Chapter 77

Ye Xuan's eyes showed disgust; the Sixth Prince instantly understood, given Ye Xuan's current status, Lin Jianran was indeed insignificant.

"Brother-in-law, I spoke out of turn; that Lin Jianran is a used woman. Back then you were taken as a direct disciple by the Star Pavilion—why would she need to give you charity?"

"As for last month, why did Su Chen, in front of everyone, publicly announce he was giving up on Lin Jianran? In my humble opinion, it was nothing more than fearing the Lin family would be implicated, a forced move."

"For Lin Jianran, he spared no effort, even showing a cold side; he would rather be misunderstood by the world and hated by Lin Jianran—just imagine how deeply he loves her."

If Su Chen were present and heard these words, his mouth would probably twist into a smile.

Still going to great lengths?

Afraid of being implicated?

If it weren't for the system binding the wrong target, would he really have to lower himself and grovel before Lin Jianran for three years?

Did the brother‑doting elder sister Su Qingqing, who once doted on her brother, eventually become utterly disappointed and leave the sect to travel the continent?

He might now have become the ruler of this continent!

"Good, very good."

After Ye Xuan inquired about some details and confirmed this was the answer he wanted, he immediately issued a decree: "Our sect has heard that the Holy Son of the Blaze Sun Sect has long desired Lin Jianran, and he is Su Chen's most hated rival."

"Issue the decree."

"The Holy Son of the Blaze Sun Sect and Lin Jianran will be married in half a month!"

Su Chen loves Lin Jianran so deeply, even risking his life several times for her; our sect will give the person he loves most to his most hated rival, making him restless, like sitting on pins and needles.

"On the wedding day, Su Chen will surely come to snatch the bride, take Lin Jianran away from the fire, and flee together."

Or it's because of Su Chen's past actions that make them firmly believe he loves Lin Jianran to the core and is willing to give everything for her.

Even knowing there's a trap, knowing it's a snare, he would still jump into the fire pit without hesitation.

Especially when Lin Jianran learned that Ye Xuan had issued the decree to marry her off to the Holy Son of the Blaze Sun Sect, Qin Shou.

Her heart turned half cold.

"Brother Ye Xuan, Brother Ye Xuan, how can you be so ruthless? I don't want to marry Qin Shou; if I were forced to choose between Qin Shou and Su Chen, I would choose Su Chen."

At this moment she cried and wailed, sobbing heartbrokenly, and immediately, following the messenger's prompting, she used a divine‑sense jade slip to send a voice message to Su Chen: 【Su Chen waa waa waa……】

【Ye Xuan wants to marry me to that impotent man, still confines my feet; I miss you, I want you back by my side, just thinking of it breaks my heart.】

【Come back and take me away, okay? snivel snivel snivel……】

When Su Chen once devoted all his thoughts to Lin Jianran, wholeheartedly treating her well, Lin Jianran held her nose high, disdainful, arrogantly thinking she deserved better—though she was merely a pretty miss from an ordinary family of a third‑rate power.

As Su Chen lifted her up, she became ever more dissatisfied, her confidence swelling, thinking that having enjoyed something made her deserve it.

Even if it has come to this point,

She still believes Su Chen deeply loves her, that upon learning she is to marry he will surely come risking his life to take her away, or that he is just a dead‑beat sycophant who constantly follows her, and no matter how she behaves, Su Chen will never leave her.

What a pity……this dream ought to end.

"Junior Sect Master."

"Just cross this barren mountain and we'll reach Cloud Sea City."

"Spiritual explosions are frequent now; when we train on the nearby roads we have to set up temporary spirit‑gathering arrays—no idea how the sect master and our fellow disciples are doing……" Black Dog and the others wore spirit armor etched with minor spirit‑gathering arrays.

He raised his head to look ahead, seeing a sky‑filled sandstorm.

Feeling the violent spirit energy that tears the skin in the air, he exhaled a turbid breath: "The aura of demon beasts permeates the vicinity; if we travel at night we might be attacked, Junior Sect Master, shouldn't we first find a place to rest for the night?"

Ahead lies a beast tide, behind a violent spirit surge; Father lacks enough spirit stones to keep the spirit‑gathering array running—how can we get through?

"Keep moving."

Su Chen turned his head to look at his second sister Su Lingxue, wearing spirit armor and a bronze mask, and his mother, as well as Sect Master Liu whose hair was dust‑covered: "Second sister, how are you? Can you still hold on for a stretch?"

"We'll keep going, striving to reach Cloud Sea City before dawn tomorrow."

The two, wearing spirit treasures etched with minor spirit‑gathering arrays, nodded without a second thought.

Sect Master Liu, with long hair flowing over his shoulders and a firm gaze, urged: "Young nephew, hurry to Cloud Sea City to see Sect Master Su."

"I can't sleep night after night, I can't calm my mind to cultivate; all I think of is my daughter's miserable state—if anything happens… I simply don't know how to go on living……"

"She might have been seized by Ye Xuan, thrown into the heavenly prison to have her cultivation ruined, eating rotten rats all day to stave off hunger, drinking foul water to get by……"

Su Chen's eyelids twitched wildly; he quickly shook those bad images from his mind.

He at once boarded a spatial transmission array and headed straight for Cloud Sea City.

At this moment.

It was still more than a day away from reaching Cloud Sea City.

After the young cultivator fell out with Su Chen the previous time, Su Chen ordered a search for spirit stones and then built another spirit‑gathering array.

It allowed some cultivators to practice in peace for a few days.

But afterward the spirit‑stone supply became a problem again—even turning Cloud Sea City upside down yielded hardly any spirit stones.

The cultivators defending the city against the beast tide, lacking spirit‑stone supplies, were invaded by violent spirit energy, their bodies exploded, and they became fodder for demon beasts.

"Whoosh—"

Su Changfeng stood aloft, pacing in the air, gazing at the corpses below, at those who would fight over a few spirit stones or over seats in the spirit‑gathering array, not hesitating to come to blows.

His back molars were about to shatter from clenching.

A fiercer beast wave might come at night, possibly overwhelming the defenses, leading to the city's fall and the people's death.

The spiritual explosion phenomenon affects not only human cultivators but also the demon race; despite their thick hides, absorbing too much spirit energy can cause bloating and discomfort.

These cultivators in the city have no weapons to defend against spiritual explosions; some have already begun to deviate into demonic cultivation, others have developed inner demons and are raving nonsense.

"Sect Master." The elder behind him felt his nose sour.

He stepped forward.

In his cloudy eyes full of disappointment, he stared fixedly at Su Changfeng: "This is the last day; tonight spiritual explosions are frequent, the demon race has launched an offensive, and Su Chen cannot come."

"The road into the city now is occupied by demon beasts; to enter we must carve a bloody path."

Su Chen's cultivation, piled up from medicinal resources, has insubstantial spiritual power—not to mention, he might run out of strength halfway; even if Zhenzhen really shows up, he'd likely have to wait until tomorrow.

But look, how many of our fellow disciples can still hold out against tonight's beast tide?

What if no one shows up after tonight passes?

I'm afraid Yunhai City will soon be overrun by demonic beasts.

The last cultivators have already used all their spirit stones to power the spirit‑gathering formation; they have none left, so they cannot replenish their losses by absorbing ambient spiritual energy.

Even if we've come to this point, do you still intend to just sit and wait for death?

The preceding few sentences were spoken by the elder in a calm and composed manner.

He tried his best to restrain himself, to suppress his emotions.

After all, things have come to this point; no matter how disappointed he feels toward Su Changfeng, it won't change anything.

You can't exchange for spirit stones… you can't exchange for the lives of three thousand cultivators.

But when the sore spot was touched, he could no longer hold back; the frustration and grievance he had accumulated these days burst out all at once.

Grand Elder, he personally witnessed how the sect's disciples met their end in the beasts' mouths, their bodies swollen and burst alive by the spirit‑explosion phenomenon.

"It's my inadequacy as sect master… I'm unworthy of the sect's disciples." Su Changfeng's face showed guilt as he clenched his fists tightly.