Chapter 23: Heart Demon

Time flew by, and soon it was the day Sect Master Su emerged from seclusion.

That night, Lin Jianran's resolve was unstable, giving birth to an inner demon.

Under the Heart Demon's influence, whenever she closed her eyes to meditate, her mind kept conjuring images of Liu Liyan and Su Chen marrying, her appearing at the Heavenly Mystery Dao Sect's wedding.

Su Chen, meanwhile, held Liu Liyan's hand with intertwined fingers.

Only after the red-clad figures vanished did Lin Jianran suddenly open her eyes.

"Damn Su Xing, do you really think Miss Bu can't live without you? You say you don't love me, but you must be in agony inside? You dare to marry Liu Liyan—I'll have Brother Ye Xuan kill you, I'll make you marry!"

"When the time comes, I'll turn your joy into sorrow—I'll make you come back begging me in tears; even if you kneel at the Lin family gate for three days and three nights, I won't forgive you."

"I'm telling you, Su……"

Lin Jianran stood at the cultivation chamber door, muttering to Su Chen, expressing her determination.

But as she spoke, her expression suddenly froze.

In her eyes seemed to appear the scene of the bridal chamber with candles.

Su Chen and Liu Liyan drank the exchanged cups; at this moment, Liu Liyan, wearing a phoenix crown and rosy robes, had her whole face reflected as peerlessly beautiful, like a fairy descending to the mortal world.

Every frown and smile captivated the soul.

Even women couldn't look away.

After drinking, Liu Liyan's cheeks flushed like the clouds at sunset, and the two finally shared a tender, lingering kiss.

Splash!

Splash!

……

At this moment, Lin Jianran didn't know why, but a sudden aversion arose in her heart; watching the two about to roll the sheets, her eyes finally showed a hint of panic.

No!

No!!

She refused, for her obsession was too deep; she didn't even realize she had fallen into an illusion crafted by the Heart Demon.

All she saw was her trying to stop, pushing Liu Liyan away, but her hand could not touch anything.

In the end, she could only panic, her face full of anguish as she shouted: "No wedding night, no such acts—stop now!!"

"Su Chen, how can you be so intimate with that lowly woman? I won't allow it."

"I, Lin Jianran, am the one you love to the marrow; I am the woman you would give your life to love; I am the one you should take as your cultivation partner—how can you say you don't love and just not love?"

Just as Lin Jianran wept heartbroken.

On the bed, the Liu Liyan entwined with Su Chen suddenly lifted her gaze, her lips curling with a hint of mockery and a touch of provocation, exactly as she had been at the Flower Rain Pavilion.

The flush on Liu Liyan's face had not yet faded; her eyes held a hint of disdain as she coldly remarked: "Lin Jianran, you don't allow it? What right do you have to forbid?"

"Sect Master Su previously brought the betrothal gifts himself to the Lin family to propose, promising you a ten-mile red dowry, a phoenix crown and rosy robes, and welcoming you with eight black flood dragons—but you refused. Now Su Chen has awakened, abandoned you, and yet you pretend to be pitiful—isn't this what you wanted?"

"You've always liked someone else—your heart has always been Brother Ye Xuan—so now that they've abandoned you, you only remember Su Chen's kindness?"

"Excuse me, Su Chen, the Young Sect Master of the top sect in the Eastern Wasteland Region now belongs to me!"

No no no!

No, that's not it!

In the inner demon's illusion, Lin Jianran wept heartbroken.

She desperately lunged toward Su Chen, only to find she could not touch him at all, even wanting to abandon her dignity and repeatedly explain herself to Su Chen.

But Su Chen seemed unable to see her at all.

The person who once filled her heart and vision now only makes room for Liu Liyan.

Why, how, could this be??

"Whimper… it won't happen, it won't happen, Su Chen—say something, apologize, and I'll become your Dao companion; let's stop fighting… Brother Ye Xuan no longer wants me, you are my only reliance…"

"No! You can't take off her clothes, you can't kiss her… no!"

Ah!

Ah!

Lin Jianran suddenly rose to her feet, breaking free of the inner demon's illusion; her pretty face turned pallid, her eyes vacant as she stared blankly for a while, then slowly regained her senses—realizing those images were her own inner demon at work.

Yet she never expected someone with such a steadfast Dao heart to also give birth to a Heart Demon—surely it was a curse from that lowly woman Liu Liyan.

She just said Su Chen loved her so much—how could he possibly share a bridal chamber with another woman, especially right in front of her?

Since the last time at the Flower Rain Pavilion, her Dao heart had been faintly unstable; she never imagined this time she would directly give birth to a Heart Demon, nor that her deep-seated obsession would be so strong.

So strong it affected her mind; even after the previous incident, her arrogance that disregarded all status and background seemed to have halved, and even her confidence in her own charm, her Dao heart, began to waver.

It made her unable to stop doubting the truth of Su Chen's words.

She faintly felt uneasy, thinking Su Chen might not be speaking in anger but truly meaning it—abandoning her, no longer loving her; his actions weren't to force her to submit, but… he really didn't love her.

But… after three years of painstaking effort and unconditional devotion in pursuit and fawning, Lin Jianran wavered, wondering how this could happen.

Su Chen loved her to the point of giving his life, unable to live without her—how could he suddenly stop loving and let go?

"Impossible…"

"He loved me for three whole years—this kind of feeling can't just dissipate—how could he, just because I refused the betrothal, turn around and choose Liu Liyan?"

"Lin Jianran, you must believe Bi Lian's words! This is surely him deliberately playing tricks to win you back; in a few days everything will return to how it was, and then he will surely come to beg your forgiveness—he simply can't live without you… you need to be patient… you need to be patient…"

"At worst, I'll wait a few days for him to come chasing me; I won't make things hard for him—just let him kneel for half an hour, and then he'll surely be delighted."

After all kinds of imaginings and self‑comfort, Lin Jianran took a deep breath and calmed her emotions.

She closed her eyes again to meditate, casually keeping watch for Su Chen to come find her.

Meanwhile, at the Heavenly Mystery Dao Sect…

After Su Chen's relentless efforts over several days of hugging, kissing, and caressing, his points had risen from over two hundred thousand to an astronomical number: point points.

Excluding the previous points, in just these three days it rose by over 800,000, averaging nearly 200,000 per day! Seeing these numbers, Su Chen realized.

That is, being close is greater than meditative cultivation!

Indeed, choosing is often greater than effort!

Choosing the right path can save you from detours of thirty years; this is also fortunate because back then he trusted the system, rushed forward, and then discovered that the harder he worked, the luckier he became.

【Opening the Myriad Worlds Mall.】

【Exchanging two Martial Emperor Realm demonic beasts for one Ancient Emperor Sacred Weapon.】

【Ding!】

【Exchange successful, deducting points points.】

【Exchanging two more Heavenly Rank Robes.】

【Ding! Exchange successful, deducting point points, remaining total points: point points】

Su Chen couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly; he never expected that just these few items would cost him more than half of his points… truly, one doesn't know the value of firewood and rice until one manages the household.

After storing the items exchanged from the mall, he knocked on the gatehouse.

Sect Master Su, who had just emerged from seclusion and broken through to the Martial Venerable Realm, was preparing to summon the sect disciples and enter a state of emergency readiness.

Bringing along a dozen or so confidants, he intended to first probe the Ye family's foundations; upon seeing Su Chen enter, he burst into tears of joy—who knows how long he had been stuck at the ninth layer of the Martial Ancestor Realm, suffering from inability to break through, having thought he would never attain Martial Venerable status in his lifetime.

He never expected his own son to produce a Seventh‑Grade Breakthrough Pill, and even more unexpected was that it truly allowed a breakthrough.

Sect Master Su showed no restraint in his joy, gratifiedly patting Su Chen's shoulder, and said: "Chen'er… thanks to your Breakthrough Pill, I…"

Since we're father and son, there's no need for many words of gratitude; now I, as father, intend to go and test how much the Star Pavilion values the Ye family, casually probing the Ye family's foundations; if I encounter any accident, you… just don't worry about others, directly take the teleportation array and leave; as long as you live, the Heavenly Mystery Dao Sect will not be considered destroyed.