Seeing Mo Tianjun depart, Ye Yu muttered curses under his breath and set off himself. In his mind he had already resolved: if that old bastard actually dared to don a female immortal’s robes and claim to be his spouse, Ye Yu swore he would lay all his cards on the table—and fight him to the death!
With murderous intent surging, Ye Yu embarked on the quest to find Xu Nanqiao and Gan Zhizui.
Perhaps providence had heard his plea: in only a few hours, he located his wife, Gan Duoduo! She was drifting cautiously through the sky, each step measured and careful.
Ye Yu hurried to her side. “What are you doing? Strolling at leisure?”
At the sight of Ye Yu, Gan Duoduo’s eyes reddened and she clutched his robes. “Husband, you’ve finally come! I’ve been terrified to death! The Heavenly Realm is too dangerous—I really was afraid!”
Ye Yu frowned in puzzlement, not understanding her meaning. So Gan Duoduo poured out her ordeal: every three steps a minor secret realm, every five steps a major one—she’d had to think on her feet and dodge threats at every turn. She could hardly endure it!
Hearing her account, Ye Yu’s expression turned incredulous. Could things really be that convoluted? He’d spent so long in the Heavenly Realm with barely a handful of secret realms—there was no way it was as exaggerated as Gan Duoduo described. Impossible!
Could she perhaps be the legendary Secret-Realm Saint Body? But no—back in the mortal world she had been perfectly ordinary. How could the moment she entered the Heavenly Realm she become so ill-fated?
Unwilling to believe it, Ye Yu pulled Gan Duoduo along to test the theory. Yet they’d hardly taken two steps when they were instantly drawn into a secret realm. Ye Yu’s eyes widened at the strange surroundings—so this was what she meant!
Heaven help him, the trigger was uncanny in its precision. But no matter: he was already a Peak Immortal King, on the verge of the Imperial Realm. A mere secret realm was hardly a challenge. Why brave it when you could simply obliterate it?
With terrifying power, Ye Yu shattered the realm in an instant. Gan Duoduo watched in astonishment—so secret realms could be dealt with like that? Truly a first!
Unconvinced, Ye Yu tried another route back to Wuwei Tower, determined that his presence would banish any ill fortune. But the comeback was swift: only three steps later, they were pulled into a second realm.
Gan Duoduo shot him a helpless look. No words were needed—the expression said it all.
This time the difficulty level skyrocketed. Legendary celestial beasts roamed the realm, and the moment they detected Ye Yu and Gan Duoduo, they launched suicidal assaults!
Ye Yu intended to incinerate them all with Burning Nine Nether, but an unexpected mysterious force within the realm suppressed his cultivation, limiting him to Earth Immortal–level strength.
Damn it! This was clearly a major secret realm—and one that would demand his full effort!
The next day, in Wuwei Tower:
Shangguan Jiujiu and Zhuo Lanqing sat on a stone slab, staring dreamily at the now flourishing sect. Truly, they had no idea just how much it would grow—over thirty immortals now called Wuwei Tower home, exceeding the total of many small sects!
Such rapid expansion in only a year? Perhaps it was time to plan an extension. The current grounds, though sizable, were growing crowded.
As they pondered, Zhu Diezhen approached bearing a tray of celestial fruits. “You two have been sitting here long enough. What’s on your minds?”
Zhuo Lanqing replied matter-of-factly, “We’re discussing sect expansion. Wuwei Tower has ample land, but as more immortals arrive, space is becoming tight. By the way, how many sister disciples are left in the mortal realm yet to ascend?”
Zhu Diezhen paused—she had never tallied it exactly. Watching familiar faces come and go, she too lost count. So she began counting on her fingers. After a long moment, she concluded, “Only two remain: Hong Luan and Li Ruowang. Ironically, they were once the strongest of the group, and now they’ve become the weakest. Such is the unpredictability of fate!”
“That’s normal,” Shangguan Jiujiu said, hands clasped. “Ascension depends on both power and a bit of fortune. Sometimes a thin veil separates success—you either break through it, or you wait.”
She opened her hands and the ethereal map of Wuwei Tower hovered above her palm. “If only two remain, we still have room. No need to expand just yet.”
Zhu Diezhen and Shangguan Jiujiu spoke in unison: “That’s counting only the mortal-realm sisters. What about the Demon Realm, the Spirit Realm, the Underworld?”
At that, Zhuo Lanqing face-palmed. Clearly, they would need more space indeed. Expansion was inevitable!
As the three discussed plans, a dazzling array of runes flared outside the tower’s gates. Two familiar figures appeared—Ye Yu and Gan Duoduo returned, faces lined with exhaustion.
Truly, one does not learn by being told but by experiencing. The second secret realm had kept Ye Yu busy through the entire night before he finally shattered it. No sooner had he regained freedom than he activated the teleportation array. Poor Gan Duoduo’s reputation as the Secret-Realm Saint Body was now completely justified. Even Ye Yu admitted he could hardly bear it!
He resolved then and there that Gan Duoduo would remain within the sect from now on—no more risking the perils of the Heavenly Realm!
Suddenly, before Ye Yu could steady himself, Mo Tianjun’s voice °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° rang out: “Friend Ye, I’ve come to deliver your immortal spouse!”
