leader, please calm your anger."

"Sect Leader."

Someone risked being struck dead by Ye Xuan's angry palm to comfort him, saying: "Although Su Chen luckily passed Grand Elder Ye's trial, it was merely a temporary fluke."

"He had just arrived at Cloud Sea City and hadn't settled when, upon receiving the jade slip plea for help from the young lady of the Lin Manor, he immediately took some disciples and rushed to Heavenly Origin City, all within less than a quarter of an hour."

"It goes without saying what place the young lady of the Lin Manor holds in Su Chen's heart."

Having said that, another elder immediately chimed in: "Exactly, Sect Leader."

"We only need to set a trap of heaven and earth, wait for Su Chen to come; then we'll make it impossible for him to flee, for even if it were a dragon's pool and tiger's den, he would surely walk into it because he cares so much for the young lady of the Lin Manor."

"Exactly, exactly."

"If we could contact the young lady of the Lin Manor at this moment and have her stab Su Chen in the back at a critical moment, dealing him a fatal blow, it could not be better."

These last words struck Ye Xuan's heart.

Ye Xuan snapped his head up, anger radiating without him even trying: "A backstab?"

An elder respectfully replied: "The sect has sent disciples many times to kill Su Chen, yet they all luckily escaped. I was thinking that, to be safe, the Sect Leader could suitably give the young lady of the Lin Manor some sweetener."

"Then, once Su Chen comes to rescue her…"

"we will turn the plan against itself, letting the young lady of the Lin Manor strike Su Chen at the crucial moment to aid us."

When it comes to a backstab, no one is more suited than Lin Jianran.

In this world, the deepest and easiest way to hurt someone is the betrayal of one who is trusted, relied upon, and deeply loved.

In an instant.

Ye Xuan couldn't help but think of Su Changfeng.

He had once been the sect leader of the Heavenly Mystery Dao Sect, sitting on endless cultivation resources, but what happened? He was betrayed by the Left‑and‑Right Protector Envoy Ye Xiao, who defected to the Azure Abyss Sect, causing the spirit‑stone resources to run dry and a violent spirit phenomenon to arise, ultimately reducing him to this miserable state.

Grand Elder Ye also found a city‑locking formation that could slowly drain Su Changfeng to death.

That's how it is!

Ye Xuan couldn't help but think: across the Eastern Wasteland, who is most vulnerable and easiest to approach Su Chen? None other than Lin Jianran.

"Someone—"

"Summon the young lady of the Lin Manor to meet this sect."

"The Sect Leader orders: summon the young lady of the Lin Manor to come and pay respects to the sect."

Everything that happened inside the hall was overheard word for word by the Imperial Princess of the Great Yu Dynasty hiding behind the gate.

She heard that Su Chen, with a few hundred cultivators, defeated the six thousand disciples of the Azure Abyss Sect.

She heard that Su Chen, disregarding his own safety, led his men to Heavenly Origin City solely to rescue Lin Jianran.

She also heard that after Lin Jianran entered the hall, she protested aloud that she did not want to think of backstabbing Su Chen, crying that she would never betray him.

But after hearing Ye Xuan's promise, she began to waver, and finally reluctantly agreed……

The Imperial Princess looked complex and disappointed, sneering: "Lin Jianran, you truly are not worthy of the Young Sect Master Su's affection."

"I really don't understand what quality you possess that makes Su Chen, knowing full well that a heaven‑and‑earth trap lies ahead, still selflessly rush back to Heavenly Origin City to save you, willing to be a fish that walks into the net."

Forget it, what's wrong with this palace? Why am I worrying about this kind of thing?

It has nothing to do with this palace……

How could it possibly be true? There isn't even the slightest connection.

Ever since Su Chen left.

The imperial princess, every day without fail, when she cultivates and enters deep meditation, her mind is filled with images of Su Chen treating Liu Liyan well.

Word by word, every micro-expression, every action, she could keenly sense that Su Chen was different from the other young sect masters of the sects in the Central State, or from the holy sons; he truly respected women from the heart, with no trace of looking down on or despising women.

He didn't even have the slightest thought of viewing women as mere tools for bearing children.

Su Chen would not despise or avoid Liu Liyan's menstruation; even when her internal yin and yang energies were unbalanced, he would personally go to the sect's treasure vault to select innate flame yang jade, send it to the Divine Weapon Pavilion to be forged into a wearable necklace.

Su Chen also wouldn't put on the airs of those clan young sect masters; when Liu Liyan was invaded by yin energy, her constitution weak and her whole body cold, he could even disregard others' gazes, take her hand, and warm her with his own chest.