Chapter 35: with translation of chapter title

In the rear hall, the Princess's indifferent voice, not missing a word, reached Lin Jianran's ears as she eavesdropped using her divine sense.

She said…

"Liu Saintess, I still don't understand what qualities Master Su has that make you go so far as to oppose the Great Yu Dynasty of Central State and the Star Pavilion, even believing Brother Ye Xuan would surely have sent you a voice transmission about your constitution."

"If you join the Star Pavilion and awaken your Bodhi Sacred Body, your cultivation will surely rise smoothly; forgive my frankness, Su Chen and you are not of the same world."

"This time I invite you to the Pill Assembly mainly to recruit you; the Star Pavilion already has Brother Ye Xuan, and I don't want anyone to outshine him—I have always valued talent."

"You couldn't possibly not know that Brother Ye Xuan and the Heavenly Profound Dao Sect are in a life-and-death situation; the sect's ancestor is an extraterritorial heavenly demon, and your Bodhi Sacred Body is exactly the demon's nemesis—do you really think Su Chen gave up Miss Lin for you because he truly doesn't love Lin Miss but loves you?"

"……"

Lin Jianran stood frozen, starting with shock and disbelief, but finally frightened out of her wits.

What earth-shattering secret has she heard?

The Heavenly Profound Dao Sect colludes with the extraterritorial heavenly demon, and even more unexpectedly, the sect's ancestor is a descendant of the heavenly demon!

No wonder Brother Ye Xuan treats everyone kindly, yet shows no pleasantry toward Su Chen.

Su Chen's reason for giving up on himself isn't that he no longer likes her, but that he anticipated Brother Ye Xuan would act against the Heavenly Profound Dao Sect, needing to use Liu Liyan's Bodhi Sacred Body as a sacrifice to summon the heavenly demon.

In other words……

Everything Su Chen has done is actually to indirectly sever ties with the Lin household, in order to protect Lin Jianran.

As for the engagement with Liu Liyan?

The Princess said Liu Liyan is the Bodhi Sacred Body, and the Sacred Body is the nemesis of the heavenly demon; summoning the heavenly demon is the only way to resist the combined forces of the Great Yu Dynasty and the Star Pavilion, but doing so would also invite contempt from human cultivators.

Even becoming the public enemy of the Northern Ice Continent.

But Lin Jianran, hearing this, was already in tears streaming down her face.

She pressed her red lips, one hand over her mouth to stifle sobs from escaping, so the Princess inside would notice: "Originally… originally he toward me… is actually so faithful…"

"He knows he hates Liu Liyan, dislikes her constantly comparing herself to me, so… so Su Chen wants to sacrifice Liu Liyan to fulfill me!"

"That's right, exactly like that, it must be this way."

"Su Chen waa waa waa… I wrongly blamed you; I thought, I thought you really let go, didn't want me—you said so many things that day that made me heartbroken, hearing them made me feel like I'd rather die!"

If Su Chen were here right now, he would surely roll his eyes and furthermore give Lin Jianran this idiot a slap to wake her up.

Who the hell would, for Lin Jianran, want Liu Liyan as a sacrifice?

Bullshit!

But Lin Jianran's self-confidence is indeed justified; after all, three years of humble, obedient flattery cannot be faked, and a few days' changes cannot erase it.

If there's blame to assign, blame that damned system for binding incorrectly, which caused Su Chen to be a sycophant for three years.

Every time he saw Lin Jianran's pretty, delicate face like a flower of jade, Su Chen would wildly act, causing all the cultivators of the clans and sects in the Eastern Wasteland to think he was deeply in love with her.

While Lin Jianran's heart pounded and her emotions surged.

Liu Liyan, sitting in the rear hall, spoke: "Princess, I appreciate your kindness; I am aware of this matter, and the situation the Heavenly Profound Dao Sect currently faces is indeed dangerous—I know all of this."

"You mean you've decided to call off the engagement and sever ties with the Heavenly Profound Dao Sect?"

"No."

"Then you know Su Chen is scheming to use your Bodhi Sacred Body, and you're turning his plot against him?"

"Not either."

"Then what do you intend?"

"I want to share weal and woe with him." Liu Liyan gave a faint smile, her radiant brilliance making everything around the Princess dim: "I don't care if she schemes against me."

"To have him rack his brains to scheme over my constitution for some benefit is exactly what I wish for."

"Since he wants me to become the sacrifice to summon the heavenly demon, what's wrong with that?"

She spoke so lightly, utterly indifferent, with a carefree expression, her eyes filled with detachment from the mortal world.

Princess: "……" Her heart churned with endless waves.

She originally intended to use the Heavenly Profound Dao Sect's collusion with the extraterritorial heavenly demon, wanting to use the Bodhi Sacred Body as a sacrifice to summon the heavenly demon, to make Liu Liyan understand that Su Chen's change of heart is not due to love but to use the other party as a sacrifice; all this ultimately aims to protect Lin Jianran.

She wanted to use this reason to make Liu Liyan realize the difficulty and retreat.

Sever ties with the Heavenly Profound Dao Sect.

Thus she could naturally marry into the dynasty, and their Great Yu Dynasty would not be blamed by anyone.

But the Princess never expected that Liu Liyan would have such deep obsession for Su Chen.

This left the Princess shocked for a long time, unable to find any words to persuade.

"You…"

After a while, the Princess gathered her complex gaze, and with a calm, dignified smile said: "Your feelings for Master Su are truly deep as the sea; I was just shocked and acted somewhat improperly."

"I just don't know what qualities Master Su possesses that make Miss Liu so willingly devoted."

Liu Liyan rested her chin on her hand, her gaze like stars: "Everything is good."

"For example?"

"For example, everywhere is excellent."

Princess: "……"

Honestly, this conversation just killed the topic.

The Princess took a deep breath, steadied her mind, and continued with a smile: "According to what I know, you and Master Su have no emotional foundation at all, so why are you willing to sacrifice everything to fulfill him?"

"Must Miss Liu insist on hanging herself on a crooked tree?"

"He is not a crooked tree."

"Oh? Then what is he?"

"He's a good person; don't casually use him as a metaphor."

Princess: "……"

The princess furrowed her lovely brows, then smoothed them; she directly asked her, making her doubt life, so she could only sip a few mouthfuls of spiritual tea to refresh herself.

I'll be here for now today.

Liu Liyan realizes a soft approach won't work here; she's as resolute as having swallowed a weight, determined to bind herself to Su Chen.

The princess racked her brains but couldn't see what's good about Su Chen; how could she be so utterly devoted to him?

What a wooden blockhead, hopeless!

To help the prince keep Liu Liyan safe and avoid any involvement with the extraterritorial heavenly demons, the only option is to act through Su Chen.

After the Pill Assembly ended, Liu Liyan returned to the Purple Yang Sect with a bountiful harvest, while Lin Jianran, on the other hand, returned to the Lin family weighed down by worries.

Those conversations she had eavesdropped on with her divine sense constantly surfaced in her mind.

"Sister Jianran, you've finally come back."

"How have you been lately? I just heard that scoundrel Su Chen actually got engaged to Liu Liyan—how dare he! He's just a sycophant hanging around you, he…"

"When he loves, he clings to you shamelessly; when he doesn't, he says nothing—he completely doesn't put you, Sister Jianran, in his eyes. You're just a toy he picked up on a whim, it really makes me furious!"

Bi Lian had been waiting at the Lin family estate since early morning for Lin Jianran.

As soon as she saw Lin Jianran return from the Pill Assembly, she immediately flew into a rage and cursed Su Chen.

After scolding her, Bi Lian carefully observed Lin Jianran's expression; she knew exactly what kind of person this sister was.

She had expected to see anger, irritation, and regret on Lin Jianran's face.

But she hadn't expected—